Musicians Who Died in 2003

Maurice Gibb (1949-2003)

Jan 12 English rock-pop-disco singer-songwriter and bassist (Bee Gees - Saturday Night Fever), dies of cardiac arrest at 53

Jan 15 Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter ("Tutti Frutti"; You Always Hurt the One You Love": "Tampico"), dies at 87
Jan 16 Henryk Czyz, Polish composer and musician, dies at 79
Jan 17 Balint Vazsonyi, Hingarian pianist (b. 1936)
Jan 26 John Browning, American pianist (Leventritt Award-1956), dies at 69
Jan 30 Joan Franks Williams, American contemporary classical composer, and promoter (founder of New Dimensions in Music (NDM)), dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 72
Feb 1 Mongo Santamaria, Cuban Latin jazz percussionist and bandleader, dies at 85
Feb 1 Nancy Whiskey [Anne Wilson], Scottish folk singer and guitarist ("Freight Train"), dies at 67
Feb 2 Lou Harrison, American composer (La Koro Sutro), dies of a heart attack at 85
Feb 4 Jerome Hines [Heinz], American operatic bass (I am The Way), dies at 81
Feb 5 Charlie Biddle, American-Canadian jazz double bassist, and music promoter, dies at 76
Feb 9 (Reuben) "Ruby" Braff, American jazz trumpeter and cornetist, dies of heart failure while suffering from emphysema at 73
Feb 19 Johnny Paycheck [Donald Lytle], American country singer ("ake This Job and Shove It"), dies after contracting emphysema and asthma at 64
Feb 20 Ty Longley, American guitarist (Great White), dies in The Station nightclub fire at 31
Feb 23 Howard "Howie" Epstein, American bass guitarist (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, 1982-2002), dies from an overdose at 47
Feb 24 Walter Scharf, American film composer (Jerry Lewis movies; The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau), dies of heart failure at 92
Feb 26 Ivan Marinov, Bulgarian orchestral and opera conductor, composer, and pedagogue, dies at 74
Feb 27 John Lanchbery, British-Australian composer and conductor (Royal Ballet, 1959-72; Australian Ballet, 1972-77; American Ballet Theatre, 1978-80), dies at 79
Mar 2 Hank Ballard [John Henry Kendricks], American rocker (The Midnighters - "The Twist" - pre-Chubber Checker), dies at 75
Mar 2 Malcolm Williamson, Australian composer, dies at 71
Mar 3 Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer (Beatitudines), dies at 98
Mar 5 Gerhard Rosenfeld, German opera and film score composer, dies at 72
Mar 8 Adam Faith [Terence Wright], English pop and rock singer ("What Do You Want?"; "Poor Me"), actor (Budgie; Love Hurts), and financial journalist, dies of a heart attack at 62
Mar 13 Enriko Josif, Serbian composer and pedagogue (Lyric Symphony), dies at 78
Mar 13 Ian Samwell, British songwriter and record producer (Cliff Richard; Small Faces; America), dies at 66
Mar 23 Fritz Spiegl, Austrian-British classical flautist, broadcaster, composer, and wit, dies at 77
Mar 24 Dave Dallwitz, South Australian jazz and classical pianist, bandleader, composer, and visual artist, dies at 88
Mar 27 Edwin Carr, New Zealand classical composer, dies at 76
Mar 28 (Farrell) "Rusty" Draper, American country and pop singer ("The Shifting, Whispering Sands"; "Are You Satisfied?"), dies of pneumonia at 80
Mar 31 Emmanuel Ghent, Canadian-American electronic music composer (Phosphones), dies at 77
Mar 31 Tommy Seebach, Danish rock keyboardist, singer (Sir Henry and His Butlers), and songwriter (Eurovision), dies at 53
Apr 1 Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong actor, singer and composer (Farewell My Concubine), commits suicide at 46
Apr 2 (Charles) Edwin Starr [Hatcher], American soul and R&B singer ("War"), dies of a heart attack at 61
Apr 3 Homer Banks, American singer and songwriter ("Be What You Are"), dies at 61
Apr 6 Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian percussionist (Drums of Passion), educator, and social activist, dies at 75
Apr 7 Jutta Hipp, German-American jazz pianist and composer, dies at 78

Little Eva (1943-2003)

Apr 10 American pop singer ("The Loco-motion"; "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby"), dies of cervical cancer at 59

