1963 in music

Specific locations

• 1963 in British music
• 1963 in Japanese music
• 1963 in Norwegian music

Specific genres

• 1963 in country music
• 1963 in jazz

Events

• January 3 – The Beatles begin their first tour of 1963 with a five-day tour in Scotland to support the release of their new single, "Love Me Do", beginning with a performance in Elgin.
• January 4 – At Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy, Dalida receives a Juke Box Global Oscar for the year's most-played artist on jukeboxes.
• January 7 – Gary U.S. Bonds files a $100,000 lawsuit against Chubby Checker, claiming that Checker stole "Quarter to Three" and turned it into "Dancin' Party." The lawsuit is later settled out of court.
• January 11 – "Please Please Me" is released in the United Kingdom by the Beatles, with "Ask Me Why" as the B-side.
• January 12 – Bob Dylan portrays a folk singer in The Madhouse of Castle Street, a radio play for the BBC in London.
• February 16
• *The Beatles achieve their first No. 1 hit single, when "Please Please Me" tops the charts in the UK.
• *Paul Anka marries Marie-Ann DeZogheb.
• February 22 – The Beatles form Northern Songs Publishing Company.
• March 5 – 1963 Camden PA-24 crash: Patsy Cline is killed in small plane crash near Camden, Tennessee, while on her way to Nashville, Tennessee, from Kansas City, Missouri, at the height of her career, together with Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins.
• March 22 – The Beatles release their first album, Please Please Me, in the UK.
• March 23 – The 8th Eurovision Song Contest is held in two studios at the BBC Television Centre, London. After much confusion regarding the results of the Norwegian jury, Denmark snatches victory from Switzerland after a close run. The Danish husband-and-wife duo Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann take the prize with "Dansevise".
• April 29 – 19-year-old Andrew Loog Oldham signs a contract with the Rolling Stones, becoming their manager. Oldham had seen the band in concert the previous day at the Crawdaddy Club in London.
• May 2 – The Beatles reach number one in the UK singles chart for the second time with "From Me To You".
• May 11 – The Beatles album Please Please Me goes to the top of the UK Albums Chart.
• May 15
• *Opening of the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Mongolia.
• *The 5th Annual Grammy Awards are held in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, hosted by Frank Sinatra. Tony Bennett and Igor Stravinsky each win the most awards with three, with the former winning Record of the Year for his song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". Vaughn Meader's The First Family wins Album of the Year and Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse's "What Kind of Fool Am I?" wins Song of the Year. Robert Goulet wins Best New Artist.
• May 27 – The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's second and most influential studio album, is released by Columbia Records. The lead song, "Blowin' in the Wind", is released as a single by Peter, Paul and Mary in June and by Dylan himself in August.
• May 29 – On the 50th anniversary of its stormy première, 88-year-old Pierre Monteux conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in The Rite of Spring at the Royal Albert Hall, with the composer Stravinsky in the audience.
• June 7 – The Rolling Stones' first single, a cover version of the Chuck Berry song "Come On", is released in the UK and reaches No. 21.
• August 3 – The Beatles perform at The Cavern Club in Liverpool for the final time.
• August 28 – March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Musical performers include Mahalia Jackson, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary and Marian Anderson.
• August 30 – Philips introduces the Musicassette at the Berlin Funkaustellung.
• September 6 – Nippon Crown record label is established as Crown Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Music Entertainment.
• September 12 – The Beatles reach the UK number one for the third time with the single "She Loves You".
• October 13 – Lesley Gore performs on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time. She performs a medley of her smash hits "It's My Party" and "She's a Fool," which charted at #1 and #5, respectively.
• October 15
• *British newspaper The Daily Mirror uses the term "Beatlemania" in a news story about the group's concert the previous day in Cheltenham; a Scottish music promoter later claims to have originated the term a week earlier.
• *Berliner Philharmonie concert hall opens.
• November 30 – After an unbroken 30-week spell at the top of the UK Albums Chart, The Beatles album Please Please Me is knocked off the top of the charts by the group's latest album With the Beatles.
• December 12 – The Beatles reach number one in the UK for the fourth time with "I Want To Hold Your Hand".
• date unknown
• *Dalida is rejected by Decca in the UK again.
• *Don Buchla begins to design an electronic music synthesizer in Berkeley, California.
• *Coxsone Dodd opens the first black-owned recording studio in Jamaica, named Studio One.
• *Lord Shorty's "Cloak and Dagger" is widely considered the first soca recording.
• *I Nyoman Rembang leaves the Surakarta Conservatorium to teach at the College of Music SMKI in Bali.

