1944 in music

• 1944 in British music
• 1944 in Norwegian music

• 1944 in country music
• 1944 in jazz

• January 18 – The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City for the first time hosts a jazz concert; the performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
• February – The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra loses its concert hall in an Allied air raid.
• July 28 – Sir Henry Wood, aged 75, conducts his last Promenade Concert in London.
• August 19 – Italian singers Lucia Mannucci and Virgilio Savona get married.
• September 20 – Yehudi Menuhin gives the first British performance of Béla Bartók's Second Violin Concerto in Bedford, in the opening concert of a tour with the B.B.C. Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult.
• Autumn – Peggy Guggenheim's The Art of This Century gallery on Manhattan releases a 78 rpm 3-record album containing Paul Bowles' Sonata for Flute and Piano and Two Mexican Dances with a cover by Max Ernst.[1]
• October 25 – Florence Foster Jenkins gives a recital in Carnegie Hall.
• December 15 – Glenn Miller is reported missing. The official explanation is that his plane went down somewhere over the English Channel, although many alternate theories have been suggested.
• Billy Murray retires to long island
• English contralto Kathleen Ferrier makes the first of her recordings of the aria "What is Life?" (Che farò) from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice which will rival sales by more popular singers over the next few years.[2]
• Czech Jewish composer Hans Krása's children's opera Brundibár is performed many times in Theresienstadt concentration camp, where on October 17 the composer is killed.
• Flo Sandon's makes her stage debut, singing in a charity show.
• Jo Stafford launches her solo career.
• Frankie Laine cuts his first singles for the Beltone and Atlas labels.

• The Wayfaring Stranger – Burl Ives
• Going My Way – Bing Crosby
• Boogie Woogie In Blue – Harry Gibson

On August 1, 1942, a strike by the American Federation of Musicians ended all recording sessions. Record companies kept business going by releasing recordings from their vaults, but by mid-1943, alternate sources were running dry, as the strike continued. Decca was the first company to settle in September 1943, but RCA Victor and Columbia held on until November 1944.[3] It comes as no surprise that fifteen of the top twenty records of 1944 were released by Decca, with two more by Capitol, the second company to settle.

The following songs achieved the highest positions in the National Best Selling Retail Records,[4] the Harlem Hit Parade chart, Most Played Juke Box Folk Records and the "American Folk Records" column late 1943-early 1944. As always, numerical rankings are approximate.

