Musicians Who Died in 1982

Lightnin Hopkins (1912-1982)

Jan 30 American blues musician (Ball of Twine), dies of esophageal cancer at 69

Jan 31 Jiří Srnka, Czech classical and film score composer, dies at 74
Feb 4 Alex Harvey, Scottish rock and blues singer (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band), dies of a heart attack at 46
Feb 8 Kurt Edelhagen, German jazz pianist and big bandleader, dies at 61
Feb 14 Henk Schaer [Hendricus Schaareman], Dutch actor and conductor (Majoor Barbara, Lijmen), dies at 79
Feb 17 Thelonious Monk, American jazz pianist and composer ("Straight, No Chaser"; "'Round Midnight"; "Brilliant Corners"), dies of a stroke at 64
Feb 18 Nathaniel Shilkret, American conductor and musician (Victor Salon Orchestra), dies at 92
Feb 21 Murray the K [Kaufman], American disk jockey sometimes referred to as the 5th Beatle, dies of cancer at 60
Feb 26 Gabor Szabo, Hungarian jazz guitarist (Perfect Circle), dies at 45
Feb 27 Malika Sabirova, Soviet Tajik ballet dancer, dies at 39
Mar 1 Charlie Spivak, Ukrainian-American big band trumpeter and bandleader, dies at 75

John Belushi (1949-1982)

Mar 5 American comedian (SNL, 1975-80), actor (Animal House), and singer (The Blues Brothers), dies of a drug overdose at 33

