2006 in music

• January 10 – Eric Burdon releases the album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band.
• January 11–15 – MahlerFest XIX, honoring Austrian composer Gustav Mahler, is held in Boulder, Colorado, USA.
• January 13 – Mylène Farmer launches her Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy tour at Paris-Bercy, France.
• January 14 – Eminem remarries ex-wife Kim after five years of separation.[1]
• January 16 – Transplants frontman, Rob Aston, announces that the band has disbanded shortly after their fall tour was cancelled.
• January 20–February 5 – The Big Day Out festival takes place in Australia and New Zealand, headlined by The White Stripes, Iggy and the Stooges and Franz Ferdinand. AFI withdraw due to a delay in recording their then-untitled seventh studio album, with Mylo and Jean Grae also withdrawing from the lineup.
• January 24 – British girl band All Saints announce they will regroup for a tour and album later in the year.
• January 31 – American hardcore punk band Champion announced their impending breakup, with a final show scheduled for May.[2]

• February 1
  • Former Pantera, Damageplan, and Hellyeah–drummer, Vinnie Paul Abbott, forms Big Vin Records.
  • Vienna State Opera announces that music director Seiji Ozawa will have to cancel all of his performance commitments for 2006 due to ill-health.
• February 8 – The 48th annual Grammy Awards are handed out at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, USA. Madonna opens the awards for a third time. U2 is the night's big winner, with five awards, becoming the only rock act currently to win two Album of the Year awards with their win for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, following their 1988 win for The Joshua Tree. They also win Song of the Year for "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", while Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" wins Record of the Year. John Legend wins Best New Artist. Mariah Carey won three of her eight nominations, her first Grammys since 1991. Kelly Clarkson is the first American Idol contestant ever to win a Grammy.
• February 10 – White Lion/Black Label Society bassist James Lorenzo joins Megadeth as the replacement for James MacDonough (who was previously in Iced Earth).
• February 18 – The Rolling Stones give a free concert with about 1,3 million people in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• February 22 – The one billionth song is downloaded on iTunes; the song is "Speed of Sound" by Coldplay.
• February 24 – Premiere of The Scarecrow by Joseph Turrin at University of Texas at Austin Performing Arts Center.
• February 25 – The fourth annual Total Request Live awards are held in New York City, USA. Madonna wins the Lifetime Achievement Award and Bono wins the Most Inspired Artist/Humanitarian Award. Other winners include Fall Out Boy, Chris Brown, Mariah Carey, Ashlee Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Amanda Bynes, and My Chemical Romance. Performers included Ashlee Simpson and Chris Brown.
• February 26 – Ne-Yo comes into the music industry with his debut album In My Own Words

• March 5
  • Bon Jovi's second single, "Who Says You Can't Go Home", from the album Have A Nice Day goes to number one in the U.S. Hot Country Charts for two weeks. This is the first time a rock band has achieved a number one hit in the US country charts.
  • Three 6 Mafia became the first African American hip-hop group to win an Academy Award for Best Song and also became the first hip-hop artists to ever perform at the ceremony. The group was nominated for the song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from the Hustle & Flow film soundtrack.
• March 10 – In Dortmund, Germany, David Gilmour begins his first world tour since Pink Floyd's 1994 world tour, in support of his On an Island album.
• March 11 – James Blunt, with his single "You're Beautiful", becomes the first British artist to top the US Billboard Hot 100 chart since Elton John with "Candle in the Wind 1997" almost nine years earlier.
• March 21 – My Chemical Romance release their first live album Life on the Murder Scene.
• March 22 – Aerosmith cancel their tour after lead singer Steven Tyler is taken ill, requiring throat surgery.
• March 25 – Christofer Johnsson quits Demonoid while the band hires Emperor Magus Caligula as his replacement although it wasn't publicly announced that Emperor Magus Caligula was hired until 2007.