• "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen
• "All of a Sudden My Heart Sings" w. (Eng) Harold Rome (Fr) Jean Marie Blanvillain m. Herpin
• "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" w. Joe Greene m. Stan Kenton & Charles Lawrence
• "As Long as There's Music" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne. Introduced in the film Step Lively by Frank Sinatra.
• "Bell Bottom Trousers" w.m. Moe Jaffe
• "The Boy Next Door" w.m. Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane
• "Candy" w. Mack David & Joan Whitney m. Alex Kramer
• "Can't Help Singing" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Jerome Kern
• "Dance with a Dolly" w.m. Terry Shand, Jimmy Van Eaton & David Kapp
• "Don't Explain" w. Billie Holiday m. Arthur Herzog Jr.
• "Don't Fence Me In" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Dream" w.m. Johnny Mercer
• "Fine Brown Frame" w.m. Guadalupe Cartiero & J. Mayo Williams
• "First Class Private Mary Brown" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "The Flaming Sword of Liberation" m. Glenn Miller
• "G.I. Jive" w.m. Johnny Mercer
• "Going My Way" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen
• "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" w.m. Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane
• "A Hot Time in the Town Of Berlin" w. John De Vries m. Joe Bushkin
• "How Blue the Night" w. Harold Adamson m. Jimmy McHugh
• "How Little We Know" w. Johnny Mercer m. Hoagy Carmichael. Introduced by Lauren Bacall in the film To Have And Have Not.
• "I Begged Her" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "I Didn't Know About You" w. Bob Russell m. Duke Ellington
• "I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)" w.m. Marjorie Goetschius & Edna Osser
• "I Fall in Love Too Easily" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "I Love You" w.m. Cole Porter
• "I'll Walk Alone" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "I'm Beginning to See the Light" w.m. Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges & Harry James
• "I'm Headin' For California" w.m. Glenn Miller & Artie Malvin
• "I'm Making Believe" w. Mack Gordon m. James V. Monaco
• "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" w.m. Allan Roberts & Doris Fisher
• "It Could Happen to You" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen. Introduced by Dorothy Lamour and Fred MacMurray in the film And the Angels Sing
• "It's Love, Love, Love" w. Mack David m. Alex Kramer & Joan Whitney
• "Jealous Heart" w.m. Jenny Lou Carson
• "Keep a Sunbeam in Your Pocket" w.m. V. Guest & M. Sherwin from the film Bees in Paradise
• "Leave the Dishes in the Sink, Ma" w.m. Milton Berle, Gene Doyle & Spike Jones
• "Like Someone in Love" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen. Introduced by Dinah Shore in the film Belle of the Yukon.
• "A Little on the Lonely Side" w.m. Dick Robertson, Frank Weldon & James Cavanaugh
• "Long Ago (and Far Away)" w. Ira Gershwin m. Jerome Kern. Introduced by Martha Mears dubbing for Rita Hayworth in the film Cover Girl
• "Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet" w.m. Don Raye & Gene De Paul
• "More and More" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Jerome Kern From the Universal film Can't Help Singing
• "My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time" w. Mann Curtis m. Vic Mizzy
• "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)" w. Phil Silvers m. Jimmy Van Heusen
• "New York, New York" w. Betty Comden & Adolph Green m. Leonard Bernstein
• "Now I Know" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
• "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harry Warren
• "One Meat Ball" w. Hy Zaret m. Lou Singer
• "Please Don't Say No" w. Ralph Freed m. Sammy Fain from the film Thrill of a Romance
• "Put It There Pal" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen
• "Rum and Coca-Cola" w.m. Morey Amsterdam, Paul Baron & Jeri Sullivan
• "Saturday Night" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "Sentimental Journey" w. Bud Green m. Les Brown & Ben Homer
• "Seven-O-Five" m. Glenn Miller
• "Sleighride in July" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen. Introduced by Dinah Shore in the film Belle of the Yukon.
• "Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)" w.m. Jimmie Hodges
• "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Stella by Starlight" w. Ned Washington m. Victor Young
• "Swinging on a Star" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen
• "There Goes That Song Again" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "There's A Fellow Waiting In Poughkeepsie" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen
• "There's No You" w. Tom Adair m. Hal Hopper
• "This Heart of Mine" w. Arthur Freed m. Harry Warren
• "Till Then" w.m. Eddie Seiler, Sol Marcus & Guy Wood
• "Twilight Time" w.m. Buck Ram, Mortie Nevins & Artie Dunn
• "Umbriago" w.m. Irving Caesar & Jimmy Durante
• "You Always Hurt the One You Love" w.m. Allan Roberts & Doris Fisher
• "You Belong To My Heart" w. (Eng) Ray Gilbert m. Agustín Lara
• "You Can't Get That No More" w.m. Louis Jordan & Sam Theard
• "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You" w.m. Russ Morgan, Larry Stock & James Cavanaugh

• Erich Korngold – Between Two Worlds (1944 film)
• Sergei Prokofiev – Ivan the Terrible (1944 film)
• David Raksin – Laura (1944 film)

• Bloomer Girl Broadway production opened at the Shubert Theatre on October 5 and ran for 654 performances.
• Follow The Girls Broadway production opened at the New Century Theatre on April 8 and ran for 882 performances.
• Jenny Jones London production opened at the London Hippodrome on October 2 and ran for 153 performances
• Mexican Hayride Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on January 28 and transferred to the Majestic Theatre on December 18 for a total run of 481 performances
• A Night In Venice (Johann Strauss II) London production opened at the Cambridge Theatre on May 25
• On the Town (Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green) – Broadway production opened at the Adelphi Theatre (New York) on December 28, transferred to the 44th Street Theatre on June 4, 1945, and transferred to the Martin Beck Theatre on July 30, 1945, for a total run of 462 performances.
• Seven Lively Arts Broadway production opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on December 7 and ran for 183 performances
• Song Of Norway Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on August 21 and transferred to the Broadway Theatre on April 15, 1946, for a total run of 860 performances
• Sweeter And Lower London production

