- Jul 1 Dennis Brown, Jamaican reggae singer ("Money In My Pocket"), dies of a collapsed lung, after a heart attack, at 42
- Jul 1 Guy Mitchell [Albert George Cernik], American singer and actor (Red Garters, 3 Redheads from Seattle), dies at 72
- Jul 2 Angelo Paccignini, Italian composer (Flou II), educator (Milan Conservatory - electronic music chair. 1969-80), and musical director (Nuova Armonia), dies at 68
- Jul 3 Mark Sandman, American singer-songwriter and musician (Morphine; Treat Her Right), dies of a heart attack at 46
- Jul 4 Ronny Graham [Stringer], American composer, lyricist, screenwriter (M*A*S*H (TV series), and actor (Chico & the Man; Mel Brooks films), dies of liver disease at 79
- Jul 4 Ruby Johnson, American singer (I'll Run Your Hurt Away), dies at 63
- Jul 6 Joaquín Rodrigo, Spanish composer, dies at 97
- Jul 9 Talib Dawud [Alfonso Rainey], Antiguan-American jazz trumpeter (Dizzy Gillespie Big Band), dies at 76
- Jul 11 Helen Forrest [Fogel], American big band, pop, and swing jazz singer (Artie Shaw; Benny Goodman; Harry James), dies of heart failure at 82 [1]
- Jul 14 Gar Samuelson, American drummer (Megadeth), dies of liver failure at 41
- Jul 16 Hiromi Yanagihara, Japanese singer (b. 1979)
- Jul 17 Kevin Wilkinson, British drummer (The Waterboys), commits suicide at 41
- Jul 27 Harry "Sweets" Edison, American jazz and session trumpet player, dies of prostate cancer at 83
- Jul 28 Rudolf Halaczinsky, German composer, dies at 78