Music History Events: Deaths
March 26, 1999 Bengali musician Ananda Shankar dies of heart failure at age 56.
March 12, 1999 Violinist Yehudi Menuhin dies at age 82 from complications of bronchitis.
March 7, 1999 Marv Ingram of The Four Preps dies at age 60.
March 4, 1999 Cowboy singer Eddie Dean dies of emphysema at age 91.
February 14, 1999 Rocker Buddy Knox dies of lung cancer at age 65.
January 21, 1999 Blues singer/pianist Charles Brown, known for "Driftin' Blues" and "Merry Christmas Baby," dies of congestive heart failure at age 76.
January 20, 1999 Bill Albaugh (drummer for the psychedelic pop group The Lemon Pipers) dies at age 53.
January 11, 1999 Pop singer Miss Toni Fisher, known for the 1959 song "The Big Hurt," dies of a heart attack at age 68.
December 30, 1998 R&B singer Johnny Moore (of The Drifters) dies of respiratory failure in London, England, at age 64.
December 25, 1998 Bryan MacLean (guitarist and songwriter for Love), age 52, dies of a heart attack in a Los Angeles restaurant.
December 25, 1998 Singer/actress Damita Jo dies at age 68 following a respiratory illness in Baltimore, Maryland.
December 11, 1998 Lynn Strait (lead singer for Snot) dies in a car accident in Santa Barbara, California, at age 30.
November 20, 1998 Saxophonist Roland Alphonso (of The Skatalites, known for 1967's "Guns of Navarone") dies at age 67 after being in a coma for four days due to burst blood vessels in his neck and head.
November 16, 1998 Gospel singer J.D. Sumner (of J.D. Sumner and the Stamps) dies of a heart attack at age 73.
November 13, 1998 Pianist/keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, age 43, dies of congestive heart failure in Queens, New York City, New York.
October 22, 1998 Robert E. True (guitarist for The Vagabonds) dies of skin cancer in Burbank, California, at age 82. True started his musical career at age 16 in MGM's studio orchestra.
October 2, 1998 Singing cowboy Gene Autry dies of lymphoma at 91.More
September 21, 1998 Oz Bach (of Spanky and Our Gang) dies of cancer at age 59.
September 14, 1998 Blues/jazz singer Johnny Adams dies at age 66 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after a long battle with prostate cancer.
September 5, 1998 R&B singer Sonny Knight dies at age 64 in Maui, Hawaii, two years after suffering a stroke. Known for the 1956 hit "Confidential."
August 29, 1998 Country/rockabilly musician Charlie Feathers dies of complications from a stroke-induced coma in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 66. Known for '50s hits like "Peepin' Eyes."
August 24, 1998 Composer/conductor Gene Page dies after a long illness in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, at age 58. Page did arrangements for The Supremes, Whitney Houston and Barbra Streisand and many others. He also scored the 1972 Blaxploitation flick Blacula.
August 6, 1998 Jazz performer Nat Gonella, founder of the big band The Georgians, dies in Gosport, Hampshire, England at age 90.
July 25, 1998 Jazz guitarist Tal "Octopus" Farlow dies from esophageal cancer at age 77 in New York City.
July 12, 1998 "Battle of New Orleans" songwriter Jimmy Driftwood dies of a heart attack at age 91.
June 29, 1998 German pianist Horst Jankowski dies of lung cancer at age 62.
May 9, 1998 Blues musician Lester Butler dies of a heroin and cocaine overdose at age 38.
May 7, 1998 Country singer-songwriter Eddie Rabbitt dies of lung cancer at age 56.
May 2, 1998 Heavy metal guitarist Hideto "Hide" Matsumoto (of X-Japan) commits suicide at age 33 by hanging himself.
April 10, 1998 Cleveland radio disc jockey Eddie O'Jay, a pioneer of R&B radio who inspired The O'Jays' moniker and became their manager, dies at age 73.
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