1966 in music

• 1966 in British music
• 1966 in Norwegian music

• 1966 in country music
• 1966 in jazz

• January 8 – Shindig! is broadcast for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who; 2 days earlier, the birthday of Elvis Presley is celebrated in the final Thursday episode of the series.
• January 14 – Young singer David Jones changes his last name to Bowie to avoid being confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees.
• January 17 – Simon & Garfunkel release the album Sounds of Silence.
• February 2 – The first edition of Go-Set magazine is published in Melbourne, Australia. Founded by former Monash University students Phillip Frazer and Tony Schauble, the new weekly is the first independent periodical in Australia devoted entirely to popular music and youth culture. The inaugural 24-page issue has a cover feature on Tom Jones, stories on The Groop, singer Pat Carroll and DJ Ken Sparkes and a feature on mod fashion by designer Prue Acton.
• February 6 – The Animals appear a fifth time on The Ed Sullivan Show to perform their iconic Vietnam-anthem hit "We Gotta Get Out of this Place".
• February 17 – Brian Wilson starts recording "Good Vibrations" with The Wrecking Crew, continuing for several months and marking a beginning to the famed Smile sessions.
• February 19 – Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin perform at the Fillmore.
• February 25 – The Yardbirds release the single "Shapes of Things"/"Mister, You're a Better Man Than I", heralding the dawn of the psychedelic era in British rock. "Shapes" would peak at No. 3 in the U.K. and No. 10 in Canada and the U.S., where it remains on the charts throughout the spring of 1966, making its final Hot 100 appearance mid-June.
• March 4 – The Beatles' John Lennon is quoted in the London newspaper, The Evening Standard as saying that the band was now more popular than Jesus. In August, following publication of this remark in Datebook, there are Beatles protests and record burnings in the Southern US's Bible Belt.
• March 5 – The 11th Eurovision Song Contest is staged in the Villa Louvigny, Luxembourg. Udo Jürgens, having represented Austria in the last two contests (sixth in 1964; fourth in 1965), finally scores a first for the country, with "Merci Chérie", which he co-wrote.
• March 6 – In the UK, 5,000 fans of the Beatles sign a petition urging British Prime minister Harold Wilson to reopen Liverpool's Cavern Club.
• March 14 – The Byrds release the psychedelic single "Eight Miles High" in the U.S. It is banned in several states due to allegations that the lyrics advocated drug use, yet reaches No.14 on the Billboard 100 charts.
• April – Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass set a world record by placing five albums simultaneously on Billboard's Pop Album Chart, with four of them the Top 10. Their music outsells The Beatles by a margin of two-to-one – over 13 million recordings. They win 4 Grammys this year.
• April 11 – First public performance in the Metropolitan Opera House, of Giacomo Puccini's La fanciulla del West, though the official opening of the new opera house will not take place until September 16.
• April 12 – In Los Angeles, California, Jan Berry, of Jan and Dean, crashes his Corvette into a truck that is parked on Whittier Boulevard. Berry slips into a two-month-long coma and suffers total physical paralysis for over a year as well as extensive brain damage.
• April 23 – For the first time since its January 18, 1964, issue, the Billboard Hot 100 chart fails to have an artist from the UK with a Top 10 single, ending a streak of 117 consecutive weeks.
• May 1 – The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who perform at the NME's poll winners' show at the Empire Pool (Wembley) in London. This will be The Beatles' last conventional live concert in Britain. The show is videotaped for later broadcast but The Beatles' and The Stones' segments are omitted because of union conflicts.
• May 6 – The first issue of Džuboks, the first Yugoslav magazine dedicated to rock music and the first rock magazine in a socialist country, is released.
• May 13 – The Rolling Stones release "Paint It, Black", which becomes the first number one hit single in the US and UK to feature a sitar (played by Brian Jones).
• May 17 – Bob Dylan and the Hawks (later The Band) perform at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England. Dylan is booed by the audience because of his decision to tour with an electric band, the boos culminating in the famous "Judas" shout.
• May 30 – Them, fronted by Van Morrison, begin a three-week stint as the headliner act at the Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood. On the last night June 18, they are joined on stage by that week's opening act The Doors. Van and Jim Morrison sing "Gloria" together.
• June 6 – 25-year-old Claudette Frady-Orbison, while motorcycle riding with her husband Roy Orbison, is killed when her motorcycle is struck by a pickup truck in Gallatin, Tennessee.
• June 18 – At a drunken gig at The Queen's College, Oxford in England, bassist/producer Paul Samwell-Smith quits The Yardbirds and star session guitarist Jimmy Page agrees to take over on bass.