• Allergic to Love starring Noah Beery Jr., Martha O'Driscoll, David Bruce, Franklin Pangborn and Maxie Rosenbloom. Directed by Edward Lilley.
• And the Angels Sing starring Dorothy Lamour, Fred MacMurray and Betty Hutton. Directed by Claude Binyon.
• Babes on Swing Street starring Ann Blyth, Peggy Ryan and Andy Devine and featuring Marion Hutton and Freddie Slack & his Orchestra. Directed by Edward Lilley.
• Bees in Paradise released March 20 starring Arthur Askey, Anne Shelton, Ronald Shiner and Jean Kent
• Belle of the Yukon starring Randolph Scott, Gypsy Rose Lee, Dinah Shore and Bob Burns.
• Can't Help Singing starring Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige and Akim Tamiroff
• Carolina Blues starring Ann Miller and Kay Kyser & his band
• Champagne Charlie starring Tommy Trinder
• Cover Girl starring Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers, Lee Bowman, Jinx Falkenburg, Otto Kruger and Eve Arden. Directed by Charles Vidor.
• Gharam Wa Intiqam, starring Asmahan[59]
• Here Come the Waves starring Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton and Sonny Tufts.
• Hey, Rookie starring Ann Miller and Larry Parks
• Hollywood Canteen starring Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Roy Rogers, Barbara Stanwyck and Jane Wyman and featuring The Andrews Sisters, Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra and Carmen Cavallaro & his Orchestra. Directed by Delmer Daves.
• Jam Session starring Ann Miller and featuring Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra, Alvino Rey & his Orchestra and Charlie Barnet & his Orchestra
• Knickerbocker Holiday starring Nelson Eddy and Charles Coburn
• Lady In The Dark starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland
• Lost in a Harem starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marilyn Maxwell and John Conte, and featuring Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra. Directed by Charles Reisner.
• Meet Me in St. Louis starring Judy Garland, Mary Astor, Tom Drake, Lucille Bremer and Margaret O'Brien. Directed by Vincente Minnelli.
• Meet Miss Bobby Sox starring Bob Crosby, Lynn Merrick and Louise Erickson and featuring Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five. Directed by Glenn Tryon.
• The Merry Monahans starring Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, Jack Oakie, Rosemary DeCamp, Ann Blyth and Isabel Jewell
• Minstrel Man starring Benny Fields and Gladys George
• One Exciting Night starring Vera Lynn
• Pardon My Rhythm starring Gloria Jean, Patric Knowles and Mel Torme and featuring Bob Crosby & his Orchestra. Directed by Felix E. Feist.
• Rainbow Island starring Dorothy Lamour and Eddie Bracken
• Shine on Harvest Moon starring Ann Sheridan, Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson.
• Something for the Boys released November 1 starring Carmen Miranda, Phil Silvers, Vivian Blaine and Perry Como.
• Step Lively starring Frank Sinatra, Gloria DeHaven, George Murphy and Anne Jeffreys.
• Sweet and Low-Down starring Benny Goodman & his Orchestra, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie and Lynn Bari
• Swing in the Saddle starring Jane Frazee, The Hoosier Hot Shots, Cousin Emmy and featuring The King Cole Trio and Jimmy Wakely & his Oklahoma Cowboys
• Take It Big starring Jack Haley, Harriet Hilliard, Mary Beth Hughes and Richard Lane and featuring Ozzie Nelson & his Orchestra. Directed by Frank McDonald.
• Time Flies starring Tommy Handley and Evelyn Dall
• Two Girls and a Sailor starring June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven and Van Johnson
• You Can't Ration Love starring Betty Jane Rhodes and Johnny Johnston. Directed by Lester Fuller.

