2016 in music

Specific locations

Specific genres

Albums released

Significant performances

• March 25 – British rock and roll band, The Rolling Stones become the first foreign rock band to perform in Cuba, which was documented in their 2016 concert film,.

  Awards

Bands formed

• AOA Cream
• Astro
• BEJ48
• Black Pink
• Bolbbalgan4
• BoybandPH
• Boys Generally Asian
• CocoSori
• Cosmic Girls
• Dreamcar
• The East Light
• Exo-CBX
• GNZ48
• Gone Is Gone
• Gugudan
• I.B.I
• I.O.I
• Imfact
• Kard
• KNK
• Lovebites
• The Magpie Salute
• Momoland
• National Youth Orchestra of China
• NCT
• NCT 127
• Nice As Fuck
• Nine Muses A
• Ocean Park Standoff
• Pentagon
• Pristin
• Prophets of Rage
• SF9
• Terror Jr
• Victon
• VIMIC
• Voisper
• Vromance
• Why Don't We
• June's Diary

  Bands reformed

• At the Drive-In
• Abandon All Ships
• The Anniversary
• Arab Strap
• Bash & Pop
• Belly
• Blake Babies
• A Different Breed of Killer
• Eric B. & Rakim
• Galactic Cowboys
• Game Theory
• G.R.L
• Guided by Voices
• Jet
• Le Tigre
• Letters to Cleo
• Misfits
• Nasty Savage
• The Number Twelve Looks Like You
• Piebald
• P.S. Eliot
• Rainbow
• Sechs Kies
• A Thorn for Every Heart
• The Revolution
• The Righteous Brothers
• Spice Girls – GEM
• Super Furry Animals
• Temple of the Dog
• A Thorn for Every Heart
• Thursday
• Tickle Me Pink
• The Union Underground
• The Vapors
• Wolf Parade
• The Zutons

  Bands on hiatus

• Camera Obscura
• Chiodos
• Coal Chamber
• Man Overboard
• Middle Class Rut
• One Direction
• We Are the In Crowd
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs

  Bands disbanded

• 2NE1
• 3rdeyegirl
• 4Minute
• Agalloch
• Allo Darlin'
• Aiden
• Bane
• Blood on the Dance Floor
• Bolt Thrower
• Boom Boom Satellites
• Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
• Dead or Alive
• Dream
• Eagles
• Empire! Empire!
• The Enemy
• Fearless Vampire Killers
• Finch
• For Today
• Funeral for a Friend
• FVK
• Giant Sand
• G.L.O.S.S.
• Gnashing of Teeth
• Gossip
• Graveyard
• I, the Breather
• Jack Ü
• Joey + Rory
• Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
• La Ley
• A Lighter Shade of Brown
• Lionheart
• Lush
• Majical Cloudz
• Marion
• Matchbook Romance
• Maybeshewill
• Mischief Brew
• Motion City Soundtrack
• Mudvayne
• Nektar
• Nomeansno
• P.M. Dawn
• The Presidents of the United States of America
• Rainbow
• Sally Shapiro
• Thee Satisfaction
• School of Seven Bells
• SMAP
• Sockweb
• Sorry About Dresden
• Spirit of the West
• The Stooges
• Suicide
• Transit
• Twisted Sister
• Viola Beach
• Wodensthrone
• You, Me, and Everyone We Know
• Youth Lagoon

  Deaths

January

• 1
• * Gilbert Kaplan,, American conductor and businessman, cancer.
• * Mark B,, British hip-hop record producer.
• * Gilberto Mendes,, Brazilian composer.
• 2 – Rino Salviati,, Italian singer, guitarist and actor.
• 3
• * Paul Bley, Canadian jazz pianist.
• * Jason Mackenroth, American rock drummer, prostate cancer.
• 4
• * Long John Hunter,, American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.
• * Achim Mentzel,, German musician and television presenter.
• 5
• * Pierre Boulez,, French composer and conductor.
• *Nicholas Caldwell,, American R&B singer.
• * Hanna-Marie Weydahl,, Norwegian pianist.
• 7
• * Kitty Kallen,, American singer.
• * Troy Shondell,, American singer, complications from Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
• 8
• * Otis Clay,, American R&B and soul singer, heart attack.
• *Red Simpson,, American country singer-songwriter, complications from a heart attack.
• *Brett Smiley,, American singer-songwriter.
• 10 – David Bowie,, English songwriter and artist.
• 17 – Carina Jaarnek, Swedish singer and Dansband artist.
• 18 – Glenn Frey, American guitarist and vocalist.
• 25 – Leif Solberg, Norwegian composer and organist.
• 26
• * T.J. Tindall, American guitarist
• * Black, Pop/new wave singer-songwriter, Traffic accident
• 28
• * Signe Toly Anderson, American vocalist.
• * Paul Kantner, American guitarist and vocalist.

