2019 Deaths, Music and Musicians

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z

A

Dominick Argento (age 91) - Argento was famed as a composer of choral and lyric opera music, both sacred and secular. Among his best-known works is his song cycle From the Diary of Virginia Woolf, which won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for music. Among his other works are Miss Manners on Music (Miss Manners newspaper columns set to music) and an adaptation of the Chekov play On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco. Argento died February 20, 2019.

Jeff Austin (age 45) - Austin was a mandolin player most closely associated with the Yonder Mountain String Band, and one of the better-known artists of the "progressive bluegrass" genre. He also recorded an album of  bluegrass versions of Grateful Dead songs as a member of a group with the tongue-in-cheek name Grateful Grass. Austin died June 25, 2019.

B

Ginger Baker (age 80) - Peter "Ginger" Baker was a British drummer who collaborates with such rock and roll greats as Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce, joining those two in Cream (1966-68). Baker also provided percussion for Ginger Baker's Air Force and Blind Faith, as well as taking up African rhythms with Fela Kuti. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Cream in 1993. Baker died October 6, 2019.

Paul Barrere (age 71) - Barrere was an accomplished guitarist, capable of playing many styles. He recorded with such acts as Taj Mahal, Carly Simon, and RObert Palmer; but is best known as a mainstay of the band Little Feat, which he joined in 1973 and remained until his death. He succumbed to liver cancer on October 26, 2019.

Dave Bartholomew (age 100) - Bartholomew was a band leader and songwriter who also produced records from his New Orleans studio. He was instrumental in the careers of many early R-n-R musicians, especially fellow New Orleanian Fats Domino. Bartholomew shared songwriting credits for such hits as "I'm Walkin'" and "Ain't that a Shame." He died of heart failure June 23, 2019.

Henri Belolo (age 88) - The Moroccan-born Belolo was a music promoter, DJ, and songwriter in France and briefly in the United States. He and a friend founded the group The Village People in the 1970s and co-wrote several of their most popular disco hits, including "Y.M.C.A." and "In the Navy." Belolo died August 3, 2019.

Hal Blaine (age 90) - Blaine is best known as a session drummer in the loose-knit group of such musicians self-styled "the Wrecking Crew." His work appears on more than 40 Billboard #1 hits and on television and film soundtracks. Blaine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and received a Grammy Lifetime Award in 2018. Blaine died March 10, 2019.

Harold Bradley (age 93) - A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Bradley was a frequent session musician and member of the Nashville A Team. The bass player appears on recordings by dozens of well-known musicians, including Elvis Preseley, Tammy Wynette, and Loretta Lynn. He was at one time president of the National Academy of recording Arts and Sciences, the organization that awards the Grammys. Bradley died January 31, 2019.

Irving Burgie (age 95) - Burgie was renowned for his chops as a composer of Caribbean music, in particular the music of Harry Belafonte. He wrote or co-wrote 34 songs in all for Belafonte, including his signature song, "Day-O," as well as "Jamaica Farewell" and the "Banana Boat Song." Burgie also penned the national anthem of Barbados. He passed away November 29, 2019.

Kofi Burridge (age 57) - Burridge is best-known as the keyboard and flute-player first in the Derrick Trucks Band and then in the Tedeschi-Trucks Band. After brief association with some regional bands, Burridge joined bluesman Derrick Trucks in 1999. He occasionally appeared in the Allman Brothers Band with his brother Oteil Burridge. Kofi Burridge succumbed to cardiac problems on February 15, 2019.

busbee (age 42) - IRL Michael James Ryan, the man who styled himself "busbee" was a prolific songwriter. He counted among his work such songs as "Empty Words" (Christina Aguilera), "Days Like These" (Jason Aldean), "Dark Side" (Kelly Clarkson), and "quit Breaking Up with Me" (Little Big Town). His tunes charted on both C&W and Pop music charts. Busbee died of brain cancer September 29, 2019.

