2020 in music

This topic covers notable events and articles related to 2020 in music.

Specific locations

African music
American music
Asian music
Australian music
Brazilian music
British music
Canadian music
Chinese music
Czech music
Danish music
European music
Finnish music
French music
German music
Icelandic music
Indian music
Indonesian music
Irish music
Japanese music
[2020 in 2020 in Latin music|Latin music|Latin music]
Malaysian music
Mongolian music
Norwegian music
Philippine music
Polynesian music
Scandinavian music
South Korean music
Swedish music
Taiwanese music
Vietnamese music

Specific genres

Bands formed

Soloist debuts

Bands reformed

Bands on hiatus

Bands disbanded

Deaths

January

* Lexii Alijai, 21, American rapper
* Marty Grebb, 74, American rock keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist
* Tommy Hancock, 90, American country singer 2 – Lorraine Chandler, 73, American soul singer3 – Bo Winberg, 80, Swedish rock guitarist 4 – Emanuel Borok, 75, Russian-born American classical violinist5 – Martin Griffin, British space rock drummer 7 – Neil Peart, 67, Canadian progressive rock drummer and lyricist 8 – Edd Byrnes, 87, American actor and pop singer9
* Tom Alexander, 85, Scottish folk accordionist
* Bobby Comstock, 78, American rock and roll singer10 – Wolfgang Dauner, 84, German jazz pianist11 – Maceo Woods, 87, American gospel musician13
* Demetri Callas, 77, American rock guitarist and singer
* Hylda Sims, 87, British skiffle guitarist14
* Steve Martin Caro, 71, American baroque pop singer
* Chamín Correa, 90, Mexican classical guitarist
* Guy Deplus, 95, French chamber music clarinetist
* Barry Mayger, 73, English pop bassist
* Bruno Nettl, 89, Czech-born American ethnomusicologist and musicologist15 – Chris Darrow, 75, American country and rock singer and multi-instrumentalist 18
* Dennis Garcia, 67, Filipino pop rock bassist
* David Olney, 71, American folk singer-songwriter19
* Dan Andrei Aldea, 69, Romanian progressive rock singer and multi-instrumentalist
* Jimmy Heath, 93, American jazz saxophonist
* Robert Parker, 89, American R&B singer
* Sunanda Patnaik, 85, Indian classical singer21 – Meritxell Negre, 48, Spanish pop singer 24
* Joe Payne, 35, American metal bassist
* Sean Reinert, 48, American metal drummer 25
* Bob Gullotti, 71, American free jazz drummer
* Vernon Sandusky, 80, American rock singer and guitarist 26 – Bob Shane, 85, American folk singer and guitarist 27 – Reed Mullin, 53, American sludge metal drummer 28 – Bob Nave, 75, American bubblegum pop keyboardist 30 – Lucien Barbarin, 63, American jazz trombonist

February

* Harold Beane, 73, American funk guitarist
* Andy Gill, 64, British post-punk guitarist
* Peter Serkin, 72, American classical pianist2
* Kofi B, Ghanaian highlife singer
* Ivan Král, 71, Czech-American rock bassist and songwriter 4
* Andrew Brough, New Zealand indie rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist
* Buddy Cage, 73, Canadian folk pedal steel guitarist
* Ljiljana Petrović, 80, Serbian pop singer6
* Lynn Evans, 95, American pop singer
* Diego Farias, 27, American progressive metalcore guitarist
* Nello Santi, 88, Italian classical conductor7
* Nexhmije Pagarusha, 86, Albanian-Kosovan pop singer
* Steve Weber, 76, American folk singer and guitarist 8 – Robert Conrad, 84, American actor and singer9 – Sergei Slonimsky, 87, Russian classical composer10 – Lyle Mays, 66, American jazz fusion keyboardist 11 – Joseph Shabalala, 78, South African isicathamiya and mbube singer 12
* Paul English, 87, American country drummer
* Victor Olaiya, 89, Nigerian highlife trumpeter13
* Buzzy Linhart, 76, American folk rock singer-songwriter
* Jacob Thiele, 40, American indie rock keyboardist 14
* Reinbert de Leeuw, 81, Dutch classical pianist and conductor
* Sonam Sherpa, 48, Indian blues rock guitarist 15 – Cavan Grogan, 70, Welsh rock and roll singer 16
* Pearl Carr, 98, British pop singer
* Graeme Allwright, 93, New Zealand-French folk and jazz singer-songwriter17
* Kizito Mihigo, 38, Rwandan gospel singer
* Andrew Weatherall, 56, British electronic musician and record producer18 – Jon Christensen, 78, Norwegian jazz drummer19
* Bob Cobert, 95, American composer
* Pop Smoke, 20, American rapper24
* David Roback, 61, American alternative rock and dream pop guitarist
* Jahn Teigen, 70, Norwegian pop and progressive rock singer 26
* Hans Deinzer, 86, German classical clarinetist
* Sergei Dorensky, 88, Russian classical pianist27 – Lillian Offitt, 81, American blues and R&B singer28 – Mike Somerville, 67, American rock guitarist and songwriter 29
* Odile Pierre, 87, French classical organist and composer
* Bill Smith, 93, American classical and jazz clarinetist

