Musicians Who Died on December 30

  • 1796 Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, French composer, dies at 45
  • 1821 Angelo Maria Benincori, Italian composer, dies at 42
  • 1825 Peter Grønland, Danish composer, dies at 64
  • 1828 Waldemar Thrane, Norwegian violinist, composer (Fjeldeventyret), and conductor, dies at 38
  • 1946 Charles Wakefield Cadman, American composer (Shanewis (or The Robin Woman); The Sky Hawk), dies at 65
  • 1967 Bert Berns, American songwriter ("Twist And Shout"; "Piece Of My Heart"; "Hang On Sloopy") and producer ("Under The Boardwalk"; "Brown-Eyed Girl"), dies of heart failure at 38
  • 1971 Jan Mul, Dutch composer, dies at 60
  • 1973 Henri-Paul Busser, composer, dies at 101

Richard Rodgers (1902-1979)

American composer, mostly for theater (Rodgers & Hart - "Pal Joey"; "Babes In Arms"; Rodgers & Hammerstein - "Oklahoma!"; "South Pacific"; "The King And I"; "The Sound Of Music") and 1st EGOT (Emmy; Grammy; Oscar; and Tony awards winner), dies at 77

  • 1986 Jiri Jaroch, Czech composer, dies at 66
  • 1993 Arthur "Schneeze" Rollini, American big band jazz tenor saxophonist, dies at 81
  • 1993 Mack David, American songwriter (Bachelor in Paradise), dies at 81
  • 1995 Aleksi Machavariani, Soviet Georgian conductor, and composer (Den moei Rodini (Day of My Motherland); Five Monologues), dies at 82
  • 1995 Clarence Satchell, American funk saxophonist (Ohio Players - "Fire";"Love Rollercoaster"), dies of a brain aneurysm at 55
  • 1995 Ralph Flanagan, American orchestra leader (Let's Dance), dies at 76
  • 1998 Johnny Moore, American singer (The Drifters) (b. 1934)
  • 2001 Ralph Sutton, American stride and Dixieland jazz pianist and composer, dies at 79
  • 2003 Anita Mui, Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress, "Madonna of the East", dies of cancer at 40
  • 2004 Artie Shaw [Arthur Arshawsky], American bandleader, jazz clarinetist and actor ("Begin the Beguine"), dies at 94
  • 2008 Derek Wadsworth, British jazz composer and arranger, dies at 69
  • 2009 Rowland S. Howard, Australian guitarist (The Birthday Party) (b. 1959)
  • 2010 Bobby Farrell, Aruban singer (Boney M) (b. 1949)
  • 2014 Patrick Gowers, British choral and film score composer (Viri Galilaei; Hamlet; Smiley's People), dies at 78
  • 2018 Larry Austin, American classical and electronic composer and educator, dies at 88
  • 2020 Alto Reed [Thomas Cartmell], American saxophonist (Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band), dies of colon cancer at 72
  • 2020 Eugene Wright, American jazz bassist (The Dave Brubeck Quartet), sometimes known as "The Senator", dies at 97 [1]
  • 2021 Gottfried Michael Koenig, German-Dutch composer, educator, and electronic music pioneer, dies at 95