Musicians Who Died in 2002

  • Jan 2 Armi Aavikko, Finnish beauty queen (Miss Finland, 1977), and pop singer, dies at 43
  • Jan 2 Zac Foley, English rock bassist (EMF "Unbelievable"), dies at 31
  • Jan 3 Esquivel! [Juan García Esquivel], Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader known as the "King of Space-Age Pop", dies at 83
  • Jan 7 Jon Lee, Welsh drummer (Feeder) takes his own life at 33
  • Jan 11 (Charles) Gene Dinwiddie, American blues saxophonist (Paul Butterfield Blues Band), dies at 65
  • Jan 11 George Jinda, Hungarian-American smooth jazz and world music percussionist (Special EFX), dies from multiple medical condition complications at 41
  • Jan 12 Edward Staempfli, Swiss pianist, conductor, and composer, dies at 93
  • Jan 13 Kurt Brüggemann, German composer, conductor, and music educator, dies at 93
  • Jan 16 Eddie Meduza, Swedish composer (b. 1948)
  • Jan 17 Héctor Tosar, Uruguayan pianist and composer, dies at 78
  • Jan 20 Henry Cosby, American songwriter, musician and producer for Motown ("Tears of a Clown"), dies at 73
  • Jan 20 Ivan Karabits, Ukrainian composer, conductor, and educator, dies at 57

Peggy Lee (1920-2002)

Jan 21 American singer ("Fever"; "Is That All There Is?"), songwriter ("Mañana"), and actress (Pete Kelly's Blues; Lady and the Tramp), dies of a heart attack at 81

  • Jan 22 Peter Bardens, English musician (Camel), dies of cancer at 56
  • Jan 22 Sheldon Allman, American-Canadian actor, singer, and songwriter (Nevada Smith, Harris Against the World), dies at 77
  • Jan 23 Igor Kipnis, American harpsichordist, pianist, conductor, and educatordies of renal cancer at 71
  • Jan 30 Carlo Karges, German guitarist and songwriter (Nena - "99 Luftballons"), dies of liver failure at 50
  • Jan 30 Ellis Larkins, American classically trained (1st Black student at Peabody Institute) jazz pianist (Ruby Braff), and accompanist (Ella Fitzgerald; Eartha Kitt, Mildred Bailey), dies at 79
  • Jan 31 Henry Kloss, American audio engineer (acoustic loudspeaker), dies at 73
  • Feb 1 Hildegard Knef, German actress, singer, and writer (Touch of Class; Mozambique), dies at 76
  • Feb 2 Paul Baloff, American singer (Exodus) (b. 1960)
  • Feb 9 Vicente Sardinero, Spanish operatic lyric baritone, dies at 65
  • Feb 10 Dave Van Ronk, American folk singer and songwriter, dies at 65

Waylon Jennings (1937-2002)

Feb 13 American country singer and guitarist ("I'm A Ramblin' Man"), dies of diabetic complications at 64

  • Feb 14 Mick Tucker, English rock drummer (Sweet - "Ballroom Blitz"), dies of leukemia at 54
  • Feb 16 Billy Ward, American singer and songwriter (Billy Ward and his Dominoes), dies at 80
  • Feb 18 Nathan Perelman, Soviet Russian pianist and pedagogue, dies at 95
  • Feb 24 Arthur Lyman, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player (b. 1932)
  • Feb 24 Leo Ornstein, Russian-American composer and pianist, (born about 1893)
  • Feb 26 Oskar Sala, German physicist, composer, electronic music pioneer, and Trautonium (an early synthesizer) player, dies at 91
  • Feb 28 Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer, dies at 82
  • Mar 3 Harlan Howard, American country music songwriter ("I Fall To Pieces"; "Busted"; "Too Many Rivers"), dies at 74
  • Mar 4 Eric Flynn, British actor and singer (b. 1939)
  • Mar 7 Abdul Mati [Matias Klarwein], French artist known for his works used on music album covers (Santana's Abraxus; Miles Davis' Bitches Brew; Osibisa's Heads; Jon Hassel's Dream Theory), dies at 69
  • Mar 9 Normand Lockwood, American composer (The Closing Doxology; The Hanging Judge), and educator, dies at 95
  • Mar 12 John "Speedy" Keen, British musician, songwriter, producer (Thunderclap Newman - "Something in the Air"), dies of heart failure at 56
  • Mar 15 Marshall Leib [Leibovitz], American pop singer (Teddy Bears - "To Know Him Is To Love Him"), and record producer, dies of a heart attack at 62
  • Mar 18 Gösta Winbergh, Swedish tenor, dies at 58
  • Mar 23 Eileen Farrell, American soprano (I Got A Right To Sing The Blues; Metropolitan Opera, 1960-66) and film voice (Interrupted Melody), dies at 82
  • Mar 26 (Randolpho) Randy Castillo, American rock and mariachi drummer (Ozzy Osbourne; Mötley Crüe; Azul), dies of cancer at 51
  • Mar 26 Joe Schermie [Schermetzler], American bass player (Three Dog Night - "Joy to the World"), dies of a heart attack at 56

