Musicians Who Died in 2005

Jan 29 Eric Griffiths, Welsh guitarist (The Quarrymen), dies of cancer at 64
Jan 29 Yutaka Makino, Japanese composer, dies at 74
Jan 30 Martyn Bennett [-Knight], Canadian-Scottish celtic-fusion piper, pianist, and composer, dies of cancer at 33
Jan 30 Wes Wehmiller, American touring and session bass guitarist (Duran Duran; Missing Persons), dies of thyroid cancer at 33
Feb 1 Franco Mannino, Italian pianist, conductor, classical concert, opera, and film score composer (Death in Venice; Il diavolo in giardino), dies at 80
Feb 6 Lazar Berman, Russian pianist (Budapes,t 3rd place - 1956), dies at 74
Feb 8 Helmut Eder, Austrian composer, dies at 88
Feb 8 Jimmy Smith, American jazz musician and organist (Walk On The Wild Side), dies at 79
Feb 8 Keith Knudsen, American drummer, vocalist and songwriter (The Doobie Brothers; Southern Pacific), dies of pneumonia at 56
Feb 9 Tyrone Davis, American R&B singer ("Can I Change My Mind"; "Turn Back The Hands Of Time"), dies of complications from a stroke at 66
Feb 12 Sammi Smith, American country music singer (Help Me Make It Through the Night), dies at 61
Feb 13 Sixten Ehrling, Swedish pianist, conductor (Royal Opera of Stockholm, 1953-60; Detroit Symphony, 1963-73), and educator (Juilliard, 1973-87), dies at 86
Feb 15 Pierre Bachelet, French singer and songwriter, dies of lung cancer at 60
Feb 20 John Raitt, American stage and screen singer and actor (Carousel; Pajama Game), dies from pneumonia at 88
Feb 20 Pam Bricker, American jazz singer (Thievery Corporation) takes her own life at 50

Feb 21 Ara Berberian, American opera bass singer (Metropolitan Opera, 1979-97), dies at 74
Feb 25 Edward Patten, American soul singer (Gladys Knight & the Pips), dies of a stroke at 65
Feb 28 Chris Curtis [Crummey], British rock drummer, songwriter and vocalist (The Searchers - "Needles And Pins"), dies at 63
Mar 2 Ivan Parik, Czech classical and electro-acoustic composer (Quadrophony), dies at 68
Mar 2 Martin Denny, American exotica musician, dies at 93
Mar 4 Robert Consoli, American actor and musician (b. 1964)
Mar 4 Una Hale, Australian soprano (b. 1922)
Mar 5 Sergiu Comissiona, Romanian-Israeli-American conductor (Haifa Symphony 1959-64), dies at 76
Mar 8 Larry Bunker, American session and West Coast jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and timpanist (Bill Evans, Lalo Schifrin, The 5th Dimension, Peggy Lee), dies from complications of a stroke at 76
Mar 9 Chris LeDoux, American country singer (Ridin' for a Fall), dies at 56
Mar 10 Danny Joe Brown, American singer (Molly Hatchet), dies of pneumonia at 53
Mar 10 Mindy Jostyn, American session and touring vocalist, violinist, guitarist, accordionist, and harmonica player (New York Rock and Soul Revue; Billy Joel; Andreas Vollenweider; Carly Simon; Cyndi Lauper), and singer-songwriter ("Five Miles From Hope"; "Coming Home"), dies of cancer at 48
Mar 12 Stavros Koujioumtzis, Greek songwriter (b. 1932)
Mar 13 Lyn Collins [Gloria Lavern Collins], American soul singer (Think About It), dies from cardiac arrhythmia at 56
Mar 17 (Eduardo) "Lalo" Guerrero, American guitarist, Chicano singer-songwriter (Los Carlistas), and women's rights activist, dies at 88

