Musicians Who Died in 2000

Feb 12 (Jalacy) "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins, American blues-rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter ("I Put a Spell On You"), and actor, dies of an aneurysm at 70
Feb 12 Andy Lewis, Australian musician (The Whitlams), commits suicide at 33
Feb 12 Oliver [William Swofford], American pop singer ("Good Morning Starshine"), dies of cancer at 54
Feb 19 Marin Goleminov, Bulgarian violinist, composer, and pedagogue, dies at 91
Feb 21 Violet Archer [Balestreri], Canadian percussionist, composer, teacher, and organist, dies at 86
Feb 22 Louis Alfred Mennini, American composer, dies at 79
Feb 23 Ofra Haza, Israeli singer (b. 1957)
Feb 28 George Siravo, American big band and session saxophonist, composer, arranger and conductor (Columbia Records), dies at 83
Feb 29 Abe Bolar, American double bass player (Oklahoma City Blue Devils; Hot Lips Page; Count Basie), dies at 90
Feb 29 Dennis Danell, American punk rock guitarist (Social Distortion), dies of heart failure at 38
Mar 3 Toni Ortelli, Italian composer ("La Montanara" (The Song of the Mountains), conductor, and alpinist, dies at 95
Mar 5 Lolo Ferrari [Eve Valois], French adult actress and dancer, dies from an overdose of prescription drugs at 37
Mar 7 Pee Wee King [Julius Frank Kuczynski], American country singer, accordionist, and songwriter ("Tennesee Waltz"; "Slow Poke"), dies of a heart attack at 84
Mar 9 Ivo Robić, Croatian singer and songwriter (b. 1923)
Mar 20 Gene Eugene [Andrusco], Canadian-American actor, singer-songwriter (Adam Again; Lost Dogs), and record producer, dies of a brain aneurysm at 38

Mar 20 Vivian Fine, American composer (Women in the Garden), dies after a car accident at 86
Mar 23 Dick van Niehoff, Dutch pop vocalist (Fouryo), dies at 62
Mar 24 Al Grey, American jazz trombonist (Snap Your Fingers), dies at 74
Mar 27 Ian Dury, English rock musician (The Blockheads) and actor (Judge Dredd), dies at 57
Mar 30 Beryl McBurnie, Trinidadian dancer (Little Carib Theatre), dies at 84
Apr 7 Heinz [Burt], British rock bassist (The Tornados - "Telstar"), dies from complications of a stroke at 57 [1]
Apr 11 Diana Darvey, British actress, singer and dancer (b. 1945)
Apr 11 Lucia Dlugoszewski, Polish-American composer (Fire Fragile Flight), dies at 74
Apr 13 Inglis Gundry, British composer, musicologist and novelist, dies at 94
Apr 19 Louis Applebaum, Canadian conductor and composer, dies at 82
Apr 21 Neal Matthews, Jr., American singer (The Jordanaires), dies at 70
Apr 25 Claire Hogan, American jazz and big band singer (Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, 1948-50), dies at 73 [1]
Apr 25 Neils Viggo Bentzon, Danish pianist and composer (The Tempered Piano), dies at 80
Apr 27 Vicki Sue Robinson, American stage and screen actress, and pop singer ("Turn the Beat Around"), dies of cancer at 45
Apr 30 Bernhard Heiden [Levi], German-American composer (Dreamers on a Slack Wire; Euphorion), and music teacher (University of Indiana, 1945-74), dies at 89

