Pick a Day

Music History Events: Deaths

January 7, 1980 Doo-wop singer Carl White (lead vocalist for The Rivingtons) dies of acute tonsillitis in Los Angeles, California, at age 48.

January 7, 1980 R&B singer Larry Williams dies at age 44 of a gunshot wound to the head in what's eventually deemed a suicide, though some speculate he was murdered. Known for a string of enduring rock 'n roll hits from the mid-'50s, including "Bony Moronie" and "Short Fat Fannie."

January 6, 1980 Georgeanna Tillman (of The Marvelettes) dies of lupus and sickle cell anemia a month shy of her 36th birthday.

January 3, 1980 R&B singer and pianist Amos Milburn dies after a series of strokes in Houston, Texas, at age 52. He is known for the 1953 hit "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer."

December 15, 1979 Jackie Brenston, R&B singer and saxophonist, dies of a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 49. Recorded the original "Rocket 88" with Ike Turner.

November 29, 1979 Rockabilly singer Ray Smith commits suicide at age 45. Known for the 1960 hit "Rockin' Little Angel."

November 17, 1979 John Glascock (bass guitarist for Jethro Tull) dies at age 28 of a congenital heart valve defect paired with an infection from an abscessed tooth.

November 11, 1979 Film score composer and conductor Dimitri Tiomkin - known for western scores like Duel in the Sun, High Noon, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and The Alamo - dies in London, England, at age 85.

September 27, 1979 Jimmy McCulloch (lead guitarist for Paul McCartney & Wings) dies of heroin-induced heart failure in Maida Vale, North West London, at age 26.

September 18, 1979 Greg Arama (bass player for The Amboy Dukes) dies in a motorcycle accident at age 29.

August 25, 1979 Bandleader Stan Kenton dies days after having a stroke in Los Angeles, California, at age 67. Known for hits with June Christy and a popular version of "Laura," named for the 1944 film-noir of the same name.

August 19, 1979 Dorsey Burnette (of Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio) dies of a massive coronary in Canoga Park, California, at age 46.

July 15, 1979 Punk rocker Rick Garberson (drummer for Bizarros) dies of a presumed suicide via carbon-monoxide poisoning.

July 12, 1979 Soul singer Minnie Riperton, known for her hit "Lovin' You," dies of breast cancer at age 31. Her daughter, Maya Rudolph, is 6 years old.

July 6, 1979 Van McCoy, known for the 1975 disco hit "The Hustle," dies of a heart attack at age 39.

June 29, 1979 While on tour in Arlington, Virginia, Lowell George dies of a heart attack caused by a cocaine overdose at age 34. His band, Little Feat, broke up just months earlier.

June 26, 1979 Two years after his son's death, Vernon Presley dies of heart failure at age 63.

June 21, 1979 Angus MacLise (original drummer for The Velvet Underground) dies of hypoglycemia and tuberculosis at age 41.

May 11, 1979 Lester Flatt, the guitarist who founded the Foggy Mountain Boys along with banjo player Earl Scruggs, dies of heart failure at age 64 after a long illness.

May 9, 1979 Jazz singer Eddie Jefferson dies at age 60 when a dancer he once hired and fired shoots him outside of Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit.

April 10, 1979 Italian composer Nino Rota, who won an Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Godfather Part II, dies at age 67 of heart failure.

March 17, 1979 Zenon DeFleur (rhythm guitarist for The Count Bishops) dies of a heart attack at age 27 after sustaining severe injuries in a car crash.

March 4, 1979 Mike Patto (of Patto, Spooky Tooth) dies of lymphatic leukemia at age 36.

January 13, 1979 Donny Hathaway commits suicide at age 33 by jumping from the balcony of his 15th floor room at the Essex House hotel in New York City.

January 5, 1979 Jazz double bassist Charlie Mingus dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in Cuernavaca, Mexico, at age 56.

December 27, 1978 Big Star guitarist Chris Bell dies in a car accident at age 27.

December 27, 1978 Bob Luman, known for the 1960 novelty hit "Let's Think About Living," dies of pneumonia at age 41.

October 23, 1978 "Mother" Maybelle Carter dies in Hendersonville, Tennessee, at age 69, inspiring her son-in-law Johnny Cash's song "Tears in the Holston River."

October 9, 1978 Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel dies of a pulmonary embolism in a hospital near Paris, France, at age 49.

October 6, 1978 Rock 'n Roll singer Johnny O'Keefe dies of a (prescribed) drug-induced heart attack in Darlinghurst, Australia, at age 43. Known for hits like "Wild One," "She's My Baby" and his cover of "Shout!"