1979 in music

See also:

Deaths

• January 5 - Charles Mingus
• January 13 - Donny Hathaway, singer
• January 14 - Marjorie Lawrence, soprano
• February 2 - Sid Vicious
• March 22 - Walter Legge, record producer
• April 10 - Nino Rota, composer
• April 29 - Julia A. Perry, composer and conductor
• June 5 - Jack Haley, Wizard of Oz star
• July - Pedro Flores, composer
• July 3 - Louis Durey, composer
• July 6 - Van McCoy, singer, 35
• July 12 - Minnie Riperton, singer, 31
• July 16 - Alfred Deller, countertenor
• August 19 - Dorsey Burnette
• September 6 - Guy Bolton, English librettist
• September 27 - Gracie Fields, actress and singer
• October 1 - Roy Harris, composer
• October 13 - Rebecca Clarke, viola player and composer
• October 22 - Nadia Boulanger
• November 11 - Dimitri Tiomkin, film composer and conductor
• November 30 - Joyce Grenfell, actress and singer-songwriter
• December 30 - Richard Rodgers, composer and songwriter
• date unknown - Nansi Richards, harpist