March

* Jan Vyčítal, 77, Czech country singer
* Susan Weinert, 54, German jazz fusion guitarist
* Peter Wieland, 89, German pop singer3
* Les Cauchi, 77, American pop singer
* Alf Cranner, 83, Norwegian folk singer4 – Barbara Martin, 76, American R&B singer 6
* McCoy Tyner, 81, American jazz pianist
* Elinor Ross, 93, American opera soprano7
* Jim Owen, 78, American country singer-songwriter
* Laura Smith, Canadian folk singer-songwriter9
* Keith Olsen, 74, American psychedelic rock bassist and record producer
* Eric Taylor, 70, American folk singer-songwriter10
* Marcelo Peralta, 59, Argentine jazz saxophonist
* Beba Selimović, 80, Bosnian folk singer11 – Charles Wuorinen, 81, American classical composer12 – Don Burrows, 91, Australian jazz multi-instrumentalist14
* Phil Phillips, 94, American pop singer-songwriter
* Eva Pilarová, 80, Czech jazz singer
* Genesis P-Orridge, 70, British industrial singer, songwriter and bassist
* Diane Ray, 74, American pop singer16
* Sergio Bassi, 69, Italian folk rock singer-songwriter
* Ted Cahill, 72, American garage rock guitarist
* Jason Rainey, 53, American thrash metal guitarist 17 – Thái Thanh, 85, Vietnamese-American pop singer19 – Aurlus Mabélé, 66, Congolese soukous singer20
* Kenny Rogers, 81, American country and pop singer-songwriter
* Jerry Slick, 80, American psychedelic rock drummer 21 – Hellmut Stern, 91, German classical violinist22
* Gabi Delgado-López, 61, Spanish-born German electronic singer
* Julie Felix, 81, American-British folk singer
* Mike Longo, 83, American jazz pianist
* Peter Stapleton, 65, New Zealand alternative rock drummer
* Eric Weissberg, 80, American country and bluegrass banjoist23 – Tres Warren, 41, American psychedelic rock singer and guitarist 24
* Manu Dibango, 86, Cameroonian makossa and jazz saxophonist
* Bill Rieflin, 59, American rock drummer 25 – Detto Mariano, 82, Italian rock keyboardist and film composer26
* Olle Holmquist, 83, Swedish big band trombonist
* Bill Martin, 81, British pop songwriter27
* Bob Andy, 75, Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter
* Don Burch, 81, American doo-wop singer
* Mirna Doris, 79, Italian canzone Napoletana singer
* Delroy Washington, 67, Jamaican-born British reggae singer28 – Jan Howard, 91, American country singer-songwriter29
* Joe Diffie, 61, American country singer and songwriter
* Alan Merrill, 69, American pop rock singer and bassist
* Paravai Muniyamma, 82, Indian folk singer
* Krzysztof Penderecki, 86, Polish classical composer and conductor30
* Riachão, 98, Brazilian samba singer
* Bill Withers, 81, American soul singer-songwriter31
* Cristina, 61, American new wave singer
* Wallace Roney, 59, American jazz trumpeter

