Erroll Garner
Jan 2 Erroll Garner, American jazz pianist (Misty), dies at 53
- Jan 9 Alexey Fedorovich Kozlovsky, Russian composer, dies at 71
- Jan 18 Paul Nordoff, American composer (Every Soul Is a Circus), and music therapist (Nordoff-Robbins method), dies at 67
- Jan 18 Yvonne Printemps, French singer and actress (Paris Waltz, Voyage to America), dies at 81
- Jan 21 John Vincent, American composer, dies at 74
- Jan 21 Zoltan Vasarhelyi, composer, dies at 76
- Jan 23 Dick Burnett, American musician (Man of Constant Sorrow), dies at 93
- Feb 8 Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist, dies at 75
- Feb 10 Grace Mary Williams, composer, dies at 70
- Feb 26 (Booker T. Washington) "Bukka" White, American country and Delta blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter ("Shake'Em On Down"; "Parchman Farm Blues"), dies of cancer at 70
- Feb 26 Maxime Jacob, French composer and organist, dies at 71
- Feb 26 Sherman Garnes, American rock vocalist (Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers), dies of a heart attack at 36
- Mar 5 Lockrem Johnson, American composer, dies at 52
- Mar 5 Moses Pergament, Finnish-Swedish classical composer (The Jewish Song Choral Symphony) and music critic, dies at 83
- Mar 10 E. Power Biggs, English organist and composer (CBS), dies at 70
- Mar 14 Gyula David, Hungarian composer (Viola Concerto) and violinist, dies at 63
- Mar 22 Witold Friemann, Polish composer, dies at 87
- Mar 22 Hymie Shertzer, American jazz and session saxophonist (Benny Goodman; NBC's Tonight Show), dies at 67
- Mar 23 Bennie Green, American swing jazz and soul trombonist (Earl Hines), dies at 53
- Mar 24 Saburō Moroi, Japanese composer and educator, dies at 73
- Mar 27 Lodewijk de Vocht, Belgian composer, dies at 89
- Mar 30 Levko Mykolayevich Revutsky, composer, dies at 88
- Mar 30 Abdel Halim Hafez, Egyptian singer and actor (b. 1929)
- Apr 4 Jeno Zador, composer, dies at 82
- Apr 22 Charles Sanford, American orchestra leader (Your Show of Shows), dies at 71
- Apr 30 Clive Martin Douglas, Australian composer, dies at 73
- May 5 Sam Lanin, American sweet jazz arranger and bandleader (Roseland Orchestra; The Ipana Troubadors), dies at 85
- May 7 Irwin Fischer, American composer and organist (Chicago Symphony Orchestra), dies at 73
- May 9 Walter Kraft, German organist & composer, dies at 71
- May 16 Edouard Van Remoortel, Belgian conductor (St Louis Symphony, 1958-62), dies at 50
- May 22 Marius Monnikendam, Dutch choir composer, dies at 80
- May 26 William Powell, American R&B singer (O'Jays - "Love Train"; "Backstabbers"), dies of cancer at 35
- May 28 Jiří Reinberger, Czech organist and composer, dies at 63
- May 29 Goddard Lieberson, English composer and President of Columbia Records, dies at 66
- May 30 Paul Desmond, American jazz alto saxophonist (Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five), dies of lung cancer at 52
- May 30 Marinus Adam, Dutch conductor and composer, dies at 76
- Jun 2 Henri D Gagnebin, Belgian-Swiss organist and composer, dies at 91
- Jun 5 "Sleepy" John Estes, American Blues musician ("Drop Down Mama"), dies at 78
- Jun 22 Peter Laughner, American singer, songwriter and guitarist (Rocket From the Tombs; Pere Ubu), dies of acute pancreatitis at 24
- Jun 25 Endre Szervánszky, Hungarian composer (Dark Heaven Requiem), dies at 65
- Jun 25 Petko Staynov, Bulgarian composer and pianist, dies at 80
- Jun 26 Lou Reizner, American rock vocalist and producer (Rod Stewart; Tommy), dies of cancer at 43
- Jul 1 (Robert) "Baby Boy" Warren, American blues singer and guitarist, dies of a heart attack at 57
- Jul 3 Hugh Le Caine, Canadian physicist and composer, dies at 63
- Jul 6 Oedoen Partos, Hungarian-Israeli violist (Israel Philharmonic, 1938-56), composer, and teacher dies at 69
- Jul 10 Norman Paris, orchestra leader (For Your Pleasure), dies at 41
