1964 in music

• 1964 in British music
• 1964 in Norwegian music

• 1964 in country music
• 1964 in jazz

• January 1 – Top of the Pops is broadcast for the first time, on BBC television in the U.K.
• January 3 – Footage of the Beatles performing a concert in Bournemouth, England is shown on The Jack Paar Show.
• January 13 – Bob Dylan's The Times They Are a-Changin' is released on Columbia Records.
• January 15 – Vee Jay Records files a lawsuit against Capitol Records and Swan Records over manufacturing and distribution rights to Beatles albums. On April 9, Capitol Records is granted an injunction restraining Vee Jay Records from further manufacturing, distributing or advertising recordings by the Beatles.
• January 18 – The Beatles appear on the Billboard magazine charts for the first time.

The Beatles arrive in the U.S. to great acclaim

• January 25 – The late John F. Kennedy becomes the first President credited with a Top 10 album after Dickie Goodman released John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Years 1960–1963. The following week a second album, credited to the late President, would also hit the Top 10 giving Kennedy two posthumous albums simultaneously in the Top 10.
• February 1 – Indiana Governor Matthew E. Welsh declares the song "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen pornographic. He requests that the Indiana Broadcasters Association ban the record. Governor Welsh claimed that hearing the song made his "ears tingle." Publisher Max Firetag offers $1,000 to anyone that can find anything "suggestive" in the song's lyrics.
• February 7 – The Beatles arrive in the United States and are greeted by thousands of screaming fans at New York's Kennedy Airport.
• February 9 – The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, which breaks television ratings records.
• February 12 – Anna Moffo collapses onstage at Covent Garden in the first act of Rigoletto, and her part is taken over, after a delay of 45 minutes, by Welsh soprano Elizabeth Vaughan.
• February 16 – The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show.
• February 22 – Plácido Domingo makes his international breakthrough at the première of Ginastera's Don Rodrigo in New York City.
• February 23
  • The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show.
  • João Carlos Martins suddenly breaks off a performance in the middle of the second movement of Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at Birmingham Town Hall due to an attack of appendicitis.
• March 1
  • Capitol Records is bombarded with requests for heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay's album, I Am the Greatest, following Clay's defeat of Sonny Liston on February 25 and his announcement two days later that he had converted to Islam. (On March 6 would come the announcement that he would adopt the name Muhammad Ali.)
  • American premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Momente, by Martina Arroyo (soprano), the Crane Collegiate Singers of SUNY Potsdam (Brock McElheran, chorus master), and members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (Lukas Foss, music director), conducted by the composer, in Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, New York.
• March 6 – Elvis Presley's 14th motion picture, Kissin' Cousins is released to theaters.
• March 14 – Billboard Magazine reports that sales of Beatles records make up 60% of the entire singles market.
• March 16 – Disc jockey Alan Freed is charged with tax evasion.
• March 21 – Italy wins the 9th Eurovision Song Contest, held in the Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen, with the song "Non ho l'età", sung by 16-year-old Gigliola Cinquetti.
• March 24 – John Lennon's first book, In His Own Write is published.
• March 27 – The Beatles occupy the top six spots on the Australian pop chart.
• March 28 – Wax likenesses of The Beatles are put on display in London's Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. The Beatles are the first pop stars to be displayed at the museum.
• April – Drummer Keith Moon joins The Who.
• April 4 – The Beatles occupy all five top positions on Billboard's Hot 100 with their singles "Can't Buy Me Love", "Twist and Shout", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and "Please Please Me".
• April 11 – The Beatles hold 14 positions on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Previously, the highest number of concurrent singles by one artist on the Hot 100 was nine by Elvis Presley, December 19, 1956.
