- Jan 4 Robert Stigwood, Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur and film producer (Saturday Night Fever, Grease), dies at 81
- Jan 5 Elizabeth Swados, composer and musicial director (1972 TONY), dies at 64
- Jan 5 Pierre Boulez, French composer/conductor (Visage Nuptial), dies at 90
- Jan 5 Nicholas Caldwell, American Rhythm and Blues singer (Whispers), dies at 71
- Jan 7 Kitty Kallen, American singer ("Little Things Mean a Lot"), dies at 94
David Bowie
Jan 10 David Bowie [David Robert Jones], English singer-songwriter (Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust), dies of cancer at 69
David Bowie
Glenn Frey
Jan 18 Glenn Frey, American singer-songwriter (The Eagles), dies at 67
Glenn Frey
- Jan 23 Peter Sweval, American rocker (Looking Glass, Starz), dies of AIDS at 42
- Jan 24 Yvonne Chouteau, Native American dancer (one of the "five Moons" of Oklahoma), dies at 86
- Jan 26 Colin Vearncombe, English singer-songwriter (Black-Wonderful Like), dies after a road accident at 53
- Jan 28 Paul Kantner, American rock singer and guitarist (Jefferson Airplane), dies following a heart attack at 74
- Jan 28 Signe Toly Anderson, American singer, founding member of Jefferson Airplane, dies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 74
- Feb 4 Maurice White, American singer-songwriter (Earth, Wind & Fire), dies at 74
- Feb 4 Leslie Bassett, American classical composer (Variations for Orchestra - Pulitzer Prize 1966), dies at 93
- Feb 6 Dan Hicks, American singer-songwriter (Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks), dies at 74
- Feb 8 Violetta Verdy, French ballerina and teacher, dies at 82
- Feb 14 Steven Stucky, American composer (Los Angeles Philharmonic), dies of cancer at 66
- Feb 15 Denise Matthews "Vanity", singer (Prince protege) and actress (52 Pick Up), dies at 57
- Feb 15 George Gaynes, Dutch-American singer, actor and voice artist (Tootsie, Police Academy, General Hospital), dies at 98
- Feb 22 Sonny James [James Loden], American country music singer-songwriter (Young Love), dies at 87
- Feb 23 Lenny Baker, American musician (Sha Na Na), dies at 69
- Feb 25 John Chilton, English jazz trumpeter (Feetwarmers), dies at 83
- Mar 1 Martha Wright, American actress and singer (South Pacific, The Martha Wright Show), dies at 92
- Mar 5 Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Austrian conductor (Early Music Movement), dies at 86
- Mar 9 George Martin, British record producer (The Beatles), dies at 90
- Mar 9 Robert Horton [Meade Howard Horton Jr.], American actor and singer (Kings Row, Wagon Train, Arena), dies at 91
- Mar 10 Keith Emerson, English rock musician (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), commits suicide at 71
- Mar 10 Gogi Grant [Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg], American singer (The Wayward Wind), dies at 91
- Mar 10 Ernestine Anderson, American jazz vocalist, dies at 87
- Mar 14 Peter Maxwell Davies, British composer (Prolation, Taverner), dies at 81
- Mar 16 Frank Sinatra Jr, American singer/bandleader, dies at 72
- Mar 22 Phife Dawg [Malik Taylor] American rapper (A Tribe called Quest), dies from diabetes complications at 45
- Mar 26 David Baker, American composer (Reflections) and educator, dies at 84
- Mar 30 Gianmaria Testa, Italian singer-songwriter, dies of cancer at 57
- Apr 2 Gato Barbieri, Argentinian Latin jazz musician (Last Tango in Paris), dies at 83
- Apr 2 Mike Gibbons, American rocker (Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods-Billy Don't be a Hero), dies at 71
- Apr 3 Donald "Don" Francks, Canadian actor, singer and musician (Terminal Choice, Finian's Rainbow), dies at 84
- Apr 4 Carlo Mastrangelo, Italian-American rocker (Dion & The Belmonts), dies of cancer at 78
Merle Haggard
Apr 6 Merle Haggard, American country music singer (Death Valley Days), dies at 79
Merle Haggard
- Apr 6 Dennis Davis, American drummer (David Bowie), dies of cancer at 66
- Apr 11 Emile Ford, Caribbean-born British singer and engineer (first black male singer to top UK charts), dies at 78
- Apr 12 Alan Loveday, New Zealand and British violinist, dies at 88
- Apr 16 Peter Tolson, English rocker (Pretty Things), dies at 64
Prince Rogers Nelson
Apr 21 Prince [Rogers Nelson], American singer-songwriter and musician (1999, Purple Rain), dies at 57
Prince Rogers Nelson
- Apr 21 Lonnie Mack, American rocker (Baby What's Wrong), dies at 74
- Apr 24 Papa Wemba, Congolese singer, dies at 66
- Apr 24 Billy Paul [Paul Williams], American singer (Me & Mrs Jones), dies at 81
- Apr 30 Phil Ryan, Welsh keyboardist and composer (Man, Pete Brown), dies at 69
- May 4 Ursula Mamlok, German American avant-garde composer, dies at 93
- May 12 Julius La Rosa, American singer (fired by Arthur Godfrey on the air), dies at 86
- May 17 Guy Clark, American country singer (Heartbroke), dies at 74
- May 21 Nick Menza, American musician and drummer (Megadeth), dies at 51
