Music History Events: Deaths
October 22, 2017 Marilyn Manson guitarist Daisy Berkowitz (real name: Scott Putesky) dies of colon cancer at age 49.
October 22, 2017 The Easybeats leader George Young ("Friday On My Mind"), dies at age 70. He was the brother of Angus and Malcolm Young of AC/DC.
October 17, 2017 Gord Downie, leader of the Canadian band The Tragically Hip, dies at 53 after a battle with cancer.
September 8, 2017 Troy Gentry of the country music duo Montgomery Gentry dies in a helicopter crash en route to a gig in Medford, New Jersey. He was 50.
September 3, 2017 Steely Dan co-founder and guitarist Walter Becker dies of esophageal cancer at 67.
August 8, 2017 Glen Campbell dies at 81 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
July 25, 2017 Barbara Sinatra, widow of Frank Sinatra, dies at age 90. Barbara was married to the singer from 1976 until his 1998 death.
July 19, 2017 Performing barefoot as usual, singer-songwriter Barbara Weldens is electrocuted on stage at Gourdon, France and dies from cardiac arrest.
June 28, 2017 Gary DeCarlo, singer of the 1969 hit "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," dies of cancer at age 75.
June 13, 2017 Anita Pallenberg, who lived with Keith Richards for 13 years and had three kids with him, dies at age 75. Pallenberg inspired the Rolling Stones songs "You Got The Silver" and "Happy."
June 8, 2017 Country songwriter/producer Norro Wilson, who penned hits for George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Charley Pride, and others, dies at age 79.
May 9, 2017 Italian trance DJ Robert Miles dies in Ibiza, Spain, at age 47 after a short illness.
May 1, 2017 At the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, John Popper, Susan Tedeschi, Widespread Panic and many other artists perform at a tribute to Col. Bruce Hampton in celebration of his 70s birthday. Hampton, a mentor to many of these musicians, collapses on stage and dies during the encore. "Bruce was the only person I could think of who has ever played at his own funeral," his friend Scott McKinney says.
April 23, 2017 Kerry Turman, bassist for The Temptations, dies at age 59 following a performance in Missouri.
April 20, 2017 The Main Ingredient lead singer Cuba Gooding Sr. dies at age 72. His son is the actor Cuba Gooding Jr.
April 15, 2017 Allan Holdsworth, an innovative guitarist who influenced John McLaughlin, Eddie Van Halen and Carlos Santana, dies at age 70.
April 15, 2017 Sylvia Moy, who co-wrote the Stevie Wonder hits "My Cherie Amour" and "Uptight (Everything's Alright)," dies at age 78. She was just the second black woman inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (following Valerie Simpson).
April 11, 2017 J. Geils, guitarist and founding member of J. Geils Band, dies at age 71.
April 11, 2017 Toby Smith, original keyboardist for Jamiroquai, dies at age 46.
April 5, 2017 Trans-Siberian Orchestra founder Paul O'Neill is found dead in a Tampa, Florida, hotel room. The band announces the 61-year-old rocker died from a chronic illness.
March 30, 2017 Rosie Hamlin of Rosie & the Originals ("Angel Baby") dies at age 71.
March 22, 2017 Original Boston drummer Sib Hashian, who played on their first two albums, dies at age 67 after collapsing during the Legends of Rock Cruise.
March 11, 2017 Joni Sledge of Sister Sledge dies at age 60.
March 3, 2017 Pop singer Tommy Page, known for the 1990 hit "I'll Be Your Everything," dies in an apparent suicide at age 46.
February 19, 2017 Jazz guitarist Larry Coryell dies at age 73.
February 18, 2017 Clyde Stubblefield, the funky drummer who played on many tracks for James Brown, dies at age 73.
January 31, 2017 John Wetton of King Crimson and Asia dies at age 67 after a battle with cancer.
January 31, 2017 Deke Leonard of Man dies at age 72.
January 23, 2017 Bobby Freeman, who had hits with "Do You Want To Dance" and "C'mon And Swim," dies of a heart attack at 76.
January 10, 2017 Buddy Greco dies in Las Vegas, Nevada, at age 90. Greco was a jazz singer who recorded several hit songs across all genres, his most popular being a cover of "The Lady is a Tramp." He also palled around with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and was considered one of the Rat Pack's "mascots."
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