April

* Ellis Marsalis Jr., 85, American jazz pianist
* Bucky Pizzarelli, 94, American jazz guitarist
* Harold Rubin, 87, South African-born Israeli free jazz clarinetist
* Adam Schlesinger, 52, American power pop singer, songwriter and bassist 2 – Vaughan Mason, 69, American funk and electronic multi-instrumentalist 3 – Helin Bölek, 28, Turkish folk rock singer 4
* Timothy Brown, 82, American pop and soul singer
* Patrick Gibson, French eurodisco drummer
* Alex Harvey, 73, American country singer-songwriter5 – Barry Allen, 74, Canadian rock musician and record producer 6
* M. K. Arjunan, 84, Indian film composer
* Black the Ripper, 32, British grime rapper7
* Betty Bennett, 98, American jazz and big band singer
* Hutch Davie, 89, American pianist, arranger and composer
* Steve Farmer, 71, American rock guitarist and songwriter
* Travis Nelsen, American indie rock drummer
* John Prine, 73, American folk singer-songwriter
* Hal Willner, 64, American record producer
* Xudeydi, 91, Somali folk oud player8
* Carl Dobkins, Jr., 79, American singer and songwriter
* Glenn Fredly, 44, Indonesian R&B singer-songwriter
* Chynna Rogers, 25, American rapper9
* Andy González, 69, American Latin jazz bassist
* Dmitri Smirnov, 71, Russian-British classical composer10
* Big George Brock, 87, American blues harmonicist
* Shanti Hiranand, 86, Indian classical singer
* Jymie Merritt, 92, American jazz bassist 11 – Liu Dehai, 82, Chinese classical pipa player12
* Jerry Hludzik, American pop rock guitarist and bassist
* Louis van Dijk, 78, Dutch jazz pianist13
* Ryo Kawasaki, 73, Japanese jazz fusion guitarist
* Moraes Moreira, 72, Brazilian MPB singer and guitarist 14
* Akin Euba, 84, Nigerian folk pianist, composer, and musicologist
* Kassongo Wa Kanema, 73, Congolese soukous singer
* Kerstin Meyer, 92, Swedish opera singer15
* Henry Grimes, 84, American jazz bassist
* Dries Holten, 84, Dutch pop singer-songwriter
* Lee Konitz, 92, American jazz saxophonist
* Gary McSpadden, 77, American gospel singer 16
* Christophe, 74, French singer-songwriter
* Dušan Vančura, 82, Czech folk singer and bassist 17
* Giuseppi Logan, 84, American jazz multi-instrumentalist
* Matthew Seligman, 62, British new wave bassist 19
* Alexander Vustin, 76, Russian composer
* Ian Whitcomb, 78, British pop singer-songwriter
* Emina Zečaj, 91, Bosnian sevdalinka singer21
* Derek Jones, 35, American metalcore guitarist
* Jacques Pellen, 63, French jazz guitarist
* Florian Schneider, 73, German krautrock and electronic multi-instrumentalist 22
* Bootsie Barnes, 82, American jazz saxophonist
* Marcos Mundstock, 77, Argentine comedy music singer and multi-instrumentalist 23
* Fred the Godson, 35, American rapper
* Kamit Sanbayev, 78, Kazakh rock singer 24
* Hamilton Bohannon, 78, American R&B and disco percussionist and music producer
* Phil Broadhurst, 70, New Zealand jazz pianist
* Harold Reid, 80, American country singer-songwriter 25
* Alan Abel, 91, American classical percussionist
* Ronald Frangipane, 75, American session keyboardist 26 – Big Al Carson, 66, American blues singer27
* Lynn Harrell, 79, American classical cellist
* Troy Sneed, 52, American gospel singer
* Scott Taylor, British new wave guitarist 28 – Bobby Lewis, 95, American R&B singer29
* Martin Lovett, 93, British classical cellist
* Stezo, 52, American rapper30
* Tony Allen, 79, Nigerian afrobeat and rock drummer
* Óscar Chávez, 85, Mexican pop singer
* Sam Lloyd, 56, American a cappella singer

