Editing 1981 in music (section)

==Deaths==
*[[January 1]] – [[Hephzibah Menuhin]], pianist and human rights campaigner, 60
*[[January 4]] – [[Ruth Lowe]], pianist and songwriter, 66
*[[January 23]] – [[Samuel Barber]], composer, 70
*[[January 25]] – [[Adele Astaire]], US dancer, actress and singer, 84
*[[February 1]]
**[[Frank Merrick]], pianist
**[[Geirr Tveitt]], Norwegian composer, 72
**[[Ernst Pepping]], composer, 79
*[[February 9]] – [[Bill Haley (musician)|Bill Haley]], [[rock and roll]] pioneer, 55 (heart attack)
*[[February 15]] 
**[[Mike Bloomfield]], [[blues]] guitarist, 37 (accidental drug overdose)
**[[Karl Richter (conductor)|Karl Richter]], German organist and conductor, 54
*[[February 19]] – [[Olive Gilbert]], actress and singer, 82
*[[February 21]] – [[Ron Grainer]], electronic music pioneer and composer, 58
*[[February 26]] – [[Howard Hanson]], composer, 84
*[[April 5]]
**[[Bob Hite]], vocalist ([[Canned Heat]]), 38 (heart attack)
**[[Maurice Zbriger]], violinist, composer and conductor, 84
*[[April 7]] – [[Kit Lambert]], former manager and producer of [[The Who]], 45 (fell downstairs)
*[[April 8]] – [[Burt Shevelove]], [[librettist]], 66
*[[April 14]] – [[Ivan Galamian]], violin teacher, 78
*[[April 28]] – [[Steve Currie]], bassist of [[T. Rex (band)|T.Rex]], 33 (car crash)
*[[May 11]] – [[Bob Marley]], reggae musician, 36 (cancer)
*[[May 25]] – [[Roy Brown (blues musician)|Roy Brown]], blues singer, 55
*[[May 28]] – [[Mary Lou Williams]], jazz pianist, 71
*[[July 1]] – [[Rushton Moreve]], US bass player and songwriter ([[Steppenwolf (band)|Steppenwolf]]), 32
*[[July 16]] – [[Harry Chapin]], US singer-songwriter, 38 (car crash)
*[[July 29]] – [[Sydney Kyte]], British bandleader and violinist, 85
*[[August 18]] – [[Robert Russell Bennett]], composer and arranger, 87
*[[August 26]] – [[Lee Hays]], folk singer, 67
*[[September 2]] – [[Tadeusz Baird]], composer, 53
*[[September 8]] – [[Master Venu]], film composer, 65
*[[September 14]] – [[Furry Lewis]], country blues guitarist and songwriter, 88
*[[September 15]] – [[Chick Bullock]], US singer, 72
*[[September 22]] – Henry Warren, film songwriter, 87
*[[October 2]] – [[Hazel Scott]], classical pianist and singer, 61
*[[October 5]] – [[Sven Gyldmark]], film composer, 77
*[[October 13]] – [[Marius Casadesus]], violinist and composer, 88
*[[October 15]] – [[Elsie Randolph]], English actress, dancer and singer, 77
*[[October 29]] – [[Georges Brassens]], singer-songwriter, 60
*[[November 27]] – [[Lotte Lenya]], actress and singer, wife of [[Kurt Weill]], 83
*[[December 13]] – [[Cornelius Cardew]], [[avant-garde]] composer, 45 (road accident)
*[[December 27]] – [[Hoagy Carmichael]], pianist, singer and songwriter, 82