Bands formed

• Aeolian Singers
• All-Ohio State Fair Youth Choir
• Ambassadors of Harmony
• Anaheim Kingsmen Drum and Bugle Corps
• The Angels (American group)
• The Artwoods
• Baby Huey & the Babysitters
• The Back Porch Majority
• The Bats (South African band)
• Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
• Bloomington Symphony Orchestra (Minnesota)
• Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers
• Bombay Sisters
• The Brothers-in-Law
• Bryn Mawr Mainliners
• Butch Engle & the Styx
• Camerata Bern
• Carlton Showband
• Chicago Brass Quintet
• The Clefs
• Crni Biseri
• The Cryin' Shames
• Daltoni
• David and the Giants
• The Deakins
• Downliners Sect
• Edmonton Strutters Drum and Bugle Corps
• The Enthusiasts
• The Escorts (Liverpool band)
• Europa Cantat
• Exile (American band)
• Fairies (British band)
• The Flames
• The Fortunes
• The Fourmost
• Inez and Charlie Foxx
• Framus Five
• Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra
• Freddie and the Dreamers
• The Fugs
• The Gants
• The Geezinslaw Brothers
• The Gentrys
• Gilbert and Sullivan for All
• Hedgehoppers Anonymous
• Hep Stars
• The Hideaways
• Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra
• The Honeycombs
• Irish Chamber Orchestra
• The Irish Rovers
• The Kinks
• Kyiv Chamber Orchestra
• The Leaves
• The Liverbirds
• Livermore-Amador Symphony
• Liverpool Five
• Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps
• Manfred Mann
• Marek i Wacek
• The Marionettes Chorale
• Bob Marley and the Wailers
• The Master Singers
• The Mindbenders
• The Moments (English band)
• Johnny and Jonie Mosby
• Mountain City Four
• Neighb'rhood Childr'n
• New Birth (band)
• New York Youth Symphony
• Orchestra Ethiopia
• The Outcasts (Texas band)
• Piccolo Coro dell'Antoniano
• The Poets
• The Pretty Things
• The Pussycats
• The Rockin' Vickers
• The Rokes
• Samonikli
• The Scorpions (Manchester band)
• Sfinx
• The Shanes
• The Shangri-Las
• Slam Creepers
• The Sorrows
• South Carolina Philharmonic
• The Spencer Davis Group
• The Squires
• Stanford Band
• Stanford Mendicants
• The Syndicats
• Tages
• Teddy and The Pandas
• The Three Degrees
• TPAO Batman
• Trendsetters Limited
• Tulsa Youth Symphony
• Unbelievable Uglies
• Unit 4 + 2
• University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers
• The V.I.P.'s
• Valley Concert Chorale
• Velvet Knights Drum and Bugle Corps
• The Wilde Flowers
• The Wolfe Tones
• The Yardbirds

