Music History Events: Deaths
July 16, 2012 Jon Lord, a founding member of Deep Purple, dies at age 71 of a pulmonary embolism while suffering from pancreatic cancer.
July 9, 2012 Soul singer Linda "Kay Kay" Greenwade (of Kay Kay and the Rays) dies at age 56 after a long period of ill health, including diabetes and a brain tumor.
June 8, 2012 Nat Reese, noted blues guitarist from West Virginia, dies at age 88.
June 7, 2012 Bob Welch, Fleetwood Mac's guitarist from 1971–1974, dies of suicide at age 66.More
June 5, 2012 Blues singer-songwriter Lou Pride, known for the compositions "Long Arm Of The Blues" and "Love From A Stone," dies after a bout of illness at age 68.
June 5, 2012 Herb Reed (founding member of The Platters) dies of heart disease, among other ailments, at age 83 in Boston, Massachusetts.
May 20, 2012 Robin Gibb (of Bee Gees) dies from colorectal cancer-related kidney and liver failure at age 62.
May 16, 2012 Chuck Brown, the "Godfather of Go-Go," dies at age 75.
May 13, 2012 Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass guitarist for Booker T. and the MGs) dies in his sleep at age 70 while on tour in Tokyo.
April 19, 2012 Greg Ham, multi-instrumentalist with the band Men At Work, best known for playing the saxophone on "Overkill" and "Who Can It Be Now," and the flute on "Down Under," dies of a heart attack at his home in Melbourne, Australia at age 58.
March 28, 2012 Blues harmonica player Jerry "Boogie" McCain, known for the self-penned tunes "Ain't No Use for Drug Abuse" and "Burn the Crackhouse Down," dies at age 81.
March 12, 2012 Doobie Brothers drummer Michael Hossack dies of cancer at age 65.
March 3, 2012 Rock guitarist Ronnie Montrose (Montrose) dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 64.
February 25, 2012 Bluesman Louisiana Red (real name: Iverson Minter) dies after suffering a stroke in Hanover, Germany, at age 79. Known for his 1975 song "Sweet Blood Call."
February 14, 2012 Dory Previn, a singer-songwriter who wrote many songs with her second husband André Previn, dies at 86.
January 17, 2012 Johnny Otis, the bandleader and talent scout who discovered Etta James, dies at age 90.
January 8, 2012 Blues singer Dave Alexander, who sometimes recorded as Omar Shariff, dies at age 73.
January 6, 2012 NRBQ drummer Tom Ardolino dies of complications from diabetes at age 56.
December 18, 2011 Ralph MacDonald, a percussionist and songwriter who composed the hit duets "Where Is the Love" (Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway) and "Just The Two Of Us" (Bill Withers/Grover Washington Jr.), dies of lung cancer at age 67.
December 14, 2011 Country singer Billie Jo Spears dies in Vidor, Texas, at age 73. Known for the 1975 hit "Blanket on the Ground."
December 8, 2011 Bob Burnett (of The Highwaymen) dies of brain cancer at age 71.
December 6, 2011 Soul singer Dobie Gray dies of complications from cancer surgery at age 71.
December 6, 2011 Barbara Orbison, the second wife and widow of Roy Orbison, dies 23 years to the day after her husband.
December 4, 2011 Chicago blues musician Hubert Sumlin, a member of Howlin' Wolf's band, dies of heart failure at age 80.
December 2, 2011 Soul singer Howard Tate, original performer of the Janis Joplin hit "Get It While You Can," dies at age 72 from complications of multiple myeloma and leukemia.
November 30, 2011 J. Blackfoot (of The Soul Children) dies of pancreatic cancer at age 65.
November 26, 2011 English drummer Keef Hartley (of Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Keef Hartley Band) dies at age 67.
November 25, 2011 Blues musician Coco Robicheaux dies in New Orleans, Louisiana, at age 64.
November 15, 2011 Mark "Moogy" Klingman (keyboardist for Utopia) dies of bladder cancer in New York City, at age 61.
November 14, 2011 Songwriter Lee Pockriss dies in Connecticut after a long illness at age 87. Known for songs like "Catch a Falling Star," "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," and "Johnny Angel."
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