- Dec 1 Calvin Newborn, American R&B and jazz guitarist, dies at 85
- Dec 6 Andrew Frierson, pioneering African American opera singer, dies at 94
- Dec 6 John "Ace" Cannon, American pop, rock and country music saxophonist (Tuff Sax), dies at 84
- Dec 6 Pete Shelley [Peter McNeish], English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Buzzcocks "Going Steady"), dies at 63
- Dec 13 Nancy Wilson, American jazz vocalist ("Feel Like Making Love"), dies at 81
- Dec 14 Joe Osborn, American session bass player (Bridge Over Troubled Water), dies of pancreatic cancer at 81
- Dec 17 Galt MacDermot, Canadian musician and composer (Hair), dies at 89
- Dec 17 Raven Wilkinson, American ballerina, first African American woman to dance with major ballet company, dies at 83
- Dec 23 (Ann) "Honey" Lantree, British rock drummer (The Honeycombs), dies at 75
- Dec 26 Sono Osato, American Japanese ballet dancer and actress, dies at 99
- Dec 26 Theodore Antoniou, Greek conductor and composer (Paean, Celebration), dies at 83
- Dec 28 Christine McGuire, American pop vocalist (McGuire Sisters - "Sincerely"; "Sugartime"), dies at 92
- Dec 28 Ray Sawyer, American singer (Dr Hook), dies at 81
- Dec 29 Aldo Parisot, Brazilian-American concert cellist and educator (Yale School of Music, 1958-2018). dies at 100
- Dec 30 Larry Austin, American classical and electronic composer and educator, dies at 88
- Dec 31 Dean Ford (Thomas McAleese), Scottish singer-songwriter (Marmalade), dies from complications relating to Parkinson's disease at 72 [1]
- Dec 31 Urban "Urbie" Green, American jazz trombonist (Woody Herman; Buck Clayton; Hugo Montenegro), dies at 92
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