- Jan 2 Torsten Ralf, Swedish operatic tenor (Daphne - "Apollo"), born in Malmö, Sweden (d. 1954)
- Jan 17 Vasily Petrovich Shirinsky, Russian violinist and composer, born in Ekaterinodar, Russia (d. 1965)
- Jan 22 Hans-Erich Apostel, Austrian composer (Sonata Ritmica), born in Karlsruhe, Germany (d. 1972)
- Jan 26 Ervin Major, Hungarian composer, born in Budapest (d. 1967)
- Jan 31 Blaž Arnič, Slovenian composer, born near Mount Raduha, Austria-Hungary (d. 1970)
- Feb 2 Jascha Heifetz, Russian-American violin virtuoso (Carnegie Hall debut -1917), born in Vilnius, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) (d. 1987)
- Feb 15 James "Kokomo" Arnold, American blues slide guitarist, and singer, born in Lovejoy's Station, Georgia (d. 1968) [some research gives birth year as 1896]
- Feb 16 Wayne King, American saxophonist and bandleader, known as the Waltz King ("The Waltz You Saved for Me"), born in Savannah Illinois (d. 1985)
- Feb 20 Fred Robinson, American jazz trombonist (Louis Armstong's Hot Five; Fats Waller; Cab Calloway), born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 1984)
- Feb 25 Federico Ghisi, Italian chemist, musicologist, composer, and pedagogue, born in Shanghai, China (d. 1975)
- Feb 28 Otakar Pařík, Czech pianist and conductor, born in Frýdek-Místek, Duchy of Silesea (now Czech Republic (d. 1955)
- Mar 15 Theo Uden Masman, Dutch big band orchestra leader (The Ramblers), born in Cirebon, Dutch East Indies (d. 1965)
- Mar 17 Piotr Perkowski, Polish composer, born in Oweczacze (now Druzhne), Ukraine (d. 1990)
- Mar 27 Albert Henneberg, Swedish composer, born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1991)
- Apr 1 Boris Koutzen, Russian violinist, composer, and educator, born in Uman, Russia (now Ukraine) (d. 1966)
- Apr 2 Anis Fuleihan, American composer, born in Kyrenia, Cyprus (d. 1970)
- Apr 6 Willem Pelemans, Flemish composer, and music critic, born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1991) [some sources give birthdate as April 8]
- Apr 11 Theodor Rogalski, Romanian composer, born in Bucharest, Romania (d. 1954)
- Apr 16 Karel Albert, Flemish composer (Marieken van Nymeghen), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1987)
- Apr 18 Al Lewis, American lyricist, songwriter and music publisher ("Blueberry Hill"; "You Gotta Be a Football Hero"), born in New York City (d. 1967)
- Apr 21 Julián Bautista, Spanish orchestral and film score composer, and conductor, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1961)
- Apr 25 Ernst Gernot Klussmann, German composer, born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 1975)
- May 1 Heinz Roemheld, American film composer (Yankee Doodle Dandy; Ruby Gentry), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 1985)
- May 5 Blind Willie McTell, American ragtime singer and guitarist, born in Thomson, Georgia (d. 1959)
- May 7 Marcel Poot, Belgian baron and composer, born in Vilvoorde, Belgium (d. 1988)
- May 12 Hyam Greenbaum, British violinist, composer and conductor of the 1st TV orchestra (BBC), born in England (d. 1942)
- May 15 Edmond Hall, American jazz clarinetist (Red Allen; Teddy Wilson), bandleader (Café Society Band), and composer (Profoundly Blue), born in Reserve, Louisiana (d. 1967)
- May 17 Werner Egk, German composer (Die Zaubergeige), born in Donauwörth, Germany (d. 1983)
- May 18 Harry Robert Wilson, American composer, born in Salina, Kansas (d. 1968)
- May 18 Henri Sauguet [Poupard], French organist and composer (Symphonie Expiatoire; La Chotta), born in Bordeau, France (d. 1989)
- May 19 Manuel Ivo Cruz, Portuguese composer and founder of Philharmonic Orchestra of Lisbon, born in Corumbá, Brazil (d. 1985)
- May 21 Horace Heidt, American orchestra leader (Swift Show Wagon), born in Alameda, California (d. 1986)