  February

• 3 – Maurice White, founder of Earth, Wind and Fire.
• 4 – Ulf Söderblom, Finnish conductor.
• 13
• * Viola Beach, English indie rock band, car accident.
• * Kristian "Kris" Leonard, Guitar and vocals.
• * River Reeves, Guitar.
• * Tomas Lowe, Bass.
• * Jack Dakin, Drums.
• * Craig Tarry, Band manager.
• 19 – Harald Devold, Norwegian saxophonist.
• 20 – Ove Verner Hansen, Danish actor and opera singer.
• 22 – Sonny James, American country music singer-songwriter.
• 29 – Josefin Nilsson, Swedish singer.

  March

• 3 – Gavin Christopher, 66, American R&B singer-songwriter and producer
• 5 – Jimmy Henderson, 61, American guitarist
• 8 – George Martin,, English producer.
• 9
• * Ray Griff, Canadian country singer-songwriter,.
• * Naná Vasconcelos, Brazilian percussionist.
• 10
• *Keith Emerson, English pianist and keyboardist.
• *Ernestine Anderson, American jazz and blues singer
• 12 – Tommy Brown, American R&B singer
• 13 – Sidney Mear,, American trumpeter.
• 14 – Peter Maxwell Davies,, English composer and conductor
• 22 – Phife Dawg,, American rap musician, complications from diabetes.
• 23 – James Jamerson, Jr., 58, American bass player
• 26 – David Baker American symphonic jazz composer

  April

• 2 – Gato Barbieri,, Argentine jazz saxophonist, pneumonia.
• 3 – Bill Henderson,, American jazz vocalist and actor, cancer.
• 6 – Merle Haggard,, American singer-songwriter, Grammy winner, complications from pneumonia.
• 13 – Mariano Mores,, Argentine tango composer and pianist.
• 21
• * Prince,, American musician.
• * Lonnie Mack,, American rock, blues, and country singer-songwriter guitarist, natural causes.
• 24
• * Billy Paul,, American soul singer.
• * Papa Wemba,, Congolese singer and musician.
• * Jan Henrik Kayser,, Norwegian pianist.

  May

• 1 – Sydney Onayemi, Nigerian-born Swedish DJ.
• 4 – Olle Ljungström, Swedish singer and guitarist.
• 6 – Candye Kane,, American Blues singer and entertainer, pancreatic cancer.
• 9 – Riki Sorsa, Finnish singer .
• 14 – Lasse Mårtenson, Finnish singer.
• 16 – Fredrik Norén, Swedish jazz drummer.
• 17 – Guy Clark,, American folk and country Singer-songwriter. Grammy Award for his 2013 album My Favourite Picture of You.
• 19 – John Berry,, American guitarist, frontotemporal dementia.
• 21 – Nick Menza,, American instrumentalist. Former drummer for the band Megadeth, heart attack.
• 30 – Thomas Fekete,, American guitarist, cancer.

