Musicians Who Died in 2006

Wilson Pickett (1941-2006)

Jan 19 American R&B singer ("In The Midnight Hour"; "Funky Broadway"), dies of a heart attack at 64

Jan 22 Rick van der Linden, Dutch keyboardist (Ekseption), and composer, dies from complications of a stroke at 59
Jan 24 Fayard Nicholas, American tap dancer, one-half of The Nicholas Brothers and actor (The Five Heartbeats), dies of pneumonia and complications from a stroke at 91
Jan 27 Gene McFadden, American R&B singer-songwriter and producer (McFadden & Whitehead - "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"), dies of lung cancer at 56 [1]
Jan 27 Jan Frank Fischer, Czech composer, dies at 84
Jan 27 Roger Durham Hannay, American composer and teacher, dies at 75
Jan 29 Nam June Paik, Korean avant-garde composer, and video artist (Medium is the Medium; hommage à john cage), dies at 73
Jan 31 Moira Shearer, Scottish actress (The Red Shoes) and ballerina, dies at 80
Feb 3 Romano Mussolini, Italian jazz pianist, and bandleader, dies of heart failure at 78
Feb 3 Tilo Medek [Müller-Medek], German composer (Die Todesfuge), musicologist, and music publisher, dies at 66
Feb 7 Jack Montrose, American "cool jazz" tenor saxophonist and arranger, dies at 78
Feb 8 Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer, best known for his film scores in the Godzilla films, dies at 91
Feb 8 Elton Dean, English jazz and progressive rock saxophonist (Soft Machine), dies of heart and liver ailments at 60 (b. 1945)
Feb 10 J. Dilla [James Dewitt Yancey], American rapper and producer (Donuts), dies of a heart attack at 32
Feb 11 Jockey Shabalala, South African singer (Ladysmith Black Mambazo), dies at 62
Feb 14 Darry Cowl, French musician and actor, dies at 80
Feb 14 Hans Olof “Putte” Wickman, Swedish jazz clarinetist, dies at 81
Feb 14 Lynden David Hall, British singer (b. 1974)
Feb 14 Shoshana Damari, Israeli singer and actress (b. 1923)
Feb 15 Andrey Petrov, Soviet-Russian classical and film score composer (Creation of the World), dies at 75
Feb 17 Bill Cowsill, American singer and musician (The Cowsills - "Hair"; "The Rain, The Park, And Other Thing"), dies of emphysema at 58
Feb 17 Ray Barretto, American percussionist and Latin jazz bandleader (Charanga Moderna - "El Watusi"), dies at 76
Feb 22 Anthony Burger, American musician and singer (b. 1961)
Feb 24 Irakli Charkviani, Georgian alt-rock and electronic musician, poet and prose writer, dies of heart failure at 44
Feb 24 Thomas Koppel, Danish pianist and classical and avant-garde composer (Savage Rose), dies at 61
Feb 26 Florian ZaBach, American violinist ("The Hot Canary") and TV personality, dies at 87
Feb 27 Milton Katims, American violist and conductor (Seattle Symphony, 1954–76), dies at 96
Feb 28 Irv Kluger, American big band jazz and session drummer (Artie Shaw; Gramercy Five), dies at 84
Mar 1 Johnny Jackson, American drummer (The Jackson 5), dies at 54
Mar 4 Jan Felderhof, Dutch violinist and composer, dies at 98
Mar 6 King Floyd, American soul singer-songwriter ("Groove Me"), dies of complications of a stroke and diabetes at 61
Mar 7 Ali Farka Touré, Malian musician, dies at 66
Mar 10 Anna Moffo, American soprano (Adventurers), dies at 73
Mar 13 Arne Dørumsgaard, Norwegian composer, dies at 84
Mar 17 Bob Blue, American singer/songwriter (b. 1948)
Mar 17 Chuck Tharp, American rock vocalist (The Fireballs - "Sugar Shack"), dies of cancer at 65
Mar 18 Dan Gibson, musician (b. 1922)
Mar 23 Cindy Walker, American songwriter ("Dream Baby"; "You Don't Know Me") and country singer, dies at 87
Mar 23 Sarah Caldwell, American conductor/opera director (Flagstaff), dies at 82