• July 2 – The Beatles become the first musical group to perform at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo. The performance ignites protests from local citizens who feel that it is inappropriate for a rock and roll band to play at Budokan.
• July 29 – Bob Dylan is involved in a motorcycle accident.
• July 31 – The "supergroup" Cream, a trio featuring Eric Clapton (guitar), Ginger Baker (drums) and Jack Bruce (bass guitar, lead vocals) performs its first official concert at the Windsor (UK) Jazz & Blues Festival.
• August 1 – "Midsummer Serenades: A Mozart Festival" is held – the first Mostly Mozart Festival.
• August 5 – The Beatles release their album Revolver, expanding the year's psychedelic sound.
• August 11 – John Lennon holds a press conference in Chicago, Illinois, to apologize for his remarks the previous March. "I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have gotten away with it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth. I'm not anti-God, anti-Christ, or anti-religion. I was not knocking it. I was not saying we are greater or better."
• August 17 – The Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra becomes the first major overseas orchestra to perform at The Proms.
• August 25 – Yardbirds lead guitarist Jeff Beck takes ill in San Francisco and Jimmy Page, who has been playing bass, takes over on lead guitar for the band's concert at the Carousel Ballroom.
• August 29
  • The Beatles perform their last official concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. The last number they play is Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally".
  • NBC airs the last episode of Hullabaloo, with Elvis Presley performing "Aud Lang Slyne", the episode previously aired in April 1966.
• September 12 – The first episode of The Monkees is broadcast on NBC Television in the United States.
• September 16
  • The Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) opens in New York City with the première of Samuel Barber's opera Antony and Cleopatra. The opera is rejected by the critics.
  • Eric Burdon records a solo album after leaving The Animals and appears on the show "Ready, Steady, Go", singing "Help Me Girl", a UK #14 solo hit. Also on the show are Otis Redding and Chris Farlowe.
• September 23 – The Yardbirds debut their twin lead guitar lineup, featuring Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, opening for the Rolling Stones 1966 U.K. tour. Also on the bill are Ike & Tina Turner, Peter Jay and the New Jaywalkers and Long John Baldry.
• September 24 – Jimi Hendrix arrives in London to record with producer/manager Chas Chandler.
• October 8 – WOR-FM in New York City becomes the first FM rock music station, under the leadership of DJ Murray The K.
• October 22 – With their album The Supremes A' Go-Go, The Supremes become the first all-female group to reach number one on the US Billboard 200.
• November 9 – John Lennon meets Yoko Ono when he attends a preview of her art exhibition at the Indica Gallery in London.
• November 15 – Japanese band The Tigers make their first television appearance, changing their name from "The Funnys" for the occasion.
• November 30 – The Yardbirds officially announce that Jeff Beck has left the band, leaving Jimmy Page as sole guitarist in the group, within which Page would plant the seeds of Led Zeppelin.
• December 6 – A Smile vocal overdub session by The Beach Boys for the song "Cabin Essence" becomes the scene of a climactic argument between member Mike Love and third-party lyricist Van Dyke Parks, causing him to gradually distance away from the project.
• December 9 – The Who release their second album A Quick One with a nine-minute "mini-opera" "A Quick One While He's Away".
• December 16 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience release their first single in the UK, "Hey Joe".
• December 17 – David Oppenheim films Brian Wilson at his home performing his composition "Surf's Up". The footage will later be used for CBS's Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution to be aired the next April.
• December 23-30 – The UFO Club opens in London, featuring psychedelic bands Pink Floyd and Soft Machine; and the films of Andy Warhol and Kenneth Anger.
• 1966 dates unknown
  • Dalida receives, for a second time, the Music Hall Bravos.
  • Charley Pride is signed by RCA.
  • The Centre d'Etudes de Mathématique et Automatique Musicales (Centre for Automatic and Mathematical Music) is founded in Paris by Iannis Xenakis.
  • Modern Assyrian music takes off when Albert Rouel Tamras releases his first records in Baghdad in 1966 on the Bashirphone label.
  • Conductor Herbert Kegel marries soprano Celestina Casapietra.
  • Pungmul music is recognized as an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Korea, under the title nongak sipicha (농악십이차, "twelve movements of farmers' music").

• See Category:Musical groups established in 1966

• See Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1966

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1966.