• January 2 – Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer, conductor and teacher
• January 3 – David Atherton, British conductor
• January 6 – Alan Stivell, folk musician
• January 9
  • Jimmy Page, guitarist (Led Zeppelin)
  • Scott Walker, singer
• January 10 – Frank Sinatra, Jr., singer (died 2016)
• January 12 – Cynthia Robinson, trumpeter and ad-lib vocalist (Sly and the Family Stone) (Graham Central Station) (died 2015)
• January 16 – Jim Stafford, singer-songwriter and musician
• January 17 – Françoise Hardy, singer
• January 19 – Shelley Fabares, actress and singer
• January 28 – John Tavener, composer (d. 2013)
• February 2 – Andrew Davis, conductor
• February 3 – Trisha Noble, singer and actress
• February 4 – Florence LaRue, American singer and actress (The 5th Dimension)
• February 5 – Al Kooper, musician, songwriter and record producer (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
• February 7 – Antoni Wit, Polish conductor and composer
• February 10
  • Rufus Reid, American bassist and composer (The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra)
  • Clifford T. Ward, singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
• February 12 – Moe Bandy, American singer and guitarist
• February 15 – Mick Avory, drummer (The Kinks)
• February 17 – Karl Jenkins, composer
• February 20 – Lew Soloff, jazz trumpeter, composer and actor (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
• February 23
  • Mike Maxfield, lead guitarist (The Dakotas)
  • Johnny Winter, blues guitarist, singer and producer (d. 2014)
• February 24
  • Nicky Hopkins, keyboard player and session musician (d. 1994)
  • Paul Jones, R&B singer, actor and broadcaster
• March 1
  • Mike d'Abo, vocalist (Manfred Mann)
  • Roger Daltrey, vocalist (The Who)
• March 4 – Bobby Womack, singer-songwriter
• March 6
  • Kiri Te Kanawa, operatic soprano
  • Mary Wilson, singer (The Supremes) (d. 2021)
• March 9 – Mark Lindsay, vocalist (Paul Revere & the Raiders)
• March 17
  • Pattie Boyd, sometime wife and muse of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton
  • John Lill, pianist
  • John Sebastian, songwriter and harmonica player (The Lovin' Spoonful)
• March 23
  • Michael Nyman, composer
  • Ric Ocasek, new wave singer-songwriter (The Cars) (d. 2019)
• March 26 – Diana Ross, singer
• March 29 – Terry Jacks, singer-songwriter, producer and environmentalist
• April 3 – Tony Orlando, singer
• April 5 – Crispian St. Peters, singer (d. 2010)
• April 6
  • Felicity Palmer, operatic mezzo-soprano
  • Michelle Phillips, actress and vocalist (The Mamas & the Papas)
• April 12 – John Kay, singer-songwriter and guitarist (Steppenwolf)
• April 13 – Brian Pendleton, original member of The Pretty Things (d. 2001)
• April 13 – Jack Casady, bass guitarist (Jefferson Airplane)
• April 15 – Dave Edmunds, rock singer and guitarist
• April 17 – Bobby Curtola, pop singer and teen idol
• April 18 – Skip Spence, singer-songwriter (Moby Grape) (d. 1999)
• April 27 – Cuba Gooding Sr., lead singer (The Main Ingredient)
• May 9 – Richie Furay, country musician and singer (Buffalo Springfield)
• May 12 – James Purify, singer
• May 14 – Gene Cornish, guitarist (The Rascals)
• May 17 – Jesse Winchester, musician and songwriter
• May 20
  • Joe Cocker, English singer (d. 2014)
  • Boudewijn de Groot, Dutch singer
• May 21 – Marcie Blane, singer
• May 23 – Tiki Fulwood, American R&B/funk/jazz drummer (d. 1979)
• May 24 – Patti LaBelle, singer
• May 28
  • Gladys Knight, singer
  • Billy Vera, singer, actor and writer
• May 31 – Mick Ralphs, guitarist and songwriter (Mott the Hoople)
• June 2 – Marvin Hamlisch, songwriter and composer (d. 2012)
• June 6 – Edgar Froese, electronic music pioneer (Tangerine Dream)
• June 7 – Clarence White (The Byrds), guitarist (Nashville West) (d. 1973)
• June 8 – Boz Scaggs, singer-songwriter
• June 17 – Chris Spedding, guitarist and songwriter
• June 21 – Ray Davies, singer-songwriter (The Kinks)
• June 22 – Peter Asher, singer and record producer (Peter & Gordon)
• June 23 – Rosetta Hightower, singer
• June 24:
  • Jeff Beck, guitarist
