Musicians Who Died in 2001

  • Jan 1 Hsu Tsang-Houei, Taiwanese composer and collector of Taiwanese folk songs, dies at 71
  • Jan 4 Les Brown, American big band bandleader (His Band of Renown - "Sentimental Journey"), dies at 88
  • Jan 7 James Carr, American soul singer ("To Love Somebody"; "Dark End of the Street"), dies of lung cancer at 58
  • Jan 12 Kyra Vayne [Knopmuss], English stage and opera soprano, dies at 84
  • Jan 12 Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (Black Orpheus), dies of pancreatic cancer at 78
  • Jan 13 Michael Cuccione, Canadian actor, singer (2gether), and cancer research fundraiser, dies of respiratory failure at 16
  • Jan 16 Virginia O'Brien, American actress and singer (Meet the People, Gus, Ziegfeld Follies), dies of a heart attack at 81
  • Jan 17 Norris Turney, American jazz flute and saxophone player (Billy Eckstine, 1947-48; Duke Ellington Orchestra, 1968-73), dies at 79
  • Jan 20 Nico Assumpção, Brazilian bass player, dies at 46
  • Jan 23 Eugene [Brother Jack] McDuff, American jazz organist (George Benson, Brother Jack), dies of heart failure at 74
  • Jan 23 Lou Levy, American jazz pianist (Woody Herman; Stan Getz), and accompanist (Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald), dies of a heart attack at 72
  • Jan 24 Leif Thybo, Danish composer and organist, dies at 78
  • Jan 27 André Prévost, Canadian composer, dies at 66
  • Jan 27 Stavros Damianides, Greek musician (b. 1941)
  • Feb 4 Iannis Xenakis, Romanian-born, Greek-French composer, music theorist, and architect who helped revolutionize 20th century classical music (Metastaseis), dies after several years of serious illness at 78
  • Feb 4 J. J. Johnson, American jazz trombonist and composer, dies at 77
  • Feb 4 Raimo Kangro, Estonian composer (Butterflies in the Stone), dies at 51
  • Feb 7 Dale Evans, American actress and singer (Roy Rogers Show), dies at 88
  • Feb 10 George "Buddy" Tate, American jazz saxophonist, dies at 87
  • Feb 15 Boris Goldovsky, Russian-American conductor, educator (Tanglewood, 1942-62), and opera broadcast commentator (Metropolitan Opera, 1946-85), dies at 92
  • Feb 17 Debbie Dean [Reba Smith], American pop singer and songwriter (Motown), dies at 73
  • Feb 19 Charles Trenet, French pop singer and songwriter ("Boum!"; "La Mer"), dies at 87
  • Feb 21 Ronnie Hilton, British radio presenter and singer (Moonraker), dies at 75
  • Feb 22 John Farley, American folk singer and guitarist (Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death), dies at 61
  • Feb 23 Ruth Railton, British musical director (National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, 1948-65), dies at 85
  • Mar 4 Glenn Hughes, American disco singer (The Village People (Biker)), dies of cancer at 50
  • Mar 7 Frankie Carle [Francesco Carlone], American pianist, known as "the Wizard of the Keyboard", big band and dance orchestra leader, and songwriter ("Sunrise Serenade"; "The Golden Touch"), dies at 97
  • Mar 10 Massimo Morsello, Italian fascist political singer and songwriter, dies at 42
  • Mar 18 John Phillips, American singer and guitarist (Mama & Papas-California Dreaming), dies at 65
  • Mar 21 Anthony Steel, British actor and singer (Malta Story, The Wooden Horse), dies from lung cancer at 80
  • Mar 22 Earl Beal American doo-wop baritone (The Silhouettes - "Get A Job"), dies at 75
  • Mar 28 Moe Koffman, Canadian jazz saxophonist and flautist (Cool and Hot Sax), dies at 72
  • Mar 28 Vlastimir Nikolovski, Macedonian composer and pedagogue, (The Serdar), dies at 74
  • Mar 29 John Lewis, American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer (Modern Jazz Quartet, 1952-97), dies of prostate cancer at 80
