Musicians Who Died in 2009

Jan 31 Dewey Martin, Canadian rock drummer (Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth"), dies at 68
Jan 31 Erland von Koch, Swedish composer, dies at 98
Feb 1 Frankie Ervin, American R&B singer (The Three Blazers -"Dragnet Blues"; The Shields -"You Cheated"), dies at 82
Feb 1 Jay Uzzell, American R&B singer (Corsairs), dies at 66
Feb 1 Lukas Foss [Fuchs], German-American pianist, conductor and composer (Prairie), dies at 86
Feb 3 Max Neuhaus, American classical musician and experimental percussionist (sound sculptures), dies of cancer at 69
Feb 4 Lux Interior [Erick Lee Purkhiser], American punk rock singer (The Cramps), dies of a heart attack at 62
Feb 4 Steve Dullaghan, British bass guitarist (The Primitives - "Crash"), dies of cannabis intoxication at 45
Feb 7 Blossom Dearie, American jazz singer and pianist, dies of natural causes at 84
Feb 9 Vic Lewis, British jazz guitarist, bandleader, composer, and artist manager (NEMS), and cricket club owner, dies at 89
Feb 11 Estelle Bennett, American pop singer (The Ronettes - "Be My Baby"), dies at 67
Feb 11 Marina Svetlova, American ballerina and choreographer (Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo), dies at 86
Feb 14 Louie Bellson, American jazz drummer and orchestra leader (Pearl Bailey Show), dies at 84
Feb 15 Joe Cuba [Gilberto Calderón], Puerto-Rican-American salsa and boogaloo conga player and bandleader, dies at 77
Feb 18 (Fird) "Snooks" Eaglin, American blues and R&B guitarist and singer, dies at 72

Feb 18 Miika Tenkula, Finnish heavy metal guitarist and songwriter (Sentenced), dies of a heart attack at 34
Feb 19 Kelly Groucutt, British rock bass guitarist and vocalist (Electric Light Orchestra; ELO II; The Orchestra), dies of a heart attack at 63
Feb 22 Günter Kochan, German composer, dies at 78
Feb 25 Ian Carr, Scottish jazz musician (Nucleus), dies after suffering Alzheimer's disease at 75
Mar 4 John Cephas, American Piedmont blues guitarist (Cephas & Wiggins), dies of pulmonary at 78
Mar 4 Joseph Bloch, American concert pianist and professor of piano literature (b. 1917)
Mar 6 David Williams, American R&B, pop and rock session and touring guitarist (Michael Jackson; Madonna; Rod Stewart; Bryan Ferry), dies of cardiac arrest following a stroke at 58
Mar 6 Francis Magalona, Filipino Pinoy hip-hop rapper, songwriter, and television personality (Eat Bulaga!, 1995-2009), dies of leukemia at 44
Mar 6 Henri Pousseur, Belgian composer (Votre Faust), dies of bronchial pneumonia at 79
Mar 8 Ali Bongo [William Oliver Wallace], British comedy musician and magician (President of The Magic Circle - Shriek of Araby), dies at 79
Mar 14 Alain Bashung, French singer, songwriter, comedian and actor, dies of cancer at 61
Mar 19 Ion Dolănescu, Romanian singer and politician (b. 1944)
Mar 20 Mel Brown, American-Canadian blues guitarist and singer (Eighteen Pounds of Unclean Chitlings), dies of complications from emphysema at 69
Mar 24 Uriel Jones, American jazz and session drummer (Motown's Funk Brothers), dies from complications of a heart attack at 74
Mar 25 "England" Dan [Seals], American pop and country singer (England Dan & John Ford Coley - "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight"), dies of cancer at 61