- May 21 Sam Jaffe, American music and film producer (Born Free, The Fighting Sullivans), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2000)
- May 23 Edmund Rubbra, English composer (Morning Watch), born in Semilong, Northampton, England (d. 1986)
- May 24 Frank Signorelli, American swing jazz pianist (Original Dixieland Jazz Band; Joe Venuti's Blue Four), and songwriter (Stairway to the Stars), born in New York City (d. 1975)
- May 25 Milenko Živković, Serbian composer, conductor, and pedagogue, born in Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbia (d. 1964)
- May 31 Alfredo Antonini, Italian-American Emmy Award-winning conductor (CBS Symphony; Columbia Pan-American Orchestra), and composer (The Great City), born in Alessandria, Kingdom of Ital (d. 1983)
- Jun 10 Frederick Loewe [Friedrich Löwe], Austrian-born American composer (My Fair Lady; Camelot), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1988)
- Jun 16 Conrad Beck, Swiss composer, born in Lohn, Schaffhausen (d. 1989)
- Jun 22 Jack Whiting, American actor and singer (Marge & Gower Champion Show), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1961)
- Jun 24 Harry Partch, American composer (Revelations in the Courthouse Park; Delusion Of The Fury), born in Oakland, California (d. 1974)
- Jun 25 Adolf Brunner, Swiss composer (Markus-Passion), born in Zurich, Switzerland (d. 1992)
- Jun 26 William Busch, British composer, born in London (d. 1945)
- Jun 29 Hendrik Diels, Flemish conductor, born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1974)
- Jun 29 Nelson Eddy, American baritone (duets with Jeanette MacDonald), born in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 1967)
- Jul 3 Ruth Crawford Seeger, American modernist classical and folk music composer (String Quartet, 1931; Rissolty, Rossolty), born in East Liverpool, Ohio (d. 1953)
- Jul 5 Erling Kjellsby, Norwegian organist, educator and composer, born in Christiana, Norway (d. 1976)
- Jul 8 Ludwig Stiel, German pianist, composer, and conductor, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1988)
- Jul 14 Gerald Finzi, British composer (Dies natalis), born in London, England (d. 1956)
- Jul 15 John Wesley Work III, African-American composer, musicologist and scholar of African-American folklore and music, born in Tullahoma, Tennessee (d. 1967)
- Jul 16 Fritz Mahler, Austrian composer, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1973)
- Jul 22 Charles Weidman, American choreographer and modern dancer (Candide), born in Lincoln, Nebraska (d. 1975)
- Jul 28 (Hubert) "Rudy" Vallée, American singer and one of the earliest crooners ("Vagabond Dreams"; "My Time Is Your Time"), born in Island Pond, Vermont (d. 1986)
- Jul 28 Sándor Vándor, Hungarian Jewish composer, born in Miskolc, Hungary (d. 1945) [1]
- Aug 3 Bernard Reichel, Swiss composer, born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland (d. 1992)
Louis Armstrong (1901-1971)
Aug 4 American jazz trumpeter and singer ("Hello, Dolly!"; "What A Wonderful World"), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Aug 5 Juan Carlos Paz, Argentine composer, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1972)
- Aug 13 Ian Whyte, Scottish composer and conductor (BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra), born in Dunfermline, Scotland (d. 1960)
- Aug 15 Byron Arnold, American composer, born in Vancouver, Washington (d. 1971)
- Aug 15 Sulho Ranta, Finnish composer, born in Peräseinäjoki, Finland (d. 1960)
- Aug 17 Henri Tomasi, French classical and film music composer (Requiem for Peace; The Silence of the Sea), born of Marseille, France (d. 1971)
- Aug 26 Jimmy Rushing, American blues pianist and singer, known as"Mr. Five By Five", born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (d. 1972)
