- 1572 Pierre Certon, French composer
- 1704 Georg Muffat, French/German organist/composer, dies at 50
- 1806 John Alcock, English composer and organist, dies at 90
- 1807 Francois Guichard, composer, dies at 61
- 1867 George Thomas Smart, composer, dies at 90
- 1897 Woldemar Bargiel, composer, dies at 68
- 1903 Albert Cahen, composer, dies at 57
- 1903 Friedrich Grutzmacher, composer, dies at 70
- 1916 George Martin, English composer and organist, dies at 71
- 1920 Alexander Alexandrovich Il’yinsky, composer, dies at 61
- 1927 Sveinbjorn Sveinbjornsson, composer, dies at 79
- 1930 Horst Wessel, German nazi lyricist (Fahne Hoch), dies at 22
- 1931 Nellie Melba, [Helen Mitchell], Australian soprano, dies
- 1934 Edward William Elgar, English composer (Coronation Ode), dies at 76
- 1957 Marika Ninou, Greek singer (b. 1918)
- 1969 Joseph Messner, composer, dies at 75
- 1972 Michael Taube, composer, dies at 81
- 1974 Harry Ruby, American composer and writer (b. 1895)
- 1983 Adrian Boult, conductor, dies
- 1995 David Melvin English Franklin, singer, dies at 52
- 1996 George Alan Dawson, jazz drummer/teacher, dies at 66
- 1997 Tony Williams, jazz musician, dies at 51
- 2000 Ofra Haza, Israeli singer (b. 1957)
- 2003 Howie Epstein, American bass guitarist (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) (b. 1955)
- 2004 Carl Anderson, American singer (b. 1945)
- 2004 Don Cornell, American singer (b. 1919)
- 2007 Donnie Brooks, American singer (b. 1936)