Musicians Who Died on June 16

  • 1651 Marsilio Casentini, Italian composer, dies at 74
  • 1804 Johann Adam Hiller, German composer, dies at 75
  • 1808 Georg Wenzel Ritter, German bassoonist, composer and friend of Mozart, dies at 60
  • 1831 Josef Schnabel, German composer, dies at 64
  • 1837 Valentino Fioravanti, Italian composer, dies at 72
  • 1910 Wendelin Weißheimer, German composer and conductor, dies at 72
  • 1925 Emmett Hardy, American jazz cornetist, dies of tuberculosis at 22
  • 1939 Chick Webb, American jazz drummer and big band bandleader (introduced Ella Fitzgerald), dies of Pott's disease (tuberculosis of the spine), at 34
  • 1940 Vitezslava Kapralova, Czech composer and conductor, dies from typhoid fever at 25
  • 1946 Miloje Milojević, Serbian composer, dies at 61
  • 1958 José Pablo Moncayo, Mexican composer (Huapango), dies at 45
  • 1966 German Galynin, Russian composer, dies at 44
  • 1969 Karl Schiske, Austrian composer, dies at 53
  • 1970 Heino Eller, Estonian composer (Koit (Dawn); Videvik (Twilight)), pedagogue (Tallinn Conservatory, 1940 -70), and teacher of Arvo Pärt, dies at 83
  • 1975 Don Robey, American record label executive and record producer, dies at 71
  • 1979 (William Jennings Bryan) "Ben" Weber, American composer (Thorne Music Award 1965), dies at 62
  • 1982 James Honeyman-Scott, English rock guitarist and vocalist (The Pretenders - "Brass In Pocket"), overdoses on drugs at 25
  • 1984 Harmonica Slim [Travis Blaylock], American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter ("You Better Believe It"), dies at 49
  • 1986 Maurice Duruflé, French organist (St. Etienne-du-Mond, 1929-75), composer (Requiem, Op. 9), and teacher (Paris Conservatory, 1943-70), dies at 84
  • 1990 Eva Turner, British operatic soprano, dies at 98
  • 1991 Vicki Brown, British pop, rock session vocalist, and contemporary classical singer, dies of breast cancer at 51
  • 1994 Boris Alexandrov, Russian conductor (Red Army Song and Dance Ensemble), dies at 88
  • 1994 Kristen Pfaff, American rock bassist (Hole, 1993-94), dies of heroin overdose at 27
  • 1997 John Wolters, American drummer (Dr. Hook -"When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman"), dies at 52
  • 1999 (David) "Screaming Lord" Sutch, English rocker ("Jack The Ripper"), and politician (founder of Official Monster Raving Loony Party), commits suicide at 58
  • 2000 Richard Dufallo, American clarinetist and conductor, dies at 67
  • 2001 Adam Popovich, Serbian-American musician, director and composer, dies at 91
  • 2007 Pattie D'Arcy, American musical theater, session and touring vocalist (Cher), dies at 54
  • 2010 Garry Shider, American funk and psychedelic soul guitarist and musical director (Parliament-Funkadelic), dies of brain and lung cancer at 56
  • 2010 Maureen Forrester, Canadian operatic contralto (Resurrection Symphony), dies at 79
  • 2014 Pierre D'Archambeau, American concert violinist, dies at 87
  • 2018 Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor (Bolshoi Theatre, 1951-61; USSR State Radio, 1961-74; USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony, 1983-91), dies at 87