• April 1–2 – The Festival Imperial is held in the Autódromo La Guácima, in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
• April 3 – Killing Joke release their 13th studio album, Hosannas from the Basements of Hell. This was Killing Joke's last album to include the original four members of the band.
• April 4 – Hawk Nelson released their second album, Smile, It's the End of the World.
• April 5 – Eminem files for divorce from wife Kim, less than three months after they were married for the second time.[3]
• April 11 – Rapper Proof is shot and killed by a nightclub bouncer at 8 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan, after allegedly shooting a third man, Keith Bender, Jr, who later dies of his injuries.
• April 15 – Mary J. Blige's single "Be Without You" ends its 15th week at number one on the US Billboard R&B chart, making it the most successful R&B song in history.
• April 20 – Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins confirms that the band are in the studio recording their first album since 2000's Machina/The Machines of God.
• April 21–23 – The Terrastock 6 festival is held in Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
• April 25 – American rock band, the Goo Goo Dolls, celebrate 20 successful years in the music industry with the release of Let Love In.
• April 29–30 – The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival takes place in Indio, California, USA. Performers include Madonna, James Blunt, Kanye West, Depeche Mode, and Paul Oakenfold.

• May 1 – 1,951 guitarists simultaneously play Jimi Hendrix's song "Hey Joe" in the town square of Wrocław, Poland, breaking a Guinness world record.[4]
• May 2 – Pearl Jam release their self-titled album Pearl Jam, their fifth studio album. It was also their first released album after their departure from Sony
• May 8 – Mor ve Otesi, a Turkish alternative rock band, release Büyük Düşler, their fifth studio album.
• May 9 – Beirut release their debut album, Gulag Orkestar.
• May 10 – Roy Mayorga joins Stone Sour.
• May 11 – Dave Baksh announces that he left Sum 41 to pursue his career with his second band Brown Brigade.
• May 12
  • Martin Lopez quits Opeth while Opeth hires Martin Axenrot as his replacement.
  • Guns N' Roses play the first of four warm-up shows at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, USA, preceding a European tour and shows across the U.S.
• May 13
  • The Los Angeles, USA radio station KROQ-FM airs the 14th annual Weenie Roast.
  • Drummer Ryan Vandeberghe announces that The Suicide Machines have broken up after 15 years of activity.
• May 20 – Finnish monster rock band Lordi win the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah", the first hard rock and heavy metal song to win.
• May 21 – Madonna begins her Confessions Tour in Los Angeles, USA. Tickets were sold out within minutes in North America, Europe, and Asia, resulting in new dates to be announced in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London. The tour grossed more than US$260 million – the highest-grossing tour in history by a female artist.
• May 23 – Ex-Blink-182 frontman Tom DeLonge released the album We Don't Need To Whisper with new band Angels and Airwaves.
• May 24 – Taylor Hicks wins the US television talent contest, American Idol, season 5. Katharine McPhee is the runner-up.

• June 1 – YoungbloodZ and their entourage are arrested on drugs and weapons charges in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.[5] (dead link)
• June 6 – Ice Cube's first album in six years, Laugh Now, Cry Later, is released on his independently owned record label Lench Mob Records. The album debuted in the top five selling 144,000 copies in the first week.
• June 7 – World premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Freude, for two harps, in the Milan Cathedral by Esther Kooi and Marianne Smit.[6]
• June 8 – Shakira's single "Hips Don't Lie" sells 266,500 downloads in its first week of availability, overtaking D4L's record of 175,000. "Hips Don't Lie" also breaks another record, gaining the greatest airplay in a single week with 9,657 plays, breaking Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" record of 9,582.
• June 9
  • Nelly Furtado's new album, Loose is released and debuts at No. 1 with 219,000 copies sold, making it her first number-one album.
  • Igor Cavalera leaves Sepultura because of artistic differences – the third official member and the second Cavalera to leave.
• June 9-11 – The annual Download Festival takes place at Donington Park in Leicestershire, England. Tool, Metallica and Guns N' Roses headlined the main stage, the Snickers stage by The All-American Rejects, Alter Bridge and The Prodigy, the Gibson/Myspace stage by Ginger & The Sonic Circus, Killing Joke and Sick of It All, and the Snickers Bowl stage by Gay for Johnny Depp, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly and Viking Skull.
• June 14 – Shakira launches her Oral Fixation Tour in Zaragoza, Spain.
• June 16–18 – Bonnaroo Music Festival takes place in Manchester, Tennessee, USA. Performers include Radiohead, Tom Petty, Phil Lesh and Friends, Beck, and Sasha.
• June 19 – Taylor Swift released her first single, "Tim McGraw", at 16 years old.
• June 23 – Backstreet Boys band member Kevin Richardson leaves the group to pursue other interests. However, he would return to the group permanently on April 29, 2012.

