Music History Events: Tragedies
July 25, 1956 The Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria collides with the Swedish liner Stockholm, killing 52 instantly and sinking the Andrea Doria. On board is Mike Stoller, who becomes half of the famous Lieber-Stoller songwriting team.
July 11, 2016 Country singer Craig Morgan mourns the death of his son Jerry Greer after the 19-year-old's body is discovered the day after he goes missing while tubing on the Tennessee River. Jerry is one of four sons born to Morgan and his wife, Karen.
February 13, 2016 All four members of the promising English group Viola Beach are killed, along with their manager, when their car crashes on a bridge near Stockholm. Coldplay pay tribute by covering their song "Boys That Sing" at the Glastonbury Festival.
November 8, 2012 Tragedy strikes at a Linkin Park concert in Cape Town, South Africa, when high winds cause scaffolding to collapse. This sends an advertisement tower plummeting into the crowd of fans in the parking lot after the show, killing one and injuring 19 more.
October 24, 2008 In Chicago, Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother are shot and killed in their home by her sister's estranged husband, William Balfour. The body of her 7-year-old nephew is found three days later.
January 1, 2006 Guitarist/songwriter Bryan Harvey (of House of Freaks) is murdered in his home along with his wife and two young daughters. The crime is part of the Richmond spree murders, a series of deadly home invasions in Virginia perpetrated by Ricky Javon Gray and his nephew Ray Joseph Dandridge over the course of a week.
July 7, 2005 Former calypso artist Arthur Edlin Frederick is one of 52 innocent people killed in the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London.
April 9, 2004 Weird Al Yankovic's parents, Nick and Mary Yankovic, are found dead of accidental carbon-monoxide poisoning in their Fallbrook, California. The tragedy was caused by using their fireplace with the flue closed.
September 11, 2001 As Gerard Way watches in horror from the Manhattan ferry as the World Trade Center's Twin Towers collapse, he realizes life is too short to not follow his dream. Shortly after, he starts his own band: My Chemical Romance.
August 10, 1997 Rush drummer Neil Peart loses his 19-year-old daughter Selena to a car accident. A year later, Selena's mother Jackie (Peart's common-law wife) dies of cancer, leading Peart to take a long sabbatical from the band where he rides his motorcycle across North America.
January 18, 1991 Three teenagers are killed at an AC/DC concert at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah when they are crushed in the crowd. The band learns of the tragedy a few songs later; they complete the show at the request of the fire marshal.
August 12, 1986 Allison Moorer and Shelby Lynne's father, Vernon Franklin Moorer, murders their mother (his wife) Lynn, then commits suicide.
December 10, 1967 Drummer Carl Cunningham dies in a Wisconsin plane crash along with three of his Bar-Kays bandmates and Otis Redding. He was 18 years old.
December 10, 1967 Keyboardist Ronnie Caldwell dies in a Wisconsin plane crash along with three of his Bar-Kays bandmates and Otis Redding, one week before his 19th birthday.
©2024 Songfacts®, LLC