Pick a Day

Music History Events: Deaths

March 10, 2004 Dave Blood (bass guitarist for The Dead Milkmen) commits suicide via drug overdose at age 47.

March 6, 2004 Peggy DeCastro (of The DeCastro Sisters) dies of lung cancer in Las Vegas, Nevada, at age 82.

March 4, 2004 John McGeoch, a Scottish guitarist who played with Magazine, PiL and Siouxsie and the Banshees, dies at age 48.

February 25, 2004 Estelle Axton, co-founder of Stax Records, dies at age 85.

February 23, 2004 Don Cornell, a popular singer in the '40s and '50s, dies at age 84.

February 21, 2004 Les Gray of Mud dies of a heart attack at age 57.

February 16, 2004 Doris Troy, who wrote and recorded "Just One Look," dies at age 67.

January 12, 2004 Randy VanWarmer, who had a hit in 1979 with "Just When I Needed You Most," dies of leukemia at age 48.

December 27, 2003 Dick St. John (of the '60s pop duo Dick & Dee Dee) dies at age 63 after a fall from the roof of his home.

December 22, 2003 Country singer Dave Dudley dies of a heart attack in Danbury, Wisconsin, at age 75.

December 20, 2003 Producer/composer Charles Randolph Grean dies at age 90. Wrote the Phil Harris hit "The Thing" (1950) and arranged Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song."

December 10, 2003 Bill Deal (frontman for The Rhondels) dies at age 59. Known for the 1969 hit singles "I've Been Hurt," "What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am," and "May I."

November 26, 2003 James Carter (of James Carter and the Prisoners) dies at age 77. His lead vocal on the prison work song "Po' Lazarus" earned him $20,000 when it was used in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? in 2000, over 40 years after it was recorded.

November 21, 2003 Pop singer-songwriter Teddy Randazzo, who penned hits for Little Anthony & the Imperials, dies at age 68.

November 19, 2003 Rock bassist Greg Ridley (of Humble Pie, Spooky Tooth) dies of pneumonia in Alicante, Spain, at age 56.

November 18, 2003 Composer, songwriter Michael Kamen dies of a suspected heart attack in London, England, at age 55. Known for his innovative arrangements in pop music ("Here Comes the Rain Again") and film scores and songs (with Bryan Adams: "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You," "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?").

November 17, 2003 Songwriter and country musician Don Gibson dies of natural causes at age 75. Wrote the country standards "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You."

November 17, 2003 Soul singer Arthur Conley dies of intestinal cancer in Ruurlo, Netherlands, at age 57.

November 12, 2003 Session drummer Tony Thompson (of The Power Station and Chic) dies of kidney cancer in Los Angeles, California, at age 48, two months after Power Station bandmate Robert Palmer died from a heart attack.

November 5, 2003 Bobby Hatfield (of The Righteous Brothers) dies of a cocaine-induced heart attack at age 63.

October 30, 2003 Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke dies after suffering a stroke at age 63.

October 29, 2003 Italian opera singer Franco Corelli dies at age 82, months after suffering a stroke.

October 21, 2003 Elliott Smith, known for his song "Miss Misery" (featured in Good Will Hunting, where it earned an Oscar nomination) dies of self-inflicted stab wounds to the chest at age 34 in Los Angeles, California. Smith battled depression and addiction most of his life.

September 30, 2003 Rockabilly performer Ronnie Dawson dies of throat cancer in Dallas, Texas, at age 64.

September 29, 2003 Country singer Wesley Tuttle dies of heart failure at age 85. Known for the 1945 hits "Detour" and "With Tears in My Eyes." He also yodeled for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' "Silly Song."

September 25, 2003 Indie rocker Matthew Jay dies at age 24 from an unexplained fall from a London apartment building.

September 19, 2003 Australian country singer Slim Dusty, real name David Gordon Kirkpatrick, dies of kidney and lung cancer at age 76.

September 19, 2003 Jazz saxophonist Frank Lowe dies of lung cancer at age 60.

September 16, 2003 Sheb Wooley (known for the 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater") dies of leukemia in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 82.

September 15, 2003 Johnny Cash is buried in the Cash family cemetery in Hendersonville, Tennessee, next to his wife, June Carter Cash. Among the mourners at the private ceremony: Al Gore, Emmylou Harris and Sheryl Crow.