• July 1 – Glue Gun performed their first reunion concert at Harpers in Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA. It was the band's first performance since breaking up in 1996.
• July 4 – Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith perform with the Boston Pops Orchestra in an event televised nationally in the USA.
• July 5 – The US television talent show, American Idol, begins its tour.
• July 7 – Justin Timberlake released his single SexyBack. The song went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 for a total of 7 weeks.
• July 9 – Scooter releases the live CD and DVD Excess All Areas, with recordings taken from the Who's Got The Last Laugh Now? tour.
• July 11 – Jean Dolabella replaces Igor Cavalera in Sepultura.
• July 12 – Rivers Cuomo confirms that Weezer is now on hiatus again. Commenting on the band's future he said, "I'm not certain we'll ever make a record again, unless it becomes really obvious to me that we need to do one."
• July 17 – Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne marries Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley in a private ceremony.
• July 22–23 – The annual Splendour in the Grass music festival is held in Byron Bay, Australia, headlined by Sonic Youth and Brian Wilson.
• July 29
  • Stephanie McIntosh, former star of the Australian television soap opera, Neighbours, releases her debut single, "Mistake", in Australia, where it became a top three hit.
  • Family Values Tour 2006, featuring Korn, Deftones and Stone Sour, begins. This was the first Family Values Tour since 2001.
• July 30 – The last ever weekly edition of the British television chart show, Top of the Pops, is broadcast after 42 years on the air.[7]
• July 31 – Chicago rock band OK Go release their video for their single "Here It Goes Again", and the video quickly becomes an internet phenomenon on YouTube.

• August 1 – The 10th anniversary of television channel MTV2's launch and the 25th anniversary of MTV's launch.
• August 2 – Dan Swanö quits Bloodbath.
• August 4–6 – The Lollapalooza festival is held in Chicago, USA.
• August 15 – Christina Aguilera releases her third studio album Back to Basics, and debuts No. 1 on the Billboard 200; her first studio album in four years, it becomes her second number one album since her debut, selling 346,000 copies in its first week.
• August 21 – Anne-Sophie Mutter announces her divorce from André Previn.
• August 22 – The Devil Wears Prada release their successful debut album while all the members are still in high school.
• August 25
  • It is reported that Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton is undergoing treatment for throat cancer and will sit out the first half of the band's Route of All Evil Tour, the first time he would miss any shows in the band's history. Long time band friend David Hull filled in for Hamilton until his return.
  • The Assassin Tree (score: Stuart MacRae, libretto: Simon Armitage) is premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival.
• August 26 – David Gilmour's world tour ends with a performance at the Gdańsk shipyards, Gdańsk. The show was filmed and recorded for release of the live album set Live in Gdańsk (2008).
• August 29 – Jessica Simpson released her first album in three years, A Public Affair, after her "public" divorce.
• August 31 – Rock group Panic! at the Disco win the Video of the Year award for their hit single "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.

• September 3 – Beyoncé Knowles releases her second consecutive No.1 solo album B'Day, selling 541,000 copies in its first week. And spawning two UK No.1 singles.
• September 5 – The Mercury Music Prize is held in the UK, with Arctic Monkeys' debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not winning ahead of entries from acts such as Muse and Thom Yorke. Audioslave's third and final album, Revelations, is released.
• September 8 – Eddie Van Halen announces that the lineup for his next album will include his son Wolfgang on bass and not the longtime Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, whom Eddie says he is on the outs with.[8]
• September 12 – Justin Timberlake releases his second album FutureSex/LoveSounds after 4 years. The album debuted No. 1 on the Billboard 200, giving Justin his first number one album as a solo artist, selling 648,000 copies in its first week. Its first three singles were consecutive number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, making Timberlake the first male artist to have three or more consecutive number-one hits from one album since Usher achieved it in 2004
• September 18 – Elton John released his 29th studio album The Captain & the Kid.
• September 19
  • Ben Kweller releases his third solo album Ben Kweller on the label ATO Records.
  • Navin Kundra debuts with what became number one on the UK Asian Charts, Tukde, Tukde (Pieces in English). His first of six number one singles.
• September 22 – A Tempestade, (score and libretto: Ronaldo Miranda), based on Shakespeare's play The Tempest, is premiered at Theatro São Pedro in São Paulo, Brazil.
• September 27 – Boy band, Five, announce they are to reunite, minus original bandmate Sean Conlon.

