Musicians Who Died on May 9

  • 1707 Dietrich Buxtehude, German organist and composer, dies at about 69
  • 1745 Tomaso Antonio Vitali, Italian composer and violinist, dies at 82
  • 1785 Franz Xaver Schnitzer, German composer, dies at 44

Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791)

American judge, signer of the Declaration of Independence, author, flag designer (first American flag), and composer (The Battle of the Kegs), dies from an apoplectic seizure at 53

  • 1799 Claude-Bénigne Balbastre, French organist, harpsichordist, and composer, dies at 74
  • 1822 Charles Duquesnoy, French composer, dies at 62
  • 1853 Johann Philipp Samuel Schmidt, German composer, dies at 73
  • 1880 Johann Hermann Berens, German-born Swedish Romantic composer, dies at 54
  • 1905 Ernst Pauer, Austrian composer and pianist, dies at 78
  • 1919 James Reese Europe, American ragtime and early jazz arranger, composer, and bandleader in New York, and with the military in France during WWI, dies of a stab wound (received during an argument with one of his drummers), at 38
  • 1919 Ludwig Bösendorfer, Austrian piano builder, dies at 84
  • 1928 Constantin Dimitrescu, Romanian composer (Dans ţănănesc), dies at 81
  • 1944 Ethel Smyth, English composer, dies at 86
  • 1957 Ezio Pinza, Italian American operatic bass (NY Metropolitan Opera, 1926-48), and Tony Award-winning singer (South Pacific), dies at 64
  • 1966 Alfred Mendelsohn, Romanian composer, and conductor (Romanian National Opera, 1944-63), and teacher, dies at 56
  • 1967 Philippa Schuyler, African-American child classical piano prodigy, composer, and journalist, dies in a helicopter crash in Vietnam at 35
  • 1970 Percy Brier, Australian composer, dies at 84
  • 1974 Lyubomir Pipkov, Bulgarian pianist, composer, music educator, and (with his father) Antarctic glacier namesake, dies at 69
  • 1976 Raymond Chevreuille, Belgian composer, dies at 74
  • 1976 Valentino Bucchi, Italian composer, dies at 59
  • 1977 Walter Kraft, German organist and composer, dies at 71
  • 1979 Eddie Jefferson, American jazz vocalese singer and lyricist ("Moody's Mood for Love"), shot to death by a disgruntled former employee at 60
  • 1979 Lan Adomian, Russian-born American composer, dies at 73
  • 1985 Reginald Dixon, British theatre organist, dies at 80
  • 1989 Keith Whitley, American country music singer ("Don't Close Your Eyes"), dies of alcohol poisoning at 33
  • 1990 Patrick Piggott, British pianist, composer, and musicologist (The Life & Music of John Field; The Innocent Diversion - Music in the Life and Writings of Jane Austen), dies at 74
  • 1991 Rudolf Serkin, Bohemian-American concert pianist (noted for Beethoven interpretations), and pedagogue (Curtis Institute; Marlboro School of Music), dies of cancer at 88
  • 1993 Iván Patachich, Hungarian contemporary classical and electro-acoustic composer, dies at 70
  • 1995 Marshall Royal, American jazz alto saxophonist & clarinetist (Count Basie Orchestra), dies at 82
  • 1997 Willy Hess, Swiss musicologist, composer and famous Beethoven scholar, dies at 90
  • 1998 Alice Faye [Leppert], American actress and singer (Hello Frisco, Hello; Fallen Angel; Stowaway), dies of stomach cancer at 83
  • 2001 James E. Myers, American songwriter (Rock Around the Clock) and producer, dies at 81
  • 2002 Leon Stein, American composer, dies at 81
  • 2005 Nasrat Parsa, Afghani singer, dies at 36
  • 2007 Jacob Gilboa, Israeli composer, dies at 87
  • 2009 Turner Stephen Bruton, American country songwriter and musician (Crazy Heart), dies of throat cancer at 59
  • 2010 Lena Horne, American actress and Grammy Award-winning singer (Cabin in the Sky; Stormy Weather; The Wiz), dies at 92
  • 2017 Robert Miles [Roberto Concina], Swiss musician, record producer, and composer of trance and ambient music ("Children"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 47
  • 2019 Freddie Starr, English comedian and singer (The Freddie Starr Showcase), dies at 76

Little Richard (1932-2020)

American singer-songwriter and rock 'n' roll pioneer (Tutti Frutti), dies at 87