Rock and Pop Star Deaths in 2019

More Musicians Who Passed Away in 2019, Part 2 (January-June)

Gary Duncan (nee Grubb) - June 29; co-founder, guitarist and singer of Quicksilver Messenger Service, one of the major psychedelic rock bands from the '60s San Francisco scene; had hits with "Fresh Air" (No. 49, 1970), "Dino's Song" (No. 63, 1968) and "Who Do You Love" (No. 91, 1969); died after hitting his head in a fall and suffering a seizure; was 72.

Jeff Austin - June 24; mandolin player and singer with Colorado's Yonder Mountain String Band; died after being placed in a medically induced coma; was 45.

Dave Bartholomew - June 23; the New Orleans music legend and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer wrote and produced "Ain't That a Shame," "Walking to New Orleans" and "I'm Walkin'" for Fats Domino and "I Hear You Knocking" for Smiley Lewis," and performed the original version of "My Ding-a-Ling," among his long list of musical accomplishments; he suffererd heart failure; was 100.

Elliot Roberts - June 21; Neil Young's longtime Bronx-born manager; also managed Joni Mitchell. the Eagles, Jackson Browne and others during his career in the music industry; cause undisclosed; was 76.

Philippe Zdar (nee Cerboneschi) - June 19; half of the French electronic duo Cassius that also produced tracks for Phoenix, the Beastie Boys and Franz Ferdinand and won a Grammy in 2010 for Best Alternative Music Album for his work on Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix; died after falling out of a window from a 19-story building in Paris; was 52.

Georgie Seville (nee Jorge Loaiza) - June 15; member of New York band D Genation and owner of Lower East Side hot spot, The Delancey; suffered a heart attack; age unknown.

Paul "Lil' Buck" Sinegal - June 10; Louisiana-born blues gjuitarist who played with zydeco legends Clifton Chenier, Rockin' Dopsie and Buckwheat Zydeco; suffered a heart attack; was 75.

Lawrence Leathers - June 2: Michigan-born jazz drummer won two Grammy awards for playing on albums by singer/pianist Cécile McLorin Salvant, For One to Love (2015) and Dreams and Daggers (2017); murdered in Bronx, NY apartment building; was 37.

Jeff Walls - May 29: Guadalcanal Diary co-founder and guitarist; the Atlanta-based band released four albums from 1983-1989; suffered from a pulmonary condition; was 63.

Tony Glover - May 29; Minnesota-born harmonica player co-founded the '60s blues-folk trio Koerner, Ray & Glover; died of natural causes; was 79.

Kevin Murphy - May 28; Canadian-born countrry music songwriter and performer with the Guardsmen; suffered pneumonia during cancer treatment; was 75.

Willie Lee Ford Jr. - May 28; founding member of the Dramatics who had hits with "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" (No. 9, 1971) and "In the Rain (No. 5, 1972)

Janet Pagliuca - May 27; St. Louis-born jazz singer; suffered from cancer; was 86.

Baby Jane Dexter - May 20; New York-based cabaret singer; suffered heart failure; was 72.

Melvin Edmonds - May 18; member of R&B group After 7 that had Top 10 hits with "Can't Stop" (No. 6) and "Ready or Not" (No. 7) in 1990; his brother Kevon and son Jason were also in the group, which was produced by his other famous brother, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds; cause undisclosed; was 65.

Charles Barksdale - May 15; founding member of the Dells who had hits with "Stay in My Corner" (No. 10, 1968) and "Oh, What a Night" (No. 10, 1969); causde undisclosed; was 84.

Tony Glover - May 13; Minneapolis-based harmonica player known as Little Sun; cause undisclosed; was 79.

Sol Yaged - May 11; New York-based jazz clarinetist; was 96.

Peggy Lipton – May 11; known best for her roles on the TV shows The Mod Squad and Twins Peaks, she also had a modest singing career from 1968-1970 and married Quincy Jones in 1974; suffered from colon cancer; was 72.

Susan Springfield (nee Beschta) – May 2; punk-rock singer with the Erasers in the '70s; cause undisclosed; was 67.

Beth Caravahlo – Apr. 30. Brazilian singer-songwriter known as the "godmother of samba"; suffered from sepsi; was 72.

Phil McCormack – Apr. 26; lead singer of Molly Hatchet who had a No. 42 hit with "Flirtin' with Disaster" in 1980; cause undisclosed; was 58.