• October 2
  • The Strokes' guitarist, Albert Hammond, Jr., released his solo album Yours to Keep on Rough Trade Records.
  • Violinist and opera singer Logan Simpson is arrested for refusing to stop his car when a traffic light turns red.
• October 7 – Liquidation of the bankrupt music store chain Tower Records begins after its assets are purchased by Great American Group.[9] The last store closes its doors permanently on December 22.
• October 10 – Justin Hawkins, lead singer of the band The Darkness announces he is leaving the band.
• October 11 – After 25 years as an artist, "Weird Al" Yankovic finally gets his first top 10 hit, with "White & Nerdy".
• October 15 – New York City music club CBGB closes after a lengthy rent dispute. Patti Smith performs the final show at the club that night.
• October 17 – French singer Manu Chao performs in Colombia to an audience of 80,000 people.
• October 23
  • Launch of MTV Pakistan.
  • My Chemical Romance release their third studio album The Black Parade, the first on which Bob Bryar plays drums.
• October 24 – Taylor Swift releases her debut self-titled album at the age of 16, which sold 39,000 in its first week.
• October 25 – Guitarist Brian May announces on his website that Queen is returning to the studio for recording sessions. The new lineup, Queen + Paul Rodgers, features May, Paul Rodgers (the former lead vocalist of Free) and former Queen drummer Roger Taylor.
• October 26 – Duran Duran lead guitarist Andy Taylor once again leaves the band after a series of disagreements surrounding their latest album, which was still incomplete by the year's end. Reasons given are his disapproval of the usage of both Timbaland and Justin Timberlake in the creation of the band's album. The band hires an interim guitarist to supplant Taylor, with no real replacement being announced.
• October 30
  • Keane release "Nothing In My Way", the first single to be released on a USB memory stick.
  • Bring Me The Horizon release Count Your Blessings, their debut album.
• October 31
  • The Who release Endless Wire, their first studio album for 24 years.
  • Green Day and U2 released a cover of "The Saints Are Coming".

• November 7
  • Nelly Furtado records a cameo appearance in the Portuguese soap opera Floribella.[10]
  • Britney Spears files for divorce from Kevin Federline after two years of marriage.[11]
• November 11
  • Justin Timberlake's single "My Love" reaches number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.
  • Kylie Minogue resumes Showgirl – The Homecoming Tour in Sydney, Australia after a break of a year and a half resulting from undergoing treatment for breast cancer.[12]
• November 14 – Microsoft releases the first Zune media player.[13]
• November 16
  • The MTV Movie Awards Latin America 2006 are held. Performers at the event included Evanescence, Robbie Williams, Panda, Nelly Furtado, and Shakira.
  • Snow Patrol become the first British band in 13 years to reach the top five of the US Billboard Hot 100.[14]
• November 24 – The American Music Awards are broadcast. Winners include Kelly Clarkson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shakira, Jamie Foxx, Nickelback, Sean Paul, The Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Faith Hill, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and Mary J. Blige, Nelly Furtado, John Mayer, Fall Out Boy and Beyoncé performed at the event.
• November 26 – Damien Leith wins the Australian television talent show, Australian Idol 2006, becoming the oldest winner of any Idol show in the world. and defeating 16-year-old Jessica Mauboy.
• November 27 – The Offspring announce that they were back in the studio recording their first album since 2003's Splinter.[15]
• December 5 – Actor and Pop rock singer and musician Drake Bell releases his major record label debut It's Only Time, under Universal Motown Records.
• December 6
  • Beyoncé achieves her fourth number one single in the U.S. with "Irreplaceable", which went on to become the best selling single of 2007.
  • December 6 is declared Dia de Shakira (Day of Shakira) by the mayor of Miami, USA.
• December 13 – David Silveria leaves Korn to manage his restaurant.
• December 16 – Leona Lewis is named winner of the third series of The X Factor UK. Ray Quinn is named runner-up, while Ben Mills and The MacDonald Brothers finish in third and fourth place respectively.

• Bilal's second album, Love for Sale, is leaked and shelved by his record label.[16]
• Rohan Kriwaczek's An Incomplete History of the Art of Funerary Violin, a non-existent musical genre, is published.

Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 Hits

• "Don't Forget About Us" – Mariah Carey (1 week in 2005/1 week in 2006)
• "Laffy Taffy" – D4L (1 week)
• "Grillz" – Nelly featuring Paul Wall, Ali and Big Gipp (2 weeks)
• "Check on It" – Beyoncé featuring Slim Thug (5 weeks)
• "You're Beautiful" – James Blunt (1 week)
• "So Sick" – Ne-Yo (2 weeks)
• "Temperature" – Sean Paul (1 week)
• "Bad Day" – Daniel Powter (5 weeks)
• "SOS (Rescue Me)" – Rihanna (3 weeks)
• "Ridin'" – Chamillionaire featuring Krayzie Bone (2 weeks)
• "Hips Don't Lie" – Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean (2 weeks)
• "Do I Make You Proud" – Taylor Hicks (1 week)
• "Promiscuous" – Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland (6 weeks)
• "London Bridge" – Fergie (3 weeks)
• "SexyBack" – Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland (7 weeks)
• "Money Maker" – Ludacris featuring Pharrell (2 weeks)
• "My Love" – Justin Timberlake featuring T.I. (3 weeks)
• "I Wanna Love You" – Akon featuring Snoop Dogg (2 weeks)
• "Irreplaceable" – Beyoncé (3 weeks in 2006/7 weeks in 2007)

Billboard Hot 100 Hits – Singles which have ranked within Top 20

Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2006

The Official UK No. 1 Singles

• "When the Sun Goes Down" – Arctic Monkeys (1 week)
• "Nasty Girl" – The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge, and Avery Storm (2 weeks)
• "Thunder In My Heart Again" – Meck and Leo Sayer (2 weeks)
• "Sorry" – Madonna (1 week)
• "It's Chico Time" – Chico (2 weeks)
• "No Tomorrow" – Orson (1 week)
• "So Sick" – Ne-Yo (1 week)
• "Crazy" – Gnarls Barkley (9 weeks)
• "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker" – Sandi Thom (1 week)
• "Maneater" – Nelly Furtado (3 weeks)
• "Smile" – Lily Allen (2 weeks)
• "Please, Please / Don't Stop Me Now" – McFly (1 week)
• "Hips Don't Lie" – Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean (4 weeks, 5 weeks in total)
• "Déjà Vu" – Beyoncé Knowles featuring Jay-Z (1 week)
• "SexyBack" – Justin Timberlake (1 week)
• "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" – Scissor Sisters (4 weeks)
• "America" – Razorlight (1 week)
• "Welcome to the Black Parade" – My Chemical Romance (2 weeks)
• "Star Girl" – McFly (1 week)
• "Put Your Hands Up For Detroit" – Fedde Le Grand (1 week)
• "The Rose" – Westlife (1 week)
• "Smack That" – Akon (Featuring Eminem) (1 week)
• "Patience" – Take That (3 weeks)
• "A Moment Like This" – Leona Lewis (2 weeks)

The Official UK Hit Singles – Singles which have ranked within Top 20

• "Wasabi/Eye of the Tiger" – Lee Harding (3 weeks)
• "Run It!" – Chris Brown featuring Juelz Santana (1 week)
• "When I'm Gone" – Eminem (1 week)
• "Run It!" – Chris Brown featuring Juelz Santana (2 weeks)
• "Love Generation" – Bob Sinclar featuring Gary Pine (2 weeks)
• "Flaunt It" – TV Rock featuring Seany B (4 weeks)
• "Forever Young" – Youth Group (1 week)
• "Flaunt It" – TV Rock featuring Seany B (1 week)
• "Forever Young" – Youth Group (1 week)
• "SOS" – Rihanna (8 weeks)
• "Hips Don't Lie" – Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean (9 weeks)
• "SexyBack" – Justin Timberlake (2 weeks)
• "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (with Flowers in My Hair)" – Sandi Thom (10 weeks)
• "The Saints Are Coming" – U2 and Green Day (1 week)
• "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" – Scissor Sisters (2 weeks)
• "Night of My Life" – Damien Leith (3 weeks)

Australian ARIA Hit Singles – Singles which have ranked within Top 20

• January 1 – Bryan Harvey, American singer-guitarist of House of Freaks, 46 (murdered)
• January 6
  • Lou Rawls, American soul singer, 72
  • Alex St. Clair, American drummer of Captain Beefheart, 64
• January 11 – Markus Löffel, German disc jockey, 39
• January 19 – Wilson Pickett, American singer, 64
• January 22 – Janette Carter, member of the Carter Family, 82
• January 27 – Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer, 56
• January 30 – Thomas "Pig Champion" Roberts, American guitarist of Poison Idea, 47
• February 2 – Bill Cowsill, American singer, guitarist of The Cowsills, 52
• February 3 – Romano Mussolini, Italian jazz pianist, 78
• February 8 – Elton Dean, English jazz saxophonist, 60
• February 10 – J Dilla, American hip hop producer, 32
• February 11 – Jockey Shabalala, South African bass vocalist of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, 62
• February 15 – Anna Marly, French singer-songwriter, 88
• February 16 – Sid Feller, conductor and arranger, 89
• February 18 – Bill Cowsill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Cowsills), 58
• February 22 – Anthony Burger, American gospel music pianist, 44