Bushwick Bill (age 52) - Born Richard Stephen Shaw, Bill was a Jamaican-American rapper and hip-hop artist; a long-time member of Texas hip-hop group the Geto Boys. He started his career in 1986 as a dancer with the group before becoming one of the three front men. Bill was born with dwarfism, topping out at a reported height of 3'-8" according to his bio. He died of pancreatic cancer on June 9, 2019.

C

Jerry Carrigan (age 75) - Carrigan was a rock-'n'-roll and country-western drummer, one of the founding members of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. His work as a session drummer in the Alabama studio and in Nashville resulted in a long list of hit recordings for artists rangine from Dolly Parton to Elvis Presley. Carrigan died June 22, 2019.

Steve Cash (age 73) - Cash, a singer-songwriter and sometime blues harp player, was a founding member of the country rock band, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. The band was probably best known for their hit song "Jackie Blue."  He remained with the band from its founding in 1971 until his death. Cash is also the author of the scifi series known as the Meq trilogy. He died October 14, 2019.

George Chambers (age 88) - Along with brothers Lester, Willie, and Joe, George Chambers was a member of the soul group the Chambers Brothers. Originally a gospel group, the brothers' only hit was the "psychedelic soul" tune "Time Has Come Today," released in 1973. In later years, the brothers performed as an opening act and at folk festivals. George, the oldest brother, died October 12, 2019.

Ed Cherney (age 69) - Cherney spent decades as a record producer and recording engineer, collecting four Grammy Awards over his career. He worked with artists ranging from Bonne Raitt to Willie Nelson to Michael Jackson, picking up two Grammys for Nelson albums ("Summertime" and "My Way") and one with Raitt ("Nick of Time"). He also worked on such films as The Bourne Legacy and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Cherney died of cancer October 22, 2019.

Johnny Clegg (age 65) - Trained as an anthropologist, Clegg early on opted to enter the field of music in his native South Africa. His first major band, Juluka, was a rarity in the apartheid era, featuring half white and half black members. Clegg was considered an activist for ignoring racial purity acts, but could only rarely perform in his homeland before the unification of the country. He died of pancreatic cancer on July 16, 2019.

Claire Cloninger (age 77) - Cloninger wrote or co-wrote hundreds of songs for Christian artists, including such performers as Sandi Patti and B. J. Thomas. In all, Cloninger received six Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association. She also wrote more than a dozen books. Cloninger died August 15, 2019.

J. R. Cobb (age 74) - James Barney Cobb was a member of the Classics IV in the '60s, co-writing their biggest hit, "Spooky." After a stint as a session guitarist, Cobb helped form the Atlanta Rhythm Section. With the latter group, Cobb has song-writing credits for several songs, including "Champagne Jam." He suffered a fatal heart attack on May 4, 2019.

Earl Thomas Conley (age 77) - Conley, a country-western artist, may be known most recently for his writing, but in the 1980s and '90s he hit the country charts with 30 singles including 18 number one hits. His popularity waned as the genre became more "progressive," and 2010 he had become better known for his writing. Among his hits are "Holding Her and Loving You" and the 2002 Blake Shelton hit, "All Over Me." Conley passed away on April 10. 2019.

Jim Cullum, Jr. (age 77) - Cullum was a Dixieland jazz cornet player and preservationist who assembled bands in and around San Antonio, Texas. His band played for thirty years at his club, The Landing, on that city's Riverwalk. He also broadcast the NPR show "Riverwalk Jazz" from his club beginning in 1989. Cullum passed away August 11, 2019.

D

Dick Dale (age 81) - Born Richard Monsour, he adopted the pseudonym "Dick Dale" as a country singer in the 1950s. Dale, a surfer himself, became the "King of Surf Guitar" with suh songs as "Let's Go Trippin'" and "Misirlou." Dale was one of the first to ply a Fender Stratocaster and worked with legendary Leo Fender to develop amplifiers that could stand up to his playing style. Dale died of heart failure on March 16, 2019.