Mar 25 (Alvis) "Buck" Owens, American "Bakersfield Sound" country singer-songwriter ("Under Your Spell Again"), bandleader (The Buckaroos - "Act Naturally"), and TV personality (Hee Haw), dies of an apparent heart attack at 76
Mar 25 Rocío Dúrcal, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
Mar 26 Nikki Sudden, British singer-songwriter (b. 1956)
Mar 28 Proinsias Ó Maonaigh, Irish musician (b. 1922)
Mar 29 Werner Wolf Glaser, German-Swedish composer, dies at 95
Mar 31 Jackie McLean, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1931 or 1932)
Apr 5 Gene Pitney, American vocalist and songwriter ("Town Without Pity"; "Hello Mary Lou"; "He's A Rebel"), dies of a heart attack at 66
Apr 6 Augustyn Bloch, Polish composer, dies at 76
Apr 8 (Heinz) "Henry" Lewy, German-American sound engineer and record producer (Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Stephen Bishop, Judee Sill, The Monkees), dies at 79
Apr 9 Robin Orr, Scottish composer, dies at 96
Apr 11 June Pointer, American pop and R&B singer (The Pointer Sisters -"Fire"; "He's So Shy"; "Jump (For My Love)'; "Slow Hand"), dies of cancer at 52
Apr 11 Proof [DeShaun Holton], American rapper (D12), shot to death in billiard game dispute at 32
Apr 12 Rajkumar [Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju], Indian actor and singer in Kannada cinema and cultural icon, dies at 76
Apr 28 Ben-Zion Orgad, Israeli composer, dies at 79
May 1 Big Hawk, American rapper (b.1969)
May 1 Johnny Paris, American saxophonist (Johnny and the Hurricanes) (b. 1940)
May 5 Naushad Ali, Indian composer, and Hindi film music director, dies at 86
May 7 Machiko Soga, Japanese actress, singer, and tokusatsu legend, dies of pancreatic cancer at 67
May 8 Viola Mae Wilkerson, American pop singer ("Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now"), dies of cancer at 69
May 10 Soraya [Lamilla], Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, arranger and record producer ("Amor En Tus Ojos / Love In Your Eyes"'; "Casi"), dies of breast cancer at 37
May 11 Yossi Banai, Israeli pop and cabaret singer, and actor dies of cancer at 74
May 13 Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (Heatwave), dies at 56
May 14 Lewis "Lew" Anderson, American actor and musician (The Howdy Doody Show), dies of prostate cancer at 84
May 17 Laurence Shurtliff [Ram Rod], American music executive and roadie (the Grateful Dead), dies at 61
May 19 Freddie Garrity, English pop singer (Freddie and the Dreamers - "I'm Telling You Now"), dies at 69
May 21 Billy Walker, American country music singer and guitarist ("Charlie's Shoes"), dies, along with his wife and two band members, in a single vehicle car accident, at 77
May 21 Katherine Dunham, American dancer (Casbah; Stormy Weather), choreographer (Metroplitan opera, 1963; Joplin's Treemonisha, 1972), and social activist, dies at 96
May 22 Jack Fallon, Canadian-British jazz double and electric bass player, fiddler (The Beatles - "Don't Pass Me By"), and concert promoter, dies at 90
May 25 Desmond Dekker [Dacres], Jamaican reggae pioneer (The Aces - "007 (Shanty Town)"; "Israelites"), dies of a heart attack at 64
May 25 Otto Zykan, Austrian pianist and composer, dies at 71
May 27 Dieter Acker, German composer and pedagogue, dies at 65
May 31 Lula Mae Hardaway, American songwriter ("I Was Made to Love Her"; "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"), and mother of singer Stevie Wonder, dies at 76
Jun 1 Rocío Jurado, Spanish singer and actress, dies at 59
Jun 2 Vince Welnick, American rock keyboardist (The Tubes - "Tak To Ya Later"; Grateful Dead, 1990-95), commits suicide at 55
Jun 3 Johnny Grande, American accordion and piano player (The Saddlemen; Bill Haley's Comets), and songwriter ("Birth of the Boogie"), dies of cancer at 76