Date unknown

Ceybil Jefferies, American house and R&B singer

May

* Richard Cole, 72, American jazz saxophonist
* Tavo Limongi, 52, Mexican nu metal guitarist 2
* Cady Groves, 30, American country singer-songwriter
* Idir, 70, Algerian folk singer-songwriter
* Jonathan Kelly, 72, Irish folk rock singer-songwriter
* Erwin Prasetya, 48, Indonesian alternative rock bassist 3
* Rosalind Elias, 90, American opera singer
* Dave Greenfield, 71, British punk and new wave keyboardist
* Bob Lander, 78, Swedish rock singer and guitarist
* Lorne Munroe, 95, Canadian-born American classical cellist4
* John Erhardt, American indie rock musician
* Frederick C. Tillis, 90, American jazz saxophonist
* Dragan Vučić, 65, Macedonian pop singer5
* Sweet Pea Atkinson, 74, American dance-rock singer
* Sonny Cox, 82, American jazz saxophonist
* Didi Kempot, 53, Indonesian campursari singer
* Ciro Pessoa, 62, Brazilian post-punk singer-songwriter and guitarist
* Kiing Shooter, 24, American rapper
* Millie Small, 73, Jamaican ska and reggae singer-songwriter6
* Norbert Balatsch, 92, Austrian choral conductor
* Brian Howe, 66, British rock singer-songwriter 7
* İbrahim Gökçek, 41, Turkish folk rock bassist
* Andre Harrell, 59, American record producer, songwriter, rapper, and founder of Uptown Records
* Ty, 47, British rapper8 – Mark Barkan, 85, American songwriter, record producer, and musical director for The Banana Splits Adventure Hour 9
* Joe Hupp, 78, American rock musician
* Little Richard, 87, American rock and roll singer and pianist10
* David Corrêa, 82, Brazilian samba singer
* Betty Wright, 66, American soul and R&B singer and songwriter11 – Moon Martin, 74, American rockabilly singer-songwriter and guitarist12 – Takami Asano, Japanese psychedelic rock guitarist 13
* Gabriel Bacquier, 95, French opera singer
* Yoshio, 60, Mexican pop singer14 – Jorge Santana, 68, Mexican rock guitarist 15
* Denny DeMarchi, 57, Canadian rock keyboardist
* Sergio Denis, 71, Argentine pop singer
* Phil May, 75, British rock singer-songwriter 17
* Lucky Peterson, 55, American blues singer, guitarist and organist
* Peter Thomas, 94, German film composer19 – Willie K, 59, American folk ukuleleist21
* Berith Bohm, 87, Swedish opera singer
* Bobby Digital, 59, Jamaican dancehall producer
* Neil Howlett, 85, British opera singer22
* Steve Hanford, 50, American punk rock drummer
* Mory Kanté, 70, Guinean folk singer and kora player
* KJ Balla, 23, American rapper
* Klaus Selmke, 70, German rock drummer 24
* Jimmy Cobb, 91, American jazz drummer
* Lily Lian, 103, French pop singer
* Al Rex, 91, American rock and roll bassist 25 – Bucky Baxter, 65, American folk and rock guitarist26
* Brendan Bowyer, 81, Irish rock and roll singer
* Charlie Monttana, 58, Mexican rock singer
* Lennie Niehaus, 90, American jazz saxophonist and film composer27 – Evaldo Gouveia, 91, Brazilian MPB singer28 – Bob Kulick, 70, American hard rock guitarist 30
* Mady Mesplé, 89, French opera singer
* John Nzenze, 79–80, Kenyan rock and jazz guitarist31
* Bob Northern, 86, American jazz French hornist
* Kjeld Wennick, 76, Danish banjoist and singer

