Music History

Eddie “Chank” Willis died at the age of 82 from complications caused by polio. During the 1960s and early 1970s, he played electric guitar and occasionally electric sitar with Motown's studio group The Funk Brothers. He contributed to many hits, including “Please Mr. Postman” by The Marvelettes, “The Way You Do the Things You Do” by The Temptations, “You Keep Me Hanging On” by The Supremes and “I Was Made to Love Her” by Stevie Wonder.

American musician and songwriter Ed King died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 68. He became known as the guitarist of the psychedelic rock group Strawberry Alarm Clock and as guitarist and bassist of the Southern rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd, where he performed from 1972–1975 and again from 1987–1996. With Strawberry Alarm Clock, he co-wrote the 1967 hit “Incense and Peppermints”, and with Lynyrd Skynyrd he co-wrote the 1974 song “Sweet Home Alabama”. In 2006, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Jazz pianist and composer Randy Weston died at the age of 92.

Australian rock musician Conway Savage of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds died at the age of 58. In 2017, he underwent treatment for a brain tumor. He also had a solo career from 1993 and released three albums.

Henri Belolo, French music producer, co-founder of The Ritchie Family and The Village People, and co-writer of many of their hits, died at the age of 82.

American bassist Lawrence “Larry” Taylor, a founding member of Los Angeles boogie/rock group Canned Heat, died at the age of 77 after a twelve-year battle with cancer. He was best known as a member of Canned Heat, in which he performed from 1967 to 1970. With the group, he appeared at its major performances at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969, and played on “Going Up the Country” and “On the Road Again”. Before joining Canned Heat, he worked as a studio bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee Lewis. He was the younger brother of Mel Taylor, longtime drummer of The Ventures.

Songwriter LaShawn Daniels, who wrote hits for Destiny's Child and Brandy, died at the age of 41.

Steve Holland, a founding member and guitarist of Molly Hatchet, died after a long illness at the age of 66.

British music producer and audio engineer Martin Birch died at the age of 71. He was known for producing and engineering albums by British rock bands including Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden.

English rock and pop singer Wayne Fontana, born Glyn Geoffrey Ellis, died at the age of 74 from cancer. With The Mindbenders, he reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Game of Love” in 1965.

Francouzský hudební producent, skladatel, zpěvák a hudebník Mark Wirtz zemřel ve věku 76 let na Pickovu chorobu. Proslavil se mimo jiné nedokončeným konceptuálním albem A Teenage Opera.

Singer, guitarist and actor Trini Lopez died at the age of 83 from complications of COVID-19. In 1963 he had the hit “If I Had A Hammer,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard chart. He also appeared in the 1967 film The Dirty Dozen.

The English hard rock and heavy metal bassist died at the age of 69 from life-threatening injuries sustained in an accident two months earlier. He was the bassist of UFO and a founding member of Waysted and Fastway, and also played with the Michael Schenker Group and Ozzy Osbourne.

Jazz and R&B saxophonist Hal Singer died at the age of 100.

Jack Sherman died at the age of 64 from a heart attack at his home in Savannah, Georgia. He was the second guitarist to join the Red Hot Chili Peppers between Hillel Slovak's departure and return. He played on the band's debut album and co-wrote most of their second album, Freaky Styley. He also worked with Bob Dylan, George Clinton and Feargal Sharkey.

American rock drummer Frankie Banali died at the age of 68 from pancreatic cancer. He was best known for his work with the multiplatinum heavy metal band Quiet Riot.

American screenwriter and producer Joe Ruby, co-creator of Scooby-Doo and producer of numerous Hanna-Barbera animated programs connected with music, died at the age of 87.

He joined The Bay City Rollers in 1976 and sang lead vocals on the title track of their fourth album “Dedication.” He died at the age of 62.

Stan Lark, bassist with The Fireballs, died of cancer at the age of 81.