Mar 7 Charles Borromeo Mills, American composer, dies at 68
Mar 13 Albert Weisser, American musicologist and composer, dies at 64
Mar 14 Kirill Molchanov, Russian-Soviet composer, dies at 59
Mar 19 Randy Rhoads, American heavy metal guitarist (Quiet Riot), dies in an air crash at 25
Mar 21 King Pleasure [Clarence Beeks], American jazz singer and bebop vocalese master, dies at 59
Mar 27 Bob Ysaguirre, American jazz double bass and tuba player (Don Redman Orchestra), dies at 85
Mar 29 "Fatty" George [Pressler], Austrian swing jazz clarinettist, dies of a heart attack at 54
Mar 29 Carl Orff, German composer (Carmina Burana; Der Mond; Mozart Prize - 1969), dies of cancer at 86
Mar 29 Floyd "Guitar" Smith, American jazz and blues guitarist and record producer, dies at 65
Mar 29 Ray Block, French orchestra leader (Ed Sullivan; Jackie Gleason), dies at 79
Apr 4 Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Bulgarian composer, dies at 50
Apr 9 Wilfred Pelletier, Canadian conductor (Voice of Firestone), dies at 85
Apr 28 Bert van Dongen [Albert Cohen], Dutch singer, impressionist and actor (Het meisje met den blauwen hoed), dies at 66
Apr 29 Herbert Collum, German composer, dies at 67
Apr 29 Jimmy Jones, American jazz pianist, arranger, and accompanist, dies at 62
Apr 30 Lester Bangs, American music journalist (Creem; Rolling Stone), and musician (Birdland), dies of accidental cold medicine overdose at 33
May 1 William Primrose, Scottish violist (Method for Violin & Viola), dies at 77
May 5 Cal Tjader, American Latin jazz vibraphonist, dies of a heart attack at 56
May 11 Piet van Egmond, Dutch organist and conductor (Netherlands Chamber Orchestra), dies at 70
May 12 Humphrey Searle, British composer and musicologist (Twentieth Century Counterpoint; The Music of Franz Liszt), dies at 66
May 13 Gara Garayev [Kara Karayev], Soviet-Azerbaijani composer (Seven Beauties), dies at 64
May 13 Renzo Rossellini, Italian composer, dies at 74
May 26 Nanny Larsén-Todsen, Swedish opera singer, dies at 97
Jun 10 Addie "Micki" Harris, American singer (Shirelles - "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"; "Soldier Boy"), dies of a heart attack at 42
Jun 14 Marie Rambert, Polish-British ballerina, teacher and director (Ballet Rambert) dies at 94
Jun 15 Art Pepper, American jazz alto saxophonist and clarinetist, dies of a stroke at 56
Jun 16 James Honeyman-Scott, English rock guitarist and vocalist (The Pretenders - "Brass In Pocket"), overdoses on drugs at 25
Jun 26 Andre Tchaikowsy, pianist/composer, dies
Jun 28 Harry Mills, American singer (Mills Brothers), dies at 70
Jul 1 John Everett Watts, American composer (Elegy for Chimney),new music promoter (Composers & Choreographers Theater), synthesizer player, and educator (New School, 1969-82), dies at 51
Jul 2 Poul Rovsing Olsen, Danish composer, dies at 59
Jul 9 Joseph "Wingy" Manone American jazz trumpeter, composer, singer, and bandleader ("Tar Paper Stomp"; "Downright Disgusted Blues"), dies at 82
Jul 10 Maria Jeritza [Marie Jedličková], Czech soprano, known as the Moravian Thunderbolt (Vienna Opera, 1912-34, 1953-56; Metropolitan Opera, 1921-32, 1951); dies at 94
Jul 14 George Tremblay, Canadian-American composer, dies at 71
Jul 15 Bill Justis, American musician and producer (Raunchy), dies of cancer at 58
Jul 18 Lionel Daunais, French Canadian singer and composer, dies at 80
Jul 22 Sonny Stitt [Edward Hammond Boatner Jr], American jazz saxophonist (Blows the Blues), dies of cancer at 58
Jul 28 George Kleinsinger, American composer (Tubby the Tuba), dies at 68
Jul 28 Keith Green, American contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter and pianist ("There Is a Redeemer"; "(Until) Your Love Broke Through"), and minister, dies in plane crash at 28
Jul 28 Nick Lucas [Dominic Lucanese], American jazz guitarist and singer ("Tiptoe Through the Tulips"; "Painting the Clouds With Sunshine"), dies of double pneumonia at 84
Aug 2 Rudolf Maros, Hungarian composer (Sirato/Lament; Euphonies), and pedagogue, dies at 65
Aug 8 Ferre Grignard, Belgian pop singer/painter (Crucified Jesus), dies
Aug 8 Kurt Edelhagen, West German jazz pianist, dies at 62
Aug 12 Helvi Leiviskä, Finnish composer, dies at 80
Aug 13 Joe Tex [Joseph Arrington Jr.], American soul musician ("Hold What You've Got"; "I Gotcha"), dies at 49
Aug 28 Nini de Boël, Flemish operetta singer (White Horse), dies at 84
Aug 29 Lehman Engel, American conductor and composer (A Streetcar Named Desire), dies at 71
Aug 30 Leo Pappenheim, Dutch conductor, dies at 86
Sep 1 Clifford Curzon, British classical pianist (Royal Academy of Music Macfarren Gold Medal), dies at 75
Sep 13 Ray Carter, American orchestra leader (Arthur Murray Dance Party), dies at 73
Sep 14 Christian Ferras, French violinist and conductor, dies at 49
Sep 14 Pablo Garrido, Chilean composer and ethnomusicologist, dies at 77
Sep 17 Manos Loïzos, Greek composer (Ta Tragoudia Mas) and well known leftist critic of the Greek military junta, dies after suffering several strokes at 44
Sep 19 Samuel L. M. Barlow, American composer (Mon Ami Pierrot), dies at 90
Sep 20 Karel Krautgartner, Czech jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, arranger, composer, conductor and teacher, dies at 60
Sep 21 (C. Dudley) "Pete" King, American film and easy listening music arranger and composer (The Pied Piper of Hamelin; The Last of the Secret Agents?),dies at 68
Sep 23 Jimmy Wakely, American country music vocalist (5 Star Jubilee), dies of heart failure at 68
Oct 4 Glenn Gould, Canadian classical pianist (Bach's Goldberg Variations) and broadcaster (Solitude Trilogy), dies after suffering a stroke at 50
Oct 12 (Christiann) "Chris"Reumer, Dutch operatic tenor, dies at 73
Oct 16 Jakov Gotovac, Croatian conductor and composer (Ero the Joker), dies at 87
Oct 16 Mario del Monaco, Italian opera singer (Verdi/Puccini), dies at 67
Oct 21 Radka Toneff, Norwegian jazz singer (It Don't Come Easy), dies of a drug overdose at 30
Oct 23 Jacques Klein, Brazilian pianist and composer, dies at 52
Oct 30 Angelo Ephrikian, Armenian-Italian composer, dies at 69
Nov 1 Leighton Lucas, British composer and conductor, dies at 79
Nov 7 Salvador Contreras, Mexican composer (Grupo de los cuatro), dies at 71
Nov 11 Gösta Törner, Swedish hot jazz and session trumpeter and bandleader, dies at 70
Nov 14 Joachim Stutschewsky, Austrian-Israeli cellist, composer, and musicologist, dies at 91
Nov 16 Al Haig, American bebop jazz pianist (Charlie Parker; Stan Getz; Chet Baker), dies of a heart attack at 60
Nov 17 Eduard Tubin, Estonian-Swedish composer and conductor, dies at 77
Nov 19 Toña la Negra [Antonia Álvarez], Mexican canción and bolero singer ("Como golondrinas"; "Enamorada"), and actress, dies of a heart attack at 70
Nov 22 Max Deutsch, Austrian-French composer, dies at 90
Nov 26 Juhan Aavic, Estonian composer, dies at 98
Nov 27 Filip Kutev, Bulgarian composer (State Ensemble for Folk Song and Dance), dies at 79
Dec 1 Dorothy James, American composer, dies on her 81st birthday
Dec 2 David Blue [Cohen], American folk musician, dies of a heart attack while jogging in Greenwich Village at 41
Dec 2 Isador Goodman, South African-Australian composer, dies at 73
Dec 8 Marty Robbins, American country singer (Devil Woman; I Walk Alone), dies of complications following cardiac surgery at 57
Dec 9 Paul Godwin, Polish-Dutch violinist, dies at 80
Dec 9 Roger Danneels, Flemish accordionist, Hammond organ player, and bandleader, dies at 55
Dec 10 Roy Webb, American film score composer (films of Val Lewton), dies at 94
Dec 17 Leonid Kogan, Soviet Russian violinist (Lenin Prize, 1952), dies of a heart attack at 58
Dec 17 Philipp Jarnach, French pianist, composer, and music educator (Hamburg Music Academy, 1949-70), dies at 90
Dec 18 Tibor de Machula, Hungarian-Dutch cellist, dies at 70
Dec 19 Jean-Jacques Grunenwald, French organist and composer, dies at 71
Dec 19 Lawrance Collingwood, English composer, dies at 95
Dec 20 Artur Rubinstein, Polish-American concert pianist, dies in Geneva at 95
Dec 20 Milan Ristić, Serbian composer, dies at 76
Dec 23 Norman Dinerstein, American composer, dies of a heart attack at 45
Dec 28 Frederick Douglass Hall, American composer, dies at 84

On This Day

Musicians Who Died in 1982

Lightnin Hopkins (1912-1982)

John Belushi (1949-1982)

Famous Singers

Search the largest, most accurate site for today in music history.