Mar 21 Bobby Short, American cabaret singer and pianist, dies at 80
Mar 22 Rod Price, British rock and blues guitar and slide guitar player (Foghat, 1971-80 - "Slow Ride"), dies of a heart attack at 57
Mar 26 Paul Hester, Australian drummer (Split Enz and Crowded House) (b. 1959)
Mar 27 Grant Johannesen, American concert pianist, dies at 83
Mar 27 Gwydion Brooke [Holbrooke], British bassoonist (Royal Philharmonic, 1946-1961), dies at 93
Mar 28 Dame Moura Lympany, British pianist (b. 1916)
Mar 30 Derrick Plourde, American punk rock drummer, takes his own life at 33
Mar 30 Emil Dimitrov, Bulgarian singer (b. 1940)
Apr 1 Alexander Brott, Canadian violinist, conductor, educator, and composer (McGill Chamber Orchestra), dies at 90
Apr 1 Harald Juhnke, German actor, comedian and entertainer (Guitars of Love; Schtonk), dies at 75
Apr 1 Jack Keller, American songwriter, and record producer ("Run To Him"; "Breakin' In A Brand New Broken Heart"; theme to Bewitched), dies of leukemia at 68
Apr 3 Tony Croatto [Hermes Martinis], Italian-Puerto Rican folk song singer and composer (Los TNT; Haciendo Punto en Otro Son), and television presenter, dies of cancer at 65
Apr 7 Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer, dies at 82
Apr 7 José Melis, Cuban-American pianist, orchestra leader, and television personality (Jack Paar Program), dies of a respiratory infection at 85
Apr 10 (Wladimir) "Wally" Tax, Dutch rock singer-songwriter, and guitarist (The Outsiders; Tax Free), dies at 57
Apr 10 Norbert Brainin, Austrian-British violinist (Amadeus Quartet, 1947-87), dies at 82
Apr 13 Johnnie Johnson, American blues & jazz piano player (Chuck Berry's band), dies of kidney problems and pneumonia at 80
Apr 13 Johnny Loughrey, Irish singer, dies at 59
Apr 13 [Salvador] Tutti Camarata, American composer and producer (Vic Damone Show), dies at 91

Apr 14 Benny Bailey, American jazz trumpeter, dies at 79
Apr 15 John Fred [Gourrier], American pop singer (John Fred and His Playboy Band - "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)"), dies from kidney disease at 63
Apr 18 Kenneth Schermerhorn, American conductor (American Ballet), dies at 75
Apr 19 Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish jazz bassist (b. 1946)
Apr 19 Rick Lewis, American doo-wop tenor (The Silhouettes - "Get A Job"), dies at 71
Apr 23 Robert Farnon, Canadian classical and light music composer and conductor dies at 87
Apr 28 Percy Heath, American jazz bassist (Modern Jazz Quartet), dies at 81
Apr 29 (Gwendolyn) Dianne Brooks, American R&B, jazz, session and touring vocalist (Three Playmates - "Sugah Wooga"; solo - "Walking On My Mind"; Anne Murray), dies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 66
Apr 29 Mariana Levy, Mexican actress, singer, and television show host, dies of a heart attack at 39
May 3 Pierre Moerlen, French rock-jazz fusion drummer and percussionist (Gong; Mike Oldfield), dies at 52
May 9 Nasrat Parsa, Afghani singer, dies at 36
May 10 David Wayne, American singer (Metal Church) (b. 1958)
May 11 Michalis Genitsaris, Greek rebetiko singer, and composer, dies at 88
May 12 Frankie LaRocka (Frank LaRocca), American session and touring drummer, and record producer (Spin Doctors), dies of heart surgery complications at 51
May 12 Monica Zetterlund, Swedish jazz singer (with Bill Evans - "Waltz For Debby"), and dies in an accidental apartment fire at 67
May 13 Eddie Barclay, French record producer (b. 1921)
May 22 Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor (Tony the Tiger), and bass singer ("You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"), dies from prostate cancer at 91
May 25 Ruth Laredo, American concert pianist, dies of ovarian cancer at 67
May 29 George Rochberg, American composer (Concord Quartet), dies at 86