  • Apr 1 Trinh Công Son, Vietnamese poet and songwriter, dies at 64
  • Apr 3 Lester "Big Daddy" Kinsey, American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, dies at 74
  • Apr 6 Charles Pettigrew, American soul singer (Charles & Eddie - "Would I Lie To You?"), dies of cancer at 37
  • Apr 9 Graziella Sciutti, Italian operatic soprano, teacher, and opera producer, dies at 64 [1]
  • Apr 11 Harry Secombe, Welsh actor, comedian, singer and goon (The Goon Show; Oliver!), dies of cancer at 79
  • Apr 11 Sandy Bull, American musician (b. 1941)
  • Apr 12 Alberto Erede, Italian conductor, dies at 91
  • Apr 15 Joey Ramone [Jeffrey Hyman], American punk rock singer and musician (The Ramones - "I Wanna Be Sedated"; Blitzkrieg Bop"; solo -"What a Wonderful World"), dies of lymphoma at 49
  • Apr 15 John Verrall, American composer, dies at 92
  • Apr 20 Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (Sunnyata; Lou Salomé), dies while conducting Verdi's "Aida" of a heart attack at 54
  • Apr 20 Maria Karnilova, American dancer and actress (Fiddler on the Roof, Ivan the Terrible), dies at 80
  • Apr 21 David Hollestelle, Dutch baritone singer (Dutch Radio Chorus), dies at 84
  • Apr 22 Ludvig Nielsen, Norwegian organist, composer, choir director, and conductor (Nidaros Cathedral, 1935-76), dies at 95
  • Apr 24 Al Hibbler, American singer ("Unchained Melody"), dies at 85
  • May 3 Billy Higgins, American jazz drummer, dies at 64
  • May 9 James E. Myers, American songwriter (Rock Around the Clock) and producer, dies at 81
  • May 12 (Pierino) Perry Como, American singer ("Catch A Falling Star") and TV personality (The Perry Como Show), dies at 89
  • May 16 Brian Pendleton, English musician (The Pretty Things) (b. 1944)
  • May 17 Ikuma Dan, Japanese composer (Yūzuru), dies at 77
  • May 19 Mike Sammes, British arranger, session, pop and easy-listening vocalist (The Mike Sammes Singers; Disneyland; The Beatles - "I Am The Walrus", "Good Night"; Olivia Newton-John - "Let Me Be There"), dies at 73
  • May 19 Susannah McCorkle, American singer (b. 1946)
  • May 20 Renato Carosone, Italian canzone napoletana singer, pianist, songwriter ("Tu vuò fà l'americano" - "You Want to Be American"), and accordionist, dies at 81
  • May 22 Lorez Alexandria, American jazz and gospel singer (Alexandria the Great), dies at 71
  • May 23 Tommy Eyre, British touring and session keyboardist, and musical director (Joe Cocker, Gerry Rafferty, Wham!), dies of esophageal cancer at 51
  • May 30 Tony Ashton, British musician (Ashton, Gardner & Dyke), dies of cancer at 55
  • Jun 4 John Hartford [Harford], American folk and bluegrass fiddler, banjo player, and songwrite ("Gentle On My Mind"), dies at 63
  • Jun 6 Douglas Lilburn, New Zealand composer (A Song Of Islands) and educator (Victoria University, 1949-80), dies at 85
  • Jun 7 Carole Fredericks, American singer (Fredericks Goldman Jones), dies of a heart attack at 49
  • Jun 9 David Sheinfeld, American violinist and composer, dies at 94
  • Jun 11 Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer (Échame a mi la culpa), dies at 77
  • Jun 13 Siegfried Naumann, Swedish conductor (Musica Nova Ensemble, 1962-77), teacher, and composer (Risposte), dies at 81
  • Jun 15 Julius Juzeliūnas, Lithuanian composer and organist (The Game), dies at 85
  • Jun 15 Leif Kayser, Danish composer and organist, dies at 83
  • Jun 16 Adam Popovich, Serbian-American musician, director and composer, dies at 91
  • Jun 21 John Lee Hooker, American blues guitarist ("Boom Boom"; "Boogie Chillen"), dies at 83
  • Jun 30 Chet Atkins, American guitarist (Me & My Guitar), dies at 77
  • Jun 30 Joe Henderson, American jazz saxophonist, dies at 64
