Music History Events: Deaths
August 29, 1998 Country/rockabilly musician Charlie Feathers dies of complications from a stroke-induced coma in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 66. Known for '50s hits like "Peepin' Eyes."
August 24, 1998 Composer/conductor Gene Page dies after a long illness in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, at age 58. Page did arrangements for The Supremes, Whitney Houston and Barbra Streisand and many others. He also scored the 1972 Blaxploitation flick Blacula.
August 6, 1998 Jazz performer Nat Gonella, founder of the big band The Georgians, dies in Gosport, Hampshire, England at age 90.
July 25, 1998 Jazz guitarist Tal "Octopus" Farlow dies from esophageal cancer at age 77 in New York City.
July 12, 1998 "Battle of New Orleans" songwriter Jimmy Driftwood dies of a heart attack at age 91.
June 29, 1998 German pianist Horst Jankowski dies of lung cancer at age 62.
May 9, 1998 Blues musician Lester Butler dies of a heroin and cocaine overdose at age 38.
May 7, 1998 Country singer-songwriter Eddie Rabbitt dies of lung cancer at age 56.
May 2, 1998 Heavy metal guitarist Hideto "Hide" Matsumoto (of X-Japan) commits suicide at age 33 by hanging himself.
April 10, 1998 Cleveland radio disc jockey Eddie O'Jay, a pioneer of R&B radio who inspired The O'Jays' moniker and became their manager, dies at age 73.
April 7, 1998 Drummer Carlos Vega (James Taylor's band) dies at age 41 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound the day before he is scheduled to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show alongside James Taylor.
April 6, 1998 Tammy Wynette dies at age 55 after suffering numerous health problems.
April 6, 1998 Wendy O. Williams (lead singer of Plasmatics) dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 48 in Storrs, Connecticut.
April 5, 1998 Prolific rock drummer Cozy Powell, who did time in Rainbow and Black Sabbath, dies at 50 when he crashes his car on the M4 near Bristol, England. He was racing to his girlfriend's house, who had called him distraught.
April 2, 1998 Robert Pilatus of Milli Vanilli dies at age 32 after overdosing on a combination of drugs and alcohol.
March 13, 1998 Reggae and ska musician Judge Dread (real name: Alexander Minto Hughes) dies of a heart attack at age 52 shortly after giving a performance in Canterbury, England.
February 19, 1998 Grandpa Jones, famous for his banjo performances and appearances on Hee Haw, dies at age 84.
February 13, 1998 Buddy Lee, a booking agent who worked with Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson, among others, dies of respiratory failure related to lung cancer.
February 6, 1998 Austrian singer-songwriter Falco (Hans Hölzel) dies in a car crash while under the influence of cocaine and alcohol, just two weeks shy of his 41st birthday.
February 5, 1998 Tim Kelly (guitarist Slaughter) dies in a car accident in Arizona at age 35.
January 20, 1998 Bob McBride (lead singer for Lighthouse) dies of heart failure at age 51.
January 5, 1998 Ken Forssi (original bassist for Love) dies of a brain tumor in Tallahassee, Florida, at age 54.
December 31, 1997 Floyd Cramer, pianist and forerunner of the "Nashville sound," dies of lung cancer at age 64. He played piano as a session musician on Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel."
December 23, 1997 Jackie Landry (of The Chantels) dies of breast cancer at age 56.
December 16, 1997 Nicolette Larson dies of cerebral edema and liver failure at age 45.
December 14, 1997 Kurt Winter (guitarist for The Guess Who) dies of kidney failure at age 51.
November 25, 1997 Blues singer and guitarist Fenton Robinson dies of complications from brain cancer in Rockford, Illinois, at age 62. Known for his signature song, "Somebody Loan Me a Dime" (1967).
November 20, 1997 Music journalist Robert Palmer (not to be confused with the singer of the same name) dies of liver disease in Valhalla, New York, at age 52. Palmer wrote for The New York Times and Rolling Stone and penned the book Deep Blues.
November 15, 1997 Saul Chaplin, composer and musical director, dies after a bad fall in Los Angeles, California, at age 85. Collaborated for the scores and orchestrations of An American in Paris (1951), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and West Side Story (1961).
November 15, 1997 Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks (trumpeter/trombonist for The Ohio Players) dies at age 58. Circumstances undisclosed.
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