May 29 Oscar Brown, American singer, songwriter ("Brown Baby"; "Forbidden Fruit"), playwright, and poet, dies from complications of osteomyelitis at 78
May 31 Jaime Mendoza-Nava, Bolivian-American composer and conductor, dies at 79
Jun 11 Ghena Dimitrova, Bulgarian operatic soprano, dies of cancer at 64
Jun 13 David Diamond, American composer (Paderewski Prize, 1943), dies at 89 [1]
Jun 14 Carlo Maria Giulini, Italian conductor, dies at 91
Jun 17 Henryk Majewski, Polish big band jazz trumpeter (Old Timers), dies at 69
Jun 17 Karl Mueller, American bassist (Soul Asylum - "Runaway Train"), dies of complications from esophageal cancer at 41
Jun 17 Ronald Winans, American gospel singer (Winans), dies at 48
Jun 27 Frank Harte, traditional Irish singer and song collector, dies of a heart attack at 72

Luther Vandross (1951-2005)

Jul 1 American soul singer, songwriter ("Endless Love"; "Dance With My Father"), and vocal arranger (David Bowie - Young Americans), dies of a heart attack at 54

Jul 1 Renaldo "Obie" Benson, American singer (The Four Tops - "I Can't Help Myself"), and songwriter ("What's Going On"), dies from lung cancer at 69
Jul 4 John Stubblefield, American jazz saxophonist, flute and oboe player (Mingus Big Band), dies at 60
Jul 5 Shirley Goodman, American R&B and disco singer (Shirley & Lee - "Feels So Good"; Shirley & Company - "Shame, Shame, Shame"), dies at 69
Jul 6 Richard Verreau, Canadian tenor (b. 1926)
Jul 7 Al Downing, American rockabilly piano player and singer (Big Al & The Chartbusters), dies at 65 [1]
Jul 10 Roland Bengtsson, Swedish guitarist, lute player and double bassist, dies at 88
Jul 11 Frances Langford, American singer (I'm In The Mood For Love), entertainer (Armed Forces Hour; USO tours), actress (All-American Co-Ed; Born To Dance), and philanthropist, dies of congestive heart failure at 92
Jul 14 Joe Harnell, American musician, composer and arranger, dies at 80
Jul 16 Blue Barron [Harry Freidman], American "sweet music" orchestra leader ("Cruising Down The River"), dies at 91
Jul 16 Camillo Felgen, Luxembourgish baritone pop and schlager singer ("Bonjour les amies" / "Hello Friends"), lyricist, translator ("I Want to Hold Your Hand" / "Komm, gib mir deine Hand"'; She Loves You" / "Sie liebt dich"), and broadcaster, dies at 84
Jul 17 (Lorenzo) "Laurel" Aitken, Cuban-Jamaican singer and one of the pioneers of Caribbean pop and ska music, dies of a heart attack at 78
Jul 21 Long John Baldry, British blues musician ("Don't Try to Lay No Boogie"), dies at 64
Jul 22 Eugene Record American songwriter and singer (The Chi-Lites) (b. 1940)
Jul 23 Myron Floren, American accordionist (The Lawrence Welk Show), dies at 85
Jul 23 Ted Greene, American jazz guitarist and teacher (b. 1946)
Jul 25 Albert Mangelsdorff, German jazz trombonist, dies at 76
Jul 29 Hildegarde [Sell], American cabaret vocalist (“Leave It To The Girls"; "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup"), dies at 99
Jul 30 (Eli) "Lucky" Thompson, American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist (Stan Kenton - Cuban Fire!; Milt Jackson; Miles Davis - Walkin'), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 81
Jul 31 Les Braid, English bass guitarist and singer (Swinging Blue Jeans - "Hippie-Hippie Shake), dies of lung cancer at 67
Aug 1 Al Aronowitz, American music journalist (New York Post; Saturday Evening Post), introduced The Beatles to Bob Dylan, dies of cancer at 77
Aug 4 Little Milton [James Milton Campbell], American blues singer and guitarist ("Grits Ain't Groceries"), dies at 70