  • Jul 3 Delia Derbyshire, English musician and composer (Doctor Who theme, White Noise), dies of renal failure at 64
  • Jul 3 Johnny Russell, American country songwriter (Act Naturally; Let's Fall To Pieces Together), singer and comedian dies of complications from diabetes at 61
  • Jul 5 Ernie K-Doe [Ernest Kador Jr.], American R&B singer ("Mother-in-Law"), dies of kidney failure and cirrhosis of the liver at 68
  • Jul 7 Fred Neil [Morlock], American songwriter, folk singer, guitarist (Everybody's Talkin'; Candy Man), and conservationist (Dolphin Project), dies from skin cancer at 65
  • Jul 11 Herman Brood, Dutch painter and pianist (Sleepin' Bird), dies at 54
  • Jul 18 Mimi Fariña, American folk-rock singer-songwriter ("Reflections In A Crystal Wind"), dies at 56
  • Jul 19 Judy Clay [Guions], American soul and gospel singer, dies from complications from a car accident at 62
  • Jul 20 Werner Haentjes, German conductor and composer of operas and film scores, dies at 77
  • Jul 24 Georges Dor [Dore], French Canadian author, playwright, radio broadcaster, singer and songwriter, dies at 70
  • Jul 27 Leon Wilkeson, American guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd), dies at 49
  • Aug 2 Ron Townson, American singer (The 5th Dimension - "Up, Up and Away"), dies of kidney failure at 68
  • Aug 3 Lars Johan Werle, Swedish avant-garde composer (Pentagram; Resan - The Journey), singer, and jazz musician, dies at 75
  • Aug 6 Larry Adler, American pop and classical harmonica player, and composer, dies of cancer at 87
  • Aug 17 Flip Phillips [Joseph Filippelli], American jazz and swing tenor saxophonist and clarinet player (Jazz at the Philharmonic; Woody Herman), dies at 86
  • Aug 19 Betty Everett, American southern soul singer and pianist ("Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)"), dies at 61
  • Aug 23 Eric Allandale [Dubuisson], West Indian-British rock and soul trombonist, and songwriter (The Foundations - "Baby Now That I've Found You"), dies at 65
  • Aug 24 Raymond Wilding-White, American composer, dies at 78
  • Aug 25 Aaliyah [Haughton], American singer and actress, dies in a plane crash in the Bahamas at 22
  • Aug 25 Philippe Léotard, French actor and singer (b. 1940)
  • Aug 29 (Graeme) "Shirley" Strachan, Australian singer (Skyhooks - "Ego Is Not A Dirty Word"; "Jukebox in Siberia"), TV host (Shirl's Neighbourhood), and carpenter (Our House), dies as pilot in a helicopter crash at 49
  • Sep 2 Jay Migliori, American saxophonist (Supersax), dies at 70
  • Sep 6 Carl Crack, German musician (Atari Teenage Riot) (b. 1971)
  • Sep 7 Igor Buketoff, American conductor (Iceland Symphony Orchestra, 1964-65), dies at 86
  • Sep 14 Stelios Kazantzidis, Greek singer, dies at 70
  • Sep 22 Isaac Stern, American-Ukrainian concert violinist (debut San Francisco Symphony), dies at 81
  • Sep 27 Herman Berlinski, Polish-American organist, composer and choral conductor (The Tetragrammaton), dies at 91 [1]
  • Oct 2 Franz Biebl, German composer, mostly of choral music, dies at 95
  • Oct 5 Aldo Jones [Albert Mansis], American rockabilly bassist and singer (Ben Vaughn Combo), dies of leukemia at 41
  • Oct 7 Jimmie Lloydd [Logdon], American country and rockabilly singer, dies at 79
  • Oct 12 Witold Szalonek, Polish composer (Satire), educator, and musicologist, dies at 74
  • Oct 13 Peter Doyle, Australian pop singer (The New Seekers - "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing"), dies of throat cancer at 52
  • Oct 16 Etta Jones, American jazz singer ("Don't Go To Strangers"; "Save Your Love for Me"), dies of cancer at 72
  • Oct 17 Jay Livingston, American composer ("Buttons & Bows"; "Mona Lisa"; "Tammy"), dies at 86
