Events in 1941
- Andrew Steele, drummer with The Herd, was born on August 2, 1941, in Hendon, northwest London.
- Doris Coley, singer with the American girl group The Shirelles, was born on August 2, 1941, in Goldsboro, North Carolina.
- Beverly Lee, a member of The Shirelles, was born in Passaic, New Jersey.
- Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist Airto Moreira was born in Itaiópolis, Brazil. He became known as a member of Quarteto Novo and also worked with Miles Davis and Return to Forever.
- Les Brown and his Band of Renown recorded the song “Joltin' Joe DiMaggio”.
- Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded “Elmer's Tune.”
- Pop singer Terence Perkins, known as Craig Douglas, was born; he became famous for his successful cover version of “Only Sixteen.”
- English pop singer Terence Perkins, known as Craig Douglas, was born. He became famous for the hit “Only Sixteen”.
- The country singer and songwriter, known for the 1964 hit “Once A Day”, was born Constance June Meador in Elkhart, Indiana.
- He was born in Los Angeles. He was a singer, songwriter and founding member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, with whom, and sometimes with Neil Young, he achieved great success. With The Byrds, he took folk-rock to a new level, while with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young he helped establish new standards for vocal harmonies. Throughout his life, he had numerous problems, mostly drug-related, and in 1986 he spent five months in prison.
- American country musician Don Rich was born, a member of Buck Owens' backing group The Buckaroos.
- American singer and songwriter Jackie DeShannon, born Sharon Lee Myers, was born in Hazel, Kentucky. She became known for songs including “What the World Needs Now Is Love” and “Put a Little Love in Your Heart”.
- Keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Tom Coster was born in Detroit, Michigan. He became known for his long collaboration with Carlos Santana, with whom he co-wrote the song “Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)”.
- Pete Shannon, bassist with The Nashville Teens, was born in Antrim, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
- Elliot Ingber, an American guitarist known as a member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, founder of Fraternity of Man and later a member of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, was born.
- Ernest Wright, doo-wop singer of Little Anthony & the Imperials, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
- Christopher Augustine, drummer of Every Mother's Son, was born in New York City. The group is known for the 1967 hit “Come on Down to My Boat”.
- Skinnay Ennis recorded the song “Don't Let Julia Fool Ya”.
- English drummer and singer Christopher Crummey, known as Chris Curtis, was born in Liverpool. He became known as a member of The Searchers in the 1960s.
- English drummer John Marshall was born. He was a founding member of the jazz-rock group Nucleus and served as the drummer of Soft Machine from 1972 to 1978. He also worked with Allan Holdsworth, Alexis Korner, Jack Bruce, and John McLaughlin.
- English guitarist and singer John McNally was born in Walton, Liverpool. He was a founding member of The Searchers, with whom he remained for more than 60 years. The group had the UK No. 1 single “Needles And Pins” in 1964 and the US No. 3 single “Love Potion Number Nine”.