LaShawn Daniels (age 41) - Daniels was an R&B songwriter whose songs have been recorded by artists ranging from Beyoncé to Michael Jackson to Lady Gaga. He received a Grammy for Destiny's Child's 2000 recording of "Say My Name." Daniels died September 3, 2019.

Dr. John (age 77) - Born Malcolm "Mack" Rebennac, Dr. John was a fixture in the New Orleans music scene for more than 50 years. He started as a session musician, but evolved into a classic Mardi Gras party act. the Doctor won six Grammy awards, including one for his 1992 album "Goin' Back to New Orleans," and was induced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. He died of a heart attack on June 6, 2019.

Daryl Dragon (age 76) -  The Captain of Captain & Tennille, Dragon and his then-wife Toni Tennille released four gold and platinum albums in the 1970s, winning a Grammy in 1975 for Record of the Year. Early in his career, Dragon also recorded with the Beach Boys. He died of renal failure on January 2, 2019.

Gary Duncan (age 72) - Duncan, born Gary Grubb, was a rock-and-roll guitar player best known for his years with the San Francisco-based band Quicksilver Messenger Service. Along with fellow member of The Brogues Gary Elmore and guitar player John Cippollina, Duncan was a founding member of the group. After the band's breakup in the late '70s, Duncan performed as Gary Duncan's Quicksilver before resurrecting the Messenger Service in 2006. He died June 29, 2019.

Molly Duncan (age 74) - Malcolm (Molly) Duncan was a Scottish musician with a long and varied career. Over the years, he recorded with such artists as Ray Charles, Ben E. King, Dire Straits, and Chaka Kahn. Duncan was also a founding member of the '70s "blue-eyed funk" group Average White Band. He died of cancer on October 8, 2019.

E

Stephan Ellis (age 69) - Ellis played bass for the rock band Survivor during the periods 1981-87 and 1996-99. He's credited as the bassist on four of Survivor's albums, including what's arguably the band's best-known song, "Eye of the Tiger," which was the main theme song for the movie Rocky III. Ellis passed away on March 1, 2019.

Roky Erickson (age 71) - Erickson was a founding member of the band 13th Floor Elevators and one of the first psychedelic rock performers. He had a checkered career interrupted by years of struggle with mental illness, but recovered sufficiently to release his music with bands like Rocky Erickson and the Aliens and The Black Angels. Erickson died May 31, 2019.

Clay Evans (age 94) - Evans was a founder of Chicago's Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church and one of its music leaders. He was instrumental in the church choir's release of some thirty gospel albums. With Rev. Jesse Jackson, Evans founded Operation PUSH in 1971, and led the organization for several years. He continued to preach at his church until 2000. Evans died November 27, 2019.

F

Jeff Fenholt (age 68) - Fenholt's stage career peaked in 1971 when he was cast in the title role of the Broadway adaptation of Jesus Christ Superstar. After the production closed in 1973, Fenholt recorded as a solo act and as a member of heavy metal and Christian rock bands. At one time, he auditioed to sing with Black Sabbath. Fenholt died on September 10, 2019.

Alvin Fielder (age 83) - Jazz drummer and founding member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, Black Arts Music Society, Improvisational Arts Trio/Quartet/Quintet, and a founding faculty member of the Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp. Heart failure, January 5, 2019.

Jay Frank (age 47) - Frank was a music industry executive and an author of DIY books aimed at would-be musicians. After a stint with CMT, he joined Universal Music Group in 2015. Along the way, he founded the company DigSin ("Digital Single"), which distributes music on a subscriber basis. Frank died of cancer October 13, 2019..

G

Ras G (age 39) - Gregory Shorter, known by his hip hop nom de guerre Ras G, was a DJ, performer, and producer. He was co-founded Poo-Bah Records and was likewise associated with the label Brainfeeder. He released a dozen or so albums and EPs. Shorter died July 29, 2019, of heart failure and complications of pneumonia.

