- Jan 1 Alexis Korner, British blues musician (b. 1928)
- Jan 11 Fritz Geissler, German composer, dies at 62
- Jan 14 Paul Ben Haim, composer, dies at 86
- Jan 18 Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer and songwriter (b. 1915)
- Jan 21 Jackie Wilson, American soul singer-songwriter and performer (I Get the Sweetest Feeling), dies at 49
- Jan 23 Samuel Gardner, American composer, dies at 92
- Feb 9 Balasaraswathi, Indian classical dancer, dies in Madras
- Feb 15 Ethel Merman, singer/actress (Kid Million), dies in her sleep at 76
- Feb 19 Ina Ray Hutton, American orchestra leader (Ina Ray Hutton Show), dies at 66
- Feb 20 Fikret Dzhamil Amirov, composer, dies at 61
- Mar 4 Shalva Mikhaylovich Mshvelidze, composer, dies at 79
- Mar 5 Harry Salter, orchestra leader (Stop the Music), dies at 85
- Mar 5 Tito Gobbi, Italian baritone (Scarpia in Tosca), dies at 70
- Mar 6 Pierre Cochereau, composer, dies at 59
- Mar 11 Kostas Roukounas, Greek rembetiko singer and song writer (b. 1903)
- Mar 18 Paul Frances Webster, lyricist, dies of Parkinson's disease at 76
- Mar 28 Carmen Dragon, American conductor, composer and arranger (b. 1914)
Marvin Gaye
Apr 1 Marvin Gaye, American singer (Sexual Healing), shot to death by his father Marvin Gaye Sr in LA at 44
Marvin Gaye
- Apr 6 Jimmy Kenndy, British songwriter (South of the Border), dies
- Apr 6 Ral Donner, singer/narrator, dies at 41
- Apr 13 Ralph Kirkpatrick, American musician, musicologist and harpsichordist (Domenico Scarlatti), dies at 72
- Apr 15 Machito [Francisco "Frank" Grillo], Latin jazz musician and creator of Cubop and salsa music (Afro-Cubans), dies following a stroke at 72 or 75
- Apr 20 Mabel Mercer, English/US singer (Fly me to the moon), dies at 84
- Apr 23 Red [William] Garland, American jazz pianist (Miles Davis Quintet), dies of a heart attack at 60
- Apr 26 William "Count" Basie, American jazz musician and bandleader, dies at 79
- May 1 Gordon Jenkins, orchestra leader (NBC Comedy Hour), dies at 73
- May 14 Larry Stock, songwriter (Blueberry Hill), dies
- May 25 Piet Ketting, Dutch pianist/conductor/composer, dies at 79
- Jun 1 Nate Nelson, American singer (Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes for You), dies at 52
- Jun 2 Georgios Kasassoglou, Greek musician (b. 1908)
- Jun 8 Gordon Jacob, British composer, dies at 88
- Jun 13 Marinus de Jong, Dutch composer, dies at 92
- Jun 13 António Variações [António Joaquim Rodrigues Ribeiro], Portuguese singer-songwriter (Dar & Receber), dies at 39 of AIDS-related pneumonia complications
- Jun 15 Meredith Willson, composer (Meredith Willson Show), dies at 82
- Jun 15 Ned Glass, actor (Charade, Street Music), dies of heart failure at 78
- Jun 19 Wladimir Rudolfovich Vogel, composer, dies at 88
- Jun 20 Hans Studer, Swiss composer, dies at 73
- Jul 2 Ramiro Cortes, composer, dies at 50
- Jul 4 Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter (b. 1949)
- Jul 8 Christine McIntyre, American actress and singer (The Three Stooges, The Rangers' Round-Up), dies from cancer at 73
- Jul 9 Randall Thompson, US composer (Trip to Nahant), dies at 85
- Jul 11 Karel Mengelberg, Dutch composer and conductor, dies at 81
- Jul 14 Philippe Wynne, American soul singer (I'll Be Around), dies at 43
- Jul 16 Billy Williams, singer (Your Show of Shows), dies at 73
- Jul 17 J Delos Jewkes, singer/actor (Stars & Stripes Forever), dies at 89
- Jul 20 Gail Kubik, American composer (Gerald McBoing Boing), dies at 69
- Jul 21 Michael Osborne, American rock guitarist and vocalist (Axe), dies at 34
- Jul 25 Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, American rhythm-and-blues singer and songwriter (Hound Dog, Ball & Chain, Stronger than Dirt), dies of heart and liver disorders at 57
- Jul 29 Fred Waring, American musician and conductor (name behind the Waring Blender), dies at 84
- Jul 31 Paul Le Flem, composer, dies at 103
- Aug 7 Esther Phillips, US singer (What a Difference a Day Makes), dies at 48
- Aug 11 Percy Mayfield, US singer (Hit the Road Jack), dies at 63
- Aug 13 Clyde Cook, actor (Dawn Patrol, Jazz Heaven), dies in his sleep at 92
- Aug 14 Peter Charles Arthur Wishart, composer, dies at 63
- Aug 14 Bobo Jenkins [John Pickens Jenkins], American blues singer-songwriter (Democrat Blues), dies at 68
- Aug 16 Gyorgy Kosa, Hungarian composer, dies at 87
- Aug 22 Charles Whittenberg, composer, dies at 57
- Sep 6 Ernest Tubb, singer (Grand Ole Opry), dies at 70
- Sep 8 Rene Bernier, Belgian composer, dies at 79
- Sep 9 Walter Kaufmann, composer, dies at 77
- Sep 11 Hilding Hallnas, composer, dies at 81
- Sep 19 June Preisser, dancer/actress (Babes in Arms), dies in car crash at 61
- Sep 20 Steve Goodman, folk singer/guitarist, dies at 36
- Sep 23 Anatoly Grigor'yevich Novikov, composer, dies at 87
- Oct 17 Alberta Hunter, US blues singer/composer, dies at 89
- Oct 21 Dalibor Cyril Vackar, composer, dies at 78
- Oct 22 Harold Laurence Walters, composer, dies at 66
- Oct 25 Pascale Ogier, actress (Ghost Dance), dies of heart attack at 24
- Oct 26 John Woods Duke, composer, dies at 85
- Nov 8 Carl Gustav Sparre Olsen, composer, dies at 81
- Nov 11 Jan Novák, Czech classical composer, dies at 63
- Nov 16 Vic Dickenson, American trombonist (b. 1906)
- Nov 20 Alexander Moyzes, composer, dies at 78
- Dec 8 Razzle, English Musician and drummer for Hanoi Rocks (b.1960)
- Dec 9 Razzle, English drummer (Hanoi Rocks) (b. 1960)
- Dec 15 Jan Peerce, [Perelmuth], operatic tenor, dies at 80 following a stroke
- Dec 19 Michel Magne, composer, dies at 54
- Dec 29 Leo Robin, lyricist, dies of heart failure at 84