Jun 6 American rock and soul pianist, organist, singer-songwriter ("Nothing From Nothing"; "You Are So Beautiful"; "Outa-Space"), 5th Beatle ("Get Back"), and touring musician (Little Richard, Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton) dies following long-term health issues at 59

Jun 6 Hilton Ruiz, Puerto Rican-American bebop and Afro-Cuban jazz pianist, dies from injuries sustained in a fall at 54
Jun 9 Drafi Deutscher, German Schlager singer, dies of heart failure at 60
Jun 12 György Ligeti, Hungarian classical composer (Le Grand Macabre), dies at 83 (b. 1923)
Jun 17 Julian Slade, English popular composer (Salad Days), dies at 76
Jun 19 Duane Roland, American southern-rock guitarist (Molly Hatchet - Flirtin' With Disaster), dies at 53
Jun 20 Claydes Charles Smith, American musician (Kool & The Gang), dies at 57
Jun 25 Arif Mardin, Turkish-American music producer (Atlantic Records, Aretha Franklin, Bee Gees), dies of cancer at 74
Jul 3 Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, American violist and operatic mezzo-soprano, dies of cancer at 52
Jul 6 Cal Lampley, American session pianist, record producer (Miles Davis; Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson, Groove Holmes), music critic, and educator (Peabody Institute), dies from complications of multiple sclerosis at 82

Syd Barrett (1946-2006)

Jul 7 British guitarist and singer-songwriter (Pink Floyd, 1964-68 - "See Emily Play"; solo -"The Madcap Laughs"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 60

Jul 9 Milan Williams, American keyboardist (Commodores - "Three Times A Lady"), dies of cancer at 58
Jul 11 Bill Miller, American jazz pianist and arranger (Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra, Jr.), dies of a heart attack while on tour at 91
Jul 16 Artie Malvin, American vocalist (Glenn Miller; Jimmy Dorsey), arranger and music director (Julie LaRosa; Pat Boone; Carol Burnett), dies at 83
Jul 17 Sam Myers, American blues singer, harmonica player, drummer, and songwriter ("Sleeping in the Ground"), dies at 70
Jul 22 Dika Newlin, American composer, Schoenberg expert and punk rocker, dies at 82
Jul 30 Anthony Galla-Rini, American concert accordionist,and arranger, dies at 102
Aug 3 Arthur Lee, American psychedelic rock musician (Love; National Recording Company), dies of leukemia at 61
Aug 3 Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Austro-British soprano (Der Rosenkavalier), dies at 90
Aug 4 John Locke, American rock keyboardist (Spirit -"I Got A Line On You"), dies of cancer at 62
Aug 5 Ed Thrasher, American Grammy Award-winning art director (Warner Brothers Records, 1964-79), and photographer (album art for Frank Sinatra; Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead), dies of cancer at 74
Aug 8 Irving "Duke" Jordan, American jazz pianist (Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Sonny Stitt), dies at 84
Aug 8 Michael Hurd, British composer and musicologist known for his choral music (Jonah-Man Jazz), dies at 77

Mike Douglas (1920-2006)

Aug 11 American big band singer (Kay Kyser), and TV talk show host (The Mike Douglas Show, 1961-81), dies on his 86th birthday