• April 16 – The Rolling Stones release their eponymous début album.
• May 2 – In the United States, The Beatles' Second Album climbs to the #1 spot on the LP charts in only its second week of release.
• May 20 – Judy Garland makes headlines after a disastrous concert in Melbourne, Australia
• June
  • During a performance at the Railway, Pete Townshend of The Who accidentally breaks the head of his guitar on the low ceiling above the stage. This incident marks the start of auto-destructive art by destroying guitars and drums on stage.
  • Marianne Faithfull's singing career begins with the release of her single "As Tears Go By" written by members of The Rolling Stones.
• June 5 – The Rolling Stones start their first U.S. tour.
• July 3 – With their new manager Peter Meaden, The Who release their first single "Zoot Suit"/"I'm the Face" under the name The High Numbers in an attempt to appeal to a mod audience. It fails to reach the top 50 and the band reverts to calling themselves The Who.
• July 6 – The Beatles' first film, A Hard Day's Night, is released.[1]
• July 10
  • The album of A Hard Day's Night is released in the U.K. All tracks are written by Lennon and McCartney.
  • More than 300 people are injured in Liverpool when a crowd of some 150,000 people welcome The Beatles back to their home city.
• August 2 – The wreckage of the plane piloted by Jim Reeves is found near Brentwood, Tennessee, 42 hours after it crashed. There are no survivors.
• August 8 – Bob Dylan releases his fourth album, Another Side of Bob Dylan.
• August 17 – Indiana University Opera Theater presents Turandot at the New York World's Fair featuring newly retired Metropolitan Opera soprano Margaret Harshaw, a member of the voice faculty, in the title role.
• August 19 – The Beatles start their second visit to, and first nationwide tour of, the United States with a concert at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, before more than 17,000 fans.
• August 22 – The Supremes reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the first of five successive number one hits, "Where Did Our Love Go".
• August 26 – The Kinks release their iconic single "You Really Got Me".
• September 8 – The American premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Originale at Judson Hall in New York City is picketed by a group calling themselves Action Against Cultural Imperialism.
• September 16 – Shindig! premieres on ABC.
• September 21 – The China Conservatory of Music is established in Beijing.
• September 22 – Fiddler on the Roof opens on Broadway.
• October – Dr. Robert Moog demonstrates his prototype synthesizers.[2]
• October 19 – Simon & Garfunkel release their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., their first for Columbia Records, which is a total flop at this time. After release of their second album, Sounds of Silence, in 1966, it hits #30 on the Billboard charts.
• October 24 – The Rolling Stones start their second US tour.
• October 25 – The Rolling Stones perform on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.
• October 29 – The T.A.M.I. Show is filmed.
• October 31 – The Supremes reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the second of five successive number one hits, "Baby Love".
• November – A deal with U.K. impresario W. H. Miller lands the Anita Kerr Quartette on Capitol Records for North America.
• December 11 – Sam Cooke is killed under mysterious circumstances in Los Angeles, California. Shortly thereafter, "A Change Is Gonna Come", a song considered by many to be his best, is released.
• December 19 – The Supremes reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the third of five successive number one hits, "Come See About Me".
• December 24 – The Beatles gain the Christmas number one in the United Kingdom for the second year running with I Feel Fine, which has topped the singles charts for the third week running. The Beatles have now had six number ones in the U.K. alone.[3]
• date unknown
  • Dalida is the first star to receive a Platinum Disc in Europe.
  • 11-year-old Keith Green becomes the youngest person ever to sign a contract with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) after publishing, recording and releasing the song "The Way I Used to Be".
  • The National Institute of Kathak Dance is established in New Delhi.
  • Sonny and Cher begin performing together as "Caesar and Cleo".