João Gilberto (age 88) - A Barazilian-born singer, guitarist, and songwriter, Gilberto was often considered the father of bossa nova and was long one of its most popular and enduring artists. He began playing the style in the '50s, but it made its way to the USA in a pair of albums recorded with jazz artist Stan Getz, the first of which won the duo a Grammy. Gilberto died July 6, 2019.

Goo Ha-ra (age 28) - The K-Pop (Korean pop music) star was a member of the girl group Kara and a sometime actress. Hara, as she was known, joined Kara in 2008 and performed with the group until her departure in 2016. She also released solo albums in 2015 and 2018. Goo was found dead in her home November 24, 2019, of undisclosed causes.

H

Kylie Rae Harris (age 30) - Harris, a native Texan, was an up-coming country singer when she was killed in an auto accident in New Mexico. She had been featured several times on the syndicated C&W show, "Texas Troubadours," and had released two albums and an EP. Harris died September 4, 2019.

Eric Haydock (age 75) - Haydock was the original bass player in the British band The Hollies, and was considered one of the best bassists of his generation.  Haydock passed on January 5, 2019.

James Henke (age 65) - Henke was a long-time writer at Rolling Stone, with stories about such rock icons as Eric Clapron and Bruce Springsteen. In 1993, he left the magazine to assume a VP position at Elektra Records, but left after a year to become the chief curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Henke passed away July 9, 2019.

Jerry Herman (age 88) - Over his long career, Herman won five Tony and two Grammy awards and was a 2010 Kennedy Center honoree. Among his works are the scores for Hello Dolly and La Cage aux Folles on Broadway, both of which won Tony awards. He also "flipped" dozens of houses after redecorating them. Herman died December 27, 2019.

Robert Hunter (age 78) - Hunter was a poet and songwriter who spent several years as a lyricist with The Grateful Dead after befriending Jerry Garcia. His lyrics are heard on "Dark Star, "Truckin'" and "Uncle John's Band," among others. Hunter also contributed to works by NRPS and collaborated with Bruce Hornsby and Bob Dylan. Hunter is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association. He died September 23, 2019.

Nipsey Hussle (age 33) - Born Ermian Ashgedon, Nispey Hu$$le was an LA-based rapper. His debut album "Victory Lap" was released in 2018 to critical acclaim and was nominated for a the 2019 Best Rap Album Grammy award. Hussle also owned a clothing store in LA, Marathon Clothing, which was where he was shot and killed on March 31, 2019.

I

James Ingram (age 66) - Ingram had a 45-year career as a performer, songwriter, and producer that included 14 Grammy nominations with wins in 1982 and 1985. He was also twice nominated for the Academy Award for best original song. Over the years, he recorded with or wrote songs for artists as diverse as Michael Jackson, Michael McDonald, and Linda Ronstadt. Ingram died of brain cancer January 29, 2019.

Neil Innes (age 75) - Innes was a British writer and comedian, well-known for his collaborations with the comedy troupe Monty Python. Innes penned many of the sketches and songs featured in the group's television series, and appeared on-screen in both TV and movies. He was also a founding member of Beatles spoof band The Rutles, and a musician in his own right with more than a dozen solo albums. Innes passed away December 29, 2019.

J

Jimmy Johnson (age 76) - Johnson was a longtime session musician with and one of the founders of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. He contributed guitar parts to hundreds of recordings from the 1960s through the 1990s, appearing on a long list of hit songs by artists such as Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, George Michael, and Rod Stewart. Johnson died September 5, 2019.

Connie Jones (age 84) - Jones started playing trumpet at age 10, and continued until his death at age 84. A jazzman's jazzman, Jones was friend and collaborator to jazz greats such as Al Hirt, Pete Fountain, and Jack Teagarden. He appeared in bands on television and his Crescent City Jazz Band also played the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival many times. Jones passed away February 13, 2019.

Larry Junstrom (age 70) - Junstrom and three others founded rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1964, naming the band after their high school PE teacher. Junstrom left the band in 1971. His replacement, Leon Wilkeson, survived the 1077 plane crash that killed founding member Ronnie Van Zandt. Junstom joined van Zandt's brother Donnie in the band .38 Special in 1977. He died October 6, 2019.