• March 1 – Johnny Jackson, drummer of The Jackson 5, 54 (murdered)
• March 3 – Ivor Cutler, poet and songwriter, 83
• March 7 – Ali Farka Touré, Malian singer and guitarist, 66
• March 10 – Anna Moffo, American operatic soprano, 75
• March 17
  • Narvin Kimball, jazz musician, 97
  • Professor X the Overseer, rapper, 49
• March 23
  • Pío Leyva, Cuban singer of the Buena Vista Social Club, 88
  • Cindy Walker, American country singer-songwriter, 87
• March 25
  • Buck Owens, American country singer and guitarist, 76
  • Rocío Dúrcal, Spanish singer and actress, 62
• March 26 – Nikki Sudden, English singer-songwriter, 49
• March 30 – Jackie McLean, American jazz alto saxophonist, 74
• April 2 – Bernard Seigal, guitarist and critic, 48
• April 5 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter, 66
• April 11
  • June Pointer, American singer of Pointer Sisters, 52
  • Proof (DeShaun Holton), American rapper of D12, 32
• April 23 – Phil Walden, co-founder of Capricorn Records, 66
• April 24
  • Erik Bergman, Finnish composer of classical music, 94
  • Bonnie Owens, American country singer, 76
• April 28 – Ben-Zion Orgad, Israeli composer, 80

• May 1 – Naushad, Indian composer, 86
• May 6 – Grant McLennan, Australian guitarist and songwriter of The Go Betweens, 48
• May 7 – Steve Bender, Dschinghis Khan, The Poor Things, 60
• May 10
  • Soraya, Colombian-American singer, 37
  • John Hicks, American jazz pianist, 65
• May 13 – Johnnie Wilder, American singer of Heatwave, 56
• May 15 – Cheikha Rimitti, Algerian singer, 83
• May 18 – Andy Capps, American drummer of Built to Spill, 37
• May 19 – Freddie Garrity, English singer of Freddie and the Dreamers, 69
• May 23
  • Clifford Antone, American music executive, 56
  • Ian Copeland, American music promoter, 57
• May 25 – Desmond Dekker, Jamaican ska and reggae performer, 64
• June 1 – Rocío Jurado, Spanish singer and actress, 62
• June 2
  • Johnny Grande, American keyboardist of Bill Haley & His Comets, 76
  • Vince Welnick, American keyboardist of Grateful Dead, 55
• June 6
  • Billy Preston, American soul keyboardist, 59
  • Hilton Ruiz, Puerto Rican-American jazz pianist, 54
• June 12 – György Ligeti, Hungarian composer, 83
• June 20 – Claydes Charles Smith, American guitarist of Kool and the Gang, 57
• June 26 – Arif Mardin, Turkish-American music producer, 74
• June 27 – Eileen Barton, American singer, 76
• June 29 – Joyce Hatto, British concert pianist and piano teacher, 77[20]

• July 3
  • Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, American mezzo-soprano, 52
  • Jack Smith, American singer, 92
• July 7
  • Syd Barrett, English singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of Pink Floyd, 60
  • Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, Irish singer and guitarist of The Bothy Band, 54
• July 8 – June Allyson, American actress, singer and dancer, 88
• July 9 – Milan Williams, American keyboardist of The Commodores, 58
• July 11 – Bill Miller, American jazz pianist, 91
• July 16 – Malachi Thompson, American jazz trumpeter, 56
• July 17
  • John G. Blowers, Jr., swing era drummer, 95
  • Sam Myers, American singer-songwriter, 70
• July 21 – Herbie Kalin, American singer, 72
• July 22 – Jessie Mae Hemphill, American singer-songwriter, 82
• July 23 – Bobby Paterson, Scottish pop rock bass guitarist of Love and Money
• July 30 – Anthony Galla-Rini, accordionist, composer, and conductor, 102
• July 31 – Rufus Harley, American jazz bagpiper, 70
• August 2 – Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, German operatic soprano, 90
• August 3 – Arthur Lee, American guitarist and vocalist of Love, 61
• August 11 – Mike Douglas, American singer and talk show host, 86
• August 16 – Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish singer of Dissection, 31 *August 17 – Walter Jagiello, polka musician, 76
• August 19 – Joseph Hill, Jamaican lead singer of roots reggae group Culture, 57
• August 21 – Ustad Bismillah Khan, Indian shehnai player, 90
• August 22 – Bruce Gary, American drummer of The Knack, 55
• August 24 – John Weinzweig, Canadian composer of classical music, 93
• August 27 – Jesse Pintado, Mexican-American guitarist with Napalm Death, 37
• August 28 – Pip Pyle, English drummer for Hatfield and the North, National Health and Gong, 56