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	Frank Sinatra	"Strangers in the Night"	1966		UK 1 – May 1966, US BB 1 – May 1966, Italy 1 of 1966, Germany 1 – Jul 1966, Éire 1 – Jun 1966, Australia 1 for 5 weeks May 1966, Grammy in 1966, Canada 2 – May 1966, Netherlands 2 – Jun 1966, South Africa 3 of 1966, US CashBox 4 of 1966, Norway 5 – Jul 1966, Scrobulate 6 of swing, Australia 9 of 1966, US BB 29 of 1966, POP 29 of 1966, RYM 42 of 1966, Germany 48 of the 1960s, RIAA 275, Acclaimed 1681
2	The Beatles	"We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper"	1965		CAN CHUM Chart 1 – UK Singles Chart 1 – Dec 1965, US Billboard Hot 100 1 – Jan 1966
3	The Beatles	"Yellow Submarine" / "Eleanor Rigby"	1966		UK 1 – Aug 1966, Canada 1 – Aug 1966, Netherlands 1 – Aug 1966, Norway 1 – Aug 1966, Germany 1 – Sep 1966, Éire 1 – Aug 1966, New Zealand 1 for 3 weeks Sep 1966, Australia 1 for 6 weeks Aug 1966, Australia Goset 1 – Oct 1966, US BB 2 – Aug 1966, US BB 7 of 1966, POP 7 of 1966, RYM 22 of 1966, Italy 29 of 1966, Scrobulate 47 of classic rock, US CashBox 83 of 1966, Germany 141 of the 1960s
4	The Beach Boys	"Good Vibrations"	1966		UK 1 – Nov 1966, US BB 1 – Oct 1966, France 1 – Jul 1976, DDD 1 of 1966, Canada 2 – Oct 1966, Norway 2 – Dec 1966, Australia Goset 2 – Dec 1966, RYM 3 of 1966, Acclaimed 3, Netherlands 4 – Nov 1966, Rolling Stone 6, Germany 8 – Jan 1967, Scrobulate 8 of oldies, Europe 12 of the 1960s, US BB 14 of 1966, POP 14 of 1966, Australia 15 of 1966, RIAA 24, 31 in 2FM list, WXPN 57, OzNet 58, Italy 69 of 1967
5	The Beatles	"Paperback Writer" / "Rain"	1966		UK 1 – Jun 1966, US BB 1 – Jun 1966, Canada 1 – May 1966, Netherlands 1 – Jun 1966, Norway 1 – Jun 1966, Éire 1 – Jun 1966, New Zealand 1 for 3 weeks Jul 1966, Germany 2 – Jul 1966, RYM 2 of 1966, France 9 – Mar 1976, US BB 12 of 1966, POP 12 of 1966, Scrobulate 22 of British, US CashBox 43 of 1966, Italy 45 of 1966, DDD 53 of 1966, Germany 181 of the 1960s, Acclaimed 195, WXPN 765

Winter

• "Keep On Running" – Spencer Davis Group
• "Michelle" – The Overlanders
• "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" – The Walker Brothers

Spring

• "Somebody Help Me" – The Spencer Davis Group
• "Pretty Flamingo" – Manfred Mann

Summer

• "Sunny Afternoon" – The Kinks
• "Get Away" – Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames
• "With a Girl Like You" – The Troggs
• "All or Nothing" – Small Faces

Autumn

• "Distant Drums" – Jim Reeves
• "Green, Green Grass of Home" – Tom Jones

Louis Armstrong in 1966

Sonny & Cher, 1966

(Not all of these were necessarily released as singles.)

• "7 and 7 Is" – Love
• "19th Nervous Breakdown" – The Rolling Stones
• "634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)" – Wilson Pickett
• "The 7 O'clock News/Silent Night" – Simon & Garfunkel
• "98.6" – Keith
• "A Hard Day's Night" – The Ramsey Lewis Trio
• "Hazy Shade of Winter" – Simon & Garfunkel
• "A Legal Matter" – The Who
• "A Little Bit of Soap" – The Exciters
• "A Quick One, While He's Away" – The Who
• "A Sign of the Times" – Petula Clark
• "A Well Respected Man" – The Kinks
• "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" – The Temptations
• "Alfie" – Cilla Black
• "All I See is You" – Dusty Springfield
• "All Tomorrows Parties" – The Velvet Underground and Nico
• "Alley Oop" – Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
• "And Your Bird Can Sing" – The Beatles
• "Anyway That You Want Me" – The Troggs
• "April Come She Will" – Simon & Garfunkel
• "At the Scene" – The Dave Clark Five
• "B-A-B-Y" – Carla Thomas
• "Baby Don't You Do It" – The Poets
• "Baby Scratch My Back" – Slim Harpo
• "Bang! Bang!" – Joe Cuba Sextet
• "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" – Cher
• "Batman Theme" – The Marketts
• "Beck's Bolero" – Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon, Nicky Hopkins, John Paul Jones