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Bob Kingsley (age 80) - Kingsley was a syndicated country music radio host for more than forty years, beginning as a producer in 1974 with the Kasey Kasem creation American Country Countdown. In 2006, Kingsley inked a new contract and renamed the program Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40. He remained in that seat until not long before his death on October 17, 2019.

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Sleepy LaBeef (age 84) - Thomas LaBeff  was a rockabilly singer and occasional actor from southern Arkansas. Over a nearly forty-year career, Sleepy released almost thirty albums as well as dozens of singles in the 1950s and 60s. He dabbled in film as well, playing a monster in a 1968 B movie sometimes known as The Monster and the Stripper.  LaBeef died on December 26, 2019.

Jerry Lawson (age 75) - Lawson was the original lead singer of a capella group The Persuasions, who compiled a string of hits in the 1970s. The group released more than 20 albums between 1969 and Lawson's departure in 2003, several of which made the Billboard Top 100. After a brief hiatus from music, Lawson reappeared as a solo artist in 2005. He died July 10, 2019.

Michel Legrand (age 86) - The French-born Legrand was long a sought-after composer for film, counting among his more than 200 film scores those for Yentl, The Summer of '42, and Atlantic City. In his sixty-year career, Legrand collected three Oscars and five Grammys. Legrand was still an active performer when he died in Paris on January 26, 2019.

Raymond Leppard (age 92) - Leppard spent 15 seasons as the director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, a period during which he helped reintroduce baroque music to the classical schedule. Also a composer, Leppard scored the films Lord of the Flies (1963) and Hotel New Hampshire (1984). Leppard passed away October 22, 2019.


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Phil McCormack (age 58) - McCormack was the lead singer for the southern-fried rock band Molly Hatchet, joining a version of the band in the 1990s that was resurrected by founding member Bobby Ingram and Danny Joe Brown. McCormack was still performing with the band when he passed away April 26, 2019.

Eddie Money (age 70) - Money (born Edward Mahoney) was a successful rock-n-roller in the 1970s and 1980s on the basis of songs like "Take Me Home Tonight" and "Two Tickets to Paradise." The first won him a nomination for a Grammy in 1987. His career foundered in the '80s and '90s, although he made appearances on television and in movies up until his death, He died of esophageal cancer on September 13, 2019.

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Jerry Naylor (age 80) - Naylor (born Jerry Naylor Jackson) assumed the lead singer position of the Crickets in 1961, two years after the untimely death of Buddy Holly. The Naylor-led Crickets charted several hits, including "Don't Ever Change," which was covered by the Beatles during their formative years. After retirement, Naylor became a public speaker and radio personality and was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He died December 4, 2019.

Art Neville (age 81) - The eldest of four brothers, Art Neville joined with his younger siblings to place the family stamp on the sound of New Orleans. As a member first of funk band The Meters and later of the Neville Brothers, Neville's keyboards and voice appeared on dozens of recordings from the '60s to the 2010s. Neville died July 22, 2019.

Jessye Norman (age 74) - Norman was an operatic soprano and mezzo-soprano, first in Europe and later with the New York Metropolitan Opera. She was well-known for special performances, including singing for the funeral of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the birthday of Queen Elizabeth, and the inauguration of Bill Clinton as well as the opening ceremony of the Atlanta Olympics. Norman received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1997 and a  Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2006. Norman died September 30, 2019.

O

Ric Ocasek (age70) - Ocasek and friends from Ohio founded the band that would eventually become The Cars in the mid-1970s. The band charted several hits with Ocasek on lead vocals, including songs such as "My Best Friend's Girl" and "Shake It Up," and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Ocasek was also known as a record producer, painter, and sometime actor. He died September 15, 2019.