Aug 4 Nick Perito, American pianist, accordion player, arranger and orchestra leader (Perry Como; Muzak; The Don Knotts Show), dies of pulmonary fibrosis at 81
Aug 5 (Lyle) "Spud" Murphy [Miko Stefanovic], Serbian-American jazz multi-instrumentalist, arranger (Benny Goodman; Casa Loma Orchestra), bandleader, composer (Columbia Pictures), and educator (Equal Interval System), dies at 96
Aug 6 (William) "Keter" Betts, American jazz double bassist (Dinah Washington; Charlie Byrd; Ella Fitzgerald), dies of a heart attack at 77
Aug 6 Carlo Little, English rock drummer (Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages), dies of lung cancer at 66
Aug 6 Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer (Los Bocucos, 1959-91; Buena Vista Social Club), dies at 78
Aug 6 James Wilson, English-Irish classical composer (Grinning At The Devil), dies at 82
Aug 16 Vassar Clements, American musician (b. 1928)
Aug 16 Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (b. 1943)
Aug 20 Krzysztof Raczkowski, Polish heavy metal drummer, dies of heart failure at 34
Aug 21 Martin Dillon, American opera singer, dies of cardiac arrest at 48
Aug 21 Robert Moog, American engineer (Moog synthesizer, Moog Music), dies of a brain tumor at 71
Aug 22 Luc Ferrari, French composer, dies at 76
Aug 23 Brock Peters [George Fisher], American actor and singer (Carmen Jones; To Kill a Mockingbird), dies at 78
Aug 23 Harold "Hal" Kalin, American singer (Kalin Twins), dies in a road accident at 71
Aug 24 Kaleth Morales, Colombian vallenato folk music singer and songwriter ("Vivo en el Limbo" - I Live in the Limbo), dies in a vehicle crash at 22
Aug 26 Denis D'Amour, Canadian heavy metal guitarist (Voivod), dies of cancer at 45
Aug 27 Bert Farber, American orchestra leader (Arthur Godfrey; Vic Damone), dies at 92
Aug 29 Barry Cowsill, American rock bassist (The Cowsills - "We Can Fly"), drowned during Hurricane Katrina at 50
Aug 30 Andor Kovach, Romanian composer (Médée), dies at 90
Sep 1 R. L. Burnside, American blues musician (Deep Blues), dies at 78 (b. 1926)
Sep 7 Sergio Endrigo, Italian singer Marianne), dies at 72
Sep 10 Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, American blues singer (Mary is Fine), dies at 81
Sep 13 Hans Joachim Koellreutter, German Brazilian composer, teacher and musicologist, dies at 90
Sep 14 Mike Elliott, American jazz and session guitarist, and audio engineer, dies at 65
Sep 14 Robert Wise, American Academy Award-winning film director (The Day the Earth Stood Still; West Side Story; The Sound Of Music), dies of heat failure at 91
Sep 16 Constance Moore, American singer and actress (Buck Rogers; Show Business; Atlantic City), dies at 85
Sep 16 Harry Freedman (Henryk Frydmann), Canadian composer, dies at 83
Sep 17 Alfred Reed, American classical composer, music editor, and educator, dies at 84
Sep 22 Heimo Erbse, German concert, opera, and theater composer (Julietta). dies at 81
Sep 25 Georges Arvanitas, French jazz pianist and organist, dies at 74
Oct 3 Adrian Ratiu, Romanian composer, dies at 77
Oct 4 Mike Gibbins, Welsh musician and drummer (Badfinger - "Come and Get It": No Matter What"), dies of a brain aneurysm at 56
Oct 6 Warren Frank Benson, American composer (The Leaves Are Falling), and educator (Eastman School, 1967-1993), dies at 81
Oct 16 "Len" Dresslar, American singer and voice actor (b. 1925)
Oct 16 David Reilly, American singer ("God Lives Underwater"), dies at 34
Oct 19 Dallas Cook, American ska-funk trombonist (Suburban Legends), killed in a motorcycle accident at 23
Oct 20 Shirley Horn, American jazz pianist and vocalist (Embers and Ashes), dies from complications of diabetes at 71