May 3 Yoshinao Nakada, Japanese composer, dies at 76
May 6 Leonard Salzedo, British orchestral, ballet, and film composer (The Witch Boy; Requiem Sine Voxibus, Hammer Films), dies at 78
May 8 Karl-Rudi Griesbach, German composer, dies at 83
May 10 Dédé Fortin, Quebec singer and songwriter (Les Colocs) (b. 1962)
May 13 Olivier Greif, French classical composer (Lettres de Westerbork), dies at 50
May 16 William Ferris, American composer and conductor (William Ferris Chorale, 1971-2000), dies while conducting a rehearsal of Verdi's Requiem at 63
May 18 Gideon William Waldrop, American composer and educator (Julliard School, 1961-85), dies at 80
May 18 Steve Wolownik, American ethnomusicologist, balalaika player, arranger, and co-founder of the Balalaika and Domra Association of America, dies at 54
May 20 Jean-Pierre Rampal, French classical flautist (The Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano), dies of heart failure at 72
May 23 Marcus Hutson, American R&B singer (The Whispers - "And the Beat Goes On"; "Rock Steady"), dies of prostate cancer at 57
May 30 Tex Beneke, American bandleader and musician (b. 1914)
May 31 Joe Puma, American session and jazz guitarist (Herbie Mann; Artie Shaw's Gramercy Five; Chuck Wayne), dies at 72
May 31 Johnnie Taylor, American R&B and multi-genre singer ("Disco Lady"; "I Believe In You"), dies at 66
May 31 Tito Puente, American mambo and Latin jazz bandleader ("Oye Como Va"), dies at 77
Jun 8 (Abram) "Abe" Lincoln, American sweet jazz trombonist (Paul Whiteman; Ozzie Nelson), and Dixieland jazz revivalist, dies at 93
Jun 14 Paul Griffin, American session musician and pianist, dies at 62
Jun 16 Richard Dufallo, American clarinetist and conductor, dies at 67
Jun 21 Alan Hovhaness, Armenian-American composer (Lousadzak, Ukiyo), dies at 89
Jun 23 Jerome Richardson, an American jazz saxophonist, flute, clarinet, and piccolo player (Quincy Jones; Charles Mingus; Earl Hines), dies of heart failure at 79

Jun 27 Rudy Cafaro, American jazz guitarist, dies at 80
Jul 1 Michael "Cub" Koda, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist (Brownsville Station - "Smokin' In The Boys Room'), dies of kidney disease at 50M
Jul 1 Torbjörn Lundquist, Swedish classical and film score composer, conductor, and musicologist, dies at 79
Jul 3 Harold Nicholas, American dancer known as one of the world's greatest dancers (Nicholas Brothers), dies of heart failure at 79
Jul 6 Akira Miyazawa, Japanese jazz saxophonist, dies at 72
Jul 6 Ľudovít Rajter, Slovak composer and conductor, dies at 93
Jul 6 Władysław Szpilman, Polish pianist and classical composer, dies at 88
Jul 8 Nikola Hercigonja, Croatian composer, dies at 89
Jul 12 Merrill Bradshaw, American composer, and music professor (Brigham Young, 1957-94), dies at 71
Jul 15 Genrikh Matusovich Vagner, Belarusian composer, dies at 78
Jul 15 Louis Quilico, Canadian baritone (b. 1925)
Jul 15 Paul Young, English singer (Mike + The Mechanics), dies of a cardiac arrest at 53
Jul 20 Mabel Scott, American gospel and R&B vocalist (Boogie Woogie Santa Claus), dies at 85
Jul 21 Stanojlo Rajičić, Serbian composer, educator, and musicologist, dies at 79
Jul 25 Ruben "Baby" López Furst, Argentine jazz pianist, dies at 63
Jul 28 Jerome Smith, American guitarist (KC & the Sunshine Band - "Boogie Shoes"), dies in a construction accident at 47
Jul 30 Max Showalter (sometimes known as Casey Adams), American actor (Kansas; Niagara: Hello Dolly!; 10), pianist and composer, dies of cancer at 83
Aug 11 Jean Papineau-Couture, Canadian composer, dies at 83
Aug 12 Patrick Peter Sacco, American composer, dies at 71

Aug 13 Nazia Hassan, Pakistani pop singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist known as "Queen of Pop" in South Asia, dies of lung cancer at 35
Aug 16 Alan Caddy, English musician (The Tornados), dies at 60
Aug 25 Jack Nitzsche, American composer, arranger, music producer, keyboardist (Rolling Stones; Neil Young), and songwriter ("Up Where We Belong"), dies at 63
Aug 26 [Douglas] Allen Woody, American bassist (The Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule), dies at 44
Sep 2 Elvera Sanchez, Puerto Rican dancer (b. 1905)
Sep 4 David Brown, American rock bassist (Santana, 1967-71, 1974-76), dies of liver and kidney failure at 53
Sep 12 Stanley Turrentine, American jazz saxophonist (Wonderland), dies at 66
Sep 21 Bengt Hambraeus, Swedish Canadian composer and organist, dies at 72
Sep 24 Ian "Spike" Spice, British drummer (Breathe - "Hands To Heaven", Flash Cadillac), dies at 34
Sep 26 Baden Powell, Brazilian jazz and samba guitarist, dies of bacterial pneumonia at 63
Sep 26 Nick Fatool, American jazz and session drummer, dies at 85
Oct 1 Robert Allen, American pianist and songwriter "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays"; "Chances Are"), dies of colon cancer at 73
Oct 3 Benjamin Orr [Orzechowski], American rock bassist and singer (The Cars - "Just What I Needed", "Drive"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 53
Oct 10 Ferenc Farkas, Hungarian composer, dies at 94
Oct 13 Britt Woodman, American jazz trombonist (Duke Ellington; Charles Mingus; Lionel Hampton), dies of respiratory issues at 80
Oct 18 Gwyneth “Gwen” Verdon, American actress, singer and dancer (Cotton Club; Sweet Charity), dies at 75
Oct 18 Julie London, American singer ("Cry Me A River") and actress (Emergency - "Nurse McCall"), dies at 74
Oct 19 Hortense Ellis, Jamaican reggae singer ("Right On the Tip of My Tongue"), dies from a stomach infection at 59
Oct 25 Don Frank Brooks, American session and touring blues harmonica player (Waylon Jennings; Ken Burns' "The Civil War"), dies of leukemia at 53