Bands disbanded

• The Springfields

Albums released

Release date unknown

• All Alone – Jo Stafford
• Any Number Can Win – Jimmy Smith
• Baby, Baby, Baby – Jimmy Witherspoon
• Bill Henderson with the Oscar Peterson Trio – Bill Henderson
• Broadway, I Love You – Sergio Franchi
• Bye Bye Birdie – Bobby Rydell
• More Trini Lopez at PJ's – Trini Lopez
• Catch a Rising Star – John Gary
• Checkered Flag – Dick Dale
• Christmas with The Chipmunks Vol. 2 - Alvin and the Chipmunks
• The Composer of Desafinado Plays – Antonio Carlos Jobim
• The Concert Sinatra – Frank Sinatra
• Criss-Cross – Thelonious Monk
• Conversations with Myself – Bill Evans
• Dakar – John Coltrane
• Dion Sings "Love Came to Me" – Dion DiMucci
• Ella Sings Broadway – Ella Fitzgerald
• Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook – Ella Fitzgerald
• Etta James Top Ten – Etta James
• Eux – Dalida
• Evenin' Blues – Jimmy Witherspoon
• The Explosive Side of Sarah Vaughan – Sarah Vaughan
• Extension – Clare Fischer
• Folk Session Inside – The Country Gentlemen
• Foolish Little Girl – The Shirelles
• Getting Sentimental over Tommy Dorsey – Jo Stafford
• Greatest Hits – The Shadows
• The Greatest Hits of the Golden Groups – Bobby Vinton
• Great Moments from Die Fledermaus – Sergio Franchi, Anna Moffo, Rise Stevens, etc.
• Have You Heard? – Dick Morrissey Quartet
• Here's Willie Nelson – Willie Nelson
• Hollywood – My Way – Nancy Wilson
• Honey in the Horn – Al Hirt
• I Am the Greatest – Cassius Clay
• "Indifferentemente" – Mario Trevi
• "Indifferentemente/Catene d'ammore" – Mario Trevi
• I Wish Tonight Would Never End – George Jones
• Impressions – John Coltrane
• India's Master Musician – Ravi Shankar
• It's Gonna Work Out Fine – Ike & Tina Turner
• John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman – John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
• Johnny – Johnny Mathis
• Johnny's Newest Hits – Johnny Mathis
• Latin in a Satin Mood – Julie London
• Love – Rosemary Clooney
• Love on the Rocks – Julie London
• Midnight Blue – Kenny Burrell
• Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus – Charles Mingus
• Monk's Dream – Thelonious Monk
• My Boyfriend's Back – The Angels
• My Point of View – Herbie Hancock
• My Son, the Nut – Allan Sherman
• Night Train – The Oscar Peterson Trio
• On My Way & Shoutin' Again! – Count Basie
• On the Move – Trini Lopez
• Oscar Peterson and Nelson Riddle – Oscar Peterson
• Our Man in New Orleans – Al Hirt
• Page One – Joe Henderson
• Los Relámpagos del Norte – Los Relámpagos del Norte
• Ramblin – The New Christy Minstrels
• Rocks the Blues – Ike Turner
• Rosemary Clooney Sings Country Hits from the Heart – Rosemary Clooney
• 'Round Midnight – Betty Carter
• Sammy Davis Jr. at the Cocoanut Grove – Sammy Davis Jr.
• Say Wonderful Things – Patti Page
• Sinatra's Sinatra – Frank Sinatra
• The Songs I Love – Perry Como
• Sonny Meets Hawk! – Sonny Rollins with Coleman Hawkins
• Surfin' With Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley
• Surging Ahead – Clare Fischer
• Terry Gibbs Plays Jewish Melodies in Jazztime – Terry Gibbs
• The Dream Duet – Anna Moffo and Sergio Franchi
• These Are the Blues – Ella FitzgeraldThunder'n Lightnin - Hoyt Axton
• Trini Lopez at PJ's – Trini Lopez
• Vic Damone and Johnny Cole – Vic Damone, Johnny Cole
• Wanderlust – Frankie Laine

Published popular songs

• "18 Yellow Roses" Bobby Darin
• "Abilene" w.m. John D. Loudermilk, Lester Brown, Bob Gibson, Albert Stanton
• "All My Loving" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
• "Another Saturday Night" w.m. Sam Cooke
• "Anyone Who Had a Heart" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach
• "Call Me Irresponsible" w.Sammy Cahn m. Jimmy Van Heusen from the film Papa's Delicate Condition
• "Charade" w. Johnny Mercer m. Henry Mancini. From the film of the same name.
• "Da Doo Ron Ron" w.m. Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry
• "Detroit City" w.m. Mel Tillis & Danny Dill
• "Distant Drums" w.m. Cindy Walker
• "Dominique" Singing Nun
• "Don't Talk To Him" Cliff Richard, Welch
• "Don't You Forget It" w. Al Stillman m. Henry Mancini
• "Every Time I Think About You" w.m. Claude Demetrius
• "Flash! Bang! Wallop!" w.m. David Heneker. Introduced by Tommy Steele in the London production of the musical Half a Sixpence. Steele also performed the song in the Broadway production in 1965 and the 1967 film version.
• "Forget Him" w.m. Mark Anthony
• "From Me to You" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
• "From Russia with Love w.m. Lionel Bart
• "Good Morning, Good Day" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
• "Half A Sixpence" w.m. David Heneker
• "How Do You Do It?" w.m. Mitch Murray
• "I Call Your Name" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
• "I Like It" Mitch Murray
• "I Saw Her Standing There" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
• "I Want to Hold Your Hand" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
• "If I Ruled the World" w. Leslie Bricusse m. Cyril Ornadel. Introduced by Harry Secombe in the musical Pickwick
• "It's My Party" w.m. Herb Wiener, Wally Gold & John Gluck Jnr
• "Kissin' Cousins" w.m. Fred Wise & Randy Starr
• "Losing You" w. Carl Sigman m. Jean Renard
• "Martian Hop" w.m. Steven Rappaport, John Spirt, Robert Rappaport
• "Move Over Darling" Hal Kanter
• "On Broadway" w.m. Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
• "On the Beach" Welch, Marvin, Richard
• "Our Day Will Come" w.m. Bob Hilliard & Mort Garson
• "The Pink Panther Theme" w. Johnny Mercer m. Henry Mancini
• "Pretty Paper" Willie Nelson
• "The Reverend Mr. Black" Billy Edd Wheeler, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
• "Ring of Fire" w.m. Merle Kilgore & June Carter
• "She Loves Me" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock. Introduced by Daniel Massey in the musical She Loves Me
• "She Loves You" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
• "Surf City" w.m. Jan Berry & Brian Wilson
• "Surfer Girl" w.m. Brian Wilson
• "Talk Back Trembling Lips" w.m. John D. Loudermilk
• "This Boy" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
• "The Times They Are A-Changin'" w.m. Bob Dylan
• "The Ugly Bug Ball" w.m. Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, from the film Summer Magic
• "Viva Las Vegas" Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman
• "Washington Square" w.m. Bob Goldstein & David Shire
• "When Joanna Loved Me" w. Robert Wells m. Jack Segal
• "Will He Like Me?" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock; introduced by Barbara Cook in the Broadway production of She Loves Me; performed by Anne Rogers in the 1964 London production
• "Wives And Lovers" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach
• "You Were Made for Me" Mitch Murray

