Rock and Pop Star Deaths in 2020

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• Buddy Cage - Feb. 4; pedal steel guitarist in the New Riders of the Purple Sage; he replaced Jerry Garcia in 1971; appears on 10 New Riders albums from 1972-1981; also played with Brewer & Shipley and Great Speckled Bird; reformed the New Riders with David Nelson in 2005; suffered from myeloma, a type of blood cancer; was 7.

Cándido Camero - Nov. 7; Cuban persussionist and Afro-Cuban jazz pioneer who played with Dizzy Gillespie and many others; passed away from natural causes at 99.

Pepe Cardona - July 29; lead singer of Brooklyn rock band Alive N KIckin'; they had a No. 7 hit with "Tighter, Tighter" in 1970 (listen below); suffered from pancreatic cancer; age unknown.

• Steve Martin Caro - Jan. 14; co-founder and lead singer of '60s pop group the Left Banke that had hits with "Walk Away Renée" (No. 5, watch below) and "Pretty Ballerina" (No. 15) in 1966; suffered from heart disease; was 71.

Paul "Tonka" Chapman - June 9; Welsh-born guitarist joined UFO in 1974, left a year later and rejoined the rock group in 1978; they had UK hits with "Doctor Doctor" (No. 35, 1979) and "Youngblood" (No. 36, 1980); cause undisclosed; was 66.

Jon Christensen - Feb. 18; Norweigan jazz drummer performed with Keith Jarrett in Europe and recorded with numorous ECM artists including Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber and Ralph Towner; cause undisclosed; was 76.

Jimmy Cobb - May 24; drummer in the Miles Davis Sextet from 1957-1963, including on Kind of Blue; also played with John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, Wes Montgomery, Wynton Kelly and more; suffered from lung cancer; was 91.

Lionel "Freddy" Cole - June 27; Chicago-born jazz pianist was Nat King Cole's youngest brother and Natalie's uncle; from 1964-2018 he released 38 albums and received four Grammy nominations; cause undisclosed; was 88.

 

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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.