Apr 17 Earl King, American R&B and blues guitarists, singer, and songwriter ("Come On"; "Big Chief"), dies from diabetes-related complications at 69
Apr 19 Conrad Leonard, British composer and pianist, dies at 104

Apr 21 American jazz pianist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and civil rights activist (“Mississippi Goddam”; “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black”, “Feeling Good”; “Wild Is The Wind”), dies of breast cancer at 70

Apr 22 Felice Bryant, American songwriter (Bye Bye Love; Wake Up Little Susie), dies at 77
May 2 George Wyle [Bernard Weissman], American composer ("The Ballad of Gilligan's Island"; "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"), and orchestra leader (The Flip Wilson Show), dies at 87
May 5 David Lewin, American composer, dies at 69
May 11 Noel Redding, English bassist (The Jimi Hendrix Experience - "Purple Haze"), dies from cirrhosis of the liver at 57

June Carter Cash (1929-2003)

May 15 American Grammy Award-winning country singer (The Carter Family; Johnny Cash Show), songwriter ("Ring of Fire"), and actress, dies from complications after heart valve replacement surgery at 73

May 23 Csaba Szabo. Hungarian composer, dies at 67
May 23 Edward Boguslawski, Polish composer, dies at 62
May 25 Jeremy Michael Ward, American musician (The Mars Volta), dies of a heroin overdose at 27
May 27 Luciano Berio, Italian composer (Chemins), dies at 77
May 28 Janet Collins, American ballerina, choreographer, and teacher, dies at 86
May 30 Mickie Most [Michael Hayes], British record producer (Herman's Hermits; The Nashville Teens; Donovan; Lulu), dies of stomach cancer at 64
Jun 2 Július Kowalski, Slovak composer, dies at 91
Jun 5 Manuel Rosenthal, French composer and conductor, dies at 98
Jun 6 Dave Rowberry, English rocker (The Animals -"House of the Rising Sun"), dies at 62
Jun 11 William Marshall, American stage and screen actor, director, and operatic singer (Frederick Douglass: Slave and Statesman; Blacula; Scream Blacula Scream), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 78
Jun 13 Harold Ashby, American jazz tenor saxophonist (Willie Dixon; Duke Ellington, 1968-75), dies at 78
Jun 15 Momo "Wandel" Soumah, Guinean jazz and world music saxophonist and singer (Matchowé; Circus Baobob), dies at about 77 [b. 1926, exact birthday undocumented]
Jun 19 Michael "Peanuts" Hucko, American big band jazz and session clarinetist (Glenn Miller's Army-Air Force Band; Lawrence Welk Show), dies at 85
Jul 1 Herbie Mann, American jazz flutist ("Hijack"; Push Push; Memphis Underground), dies at 73
Jul 4 André Claveau, French singer (b. 1915)

Barry White (1944-2003)

Jul 4 American singer ("Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe"; "You're The First, The Last, My Everything"), dies at 58

