Musicians Who Died in 2009
Publish date: 2024-10-07
2009 Calendar- Jan 3 Charles Camilleri, Maltese composer (Missa Mundi), dies at 77
- Jan 3 Olga San Juan, American actress, dancer and comedian (Variety Girl, 1 Touch of Venus), dies at 81
- Jan 6 Claude Jeter, American gospel music singer (The Swan Silvertones), dies at 94
- Jan 6 Ron Asheton, American guitarist, bassist, and songwriter (The Stooges), dies of an apparent heart attack at 60 [exact date estimated]
- Jan 6 Vivienne Della Chiesa, American lyric soprano who sang on US radio during the 1940s and early 1950s (The American Album of Familiar Music, The Standard Hour), dies at 93
- Jan 9 Dave Dee [Harman], British pop singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich), dies of cancer at 67
- Jan 13 Mansour Rahbani, Lebanese composer, lyricist, and poet, dies of pneumonia at 83
- Jan 20 David "Fathead" Newman, American jazz saxophonist (Ray Charles - "The Right Time"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 75
- Jan 23 George Perle, American composer (12 Tone Tonality), dies at 93
- Jan 23 Yuri Falik, Russian cellist, conductor, and composer (Elegiac Music; Buffoons), dies at 72
- Jan 24 Gérard Blanc, French pop singer ("Une Autre Histoire"), dies at 61
- Jan 24 Leonard Gaskin, American jazz bassist (Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis), dies at 88
- Jan 28 Arthur Jenkins, Jr., American jazz and pop session and touring keyboardist, composer, and arranger (Johnny Nash; Harry Belafonte; John Lennon; Roberta Flack), dies at 72
- Jan 28 Billy Powell, American musician and keyboardist (Lynyrd Skynyrd - "That Smell"; "Freebird"), dies at 56
- Jan 29 (Bennie Ross) "Hank" Crawford, American saxophonist, arranger and songwriter (Help Me Make It Through the Night), dies of complications from a stroke at 74
- Jan 29 John Martyn [Iain McGeachy], British folk-rock-blues singer-songwriter, and guitarist ("May You Never"), dies due to acute respiratory distress syndrome at 60
- Jan 31 Dewey Martin, Canadian rock drummer (Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth"), dies at 68
- Jan 31 Erland von Koch, Swedish composer, dies at 98
- Feb 1 Frankie Ervin, American R&B singer (The Three Blazers -"Dragnet Blues"; The Shields -"You Cheated"), dies at 82
- Feb 1 Jay Uzzell, American R&B singer (Corsairs), dies at 66
- Feb 1 Lukas Foss [Fuchs], German-American pianist, conductor and composer (Prairie), dies at 86
- Feb 3 Max Neuhaus, American classical musician and experimental percussionist (sound sculptures), dies of cancer at 69
- Feb 4 Lux Interior [Erick Lee Purkhiser], American punk rock singer (The Cramps), dies of a heart attack at 62
- Feb 4 Steve Dullaghan, British bass guitarist (The Primitives - "Crash"), dies of cannabis intoxication at 45
- Feb 7 Blossom Dearie, American jazz singer and pianist, dies of natural causes at 84
- Feb 9 Vic Lewis, British jazz guitarist, bandleader, composer, and artist manager (NEMS), and cricket club owner, dies at 89
- Feb 11 Estelle Bennett, American pop singer (The Ronettes - "Be My Baby"), dies at 67
- Feb 11 Marina Svetlova, American ballerina and choreographer (Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo), dies at 86
- Feb 14 Louie Bellson, American jazz drummer and orchestra leader (Pearl Bailey Show), dies at 84
- Feb 15 Joe Cuba [Gilberto Calderón], Puerto-Rican-American salsa and boogaloo conga player and bandleader, dies at 77
- Feb 18 (Fird) "Snooks" Eaglin, American blues and R&B guitarist and singer, dies at 72
- Feb 18 Miika Tenkula, Finnish heavy metal guitarist and songwriter (Sentenced), dies of a heart attack at 34
- Feb 19 Kelly Groucutt, British rock bass guitarist and vocalist (Electric Light Orchestra; ELO II; The Orchestra), dies of a heart attack at 63
- Feb 22 Günter Kochan, German composer, dies at 78
- Feb 25 Ian Carr, Scottish jazz musician (Nucleus), dies after suffering Alzheimer's disease at 75
- Mar 4 John Cephas, American Piedmont blues guitarist (Cephas & Wiggins), dies of pulmonary at 78
- Mar 4 Joseph Bloch, American concert pianist and professor of piano literature (b. 1917)
- Mar 6 David Williams, American R&B, pop and rock session and touring guitarist (Michael Jackson; Madonna; Rod Stewart; Bryan Ferry), dies of cardiac arrest following a stroke at 58
- Mar 6 Francis Magalona, Filipino Pinoy hip-hop rapper, songwriter, and television personality (Eat Bulaga!, 1995-2009), dies of leukemia at 44
- Mar 6 Henri Pousseur, Belgian composer (Votre Faust), dies of bronchial pneumonia at 79
- Mar 8 Ali Bongo [William Oliver Wallace], British comedy musician and magician (President of The Magic Circle - Shriek of Araby), dies at 79
- Mar 14 Alain Bashung, French singer, songwriter, comedian and actor, dies of cancer at 61
- Mar 19 Ion Dolănescu, Romanian singer and politician (b. 1944)
- Mar 20 Mel Brown, American-Canadian blues guitarist and singer (Eighteen Pounds of Unclean Chitlings), dies of complications from emphysema at 69
- Mar 24 Uriel Jones, American jazz and session drummer (Motown's Funk Brothers), dies from complications of a heart attack at 74
- Mar 25 "England" Dan [Seals], American pop and country singer (England Dan & John Ford Coley - "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight"), dies of cancer at 61