• September 3 – Eva Knardahl, Norwegian classical pianist, 79
• September 4 – Astrid Varnay, Swedish operatic soprano, 88
• September 10 – Bennie Smith, American blues musician, 72
• September 13 – Lou Richards, American guitarist of Hatebreed, 35
• September 14 – Norman Brooks, Canadian singer, 78
• September 19 – Danny Flores, Mexican-American saxophonist of The Champs, 77
• September 20 – Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor, 74
• September 21 – Boz Burrell, English bass guitarist of Bad Company and King Crimson, 60
• September 23
  • Malcolm Arnold, English composer, 84
  • Etta Baker, American blues guitarist and singer, 93
• September 25 – Jamie Lyons, American rock singer (The Music Explosion), 57
• September 28 – Jan Werner Danielsen, Norwegian singer, 30
• September 30 – Isabel Bigley, American singer and actress, 78
• October 1 – Prentiss Barnes, American R & B singer, 81
• October 10 – Ed Summerlin, American composer, arranger, jazz saxophonist and music educator, 78
• October 14 – Freddy Fender, American singer, 69
• October 18 – Anna Russell, UK singer and comedian, 94
• October 21 – Sandy West, American drummer of The Runaways, 47
• October 23
  • Lebo Mathosa, singer, 29
  • Leonid Hambro, pianist, 86
• October 26 – Rogério Duprat, composer, 74

• November 1
  • Jason DiEmilio, guitarist (The Azusa Plane), 36
  • Buddy Killen, record producer and founder of Dial Records, 73
  • Silvio Varviso, conductor, 82
• November 3 – Paul Mauriat, orchestra leader, 81
• November 6 – Robert Jance Garfet (Dr Hook)
• November 8 – Basil Poledouris, film composer, 61
• November 10 – Gerald Levert, singer, 40
• November 17 – Ruth Brown, US singer, 78
• November 21 – Robert Lockwood, Jr., American blues guitarist, 91
• November 22 – John Allan Cameron, folk musician, 67
• November 23
  • Betty Comden, lyricist partner of Adolph Green, 89
  • Anita O'Day, jazz singer, 87
• November 24 – Juice Leskinen, Finnish singer-songwriter, 56
• November 25 – Valentín Elizalde, Mexican banda singer, 27
• November 30 – Shirley Walker, film composer, 61
• December 2 – Mariska Veres, singer with Shocking Blue, 59
• December 6 – Darren Brown, AKA Wiz, former frontman of Mega City Four, 44
• December 8 – Martha Tilton, American big band singer, 91
• December 9
  • Georgia Gibbs, American singer, 87
  • Freddie Marsden, drummer of Gerry & The Pacemakers
• December 11 – Homer Ledford, bluegrass musician, 79
• December 12 – Kenny Davern, American clarinet player and saxophonist, 71
• December 13 – Robert Long, singer and TV presenter, 63
• December 14
  • Ahmet Ertegün, co-founder of Atlantic Records, 83
  • Sivuca, Brazilian guitarist and accordionist, 76
• December 16 – Pnina Salzman, pianist, 84
• December 17 – Denis Payton, The Dave Clark Five, 63
• December 18
  • Scott Mateer, American songwriter and disk jockey, 46
  • Daniel Pinkham, American composer, 83
• December 22 – Dennis Linde, Songwriter "Burnin' Love", "John Deere Green" and others, 63
• December 24 – Kenneth Sivertsen, Norwegian guitarist and contemporary composer, 45
• December 25 – James Brown, American singer, 73
• December 27 – Pierre Delanoë, French lyricist, 88