Musicians Who Died on December 13

  • 1622 Jan Campanus, Czech composer, dies at 50
  • 1738 Gotthard Wagner, German composer, dies at 59
  • 1812 Marianne Martinez, Austrian composer, dies at 68
  • 1898 George Frederick Bristow, American composer (Rip Van Winkle), dies at 72
  • 1906 Jan Gerard Palm, Curaçao bandmaster, choir master, and composer known as as the "Father of Curaçao's classical music", dies at 75
  • 1919 Amintore Galli, Italian composer, dies at 74
  • 1929 Knut Algot Håkanson, Swedish composer, dies at 42
  • 1942 Eleanor Everest Freer, American composer, dies at 78
  • 1951 Selim Palmgren, Finnish concert pianist, composer (Hakkapeliittojen marssi), conductor, and pedagogue, dies at 73
  • 1962 Harry Barris, American popular singer, scat vocalist, and songwriter ("Mississippi Mud"), dies at 57
  • 1963 Stan Jones, American singer-songwriter ("Ghost Riders in the Sky"), and actor (Rio Grande; Ten Who Dared), dies of cancer at 49
  • 1968 Siegfried Reda, German church musician and composer, dies at 52
  • 1981 Cornelius Cardew, British composer (Scratch Orchestra), dies in a hit and run accident at 45
  • 1992 Bernard Drukker, Dutch pianist and orchestra leader (duivelswiel), dies at 73
  • 1995 Nancy LaMott, American singer, dies of cancer at 43
  • 1996 Mae Barnes {Stith], American dancer and jazz singer ("The Sunny Side Of The Street"), dies of cancer at 89 (or older, year of birth disputed)
  • 2001 Chuck Schuldiner, American heavy metal singer-songwriter and guitarist (Death; Control Denied), dies of brain cancer at 34
  • 2002 Zal Yanovsky, Canadian rock guitarist (Lovin' Spoonful - "Do You Believe in Magic?"), dies of a heart attack at 57
  • 2005 Timothy Jordan II, American pop-rock musician (The All American Rejects; Jonezetta), takes his own life at 24
  • 2006 Homesick James [Williamson], American blues slide guitarist and singer (Elmore James band, 1955-62), dies at 96 [or 101, or 92 - date of birth disputed]
  • 2006 Robert Long [Jan Leverman], Dutch pop singer (Vroeger of Later (Sooner or Later); Unit Gloria), actor, and television presenter, dies of cancer at 63
  • 2007 Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Native American (Dakota Sioux) country music singer-songwriter, actor (Walker, Texas Ranger; Northern Exposure), and political activist, dies from complications of leukemia at 71
  • 2009 Aubrey Bowman, British pianist, composer, and conductor (Workman's Music Association), dies from injuries after being struck by a car at 91
  • 2009 Joe Castro, American bebop and West Coast jazz pianist (Teddy Edwards Quartet; June Christy), dies at 82
  • 2010 Enrique Morente, Spanish flamenco singer, dies from surgery complications at 67
  • 2010 Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme, British keyboardist and vocalist (Barclay James Harvest), commits suicide at 63
  • 2012 Otto Ketting, Dutch trumpeter and composer (Passacaglia), dies at 77
  • 2014 Raoul Cita, American R&B pianist and songwriter (Harptones), dies at 86
  • 2016 Alan Thicke, Canadian actor (Growing Pains), host (Thicke of the Night), and theme song composer (Diff'rent Strokes; The Facts of Life), dies of an aortic dissection at 69
  • 2017 Warrel Dane, American singer (Nevermore -"Enemies of Reality"), dies of a heart attack at 56
  • 2018 Nancy Wilson, American jazz vocalist ("Feel Like Making Love"), dies at 81
  • 2019 Emil Richards [Radocchia], American session and touring vibraphonist and percussionist (George Shearing; Frank Sinatra; Lalo Schifrin; Frank Zappa; George Harrison; Harry Partch; Shadowfax), dies at 87
  • 2019 Roy Loney, American rock singer (Flamin' Groovies, 1965-71), dies of multiple organ failure at 73
  • 2021 Joe Simon, American soul and R&B singer ("Power of Love"), dies at 85
  • 2022 Kim Simmonds, Welsh blues-rock guitarist (Savoy Brown), dies of bladder cancer at 75
  • 2022 Sol Amarfio, Ghanaian drummer and musician (Osibisa), dies at 84
  • 2022 tWitch [Stephen Boss], American television personality, dancer, DJ, and producer (The Ellen DeGeneres Show, 2014-22), takes his own life at 40 [1]