Other notable songs (world)

• "Ashita Ga Arusa" w. Yukio Aoshima m. Hachidai Nakamura
• "En gång i Stockholm" w. Beppe Wolgers m. Bobbie Ericsson
• "Miagete Goran Yoru no Hoshi o" w. Rokusuke Ei & Taku Izumi, m. Kyu Sakamoto
• "Meglio Stasera" w. Franco Migliacci m. Henry Mancini
• "Oye Como Va" w.m. Tito Puente

Classical music

Compositions

• Benjamin Britten – Nocturnal after John Dowland, op. 70, for guitar
• Nikolai Karetnikov – Symphony No. 4
• Wojciech Kilar – Générique, for orchestra
• Witold Lutosławski – Trois poèmes d'Henri Michaux for choir and orchestra
• Francis Poulenc – Sept répons des ténèbres
• Giacinto Scelsi – String Quartet No. 3
• John Serry Sr. – American Rhapsody, transcribed for free-bass accordion.
• Karlheinz Stockhausen – Plus-Minus
• Igor Stravinsky – Abraham and Isaac
• William Walton – Variations on a Theme by Hindemith, for orchestra
• Wang Xilin – ''Yunnan Tone Poem''

Opera

• Richard Rodney Bennett – The Mines of Sulphur
• Carlisle Floyd – The Sojourner and Molly Sinclair
• Gian Carlo Menotti – The Last Savage
• Malcolm Williamson – Our Man in Havana
• Aarre Merikanto – ''Juha''

Film

• John Addison - Tom Jones
• John Barry - From Russia with Love
• Elmer Bernstein - The Great Escape
• Ernest Gold - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
• Jerry Goldsmith - Lilies of the Field
• Bernard Herrmann - Jason and the Argonauts
• Henry Mancini - Charade
• Henry Mancini - The Pink Panther
• Alex North - Cleopatra
• André Previn - Irma la Douce
• Nino Rota - 8 1/2
• Humphrey Searle - ''The Haunting''

Musical theatre

Musical films

• Summer Magic starring Hayley Mills, Burl Ives, Dorothy McGuire and Eddie Hodges