Dennis „Dee Tee“ Thomas, spoluzakladatel skupiny Kool & the Gang, zemřel ve spánku několik hodin po vystoupení se skupinou ve věku 70 let. Se skupinou měl mimo jiné americký hit číslo jedna „Celebration“ a britský hit „Joanna“ a v letech 1973 až 1987 se skupinou umístil 22 skladeb v Billboard Top 40.

American hip-hop and R&B producer Carl “Chucky” Thompson died at the age of 53 from complications related to COVID-19. In the 1990s, he was a member of Bad Boy Entertainment’s production team The Hitmen and worked with artists including Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Sean Combs and The Notorious B.I.G.

American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Roy Gaines died at the age of 83, one day before his 84th birthday. As a backing musician he worked with the Everly Brothers, The Supremes, Bobby Darin, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight, among others. He co-wrote “No Use Crying,” recorded by George Jones and Ray Charles.

American singer and songwriter Nanci Griffith died at the age of 68. In 1994, she won a Grammy for the album Other Voices, Other Rooms and recorded duets with numerous prominent performers.

Country singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Country Music Hall of Fame member Tom T. Hall died at the age of 85. He wrote 12 songs that reached No. 1 on the charts, including “Harper Valley P.T.A.”, made famous by Jeannie C. Riley in 1968, and “I Love”, which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. Another 26 of his songs reached the Top 10.

Connie Hamzy Parente died after an unspecified illness. She was also known as “Sweet Sweet” Connie or Connie Flowers. She became famous as a well-known groupie who claimed to have had sexual relationships with many rock musicians. Connie Hamzy was immortalized in the song “We're An American Band” by Grand Funk.

Don Everly, the last surviving member of the rock'n'roll duo The Everly Brothers, died at the age of 84. Don and his brother Phil had worldwide hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s including “Bye Bye Love” and “All I Have To Do Is Dream”. The duo had a total of 27 songs in the Billboard Top 40 between 1957 and 1967 and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Four of their recordings, “Wake Up Little Susie”, “All I Have To Do Is Dream”, “Bird Dog” and “Cathy's Clown”, reached No. 1 in the US. Don's brother Phil died in 2014 at the age of 74.

British saxophonist Brian Travers of UB40 died of cancer at the age of 62. With UB40, he had a British No. 1 hit in 1983 and the U.S. No. 1 hit “Red Red Wine” in 1988, along with more than 30 other UK Top 40 hits.

Brian Travers, founding saxophonist of UB40, died.

Founding member and keyboardist of Simply Red Fritz McIntyre died at the age of 62.

Fritz McIntyre, keyboardist in the original lineup of Simply Red and one of the band's founding members, died at the age of 62. He was with the group from its 1985 debut album „Picture Book“ through the 1995 album „Life“.

Charlie Watts, legendary English drummer and graphic artist, died in a London hospital at the age of 80. He originally studied graphic art, later turned to jazz and played in London's rhythm and blues clubs, where he met future members of The Rolling Stones. He joined the group as drummer in 1963 and remained a member for 58 years. In 2016, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 12 on its list of the 100 greatest drummers of all time.

Jamaican music producer and singer Lee "Scratch" Perry died at the age of 85 from an unspecified illness. He became known for his innovative studio techniques and production style and was a pioneer in the development of dub in the 1970s through his early use of remixing and studio effects to create new instrumental or vocal versions of existing reggae songs. He collaborated with and produced for numerous artists including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Junior Murvin, Beastie Boys, Ari Up, The Clash, and The Orb.

Ron Bushy, drummer of Iron Butterfly, died at the age of 79 after battling esophageal cancer.

Marty Fried, drummer of The Cyrkle, which had the 1966 hits “Red Rubber Ball” and “Turn Down Day,” died at the age of 77 from pancreatic cancer. After the group broke up in 1968, he studied law, graduated from Wayne State University in 1972 and worked for nearly fifty years as an attorney specializing in bankruptcies in the Detroit suburbs.

