Music History Events: Deaths
October 5, 1997 Arthur Tracy, known as The Street Singer, dies at age 98.
September 24, 1997 One-hit-wonder Larry Hall, known for the 1959 hit "Sandy," dies of cancer at age 57.
September 20, 1997 Nicholas Traina (lead singer for Link 80) dies of a self-administered morphine overdose in San Francisco, California, at age 19. Traina was the son of bestselling romance author Danielle Steel.
September 19, 1997 Christian singer-songwriter Rich Mullins dies in an automobile accident in Illinois while en route to a benefit concert at Wichita State University in Kansas. Mullins, age 41, was thrown from the vehicle and hit by an oncoming semi-trailer truck.
September 18, 1997 Jump blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon dies of throat cancer in Los Angeles, California, at age 77.
August 12, 1997 Blues guitarist Luther Allison dies of cancer at age 57 in Madison, Wisconsin.
August 2, 1997 Fela Kuti, a multi-instrumentalist and pioneer of Afrobeat, dies of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma, at age 58.
July 5, 1997 Mrs. (Elva) Miller, who charted with an off-key rendition of "Downtown" in 1966, dies at age 89.
June 20, 1997 Lawrence Payton (tenor vocalist of The Four Tops) dies of liver cancer in Southfield, Michigan, at age 59.
June 19, 1997 "Jingle Bell Rock" singer Bobby Helms dies from emphysema and asthma at age 63.
June 16, 1997 John Wolters (drummer for Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show) dies of cancer at age 52.
June 4, 1997 Ronnie Lane (bass guitarist of The Small Faces, The Faces) dies at age 51 after a 21-year battle with multiple sclerosis.
June 2, 1997 Jazz trumpeter Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham dies at age 91.
May 11, 1997 Ernie Fields - trombonist, pianist, and arranger who had a hit R&B version of Glenn Miller's "In The Mood" in 1959 - dies at age 92 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
April 19, 1997 Eldon "El Duce" Hoke (drummer, lead singer of The Mentors) dies at age 39 after being struck by a train in Riverside, California. The coroner's report calls the cause of death a "misadventure."
April 18, 1997 Rock guitarist Jay Hening (of Demolition 23) dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
April 9, 1997 Nashville songwriter Mae Axton, co-writer of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel," dies at age 82 when she has a heart attack and drowns in her hot tub.
April 8, 1997 Singer-songwriter Laura Nyro ("Stoned Soul Picnic," "Wedding Bell Blues," "And When I Die") dies at age 49 of ovarian cancer.
March 25, 1997 Kenny Moore, a songwriter who was Tina Turner's musical director, dies of apoplexy at age 45.
March 24, 1997 Philadelphia soul singer Harold Melvin (of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes) dies at age 57, months after suffering a debilitating stroke.
March 10, 1997 R&B singer LaVern Baker ("Tweedle Dee") dies of cardiovascular disease at age 67.
March 8, 1997 Raymond Edwards of The Silhouettes ("Get A Job") dies at age 72.
February 23, 1997 Jazz drummer Tony Williams dies at age 51.
February 9, 1997 Brian Connolly (lead singer of Sweet) dies at age 51 of renal and liver failure after multiple heart attacks.
January 23, 1997 "Louie Louie" composer (and original performer) Richard Berry dies of heart failure at age 61.
January 22, 1997 Pop singer Ron Holden, known for the 1959 hit "Love You So," dies of a heart attack at age 57 in Rosarito Beach, Mexico.
January 22, 1997 Scottish singer Billy MacKenzie (of The Associates) commits suicide at age 39 by overdosing on prescription drugs.
January 21, 1997 Elvis Presley's controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker dies at age 87.
January 2, 1997 Randy California, the guitarist for Spirit and composer of the song "Taurus" that Led Zeppelin borrowed for the intro of "Stairway To Heaven," drowns at age 45 while rescuing his 12-year-old son from a rip current in Molokai, Hawaii.
January 1, 1997 Townes Van Zandt, a long-suffering alcoholic, dies of a cardiac arrhythmia after hip surgery at age 52.
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