• "Alfie" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach from the film Alfie
• "Big Spender" w. Dorothy Fields m. Cy Coleman from the musical Sweet Charity
• "If I Were a Carpenter" w.m. Tim Hardin
• "Sunny" W.M. Bobby Hebb
• "We Can Work It Out" w.m. John Lennon & Paul McCartney
• "Wedding Bell Blues" w.m. Laura Nyro

• "Ces Gens-Là" by Jacques Brel
• "La maison où j'ai grandi" ("Il ragazzo della via Gluck") by Adriano Celentano, French lyrics by Eddy Marnay
• "Nessuno Mi Può Giudicare/Lei Mi Aspetta" by Gene Pitney[1]
• "La Poupée qui fait non" by Franck Gérald
• "Parce Que Tu Crois" by Charles Aznavour
• "Les sucettes" by Serge Gainsbourg

• Samuel Barber – Antony and Cleopatra
• Vittorio Giannini – Servant of Two Masters
• Mark Kopytman – Casa Mare
• Peter Westergaard – Mr and Mrs Discobbolos
• Grace Williams – The Parlour

• The Apple Tree – Broadway production
• Breakfast at Tiffany's – Broadway-bound production (closed in previews)
• Cabaret (John Kander & Fred Ebb) – Broadway production (1,165-performances)
• Funny Girl (Jule Styne and Bob Merrill) – London production
• I Do! I Do! – Broadway production
• It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman – Broadway production
• The Mad Show – Off-Broadway production
• Mame – Broadway production
• The Penny Friend – Off-Broadway production
• Sweet Charity (Music: Cy Coleman Lyrics: Dorothy Fields Book: Neil Simon) – Broadway production
• Wait a Minim! – Off-Broadway production

• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
• Dus Lakh
• The Glass Bottom Boat starring Doris Day
• Hold On! starring Herman's Hermits
• Mera Saaya
• Paradise, Hawaiian Style starring Elvis Presley
• Stop the World – I Want to Get Off