• See Category:Musical groups established in 1964y

The following singles achieved the highest chart positions in 1964.

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	The Beatles	I Want to Hold Your Hand	1963		UK 1 – Dec 1963, US BB 1 – Jan 1964, US CashBox 1 of 1964, Canada 1 – Jan 1964, Norway 1 – Jan 1964, Germany 1 – Feb 1964, Australia 1 for 5 weeks Jul 1963, Australia 2 of 1963, RYM 2 of 1964, DDD 4 of 1963, South Africa 6 of 1963, US BB 7 of 1964, Global 7 (10 M sold) – 1963, POP 7 of 1964, Rolling Stone 16, RIAA 28, Scrobulate 29 of oldies, Acclaimed 30, Germany 40 of the 1960s, WXPN 350
2	Roy Orbison	Oh, Pretty Woman	1964		UK 1 – Sep 1964, US BB 1 – Sep 1964, Canada 1 – Aug 1964, Norway 1 – Oct 1964, Germany 1 – Jan 1965, Éire 1 – Oct 1964, Netherlands 3 – Jan 1965, US CashBox 4 of 1964, DDD 8 of 1964, RYM 13 of 1964, South Africa 15 of 1964, 16 in 2FM list, US BB 17 of 1964, POP 17 of 1964, Australia 20 of 1964, RIAA 43, OzNet 62, Germany 64 of the 1960s, Acclaimed 77, Europe 83 of the 1960s, Party 147 of 2007, Rolling Stone 222, Belgium 234 of all time, WXPN 655
3	The Animals	House of the Rising Sun	1964		UK 1 – Jun 1964, US BB 1 – Aug 1964, Canada 1 – Aug 1964, Australia 1 for 5 weeks Apr 1964, France 4 – Oct 1972, DDD 4 of 1964, RYM 5 of 1964, Netherlands 3 1964, Poland 6 – Oct 1982, Europe 7 of the 1960s, Germany 9 – Jan 1965, US BB 38 of 1964, POP 38 of 1964, US CashBox 53 of 1964, Acclaimed 55, Italy 66 of 1965, Scrobulate 80 of oldies, 89 in 2FM list, Rolling Stone 122, Belgium 124 of all time, TheQ 227, RIAA 240, OzNet 275, Germany 296 of the 1960s
4	The Beatles	A Hard Day's Night	1964		UK 1 – Jul 1964, US BB 1 – Jul 1964, Canada 1 – Jul 1964, Norway 1 – Aug 1964, Éire 1 – Aug 1964, Australia 1 for 4 weeks Mar 1964, Germany 2 – Sep 1964, Australia 3 of 1964, RYM 6 of 1964, DDD 11 of 1964, South Africa 14 of 1964, US CashBox 18 of 1964, Scrobulate 39 of oldies, Europe 96 of the 1960s, Rolling Stone 153, Germany 254 of the 1960s, Acclaimed 411, OzNet 815
5	The Beatles	I Feel Fine	1964		UK 1 – Dec 1964, US BB 1 – Dec 1964, Canada 1 – Nov 1964, Netherlands 1 – Jan 1965, Norway 1 – Dec 1964, Éire 1 – Dec 1964, Australia 1 for 6 weeks Jul 1964, Germany 3 – Jan 1965, Australia 8 of 1964, RYM 8 of 1964, DDD 9 of 1964, US CashBox 19 of 1965, Scrobulate 40 of oldies, Germany 207 of the 1960s

• "The Addams Family theme song" w.m. Vic Mizzy
• "Baby, I Need Your Loving w.m. Edward Holland, Brian Holland & Lamont Dozier
• "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island" w.m. Frank DeVol and Sherwood Schwartz
• "Before the Parade Passes By" w.m. Jerry Herman, from the musical Hello, Dolly!
• "Bewitched theme song" w.m. Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller
• "Chapel Of Love" w.m. Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry
• "Chim Chim Cher-ee" w.m. Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
• "Cryin' Time" w.m. Buck Owens
• "Dear Heart" w. Jay Livingston & Ray Evans m. Henry Mancini
• "Feed the Birds" w.m. Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman from the film Mary Poppins
• "Gimme Some" w. Lee Adams m. Charles Strouse
• "Glad All Over" w.m. Dave Clark & Mike Smith
• "Goin' Out of My Head" w.m. Teddy Randazzo & Bobby Weinstein
• "Golden Boy" w. Lee Adams m. Charles Strouse
• "Hang on Sloopy" w.m. Bert Russell & Wes Farrell
• "Have I the Right?" w.m. Ken Howard & Alan Blaikley
• "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte", m. Frank DeVol from the film of the same name
• "I Will Wait For You" m. Michel Legrand. From the film musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg"
• "If I Were a Rich Man" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock. Introduced in the musical Fiddler on the Roof by Zero Mostel. Performed by Chaim Topol in the 1971 film version.
• "Invisible Tears" w.m. Ned Miller and Sue Miller
• "It's Over" w.m. Roy Orbison & Bill Dees
• "Let's Go Fly a Kite" w.m. Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman from the film Mary Poppins
• "Oh, Pretty Woman" w.m. Roy Orbison & Bill Dees
• "Pass Me By" w. Carolyn Leigh m. Cy Coleman. Introduced by Digby Wolfe in the film Father Goose
• "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" w.m. Jerry Herman, from the musical Hello, Dolly!
• "Sister Suffragette" w.m. Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman. Introduced by Glynis Johns in the film Mary Poppins.
• "So Long, Dearie" w.m. Jerry Herman, from the musical Hello, Dolly!
• "A Spoonful of Sugar" w.m. Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman from the film Mary Poppins
• "Style" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jimmy Van Heusen from the film Robin And The Seven Hoods
• "Sunrise, Sunset" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
• "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" w.m. Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman from the film Mary Poppins
• "That's Life" w.m. Dean Kay & Kelly Gordon
• "Tradition" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
• "Where Did Our Love Go?" w.m. Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland and Edward Holland
• "A World Without Love" w.m. John Lennon and Paul McCartney
• "Zorbas" (Zorba's Dance) m. Mikis Theodorakis