- Aug 28 Paul Henry Lang, Hungarian-American critic and musicologist (NY Herald Tribune), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 1991)
- Sep 2 Phil Napoleon [Filippo Napoli] American early jazz trumpeter and bandleader (Original Memphis Five; Napoleon and HIs Emperors), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1990)
- Sep 3 Eduard van Beinum, Dutch musician and conductor, born in Arnhem, Netherlands (d. 1959)
- Sep 5 Mieczyslaw Kolinski, Polish-Canadian composer (Encounterpoint), educator, and ethno-musicologist, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1981)
- Sep 12 Ernst Pepping, German composer, born in Duisburg, Germany (d. 1981)
- Sep 20 Leo Justinus Kauffmann, Alsatian composer, born in Dannemarie, France (d. 1944)
- Sep 26 Ted Weems [Wemyes], American jazz trombonist, violin player and big band bandleader (Somebody Stole My Girl; Heartache), born in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania (d. 1963)
- Oct 3 Masao Ohki, Japanese composer (Idea of the Night; Hiroshima Symphony), born in Iwata, Japan (d. 1971)
- Oct 7 Ralph Rainger [Reichenthal], American song and film composer (Thanks for the Memory; Love In Bloom), born in New York City (d. 1942)
- Oct 8 Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist, born in Eidsborg, Norway (d. 1977)
- Oct 11 Emil Hlobil, Czech composer, born in Veselí nad Lužnicí (d. 1987)
- Oct 18 Vladimir Grigor'yevich Zakharov, Soviet-Russian composer, born in Bogodukhov, Ukraine, Russian Empire (d. 1956)
- Oct 20 Hans-Otto Borgmann, German film score composer under the Third Reich, born in Linden, Germany (d. 1977)
- Oct 24 Gilda Gray [Marianna Michalska], Polish-American stage and screen actress (Piccadilly), and dancer (The Shimmy), born in Krakau, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1959)
- Oct 29 Daniele Amfitheatrof [Amfiteatrov], Russian-Italian pianist, conductor, and composer of concert and Hollywood film score music (American Panorama; The Naked Jungle), born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1983)
- Nov 8 Szymon Laks, Polish composer (head of prisoners orchestra at Auschwitz), born in Warsaw (d. 1983)
- Nov 14 (John) Morton Downey, American pop tenor, known as "The Irish Nightengale", songwriter, radio and television host, born in Wallingford, Connecticut (d. 1985)
- Nov 17 Max Zehnder, Swiss composer, born in Turgi (d. 1972)
- Nov 22 Joaquín Rodrigo, Spanish composer, born in Sagunto, Spain (d. 1999)
- Nov 25 Tibor Serly, Hungarian violinist and composer (American Elegy), born in Losonc, Kingdom of Hungary (d. 1978)
- Dec 1 Dorothy James, American composer (Paola and Francesca; Patterns), and educator, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1982)
- Dec 1 Ilona Feher, Hungarian-Jewish violinist (d. 1988)
- Dec 2 (Gustaaf) "Staf" Nees, Flemish-Belgian carillonist, organist, composer (Maria-oratorio), and educator, born in Mechelen, Belgium (d. 1965)
- Dec 5 Hanns Jelinek, Austrian composer, born in Vienna (d. 1969)
- Dec 5 Ray Whitley, American country and western singer-songwriter ("Back in the Saddle Again") and actor (Tim Holt films), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 1979)
- Dec 19 Dimitar Nenov, Bulgarian composer, pianist and architect, born in Razgrad, Bulgaria (d. 1953)
- Dec 22 Andre Kostelanetz, Russian-American conductor (Lincoln Portrait), born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1980)
- Dec 26 Victor Hely-Hutchinson, British composer (Carol Symphony), born in Cape Town, Cape Colony (d. 1947)
Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992)
Dec 27 German American actress (The Blue Angel, Shanghai Express), and singer ("Falling in Love Again"), born in Berlin, Germany
About 1901
How Old? 121 or 122 years old
Generation: Greatest Generation