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Andre Previn (age 89) - Born in Germany, Previn grew up in the Los Angeles area. His first work in the world of music was as an arranger for Hollywood, a career that eventually led to four Academy Awards and ten Grammys. Previn first won an Oscar in 1958 for Gigi, and followed that with awards in 1959, 1963, and 1964 (My Fair Lady). He won Grammys as a performer and conductor, and his extensive list of recordings includes pop, classical, and jazz. Previn died February 28, 2019.

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Paul Raymond (age 73) - Raymond is best known as the keyboardist and guitar player for the bands Savoy Brown, Waysted, and UFO. His long career among English jazz and rock bands included several interactions with former and future members of Fleetwood Mac. Raymond died of a heart attack on April 13, 2019.

Leon Redbone (age 69) - Born Dickran Gobalian in Cyprus, Redbone moved to Canada in the 1960s, changed his name, and embarked on a forty-plus year career as musician and entertainer. Known equally for his sartorial style and his bass croak, Redbone specialized in songs from the vaudeville era and Tin Pan Alley. He released 12 studio and 5 live albums, beginning with 1975's On the Track. Redbone died May 30, 2019.

Les Reed (age 83) - The British-born Reed had a long career as a musician in Europe, playing keyboards in a wide variety of bands. He is better known, however, as a pop composer, having penned such tunes as "A Kind of Hush" (Herman's Hermits) and "It's Not Unusual" and "Delilah" for Tom Jones. Reed's discography includes hits in almost every decade since the '50s from all manner of artists. He passed away April 15, 2019.

Elliot Roberts (age 76) Roberts (born Elliot Rabinowitz) was renowned as a rock-'n'-roll manager and record executive. Over a long career, he managed such acts as Neil Young and Tom Petty, and is credited with discovering Young and Joni Mitchell. Roberts died June 21, 2019.

Ranking Roger (age 56) - Born Roger Charlery, Ranking Roger was a British musician best known as a vocalist in The Beat (aka English Beat in North America) and in General Public. He provided guest vocals for many ska, punk, and two-tone groups after the breakup of General Public, and resurrected a touring version of The Beat in later years. Roger died of cancer March 26, 2019.

Christopher Rouse (age 70) - Rouse was a composer of contemporary classical music, winner of both a Grammy for Contemporary Classical and a Pulitzer Prize in Music. During his career, he was composer-in-residence at symphonies in Baltimore and NewYork; and for the Aspen, Pacific, and Tanglewood music festivals. Rouse died September 21, 2019.

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Yonrico Scott (age 63) - Scott is best known for his time as the drummer for the Derek Trucks Band, of which he was one of the only permanent members from 1995 until it was dissolved in 2009. Scott went on to play with other bands including Tedeschi-Trucks and Earl Klugh, as well as solo and studio work. He died September 20, 2019.

Sanger Shafer (age 84) - Best known for his grammatically-challenged title "All My Ex's Live in Texas," Sanger "Whitey" Shafer wrote dozens of country songs for artists such as Lee Ann Womack, George Strait, and Lefty Frizzell. Two of his songs, both recorded by Strait, were nominated for CMA awards and "Ex's" was nominated for a Grammy. Shafer died after a long illness on January 12, 2019.

Kim Shattuck (age 56) - Shattuck was a musician and songwriter associated with several bands, most notably The Muffs and The Pandoras.  She also briefly toured with The Pixies in 2013 as the bass guitarist. Shattuck succumbed to ALS on October 2, 2019.

John Starling (age 79) - Trained as a physician (otolaryngologist), Starling was a founding member of "new grass" bluegrass group The Seldom Scene in the 1970s. After retiring from medical practice, Starling picked up his guitar again and reunited with former bandmates to form John Starling and Carolina Star in 2006. He received a Grammy award in 1993 for an album cut with Carl Jackson. Starling died of heart failure May 2, 2019.

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Larry Taylor (age 77) - Taylor was a long-time session musician on bass and, occasionally, lead guitar. He was a touring member of Canned Heat and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, but the majority of his work was contributions to studio albums. He appears on albums ranging from the Monkees (1966) to Tom Waits to Kim Wilson (2017). Taylor passed away August 19, 2019.