- Jul 12 Frantisek Suchy, Czech oboist and composer (Moravian Wind Quintet), dies at 75
- Jul 20 Gary Kellgren, American music producer who co-founded The Record Plant studios, drowns in a swimming pool, along with his girlfriend, at 38
- Jul 23 René de Vos, Dutch actor and composer (Jij Bent Mijn Leven), dies at 79
- Jul 26 Gena Branscombe, Canadian pianist and composer, dies at 95
- Jul 26 Hans-Otto Borgmann, German film score composer, dies at 75
- Jul 26 Karac Plant, son of Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, dies of respiratory failure at 6
Elvis Presley
Aug 16 Elvis Presley, American musician, dies at Graceland at 42, with the official cause of death being cardiac arrhythmia
- Aug 17 Petros John Petridis, Greek composer (Isotope Suite), dies at 86
- Aug 26 Heinz Rottger, German composer, dies at 67
- Sep 1 Ethel Waters, American actress (Beulah), singer ("Stormy Weather"), dies at 76
- Sep 4 Stelios Perpiniadis, Greek folk singer, songwriter and guitarist, dies at 78
- Sep 5 George Barnes, American swing-jazz and session guitarist, and electric guitar pioneer, dies of a heart attack at 56
- Sep 6 Guido Pannain, composer, dies at 85
- Sep 6 Paul Burkhard, composer, dies at 65
- Sep 7 Gustave Reese, American musicologist (Music in the Middle Ages; Music in the Renaissance), and teacher, dies at 77
- Sep 13 Leopold Stokowski, British conductor (Philadelphia Orchestra; Disney's Fantasia), dies of a heart attack at 95
- Sep 16 Marc Bolan, English rock vocalist and guitarist (T-Rex - "Bang a Gong (Get It On)"), dies in a car crash at 29
Maria Callas
Sep 16 Maria Callas, American soprano (Carmen), dies in Paris at 53
- Sep 17 Lou Hooper, Canadian jazz pianist, and educator, dies at 83
- Sep 29 Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian pianist and composer, dies at 78
- Sep 30 Mary Ford [Iris Colleen Summers], American vocalist (with Les Paul - "How High The Moon"), dies from complications of alcohol abuse at 53
- Oct 4 Del Porter, American jazz singer (Foursome - "Walkin' My Baby Back Home"; Spike Jones and His City Slickers - "Der Fuehrer's Face"), dies at 75
- Oct 8 Giorgos Papasideris, Greek country singer, composer and lyricist, dies at 75
Bing Crosby
Oct 14 Bing Crosby [Harry Lillis Crosby], American singer and actor (Going My Way), dies of a heart attack at 74
- Oct 18 Kristian Hauger, Norwegian jazz pianist, orchestra leader and songwriter ("Charleston i Grukkedalen"), dies at 71
- Oct 20 Cassie Gaines, American rock singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd), dies in a plane crash at 28
- Oct 20 Ronnie Van Zant, American rock musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd), dies in a plane crash at 29
- Oct 20 Steve Gaines, American rock vocalist and guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd), dies in a plane crash at 28
- Oct 21 Ferit Tuzun, Turkish composer, dies at 48
- Oct 24 Hugo Myrtelius, Swedish conductor, composer, and educator, dies at 85
- Oct 27 Peg Leg Sam [Arthur Jackson], American country blues harmonica player, singer and comedian, dies at 65
- Nov 5 (Gaetano) "Guy" Lombardo, Canadian-American orchestra leader ("Auld Lang Syne"), dies of heart attack in Houston at 75
- Nov 5 (Jacob) "Jan" Garber, American violinist and sweet jazz bandleader, dies at 82
- Nov 11 Greta Keller, Vienna-born cabaret singer and actress (b. 1903)
- Nov 14 Richard Addinsell, English composer (Alice in Wonderland), dies at 73
- Nov 15 Serafin Pro, Cuban composer, dies at 71
- Nov 19 William "Sonny" Criss, American bebop jazz saxophonist (Jazz U.S.A.), commits suicide while suffering from stomach cancer at 50
- Dec 5 Rahsaan Roland Kirk, American jazz multi-instrumentalist (Bright Moments, The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color) dies of a stroke at 42
Peter Carl Goldmark
Dec 7 Peter Carl Goldmark, Hungarian-American engineer (developed the 33-1/3 rpm LP phonograph record format), dies in a car accident at 77