Mar 29 Andy Hallett, American actor and singer (b.1975)
Mar 29 Maurice Jarre, French Academy and Grammy Award-winning film composer (Lawrence Of Arabia; Doctor Zhivago; Witness; Fatal Attraction), dies at 84
Apr 2 Clifford “Bud” Shank, American jazz saxophonist and flute player, dies of a pulmonary embolism at 82
Apr 8 Herbie Lovelle, America drummer, studio musician (Hot Lips Page) and actor (Law & Order), dies at 85
Apr 9 Randy Cain, American soul singer (4 Gents; Delfonics - "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)"), dies at 63
Apr 10 Richard Arnell, English classical composer, dies at 91
Apr 12 Edward Harper, English composer and pianist, dies at 68
Apr 14 Gayle Caldwell, American songwriter ("Cycles"), and folk singer (New Christy Minstrels; Jackie & Gayle), dies at 68
Apr 18 Enrique Franco, Spanish pianist, composer (Cuerda de presos), music promoter, and broadcaster (National Spanish Radio; Radio Clásica), dies at 89
Apr 24 Rev. Timothy Wright, American gospel singer (Been There Done That), and pastor, dies from injuries sustained in a car crash at 61

Bea Arthur (1922-2009)

Apr 25 American Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress (Mame; Maude; The Golden Girls), and singer, dies of lung cancer at 86

Apr 27 Frankie Manning, American dancer, instructor, choreographer, and one of the founding fathers of Lindy Hop, dies at 94
Apr 28 Ekaterina Maximova, Russian ballerina, dies at 70
Apr 28 Valeria Peter Predescu, Romanian singer, dies of a heart attack at 62
Apr 28 Vern Gosdin, American country singer ("Set 'Em Up Joe"), dies after a stroke at 74
Apr 30 Ron Richards, British record producer (Gerry and The Pacemakers; The Hollies), dies at 80
May 9 Turner Stephen Bruton, American country songwriter and musician (Crazy Heart), dies of throat cancer at 59
May 12 Antonio Vega, Spanish pop-rock singer-songwriter, dies of lung cancer at 51
May 15 Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and smooth jazz bassist, dies from the effects of cancer at 44
May 18 Dolla [Roderick Anthony Burton II], American rapper, dies at21
May 19 Nicholas Maw, British composer, dies at 73
May 24 Jay Bennett, American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and singer-songwriter (Wilco, 1994-2001), dies of an accidental overdose of prescription painkiller Fentanyl at 46
Jun 3 Koko Taylor [Cora Walton], American blues singer known as the "Queen of the Blues", dies of complications from surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding at 80
Jun 3 Sam Butera, American big band and R&B saxophonist, songwriter, and singer (Louis Prima and the Witnesses), dies of pneumonia at 81
Jun 5 Boris Pokrovsky, Russian operatic stage director, dies at 97
Jun 5 Jeff Hanson, American singer-songwriter, dies of a drug overdose at 31
Jun 7 Hugh Hopper, British progressive rock and jazz bassist (Soft Machine; Stomu Yamashta's East Wind; Carla Bley), dies of leukemia at 64
Jun 7 Kenny Rankin, American singer-songwriter ("Peaceful"), dies of lung cancer at 69
Jun 10 Barry Beckett, American keyboardist and record producer (David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, Roger Hawkins), dies from complications of a stroke at 66
Jun 14 Bob Bogle, American surf rock bassist and guitarist (Ventures - "Walk, Don't Run"), dies at 75
Jun 14 Ivan Della Mea, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
Jun 19 Ali Akbar Khan, Indian classical sarod player, composer, and music educator, dies of kidney failure at 87
Jun 22 Steve Race, British composer, jazz pianist and radio and television presenter (BBC's "My Music", 1967-94), dies at 88

Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

Jun 25 American recording artist, dancer and King of Pop ("Thriller"; "Billie Jean"; "Bad"), dies of cardiac arrest at 50