Aug 16 Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish musician (Dissection), dies at 31
Aug 18 Fernand Gignac, Canadian singer and actor (b. 1934)
Aug 20 Claude Blanchard, French Canadian singer, comedian and actor, dies at 74
Aug 21 Bismillah Khan [Qamaruddin Khan], Hindustani classical shehnai (a reeded woodwind instrument) player, dies of a heart attack at 90
Aug 22 Bruce Gary, American rock drummer (The Knack - "My Sharona"'), dies of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma at 55
Aug 23 Jacques Wildberger, Swiss composer (In My End is My Beginning), dies at 84
Aug 23 Maynard Ferguson, Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader, dies at 78
Aug 24 James Carl Tenney, American composer, dies at 72
Aug 24 Léopold Simoneau, French Canadian tenor, dies at 90
Aug 26 Josef Hadar, Israeli violinist and composer (Evening of Roses), dies at 79
Aug 27 Jesse Pintado, Mexican-American guitarist (Napalm Death), dies of liver failure at 37
Sep 2 Willi Ninja [William Leake], American dancer and choreographer (Paris Is Burning), dies of AIDS-related heart failure at 45
Sep 2 [Jean-Josephat] Clermont Pépin, Canadian pianist and composer (Implosion Symphony), dies of liver cancer at 80
Sep 2 [Walter] Dewey Redman, American jazz saxophonist, dies of liver failure at 75
Sep 3 Ian Hamer, British jazz trumpeter and session musician (Beatles - "Got To Get You Into My Life"; Top of the Pops studio band), dies at 73
Sep 4 Astrid Varnay, Swedish soprano (Met Opera 1941-56), dies at 88
Sep 9 Richard Burmer, American composer and musician, dies at 50
Sep 17 Alvin Wayne "Al" Casey, American rock and session guitarist (Duane Eddy: The Wrecking Crew), dies at 69
Sep 19 Chuck Rio [Daniel Flores], American rock singer, saxophonist, and songwriter (The Champs - "Tequila"), dies of pneumonia at 77
Sep 20 Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor, dies at 74
Sep 20 John W. Peterson, American hymn writer ("It Took a Miracle"), publisher and editor (Singspiration), dies of prostate cancer at 84
Sep 21 Raymond "Boz" Burrell, British rock bassist and singer (King Crimson, 1971-72; Bad Company, 1973-82), dies of a heart attack at 60
Sep 22 Ewald Krolis, Suriname Dutch percussionist and kaseko singer (Caribbean Combo - Mi Kanto Ma Mi De Ete (Fallen But Not Defeated), dies at 59
Sep 23 Etta Baker, American blues guitarist, dies at 93
Sep 23 Sir Malcolm Arnold, British trumpeter, and classical and film score composer (The Bridge On The River Kwai), dies at 84
Sep 24 Henry "Mule" Townsend, American blues singer, guitarist, and piano player, dies at 96
Sep 24 Thomas Stewart, American bass-baritone (La Roche Capriccio), dies at 78
Sep 28 Viktor Kalabis, Czech composer (Two Worlds), dies at 83
Sep 29 Jan Werner Danielsen, Norwegian singer, dies of heart failure at 30
Oct 14 Freddy Fender [Baldemar Huerta], American rock, country and Tejano singer ("Wasted Days And Wasted Nights"; "Before The Next Teardrop Falls"; Texas Tornados - "A Man Can Cry"), dies of lung cancer at 69
Oct 14 Jared Anderson, American heavy metal bassist and vocalist (Morbid Angel; Hate Eternal), dies at 31
Oct 15 Pete Graves [Alexander Walton], American pop and R&B vocalist (The Moonglows - "Blue Velvet"), dies at 70
Oct 16 Tommy Johnson, American orchestral and session tuba player (theme to "Jaws"), dies from cancer and kidney failure at 71
Oct 18 Anna Russell, English music satirist and composer, dies at 94
Oct 20 Frank Vicari, American jazz, session, and touring saxophonist (Maynard Ferguson; Woody Herman; Tom Waits; Saturday Night Live), dies at 75
Oct 21 Rene Gerber, Swiss composer, dies at 98
Oct 23 Leonid Hambro, American concert pianist and composer, dies at 86
Oct 26 Tillman Franks, American country music bassist, songwriter and artist manager (Webb Pierce), dies at 86
Oct 28 Marijohn Wilkin, American songwriter ("One Day at a Time"), dies of heart disease at 86
Nov 3 Paul Mauriat, French easy listening orchestra leader, composer, and arranger ("Love Is Blue"), dies at 81
Nov 7 (George) "Sonny" Cohn, American jazz trumpeter (Red Saunders, 1945-60; Duke Ellington, 1960-84), dies at 81
Nov 8 Basil Poledouris, American film score composer, dies of cancer at 61
Nov 10 Gerald Levert, American singer (In My Songs), dies of acute narcotic intoxication at 40
Nov 16 John Veale, English composer, dies at 84
Nov 17 Flo Sandon's, Italian singer (won Sanremo Music Festival - Viale d'autunno), dies at 82
Nov 17 Ruth Brown, American actress and singer sometimes known as the "Queen of R&B" ("So Long"; "Teardrops From My Eyes"), dies at 78
Nov 21 Robert Lockwood Jr., American blues guitarist, dies at 91
Nov 21 Věroslav Neumann, Czech composer and music educator, dies at 75
Nov 23 Anita O'Day [Colton], American jazz singer, dies at 87

Betty Comden (1917-2006)

