- Dec 5 Karl Amadeus Hartmann, German composer, dies at 58
- Dec 13 Stan Jones, American singer-songwriter ("Ghost Riders in the Sky"), and actor (Rio Grande; Ten Who Dared), dies of cancer at 49
- Dec 14 Dinah Washington [Ruth Lee Jones], American jazz, blues, pop, and R&B singer ("What a Diff'rence a Day Makes": "September In The Rain"), dies of sleeping pill overdose at 39