Deaths in Music in 2016

David Bowie

Jan 10 David Bowie [David Robert Jones], English singer-songwriter (Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust), dies of cancer at 69

Jan 11 Gilberto Mendes, Brazilian composer, dies at 93
Jan 14 René Angélil, Canadian music executive, actor and director (Omertà, L'apparition), and husband of Céline Dion, dies of throat cancer at 73
Jan 18 Glenn Frey, American singer-songwriter (The Eagles), dies at 67
Jan 23 Peter [Piet] Swevel, American rocker (Looking Glass, Starz), dies of AIDS at 42
Jan 24 Yvonne Chouteau, Native American dancer (one of the "five Moons" of Oklahoma), dies at 86
Jan 26 Colin Vearncombe, English singer-songwriter (Black-Wonderful Like), dies after a road accident at 53
Jan 28 Paul Kantner, American rock singer and guitarist (Jefferson Airplane), dies following a heart attack at 74
Jan 28 Signe Toly Anderson, American singer, founding member of Jefferson Airplane, dies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 74
Feb 4 Maurice White, American singer-songwriter (Earth, Wind & Fire), dies at 74
Feb 4 Leslie Bassett, American classical composer (Variations for Orchestra - Pulitzer Prize 1966), dies at 93

Feb 6 Dan Hicks, American singer-songwriter (Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks), dies at 74
Feb 8 Violetta Verdy, French ballerina and teacher, dies at 82
Feb 14 Steven Stucky, American composer (Los Angeles Philharmonic), dies of cancer at 66
Feb 15 Denise Matthews "Vanity", singer (Prince protege) and actress (52 Pick Up), dies at 57
Feb 15 George Gaynes, Dutch-American singer, actor and voice artist (Tootsie, Police Academy, General Hospital), dies at 98
Feb 22 Sonny James [James Loden], American country music singer-songwriter (Young Love), dies at 87
Feb 23 Lenny Baker, American musician (Sha Na Na), dies at 69
Feb 25 John Chilton, English jazz trumpeter (Feetwarmers), dies at 83
Mar 1 Martha Wright, American actress and singer (South Pacific, The Martha Wright Show), dies at 92
Mar 5 Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Austrian conductor (Early Music Movement), dies at 86
Mar 9 George Martin, British record producer (The Beatles), dies at 90
Mar 9 Robert Horton [Meade Howard Horton Jr.], American actor and singer (Kings Row, Wagon Train, Arena), dies at 91
Mar 10 Keith Emerson, English rock musician (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), commits suicide at 71
Mar 10 Gogi Grant [Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg], American singer (The Wayward Wind), dies at 91
Mar 10 Ernestine Anderson, American jazz vocalist, dies at 87
Mar 14 Peter Maxwell Davies, British composer (Prolation, Taverner), dies at 81
Mar 16 Frank Sinatra Jr, American singer/bandleader, dies at 72
Mar 22 Phife Dawg [Malik Taylor] American rapper (A Tribe called Quest), dies from diabetes complications at 45
Mar 26 David Baker, American composer (Reflections) and educator, dies at 84
Mar 30 Gianmaria Testa, Italian singer-songwriter, dies of cancer at 57
Apr 2 Gato Barbieri, Argentinian Latin jazz musician (Last Tango in Paris), dies at 83
Apr 2 Mike Gibbons, American rocker (Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods-Billy Don't be a Hero), dies at 71
Apr 4 Carlo Mastrangelo, Italian-American rocker (Dion & The Belmonts), dies of cancer at 78

Merle Haggard

Apr 6 Merle Haggard, American country music singer (Death Valley Days), dies at 79

Apr 6 Dennis Davis, American drummer (David Bowie), dies of cancer at 66

Apr 11 Emile Ford, Caribbean-born British singer and engineer (first black male singer to top UK charts), dies at 78
Apr 12 Alan Loveday, New Zealand and British violinist, dies at 88
Apr 16 Peter Tolson, English rocker (Pretty Things), dies at 64

Prince (Rogers Nelson)

Apr 21 Prince [Rogers Nelson], American singer-songwriter and musician (1999, Purple Rain), dies at 57

Apr 21 Lonnie Mack, American rocker (Baby What's Wrong), dies at 74
Apr 24 Papa Wemba, Congolese singer, dies at 66
Apr 24 Billy Paul [Paul Williams], American singer (Me & Mrs Jones), dies at 81
Apr 30 Phil Ryan, Welsh keyboardist and composer (Man, Pete Brown), dies at 69
May 4 Ursula Mamlok, German American avant-garde composer, dies at 93
May 12 Julius La Rosa, American singer (fired by Arthur Godfrey on the air), dies at 86
May 17 Guy Clark, American country singer (Heartbroke), dies at 74
May 21 Nick Menza, American musician and drummer (Megadeth), dies at 51
Jun 2 Freddie Wadling, Swedish actor and musician (The Leather Nun, Fleshquartet), dies at 64
Jun 5 Phyllis Curtin, American soprano (NYC Opera), dies at 94
Jun 10 Christina Grimmie, American singer and contestant on "The Voice", dies of a gunshot wound at 22
Jun 11 Alberto Remedios, British opera and concert singer, dies at 81
Jun 14 Henry McCullough, Irish guitarist (Wings), dies at 72
Jun 17 Prince Be [Attrell Cordes], American rapper (PM Dawn), dies from diabetes complications at 46
Jun 20 Bill Ham [Billy Mack Ham], American music impresario and manager (ZZ Top), dies at 79
Jun 23 Ralph Stanley, American bluegrass musician, dies at 89
Jun 24 Bernie Worrell, US keyboardist (Funkadelic-Cosmic Slop), dies at 72
Jun 27 Mack Rice, American musician and songwriter (Mustang Sally), dies at 82
Jun 28 Scotty Moore, American guitarist (for Elvis), dies at 84
Jul 2 Earle Brown, American Composer (open form), dies at 75
Jul 4 Geoffrey Shovelton, English opera singer, dies at 80
Jul 7 Rokusuke Ei, Japanese author and lyricist (Sukiyaki), dies at 83
Jul 12 Gregg Smith, American choral conductor and composer, dies at 84
Jul 16 Bonnie Brown, American country singer (The Browns), dies at 77
Jul 17 Gary S. Paxton [Larry Wayne Stevens], American musician and songwriter (Monster Mash, Alley Oop), dies at 77
Jul 20 Wayne Carson, American country musician and songwriter (Always On My Mind), dies at 73

Jul 24 Marni Nixon, American singer (for Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood & Deborah Kerr), dies at 86
Jul 26 Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer (Kaivos), dies at 87
Jul 30 Gloria DeHaven, American musical actress (Step Lively), dies at 91
Aug 6 Pete Fountain, American jazz clarinetist (Lawrence Welk 1957-59), dies at 86
Aug 20 Irving Fields, American composer and pianist (Miami Beach Rhumba), dies at 101
Aug 22 Toots [Jean-Baptiste] Thielemans, Belgian-American jazz musician and composer, dies at 94
Aug 28 Juan Gabriel, [Alberto Aguilera Valadez], Mexican singer, dies at 66
Aug 31 Jacques Leduc, Belgian composer, dies at 84
Sep 4 David Brown, American guitarist (Santana), dies at 53
Sep 8 Prince Buster [Cecil Campbell], Jamaican-born reggae musician and producer (Madness), dies at 78
Sep 10 Knut Wiggen, Norwegian computer music pioneer and composer, dies at 89
Sep 21 Ben Cauley, musician (The Bar-Kays) and plane crash survivor, dies at 67
Sep 21 John D. Loudermilk, American country singer and songwriter (Tobacco Road), dies at 82
Sep 30 Oscar Brand, Canadian-born American folk vocalist (Draw Me a Laugh), dies at 96
Oct 2 Neville Marriner, English conductor and violinist (Academy of St Martin in the Fields), dies at 92
Oct 13 Gerhard Wimberger, Austria composer (Glove), dies at 93
Oct 19 Yvette Chauviré, French ballerina, dies at 99
Oct 24 Pete Burns, English singer (Dead or Alive, "Spin Me Round"), dies of a cardiac arrest at 57
Oct 24 Bobby Vee, American pop singer (Night has a Thousand Eyes), dies at 73
Nov 3 Kay Starr [Katherine Starks], American singer (Wheel of Fortune), dies at 94
Nov 4 Eddie Harsch [Edward Hawrysch], Canadian keyboardist (Bulldog, The Black Crowes), dies at 59
Nov 6 Zoltan Kocsis, Hungarian pianist and conductor, dies of cancer at 64

Leonard Cohen

Nov 7 Leonard Cohen, Canadian writer and singer-songwriter (Death of Ladies Man), dies at 82

Nov 9 Al Caiola, American guitarist (Bonzanza theme), dies at 96
Nov 11 Raynoma Singleton [Gordy], music producer and singer-songwriter (Motown), dies at 79
Nov 13 Leon Russell, American musician and singer-songwriter (Carny), dies at 74
Nov 14 Holly Dunn, American country singer (Daddy's Hands), dies of cancer at 59
Nov 15 Mose Allison, American jazz artist (Black Country Suite), dies at 89
Nov 15 Milt Okun, American music producer and arranger (John Denver, Peter, Paul and Mary), dies at 92
Nov 18 Sharon Jones, American soul singer (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings), dies of cancer at 60
Nov 22 Florence Henderson, American actress and singer (Carol in The Brady Bunch), dies at 82
Nov 24 Pauline Oliveros, American composer (Sound Patterns), dies at 84
Dec 4 Radim Hladík, Czech guitarist (The Blue Effect), dies from lung illness at 69
Dec 7 Greg Lake, English rock vocalist and bassist (King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer), dies of cancer at 69
Dec 13 Alan Thicke, Canadian actor, singer-songwriter (Thicke of the Night, Growing Pains), dies at 69
Dec 24 Jack Philip Cannon, British composer, dies at 87

George Michael

Dec 25 George Michael [Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou], English singer-songwriter and pop superstar (Wham!, I Want Your Sex), dies of suspected heart failure at 53

Dec 25 Alphonse Mouzon, American jazz musician (Weather Report, Tenacious Records), dies from cancer at 68
Dec 26 George S Irving [Shelasky], American broadway singer and actor (Dumplings), dies at 94

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Deaths in Music
2017

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