  • Oct 17 Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete (Olympic gold shot put, discus; bronze high jump 1948), dies at 78
  • Oct 22 Cliff Adams, British singer (The Stragazers; The Cliff Adams Singers), dies at 78
  • Oct 24 Kim Gardner, English rock bassist (Ashton, Gardner & Dyke), dies of cancer at 53
  • Oct 25 Yoritsune Matsudaira, Japanese composer, dies at 94
  • Oct 28 Gerard Hengeveld, Dutch composer (b. 1910)
  • Nov 12 Albert Hague [Marcuse], German-American actor, singer and composer (Fame, How the Grinch Stole Christmas), dies of cancer at 73
  • Nov 13 Marius Flothuis, Dutch composer, (Kleine Suite for 12 Harps; Espressioni Cordiali), artistic director (Concertgebouw Orchestra, 1955–74), musicologist (Mozart), and music critic, dies at 87
  • Nov 13 Raphaël Sommer, Czech cellist, and educator, dies of an aortic aneurysm at 64 [1]
  • Nov 16 Jack Rothstein, British concert violinist (London Czech Trio), conductor (Viennese Orchestra of London), and session player (The Beatles - "I Am the Walrus"; "Within You Without You"; Paul McCartney - “Here Today”), dies at 75
  • Nov 16 Tommy Flanagan, American jazz pianist (b. 1930)
  • Nov 17 Michael Karoli, German rock guitarist (Can), dies of cancer at 53 (b. 1948)
  • Nov 22 Norman Granz, American jazz record producer (Verve Records; Pablo Records), and impresario (Jazz at the Philharmonic), dies of cancer at 83
  • Nov 23 O. C Smith, American jazz singer (Little Green Apples), dies at 69
  • Nov 24 Melanie Thornton, American pop-dance singer (La Bouche - "Be My Lover"), dies in a plane crash near Zürich, Switzerland, at 34
  • Nov 24 Robert Helps, American pianist, prodigy, pedagogue, and composer, dies of cancer at 73
  • Nov 26 Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Finnish Sami writer (The Sun, My Father) and musician, dies at 58
  • Nov 28 Kal Mann, American pop lyricist ("Let's Twist Again"), dies at 84

George Harrison (1943-2001)

Nov 29 British guitarist, singer, songwriter, and sitar player (Beatles - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"; "Here Comes The Sun"; solo - "If Not For You"; Traveling Wilburys - "Handle With Care"), dies of lung cancer at 58

  • Nov 29 Mic Christopher, Irish rock singer and songwriter (The Mary Janes; solo - "Heyday";"Skylarkin'"), dies of head injury after a fall at 32
  • Dec 3 Grady Martin, American country music guitarist (The Nashville A-Team), dies at 72
  • Dec 13 Chuck Schuldiner, American heavy metal singer-songwriter and guitarist (Death; Control Denied), dies of brain cancer at 34
  • Dec 14 (Secondo) "Conte" Candoli, American jazz, big band, and session trumpeter (Woody Herman; Stan Kenton; The Brothers Candoli; The Tonight Show, 1967-92), dies of prostate cancer at 74
  • Dec 15 Rufus Thomas, American vaudevillian, singer-songwriter, and R&B musician known as "Mr. Swing" ("Walking the Dog", "Do the Funky Chicken"), dies of heart failure at 84
  • Dec 16 Stuart Adamson, Scottish rock vocalist and guitarist (The Skids, Big Country), dies at 43
  • Dec 18 Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek composer, dies at 87
  • Dec 18 Gilbert Bécaud [François Gilbert Léopold Silly], French singer, pianist, composer and actor (Nathalie) known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances, dies at 74
  • Dec 19 Marcel Mule, French classical saxophonist, composer, and teacher, dies at 100
  • Dec 21 Felix Guerro Diaz, Cuban composer, dies at 84
  • Dec 23 Leonid Wīgner, Latvian conductor (Latvian Opera and Ballet Theater, 1936-49; LPSR Radio Symphony, 1949-75), composer, and pedagogue, dies at 95
  • Dec 29 Takashi Asahina, Japanese conductor (b. 1908)
  • Dec 30 Ralph Sutton, American stride and Dixieland jazz pianist and composer, dies at 79