Nick Tosches (age 69) - Tosches had a long career as a music journalist, contributing to such print outlets as Vanity Fair, Creem, and Rolling Stone. In addition to his music criticism, Nick wrote four novels and several non-fiction books about music, including a Jerry Lee Lewis biography (Hellfire) and Country Music: The Twisted Roots of Rock and Roll. Tosches passed away October 20, 2019.

Peter Tork (age 77) - Tork, on keyboards and bass guitar, was perhaps the most accomplished musician among the four original members of the Monkees. Although he generally played a bit of a dork, Tork (born Peter Thorkelson) led a varied career after the demise of the boy band for which he is known. He was a session musician, actor, and producer; as well as operating a string of food trucks in Seattle; Tork's Tacos. Tork died February 21, 2019.

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Scott Walker (age 76) - Born Noel Engel in Ohio, Walker was a highly popular musical artist in Britain. He adopted the name Scott Walker based on his middle name and his membership in '60s band The Walker Brothers. The band was never particularly popular in the US, but topped the charts multiple times in Britain. After the band's final breakup, Walker continued as a solo artist and producer. He died March 22, 2019.

Guy Webster (age 79) - Webster probably couldn't sing a lick, but he still contributed to some of the most important record albums of the 1960s and '70s as a photographer. For several years the head photographer at Dunhill records, Webster was responsible for album covers including Simon and Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence"; The Mamas and the Papas debut album, "If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears"; and the Rolling Stones' "Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass)." Webster succumbed to liver cancer and diabetes February 9, 2019.

David White (age 79) - White (David White Tricker) was a founding member of the doo-wop groups Danny and the Juniors and The Spokesmen and later joined the Crystal Mansion. He wrote or co-wrote several doo-wop hits including "At the Hop," "1-2-3," and "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay"; as well as the Lesley Gore hit "You Don't Own Me." Danny and the Juniors are members of several halls of fame, including the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. White passed away on March 17, 2019.

Bob Wilber (age 91) - Wilber was a jazz band leader and instrumentalist on the saxophone and clarinet; with a specialty in  traditional jazz  (aka "heroin jazz"). Before starting his own group, Wilber played with such jazz greats as Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden. His discography includes more than 50 recordings with multiple groups. Wilber died August 4, 2019.

Allee Willis (age 72) - Although relatively unknown to anyone outside the business, Willis was a prolific songwriter whose talent reached into multiple genres. Her best-known pop music includes collaborations with Earth, Wind, and Fire that include "Boogie Wonderland" and "September." She also wrote "Neutron Dance" for the Poynter Sisters, and the song "I'll Be There for You" that is used as the theme for "Friends." Willis won two Grammys for soundtrack albums, Beverly Hills Cop (1986) and the stage version of The Color Purple (2016). She died December 24, 2019.

Mac Wiseman (age 93) - Along with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Malcolm "Mac" Wiseman formed the Foggy Mountain Boys in 1948; and later played in Bill Monroe's band. Wiseman, an upright bass player, released a single recording of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," which reached #10 on the Billboard charts in 1955. Wiseman also co-founded the Country Music Association. He died February 24, 2019.

Juice Wrld (age 21) - Rapper "Juice Wrld" was born Jarad Hughes in Chicago. He released a handful of singles and two studio albums, collecting nominations for the MTV Awards and BET Hip-Hop Awards in 2018 and winning the Billboard Top New Artist award in 2019. Wrld suffered a seizure of unknown origin at an airport in his hometown and died on December 8, 2019.

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Israel "Izzy" Young (age 90) - Izzy Young was instrumental in he early years of American folk music, operating the Folklore Center in New York's Greenwich Village. Artists including Bob Dylan; Joni Mitchell; Emmylou Harris; and Peter, Paul, and Mary performed at Young's venue in the 60s. In 1973, he emigrated to Sweden, where he opened the Folklore Centrum in Stockholm as a venue for both Swedish artists and visiting performers from around the world. Young died in Stockholm on February 4, 2019.

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