Music History Events: Deaths
January 2, 2003 Pop singer Edward Farran (of The Arbors) dies of kidney failure at age 74.
December 28, 2002 Meri Wilson, known for the 1977 hit "Telephone Man," dies in a car crash at age 53.
November 21, 2002 Hadda Brooks, known for the '40s R&B hit "Out of the Blue," dies following open-heart surgery at age 86.
November 16, 2002 Blues pianist and singer Mose Vinson, known for "Blues with a Feeling" and "Sweet Root Man," dies of diabetes at age 85.
November 13, 2002 William "Bill" Berry, trumpeter for Duke Ellington and The Merv Griffin Show band, dies after a yearlong battle with lung cancer at age 72.
November 13, 2002 Michael Stewart (guitarist for We Five) commits suicide at age 57, though it was first reported that he died of a long illness.
November 10, 2002 Johnny Griffith dies of a heart attack at age 66. As a keyboardist for Motown's in-house band, The Funk Brothers, he played on several of the label's hits, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Stop! In the Name of Love."
November 5, 2002 Billy Guy (original baritone singer of The Coasters) dies of heart disease at age 66.
November 3, 2002 '60s British singer Lonnie Donegan, known as The King of Skiffle, dies of a heart attack at age 71.
October 31, 2002 Claude "Juan" Johnson (of the R&B duo Don and Juan) dies at age 67.
October 30, 2002 Jason Mizell aka Jam Master Jay (of Run-DMC), age 37, is shot and killed at a recording studio in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New York. Although authorities suspect convicted drug dealer Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a friend of Murder Inc. founders Irv and Chris Gotti, of the crime along with accomplice Randy "Stretch" Walker, they are not convicted and the murder remains unsolved.
October 27, 2002 Tom Dowd, who as an engineer and producer worked on classic albums for Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers Band, Aretha Franklin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Ray Charles, dies of emphysema at age 77.
October 25, 2002 Actor/singer Richard Harris dies of Hodgkin's disease in London, England, at age 72. He portrayed Professor Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies.
October 17, 2002 Country musician Bashful Brother Oswald (real name Beecher Ray Kirby) dies in Madison, Tennessee, at age 90. Popularized the use of the resonator guitar.
October 12, 2002 Bandleader/arranger Ray Conniff dies after he slips in his bathtub in Escondido, California, at age 85.
September 30, 2002 Pianist Ellis Larkins dies of pneumonia at age 79.
September 29, 2002 Country/pop songwriter Mickey Newbury dies in Springfield, Oregon, after a battle with emphysema at age 62.
September 24, 2002 Blues singer-songwriter Tim Rose ("Hey Joe," "Morning Dew,") dies of a heart attack during a stomach operation at age 62.
September 14, 2002 Saxophonist Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams dies in New York City at age 87. Known for the 1949 hit "The Hucklebuck."
September 9, 2002 Peter Tetteroo (lead singer for The Tee Set) dies from liver cancer in Delft, Netherlands, at age 55.
July 22, 2002 Jazz singer Marion Montgomery dies of lung cancer at age 67. A non-smoker, the "Maybe the Morning" singer blamed her illness on the second-hand smoke she regularly ingested while working in nightclubs.
July 21, 2002 Gus Dudgeon, frequent producer of Elton John's recordings, dies in a car accident along with his wife, Sheila, at age 59. Elton dedicates his 2004 album, Peachtree Road, to the couple.
July 11, 2002 Blues singer Rosco Gordon dies at 74.
June 29, 2002 Rosemary Clooney dies of lung cancer at age 74.
June 6, 2002 Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby dies at 42 of complications from AIDS. He played on four Platinum albums with the band but developed a debilitating drug habit that led to his demise.
June 5, 2002 Eleven weeks after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Dee Dee Ramone, a founding member of the Ramones, dies of a heroin overdose at age 50.
June 2, 2002 Rockabilly singer-songwriter Boyd Bennett (of the Rockets), known for the '50s hits "Seventeen" and "My Boy, Flat Top," dies of a lung ailment at age 77.
May 17, 2002 Blues singer Little Johnny Taylor, known for '60s hits like "Part Time Love," dies in Conway, Arkansas, at age 59.
May 6, 2002 Rock and roll songwriter Otis Blackwell dies at age 71 of a heart attack.
April 27, 2002 Hillous Butrum (bass player for Hank Williams' backing band, Drifting Cowboys) dies at age 74.
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