  June

• 2 – Freddie Wadling, Swedish singer and songwriter.
• 3 – Dave Swarbrick,, British folk musician and singer-songwriter, emphysema.
• 4 – Bobby Curtola,, Canadian singer.
• 5 – Phyllis Curtin,, American soprano.
• 6 – Rolf Schweizer,, German composer.
• 8
• * Vladislav Yankovsky,, Russian musician.
• * Terje Fjærn, Norwegian orchestra conductor.
• 9 – J. Reilly Lewis,, American choral conductor and Baroque music specialist, heart attack.
• 10
• * Habib,, Iranian singer, heart attack.
• * Christina Grimmie,, American singer-songwriter and talent show participant, gunshot wound.
• 13 – Chips Moman,, American producer, songwriter, guitarist.
• 17 – Attrell Cordes,, American musician, producer and rapper, co-founder of P.M. Dawn.
• 18 – Alejandro Jano Fuentes, Mexican singer and talent show participant, gunshot wound.
• 21 – Wayne Jackson, American soul and R&B musician, congestive heart failure.
• 22
• * Amjad Sabri, Pakistani Qawwali singer, gunshot wound.
• * Jim Boyd, Native American singer-songwriter and actor
• 24 – Bernie Worrell,, American keyboardist and composer.
• 27 – Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Danish composer.
• 28 – Scotty Moore, American guitarist.
• 29 – Rob Wasserman, American composer and bass player.

  July

• 16
• * Alan Vega, American vocalist and visual artist.
• * Bonnie Brown American country music singer, member of The Browns.
• 18 – Karina Jensen, Danish singer .
• 19 – Tamás Somló, Hungarian musician, singer, artist and composer, cancer.
• 26
• * Sandy Pearlman, American producer, songwriter, educator, complications from cerebral hemorrhage.
• * Roye Albrighton, German musician, unspecified illness.
• 27
• * Pat Upton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• * Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer.
• 31 – Mike Mohede, Indonesian singer and talent show participant, heart attack.

  August

• 3 – Ricci Martin, American musician.
• 4
• * Patrice Munsel, American coloratura soprano.
• * Snaffu Rigor, Filipino singer and songwriter, lung cancer.
• 5
• * Richard Fagan, American songwriter and musician, liver cancer.
• *Vander Lee, Brazilian singer-songwriter.
• 6 – Guillermo Anderson, Honduran singer, thyroid cancer.
• 7
• * B. E. Taylor, American musician, brain cancer.
• * Dolores Vargas, Spanish singer, complications of leukemia.
• * Ruby Winters, American soul singer.
• 9
• *Pádraig Duggan, Irish musician.
• *Jimmy Levine, American R&B musician and record producer.
• 11 – Glenn Yarbrough, American folk singer.
• 12 – Ruby Wilson, American blues, soul and gospel singer, heart attack.
• 13 – Connie Crothers, American jazz pianist, cancer.
• 14 – James Woolley, American keyboard and synthesizer player.
• 15 – Bobby Hutcherson, Jazz vibraphonist, emphysema.
• 19 – Horacio Salgán, Argentine tango musician.
• 20
• * Matt Roberts, American rock guitarist, drug overdose.
• 22
• * Toots Thielemans, Belgian jazz musician.
• * Gilli Smyth, English musician.
• 28 – Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer and songwriter, heart attack.

  September

• 1
• * Fred Hellerman,, American folk singer, guitarist, producer and songwriter.
• * Kacey Jones,, American singer-songwriter, producer and humorist, cancer.
• 2
• * Jerry Heller,, American music manager.
• *Gary D.,, German trance producer and DJ, pulmonary embolism.
• 3
• * Fred McFarlane,, American songwriter, record producer and musician.
• * Johnny Rebel,, American country singer.
• 7
• * Clifford Curry,, American beach music and R&B singer.
• * Farhang Sharif,, Iranian musician and tar player.
• * Graham Wiggins,, American musician.
• 8 – Prince Buster,, Jamaican ska musician.
• 10 – Chris Stone,, American recording studio owner and entrepreneur, heart attack and stroke.
• 12 – Hidayat Inayat Khan,, English-French composer and conductor.
• 16
• * Jerry Corbetta,, American musician, Pick's disease.
• *Trisco Pearson,, American R&B singer, cancer.
• *Qiao Renliang,, Chinese singer and actor, suicide.
• 19 – Bobby Breen,, Canadian-born American actor and singer, natural causes.
• 20 – Micki Marlo,, American singer and model.
• 21
• * Shawty Lo,, American hip-hop musician, traffic collision.
• *John D. Loudermilk,, American singer and songwriter, bone cancer.
• 24 – Buckwheat Zydeco,, American accordionist and zydeco musician
• 25
• * Kashif,, American musician and record producer.
• * Hagen Liebing,, German musician.
• * Jean Shepard,, American honky tonk singer-songwriter, Parkinson's disease.
• 26
• * Joe Clay,, American rockabilly musician.
• * Ioan Gyuri Pascu,, Romanian singer, producer, actor and comedian, heart attack.
• 27
• *,, Romanian folk singer, cancer.
• *,, Swedish singer.
• 29
• * Lecresia Campbell, American gospel singer, pulmonary embolism.
• * Nora Dean, Jamaican singer.
• * Royal Torrence, American soul music singer.
• 30
• * Oscar Brand, Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, author and radio broadcaster.
• * Michael Casswell, English guitarist.
• * Lilleba Lund Kvandal, Norwegian opera singer.