Oct 22 Franky Gee [Francisco Gutierrez], American-German rapper and pop singer ("Captain Jack"), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 43
Oct 23 Pete Nelson [Lipscomb], British pop singer (The Flower Pot Men - "Let's Go To San Francisco"), dies at 60
Oct 28 Fernando Quejas, Cape Verdean singer and musician (b. 1922)
Oct 31 John "Beatz" Holohan, American drummer (Bayside), dies in an auto accident at 31
Nov 1 (Lyle) "Skitch" Henderson, British-American pianist and orchestra leader (NBC Radio; NBC Television; New York Pops), dies at 87
Nov 1 Manuel Castillo, Andalusian classical pianist and composer, dies at 75
Nov 4 Len Barnard, Australian jazz drummer ("The Naked Dance"; Galapagos Duck), dies at 76
Nov 4 Milt Holland [Milton Olshansky], American drummer, percussionist, ethnomusicologist, and tinkle-ist (film Tinkerbell's tinkle; Bewitched - Samantha's nose tinkle), dies at 88
Nov 4 Sheree North, American actress and singer, dies at 73
Nov 5 (Fred Lincoln) "Link" Wray, Native American rock guitarist ("Rumble"), dies of heart failure at 76 [1]
Nov 5 Virginia MacWatters, American soprano, dies at 93
Nov 6 Miguel Aceves Mejía, Mexican actor, composer and singer, dies at 90
Nov 6 Minako Honda, Japanese singer and musical actress, dies of leukemia at 38
Nov 10 Gardner Read, American composer (Quiet Music for Strings; Dance of the Locomotives), and pedagogue (Boston University, 1948-78), dies at 92
Nov 14 Jeno Takacs, Austrian composer, dies at 103
Nov 20 Chris Whitley, American blues-rock guitarist, singer and songwriter, dies of lung cancer at 45
Nov 20 James King, American tenor, dies at 80
Nov 21 Bill D'Angelo, American heavy metal guitarist (Femme Fatale, 1987-90), dies of a drug overdose at 43
Nov 23 (John) "Fritz" Richmond, American folk musician (washtub bass and jug), and recording engineer, dies of lung cancer at 66 [1]
Nov 23 Beverly Tyler, American singer and actress (Fireball, The Youngest Profession, Big Town), dies at 78
Nov 27 Joe Jones, American R&B singer (b. 1926)
Nov 28 Tony Meehan, British rock drummer (Vipers; Drifters: Shadows), dies from head injury after a fall at his home, at 62
Dec 1 Dai-Keong Lee, Hawaiian-American classical and theater composer, dies at 90
Dec 3 Lance Dossor, British-Australian concert pianist, dies at 89
Dec 4 Gloria Lasso [Rosa Montserrat Coscolín], French-Spanish n canción melódica singer ("Etranger au paradis"; "Buenas noches mi amor"), dies of a heart attack at 83
Dec 5 Danny Williams, British pop singer, known as "Britain's Johnny Mathis" ("Moon River"; "White on White"), dies of lung cancer at 63
Dec 6 Danny Williams, South African-born singer (b. 1942)
Dec 8 Donald James Martino, American classical composer (Notturno - Pulitzer Prize, 1974), dies at 74
Dec 9 György Sándor, Hungarian pianist, dies at 93
Dec 13 Timothy Jordan II, American pop-rock musician (The All American Rejects; Jonezetta), takes his own life at 24
Dec 16 Enzo Stuarti [Scapone], Italian-American pop tenor (That's A'Nice!), dies at 86
Dec 25 (Märta) Birgit Nilsson, Swedish operatic soprano (Elektra, Salome), dies at 87
Dec 25 Derek Bailey, English guitar virtuoso (b. 1930)
Dec 26 Bill DeArango, American jazz guitarist (Charlie Ventura; Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis; "Slam" Stewart), dies at 85
Dec 26 Muriel Costa-Greenspon, American mezzo-soprano (b. 1937)
Dec 31 Enrico di Giuseppe, American tenor, dies of cancer at 73

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Musicians Who Died in 2005

Luther Vandross (1951-2005)

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