Shawn Smith - Apr. 5; lead singer of Seattle-based bands Brad, Pigeonhead and Satchel; suffered from a torn aorta and high blood pressure; was 53.

Jenny Pagliaro - Mar. 26; lead singer of Los Angeles duo, Roses and Cigarettes; suffered from breast cancer; was 35.

Scott Walker (nee Noel Engel) - Mar. 22; lead singer of the British-based Walker Brothers (though Scott was American), who had a No. 13 hit with "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" in 1966; was 76.

Bernie Tormé (nee Tormet) - Mar. 17; Irish-born singer/guitarist played with Ozzy Osbourne, the Boomtown Rats and Generation X; suffered from pneumonia; was 66.

Andre Williams - Mar. 17; Alabama-born R&B singer and producer was famous for songs like "Bacon Fat" and "Jail Bait"; suffered from colon cancer; was 82.

James Cotton - Mar. 16; Mississippi-born blues harmonica player; suffered from pneumonia; was 81.

Dick Dale (nee Richard Monsur) - Mar. 16; the king of surf guitar had hits with "Let's Go Trippin'" (No. 60, 1961) and "The Scavenger" (No. 98, 1963); suffered heart and kidney failure; was 81.

Hal Blaine - Mar. 11; played drums on numerous '60s hits ("Good Vibrations," "Mr. Tambourine Man," "He's a Rebel') as a member of the Wrecking Crew; was 90.

 Sara Romweber - Mar. 5; drummer for Let's Active and other bands; suffered from cancer; was 55.

André Previn - Feb. 28; Germaan-born Oscar-winning arranger and orchestrator for Gigi, Porgy and Bess, Irma La Douche and My Fair Lady and jazz pianist with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Benny Carter; married to Mia Farrow from 1970-1979; was 89.

Tom Goodkind - Feb. 28; member of the folk group the Washington Squares and founder and leader of the Tribeca Pops community band in New York; cause undisclosed; was 65.

Andy Anderson - Feb. 26; drummer in the Cure and with other artists including Iggy Pop, Peter Gabriel and Isaac Hayes; suffered from cancer; was 68.

Mac Wiseman - Feb. 24; bluegrass legend played with the Foggy Mountain Boys and Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys, and had hits with "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" (No. 10, 1955) and "Jimmy Brown the News Boy" (No. 5. 1959); was 93.

Jackie Shane - Feb. 21; transgender female R&B singer popular in Toronto in the '60s; cause undisclosed; was 78.

 Frank "Skip" Groff - Feb. 18; longtime owner of Rockville, MD record store Yesterday & Today and producer of D.C. punk bands like Black Market Baby and the Slickees; suffered a seizure; was 70.

Ken Nordine - Feb. 16; known for "word jazz," his spoken-word accompaniments to unusual song arrangements as well, as voiceover work; was 98.

Gloria Jones - Feb. 1 ; sang with the Jerry Garcia Band; suffered renal failure; was 74.

Harold Bradley - Jan. 31; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee played guitar on many classics such as Patsy Cline's "Crazy" and Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man"; was 93.

Paul Whaley Jr. - Jan 28; Blue Cheer's original drummer; suffered heart failure; was 72.

Ted McKenna - Jan. 19; rock drummer who played with Rory Gallagher, Michael Schenker and others; suffered hemmorage during hernia surgery; was 68.

Carol Channing - Jan. 15; star of stage, screen and television, she won numerous Tony Awards, inluding Best Actress in a Musical for Hello, Dolly! in 1964; was 97.

Willie Murphy - Jan. 13; Minnesota-based blues singer who played with Willie and the Bees; suffered from pneumonia; was 75.

Joseph Jarmen - Jan. 9; jazz soxophonist who played with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and other groups; suffered heart failure; was 81.

Alvin Fielder - Jan. 5; jazz drummer who played with Sun Ra's Arkestra, the Roscoe Mitchell Quintet and others; suffered heart failure; was 83.

Daryl Dragon - Jan. 2; half the team of Captain & Tenille, he produced most of their hits, including "Love Will Keep Us Together" (No. 1, 1975) and "Do That to Me One More Time" (No. 1, 1979); suffered renal failure; was 76.

Margaret "Pegi" Young - Jan. 1; singer-songwriter and Neil Young's ex-wife; suffered from cancer; was 66.

More Musicians Who Passed Away in 2019, Part 1 (July-December) Continued on Previous Page

 

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.