Jun 25 Sky Saxon [Richard Marsh], American rocker (The Seeds - "Pushin' To Hard"), dies from heart and renal failure at 71
Jun 26 Erhard Karkoschka, German composer, conductor (Contac-Ensemble), educator, and music scholar, dies at 86
Jun 27 Fayette Pinkney, American pop and disco singer (The Three Degrees, 1963-76 - "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)"; "When Will I See You Again?"), and psychologist, dies of acute respiratory failure at 61
Jun 27 Gale Storm [Josephine Owaissa Cottle], American singer ("I Hear You Knockin'"), and actress (My Little Margie; The Gale Storm Show), dies at 87
Jun 28 Tom Wilkes, American photographer, art director, poster and album cover designer (George Harrison; Rolling Stones; Carpenters, Sir Doug; Janis Joplin; Sandpipers), dies at 69
Jun 30 Pina Bausch, German choreographer and dancer, dies at 68
Jul 4 Drake Levin, American rock musician (b. 1946)
Jul 4 Jim Chapin, American jazz drummer, and author, dies at 89
Jul 5 Jack Ellory, British orchestral and session alto and bass flute player (Philharmonia Orchestra; The Beatles - "The Fool on the Hill"), dies at 89
Jul 6 Johnny Collins, British folk and maritime music singer (b. 1938)
Jul 11 Valentinas Bagdonas, Lithuanian composer (Symphony of Peace), dies at 79
Jul 17 Gordon Waller, Scottish pop singer (Peter & Gordon - "A World Without Love"), dies at 64
Jul 20 Ria Brieffies, Dutch singer (b. 1957)
Jul 23 Danny McBride, American musician (Sha Na Na, 1975-80), dies at 63
Jul 27 George Russell, American jazz pianist, composer, arranger (The Jazz Workshop; Jazz in the Space Age), and music theorist (Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization), dies of complications from Alzheimer's disease at 86
Jul 28 Peter Richard Tahourdin, English-Australian composer, dies at 80
Aug 4 Joe Maneri, American jazz composer, saxophone and clarinet player (Boston Microtonal Society), dies at 82
Aug 6 Bahadır Akkuzu, Turkish rock guitarist and singer (Kurtalan Ekspres), dies of a heart attack at 54
Aug 6 Willibrordus S. Rendra, Indonesian poet (Ballad orang-orang tertjina), dies at 73
Aug 6 Willy Deville [William Paul Borsey Jr.], American rock vocalist and guitarist (Mink DeVille; The Princess Bride - "Storybook Love"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 58
Aug 7 Mike Seeger, American folk musician (b. 1933)
Aug 12 Les Paul [Polsfuss], American guitarist, (How High The Moon), songwriter and inventor (solid-body electric guitar), dies at 94
Aug 15 Jim Dickinson, American record producer (Mud Boy), dies at 67
Aug 20 Larry Knechtel, American session piano and bass player (Simon and Garfunkel; Johnny Rivers), dies of a heart attack at 69
Aug 21 Dean Turner, Australian rock musician (Magic Dirt), dies of cancer at 37
Aug 21 Johnny Carter, American doo-wop singer (The Flamingos; The Dells), dies at 75
Aug 25 Robert Heppener, Dutch composer (Hymns & Conversations for 28 Harps; Memento), dies at 84
Aug 26 Ellie Greenwich, American singer-songwriter ("Da-Doo Ron Ron"; "Leader of the Pack"), dies of a heart attack at 68
Aug 27 Virgilio Savona, Italian jazz singer and composer (Quartetto Cetra - "Un bacio a mezzanotte"; "Crapa pelada"), dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 89
Aug 28 DJ AM [Adam Goldstein], American DJ and musician, dies of a drug overdose at 36
Aug 29 Chris Connor [Mary Jean Loutsenhizer], American jazz singer ("I Wonder What Became of Me"), dies of cancer at 81
Aug 31 Maria de Lourdes Martins, Portuguese pianist and composer, dies at 83
Sep 1 Jake Brockman, British rock keyboardist (Echo & the Bunnymen), dies in a motorcycle accident at 53
Sep 2 Guy Babylon, American keyboard player (Elton John) and arranger dies at 52

Patrick Swayze (1952-2009)

Sep 14 American actor (Ghost), dancer (Dirty Dancing), and songwriter, dies of pancreatic cancer at 57

Mary Travers (1936-2009)

Sep 16 American folk singer (Peter Paul & Mary - "Puff" (The Magic Dragon)"; "Leaving On A Jet Plane"), dies of leukemia at 72