Births

• January 4 – Till Lindemann, German rock musician
• January 7 – Mariella Farré, Swiss singer
• January 13 – Tim Kelly, American rock musician
• January 15 – Conrad Lant, English singer-songwriter and bass player
• January 17 – Kai Hansen, German power metal guitarist and singer
• January 19 – Caron Wheeler, British singer-songwriter
• January 25 – Kurt Harland, American singer, songwriter and audio engineer
• January 26
• *Jazzie B, English DJ and music producer
• *Andrew Ridgeley, English singer-songwriter
• January 28 – Dan Spitz, American thrash metal guitarist and watchmaker
• January 29 – Octave, Romanian guitarist, songwriter and producer
• February 2 – Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist
• February 3 – Antoine "T.C.D." Lundy, American R&B singer
• February 4 – Noodles, American guitarist
• February 8
• *Joshua Kadison, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• *Paul Robb, American Synthesizer player, producer and songwriter
• February 9 – Travis Tritt, American country singer
• February 10
• * Smiley Culture, British rapper and reggae singer
• * Tony Reno, Swedish rock drummer
• February 15 – Guildo Horn, German singer
• February 19 – Seal, British singer
• February 23 – Tats Lau, Hong Kong musician, songwriter, singer and actor
• March 1 – Dan Michaels, producer, saxophonist, member of the rock band The Choir and The Swirling Eddies, owner of Galaxy21 Music.
• March 4
• *Janey Lee Grace, British singer, author, television presenter and radio disc jockey
• *Jason Newsted, American rock bassist Metallica
• March 5 – Lotta Engberg, Swedish singer
• March 10 – Jeff Ament
• March 11
• * Stacy Earl, American dance/pop singer
• * David LaChapelle, Music video director, photographer and movie director
• March 13 – Fito Páez, Argentine musician
• March 15 – Bret Michaels, rock singer
• March 17
• *Michael Ivins, American rock bassist
• *Nick Peros, Canadian composer
• March 18 – Vanessa Williams, American singer and actress
• March 21 – Shawn Lane, American guitar virtuoso
• March 22 – Susan Ann Sulley, English synth-pop singer
• March 27
• *Charly Alberti, Argentinian musician
• *Dave Koz, American jazz musician
• March 30 – Eli-Eri Moura, Brazilian composer, conductor and music theorist
• April 1 – Teddy Diaz, Filipino musician and composer
• April 3 – Criss Oliva, American metal guitarist
• April 6 – Andrew Weatherall, English disc jockey and remixer
• April 8 – Julian Lennon, singer-songwriter, son of John Lennon
• April 10 – Warren DeMartini, American rock guitarist
• April 16 – Jimmy Osmond, American singers
• April 21 – Johnny McElhone, Scottish guitarist
• April 24 – Tõnu Trubetsky, Estonian rock musician
• May 5 – Prince Ital Joe, reggae singer
• May 8
• *Sylvain Cossette, Canadian singer-songwriter
• *Anthony Field, Australian musician and actor
• May 9 – Barry Douglas Lamb, English musician, author and preacher
• May 12 – Charles Pettigrew, American soul singer
• May 19 – Yazz, English singer
• May 21 – Gilles Apap, violinist
• June 4 – Sandeep Bhagwati, Indian classical musician and composer
• June 5 – Joe Rudán, Hungarian heavy metal singer
• June 7
• *Roberto Alagna, operatic tenor
• *Gordon Gano, singer & guitarist
• June 11 – Gioia Bruno, Italian-American singer and songwriter
• June 18 – Dizzy Reed, American keyboard player, songwriter and actor
• June 20
• *Amir Derakh, rock musician
• *Julien-K
• June 25 – George Michael, English singer and songwriter
• June 28 – Tierney Sutton, American singer
• June 29 – Anne-Sophie Mutter, German violinist
• June 30 – Yngwie J. Malmsteen, guitar performer
• July 7 – Vonda Shepard, singer and musician
• July 16 – Norman Cook, English big-beat musician
• July 17 – Regina Belle, American singer-songwriter and producer
• July 19 – Bertrand Burgalat, French musician, composer and producer
• July 22 – Emily Saliers, American singer-songwriter musician
• July 23 – Renato Borghetti, folk musician and composer
• July 24
• *Larry Rudolph, Britney Spears collaborator and pop music manager/agent
• *The Real Roxanne, American rapper
• July 25 – Oliver Froning, German musician
• July 26 – Andy Timmons, American guitarist
• July 28 – Katharina Franck, German singer and songwriter
• July 28 – Beverley Craven, English singer and songwriter
• July 28 – Shaunna Hall, American composer and musician
• August 1 – Coolio, African American rapper
• August 3
• *Tasmin Archer, English singer
• *James Hetfield, American rock singer
• August 9 – Whitney Houston, African American singer and actress
• August 12
• *Karen Briggs, African American jazz violinist
• *Sir Mix-a-Lot, African American MC and producer
• August 19 – Joey Tempest, Swedish rock singer
• August 22
• *Tori Amos, American singer-songwriter, pianist and composer
• *James DeBarge
• August 23 – Laura Flores, Mexican actress, hostess, and singer
• August 25 – Candida Doyle, English keyboardist and singer
• August 26 – Liu Huan, Chinese singer
• August 30 – Paul Oakenfold, British disc jockey
• August 31
• *Reb Beach, American rock guitarist
• *Beverly Crawford, American gospel singer
• September 1 – Carola Smit, Dutch musician
• September 5 – Terry Ellis, American singer
• September 6 – Mark Chesnutt, American country musician
• September 7 – Eazy-E, American West Coast rapper and record producer
• September 16 – Richard Marx, American singer-songwriter
• September 19 – Jarvis Cocker, British musician and singer
• September 22 – Arzu Ece, Turkish singer
• September 28 – Dan Forden, video game music composer
• September 29
• *Les Claypool, American rock bassist and singer
• *O'Landa Draper
• October 7 – Ann Curless, American singer
• October 13 – Kemi Olusanya, English drum-and-bass musician
• October 10 – Anita Mui, Hong Kong singer and actress
• October 14 – Alessandro Safina, operatic tenor
• October 20 – John Storgårds, Finnish conductor and violinist
• October 23
• *Thomas Di Leva, Swedish singer-songwriter
• *Chris Sheppard, Canadian DJ, record producer and musician
• October 26 – Natalie Merchant, American indie singer-songwriter
• October 27
• *Marla Maples, American actress, musician and television personality
• *Lou, German pop singer
• November 1 – Rick Allen, British drummer
• November 2 – Bobby Dall, American rock bassist
• November 8 – Eric B., American rapper, record producer and DJ
• November 12 – Sam Lloyd, American actor and singer
• November 17 – Jonny Jakobsen, Danish-Swedish eurodance singer
• November 25 – Danuta Lato, Polish glamour model, actress, and singer
• December 9 – Kat Bjelland, American singer, songwriter, musician and guitarist.
• December 10 – Ole Amund Gjersvik, Norwegian bassist and composer
• December 15 – Helen Slater, American singer, actress and songwriter
• December 18 – Nino de Angelo, German singer
• December 24 – Mary Ramsey, American musician, singer/songwriter
• December 26 – Lars Ulrich, Danish-born heavy metal drummer
• December 31 – Scott Ian, American thrash metal guitarist
• Unknown – Naseer Shamma, Iraqi musician and oud player

