- Jan 4 Marcel Tabuteau, French-American oboist (Philadelphia Orchestra, 1915-54), dies at 78
- Jan 9 Haro Levoni Step'anian, Armenian composer, dies at 68
- Jan 29 Pierre Mercure, composer, dies at 38
- Feb 6 Algot Haquinius, Swedish pianist, and composer, dies at 79
- Feb 9 Sophie Tucker [Kalish], Russian-born American singer and actress (My Yiddish Mama) known as "last of the red hot mammas", dies at 79
- Feb 13 Marguerite Long, French concert pianist (Ravel) and teacher (Paris Conservatoire, 1906-40), dies at 91
- Feb 18 Casimir von Paszthory, composer, dies at 79
- Mar 4 Jānis Mediņš, Latvian composer, dies at 75
- Mar 6 Richard Hageman, Dutch born American pianist, composer and conductor (Caponsacchi), dies at 84
- Mar 7 Mike Millward, English musician (The Fourmost), dies of leukaemia at 23
- Mar 15 Heinrich Lemacher, German composer, dies at 74
- Mar 17 Walter Lang, Swiss composer, dies at 69
- Apr 30 Richard Fariña, American folk singer-songwriter ("Birmingham Sunday"), and novelist ("Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me"), dies in a motorcycle crash on his 29th birthday
- May 4 Juan María Thomas Sabater, Spanish composer, dies at 69
- May 9 Alfred Mendelsohn, Romanian composer, and conductor (Romanian National Opera, 1944-63), and teacher, dies at 56
- May 25 Ricardo Castillo, Guatemalan composer, dies at 71
- Jun 1 Papa Jack Laine, American musician and pioneering bandleader, dies at 92
- Jun 6 Claudette Orbison, wife of singer Roy, dies in a motorcyle crash at 27
- Jun 12 Hermann Scherchen, German conductor (Nature of Music), dies at 74
- Jun 12 Thomas Chalmers, American opera singer, actor, and filmmaker (Blind Alleys, Outrage), dies at 81
- Jun 16 German Galynin, Russian composer, dies at 44
- Jun 19 Marjan Kozina, Slovene composer, dies at 59
- Jun 29 Arthur Meulemans, Belgian composer, dies at 82
- Jul 3 André Gailhard, French classical music composer, dies at 81
- Jul 3 (Joseph) Deems Taylor, American music critic (New York World), composer (Through The Looking Glass; Peter Ibbetson), and promoter of classical music (Fantasia), dies at 80
- Jul 17 August Baeyens, Flemish composer (Piranesi Suite), dies at 71
- Jul 18 Bobby Fuller, American rock singer and guitarist ("I Fought The Law"), found dead in his car at 23
- Jul 18 German Germanovich Galinin, composer, dies at 44
- Jul 23 Donald Novis, British singer and actor (Monte Carlo; The Singing Plumber), dies at 60
- Jul 29 Pal Jardanyi, composer, dies at 44
- Aug 1 Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell, American jazz pianist and composer, dies at 41
- Aug 9 Gösta Nystroem, Swedish composer, dies at 75
- Aug 15 Jan Kiepura, Polish vocalist and actor (Her Wonderful Lie, Give Us this Night), dies of heart attack at 64
- Aug 22 Apolinary Szeluto, Polish pianist and composer, dies at 82
- Sep 6 Luigi Perrachio, Italian composer, dies at 83
- Sep 9 Antonio Massana, Catalan composer, and Jesuit priest, dies at 76
- Sep 17 Fritz Wunderlich, German tenor (Stuttgart 1955-58), dies at 35
- Sep 18 Fernand Lamy, French composer, dies at 85
- Sep 18 Jeno Vecsey, Hungarian composer, dies at 57
- Sep 28 Lucky Millinder, American R&B bandleader and singer, dies at 56
- Oct 7 Johnny Kidd [Frederick Heath], British rock singer-songwriter (Johnny Kidd & Pirates - "Shakin' All Over"), dies in a car crash at 26
- Oct 7 Smiley Lewis [Overton Amos Lemons], American R&B singer, and guitarist ("The Bells Are Ringing"; "One Night (Of Sin)"; "I Hear You Knocking"), dies of stomach cancer at 46
- Oct 12 Arthur Lourié, Russian-American composer (Concerto spirituale; The Feast in a Time of Plague), dies at 74
- Oct 14 Arcady Dubensky, Russian composer, dies at 75
- Oct 17 Wieland Wagner, German opera director, dies
- Oct 26 Alma Cogan, British pop singer ("Dreamboat"; "I Can't Tell a Waltz from a Tango"), dies of ovarian cancer at 34
- Nov 2 Mississippi John Hurt, American country blues singer and guitarist, dies at 73
- Nov 3 Eric Spear, British film and TV composer (Coronation Street theme), dies at 58
- Nov 12 Quincy Porter, American composer, teacher, and Pulitzer Prize winner (1954), dies at 69
- Nov 18 Bela Tardos, Hungarian composer, dies at 56
- Nov 26 Harold Burrage, American R&B singer, pianist, and songwriter ("Got to Find a Way"), dies of heart failure at 35
- Nov 28 Vittorio Giannini, American violinist, composer (The Medead), and educator (Curtis Institute, 1956-64), dies at 63
- Dec 6 Hermann Heiss, German composer, dies at 69
- Dec 9 Yury Alexandrovich Shaporin, Russian-Ukrainian Soviet composer, dies at 79
- Dec 10 Boris Koutzen, Russian violinist, composer & educator, dies at 65
- Dec 17 Gustaf Paulson, Swedish organist and composer (The Resurrection Symphony), dies at 68
- Dec 24 Gaspar Cassadó, Spanish cellist and composer, dies at 69
- Dec 26 Noel Gallon, French composer, dies at 75