- Jan 2 Dick Powell [Richard Ewing Powell], American singer, actor, producer and director (Cry Danger, Dick Powell Theater), dies from cancer at 58
- Jan 3 Oskar Back, Hungarian-Dutch violinist and pedagogue, dies at 83
- Jan 10 Tadeusz Szeligowski, Polish composer (The Peacock and the Girl), dies at 66
- Jan 16 Gilardo Gilardi, Argentine composer, pianist and conductor (La leyenda del urutaú, Réquiem, Misa de Gloria), dies at 73
- Jan 16 Ike Quebec, American tenor-saxophone player, dies of cancer at 44
- Jan 30 Francis Poulenc, French pianist and composer (Concert champêtre; Les Biches), dies of a heart attack at 64
- Feb 6 Werner Erich Josten, German composer (Jungle), dies at 77
- Feb 6 Charles "Specs" Wright, American jazz drummer (Dizzy Gillespie; Cannonball Adderly; Red Garland), dies at 35
- Feb 16 László Lajtha, Hungarian composer, ethno-musicologist and conductor, dies at 70
- Feb 19 Bartolomé "Beny" Moré, Cuban guaracha and mambo singer, guitarist, songwriter, and bandleader, dies of liver cirrhosis at 43
- Feb 20 Ferenc Fricsay, Hungarian-Austrian conductor, dies at 48
- Feb 20 Jacob Gade, Danish violinist and composer (Jalousie ; Cinema Music), dies at 83
- Feb 23 Algeria Junius "June" Clark, American jazz trumpeter and cornetist, dies at 62
- Feb 28 Bobby Jaspar, Belgian jazz saxophonist, flautist and composer dies of a heart attack at 37
- Mar 5 Harold "Hawkshaw" Hawkins, American country singer (Ozark Jubilee; "Lonesome 7-7203"), dies in a plane crash at 41
Patsy Cline
Mar 5 Patsy Cline [Virginia Henlsey], American country singer ("Crazy"; "I Fall To Pieces"; "Walkin' After Midnight"), dies in a plane crash at 30
- Mar 5 Lloyd "Cowboy" Copas, American country singer ("Candy Kisses"; "Alabam"), dies in a plane crash at 49
- Mar 10 Irving Aaronson, American jazz pianist and big band leader, dies of a heart attack at 68
- Mar 17 William Henry Squire, British composer and cellist, dies at 91
- Mar 17 Lizzie Miles [Elizabeth Landreaux], Creole-American jazz, blues and gospel singer ("Man O'War"), dies of a heart attack at 68
- Mar 28 Alec Templeton, Welsh pianist and composer (Concertino Lirico), dies at 52
- Mar 30 Alexander Gauk, Russian-Soviet composer, dies at 69
- Apr 5 Julius Harrison, composer, dies at 78
- Apr 9 Eddie Edwards, American jazz trombonist, dies at 71
- Apr 12 Herbie Nichols, American jazz pianist and composer ("Lady Sings the Blues"), dies of leukemia at 43
- May 2 Tomás Vačkář , Czech composer, dies at 17
- May 5 Heinrich Gebhard, German-born American composer, dies at 84
- May 6 Ted Weems [Wemyes], American jazz trombonist, violin player and big band leader, dies of emphysema at 61
- May 12 Stanisław Wiechowicz, Polish composer, dies at 69
- May 24 Elmore James, American blues slide guitarist, dies of a heart attack at 45
- May 28 Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin, Soviet composer, dies at 60
- Jun 9 Vasyl Barvinsky, Ukrainian pianist, composer, conductor, musicologist ("Béla Bartók in Lviv"), and teacher (Lysenko Higher Institute of Music, 1915-48), dies at 75
- Jun 22 Maria Tănase, Romanian singer of traditional and popular music (b. 1913)
- Jul 4 Fritz Reutter, German composer, dies at 66
- Jul 5 Daniel Ruyneman, composer, dies at 76
- Jul 29 Dorian Le Gallienne, Australian composer, dies at 48
- Aug 5 Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer, dies at 64
- Aug 8 Sándor Jemnitz, Hungarian composer, dies at 72
- Aug 14 Clyde Hurley, American session and big band jazz trumpeter (Glenn Miller - "Tuxedo Junction"; "In The Mood"), dies of heart failure at 46
- Aug 15 John Powell, American composer, dies at 80
- Aug 19 Kathleen Parlow, Canadian violinist, and educator, dies at 72
- Aug 23 Glen Gray [Knoblauch], American jazz saxophonist and bandleader (Casa Loma Orchestra), dies of lymphoma, at 63
- Aug 30 Axel Stordahl, American arranger (Tommy Dorsey; Frank Sinatra), orchestra leader (Eddie Fisher), and composer (McHales's Navy theme), dies of cancer at 50
- Sep 3 Frico Kafenda, Slovak composer, dies at 79
- Sep 30 Arnold Foster, English composer, dies at 66
- Oct 9 Thurlow Lieurance, American composer (By the Waters of Minnetonka; Sad Moon on Falling Leaf), ethno-musicologist (Indigenous peoples), and educator, dies at 85
Edith Piaf
Oct 10 Édith Piaf [Édith Giovanna Gassion], French singer (No, I Don't Regret Anything; Le Vie En Rose), dies of liver failure at 47
- Oct 18 Cláudio Carneyro, Portuguese violinist, composer, and educator, dies at 68
- Oct 25 Abu-Bakr Khairat, Egyptian composer, dies at 53
- Oct 28 Mart Saar, Estonian composer, dies at 81
- Oct 29 Michael Holliday [Norman Milne], British pop singer ("The Story of My Life"), dies of a suspected drug overdose at 38
- Nov 8 Simon Jurovsky, Slovak composer and conductor, dies at 51
- Nov 15 (Frederick) "Fritz" Reiner, Hungarian-American conductor (Cincinnati Symphony, 1922-31; Pittsburgh Symphony, 1938-48; Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1953-63), and educator (Curtis Institute), dies of pneumonia at 74 [1]
- Nov 19 Carmen Amaya, Spanish flamenco dancer, dies at about 50
- Nov 21 Artur Lemba, Estonian concert pianist, composer (Sabina), and piano teacher (St. Petersburg Conservatory, 1908-20), dies at 67
- Nov 26 Amelita Galli-Curci, Italian-American operatic soprano (Cave of the Winds), dies at 81
- 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
- Dec 18 Winfried Zillig, German opera composer, and conductor (Fantasia Irica), dies at 58
- Dec 20 Paul Constantinescu, composer, dies at 54
Paul Hindemith
Dec 28 Paul Hindemith, German composer (Composer's World), dies at 68