• "Dahil Sa Iyo" w.m. Tom Spinosa and Mike Velarde, Jr.
• "I miei pensieri" w. Sanzio Chiesa m. Giovanni Pelli
• "Laisse tomber les filles" w.m. Serge Gainsbourg
• "L'Orange" w.m. Gilbert Bécaud and Pierre Delanoë
• "Mon Pays" w.m. Gilles Vigneault
• "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" w.m. Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman (for Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress)
• "It's A Small World (After All)" w.m. Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman

• "Que C'est Triste Venise" w.m. Françoise Dorin

• Jurriaan Andriessen – Het zwarte blondje
• Samuel Barber – Vanessa (revised version)
• Benjamin Britten – Curlew River (church parable)
• Alberto Ginastera – Don Rodrigo, op. 31
• Bruno Maderna – Hyperion
• Gian Carlo Menotti – Martin's Lie
• Joaquín Rodrigo – El hijo fingido (zarzuela)
• Robert Ward – The Lady from Colorado

• Hello, Dolly! (Jerry Herman) – Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on January 16 and ran for 2844 performances
• What Makes Sammy Run? – Broadway production opened at the 54th Street Theater on February 27 and ran for 540 performances
• Funny Girl (Jule Styne and Bob Merrill) – Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on March 26 and ran for 1348 performances
• Anyone Can Whistle – Broadway production opened at the Majestic Theatre on April 4 and ran for 9 performances
• Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick) – Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on September 22 and ran for 3242 performances
• Foxy Book: Ian McLellan Hunter & Ring Lardner, Jr. Lyrics: Johnny Mercer Music: Robert Emmett Dolan. Broadway production opened on February 16 and ran for 72 performances. Starring Bert Lahr, Larry Blyden, Cathryn Damon and Julienne Marie.
• Golden Boy – Broadway production opened at the Majestic Theatre on October 20 and ran for 569 performances
• She Loves Me – London production opened at the Lyric Theatre on April 29 and ran for 189 performances
• Maggie May London production opened at the Adelphi Theatre on September 22 and ran for 501 performances
• Robert and Elizabeth – London production opened at the Lyric Theatre on October 20 and ran for 948 performances
• Little Me, the musical – London production opened at the Cambridge Theatre on November 18 and ran for 334 performances
• Salad Days (Julian Slade) – London revival

• Ayee Milan Ki Bela, with music by Shankar Jaikishan
• Dosti, starring Sanjay Khan, with music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal
• A Hard Day's Night starring The Beatles
• Mary Poppins starring Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Glynis Johns and David Tomlinson
• My Fair Lady starring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn
• Robin and the 7 Hoods starring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.
• The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg)
• The Unsinkable Molly Brown starring Debbie Reynolds and Harve Presnell
• Viva Las Vegas starring Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret

• January 5 – Grant Young (Soul Asylum)
• January 10 – Brad Roberts (Crash Test Dummies)
• January 11 – Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen, composer
• January 15 – Osmo Tapio Räihälä, composer
• January 29 – Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera)
• January 30 – Marcel Jacob, Swedish rock bassist Talisman (d. 2009)
• January 31 – Jeff Hanneman, American rock guitarist (Slayer) (d. 2013)
• February 1 – Jani Lane, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Warrant and Saints of the Underground) (d. 2011)
• February 4 – Noodles of The Offspring
• February 5 – Duff McKagan (Guns N' Roses Velvet Revolver
• February 23 – John Norum, Europe guitarist
• March 1 – Clinton Gregory, American musician
• March 11 – Vinnie Paul, drummer (Pantera, Damageplan)
• March 18 – Rozalla, Zambian singer
• March 19 – Yoko Kanno, composer
• March 20 – Natacha Atlas, Belgian singer
• March 30 – Tracy Chapman, American singer-songwriter
• April 5 – Princess Erika, French singer
• April 7 – Russell Crowe, New Zealand born, Australian actor and singer
• April 11 – Steve Azar, American country music singer-songwriter
• April 12 – Amy Ray American musician (Indigo Girls)
• April 16
  • Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum)
  • Esbjörn Svensson Swedish jazz pianist (d. 2008)
• April 17 – Maynard James Keenan (Tool)
• April 18 – Bez, British dancer
• April 25
  • Andy Bell, singer (Erasure)
  • Kenji Yamamoto, Japanese video game composer
• April 30 – Kent James, American singer-songwriter
• May 14 – Gordon Duncan, bagpiper, low-whistle player and composer (d. 2005)
• May 26 – Lenny Kravitz, American singer-songwriter, producer and guitarist
• May 30
  • Wynonna Judd, American country singer
  • Tom Morello, American rock guitarist (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, The Nightwatchman)
• May 31
  • Darryl McDaniels (Run-D.M.C.)
  • Frost
• June 3 – Kerry King, American rock guitarist (Slayer)
• June 6 – Jay Bentley (Bad Religion)
• June 10 – Jimmy Chamberlin, American rock musician (The Smashing Pumpkins)
• June 13 – Robbie Merrill (Godsmack)
• June 22
  • Dicky Barrett (The Mighty Mighty Bosstones)
  • Mike Edwards (Jesus Jones)
• June 29 – Stedman Pearson, British R&B singer (Five Star)
• June 19 – Brian Vander Ark, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor (The Verve Pipe)
• July 9 – Courtney Love, American singer, songwriter, actress and visual artist (Hole, Pagan Babies (band))
• July 13
  • Brent Fischer, American composer, arranger, bandleader, bass guitarist and percussionist
  • Paul Thorn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• July 17 – Craig Morgan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• July 19 – Masahiko Kondō, Japanese singer
• July 20 – Chris Cornell (Soundgarden & Audioslave) (d. 2017)
• July 22 – Will Calhoun (Living Colour)
• July 23 – Nick Menza, German drummer and songwriter (Megadeth and Memorain)
• July 31 – Jim Corr, Irish singer and musician (The Corrs)
• August 1 – Adam Duritz (Counting Crows)
• August 3 – Lucky Dube, South African reggae musician (d. 2007)
• August 5 – Adam Yauch (Beastie Boys) (d. 2012)
• August 17 – Colin James, Canadian singer-songwriter
• September 2 - Keanu Reeves, Canadian-American actor and musician.
• September 7 – Eazy-E (NWA) (d. 1995)
• September 11 – Victor Wooten, American bassist
• September 23 – Koshi Inaba, Japanese rock singer (B'z)
• September 26 – Nicki French, British singer
• September 27 – Stephan Jenkins, American rock singer (Third Eye Blind)
• September 30
  • Trey Anastasio, American musician
  • Robby Takac, Goo Goo Dolls
• October 4 – Francis Magalona, Filipino rapper (d. 2009)
• October 5 – Dave Dededer, Presidents of the United States of America
• October 6 – Matthew Sweet, rock musician
• October 7 – Sam Brown, singer, daughter of Joe Brown
• October 10 – Neneh Cherry, singer
• October 20
  • Frederic Chiu, pianist
  • Luciano, reggae singer
  • Jim Sonefeld (Hootie & The Blowfish)
• October 22 – Toby McKeehan, American musician
• October 23 – Robert Trujillo (Metallica)
• October 30 – Silvano Monasterios, pianist and composer
• November 6
  • Corey Glover (Living Colour)
  • Greg Graffin (Bad Religion)
• November 12
  • Vic Chesnutt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (brute. and The Undertow Orchestra) (d. 2009)
  • David Ellefson, American bass player and songwriter (Megadeth, Avian and F5)
• November 14
  • Joseph Simmons (Run-D.M.C.)
  • Nic Dalton (The Lemonheads)
• November 16 – Diana Krall, Canadian jazz pianist and singer
• November 24 – Tony Rambola (Godsmack)
• November 25 – Mark Lanegan, American rock singer (Screaming Trees)
• December 8 – Teri Hatcher, American actress, voice-actress, writer, singer, YouTuber, dancer and cheerleader
• December 9 – Paul Landers, German rock musician (Rammstein)
• December 11
  • Justin Currie, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Del Amitri and The Uncle Devil Show)
  • Dave Schools, American singer-songwriter, bass player and producer (Widespread Panic, Stockholm Syndrome and J Mascis + The Fog)
  • Cosy Sheridan, American singer-songwriter
• December 13 – Hideto Matsumoto (Hide), Japanese rock musician (d. 1998)
• December 23 – Eddie Vedder, American rock singer (Pearl Jam)
• December 28 – Malcolm Gets, American actor and dancer
• date unknown
  • Kyaw Kyaw Naing, Burmese traditional musician
  • Michael Haussman, American artist, writer, producer and director of motion pictures, television advertisements and music videos
  • Nitin Sawhney, British Indian musician, producer and composer