Sam Gooden, founding member of the soul group The Impressions, died in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the age of 87 from a heart attack.

Judith Durham, singer of The Seekers, died at the age of 79 from complications related to lung disease at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.

American singer, songwriter and producer Lamont Herbert Dozier died at the age of 81 at his home near Scottsdale, Arizona. As a member of the Holland–Dozier–Holland songwriting and production team, he contributed to 14 U.S. No. 1 hits, including hits by The Supremes, The Four Tops and The Isley Brothers.

British-Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John died at the age of 73 from breast cancer. During her career, she won four Grammy Awards, had 15 Billboard Top 10 hits and sold more than 100 million records worldwide. She was also known for her role as Sandy in the film “Grease”.

American guitarist and studio musician Bill Pitman died at the age of 102 from complications following a fall. He also played ukulele on the Oscar-winning song “Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head” and as a studio musician contributed to recordings by The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, The Ronettes, Deep Purple, Nancy Sinatra and others.

Scottish singer, songwriter and actor Darius Danesh was found unresponsive in his apartment in Rochester, Minnesota, and was later pronounced dead. He became known after appearing on the first series of the UK show Popstars in 2001. In 2002 he had the UK No. 1 single “Colourblind” and later played Billy Flynn in the London musical Chicago and Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls.

Jerry Allison, drummer of the American rock'n'roll group The Crickets and a member of Buddy Holly's backing band, died of cancer at the age of 82. Together with Buddy Holly, he co-wrote the songs “That'll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue”, which he recorded with him. His only solo appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 was the song “Real Wild Child”, released in 1958 under the name Ivan. After Holly's death in 1959, Allison retained control of the name The Crickets and later performed and recorded with bassist Joe B. Mauldin and guitarist Sonny Curtis.

American blues singer Mable John died at the age of 91. She was the first female singer signed by Berry Gordy to Motown's Tamla label. In 1960 she released her first single, “Who Wouldn't Love a Man Like That?”. After leaving Motown she spent several years as a Raelette, backing Ray Charles.

English artist Jamie Reid, best known for his work on the album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols and the singles “Anarchy in the U.K.” and “God Save the Queen”, died at the age of 76.

Singer and songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, whose story was featured in the documentary Searching for Sugar Man, died at the age of 81.

Robbie Robertson, guitarist and songwriter with The Band, died after a long illness at the age of 80. He was also renowned as Bob Dylan’s lead guitarist. The Band began as Ronnie Hawkins’ backing group The Hawks, later backed Bob Dylan and eventually became an independent act with the 1968 album “Music From Big Pink”. Over the following ten years, they released eleven more albums and finally disbanded in 1978.

American music producer and manager Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M Records with Herb Alpert, died at his home in Bel Air, Los Angeles, at the age of 88.

Ray Hildebrand, “Paul” of the pop duo Paul and Paula, died at the age of 82. With his partner Jill Jackson, he reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1963 with “Hey Paula.” After two more Top 40 hits, the duo split in 1965, and Hildebrand subsequently turned to Christian music.

American songwriter and producer Bob Feldman died at the age of 83. Together with Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer, he wrote several hits including “My Boyfriend's Back” by The Angels in 1963. In 1964, the three founded The Strangeloves, who had the hit “I Want Candy”. The trio also wrote the song “Sorrow”, later successful in versions by The Merseys and David Bowie, and produced The McCoys' hit “Hang On Sloopy”.

Bernie Marsden, the original guitarist of Whitesnake, died at the age of 72. Together with David Coverdale, he wrote the band's 1987 hit „Here I Go Again“, which reached No. 1 on the chart.

American guitarist Jack Sonni, known as the “second guitarist” of Dire Straits during the “Brothers in Arms” era, died at the age of 68. He met Dire Straits founding members and guitarists David and Mark Knopfler in 1978 while working at Rudy's Music Stop guitar store in Manhattan.