June

* Majek Fashek, 57, Nigerian reggae singer and songwriter
* Joey Image, 63, American punk rock drummer 2 – Chris Trousdale, 34, American pop singer 4
* Marcello Abbado, 93, Italian classical pianist and composer
* Rupert Hine, 72, British jazz-rock singer and keyboardist
* Steve Priest, 72, British glam rock guitarist 5 – Marjan, 72, Iranian pop singer7
* Frank Bey, 74, American blues singer
* Floyd Lee, 86, American blues singer and guitarist8
* James Hand, 67, American country singer
* Bonnie Pointer, 69, American R&B singer 9
* Paul Chapman, 66, Welsh hard rock guitarist
* Pau Donés, 53, Spanish pop rock singer-songwriter and guitarist 12
* Dodo Doris, 71, Congolese soukous drummer
* Ricky Valance, 84, Welsh pop singer14
* Keith Tippett, 72, British free jazz and progressive rock pianist 15
* Rocky Isaac, 73, American pop-rock drummer
* Nana Tuffour, 66, Ghanaian highlife singer16 – Yohan, 28, South Korean K-pop singer 17 – Hugh Fraser, 67, Canadian jazz pianist and trombonist18
* Hux Brown, 75, Jamaican reggae guitarist
* Vera Lynn, 103, British pop singer19 – A. L. Raghavan, 86, Indian playback singer20 – Aaron Tokona, 45, New Zealand alternative rock guitarist 21
* Jeet Singh Negi, 95, Indian folk singer-songwriter
* Joan Pau Verdier, 73, French nòva cançon singer23 – Margarita Pracatan, 89, Cuban novelty singer24
* Michael Hawley, 58, American classical pianist and academic
* Claude Le Péron, 72, French rock bassist25
* Huey, 32, American rapper
* Graeme Williamson, Canadian new wave singer and guitarist 26 – Tami Lynn, 81, American soul singer27
* Pete Carr, 70, American rock, pop and soul guitarist
* Freddy Cole, 88, American jazz singer and pianist
* Tom Finn, 71, American baroque pop guitarist
* Mats Rådberg, 72, Swedish country singer and guitarist28 – Simon H. Fell, 61, British jazz bassist29
* Steppa J. Groggs, 32, American rapper
* Johnny Mandel, 94, American jazz and film composer
* Benny Mardones, 73, American soft rock singer-songwriter
* Willie Wright, 80, American soul singer

July

* Max Crook, 83, American pop rock keyboardist
* Joe Penny, 92, American country music singer3 – J. Marvin Brown, 66, American soul singer 5
* Cleveland Eaton, 80, American jazz bassist
* John Marascalco, 89, American songwriter and record producer6
* Charlie Daniels, 83, American country singer-songwriter and fiddler
* Andrew Kishore, 64, Bangladeshi playback singer
* Ennio Morricone, 91, Italian film composer8 – Naya Rivera, 33, American pop singer and actress10 – Eddie Gale, 78, American jazz trumpeter 11
* Gabriella Tucci, 90, Italian opera singer
* Rich Priske, 52, Canadian rock bassist 12
* Rod Bernard, 79, American swamp pop singer
* Judy Dyble, 71, British folk singer-songwriter and autoharpist
* Eleanor Sokoloff, 106, American classical pianist14
* J. J. Lionel, 72, Belgian pop singer
* Raúl Pagano, Argentine rock keyboardist 16
* Ken Chinn, 57, Canadian punk rock singer
* Jamie Oldaker, 68, American country drummer
* Víctor Víctor, 71, Dominican folk singer and guitarist18 – Haruma Miura, 30, Japanese pop singer and actor19 – Emitt Rhodes, 70, American pop rock singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist 21
* Dobby Dobson, 77, Jamaican reggae singer
* Annie Ross, 89, British-American jazz singer
* Mieko Hirota, 73, Japanese kayokyoku singer22 – Tim Smith, 59, British progressive rock singer and guitarist 24 – Regis Philbin, 88, American television personality and singer25
* Peter Green, 73, English blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
* CP Lee, 70, British comedy rock singer and guitarist 27
* Denise Johnson, 56, British alternative rock singer
* Miss Mercy, 71, American psychedelic rock singer 28
* Pepe Cardona, 72, American pop-rock singer
* Bent Fabric, 95, Danish classical pianist and composer29
*Balla Sidibé, 79, Senegalese son cubano singer and timbalero
* Malik B., 47, American rapper 30
* Randy Barlow, 77, American country singer
* Sonam Tshering Lepcha, 92, Indian folk singer31 – Bill Mack, 88, American country singer-songwriter

August

* Leon Fleisher, 92, American classical pianist
* Steve Holland, 66, American Southern rock guitarist
* Larry Novak, 87, American jazz pianist4
* Tony Costanza, 52, American heavy metal drummer 5
* Agathonas Iakovidis, 65, Greek folk singer
* Jan Savage, 77, American garage rock guitarist 6
* Wayne Fontana, 74, British pop singer
* Vern Rumsey, 47, American post-hardcore and indie rock bassist 7 – Mark Wirtz, 76, French pop singer9
* Salome Bey, 80, American-born Canadian soul singer
* Martin Birch, 71, British music producer and recording engineer10 – Don Martin, New Zealand new wave bassist 11
* Belle du Berry, 54, French chanson singer
* Pat Fairley, 76, Scottish pop rock singer and bassist
* Trini Lopez, 83, American pop singer13 – Steve Grossman, 69, American jazz fusion saxophonist14
* Julian Bream, 87, British classical guitarist
* Ewa Demarczyk, 79, Polish cabaret singer and poet
* Valentina Legkostupova, 54, Russian pop singer
* Pete Way, 69, English rock bassist 16 – Emman, 21, Filipino pop singer17 – Jasraj, 90, Indian classical singer18
* Ron Heathman, American rock guitarist
* Sean Pentecost, Australian alternative metal drummer
* Hal Singer, 100, American jazz saxophonist and bandleader19
* Randall Craig Fleischer, 61, American classical conductor
* Todd Nance, 57, American jam band drummer 20
* Frankie Banali, 68, American hard rock drummer
* Justin Townes Earle, 38, American folk singer-songwriter
* Mike Kirkland, 82, American folk musician
* Jack Sherman, 64, American funk rock guitarist
* Piotr Szczepanik, 78, Polish pop singer22
* Walter Lure, 71, American punk rock guitarist
* D. J. Rogers, 72, American soul singer23
* Peter King, 80, American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist
* Charlie Persip, 91, American jazz drummer24 – Riley Gale, 34, American thrash metal singer 25
* Georges Bœuf, 82, French opera composer and saxophonist
* Mick Hart, Australian folk singer
* Gerry McGhee, 58, British-Canadian hard rock singer 27
* Archana Mahanta, 71, Indian folk singer
* Mike Noga, 43, Australian alternative rock drummer

September

* John Meyer, 67, Australian rock slide guitarist
* Ian Mitchell, 62, British pop rock bassist
* Erick Morillo, 49, Colombian-American house and eurodance DJ 2 – Alexander Priko, 46, Russian pop rock keyboardist 3 – Bill Pursell, 94, American easy listening composer4
* Gary Peacock, 85, American jazz double-bassist
* Lucille Starr, 82, Canadian country singer6 – Bruce Williamson, 49, American R&B singer 7 – Xavier Ortiz, 48, Mexican pop singer 8
* Simeon Coxe, 82, American electronic rock singer and synthesizer player
* Vexi Salmi, 77, Finnish pop rock lyricist9
* Ronald Bell, 68, American funk saxophonist
* Sid McCray, 63, American punk rock singer 10 – Danny Webster, 61, American funk singer and guitarist 11
* Toots Hibbert, 77, Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter
* Reggie Johnson, 79, American jazz bassist12 – Edna Wright, 76, American R&B singer 14
* Al Kasha, 83, American pop songwriter
* Peter Starkie, 72, Australian rock guitarist 16 – Roy C, 81, American soul singer18
* Georgia Dobbins, 78, American R&B singer and songwriter
* Pamela Hutchinson, 62, American R&B singer 19
* Lee Kerslake, 73, British hard rock drummer
* Dave Kusworth, 60, British indie rock singer 21
* Hamdi Benani, 77, Algerian pop singer and violinist
* Tommy DeVito, 92, American pop singer and guitarist
* Roy Head, 79, American country singer-songwriter
* Ira Sullivan, 89, American jazz trumpeter23
* Juliette Gréco, 93, French chanson singer
* W. S. Holland, 85, American country drummer 24 – Max Merritt, 79, New Zealand soul singer-songwriter and guitarist25 – S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, 74, Indian playback singer26
* Masayoshi Kabe, 70, Japanese rock guitarist and bassist
* Mark Stone, American hard rock bassist
* Jimmy Winston, 75, British rock keyboardist 28 – Jackie Dennis, 77, Scottish pop singer29
* Mac Davis, 78, American country singer-songwriter
* Rocco Prestia, 69, American funk bassist
* Helen Reddy, 78, Australian-American pop singer

October

2 – Lisa Schouw, Australian pop singer 3

* Karel Fiala, 95, Czech opera singer
* Anthony Galindo, 41, Venezuelan pop singer 6
* Johnny Nash, 80, American pop and reggae singer-songwriter
* Eddie Van Halen, 65, Dutch-born American hard rock guitarist and keyboardist 7 – Ray Pennington, 86, American country singer-songwriter8
* Brian Locking, 81, British rock and roll bassist
* Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, 80, Iranian classical singer9
* David Refael ben Ami, 70, Israeli religious singer
* Pierre Kezdy, 58, American punk rock bassist 11
* Harold Betters, 92, American jazz trombonist
* Rajan, 87, Indian film composer 12
* Jon Gibson, 80, American minimalist multi-instrumentalist
* Kim Massie, 62, American blues and soul singer13 – Saint Dog, 44, American rapper 14 – Paul Matters, Australian hard rock bassist 15 – Dave Munden, 76, British rock and roll drummer 16
* Johnny Bush, 85, American country singer-songwriter
* Gordon Haskell, 74, British progressive rock and jazz singer and bassist
* P. S. Narayanaswamy, 86, Indian Carnatic singer17 – Toshinori Kondo, 71, Japanese jazz trumpeter18
* Alfredo Cerruti, 78, Italian comedy rock musician and producer
* Naâma, 84, Tunisian pop singer
* José Padilla, 64, Spanish ambient DJ and producer
* Maisa Tsuno, 29, Japanese indie rock guitarist
* Chet "JR" White, 40, American indie rock bassist 19
* Spencer Davis, 81, Welsh rock guitarist
* Tony Lewis, 62, British pop rock singer and guitarist 21
* Zero Babu, 80, Indian playback and Carnatic singer
* Viola Smith, 107, American swing and classical drummer22
* Margie Bowes, 79, American country singer
* K. Deep, 79, Burmese folk singer23 – Jerry Jeff Walker, 78, American country singer-songwriter25
* Dolores Abril, 81, Spanish copla singer
* Jan Boerman, 97, Dutch electronic composer
* Rosanna Carteri, 89, Italian opera singer
* Mahesh Kanodia, 83, Indian Gujarati film singer26 – Stan Kesler, 92, American rock and roll guitarist and songwriter28
* Cano Estremera, 62, Puerto Rican salsa singer
* Billy Joe Shaver, 81, American country singer-songwriter29 – Denise Ferri, 76, American pop singer 30 – Božidar Tanaskovic, Serbian alternative rock bassist 31
* Rance Allen, 71, American gospel singer, guitarist and keyboardist
* Marc Fosset, 71, French jazz guitarist
* MF Doom, 49, British-American rapper