Deaths

• January 2 – Dick Powell, actor and singer, 58
• January 6 – Lina Abarbanell, German-American soprano, 84
• January 24 – Otto Harbach, lyricist, 89
• January 30 – Francis Poulenc, French composer, 64
• February 19 – Benny Moré, Cuban singer, 43
• February 20 – Ferenc Fricsay, conductor, 48
• March 5 – Patsy Cline, American country/pop singer, 30
• March 17 – Lizzie Miles, singer, 67
• March 28 – Alec Templeton, Welsh composer, 52
• March 30 – Aleksandr Gauk, Russian conductor and composer, 69
• March 31 – Harry Akst, US composer and pianist, 68
• April 9
• *Eddie Edwards, American jazz trombonist, 71
• *Benno Moiseiwitsch, Jewish-Ukrainian pianist, 73
• April 11 – Arvid Gram Paulsen, Norwegian jazz saxophonist and trumpeter, 41
• April 12 – Herbie Nichols, jazz musician, 44
• May 6 – Ted Weems, US bandleader, 61
• May 10 – Irving Aaronson, bandleader and composer, 68
• May 24 – Elmore James, American blues guitarist, 45
• June 24 – Sybil Evers, mezzo-soprano and actress, 59
• August 15 – John Powell, pianist, composer and ethnomusicologist, 80
• August 23 – Glen Gray, American saxophonist and conductor, 63
• September 3 – Frico Kafenda, Slovak composer, 79
• September 12 – Modest Altschuler, cellist, conductor and composer, 90
• September 25 – Alexander Sakharoff, Russian dancer and choreographer, 77
• October 11 – Édith Piaf, French singing superstar, 47
• October 25 – Roger Désormière, French conductor, 65
• November 1 – Elsa Maxwell, songwriter, "the hostess with the mostest", 80
• November 15 – Fritz Reiner, Hungarian conductor, 74
• November 19 – Carmen Amaya, flamenco dancer and singer, 50
• November 26 – Amelita Galli-Curci, operatic soprano, 81
• November 29 – Ernesto Lecuona, Cuban composer, pianist and bandleader, 68
• December 5 – Karl Amadeus Hartmann, composer, 58
• December 14 – Dinah Washington, singer, 39
• December 28 – Paul Hindemith, composer, 68
• date unknown – Naftule Brandwein, clarinettist

Awards

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1963

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1963

Leeds International Piano Competition

• Michael Roll