- Jun 2 Freddie Wadling, Swedish actor and musician (The Leather Nun, Fleshquartet), dies at 64
- Jun 5 Phyllis Curtin, American soprano (NYC Opera), dies at 94
- Jun 10 Christina Grimmie, American singer and contestant on "The Voice", dies of a gunshot wound at 22
- Jun 11 Alberto Remedios, British opera and concert singer, dies at 81
- Jun 14 Henry McCullough, Irish guitarist (Wings), dies at 72
- Jun 17 Prince Be [Attrell Cordes], American rapper (PM Dawn), dies from diabetes complications at 46
- Jun 20 Bill Ham [Billy Mack Ham], American music impresario and manager (ZZ Top), dies at 79
- Jun 23 Ralph Stanley, American bluegrass musician, dies at 89
- Jun 24 Bernie Worrell, American keyboardist (Funkadelic-Cosmic Slop), dies at 72
- Jun 27 Mack Rice, American musician and songwriter (Mustang Sally), dies at 82
- Jun 28 Scotty Moore, American guitarist (for Elvis), dies at 84
- Jul 2 Earle Brown, American Composer (open form), dies at 75
- Jul 4 Geoffrey Shovelton, English opera singer, dies at 80
- Jul 7 Rokusuke Ei, Japanese author and lyricist (Sukiyaki), dies at 83
- Jul 12 Gregg Smith, American choral conductor and composer, dies at 84
- Jul 16 Bonnie Brown, American country singer (The Browns), dies at 77
- Jul 17 Gary S. Paxton [Larry Wayne Stevens], American musician and songwriter (Monster Mash, Alley Oop), dies at 77
- Jul 20 Wayne Carson, American country musician and songwriter (Always On My Mind), dies at 73
- Jul 24 Marni Nixon, American singer (for Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood & Deborah Kerr), dies at 86
- Jul 26 Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer (Kaivos), dies at 87
- Jul 30 Gloria DeHaven, American musical actress (Step Lively), dies at 91
- Aug 6 Pete Fountain, American jazz clarinetist (Lawrence Welk 1957-59), dies at 86
- Aug 20 Irving Fields, American composer and pianist (Miami Beach Rhumba), dies at 101
- Aug 22 Toots [Jean-Baptiste] Thielemans, Belgian-American jazz musician and composer, dies at 94
- Aug 28 Juan Gabriel, [Alberto Aguilera Valadez], Mexican singer, dies at 66
- Aug 31 Jacques Leduc, Belgian composer, dies at 84
- Sep 4 David Brown, American guitarist (Santana), dies at 53
- Sep 8 Prince Buster [Cecil Campbell], Jamaican-born reggae musician and producer (Madness), dies at 78
- Sep 10 Knut Wiggen, Norwegian computer music pioneer and composer, dies at 89
- Sep 21 Ben Cauley, musician (The Bar-Kays) and plane crash survivor, dies at 67
- Sep 21 John D. Loudermilk, American country singer and songwriter (Tobacco Road), dies at 82
- Sep 25 Jean Shepard, American country singer (Ozark Jubilee), dies of Parkinson's disease at 82
- Sep 30 Oscar Brand, Canadian-born American folk vocalist (Draw Me a Laugh), dies at 96
- Oct 2 Neville Marriner, English conductor and violinist (Academy of St Martin in the Fields), dies at 92
- Oct 13 Gerhard Wimberger, Austria composer (Glove), dies at 93
- Oct 19 Yvette Chauviré, French ballerina, dies at 99
- Oct 24 Pete Burns, English singer (Dead or Alive, "Spin Me Round"), dies of a cardiac arrest at 57
- Oct 24 Bobby Vee, American pop singer (Night has a Thousand Eyes), dies at 73
- Nov 3 Kay Starr [Katherine Starks], American singer (Wheel of Fortune), dies at 94
- Nov 4 Eddie Harsch [Edward Hawrysch], Canadian keyboardist (Bulldog, The Black Crowes), dies at 59
- Nov 6 Zoltan Kocsis, Hungarian pianist and conductor, dies of cancer at 64
Leonard Cohen
Nov 7 Leonard Cohen, Canadian writer and singer-songwriter (Death of Ladies Man), dies at 82
Leonard Cohen
- Nov 9 Al Caiola, American guitarist (Bonzanza theme), dies at 96
- Nov 11 Raynoma Singleton [Gordy], music producer and singer-songwriter (Motown), dies at 79
- Nov 13 Leon Russell, American musician and singer-songwriter (Carny), dies at 74
- Nov 14 Holly Dunn, American country singer (Daddy's Hands), dies of cancer at 59
- Nov 15 Mose Allison, American jazz artist (Black Country Suite), dies at 89
- Nov 15 Milt Okun, American music producer and arranger (John Denver, Peter, Paul and Mary), dies at 92
- Nov 18 Sharon Jones, American soul singer (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings), dies of cancer at 60
- Nov 22 Florence Henderson, American actress and singer (Carol in The Brady Bunch), dies at 82
- Nov 24 Pauline Oliveros, American composer (Sound Patterns), dies at 84
- Dec 4 Radim Hladík, Czech guitarist (The Blue Effect), dies from lung illness at 69
- Dec 7 Greg Lake, English rock vocalist and bassist (King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer), dies of cancer at 69
- Dec 13 Alan Thicke, Canadian actor, singer-songwriter (Thicke of the Night, Growing Pains), dies at 69
- Dec 24 Jack Philip Cannon, British composer, dies at 87
George Michael
Dec 25 George Michael [Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou], English singer-songwriter and pop superstar (Wham!, I Want Your Sex), dies of suspected heart failure at 53
George Michael