John Lennon (1940-1980)
Dec 8 British musician, pop star and member of The Beatles (Imagine), shot and murdered outside of his home in NYC by Mark David Chapman at 40
- Dec 11 Ignacio Prieto [Arrizubieta], Spanish composer, dies at 80
- Dec 24 Alec Wilder, American classical, jazz, and pop music composer (The Churkendoose), and musicologist (American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950), dies at 73 [1]
- Dec 24 Siggie Nordstrom, American singer (The Nordstrom Sisters), dies at 87
- Dec 25 (Ludwig) "Louis" Neefs, Belgian pop singer (Eurovision, 1967 & 1969), dies, along with his wife, in a car accident at 43
- Dec 26 (John) "Peck" Kelley, American jazz pianist and bandleader (Peck's Bad Boys), dies from complications of Parkinson's disease at 82
- Dec 29 Tim Hardin, American singer (If I Were a Carpenter, Reason to Believe), dies of a drug overdose at 39