- 1691 Christiaan de Placker, Flemish poet and composer, dies at 77
- 1789 Johann Christoph Oley, German composer, dies at 50
- 1798 Christian Cannabich, German violinist, composer and royal chaplain master, dies at 66
- 1830 Michal Bogdanowicz, Polish composer, dies at 49
- 1838 Pierre-Louis Hus-Desforges, French composer and cellist, dies at 64
- 1857 Edward Francis Fitzwilliam, English composer, dies at 32
- 1859 Bettina von Arnim, German writer and composer of the Romantic era (This Book Belongs to the King), dies at 73
- 1890 Franz Paul Lachner, German composer, dies at 86
- 1905 Stanislaw Pilinski, French pianist and composer, dies at 65
- 1914 (Henry Southwick) H.S. Perkins, American hymn composer, lyricist, conductor, and teacher, dies at 80
- 1914 Emil Liebling, German-American composer, dies at 62
- 1914 Henry Southwick Perkins, American composer, educator, and founder of Music Teachers' National Association, dies at 80
- 1943 Giacomo Benvenuti, Italian composer, dies at 57
- 1952 Arthur Farwell, American composer, dies at 74
- 1964 Jan Rychlik, Czech composer, dies at 47
- 1965 (Albert) "Alan" Freed, American disc jockey and concert promoter who popularized the term "rock-n-roll", and payola scandal figure, dies of from uremia and cirrhosis at 43
- 1975 Franz Andre, Belgian conductor, dies at 81
- 1979 Gustav Winckler, Danish pop singer ("Skibet skal sejle i nat"- "The Ship Is Leaving Tonight"), dies in a car crash at 53
- 1985 Jo Juda, Dutch musician (1st concertmaster of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra), dies at 75
- 1989 Halsey Stevens, American composer (Triskelion), dies at 80
- 1990 Hayedeh [Ma'soumeh Dadehbala], Persian classical, pop, and folk singer, dies of a heart attack at 47
- 1996 Arley "Buster" Benton, American blues singer and guitarist, dies at 63
- 1996 Gerry Mulligan, American jazz baritone saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (Jazz on a Summer Day), dies of complications from a knee infection at 68
- 1996 Liesbeth Askonas, Austrian concert agent, dies at 82
- 1996 Peter Stadlen, Austrian pianist and critic, dies at 85
- 1999 Bill Albaugh, American pop-psychedelic rock drummer (The Lemon Pipers - "My Green Tambourine"), dies at 53
- 2000 (John) Don Abney, American session and touring jazz pianist, and musical director, dies of kidney disease at 76
- 2000 Ray Jones, British rock bassist (Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas), dies at 60
- 2001 Nico Assumpção, Brazilian bass player, dies at 46
- 2002 Henry Cosby, American songwriter, musician and producer for Motown ("Tears of a Clown"), dies at 73
- 2002 Ivan Karabits, Ukrainian composer, conductor, and educator, dies at 57
Etta James (1938-2012)
American singer ("Roll With Me"; "At Last"), dies from leukemia at 73
- 2013 Bob Engemann, American singer, (The Lettermen), dies at 77
- 2014 Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor (La Scala, 1969-86; London Symphony, 1979-87; Berlin Philharmonic, 1989-2002), dies of stomach cancer at 80
- 2015 Edgar Froese, German musician (Tangerine Dream), dies at 70
- 2017 Ronald Mundy, American doo-wop tenor vocalist (The Marcels -"Blue Moon"), dies of pneumonia at 73
- 2018 Jim Rodford, English rock bassist (The Kinks; Argent; Zombies), dies after a fall at 76
- 2022 Elza Soares, Brazilian samba and jazz singer, named one of the Singers of the Millennium by BBC Radio, dies at 91
Meat Loaf (1947-2022)
American rock musician and singer-songwriter ("Bat Out of Hell"; Two Out of Three Ain't Bad"), dies at 74 [1]
- 2023 Jerry "The Geator" Blavat, American disc jockey and music promoter, dies of complications from myasthenia gravis (a neuromuscular disease), at 82 [1]
- 2023 Stella Chiweshe, Zimbabwean musician and storyteller (Africa’s best-known female mbira player), dies at 76 [1]
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide