1979 in Music - Deaths

Deaths

January 5 – Charles Mingus, jazz musician, 56 (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
January 13
- Donny Hathaway, singer, 33 (suicide)
- Marjorie Lawrence, operatic soprano, 71
February 2 – Sid Vicious, punk rocker, 21 (heroin overdose)
March 4 – Mike Patto, rock singer, 36 (cancer)
March 5 – Alan Crofoot, operatic tenor and host of Mr Piper, 49 (suicide)
March 22 – Walter Legge, record producer, 72
March 23 - Antonio Brosa, violinist, 84
April 10 – Nino Rota, composer, 67
April 29 – Julia Perry, composer and conductor, 55
May 1 - Bronislav Gimpel, violinist, 68
May 11 – Lester Flatt, bluegrass musician, 64
May 21 – Blue Mitchell, trumpeter, 49
June 5 – Jack Haley, Wizard of Oz star, 80
June 29 – Lowell George, singer, songwriter and guitarist, founder of Little Feat, 34 (heart attack)
July 3 – Louis Durey, composer, 91
July 6 – Van McCoy, singer, 35 (heart attack)
July 12 – Minnie Riperton, singer, 31 (breast cancer)
July 14 – Pedro Flores, composer, 85
July 16 – Alfred Deller, countertenor, 67
August 19 – Dorsey Burnette, Rockabilly singer, 46 (heart attack)
August 25 – Stan Kenton, bandleader, 67
September 2 - Jacques Février, pianist, 79
September 6 – Guy Bolton, English librettist, 94
September 22 - Richard Nibley, violinist, 66
September 27
- Gracie Fields, actress and singer, 81
- Jimmy McCulloch, guitarist (Wings), 28
October 1 – Roy Harris, composer, 81
October 13 – Rebecca Helferich Clarke, viola player and composer, 93
October 22 – Nadia Boulanger, French composer, conductor, and music teacher, 92
October 27 - Germaine Lubin, operatic soprano, 89
November 11 – Dimitri Tiomkin, film composer and conductor, 85
November 17 – John Glascock, rock bassist, 28
November 30 – Joyce Grenfell, actress and singer-songwriter, 69
December 30 – Richard Rodgers, composer and songwriter, 77
December 21 – Nansi Richards, harpist, 91