• Brigadoon starring Robert Goulet and Sally Ann Howes

• January 1 – Crazy Legs, Puerto Rican breakdancer (Rock Steady Crew)
• January 3 – Martin Galway, Northern Irish composer
• January 4 – Deana Carter, American country singer-songwriter, musician
• January 5 – Kate Schellenbach (Luscious Jackson)
• January 6 – A. R. Rahman, Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician and philanthropists
• January 7 – Ehab Tawfik, Egyptian singer
• January 8 – Andrew Wood, singer (Mother Love Bone) (d. 1990)
• January 14 – Marco Hietala, Finnish rock bassist (Nightwish)
• January 16 – Maxine Jones, AMerican singer-songwriter and actress (En Vogue)
• January 17 – Shabba Ranks, dancehall artist
• January 20
  • Tracii Guns, American guitarist
  • Wes King, guitarist, singer
• January 21 – Wendy James, British rock singer (Transvision Vamp)
• January 25 – Samvel Yervinyan, Armenian violinist and composer
• January 30 – Hans Tutschku, German composer
• February 2 – Robert DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots and Army of Anyone
• February 6 – Rick Astley, English singer, songwriter and radio personality
• February 9 – Rachel Bolan (Skid Row)
• February 11 – Tenor Saw, dancehall artist (d. 1988)
• February 12 – Paul Crook, American guitarist (Anthrax)
• February 26 – Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer
• March 2 – Howard Bernstein, producer
• March 3
  • Tone-Loc, rapper
  • Mikal Blue, English music producer, songwriter, engineer and mixer, collabotor with Colbie Caillat
• March 4 – Grand Puba, American rapper (Brand Nubian)
• March 7 – Atsushi Sakurai, Japanese singer (Buck-Tick)
• March 10 – Edie Brickell, singer-songwriter
• March 12 – David Daniels, countertenor
• March 18 – Jerry Cantrell, Alice in Chains
• March 19 – Anja Rupel, singer
• March 21 – DJ Premier, record producer
• March 25 – Jeff Healey, Canadian guitarist (died 2008)
• April 2 – Garnett Silk, reggae singer (died 1994)
• April 11 – Lisa Stansfield, singer
• April 13 – Marc Ford (The Black Crowes)
• April 15 – Samantha Fox, British model and singer
• April 18 – Ana Voog, singer-songwriter
• April 21 – Michael Franti, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Beatnigs and The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy)
• April 28 – Too Short, rapper
• May 1 – Anne Fletcher, American film director and choreographer
• May 8
  • Blag Dahlia, American musician, producer, and author
  • Marta Sánchez, vocalist and entertainer
• May 10 – Wade Domínguez, American actor, model, singer and dancer (d. 1998)
• May 11 – Christoph Schneider, German rock musician (Rammstein)
• May 12 – Bebel Gilberto, Brazilian popular singer
• May 13
  • Alison Goldfrapp, English musician and record producer (Goldfrapp)
  • Darius Rucker (Hootie & the Blowfish)
  • Jeffrey Scott Holland, American artist and musician
• May 14 – Raphael Saadiq, singer-songwriter and record producer
• May 16 – Janet Jackson, American American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress.
• May 19 – Neil Campbell, British musician
• May 22 – Johnny Gill (New Edition)
• May 24 – Ella Guru, American painter and musician
• May 26 – Tommy Stewart (Godsmack)
• May 27 – Titi DJ, Indonesian pop singer
• May 28 – Theo Bleckmann, German vocalist and composer
• May 30 – Stephen Malkmus, American rock singer (Pavement)
• June 4 – Cecilia Bartoli, operatic mezzo-soprano
• June 6
  • Aadesh Shrivastava, composer and singer
  • Sean Yseult, American bass player (White Zombie and The Cramps)
• June 8
  • Jens Kidman, Swedish musician
  • Doris Pearson, R&B singer (Five Star)
• June 14 – Matt Freeman, bassist (Rancid)
• June 15 – Roberto Carnevale, Italian musician
• June 22 – Schooly D, American rapper
• June 24 – Hope Sandoval, American singer-songwriter (Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions)
• June 26 – Jürgen Reil, German drummer (Kreator)
• June 28 – Bobby Bare, Jr., American musician
• July 7 – Gundula Krause, German violinist
• July 9 – Gayle and Gillian Blakeney, Australian actresses and singers
• July 11 – Melanie Appleby, Mel and Kim (d. 1990)
• July 12
  • Taiji, Japanese bass player and songwriter (Loudness and X Japan) (d. 2011)
  • Misato Watanabe, Japanese singer
• July 13 – Gerald Levert, American singer (d. 2006)
• July 14 – Tanya Donelly, American musician
• July 15 – Jason Bonham, drummer
• July 17
  • Lou Barlow, American guitarist and songwriter (Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, and The Folk Implosion)
  • Keith Elam, rapper & producer
• July 20 – Stone Gossard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Pearl Jam, Mother Love Bone, Brad, Temple of the Dog, and Green River)
• July 29 – Martina McBride, American country singer
• August 11 – Juan Maria Solare, composer
• August 16 – Emanuel Kiriakou, American songwriter, producer, record executive, music publisher and multi-instrumentalist,
• August 19
  • Lilian Garcia, American singer and wrestling ring announcer
  • Lee Ann Womack, singer
• August 20 – Dimebag Darrell, American rock guitarist (Pantera) (d. 2004)
• August 22 – GZA/Genius, rapper
• August 25
  • Derek Sherinian, American keyboardist
  • Terminator X, DJ
• August 26 – Shirley Manson, Scottish rock musician (Garbage)
• September 2 – Yu Hayami, Japanese pop idol singer
• September 4 – Yanka Dyagileva, Russian singer
• September 5 – Terry Ellis (En Vogue)
• September 8 – Carola Häggkvist, Swedish pop singer
• September 10 – Robin Goodridge (Bush)
• September 12 – Ben Folds, singer-songwriter
• September 17 – Doug E. Fresh, American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer
• September 20 – Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme)
• September 22 – Moustafa Amar, Egyptian pop star
• October 2 – Mousse T., DJ
• October 8 – Teddy Riley, R&B musician
• October 12 – Brian Kennedy, Irish musician and author
• October 15 – Eric Benét, gospel singer
• October 18 – Tim Cross, Sponge
• October 19 – Sinitta, singer and actress
• October 23 – Skúli Sverrisson, Icelandic composer and bassist
• October 31
  • Annabella Lwin, vocalist (Bow Wow Wow)
  • Ad-Rock, Beastie Boys
• November 6 – Paul Gilbert, American musician
• November 11 – Peaches, born Merrill Nisker, Canadian electronic musician and performance artist
• November 14 – Charles Hazlewood, English orchestral conductor
• November 16 – Christian Lorenz, keyboard player
• November 17
  • Jeff Buckley, singer-songwriter (died 1997)
  • Soup the Chemist, born Christopher Jose Cooper, pioneering American Christian hip hop rapper
  • Kate Ceberano, Australian singer and actress
• November 20 – Kevin Gilbert (musician), American singer, composer, and instrumentalist
• November 23 – Charlie Grover (Sponge)
• November 24 – Joseph "DJ Run" Simmons, Run D.M.C.
• November 25 – Stacy Lattisaw, singer
• December 4 – Masta Ace, rapper
• December 8 – Sinéad O'Connor, Irish singer-songwriter, priest, activist
• December 9 – Michael Foster, drummer for rock band FireHouse
• December 12 – Greg Long, contemporary Christian musician
• December 20 – Chris Robinson, vocalist (The Black Crowes)
• December 29 – Dexter Holland of The Offspring

