- Dec 1 Elisabeth Carron, American soprano ("The Saint of Bleecker Street"; New York City Opera, 1958-73), dies at 94
- Dec 3 Antonio Membrado, Spanish-French classical guitarist and composer, dies at 81
- Dec 3 Gigliola Frazzoni, Italian operatic soprano, dies at 93
- Dec 4 Julia Gomelskaya, Ukrainian composer, dies in a car crash at 52
- Dec 4 Radim HladÃk, Czech guitarist (The Blue Effect), dies from lung illness at 69
- Dec 7 Greg Lake, British rock vocalist and bassist (King Crimson, 1968-70 - "I Talk To The Wind"; Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "Lucky Man"), dies of cancer at 69
- Dec 7 Junaid Jamshed, Pakistani singer (Vital Signs 1), dies in a plane crash at 52
- Dec 13 Alan Thicke, Canadian actor (Growing Pains), host (Thicke of the Night), and theme song composer (Diff'rent Strokes; The Facts of Life), dies of an aortic dissection at 69
- Dec 14 Karel Husa, Czech-American Pulitzer prize winning composer (Trojan Women), dies at 95
- Dec 21 Weston Noble, American music educator and conductor (Luther College, 1948-2005), dies at 94
- Dec 22 Bill Price, British audio engineer (Tom Jones; Wings: Sparks; Elton John), and record producer (The Clash; Sex Pistols; Waterboys), dies of cancer at 72
- Dec 23 Heinrich Schiff, Austrian cellist and conductor, dies at 65
- Dec 24 Jack Philip Cannon, British composer, dies at 87
- Dec 24 Rick Parfitt, British pop guitarist and singer (Status Quo - "Wanderer"; "Pictures of Matchstick Men"), dies at 68
- Dec 25 Alphonse Mouzon, American jazz musician (Weather Report, Tenacious Records), dies from cancer at 68
George Michael (1963-2016)
Dec 25 English singer-songwriter and pop superstar (Wham! - "Careless Whisper"; "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"; solo - " I Want Your Sex"; "Faith"), dies of suspected heart failure at 53
- Dec 25 Valery Khalilov, Russian military conductor and composer, dies in a plane crash in the Black Sea, near Sochi, at 64
- Dec 26 George S. Irving [Shelasky], American broadway singer and actor (Dumplings), dies at 94
Debbie Reynolds (1932-2016)
Dec 28 American actress and singer (Singin' In The Rain -"Kathy Selden"; The Unsinkable Molly Brown), dies of a stroke at 84 one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher passed away
Kendrick Lamar
Eminem
XXXTentacion
Tupac Shakur
Nicki Minaj
Coolio