Pick a Day

Music History Events: Deaths

July 26, 2013 Oklahoma guitarist J.J. Cale, who wrote the songs "Call Me The Breeze" and "After Midnight," dies at age 74.

July 11, 2013 Charles Pope (of The Tams) dies of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at age 76 in Jonesboro, Georgia.

June 23, 2013 Bobby "Blue" Bland dies of an undisclosed illness at age 83.

June 19, 2013 '50s country singer Slim Whitman, who enjoyed a career revival in the '80s thanks to a television direct-marketing campaign, dies of heart failure at age 90.

June 15, 2013 Roger LaVern (keyboardist for The Tornados) dies at age 75.

June 5, 2013 Doo-wop singer Marshall Sewell (of The Edsels) dies of esophageal cancer at age 75.

June 4, 2013 Joey Covington (drummer for Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna) dies in a single-vehicle accident in Palm Springs, California, at age 67.

June 4, 2013 Cornelius "Nini" Harp (original lead singer of The Marcels) dies of natural causes at age 73.

May 29, 2013 Marvin Junior (lead baritone of The Dells) dies from complications of kidney failure at age 77.

May 25, 2013 Marshall Lytle (bassist for Bill Haley) dies of lung cancer at age 79.

May 25, 2013 Clarence Burke Jr. (lead singer of The Five Stairsteps) dies at his home in Marietta, Georgia, from an undisclosed cause at age 64.

May 24, 2013 Ed Shaughnessy (drummer for Johnny Carson's Tonight Show Band on NBC) dies of a heart attack at age 84.

May 17, 2013 Singer-songwriter Alan O'Day dies of brain cancer at age 72.

April 30, 2013 Actress and singer Deanna Durbin dies in Neauphle-le-Château, France, at age 91.

April 22, 2013 Singer-songwriter Richie Havens, who became famous as the first performer at Woodstock in 1969, dies of a heart attack age 72.

April 21, 2013 Christina Amphlett (frontwoman of The Divinyls) dies after a long battle with breast cancer at age 53.

April 18, 2013 Cordell "Boogie" Mosson (bassist for Parliament-Funkadelic) dies at age 60 of liver failure.

April 8, 2013 Annette Funicello dies at age 70 of multiple sclerosis. The actress became famous as a Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club before becoming a pop singer and was known for a string of popular '60s "Beach Party" films with co-star Frankie Avalon.

April 7, 2013 Andy Johns (engineer for Led Zeppelin, Television, and The Rolling Stones) dies at age 62 of complications from a stomach ulcer.

March 30, 2013 Producer Phil Ramone dies of complications after surgery for an aortic aneurysm at age 79. Ramone produced most of Billy Joel's material. "If I hadn't met Phil when I did, I probably wouldn't have had a career," Joel says.

March 28, 2013 Session rock guitarist Hugh McCracken (Billy Joel, Steely Dan) dies at age 70 of leukemia.

March 27, 2013 Crawdaddy magazine founder Paul Williams dies at age 64. Not to be confused with the singer/songwriter/actor Paul Williams, the subject of the 2011 documentary, Paul Williams Still Alive.

March 27, 2013 Gordon Stoker of The Jordanaires dies at age 88.

March 19, 2013 Floyd "Buddy" McRae, the last surviving original member of The Chords, dies at age 85.

March 16, 2013 Bobbie Smith of The Spinners dies of pneumonia and influenza at age 76.

March 7, 2013 Guitarist Peter Banks, a founding member of Yes, dies at age 65.

March 6, 2013 Alvin Lee (lead vocalist, guitarist for Ten Years After) dies at age 68 from complications after a routine surgery.

March 3, 2013 Bobby Rogers (of The Miracles) dies of complications of diabetes at age 73.

February 27, 2013 Richard Street, singer with The Monitors and The Temptations, dies at age 70.

February 24, 2013 Larry Marks, original singer of the Scooby Doo theme song, dies in Los Angeles at age 73. He was also a producer for Columbia Records and A&M Records, where he helmed projects for Liza Minnelli and Phil Ochs, among others.