  • Arthur Brown, singer (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown)
  • Chris Wood, rock musician (Traffic) (d. 1983)
• June 26 – Arthur Doyle, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist and flautist (d. 2014)
• June 30 – Glenn Shorrock, singer-songwriter (Little River Band)
• July 6 – Byron Berline, American fiddler (The Flying Burrito Brothers)
• July 8
  • Jai Johanny Johanson, drummer (The Allman Brothers Band)
  • Michael Johnson, singer-songwriter and guitarist
• July 22 – Rick Davies, keyboardist (Supertramp)
• July 27 – Bobbie Gentry, singer-songwriter
• August 2 – Jim Capaldi, drummer and singer-songwriter (Traffic) (d. 2005)
• August 3 – Nino Bravo, singer (d. 1973)
• August 12 – Larry Troutman, R&B musician (Zapp) (d.1999)
• August 18 – Carl Wayne, vocalist (The Move) (d. 2004)
• August 19 – Eddy Raven, country musician
• August 27 – Tim Bogert, bass guitarist (Vanilla Fudge)
• September 1
  • Archie Bell, R&B singer-songwriter (Archie Bell & the Drells)
  • Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
• September 3 – Gary Leeds (The Walker Brothers)
• September 4 – Gene Parsons (The Byrds) (The Flying Burrito Brothers)
• September 12 – Barry White, soul singer-songwriter and record producer (d. 2003)
• September 13 – Peter Cetera, vocalist (Chicago)
• September 16
  • Winston Grennan, drummer
  • Betty Kelley (Martha and the Vandellas)
• September 23 – Ivan Martin Jirous, poet and musician (The Plastic People of the Universe)
• September 29
  • Tommy Boyce, songwriter (d. 1994)
  • Mike Post, TV theme composer
• October 1 – Barbara Parritt, (The Toys)
• October 4 – Marlena Davis (The Orlons) (d. 1993)
• October 7 – Judee Sill, singer-songwriter (d. 1979)
• October 9
  • John Entwistle, bassist (The Who) (d. 2002)
  • Nona Hendryx, singer-songwriter, author and actress
• October 13 – Robert Lamm, keyboardist and singer-songwriter (Chicago)
• October 16 – Patsy Watchorn, folk musician
• October 19
  • George McCrae, soul and disco singer
  • Peter Tosh, reggae musician (d. 1987)
• October 24
  • Bettye Swann, soul singer
  • Ted Templeman, record producer
• October 25 – Jon Anderson, lead singer (Yes)
• October 26 – Jim McCann, folk musician
• October 29 – Denny Laine, guitarist & singer (The Moody Blues), singer & multi-instrumentalist (Wings)
• November 2 – Keith Emerson, keyboardist and composer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer) (d. 2016)
• November 8 – Bonnie Bramlett, singer (Delaney & Bonnie)
• November 10 – Sir Tim Rice, lyricist
• November 11 – Jennifer Bate, concert organist (d. 2020)
• November 12 – Booker T. Jones, musician, record producer, composer and arranger
• November 17 – Gene Clark, singer-songwriter (The Byrds) (d. 1991)
• November 25 – Bev Bevan, drummer & vocalist (The Move) (Electric Light Orchestra), drummer (Black Sabbath)
• November 26 – Jean Terrell, singer
• November 28 – R. B. Greaves, singer
• December 1 – John Densmore (The Doors)
• December 3 – António Variações, Portuguese singer-songwriter (d. 1984)
• December 4 – Dennis Wilson (The Beach Boys) (d. 1983)
• December 6 – Jonathan King, singer, songwriter and record producer
• December 7 – Daniel Chorzempa, organist
• December 9
  • Shirley Brickley (The Orlons) (d. 1977)
  • Neil Innes, singer-songwriter and comedian (d. 2019)
• December 11 – Brenda Lee, singer
• December 12 – Rob Tyner, American singer-songwriter and bass player (MC5) (d. 1991)
• December 13 – Marti Webb, singer
• December 16 – John Abercrombie, jazz guitarist (d. 2017)
• December 19
  • William Christie, harpsichordist and conductor
  • Alvin Lee, guitarist and singer (Ten Years After)
  • María Martha Serra Lima, ballad and bolero singer (d. 2017)
  • Zal Yanovsky, guitarist and singer (The Lovin' Spoonful) (d. 2002)
• December 20 – Bobby Colomby, drummer (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
• December 21 – Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
• December 22 – Barry Jenkins, drummer (The Animals)
• December 25 – Henry Vestine, guitarist (Canned Heat) (d. 1997)
• December 27 – Mick Jones, guitarist, songwriter and record producer (Foreigner)

