- 1753 Gerhardus Havingha, Dutch organist and composer, dies at 56
- 1851 Alexander Aliabiev, Russian composer remembered as one of the fathers of Russian art song, dies at 63
- 1860 (Justus Johann) Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist (Dresden Court Orchestra, 1821-50), composer, and teacher, dies at 77
- 1900 Carl Bechstein, German piano maker, dies at 73
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)
American composer and march king (Stars & Stripes Forever), dies at 77
- 1936 Josef Stránský, Czech conductor (New York Philharmonic, 1911-23), dies at 63
- 1936 Rubin Goldmark, American composer, dies at 63
- 1945 Rudolf Karel, Czech composer (Three Hairs of the Wise Old Man), dies of dysentery and pneumonia while in Theresienstadt concentration camp at 64
- 1951 Ivor Novello [David Ivor Davies], Welsh composer, writer and actor (Keep the Home Fires Burning, The Truth Game), dies at 58
- 1954 Louis Zimmermann, Dutch violinist (1st concert master of Amsterdam Symphony), composer, and educator, dies at 80
- 1961 George Formby, British singer and comedian, dies at 56
- 1962 Rezső Kókai, Hungarian pianist, composer, musicologist, and pedagogue, dies at 56
- 1965 Ruvim Pergament, composer, dies at 58
- 1966 Richard Hageman, Dutch born American pianist, composer and conductor (Caponsacchi), dies at 84
- 1967 Nelson Eddy, American baritone (Phantom of the Opera), dies at 65
- 1967 Zoltán Kodály, Hungarian composer and ethnomusicologist, (Psalmus Hungaricus; Hary Janos), dies at 84
- 1968 Isa Krejci, Czech composer, dies at 63
- 1971 Thurston Dart, English harpsichordist and conductor, dies at 49
- 1973 Paul Kletzki [Paweł Klecki], Polish-Swiss violinist, composer, and conductor, dies during orchestral rehearsal at 72
- 1983 Cathy Berberian, American mezzo-soprano and composer (Stripsody), dies of a heart attack at 57
- 1984 Pierre Cochereau, French composer, dies at 59
- 1987 Eddie Durham, American pioneering jazz electric guitarist, trombonist (Count Basie; Jimmie Luceford), composer ("Topsy"; "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire"), and bandleader (All-Star Girl Orchestra), dies at 80
- 1988 Konstantin Iliev, Bulgarian composer, dies at 63
- 1993 Walther Geiser, Swiss violist, composer and conductor, dies at 95
- 1994 Leighton Noble [Faye Leighton Jepson], American big band singer, bandleader, and TV host, dies at 81
- 1994 Moses Rascoe, American blues singer, dies at 77
- 1995 Delroy Wilson, Jamaican ska and reggae singer ("Cool Operator"), dies from cirrhosis of the liver at 46
- 1996 Herb Hall, American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist, dies at 88
- 2006 King Floyd, American soul singer-songwriter ("Groove Me"), dies of complications of a stroke and diabetes at 61
- 2009 David Williams, American R&B, pop and rock session and touring guitarist (Michael Jackson; Madonna; Rod Stewart; Bryan Ferry), dies of cardiac arrest following a stroke at 58
- 2009 Francis Magalona, Filipino Pinoy hip-hop rapper, songwriter, and television personality (Eat Bulaga!, 1995-2009), dies of leukemia at 44
- 2009 Henri Pousseur, Belgian composer (Votre Faust), dies of bronchial pneumonia at 79
- 2010 Ole Schmidt, Danish composer and conductor, dies at 81
- 2012 Gene “Joe” Byrd, American jazz bassist (Charlie Byrd Trio), dies in a car crash at 78
- 2012 Lucia Mannucci, Italian jazz singer (Quartetto Cetra, 1947-88), dies at 91
- 2012 Robert Sherman, American songwriter, dies at 86
- 2013 Alvin Lee, English rocker, dies from complications from surgery at 68
- 2013 Stompin' Tom Connors, Canadian country artist, dies from natural causes at 77
- 2017 Alberto Zedda, Italian opera conductor and musicologist, dies at79
- 2020 McCoy Tyner, American jazz pianist (John Coltrane Quartet), dies at 81
- 2021 Martin Boykan, American composer (Elegy; Usurpations; Soliloquies of an Insomniac), dies at 89
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide