Grady Chapman was the lead singer of doo-wop favorites The Robins, and can be heard on their big hit "Smokey Joe's Cafe." (age 81, heart failure)
4
Gerry Rafferty was the 70s soft-rock icon who was
one half of Stealers Wheel ("Stuck in the Middle With
You") before striking it big as a solo act with "Baker
Street," (age 63, liver failure)
10
Margaret Whiting was the big-band vocalist behind
"That Old Black Magic," "Moonlight in Vermont," and "A
Tree in the Meadow." (age 86, natural causes)
17
Don Kirshner was the legendary promoter behind
The Monkees, the Archies, and the first American
live rock concert series. (age 76, heart failure.)
26
Gladys Horton was the lead singer of
The Marvelettes, the main voice on "Please Mr.
Postman," "Playboy," and "Beechwood 4-5789." (age 65,
stroke)
February
6Gary Moore was the famous Irish blues guitarist who was also a member of Thin Lizzy in their earlier days. (age 58, heart attack)
22
Jean Dinning was the sister of 50s teen idol Mark
Dinning, and wrote his big hit
"Teen Angel." (age 86, natural causes)
25
Rick Coonce was the drummer for the power-pop
pioneers The Grass Roots, and can be heard on the big
hits "Let's Live for Today," "Midnight Confessions," and
Sooner or Later." (age 64, heart failure)
March
4Johnny Preston was one of the first Cajun rockers, scoring a big hit with a song written by The Big Bopper, "Running Bear." (age 71, heart failure)
8
St. Clair Lee was the baritone in the Hues
Corporation, the vocal group that helped kickstart
disco with their '74 soul classic "Rock the Boat."
(age 66, natural causes)
12
Joe Morello drummed with the Dave Brubeck
Quintet, and can be heard on their hits "Take Five," "Unsquare
Dance," and "Blue Rondo a la Turk." (age 82, natural
causes)
17
Ferlin Husky was a honky-tonk icon who helped
country cross over in the Fifties with "Gone" and "Wings
of a Dove." (age 85, heart failure)
26
Carl Bunch performed as
Buddy Holly's drummer on his
ill-fated Winter Dance Party tour but missed being
on the doomed plane due to frostbite. (age 71, diabetes)
April
5Gil Robbins was best known as a singer and guitarist in the pioneering folk group The Highwaymen -- until he helped bring his son, actor Tim Robbins, into the world. (age 80, prostate cancer)
9
Randy Wood founded Dot Records in Nashville,
which simultaneously brought R&B to Tennessee and helped
white artists cover black rock and roll artists. (age
94, natural causes)
23
Tom King played lead guitar for Cleveland band
The Outsiders and co-wrote their '66 smash "Time Won't
Let Me." (age 68, heart failure)
)
26
Phoebe Snow captivated millions with her
four-octave vocal range and jazz-folk stylings on
"Poetry Man," "Gone at Last," and "Something Real." (age
60, brain hemorrhage)
May
7
John Walker was a guitarist and vocalist for the
mid-60s dramatic pop trio The Walker Brothers ("Make It
Easy on Yourself," "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore").
(age 67, liver cancer)
10
Norma Zimmer was Lawrence Welk's "Champagne Lady"
in the '60s and '70s, and, in addition to her vocal
duties, often danced with him at the end of his TV show.
(age 87, natural causes)
13
Jack Richardson was the producer responsible for
all the big hits of the Canadian rockers
The Guess Who ("These Eyes," "American Woman") as
well as Bob Seger's "Night Moves." (age 81, natural
causes)
15
Bob Flanigan was the original lead singer,
trombonist, and string bassist of pop vocal legends The
Four Freshmen. (age 84, heart failure)
June
2Ray Bryant was a jazz pianist whose Ray Bryant Combo will be best remembered for its giant dance hit "The Madison Time." (age 79, natural causes)
3
Benny Spellman was a
New Orleans Soul legend who provided the bass voice
on Ernie K=Doe's "Mother-In-Law" and had his own hit
with "Lipstick Traces." (age 79, respiratory failure)
3
Andrew Gold was a prime L.A. session guitarist (Linda
Ronstadt's "You're No Good") before going solo with
"Lonely Boy" and "Thank You For Being a Friend." (age
60, heart attack)
8
Alan Rubin was the trumpet player in the original
Saturday Night Live band before becoming the Blues
Brothers' own "Mr. Fabulous." (age 68, lung cancer)
8
Steve Popovich was a prime A&R man and the
youngest Vice President at Epic Records before forming
Cleveland International Records and making Meat Loaf a
superstar. (age 68, unknown)
12
Carl Gardner was the founder and lead singer of
The Coasters, the first doo-wop group to make
lasting inroads into the mainstream ("Charlie Brown," "Yakety
Yak," "Poison Ivy"). (age 83, heart failure)
16
Wild Man Fischer was a favorite of Dr. Demento
listeners and novelty fans for his strange style of
singing ("My Name is Larry"), which also attracted
famous fans like Frank Zappa. (age 66, heart failure)
18
Clarence Clemons was The Big Man, the legendary
saxophonist of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. (age
69, stroke)
July
5Fonce Mizell co-wrote and co-produced the Jackson 5's first hits "I Want You Back," "ABC," and "The Love You Save" and later produced LTD's "Love Ballad" and A Taste of Honey's "Boogie Oogie Oogie." (age 68, heart failure)
11
Rob Grill was the lead singer,
bassist and songwriter of power-pop
pioneers The Grass Roots, and can be
heard on the big hits "Let's Live for
Today," "Midnight Confessions," and
Sooner or Later." (age 67, head injury
from fall)
13
Jerry Ragovoy was a songwriter
best known for composing the lyrics to
"Time Is On My Side" and also writing
several songs that later became
popularized by Janis Joplin ("Piece of
My Heart," "Cry Baby," "Get It While You
Can"). (age 80, stroke)
24
Dan Peek sang harmony and played
a number of instruments for the
soft-rock trio
America, but the biggest hit of
theirs that he both wrote and sang lead
on was "Lonely People." (age 60,
unknown)
29
Gene McDaniels was a pop-soul
singer-songwriter who had minor hits in
the early '60s with "Tower of Strength"
and "A Hundred Pounds of Clay," and
later wrote even bigger hits like
"Compared to What" and Roberta Flack's
"Feel Like Makin' Love." (age 76, short
illness)
August
7Marshall Grant was the upright bassist for Johnny Cash's original backing band, The Tennessee Two, and played on his records for decades, including his classic Sun Records songs like "I Walk The Line." (age 83, natural causes)
20
Ross Barbour was the drummer and
last surviving founding member of pop
vocal legends The Four Freshmen. (age
82, lung cancer)
22
Nickolas Ashford, along with wife
Valerie Simpson, were soul's most famous
songwriting duo, mainly for
Motown ("Ain't No Mountain High
Enough," "You're All I Need To Get By,"
"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," and
"Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's
Hand)"), though they had hits of their
own as a duo ("Found a Cure," "Solid").
(age 70, throat cancer)
22
Jerry Leiber, along with partner
Mike Stoller, were rock's first great
songwriting duo, writing "Kansas City"
and "Stand By Me" as well as penning
several of
Elvis Presley's early hits like
"Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock" and
producing
The Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk"
and "Save the Last Dance for Me." (age
78, heart failure)
September
16
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith played
blues harp with Muddy Waters in the
early '60s, and later on his comeback
album "Hard Again." (age 75, stroke)
27
Johnnie Wright was one-half of
the country duo Johnnie & Jack and also
the Tennessee Mountain Boys, scored a
pro-war hit with "Hello Vietnam" (heard
in the film Full Metal Jacket)
and recorded with his wife, female
country pioneer Kitty Wells. (age 97,
natural causes)
29
Sylvia Robinson was one-half of
Mickey and Sylvia, whose "Love Is
Strange" remains popular today, but she
later achieved solo success with "Pillow
Talk" and founded the historic hip-hop
label Sugar Hill. (age 75, heart
failure)
30
Marv Tarplin was the guitarist
for
The Miracles, and helped write some
of their biggest hits, including "The
Tracks of My Tears" and "Going to a
Go-Go," as well as Marvin Gaye's "I'll
Be Doggone" and "Ain't That Peculiar,"
as well as Smokey Robinson's solo
classic "Cruisin'." (age 70, unknown)
October
8
Roger Williams was a
easy-listening pianist whose "Autumn
Leaves" hit number 1 in the midst of the
original rock and roll explosion. (age
87, pancreatic cancer)
9
Bill Brown was a New York legend
and one of the US' first "oldies" DJs,
holding that position at WCBS for over
trhee decades. (age 69,long illness)
12
Joel DiGregorio was the pianist
for the Charlie Daniels Band and
co-wrote "The Devil Went Down to
Georgia," including a deep and demonic
piano riff. (age 67, car crash)
12
Paul Leka was one of
bubblegum's biggest talents,
writing, producing, and playing on the
Lemon Pipers' "Green Tambourine" and
Steam's deathless "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss
Him Goodbye." (age 68, lung cancer)
November
14
Lee Pockriss was a songwriter who
wrote or co-wrote hits like Perry Como's
"Catch a Falling Star," Brian Hyland's
"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka
Dot Bikini," Shelley Fabares' "Johnny
Angel," and Clint Holmes' "Playground in
My Mind." (age 87, natural causes)
15
Moogy Klingman was the original
keyboardist for Todd Rundgren's prog-rock
group Utopia, and later became Bette
Midler's musical director, co-writing
her theme song "(You Gotta Have)
Friends." (age 61, cancer)
December
4
Hubert Sumlin was the lead
guitarist for influential blues legend
Howlin' Wolf for many years, beginning
with his tenure at Chess Records in
1955. (age 80, heart failure)
6
Dobie Gray was a soul vocalist
best known for two big hits -- "The 'In
Crowd'," and, much later, the
much-covered "Drift Away." (age 71,
cancer)
8
Bob Burnett was the tenor and
guitarist in the pioneering folk group
The Highwaymen. (age 71, brain cancer)
8
Dick Sims was Eric Clapton's
organist in the '70s and a major
component of the "Tulsa Sound" heard on
"I Shot The Sheriff," "Wonderful
Tonight," and "Cocaine." (age 60,
cancer)
18
Ralph MacDonald was a
Caribbean-influenced percussionist and
in-demand sessionman who wrote Bill
WIthers & Grover Washington's "Just the
Two of Us" and co-wrote Roberta Flack &
Donny Hathaway's "Where is the Love?"
(age 67, lung cancer)
We will miss them all...........
Bobby V


