Music History Events: Deaths
November 12, 2011 Blues drummer Doyle Bramhall dies of heart failure in his sleep in Alpine, Texas, at age 62. He worked with both Jimmie Vaughan (in The Chessmen) and Stevie Ray Vaughan (in The Nightcrawlers).
November 7, 2011 Andrea True (of The Andrea True Connection) dies of heart failure at age 68.
October 19, 2011 Texas-born blues pianist Earl Gilliam dies at age 81 of advanced lung disease.
October 19, 2011 Blues guitarist John-Alex Mason, age 35, dies of complications after surgery to remove cancerous tissue.
October 14, 2011 Chuck Ruff (drummer for Edgar Winter Group and Sammy Hagar) dies in San Francisco, California, after a lengthy illness at age 60.
October 12, 2011 Paul Leka, songwriter, pianist, arranger and orchestrator, dies of lung cancer in Sharon, Connecticut, at age 68. Co-wrote the '60s hits "Green Tambourine" and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye."
October 12, 2011 Joel 'Taz' DiGregorio, keyboard player in the Charlie Daniels Band, is killed in a car accident before the band's gig at the Cumming Country Fair in Tennessee. DiGregorio, who was 67 at the time of his death, co-wrote many songs with the group, including "The Devil Went Down To Georgia."
October 11, 2011 George "Mojo" Buford (harmonica player for Muddy Waters's band) dies after a long illness in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at age 81.
October 8, 2011 Weezer bass player Mikey Welsh dies of an overdose-induced heart attack at a hotel in Chicago, Illinois, at age 40.
October 8, 2011 Pianist Roger Williams dies of pancreatic cancer in Encino, California, at age 87. Known for his 1955 chart-topping instrumental version of "Autumn Leaves."
October 5, 2011 Scottish Folk-Guitar master Bert Jansch dies at age 67. He was a big influence on Led Zeppelin and Neil Young.
October 5, 2011 Steve Jobs, Apple founder and music industry visionary, passes away at age 56 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
September 30, 2011 Marv Tarplin of The Miracles dies in Las Vegas, Nevada, at age 70.
September 27, 2011 Johnnie Wright (of Johnnie & Jack and the Tennessee Mountain Boys) dies in Madison, Wisconsin, at age 97.
September 21, 2011 John Du Cann (of Atomic Rooster) dies of a heart attack at age 65.
September 16, 2011 Bluesman Willie "Big Eyes" Smith dies following a stroke at age 75.
September 6, 2011 Bandleader/arranger Wardell Quezergue, known as the "Creole Beethoven," dies of congestive heart failure in Metairie, Louisiana, at age 81.
August 29, 2011 Delta bluesman David "Honeyboy" Edwards dies of congestive heart failure in Chicago, Illinois, at age 96.
August 22, 2011 Jerry Leiber, half of the Leiber & Stoller songwriting team, dies of cardio-pulmonary failure in Los Angeles, California, at age 78. The pair wrote hits for Elvis Presley, The Coasters and The Drifters.
August 22, 2011 Nick Ashford, half of the husband-and-wife songwriting/production team Ashford & Simpson, dies of complications from throat cancer at age 70.
August 20, 2011 Jazz singer Ross Barbour (of The Four Freshmen) dies of cancer in Simi Valley, California, at age 82.
August 18, 2011 During a severe storm, high wind and heavy rain cause a stage to collapse while Chicago band Smith Westerns are performing. Four are killed and over 70 injured. Organizers decide to cancel the festival, where Eminem, Face to Face and Foo Fighters were scheduled to perform.
August 15, 2011 Lyricist Betty Thatcher (of Renaissance) dies of cancer in Hayle, Cornwall, England, at age 67.
August 7, 2011 Marshall Grant (upright bassist for the Tennessee Two, Johnny Cash's backing band) dies of an aneurysm at age 83 in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
July 29, 2011 Gene McDaniels, known for singing the 1961 hit "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay" and writing Roberta Flack's 1974 hit "Feel Like Makin' Love," dies at age 76 at his home in Maine.
July 24, 2011 Dan Peek (multi-instrumentalist and vocalist for America) dies of fibrinous pericarditis in his sleep at age 60.
July 13, 2011 Songwriter Jerry Ragovoy dies of a stroke at age 80. Under the pseudonym Norman Meade, he co-wrote "Time Is On My Side," made famous by the Rolling Stones.
July 11, 2011 Rob Grill of The Grass Roots dies at 67.
June 12, 2011 Coasters lead singer Carl Gardner ("Charlie Brown," "Yakety Yak"), dies of heart failure at age 83.
June 3, 2011 R&B singer Benny Spellman dies of respiratory failure at age 79.
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