Dudley Moore (1935-2002)

Mar 27 English comedian, actor (10; Arthur; Bedazzled), jazz pianist, and composer, dies of progressive supranuclear palsy and pneumonia at 66

  • Mar 30 Anand Bakshi, Indian poet and lyricist, dies of multiple organ failure at 72
  • Mar 31 Lucio San Pedro, Filipino composer ("Sa Ugoy ng Duyan"), dies at 89
  • Apr 3 Fad Gadget [Francis Tovey], English singer and musician, dies of a heart attack at 45
  • Apr 5 Layne Staley, American rock singer and guitarist (Alice in Chains - Dirt), dies at 34
  • Apr 15 William Leonard "Will" Reed, British pianist and composer, dies at 91
  • Apr 20 Alan Dale, American singer (Alan Dale Show), dies at 76

Lisa Lopes (1971-2002)

Apr 25 American singer (TLC), dies in a car crash at 30

  • May 3 Evgeny Svetlanov, Russian conductor (USSR State Symphony, 1965-2000; Residentie Orchestra 1992-2000), pianist, and composer (Siberian Fantasy), dies at 73
  • May 4 Dane Škerl, Slovene conductor, composer (Rhapsodic Symphony), and teacher, dies at 70
  • May 6 Murray Adaskin, Canadian violinist, composer, conductor (Saskatoon Symphony), and teacher (University of Saskatchewan), dies at 96
  • May 6 Otis Blackwell, American songwriter ("Fever"; "Don't Be Cruel"; "Great Balls Of Fire"; All Shook Up"), dies of a heart attack at 70
  • May 7 Xavier Montsalvatge, Spanish composer (El gato con botas), dies at 90
  • May 9 Leon Stein, American composer, dies at 81
  • May 10 George Cates, American composer and orchestra leader (Lawrence Welk Show), dies at 90
  • May 17 Sharon Sheeley, American songwriter (Somethin' Else), dies of complications following a cerebral hemorrhage at 62
  • May 28 Jean Berger [Arthur Schloßberg], German-born American composer, dies at 92
  • Jun 5 Curtis Amy, American jazz musician (Way Down), dies at 72
  • Jun 5 Dee Dee Ramone [Douglas Colvin], American punk rock bassist (Ramones. 1974-89 - "I Wanna Be Sedated"), dies of a heroin overdose at 51
  • Jun 6 Robbin Crosby, American heavy metal rock guitarist and vocalist (Ratt - "Round & Round"), dies at 42
  • Jun 13 Ralph Shapey, American composer (Fantasy, Rituals), dies at 81
  • Jun 17 Francisco Escudero, Basque composer, dies at 89
  • Jun 21 Matt Dennis, American pop singer, pianist, composer, and arranger ("Everything Happens To Me"; "Angel Eyes"), dies at 88
  • Jun 26 Dolores Gray [Sylvia Dolores Finkelstein], American Tony Award-winning stage and screen singer and actress (Designing Woman; Kismet; Destry Rides Again), dies of a heart attack at 78
  • Jun 27 John Entwistle, English rock bassist (The Who - "Boris The Spider"), dies in his sleep of a cocaine fueled heart attack in his Las Vegas hotel room at 57
  • Jun 27 Russ Freeman, American classically trained bebop and cool jazz pianist and composer (Art Pepper; Charlie Parker; Chet Baker; Clifford Brown; Shelly Manne), dies at 76
  • Jun 29 Rosemary Clooney, American singer ("Come On-a My House") and actress (White Christmas), dies of lung cancer at 74
  • Jul 2 Earle Brown, American composer (open form), dies at 75
  • Jul 2 Ray Brown, American jazz double bassist (Oscar Peterson; Ella Fitzgerald), dies in his sleep at 75
  • Jul 5 Grant Beglarian, Armenian-American composer (Of Fables, Foibles, and Fancies), educator (University of Southern California, 1969-86), and arts administrator,dies at 74
  • Jul 5 Harold "Duke" Dejan, Creole-American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader (Olympia Brass Band), dies at 93
  • Jul 6 István Sárközy, Hungarian composer, dies at 81
  • Jul 11 Rosco Gordon, American R&B pianist, singer, and songwriter ("Booted"; "No More Doggin'"), dies of a heart attack at 74
  • Jul 14 Carlos Fariñas, Cuban avant-garde composer, dies at 67
  • Jul 19 Alan Lomax, American ethnomusicologist, and folklorist (Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song), dies at 87
  • Jul 21 Gus Dudgeon [Angus Boyd Dudgeon], British pop record producer (Elton John, early David Bowie), dies in a car crash at 59
  • Jul 22 Marion Montgomery [Marian Runnells], American-British jazz singer ("Maybe the Morning"), dies of lung cancer at 67
  • Jul 28 Glenn Loren Glasow, American composer, dies at 78
  • Aug 9 Paul Samson, British guitarist (Samson), dies at 49

Michael Houser (1962-2002)

