Pick a Day

Music History Events: Deaths

March 19, 1990 Andrew Wood, lead singer of Mother Love Bone, dies of a heroin overdose at age 24. Members of the band go on to form Pearl Jam.More

December 6, 1988 Roy Orbison, in the midst of a career resurgence thanks to his supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, dies of heart failure at age 52. His album Mystery Girl, completed at the time of his death, is released in January 1989.

March 10, 1988 Andy Gibb, whose three older brothers are the Bee Gees, dies of heart failure at age 30. Gibb had three #1 hits in the late '70s, including "I Just Want To Be Your Everything."

December 22, 1987 After a night of debauchery with Robbin Crosby of Ratt and Slash from Guns N' Roses, Mötley Crüe bass player Nikki Sixx suffers a drug overdose and his heart stops beating. He is declared clinically dead, but comes back to life.More

June 22, 1987 Fred Astaire dies of pneumonia at age 88. Shortly before his death, Astaire abdicated his throne as the king of song and dance and welcomed a new royal: Michael Jackson. He said: "I didn't want to leave this world without knowing who my descendant was, thank you Michael."

September 27, 1986 Cliff Burton (Metallica's second bassist) dies in a bus crash in Sweden during Metallica's Damage Inc. tour in support of the Master of Puppets album. Burton, age 24, is asleep in his bunk when the bus skids off the road. He is thrown from the window and crushed when the vehicle rolls over him.

June 13, 1986 Big band leader Benny Goodman dies at age 77.More

January 4, 1986 After a long battle with addiction, Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott dies at age 36.

April 1, 1984 Marvin Gaye is fatally shot by his own father and dies at age 44. An investigation reveals that Marvin had beaten his father, who ends up serving five years' probation for voluntary manslaughter.

December 28, 1983 Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys dies after diving into very cold water from a boat slip in Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles.

November 19, 1983 Tom Evans of Badfinger commits suicide. Eight years earlier, his bandmate Pete Ham died in similar fashion. The acclaimed band had extraordinary bad business dealings with their record labels, Apple and Warner Bros., which were a contributing factor in their deaths.

April 17, 1983 Felix Pappalardi (bassist, vocalist for Mountain), age 43, is shot and killed by his wife, Gail, in their East Side Manhattan apartment. Gail claims it was an accident and the charge of second-degree murder is lessened to criminally negligent homicide, which lands her a brief stint in prison.

February 4, 1983 Karen Carpenter of the Carpenters dies at age 32 of complications from anorexia.

September 14, 1982 Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, dies the day after suffering a stroke at the wheel and driving her car off a cliff. The 52-year-old former actress garnered acclaim in the 1956 musical comedy High Society alongside Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. She was also one of many stars name-checked in Madonna's "Vogue."

April 17, 1982 Denison University freshman Laura Carter is killed when a bullet from a gunfight a block away strikes her in the chest while she is riding in a car with her parents. Christopher Cross, who is dating her best friend, writes "Think Of Laura" in her honor.

March 19, 1982 Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist Randy Rhoads, just 25, dies when he takes a plane ride with a pilot who tries to buzz Ozzy's tour bus. When the wing hits the bus, the plane crashes into a nearby house, killing Rhoads, the pilot, and the tour costume designer/hairdresser.

July 16, 1981 Harry Chapin dies in a car crash at age 38.

May 11, 1981 Bob Marley dies at age 36 after a long battle with cancer.More

February 9, 1981 Bill Haley dies of an apparent heart attack at age 55. With "Rock Around The Clock," Haley had the first big hit of the rock era, but his fortunes faded quickly as the '50s came to an end, and the second half of his life was mired in financial problems and a struggle to regain musical relevance.

December 8, 1980 John Lennon, 40 years old, is shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City.More

September 25, 1980 Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham dies at age 32 of asphyxiation from vomiting after a night of heavy drinking. The band decides to break up instead of replacing him.

May 18, 1980 Battling epilepsy and depression, Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis hangs himself at his home in England.More

February 19, 1980 AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott dies after a night of heavy drinking. The coroner's report lists "acute alcohol poisoning" as the cause of death, classified under "death by misadventure."More

February 2, 1979 Sid Vicious of The Sex Pistols, out on bail after being accused of killing his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, dies of a heroin overdose at age 21.

September 7, 1978 Keith Moon of The Who dies at age 32 after overdosing on medication that is supposed to help him overcome his alcoholism.

October 20, 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd members Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines die in a plane crash in Mississippi. Gaines' sister Cassie, a backup singer with the group, is also killed along with two pilots and the band's manager. Other members of the group are badly injured.More

August 16, 1977 The King is dead. Elvis Presley dies at his home in Graceland as a result of an overdose from prescription drugs.More

April 9, 1976 Folk singer-songwriter Phil Ochs commits suicide at age 35 in Far Rockaway, New York City, after a long battle with bipolar disorder and alcoholism.

February 12, 1976 Sal Mineo, an actor who starred alongside James Dean in the movies Giant and Rebel Without a Cause, is murdered by a deranged assailant. Mineo had several hits as a singer including "Start Movin' (In My Direction)," which reached #9 US in 1957.

January 5, 1976 Former Beatles road manager Mal Evans is shot and killed by police in Los Angeles after he brandishes an unloaded rifle (some claim it was an air gun) after becoming despondent.