Pick a Day

Music History Events: Deaths

March 28, 2013 Session rock guitarist Hugh McCracken (Billy Joel, Steely Dan) dies at age 70 of leukemia.

March 27, 2013 Crawdaddy magazine founder Paul Williams dies at age 64. Not to be confused with the singer/songwriter/actor Paul Williams, the subject of the 2011 documentary, Paul Williams Still Alive.

March 27, 2013 Gordon Stoker of The Jordanaires dies at age 88.

March 19, 2013 Floyd "Buddy" McRae, the last surviving original member of The Chords, dies at age 85.

March 16, 2013 Bobbie Smith of The Spinners dies of pneumonia and influenza at age 76.

March 7, 2013 Guitarist Peter Banks, a founding member of Yes, dies at age 65.

March 6, 2013 Alvin Lee (lead vocalist, guitarist for Ten Years After) dies at age 68 from complications after a routine surgery.

March 3, 2013 Bobby Rogers (of The Miracles) dies of complications of diabetes at age 73.

February 27, 2013 Richard Street, singer with The Monitors and The Temptations, dies at age 70.

February 24, 2013 Larry Marks, original singer of the Scooby Doo theme song, dies in Los Angeles at age 73. He was also a producer for Columbia Records and A&M Records, where he helmed projects for Liza Minnelli and Phil Ochs, among others.

February 21, 2013 Cleotha Staples of The Staple Singers dies at age 78.

February 17, 2013 Country singer Mindy McCready dies of a self-inflicted gunshot at age 37.

February 16, 2013 Guitarist Stanley "Goober Grin" Knight (of Black Oak Arkansas) dies of cancer at age 64.

February 11, 2013 Rick Huxley (bassist for The Dave Clark Five) dies at age 72 after a long struggle with emphysema.

February 4, 2013 Reg Presley (lead singer The Troggs) dies of lung cancer, coupled with a series of strokes, at age 71.

February 4, 2013 R&B singer Darlene McCrea (of The Cookies) dies.

February 4, 2013 Jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd (of The Blackbyrds) dies at age 80.

January 30, 2013 Patty Andrews (lead singer of The Andrews Sisters) dies at age 94. She was the youngest and last surviving member of the group of singing sisters.

January 29, 2013 Kenneth Hodges (bass guitarist for Spanky & Our Gang) dies of pneumonia at age 76.

January 26, 2013 Funk guitarist Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner (of The Ohio Players) dies at age 69.

January 20, 2013 Bob Engemann (of The Lettermen) dies of complications from heart bypass surgery at age 77.

January 19, 2013 Steve Knight (keyboardist for Mountain) dies of complications from Parkinson's disease in New York, at age 77.

January 11, 2013 Jimmy O'Neill, a DJ who hosted the TV show Shindig!, dies at age 73.

January 7, 2013 Seattle hip-hop artist Freddy E dies at age 22 of an apparent suicide.

January 7, 2013 R&B singer Sam Pace (of The Esquires) dies at age 68.

January 4, 2013 Sammy Johns, who wrote and recorded "Chevy Van," dies at age 66.

December 26, 2012 R&B singer Fontella Bass, known for the 1965 hit "Rescue Me," dies of complications from a heart attack at age 72.

December 21, 2012 Lee Dorman (bassist for Iron Butterfly) dies in Laguna Niguel, California, at age 70.

December 11, 2012 Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar dies during surgery for a heart valve replacement in San Diego, California, at age 92. He was survived by two daughters, Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar. His son, musician Shubhendra Shankar, died in 1992.

December 5, 2012 Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck dies one day before his 92nd birthday.