Aug 10 American guitarist (Widespread Panic), dies of pancreatic cancer at 40

  • Aug 14 Dave Williams, American rock singer (Drowning Pool), dies of heart failure due to undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at 30
  • Aug 22 Mark Bucci, American opera, theater, and film composer and lyricist (1959 Arts & Letters Award), dies at 78
  • Aug 25 William Warfield, American concert bass-baritone singer and actor (Show Boat), dies from neck injuries suffered in a fall at 82
  • Aug 26 Miguel Querol Gavalda, Spanish musicologist and composer, dies at 90
  • Aug 29 Paul Tripp, American TV host (Mr I Magination), songwriter (Tubby the Tuba), and children's book writer (Rabbi Santa Claus), dies at 91
  • Aug 31 Lionel Hampton, American Jazz vibraphone player, pianist, drummer, and actor, dies from congestive heart failure at 94
  • Sep 4 Vlado Perlemuter, Lithuanian-French pianist, dies at 98
  • Sep 7 Erma Franklin, American gospel and R&B singer ("Piece Of My Heart"), dies at 64
  • Sep 17 (Michael) "Dodo" Marmarosa, American big band and bebop jazz pianist, composer, and arranger (Artie Shaw), dies at 76
  • Sep 24 Tim Rose, American singer-songwriter, dies at 62
  • Sep 25 Wanda Luzzato, Italian concert violinist and teacher dies at 83
  • Oct 12 Ray Conniff, American bandleader and musician (Ray Conniff Singers), dies at 85
  • Oct 14 Norbert Schultze, German songwriter (Lili Marleen), opera and film score composer and reformed propagandist, dies at 91
  • Oct 17 (George) Derek Bell, Northern Irish harpist, pianist, oboist, musicologist, and composer (The Chieftans; "Three Images of Ireland in Druid Times"), dies of a heart attack at 66 [1]
  • Oct 18 Roman Tam, Hong Kong singer (b. 1950)

Adolph Green (1914-2002)

Oct 23 American screenwriter (On The Town; Singin' in the Rain), lyricist ("Bells Are Ringing"; "Just In Time"), and playwright (It's Always Fair Weather) - all usually with collaborator Betty Comden, dies at 87

Richard Harris (1930-2002)

Oct 25 Irish actor (A Man Called Horse, This Sporting Life) and singer ("MacArthur Park"), dies of Hodgkin's disease at 72

  • Oct 27 Tom Dowd, American recording engineer and producer (innovator of multitrack recording), dies of emphysema at 77
  • Oct 30 Jam Master Jay [Jason Mizell], American rapper, DJ and musician (Run-DMC), fatally shot by a drug dealer at 37
  • Oct 30 Rudolf Brucci [Bruči], Italian-Croatian composer (Gilgamesh; Lesta), and educator, dies at 85
  • Nov 3 (Anthony) "Lonnie" Donegan, British-Scottish singer-songwriter ( as "the King of Skiffle" ("Rock Island Line"; "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)"), known as the "King of Skiffle", dies after a heart attack at 71
  • Nov 5 Billy Guy [Frank Phillips], American baritone pop singer (The Coasters, 1955-73 - "Charlie Brown"; "Youngblood"), and record producer, dies of cardiovascular disease at 66
  • Nov 13 Michael “Mike” Stewart, American music producer and guitarist (We Five - Let's Get Together), commits suicide at 57
  • Nov 21 Hadda Brooks, American jazz singer, pianist, and composer (b. 1916)
  • Nov 22 Arne Mellnäs, Swedish contemporary classical composer (Aura; Capricorn Flakes; Rolando furioso), and educator (Royal College of Music, 1963-83), dies at 69
  • Nov 26 Polo Montañez, Cuban son cubano singer-songwriter and guitarist, dies from injuries suffered in a car crash at 47
  • Nov 28 Dave "Snaker" Ray, American country blues musician, dies of lung cancer at 59
  • Dec 4 Bernie Dwyer, British rock drummer (Freddie and The Dreamers - "I'm Telling You Now"), dies at 61
  • Dec 5 Arvell Shaw, American jazz double-bassist (Louis Armstrong; Teddy Wilson), dies at 79
  • Dec 9 Mary Hansen, Australian guitarist and singer (Stereolab), dies at 36
  • Dec 11 Lou Stein, American pianist (Tonight! America After Dark), dies at 80
  • Dec 13 Zal Yanovsky, Canadian rock guitarist (Lovin' Spoonful - "Do You Believe in Magic?"), dies of a heart attack at 57
  • Dec 14 Ruth Kobart [Kahn], American actor and singer (King's Quest VII, Forum), dies at 78
  • Dec 22 Joe Strummer, British lead singer of the punk band "The Clash" (Rock the Casbah), dies at age 50
  • Dec 24 Luciano Chailly, Italian opera composer (L'Idiota) and artistic director (La Scala), dies at 82
  • Dec 31 Kevin Macmichael, Canadian guitarist, songwriter and record producer (Cutting Crew - "(I Just) Died in Your Arms"), dies of lung cancer at 51