Sep 17 Leon Kirchner, American contemporary classical composer (Pulitzer Prize for Music 1967), dies of congestive heart failure at 90
Sep 19 Arthur Ferrante, American pianist and composer (Ferrante & Teicher - Exodus), dies at 88
Sep 25 Alicia de Larrocha, Spanish pianist (Orquesta Sinfonica), dies at 86
Sep 29 Greg Ladanyi, Hungarian-American record producer and recording engineer, dies of injuries sustained in a fall at 57
Oct 3 Robert Kirby, British music arranger (Nick Drake), dies at 61
Oct 4 Mercedes Sosa, Argentinian singer (exponent of nueva canción), dies at 74
Oct 10 Stephen Gately, Irish pop singer (Boyzone - "A Different Beat"; "No Matter What"), dies of a congenital heart defect at 33
Oct 12 Dickie Peterson American heavy metal bassist (Blue Cheer), dies of liver cancer at 63
Oct 12 Ian Wallace, British buffo bass-baritone opera and concert singer ("Gendarmes' Duet"), and broadcaster (BBC's My Music, 1964-97), dies at 90
Oct 13 Al Martino [Jasper Cini], American pop singer ("Here in My Heart"), and actor (The Godfather), dies of a heart attack at 82
Oct 13 Roger Nixon, American composer, dies at 88
Oct 17 Vic Mizzy, American composer (Green Acres and The Addams Family themes), and bandleader, dies at 93
Oct 26 George Na'ope, Hawaiian-American musician, dancer and heritage preservationist, dies of cancer at 81
Oct 30 Norton Buffalo [Phillip Jackson], American singer-songwriter and country and blues harmonica player, dies of cancer at 58
Oct 31 Ron Gowans, Australian jazz saxophonist, dies of cancer at 83
Nov 5 Félix Luna, Argentine historian and lyricist, dies at 84
Nov 16 Edward Woodward, British actor (Breaker Morant; Wickerman; The Equalizer), and pop singer ("The Way You Look Tonight"), dies at 79
Nov 18 Bill Narum, American counter-culture figure, illustrator and rock poster and album art designer (ZZ Top), dies at 62
Nov 19 Annie Delorie, Dutch opera singer (Nederlandse Opera, 1950-70), dies at 84
Nov 20 H.C. Robbins Landon, American musicologist (Haydn: Chronicle and Works), dies at 83
Nov 23 Richard Graham Meale, Australian composer (Three Miró Pieces; Voss), dies at 77
Nov 24 Hale Smith, American composer, dies at 84
Nov 24 Kan Ishii, Japanese composer (Marimo), dies at 88
Dec 1 Gustavo Adolfo Palma, Guatemalan singer (b. 1920)
Dec 1 Ramses Shaffy, Dutch singer and cabaret actor (Zaak MP, Liefdesbekentenissen), dies at 76
Dec 2 Eric Woolfson, Scottish singer and producer (The Alan Parsons Project), dies at 64
Dec 8 Luis Días, Dominican Composer (b. 1952).
Dec 13 Aubrey Bowman, British pianist, composer, and conductor (Workman's Music Association), dies from injuries after being struck by a car at 91
Dec 13 Joe Castro, American bebop and West Coast jazz pianist (Teddy Edwards Quartet; June Christy), dies at 82
Dec 15 Carolyn DeZurik, American country and polka singer and yodeler (The Cackle Sisters; Prairie Ramblers; The Polka Chips), dies at 90
Dec 18 Oskar Danon, Yugoslav conductor (Belgrade Opera, 1944-65), dies at 96
Dec 20 (Amada) "Amy" Santos Ocampo, Filipina pianist and composer, dies at 84
Dec 20 James Gurley, American rock lead guitarist (Big Brother and the Holding Company), dies of a heart attack at 69
Dec 20 Tony Ayre, Northern Irish rock bass player (The Adventures - "Broken Land", "Drowning in the Sea of Love"), dies at 51
Dec 24 Tim Hart, British folk-rock singer, guitarist, mandolin and dulcimer player (Steeleye Span, 1969-82 - "All Around My Hat"; "Gaudete"), dies of lung cancer at 61
Dec 25 Tony "T-Bone" Bellamy, American rock guitarist (Redbone), dies of liver failure at 63
Dec 25 Vic Chesnutt, American singer-songwriter, dies of an overdose of muscle relaxants at 46
Dec 26 Felix Wurman, American cellist and composer, dies of cancer at 51
Dec 28 James Owen Sullivan, American drummer and songwriter (Avenged Sevenfold), dies aged 28
Dec 30 Rowland S. Howard, Australian guitarist (The Birthday Party) (b. 1959)
Dec 31 Earl Gaines, American R&B, soul, and electric blues singer (It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)), dies at 74