Jul 6 Skip Battin, American singer-songwriter (The Byrds), dies at 69
Jul 7 Izhak Graziani, Bulgarian-born conductor (b. 1924)
Jul 8 Kunio Toda, Japanese composer, dies at 87
Jul 12 (Bennett) "Benny" Carter, American Grammy Award-winning jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, arranger, composer ("Harlem Renaissance Suite"), and bandleader, dies at 93
Jul 13 Compay Segundo [Máximo Muñoz-Telles], Cuban trova guitarist, singer, and composer (Buena Vista Social Club), dies at 95
Jul 15 Elisabeth Welch, American born British-based singer (Stormy Weather), dies at 99
Jul 16 Celia Cruz, Cuban-American Grammy Award-winning guaracha, salsa, and bolero singer (La Sonora Matancera, 1950-65), known as 'the Queen of Salsa', dies of cancer at 77
Jul 17 Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist (Bach & Rock), dies at 88
Jul 25 Erik Brann [Braunn], American violin prodigy and rock guitarist (Iron Butterfly - "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"), dies of congenital heart disease at 52
Jul 27 Artie Anton, American jazz drummer, conguero, and timbalero (Stan Kenton, Jimmy Guiffre), dies at 79
Jul 30 Sam Phillips, American record producer and founder of Sun Records and Sun Studios, dies at 80
Aug 2 Don Estelle [Ronald Edwards], British actor and singer ("It Ain't Half Hot Mum"), dies at 70
Aug 3 (John) Roger Voudouris, American singer and songwriter (Get Used To It), dies of liver disease at 48
Aug 8 Maki Ishii, Japanese composer, dies at 66
Aug 9 Chester Ludgin, American operatic baritone (New York City Opera, 1957-91; San Francisco Opera, 1962-85), dies of cancer at 78 [1]
Aug 9 Gregory Hines, American actor and dancer (White Nights; Taps), dies of liver cancer at 57
Aug 10 Bill Perkins, American cool jazz tenor saxophonist (Woody Herman; Stan Kenton; Bud Shank; The Tonight Show Band, 1970-82), and recording engineer, dies of cancer at 79
Aug 10 Carmita Jiménez, Puerto Rican singer (Tierra Rica"; "La Vida En Rosa"), dies of cancer at 64
Aug 13 Ed Townsend, American doo-wop singer, songwriter, and producer ("For Your Love"; Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On"), dies at 73
Aug 15 Gösta Sundqvist, Finnish songwriter and singer (Leevi and the Leavings), dies of a heart attack at 43
Aug 16 Andrew Pryce Jackman, British progressive rock keyboardist, arranger and composer, dies of a heart attack at 67
Aug 18 Tony Jackson, British bass player (The Searchers, 1962-64 - "Sugar And Spice"), dies from a combination of diabetes, heart disease, and cirrhosis of the liver at 65
Aug 21 Wesley Willis, American underground singer-songwriter, and visual artist, dies of leukemia at 40
Aug 22 Imperio Argentina [María Magdalena Nile], Argentinian-Spanish singer and actress, dies at 92
Aug 26 Wayne Andre, American jazz and session trombonist, dies at 72
Aug 26 Wilma Burgess, American country-pop singer (Baby; Misty Blue), dies of a heart attack at 64
Aug 31 Jaap Geraedts, Dutch composer, dies at 79
Sep 2 Bruce Waibel, American touring and session rock bassist (Gregg Allman; Firehouse), takes his own life at 45
Sep 3 (Rebert) R. H. Harris, American gospel singer (The Soul Stirrers), dies at 84
Sep 4 Lola Bobesco, Romanian-born violinist (b. 1921)
Sep 4 Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist and orchestra leader (Ripley's Game), dies at 82
Sep 5 Gisele MacKenzie [LaFlèche], Canadian singer and actress (Your Hit Parade), dies at 76
Sep 5 Ian Hunter, British impresario of classical music, dies at 84
Sep 6 Harry Goz, American musical theatre actor and voice actor, dies at 71
Sep 7 Warren Zevon, American rock singer-songwriter and musician ("Werewolves of London"; "Lawyers, Guns and Money"; "Excitable Boy"), dies of pleural mesothelioma at 56

Johnny Cash (1932-2003)

Sep 12 American country singer ("I Walk the Line"; "Ring of Fire"; "A Boy Named Sue"), dies at 71