• January 29 – Pierre Mercure, Canadian bassoon player and composer, 39
• February 9 – Sophie Tucker, blues singer, 82
• February 10 – Billy Rose, impresario, 66
• February 13 – Marguerite Long, pianist, 87
• February 23 – Billy Kyle, jazz pianist, 51
• March – Mohamed El Qasabgi, composer
• March 29 – Jazz Gillum, harmonica player, 61 (shot)
• March 30 – Jelly d'Arányi, violinist, 72
• April 3 – Russel Crouse, librettist, 73
• April 19 – Javier Solis, Mexican ranchera & bolero singer, 34 (complications following gall bladder surgery)
• April 30 – Richard Fariña, folk singer, 29 (motorcycle accident)
• May 13 – Henrik Adam Due, violinist, music teacher, 75
• June 1 – Papa Jack Laine, bandleader, 92
• June 12 – Hermann Scherchen, conductor, 74
• June 17 – Johnny St. Cyr, jazz musician, 76
• July 3 – Deems Taylor, composer and music critic, 80
• July 18 – Bobby Fuller, singer and guitarist, 23 (possible suicide or murder)
• July 31 – Bud Powell, jazz pianist, 41
• August 2 – Boyd Raeburn, jazz musician, 52 (heart attack)
• August 2 or 3 – Tristan Klingsor, poet, painter and musician, 91
• August 4 – Helen Tamiris, dancer and choreographer, 61
• August 15 – Jan Kiepura, Polish tenor and actor, 64
• September 17 – Fritz Wunderlich, tenor, 35 (fell downstairs)
• September 26 – Helen Kane, singer, 62
• September 28 – Lucius "Lucky" Millinder, US bandleader, 56 (liver disease)
• October 3 – Dave Lambert, jazz musician, 49 (road accident)
• October 7
  • Johnny Kidd, British singer, 30 (car accident)
  • Smiley Lewis, R&B musician, 53 (stomach cancer)
• October 12 – Arthur Lourié, composer, 74
• October 26 – Alma Cogan, English singer, 34 (stomach cancer)
• October 17 – Karel Hruška, operatic tenor, 75
• October 29 – Wellman Braud, jazz musician, 75
• November 1
  • Alexis Roland-Manuel, composer, 75
  • Dick Roberts, guitar and banjo player, 69
• November 2 – Mississippi John Hurt, blues musician, 73 or 74
• November 6 – Washboard Sam, blues musician, 56 (heart disease)
• November 12 – Quincy Porter, composer, 69
• November 28 – Vittorio Giannini, opera composer, 63
• December 1 – Carter Stanley, bluegrass musician, half of The Stanley Brothers, 41 (alcohol-related)
• December 3 – Kui Lee, singer-songwriter, 34 (gland cancer)
• December 9 – Yuri Shaporin, composer, 79
• December 12 – Nellie Briercliffe, singer and actress with the D'Oyly Carte company, 77
• December 14 – Shailendra, lyricist, 43
• December 24 – Gaspar Cassadó, cellist and composer, 69

• Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1966

Whitburn, Joel. Billboard Top 10 Singles Charts 1955–2000 (2001)