Nov 23 American lyricist ("On The Town"; "Just In Time") and playwright, dies of a heart failure at 89

Nov 24 (Juhani) "Juice" Leskinen, Finnish rock singer-songwrirter ("Musta aurinko nousee - Black Sun Rises"; "Marilyn"), and poet, dies from multiple medical issues at 56
Nov 24 Robert McFerrin, Sr., American operatic baritone (Metropolitan Opera, 1955-58; singing voice for Sidney Poitier in film "Porgy and Bess"), dies at 85 [1]
Nov 25 Bobby Byrne, American orchestra leader (Club Seven), dies at 88
Nov 25 Leo Chiosso, Italian lyricist (b. 1920)
Nov 25 Valentin Elizalde, Mexican singer (b. 1979)
Nov 26 Enrique Antonio "Tony" Silvester, Panamanian-American R&B singer-songwriter (The Main Ingredient - "Everybody Plays the Fool"), dies of multiple myeloma at 65
Nov 27 Don Butterfield, American tuba player (b. 1923)
Nov 29 Nina Milkina, Russian-British concert pianist, dies at 87
Nov 30 Elhadi Adam, Sudanese poet and lyricist (b. 1927)
Dec 2 Dave Mount, English rock drummer (Mud), dies in apparent suicide at 59
Dec 2 Mariska Veres [Ender], Dutch rock singer (Shocking Blue), dies of gallbladder cancer at 59
Dec 3 Logan Whitehurst, American musician, singer-songwriter (Tin Drum; The Velvet Teen), graphic artist, and album cover designer, dies of brain cancer at 29
Dec 7 Jay McShann, American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader, dies at 90
Dec 8 Martha Tilton, American big band singer (Benny Goodman; Jimmy Dorsey), dies at 91 [1]
Dec 9 Freddie Marsden, British rock drummer (Gerry & Pacemakers - "How Do You Do It?"; "Ferry Cross The Mersey"), dies at 66
Dec 9 Georgia Gibbs [Frieda Lipschitz], American jazz and pop singer ("Kiss of Fire"; "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake"), dies at 88 [1]
Dec 12 Kenny Davern, American jazz clarinetist (b. 1935)
Dec 12 Lucien Goethals, Belgian composer, dies at 75
Dec 13 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]
Dec 13 Robert Long [Jan Leverman], Dutch pop singer (Vroeger of Later (Sooner or Later); Unit Gloria), actor, and television presenter, dies of cancer at 63
Dec 14 Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-American, songwriter, businessman (co-founder of Atlantic Records), and philanthropist, dies from complications after tripping during a Rolling Stones concert at 83
Dec 14 Otmar Macha, Czech composer (Quattro Group), dies at 84
Dec 16 Pnina Salzman, Israeli pianist (b. 1922)
Dec 16 Taliep Petersen, South African singer and composer (b. 1950)
Dec 17 Denis Payton, British rock saxophonist (Dave Clark Five - "Glad All Over"), dies of cancer at 63
Dec 17 Timmie Rogers [Ancrum], American comedian (The Jackie Gleason Show), actor and singer-songwriter ("Back to School Again"; "I Love Ya, I Love Ya, I Love Ya"), dies at 91
Dec 18 Daniel Pinkham, American organist, composer (Signs of the Zodiac) and educator (New England Conservatory), dies at 83
Dec 22 Dennis Linde, American songwriter ("Burning Love"; "Goodbye Earl"), dies of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at 63
Dec 22 Galina Ustvolskaya, Russian composer, dies at 87
Dec 23 Timothy J. Tobias, American composer and musician, dies at 54
Dec 24 Braguinha [Carlos Alberto Ferreira Braga], Brazilian songwriter, dies at 99
Dec 24 Kenneth Sivertsen, Norwegian singer, poet, comedian, and composer, dies of complications from epilepsy at 66

James Brown (1933-2006)

Dec 25 American R&B, gospel, soul and funk singer-songwriter known as 'The Godfather of Soul' ("Sex Machine"; "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag"; "Hot Pants"), dies of heart failure at 73

Dec 28 Gracie Cole, British jazz trumpeter (Ivy Benson's All-Girl Band), and bandleader, dies of complications from Alzheimer's disease at 82
Dec 28 Komei Abe, Japanese composer, dies at 95