Musicians Who Died on May 16

  • 1754 Giovanni Carlo Maria Clari, Italian composer, dies at 76
  • 1762 Ernst Christian Hesse, German composer, dies at 86
  • 1835 Felicia Dorothea Hemans, English-Welsh poet ("The boy stood on the burning deck", "The stately homes of England"), dies of dropsy at 41
  • 1847 Kaspar Ett, German organist/composer, dies at 59
  • 1880 Karl August Krebs, composer, dies at 76
  • 1903 Eduard Rappoldi, composer, dies at 72
  • 1929 Lilli Lehmann, German opera soprano (Tristan und Isolde), dies at 80
  • 1944 Leone Sinigaglia, Italian composer, dies at 75

Django Reinhardt (1910-1953)

Belgium born Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer considered the most significant European jazz musician, dies at 43

  • 1954 Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor (Vienna State Opera; Berlin State Opera), dies at 61
  • 1972 Maxime Dumoulin, French composer, dies at 79
  • 1977 Edouard Van Remoortel, Belgian conductor (St Louis Symphony, 1958-62), dies at 50
  • 1978 William Steinberg, German-American conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony, 1952-76; Boston Symphony, 1969-71), dies at 78
  • 1981 Ernie Freeman, American musician (Raunchy), pianist and arranger, dies at 58
  • 1983 Carel Brons, Dutch composer, dies at 52

Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990)

American vaudeville, stage, and screen dancer, singer ("The Candy Man"), actor (Ocean's 11), and Rat Pack member, dies of throat cancer at 64

  • 1992 Chalino Sánchez, Mexican musician, murdered at 31
  • 1993 Marv Johnson, American R&B pianist, songwriter, and singer ("You Got What It Takes"; "(You've Got To) Move Two Mountains"), dies of a stroke at 54
  • 1995 Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer and actress (Kuma Ching, Faraona), dies at 70
  • 2000 William Ferris, American composer and conductor (William Ferris Chorale, 1971-2000), dies while conducting a rehearsal of Verdi's Requiem at 63
  • 2001 Brian Pendleton, English musician (The Pretty Things) (b. 1944)
  • 2004 Marius Constant, Romanian-born French composer and conductor (founded Ars Nova), dies at 79
  • 2007 (Terry) "Topper" Price, American blues, jazz and rock vocalist and harmonica player (The Upsetters). dies at 54
  • 2007 Albert Delvaux, Belgian composer (Symphonia Burlesca), dies at 93
  • 2008 Wilfrid Howard Mellers, English musicologist and composer (François Couperin and the French Classical Tradition), dies at 94
  • 2010 Hank Jones, American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer, dies at 91
  • 2010 Ronnie James Dio [Padavona], American singer, songwriter and musician (Elf; Rainbow; Black Sabbath; Dio; and Heaven & Hell), dies at 67
  • 2012 Doug Dillard, American country rock musician (The Dillards, Gene Clark, Dillard & Clark) and actor (Clem-Popeye), dies of a lung infection caused by a collapsed lung at 75
  • 2020 Donn Trenner, American jazz pianist, arranger, and orchestra leader (Steve Allen's Westinghouse Show), dies at 93