Musicians Who Died on January 5

  • 1740 Antonio Lotti, Italian opera composer, dies at about 72
  • 1746 Anton Simon Ignaz Praelisauer, German organist and composer, dies at 53
  • 1788 Johann Schneider, German composer and pupil of Bach, dies at 85
  • 1814 Johann Gottfried Krebs, German composer, dies at 72
  • 1848 Ferdinando Orlandi, Italian musician and composer, dies at 73
  • 1862 Franz Joseph Fröhlich, German composer, dies at 81
  • 1888 Henri Herz, Austrian composer, dies at a day before his 85th birthday
  • 1891 Emma Abbott, American soprano, dies at 40
  • 1901 Edmond Dédé, Creole-American violinist and composer (Quasimodo Symphony; Mephisto Masque), dies at 73
  • 1946 (Catherine) "Kitty" Cheatham, American folk singer and children's music singer-songwriter, dies at 81
  • 1956 Mistinguett [Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois], French actress and singer (Moulin Rouge star), dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 80
  • 1970 Roberto Gerhard, Spanish Catalan composer (The Plague), dies of heart disease at 73
  • 1974 Lev Oborin, Russian-Soviet pianist (winner of 1st International Chopin Competition, 1927), composer and pedagogue, dies at 66
  • 1976 Georges Migot, French composer, and poet (Les Agrestide; L'Arche), dies at 84
  • 1976 Mal Evans, British Beatles roadie and personal assistant, dies in a confrontation with police at his Los Angeles home at 40
  • 1979 Charles Mingus, American jazz bassist (Pithecanthropus Erectus), dies from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at 56
  • 1981 Guy Paquinet, French jazz trombonist, and bandleader, dies at 77
  • 1989 Philip Herschkowitz, Romanian composer, dies at 82
  • 1993 Leonce Gras, Flemish singer and conductor, dies at 84
  • 1994 Victor van Os, Dutch jazz guitarist, dies at 39
  • 1995 Francis Lopez, Basque-French chanson and operetta composer (La Belle de Cadiz; Andalousie; The Three Musketeers), dies at 78
  • 1996 Danny White, American singer and bandleader, dies at 84
  • 1996 Richard Versaille, tenor, dies at 63

Sonny Bono (1935-1998)

American actor, musician, vocalist, (Sonny & Cher) and politician (Rep-R-Ca, 1995-98), dies at Heavenly Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe, California, when he hits a tree at 62

  • 1998 Georgi Sviridov, Soviet neoromantic composer, dies of a heart attack at 82
  • 1998 Ken Forssi, American musician (Love) (b. 1943)
  • 2003 Doreen Carwithen, British composer, widow of William Alwyn (b. 1922)
  • 2004 John Guerin, American session and touring jazz-rock drummer and percussionist (Frank Zappa; L.A. Express; Joni Mitchell: Linda Ronstadt), dies of heart failure at 64
  • 2005 Danny Sugerman, American music manager (The Doors), dies of lung cancer at 50
  • 2008 Irene Reid, American jazz singer ("I Must Be Doing Something Right"). dies at 77
  • 2010 Willie Mitchell, American R&B, pop, and soul singer, songwriter, producer, and arranger, dies of a heart attack at 81
  • 2011 Roland Kayn, German electronic music composer, dies at 77
  • 2012 Hikaru Hayashi, Japanese pianist, conductor and composer (Onibaba), dies at 80
  • 2013 Sybil Michelow, South-African contralto and composer, dies at 87
  • 2016 Elizabeth Swados, American theater composer playwright (Runaways), and author, dies from complications after surgery for esophageal cancer at 64
  • 2016 Nicholas Caldwell, American R&B and soul singer (The Whispers - "And The Baet Goes On"; "It's A Love Thing"), dies of congestive heart failure at 71
  • 2016 Pierre Boulez, French composer (La Visage Nuptial), conductor (BBC Symphony, 1970-77; New York Philharmonic, 1971-77), and new music advocate (IRCAM, Ensemble intercontemporain)dies at 90
  • 2017 Géori Boué, French soprano, dies at 98
  • 2018 José Molina [Quijada], Spanish-born American flamenco dancer, dies of lung cancer at 81
  • 2019 Eric Haydock [Haddock], British rock bassist (The Hollies, 1962-66 - "Look Through Any Window"), dies at 75
  • 2023 Gordy Harmon, American R&B singer (The Whispers - "And the Beat Goes On"; "Rock Steady"), dies at 79
  • 2024 (Derek) "Del" Palmer, English session and touring bassist, and sound engineer (Kate Bush), dies at 71