Music History Events: Deaths
August 24, 2014 Doo-wop singer Tommy Gough (of The Crests) dies of throat cancer at age 74.
August 12, 2014 Lauren Bacall, the last living film star mentioned in Madonna's song "Vogue," dies at age 89.
August 3, 2014 Rosetta Hightower (lead singer of The Orlons) dies at age 70.
July 30, 2014 Guitarist Dick Wagner dies of respiratory failure at age 71. Wagner is known for his associations with Lou Reed, KISS, David Bowie, and especially Alice Cooper.
July 29, 2014 Jazz drummer Idris Muhammad, born Leo Morris, dies at age 74.
July 16, 2014 Blues rocker Johnny Winter dies at age 70.
June 27, 2014 R&B/soul singer Bobby Womack dies of cancer at age 70.
June 18, 2014 Johnny Mann - of The Johnny Mann Singers who recorded with Johnny Burnette, The Crickets, and Eddie Cochran - dies of heart failure at age 85.
June 15, 2014 American Top 40 host (and voice of Shaggy on Scooby Doo) Casey Kasem dies at age 82.
May 23, 2014 Malik Bendjelloul, who directed the Sixto Rodriguez documentary Searching For Sugar Man, commits suicide at age 36.
May 18, 2014 Italian-American singer Jerry Vale dies at home in Palm Desert, California, at age 83.
May 15, 2014 Rapper Evan Plunkett, who performed as Hollywood Will, is shot dead at a Las Vegas casino.
May 14, 2014 Cubie Burke (singer and dancer of the Chicago soul group The Five Stairsteps) dies of complications from a brain injury at age 49.
May 11, 2014 Ed Gagliardi (bass guitarist for Foreigner) dies at age 62 after an eight-year battle with cancer.
May 3, 2014 Drummer Bobby Gregg, who played on Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" and Simon and Garfunkel's hit rock version of "The Sound of Silence," dies at age 78 from reasons unknown.
May 2, 2014 '60s R&B/pop singer Jessica Cleaves (Friends Of Distinction) dies at age 65 of complications from a stroke.
April 30, 2014 Larry Ramos (guitarist, banjo player for The New Christy Minstrels, The Association) dies at age 72 from malignant melanoma.
April 29, 2014 Paul Goddard (bassist for Atlanta Rhythm Section) dies at age 68 of a brief, sudden illness.
April 18, 2014 Deon Jackson dies at age 68 from unknown causes. He was most famous for his 1966 sweet soul hit "Love Makes The World Go Round," but his output also made him a hero on both the South Carolina beach music and UK Northern Soul scenes.
April 11, 2014 Jesse Winchester dies at age 69 of bladder cancer. He was one of the major singer-songwriters of the "country rock" movement in the early '70s, blessed with an amazing voice but still better known for his songwriting, which resulted in several hits for other "outlaw" country artists.
April 7, 2014 25-year-old Peaches Geldof, daughter of the Live Aid mastermind Bob Geldof, is found dead in Kent, England, after overdosing on heroin. Her mother, Paula Yates, died in 2000 when Peaches was 11.
April 3, 2014 Arthur Smith, one of postwar country music's finest guitar pickers, dies at age 93 of natural causes. His 1949 instrumental "Guitar Boogie" was one of the first to showcase the electric guitar and as such had a major influence on the development of rockabilly and rock in general.
March 28, 2014 Folk singer-turned-reverend Joe Frazier (of the Chad Mitchell Trio) dies in his sleep at age 77.
March 18, 2014 Joe Lala (drummer for The Blues Image) dies of lung cancer at age 66.
March 15, 2014 Scott Asheton (drummer for The Stooges) dies of a heart attack at age 64.
March 14, 2014 Gary Burger of The Monks dies of pancreatic cancer at age 71.
March 8, 2014 Jerry Corbitt of The Youngbloods dies of lung cancer at age 71.
March 6, 2014 Charles Love (vocalist, guitarist for Bloodstone) dies of complications of pneumonia at age 68 in Kansas City, Missouri.
February 23, 2014 Chip Damiani, drummer for The Remains, dies of a brain hemorrhage at age 68.
February 17, 2014 Bob Casale (rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for Devo) dies of heart failure at age 61.
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