1969 in Music - Deaths

Deaths

• January 4 – Paul Chambers, jazz bassist (b. 1935) (tuberculosis)
• January 17 - Grażyna Bacewicz, Polish composer and violinist (b. 1909)
• February 15 – Pee Wee Russell, jazz clarinetist (b. 1906)
• February 20 – Ernest Ansermet, conductor (b. 1883)
• February 23 – Constantin Silvestri, conductor and composer (b. 1913)
• March 25 – Billy Cotton, bandleader (b. 1899)
• March 26 - Clara Dow, operatic soprano (b. 1883)
• April 2 – Fortunio Bonanova, baritone (b. 1895)
• April 4 - Fanny Anitùa, operatic contralto (b. 1887)
• April 10 – Fernando Ortiz, ethnomusicologist (b. 1881)
• April 20 – Benny Benjamin ("Papa Zita"), drummer (b. 1925) (stroke)
• April 22 - Amparo Iturbi, Spanish pianist (b. 1898)
• April 23 – Krzysztof Komeda, jazz musician and composer (b. 1931) (haematoma)
• April 29 – Julius Katchen, pianist (b. 1926) (cancer)
• May 1 – Ella Logan, actress and singer (b. 1913)
• May 17 - Maria Olszewska, operatic contralto (b. 1892)
• May 22 – Nicola Salerno, Italian lyricist (b. 1910)
• May 9 - Elias Breeskin, violinist, conductor and composer (b. 1896)
• May 23 – Jimmy McHugh, US composer and pianist (b. 1894)
• June 14
  • Roberto Firpo, Argentine tango pianist (b. 1884)
  • Wynonie Harris, R & B singer ("Mister Blues") (b. 1915)
• June 17 – Rita Abatzi, rebetiko musician (b. 1914)
• June 22 – Judy Garland, singer and actress (b. 1922) (overdose of barbiturates)
• July 3 – Brian Jones, guitarist, founder member of The Rolling Stones (b. 1942) (drowned)
• July 5 – Wilhelm Backhaus, pianist (b. 1884)
• July 11 - Hina Spani, operatic soprano (b. 1896)
• July 26 – Frank Loesser, US songwriter (b. 1910)
• August 6 – Theodor Adorno, exponent of the "New Music" (b. 1903)
• August 11 - Miriam Licette, operatic soprano (b. 1885)
• August 13 – Jacob do Bandolim, mandolin player and composer (b. 1918)
• September 5 – Josh White, blues musician (b. 1914)
• September 14 - Alice Zeppilli, operatic soprano (b. 1885)
• October 3 – Skip James, blues musician (b. 1902)
• October 4 – Natalino Otto, Italian singer (b. 1912)
• October 22 – Tommy Edwards, singer (b. 1922)
• November 8 – Ricardo Aguirre, protest singer (b. 1939)
• November 18 – Ted Heath, bandleader (b. 1902)
• November 23 – Spade Cooley, swing musician and murderer (b. 1910) (heart attack)
• December 1 – Magic Sam, blues musician (b. 1937) (heart attack)
• December 5 - James "Stump" Johnson, blues pianist (b. 1902)
• December 6 – Walther Aeschbacher, Swiss conductor and composer (b. 1901)
• December 22 – Wilbur Hatch, pianist, composer and conductor (b. 1902)
• date unknown - Marcel LaFosse, trumpeter (b. 1895)
• probable – Mississippi Joe Callicott, blues musician (b. 1900)