  October

• 1 – Toni Williams, Cook Islands-born New Zealand singer.
• 2
• * Steve Byrd, English guitarist, heart attack.
• * Sir Neville Marriner, English conductor and violinist
• * Thomas Round, British opera singer.
• 3
• * Ljupka Dimitrovska,, Macedonian-born Croatian singer.
• *K. David van Hoesen, American bassoonist.
• *Joan Marie Johnson, American singer, heart failure.
• 4 – Caroline Crawley, British singer and musician.
• 5 – Pompeiu Hărășteanu, Romanian opera singer.
• 7 – Anne Pashley, British athlete and opera singer, Olympic silver medalist.
• 8 – Don Ciccone, American singer-songwriter and musician.
• 9
• * Bored Nothing, Australian musician, suicide.
• * Michiyuki Kawashima, Japanese musician, brain tumor.
• * Quique Lucca, Puerto Rican musician, founder of La Sonora Ponceña.
• *,, Canadian jazz drummer.
• * , Romanian jazz musician, cancer.
• 10 – Issa Bagayogo,=, Malian musician.
• 11 – Peter Reynolds,, Welsh composer.
• 12
• * Robert Bateman,, American songwriter and record producer, heart attack.
• * Sonny Sanders, American songwriter, arranger and record producer.
• 15
• * Danny Champagne, Jamaican music producer, complications from stroke.
• *Robert Edwards, American singer, heart attack.
• 20
• * Achieng Abura, Kenyan musician.
• * Mieke Telkamp, Dutch singer.
• 23 – Pete Burns,, British singer
• 24 – Bobby Vee American pop singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s
• 30 – Curly Putman,, American singer-songwriter. D-I-V-O-R-C-E, Green, Green Grass of Home and the subject of Paul McCartney & Wings song Junior's Farm.

  November

• 1
• *Nico Carstens, South African accordionist and songwriter
• *Pocho La Pantera, Argentine cumbia singer
• 3 – Kay Starr, American pop and jazz singer, complications of Alzheimer's disease.
• 4
• * Eddie Harsch, 59, Canadian keyboardist
• * Jean-Jacques Perrey, 87, French electronic music producer
• 7 – Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 11
• * Victor Bailey, American jazz bass guitarist
• * Esma Redžepova-Teodosievska,, Macedonian vocalist, songwriter, and humanitarian of Romani ethnicity.
• 12 – Jacques Werup, Swedish musician and writer.
• 13 – Leon Russell, American musician and songwriter
• 15
• * Holly Dunn, American country singer-songwriter
• * Mose Allison, American pianist and singer.
• 18 – Sharon Jones, American soul and funk singer
• 24 – Pauline Oliveros, American composer
• 29 – Allan Zavod, Australian keyboardist and composer
• 30 – Ivar Thomassen, Norwegian folk singer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.

  December

• 2 – Mark Gray, American singer-songwriter
• 4 – Ralph Johnson, American singer
• 7 – Brian Bennett, American garage-rock keyboardist
• 8
• * Greg Lake, English progressive-rock vocalist and multi-instrumentalist
• * Junaid Jamshed, Pakistani singer-songwriter, flight collision
• 11 – Joe Ligon, American gospel singer
• 24 – Rick Parfitt, English musician and songwriter
• 25 – George Michael, English singer-songwriter