Pop and Rock Star Deaths in 2016

Rod Temperton (second top left) played keyboards in Heatwave as wells as writing all of their songs.

Rod Temperton

Band: Heatwave

Position: songwriter/keyboardist

Died: Sept. 30, 2016

Cause of death: cancer

Age: 66

Distinction: Wrote "Boogie Nights" (No. 2, 1976) and "Always and Forever" (No. 9, 1977) for Heatwave; "Rock with You" (No. 1, 1980) and "Thriller" (No. 4, 1983) for Michael Jackson; "Stomp" (No. 7, 1980) for the Brothers Johnson; and "Give Me the Night" (No. 4, 1980) for George Benson.

Steve Bloom

Steve Bloom

Publisher of CelebStoner.com, former editor of High Times and Freedom Leaf and co-author of Pot Culture and Reefer Movie Madness.