• January 9 – Johanna Beyer, pianist and composer (b. 1888)
• January 29 – Carl Aeschbacher, choirmaster and composer (b. 1886)
• February 4 – Yvette Guilbert, cabaret singer and actress (b. 1865)
• February 7 – Lina Cavalieri, opera singer (b. 1874)
• April 4 – Alma Rosé, violinist and composer (b. 1906) (food poisoning or typhoid at Auschwitz concentration camp)
• April 13 – Cécile Chaminade, composer and pianist (b. 1857)
• April 19 – Jimmie Noone, jazz musician (b. 1895)
• April 23 – Marion Harris, jazz singer (b. 1896) (hotel fire)
• May 6 – Carl Engel, composer (b. 1883)
• May 9 – Dame Ethel Smyth, composer (b. 1858)
• May 16 – Leone Sinigaglia, composer (b. 1868)
• May 20 – Vincent Rose, Italian-born US bandleader and composer (b. 1880)
• June 2 – Zikmund Schul, composer (b. 1916) (tuberculosis)
• June 5 – Riccardo Zandonai, opera composer (b. 1883)
• June 10 – Sylvio Lazzari, composer (b. 1857)
• June 25 – Lucha Reyes (Mexican singer) (b. 1906) (suicide)
• July 4 – Alice Burville, singer and actress (b. 1856)
• July 14 – Asmahan, Syrian singer and actress (b. 1912) (drowned)
• July 19 – Will Marion Cook, violinist and composer (b. 1869)
• August 1 – Cecil Mack, songwriter and music publisher (b. 1883)
• August 7 – Agustin Barrios, composer (b. 1885)
• August 8 – Aino Ackté, operatic soprano (b. 1876)
• August 12 – James Simon, pianist, composer and musicologist (b. 1880) (killed at Auschwitz concentration camp)
• August 19 – Sir Henry Wood, conductor (b. 1869)
• October 1 – Carlo Sigmund Taube, pianist, conductor and composer (b. 1897) (killed at Auschwitz concentration camp)
• October 16 – Hans Krása, Czech-German composer (b. 1899) (gassed in Auschwitz)
• October 17 – Pavel Haas, Czech composer (b. 1899) (gassed in Auschwitz)
• October 18 – Orville "Hoppy" Jones, bass singer and cellist of The Ink Spots (b. 1905) (dies in New York City)
• November 14 – Carl Flesch, violinist (b. 1873)
• November 26 – Florence Foster Jenkins, soprano famous for her lack of musical ability (b. 1868)
• November 27 – Margarete Dessoff, conductor, singer and voice teacher (b. 1874)
• November 30 – Antoine Mariotte, conductor and composer (b. 1875)
• December 2 – Josef Lhévinne, pianist (b. 1874)
• December 15 – Glenn Miller, trombonist, composer and bandleader (b. 1904) (missing in action)
• December 27 – Amy Beach, composer and pianist (b. 1867)
• date unknown – Lalla Miranda, coloratura soprano (b. 1874)