- 1568 Jacques Arcadelt, Flemish composer
- 1669 Antonio Cesti, Italian composer, singer and musician, dies at 46
- 1771 František "Franz" Xaver Brixi, Czech classical composer and kapellmeister, dies at 39
- 1847 William Michael Rooke, composer, dies at 53
- 1857 Ignacy Marceli Komorowski, Polish composer, dies of tuberculosis at 33
- 1877 Antoine-Amable-Elie Elwart, French composer, dies at 68
- 1900 Sandor Erkel, Hungarian composer and son of Ferenc Erkel, dies at 54
- 1909 Gottfred Matthison-Hansen, Danish composer, dies at 76
- 1923 George Elbridge Whiting, American composer, dies at 83
- 1957 [Carl] Natanael Berg, Swedish composer, dies at 78
- 1966 Arcady Dubensky, Russian composer, dies at 75
- 1972 Joseph Kaminski, Polish violinist and composer, dies at 68
Bing Crosby (1903-1977)
American singer ("White Christmas", "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy") and actor ("Going My Way"), dies of a heart attack at 74
- 1980 Oscar Alemán, Argentine jazz and swing guitarist, and singer ("Rosa Madreselva"), dies at 71
- 1981 Ingemar Liljefors, Swedish composer, pianist, pedagogue, and music theorist, dies at 74
- 1985 Emil Gilels, Soviet concert pianist (Brussels Competition - 1st prize, 1938), dies at 68
- 1987 Rodolfo Halffter, Spanish composer, and music critic, dies at 86
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
American Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning conductor (New York Philharmonic, 1958-69; Israel Philharmonic; London Symphony), and composer (West Side Story; Chichester Psalms), dies of a heart attack at 72
- 1994 Gioconda de Vito, Italian-British violinist, dies at 87
- 1998 Frankie Yankovic, American accordionist known as 'America's Polka King' and winner of 1st Grammy Award for Best Polka Recording, dies of heart failure at 83
- 2002 Norbert Schultze, German songwriter (Lili Marleen), opera and film score composer and reformed propagandist, dies at 91
- 2004 Vlassis Bonatsos, Greek actor, singer, actor, and TV game show host (Kontres - Greek Family Feud), dies of obstructive laryngitis at 54
- 2006 Freddy Fender [Baldemar Huerta], American rock, country and Tejano singer ("Wasted Days And Wasted Nights"; "Before The Next Teardrop Falls"; Texas Tornados - "A Man Can Cry"), dies of lung cancer at 69
- 2006 Jared Anderson, American heavy metal bassist and vocalist (Morbid Angel; Hate Eternal), dies at 31
- 2007 Big Moe [Kenneth Doniell Moore], American rapper (Screwed Up Click), dies of a heart attack at 33
- 2011 Chuck Ruff, American rock drummer (Edgar Winter Group - "Frankenstein"), dies after a long illness at 60
- 2014 Ikey Owens, American keyboardist (The Mars Volta; Jack White), and producer, dies of a heart attack at 39
- 2019 Sulli [Choi Jin-ri], South Korean K-pop singer (f(x)) and actress (Fashion King), takes her own life at 25
- 2020 Herbert Kretzmer, South African-British lyricist of Lithuanian heritage (Les Misérables), dies at 95 [1]
- 2020 Rhonda Fleming [Marilyn Louis], American actress and singer nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor" (Spellbound), dies at 97
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide