Pick a Day

Music History Events: Deaths

May 29, 2005 Jazz singer-songwriter Oscar Brown Jr., writer of the popular jazz song "Afro Blue," dies from complications of osteomyelitis at age 78.

May 25, 2005 Domenic Troiano (guitarist for The Guess Who, Bush) dies at age 59 after a ten-year battle with prostate cancer.

May 14, 2005 Bluegrass musician Jimmy Martin dies of bladder cancer at age 77 in Nashville, Tennessee.

April 28, 2005 Jazz bassist Percy Heath dies of bone cancer two days before his 82nd birthday.

April 14, 2005 John Fred Gourrier, who with John Fred and His Playboy Band had a #1 hit with "Judy in Disguise (with Glasses)," dies at age 63.

April 13, 2005 Blues pianist Johnnie Johnson, known for his work with Chuck Berry, dies in St. Louis, Missouri, at age 80.

April 1, 2005 Jack Keller dies of leukemia at age 68 in Nashville, Tennessee. The songwriter is known for his pop collaborations with Howard Greenfield, including "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and "Run To Him." He was also a writer and producer for The Monkees TV series.

March 27, 2005 Mexican singer Rigo Tovar dies at age 58.

March 26, 2005 Paul Hester (drummer for Crowded House) commits suicide at age 46.

March 22, 2005 Rod Price (guitarist for Foghat) dies after suffering a heart attack and falling down a flight of stairs at his home.

March 10, 2005 Danny Joe Brown (singer, songwriter of Molly Hatchet) dies of complications from diabetes at age 53.

March 9, 2005 Country singer Chris LeDoux dies from liver disease at age 56.

March 9, 2005 George Scott of The Blind Boys of Alabama dies at age 75.

February 15, 2005 French singer Pierre Bachelet dies of lung cancer at age 60.

February 12, 2005 Country music singer/songwriter Sammi Smith dies from unconfirmed circumstances at age 61 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

February 9, 2005 Soul singer Tyrone Davis dies of complications from a stroke in Chicago, Illinois, at age 66. Known for his #1 R&B hits, "Can I Change My Mind" (1968), "Turn Back The Hands Of Time" (1970), and "Turning Point" (1975).

February 8, 2005 Keith Knudsen (drummer, vocalist for The Doobie Brothers) dies of pneumonia at age 56.

January 28, 2005 Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi dies of stomach cancer at age 60.

January 11, 2005 Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden dies of cancer at age 66.

January 5, 2005 Danny Sugerman, second manager for The Doors who wrote a number of books about the band, dies of lung cancer at age 50.

December 30, 2004 Artie Shaw - bandleader, clarinetist and composer - dies from a culmination of health issues, including diabetes, in Thousand Oaks, California, at age 94.

December 27, 2004 Hank Garland, a Nashville session guitarist who performed with Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, dies of a staph infection at age 74.

December 8, 2004 Dimebag Darrell is shot dead on stage while performing with his band Damageplan at Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. The murderer, Nathan Gale, kills three others before being shot dead by a police officer.More

November 19, 2004 Record producer Terry Melcher, who co-wrote The Beach Boys' "Kokomo," dies after a long battle with melanoma at age 62. He was the only child of actress Doris Day.

November 18, 2004 Cy Coleman, composer, songwriter, and pianist, dies of a cardiac arrest at age 75. With Carolyn Leigh, wrote pop hits like "Witchcraft" and "The Best Is Yet To Come," both popularized by Frank Sinatra.

November 14, 2004 Michel Colombier - composer, conductor, arranger, and songwriter - dies in Santa Monica, California, at age 65.

November 13, 2004 Ol' Dirty Bastard (of Wu-Tang Clan), real name Russell Tyrone Jones, dies of a drug overdose at age 35.

November 7, 2004 Howard Keel, star of Broadway and film musicals before landing a long-running gig on the TV series Dallas, dies of colon cancer at age 85.

November 7, 2004 Soul singer Lenny Mayes (of The Dramatics) dies of lung cancer at age 53.

November 1, 2004 Terry Knight, original manager and producer for Grand Funk Railroad, is murdered by his teenage daughter's boyfriend, Donald A. Fair. Knight, age 61, was stabbed to death when he tried to breakup an argument over Fair's drug use.