Pick a Day

Music History Events: Deaths

October 6, 1985 Nelson Riddle - an arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator known for his work with Frank Sinatra, among many others - dies of cardiac and kidney failure related to cirrhosis of the liver in Los Angeles, California, at age 64.

August 12, 1985 Singer/actor Kyu Sakamoto dies in the Japan Airlines Flight 123 crash at age 43.

May 28, 1985 English radio broadcaster Roy Plomley, known for the long-running BBC Radio series Desert Island Discs, dies of pleurisy at age 71.

March 29, 1985 Jeanne Deckers - known as "The Singing Nun" - and her companion Annie Pécher die in a double suicide at their home. As a Belgian nun, Deckers had a US #1 hit in 1963 with "Dominique," but she left the convent in 1966 and went through a series of setbacks, including devastating financial problems. Deckers is 51, Pécher is 40.

February 28, 1985 Uriah Heep lead singer David Byron dies at his Berkshire home from liver disease and seizures caused by excessive consumption of alcohol. He is just 38 years old.

December 8, 1984 Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley (of Hanoi Rocks) dies in a drunk-driving accident in Redondo Beach, California. The 24-year-old drummer is the passenger in a car driven by Motley Crue's inebriated frontman, Vince Neil.

November 28, 1984 Don Addrisi (of the pop duo The Addrisi Brothers) dies of pancreatic cancer at age 45. Co-wrote "Never My Love," a 1967 hit for The Association.

November 14, 1984 Keith Hudson, known as "The Dark Prince of Reggae," dies of lung cancer at age 38 in New York.

November 13, 1984 Pop singer Don Addrisi (of The Addrisi Brothers) dies of pancreatic cancer at age 45.

October 28, 1984 Wells Kelly (drummer, keyboardist for Orleans), age 34, dies of asphyxiation after a night of hard partying while on tour with Meat Loaf in London, England.

October 17, 1984 Blues singer/songwriter Alberta Hunter dies in New York City, at age 89. Composed "Downhearted Blues" in 1922.

September 20, 1984 Folk singer/songwriter Steve Goodman dies of leukemia in Seattle, Washington, at age 36.

August 15, 1984 Rock 'n Roll musician Norman Petty dies of leukemia in Lubbock, Texas, at age 57. Petty is best known as Buddy Holly's recording engineer and first manager.

August 7, 1984 R&B singer Esther Phillips dies of drug-induced liver and kidney failure at age 48 in Carson, California. Known for comeback country tune "Release Me."

July 25, 1984 Original "Hound Dog" singer Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton dies at age 57 in a Los Angeles boarding house after a long-time struggle with alcohol abuse.

July 24, 1984 Reverend Clarence LaVaughn Franklin (Aretha Franklin's father) dies five years after being shot during a robbery attempt at his Detroit home. The incident left him in a coma until his death at age 69.

July 16, 1984 Billy Williams dies of a heart attack at age 74. His group the Billy Williams Quartet was a fixture on Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca's "Your Show of Shows" in the '50s.

July 13, 1984 Philippé Wynne, who was with The Spinners from 1972 to 1977, has a heart attack while performing at a nightclub in Oakland, California. Wynne, 43, dies the next day.

June 1, 1984 R&B singer Nate Nelson (of The Flamingos, The Platters) dies at age 52 of heart disease.

April 27, 1984 Blues singer Arziel "Z.Z." Hill, known for the 1982 Down Home album that was a fixture on the soul album chart for nearly two years, dies at age 48 when a blood clot caused by a car accident months before spurs a heart attack.

April 26, 1984 Count Basie, famed jazz pianist and orchestra leader, dies of pancreatic cancer at age 79.

April 6, 1984 Rock and roll musician Ral Donner, known for the 1961 hit "You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)," dies at age 41 of lung cancer.

February 15, 1984 Ethel Merman, one of the top singers in Broadway musicals, dies of brain cancer at age 76.

January 21, 1984 Jackie Wilson dies at 49. He has been incapacitated since suffering a heart attack on stage in 1975.

January 1, 1984 Blues musician Alexis Korner dies of lung cancer in London, England, at age 55.

December 27, 1983 Rock 'n' roll singer Walter Scott (of Bob Kuban & the In-Men) is shot in the back and left floating in a cistern, where he is found four years later. James H. Williams Sr., who married Scott's second wife, JoAnn, after the singer's disappearance, is found guilty of the murder. JoAnn also receives a five-year prison sentence for hindering the prosecution.

August 24, 1983 Jerry Lee Lewis' fifth wife, Shawn Michelle Stevens, dies of a methadone overdose at The Killer's home in Nesbit, Mississippi, although several journalists suspect foul play. The couple had only been married three months. Lewis' fourth wife had died an accidental death only a year earlier.

August 2, 1983 Motown bass player James Jamerson dies at age 47 from a host of ailments, including cirrhosis of the liver and heart failure. Unheralded during his lifetime (he had to buy a ticket to see the Motown 25 special, Jamerson is later recognized as an integral part of the Motown sound; in 2000 he is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

July 12, 1983 Chris Wood (flute and sax player for Traffic) dies of pneumonia at age 39.

June 3, 1983 Already undergoing psychiatric treatment and suffering from, among other things, voices in his head, Derek & the Dominos drummer Jim Gordon brutally murders his own mother with a hammer and knife in their home. Gordon, who co-wrote the band's biggest hit, "Layla," is sentenced to life in prison.