November

* Pedro Iturralde, 91, Spanish jazz saxophonist
* Phil K, 51, Australian electronic DJ
* Nikki McKibbin, 42, American pop rock singer
* Ronnie Peel, Australian rock guitarist
* Esteban Santos, 69, Spanish pop singer 2 – T. N. Krishnan, 92, Indian Carnatic violinist4 – Ken Hensley, 75, British rock singer, keyboardist and guitarist 5
* Len Barry, 78, American soul singer
* Reynaert, 65, Belgian pop singer
* Ossi Runne, 93, Belgian pop trumpeter and conductor6
* Stefano D'Orazio, 72, Italian pop drummer
* King Von, 26, American rapper
* Jim Radford, 92, British folk singer-songwriter
* Timur Selçuk, 74, Turkish pop singer and pianist7
* Cándido Camero, 99, Cuban jazz percussionist
* Bones Hillman, 62, New Zealand alternative rock bassist 8 – Oscar Benton, 71, Dutch blues singer10 – Alec Baillie, American punk rock bassist 11
* Adrian Cionco, 48, Argentine rock bassist
* MO3, 28, American rapper
* Andrew White, 78, American jazz saxophonist12 – Jim Tucker, 74, American pop rock guitarist 13
* Kićo Slabinac, 76, Croatian folk singer
* Doug Supernaw, 60, American country singer14
* Des O'Connor, 88, English comedian and pop singer
* Eugenia Ratti, 87, Italian opera singer16 – Bruce Swedien, 86, American recording engineer18
* László Benkő, 77, Hungarian progressive rock keyboardist
* Dominic Grant, 71, British pop singer
* Tony Hooper, 81, British folk rock guitarist 21 – Tamás Mihály, 73, Hungarian progressive rock bassist 23 – Hal Ketchum, 67, American country singer-songwriter25
* Duris Maxwell, 74, Canadian rock drummer
* Flor Silvestre, 90, Mexican ranchera and huapango singer and actress
* Camilla Wicks, 92, American classical violinist26
* Allan Botschinsky, 80, Danish jazz trumpeter
* Cecilia Fusco, 87, Italian opera singer
* Jamir Garcia, 42, Filipino nu metal singer 28 – Piotr Strojnowski, 62, Polish reggae singer and guitarist 29 – Miša Aleksić, 67, Serbian hard rock bassist 30 – Jack Wray, 81, American doo-wop singer

December

1 – Dan Morrison, Australian ska punk drummer 2

* Volodymyr Huba, 81, Ukrainian film composer
* Ron Mathewson, 76, British jazz bassist3 – André Gagnon, 84, Canadian pianist, composer, and arranger4 – Kenny Jeremiah, 78, American garage-rock singer 6 – Džej Ramadanovski, 56, Serbian folk pop singer7
* LD Beghtol, 55, American experimental rock singer and multi-instrumentalist
* Howard Wales, 77, American jazz and rock keyboardist8 – Harold Budd, 84, American avant-garde composer and poet9
* Sean Malone, 50, American progressive rock bassist
* Jason Slater, 49, American alternative rock bassist 10 – Kenneth Alwyn, 95, British classical composer and conductor11 – Ubirany, 80, Brazilian samba hand-repique player 12 – Charley Pride, 86, American country singer13 – Andrey Sapunov, 64, Russian rock guitarist and bassist 14 – Paulinho, 68, Brazilian soft rock singer 15
* Albert Griffiths, 74, Jamaican reggae singer and guitarist
* Corlynn Hanney, 75, American pop-soul singer
* Sam Jayne, 46, American indie rock singer and guitarist 16 – Carl Mann, 78, American rockabilly singer17
* Jeff Clayton, 66, American jazz saxophonist
* Stanley Cowell, 79, American jazz pianist 19
* Pelle Alsing, 60, Swedish pop rock drummer
* Clay Anthony, 61, American hard rock bassist
* Pepe Salvaderi, Italian rock guitarist 20 – Chad Stuart, 79, British folk-pop singer and guitarist 21 – K. T. Oslin, 78, American country singer-songwriter23
* John “Ecstasy” Fletcher, 56, American rapper
* Leslie West, 75, American hard rock singer and guitarist 24
* Ivry Gitlis, 98, Israeli classical violinist
* Mojmir Sepe, 90, Slovenian classical composer and conductor
* Geoff Stephens, 86, English songwriter and record producer, founder of The New Vaudeville Band25 – Tony Rice, 69, American bluegrass guitarist 26 – Tito Rojas, 65, Puerto Rican salsa singer27 – Richard Lewis Spencer, 78, American funk and soul singer and saxophonist 28
* Paul-Heinz Dittrich, 90, German composer
* Armando Manzanero, 85, Mexican Mayan musician29
* Claude Bolling, 90, French jazz pianist and composer
* Hugh X. Lewis, 90, American country music singer-songwriter
* Phyllis McGuire, 89, American pop singer
* Rudy Salas, 72, American R&B and soul guitarist 30
* Frank Kimbrough, 64, American jazz pianist
* Alto Reed, 72, American rock saxophonist
* Eugene Wright, 97, American jazz bassist