• January 7 – Colin McPhee, Canadian composer and musicologist, 63
• January 9 – Big Boy Goudie, jazz saxophonist,
• January 15 – Jack Teagarden, jazz trombonist and vocalist, 58 (pneumonia/heart attack)
• January 22 – Marc Blitzstein, composer, 58
• January 27 – Leib Glantz, musicologist, 65
• February 25 – Johnny Burke, lyricist, 55
• March 8 – Renata Borgatti, Italian pianist, 69 or 70
• March 27 – Emil Reesen, Danish composer, conductor and pianist, 76
• April 4 – Georgia Caine, Broadway star, 87
• May 10 – Carol Haney, dancer and choreographer, 39 (pneumonia)
• May 24 – Gali Penchala Narasimha Rao, film composer
• June 10 – Louis Gruenberg, pianist and composer, 79
• June 29 – Eric Dolphy, American jazz saxophonist, flautist and bass clarinettist, 36 (diabetic coma)
• July 1 – Pierre Monteux, French conductor, 89
• July 10 – Joe Haymes, bandleader and arranger, 57 (heart failure)
• July 31 – Jim Reeves, American country singer, 40 (plane crash)
• August 9 – Chucho Monge, Mexican songwriter, 53
• August 14 – Johnny Burnette, rockabilly singer, 30 (drowned)
• September 14 – Mary Howe, composer and pianist, 82
• September 20 – Lazare Lévy, French pianist and teacher, 82
• September 28
  • Nacio Herb Brown, songwriter and film/TV composer, 68
  • George Dyson, English composer, 81
  • Harpo Marx, American comedian and musician, 75
• October 10
  • Eddie Cantor, comedian, singer and songwriter, 72
  • Heinrich Neuhaus, Soviet (of German extraction) pianist and teacher, 76
• October 15 – Cole Porter, songwriter and composer, 73
• October 29 – Vasily Agapkin, Soviet composer
• November 5 – Buddy Cole, jazz pianist and orchestra leader, 45 (heart attack)
• November 30 – Don Redman, US arranger, bandleader and saxophonist
• December 2 – Sam H. Stept, Russian-born US songwriter, pianist and conductor, 67
• December 9 – Edith Sitwell, poet and collaborator of William Walton
• December 11
  • Alma Mahler, songwriter and widow of Gustav Mahler
  • Sam Cooke, singer, 33 (shot)
• December 14 – Francisco Canaro, Uruguayan violinist and tango orchestra leader, 76
• December 21 – Theodor Blumer, composer and conductor, 83

• Other events of 1964
• Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1964,
• 1963 in music
• 1965 in music
• Other 'years in music'