Sep 14 John Serry, Sr., American classical, jazz, and bolero accordionist, arranger, composer, organist, and educator, dies at 88
Sep 15 Jack Brymer, British classical clarinetist (Royal Philharmonic; BBC Symphony; London Symphony), and teacher, dies at 88
Sep 16 Sheb Wooley, American vocalist (Purple People Eater, Hee Haw), dies at 82
Sep 17 Ljubica Marić, Serbian composer (Songs Of Space; Octoïcha), pianist, and pedagogue, dies at 94
Sep 19 Anatoly Bogatyrev, Belarusian composer, dies at 90
Sep 19 Johnny Best, American big band jazz and session trumpeter (Artie Shaw; Glenn Miller), dies at 89
Sep 19 Slim Dusty [David Kirkpatrick], Australian country music singer-songwriter, dies of cancer at 76
Sep 21 Tom Glazer, American folk singer and songwriter (Because All Men Are Brothers; A Dollar Ain't A Dollar Anymore), dies at 88
Sep 24 Rosalie Allen, American country singer, yodeler, and disc jockey, dies of congestive heart failure at 79
Sep 26 Augustinus Franz Kropfreiter, Austrian organist and composer, dies at 67
Sep 26 Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter ("Addicted To Love"; The Power Station), dies of a heart attack at 54
Sep 26 Shawn Lane, American session rock, jazz, and world fusion guitarist, dies of lung issues at 40
Sep 27 Donald O'Connor, American dancer and actor (Singin' in the Rain), dies at 78
Sep 27 Paul Burlison, American rockabilly musician (The Rock N Roll Trio), dies at 74
Sep 30 Ronnie Dawson, American rockabilly guitarist (Rockabilly Hall of Fame, 1998), dies of cancer at 64 [1]
Oct 1 (Greig) "Chubby" Jackson, American big band jazz double-bassist, bandleader, and TV host, dies at 84
Oct 7 Arthur Berger, American composer (Ideas of Order), music critic, and educator (Brandeis, 1953-80; New England Conservatory of Music, 1980-99), dies at 91
Oct 10 Eugene Istomin, American pianist (Leventritt Award-1943), dies at 77
Oct 12 Ram Gopal, Indian-English dancer (Blue Peter, Purple Plain), dies at 90
Oct 21 (Steven) Elliott Smith, American Academy Award nominated singer-songwriter (Good Will Hunting - "Miss Misery"), dies of suspected self-inflicted stab wounds at 34 [1]
Oct 23 Tony Capstick, English actor, comedian, and musician. dies of an aneurysm at 59
Oct 25 Robert Strassburg, American composer, conductor and educator (Leaves of Grass: A Choral Symphony), dies at 88
Oct 26 Roberto Garcia Morillo, Argentine composer and music critic, dies at 92
Oct 29 Franco Corelli, Italian tenor, dies after suffering a stroke at 82
Oct 30 Abel Ehrlich, Israeli composer, dies at 88
Oct 31 Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Indian Carnatic vocalist, dies at 95
Nov 1 Joji "George" Kawaguchi Japanese jazz drummer and bandleader, dies at 76
Nov 1 Kent Kennan, American composer, dies at 90
Nov 5 Bobby Hatfield, American singer (Righteous Brothers - "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"), dies of acute cocaine toxicity at 63
Nov 8 Guy Speranza, American heavy metal singer (Riot, 1975-81), dies of pancreatic cancer at 47
Nov 12 Tony Thompson, American session and touring drummer (Chic; LaBelle; The Power Station), dies of renal cancer at 48
Nov 14 Gene Anthony Ray, American dancer and actor (Fame - "Leroy"), dies from complications of a stroke at 41
Nov 15 (Wesley) "Speedy" West, American, Country Music Hall of Fame steel guitar player, and record producer, dies at 79
Nov 15 Dorothy Loudon, American actress and singer (Annie), dies of cancer at 78
Nov 17 Arthur Conley, American singer ("Sweet Soul Music"), dies of intestinal cancer at 57
Nov 17 Don Gibson, American country musician ("Sweet Dreams"), dies at 75
Nov 17 Surjit Bindrakhia [Bains], Punjabi Bhangra singer ("Lakk Tunoo Tunoo"; "Dupatta Tera Satrang Da"), dies of cardiac arrest at 41
Nov 18 Michael Kamen, American composer and arranger (film scores to Brazil and Mr. Holland's Opus; Pink Floyd), dies from a heart attack at 55
Nov 19 Greg Ridley, British rock bassist (Spooky Tooth; Humble Pie), dies of pneumonia at 56
Nov 21 Teddy Randazzo, American pop singer-songwriter (I'm on the Outside Looking In), dies at 68
Nov 26 Meyer Kupferman, American composer (Infinites), clarinetist, and educator (Sarah Lawrence College, 1951-94), dies of heart failure at 76 [1]
Nov 26 Soulja Slim [James Adarryl Tapp Jr.], American rapper (Slow Motion), shot to death by an assailant at 26
Nov 27 Riccardo Malipiero, Italian pianist, composer, critic, and educator, dies at 89
Dec 5 Yehoshua Lakner, Israeli pianist, composer (Circles and Signals; Cornerstones), and teacher, dies at 79
Dec 6 Hans Hotter, German operatic bass-baritone, dies at 94
Dec 8 Rubén González, Cuban pianist (Buena Vista Social Club) (b. 1919)
Dec 16 Gary Stewart, American country singer (She's Actin' Single), commits suicide by shooting himself in the neck at 59
Dec 22 Dave Dudley, American country singer (Six Days on the Road), dies at 75
Dec 22 Rose Hill, British actress and operatic soprano ('Allo 'Allo!, Nicholas Nickleby, Shot in the Dark), dies at 89
Dec 26 Ivan Petrov [Krauze], Russian-Soviet operatic bass (Bolshoi Theatre, 1942-70), and educator, dies at 83
Dec 30 Anita Mui, Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress, "Madonna of the East", dies of cancer at 40