Oct 27 Walter Berry, Austrian lyric bass-baritone singer, dies of a heart attack at 71
Oct 28 Carlos Guastavino, Argentine composer (b. 1912)

Steve Allen (1921-2000)

Oct 30 American comedian, composer, actor and TV host (Tonight Show; Steve Allen Show), dies of injuries from a car accident at 78

Oct 31 Watanabe Kazuki Japanese progressive rock guitarist and songwriter (Raphael), dies of an accidental sedative overdose at 19
Nov 5 Jimmie Davis, American singer and songwriter ("You Are My Sunshine"), dies at 101
Nov 6 Herbert Brün, German composer, dies at 82
Nov 8 Brian Boydell, Irish composer, dies at 83
Nov 12 Franck Pourcel, French popular orchestra leader, dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 87
Nov 15 Gene Gutche, German-born composer, dies at 93
Nov 16 DJ Screw [Robert Earl Davis Jr.], American hip-hop DJ and rapper (Screwed Up Click), dies of codeine overdose coupled with mixed drug intoxication at 29
Nov 16 Joe C. [Joseph Calleja], American rapper (hype man for Kid Rock), dies at 26
Nov 30 Jānis Kalniņš, Latvian-Canadian organist, composer (Ugunī; New Brunswick Rhapsody), and conductor (Latvian National Opera, 1933–1944), dies at 96
Nov 30 Scott Smith, Canadian rock bassist (Loverboy - "Working for the Weekend"), drowns in sailing accident near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco at 45
Dec 3 Hoyt Curtin, American composer (Hanna-Barbera cartoon theme songs), dies at 78
Dec 15 Charles Dearnley, English church organist (Salisbury Cathedral; St Paul's Cathedral), and educator, dies at 70
Dec 17 Erich Schmid, Swiss composer and conductor, dies at 93
Dec 18 James Mitchell, American session baritone saxophonist (The Memphis Horns; Stax Records), dies at 69
Dec 18 Kirsty MacColl, English singer and songwriter (Electric Landlady), dies when run over by a power boat in the National Marine Park of Cozumel at 41
Dec 19 (Roebuck) "Pops" Staples, American gospel singer (The Staple Singers), dies at 85
Dec 19 Milt Hinton, American jazz bassist (Cab Calloway) and session musician, dies at 90
Dec 19 Rob Buck, American musician (10,000 Maniacs), dies at 42
Dec 20 Adrian Henri, British poet and founder of poetry-rock group (Liverpool Scene), dies at 68
Dec 23 Noor Jehan [Allah Rakhi Wasai], Pakistani singer and actress (Mela; Chann Way), dies at 74

Victor Borge (1909-2000)

Dec 23 Danish-American comedian and pianist, dies at 91

Dec 24 Nick Massi [Macioci], American bass vocalist, vocal arranger, and bassist (The Four Seasons, 1960-65 - "Sherry"; "Rag Doll"), dies of cancer at 65
Dec 26 Paul Kont, Austrian composer, dies at 80
Dec 27 Jack McVea, American swing jazz, and R&B clarinetist, saxophonist, and bandleader, dies at 86
Dec 31 Eddy Shaver, American country-rock guitarist and songwriter, dies of a heroin overdose at 38
Dec 31 José Greco, Italian-born American flamenco dancer and choreographer, dies of heart failure at 82

On This Day

Musicians Who Died in 2000

Steve Allen (1921-2000)

Victor Borge (1909-2000)

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