- Mar 29 Andy Hallett, American actor and singer (b.1975)
- Mar 29 Maurice Jarre, French Academy and Grammy Award-winning film composer (Lawrence Of Arabia; Doctor Zhivago; Witness; Fatal Attraction), dies at 84
- Apr 2 Clifford “Bud” Shank, American jazz saxophonist and flute player, dies of a pulmonary embolism at 82
- Apr 8 Herbie Lovelle, America drummer, studio musician (Hot Lips Page) and actor (Law & Order), dies at 85
- Apr 9 Randy Cain, American soul singer (4 Gents; Delfonics - "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)"), dies at 63
- Apr 10 Richard Arnell, English classical composer, dies at 91
- Apr 12 Edward Harper, English composer and pianist, dies at 68
- Apr 14 Gayle Caldwell, American songwriter ("Cycles"), and folk singer (New Christy Minstrels; Jackie & Gayle), dies at 68
- Apr 18 Enrique Franco, Spanish pianist, composer (Cuerda de presos), music promoter, and broadcaster (National Spanish Radio; Radio Clásica), dies at 89
- Apr 24 Rev. Timothy Wright, American gospel singer (Been There Done That), and pastor, dies from injuries sustained in a car crash at 61
Apr 25 American Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress (Mame; Maude; The Golden Girls), and singer, dies of lung cancer at 86
- Apr 27 Frankie Manning, American dancer, instructor, choreographer, and one of the founding fathers of Lindy Hop, dies at 94
- Apr 28 Ekaterina Maximova, Russian ballerina, dies at 70
- Apr 28 Valeria Peter Predescu, Romanian singer, dies of a heart attack at 62
- Apr 28 Vern Gosdin, American country singer ("Set 'Em Up Joe"), dies after a stroke at 74
- Apr 30 Ron Richards, British record producer (Gerry and The Pacemakers; The Hollies), dies at 80
- May 9 Turner Stephen Bruton, American country songwriter and musician (Crazy Heart), dies of throat cancer at 59
- May 12 Antonio Vega, Spanish pop-rock singer-songwriter, dies of lung cancer at 51
- May 15 Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and smooth jazz bassist, dies from the effects of cancer at 44
- May 18 Dolla [Roderick Anthony Burton II], American rapper, dies at21
- May 19 Nicholas Maw, British composer, dies at 73
- May 24 Jay Bennett, American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and singer-songwriter (Wilco, 1994-2001), dies of an accidental overdose of prescription painkiller Fentanyl at 46
- Jun 3 Koko Taylor [Cora Walton], American blues singer known as the "Queen of the Blues", dies of complications from surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding at 80
- Jun 3 Sam Butera, American big band and R&B saxophonist, songwriter, and singer (Louis Prima and the Witnesses), dies of pneumonia at 81
- Jun 5 Boris Pokrovsky, Russian operatic stage director, dies at 97
- Jun 5 Jeff Hanson, American singer-songwriter, dies of a drug overdose at 31
- Jun 7 Hugh Hopper, British progressive rock and jazz bassist (Soft Machine; Stomu Yamashta's East Wind; Carla Bley), dies of leukemia at 64
- Jun 7 Kenny Rankin, American singer-songwriter ("Peaceful"), dies of lung cancer at 69
- Jun 10 Barry Beckett, American keyboardist and record producer (David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, Roger Hawkins), dies from complications of a stroke at 66
- Jun 14 Bob Bogle, American surf rock bassist and guitarist (Ventures - "Walk, Don't Run"), dies at 75
- Jun 14 Ivan Della Mea, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
- Jun 19 Ali Akbar Khan, Indian classical sarod player, composer, and music educator, dies of kidney failure at 87
- Jun 22 Steve Race, British composer, jazz pianist and radio and television presenter (BBC's "My Music", 1967-94), dies at 88
- Jun 25 Sky Saxon [Richard Marsh], American rocker (The Seeds - "Pushin' To Hard"), dies from heart and renal failure at 71
- Jun 26 Erhard Karkoschka, German composer, conductor (Contac-Ensemble), educator, and music scholar, dies at 86
- Jun 27 Fayette Pinkney, American pop and disco singer (The Three Degrees, 1963-76 - "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)"; "When Will I See You Again?"), and psychologist, dies of acute respiratory failure at 61
- Jun 27 Gale Storm [Josephine Owaissa Cottle], American singer ("I Hear You Knockin'"), and actress (My Little Margie; The Gale Storm Show), dies at 87
- Jun 28 Tom Wilkes, American photographer, art director, poster and album cover designer (George Harrison; Rolling Stones; Carpenters, Sir Doug; Janis Joplin; Sandpipers), dies at 69
- Jun 30 Pina Bausch, German choreographer and dancer, dies at 68
- Jul 4 Drake Levin, American rock musician (b. 1946)
- Jul 4 Jim Chapin, American jazz drummer, and author, dies at 89
- Jul 5 Jack Ellory, British orchestral and session alto and bass flute player (Philharmonia Orchestra; The Beatles - "The Fool on the Hill"), dies at 89
- Jul 6 Johnny Collins, British folk and maritime music singer (b. 1938)
- Jul 11 Valentinas Bagdonas, Lithuanian composer (Symphony of Peace), dies at 79
- Jul 17 Gordon Waller, Scottish pop singer (Peter & Gordon - "A World Without Love"), dies at 64
- Jul 20 Ria Brieffies, Dutch pop singer (Dolly Dots - "Windsurfing"), dies of lung cancer at 52
- Jul 23 Danny McBride, American musician (Sha Na Na, 1975-80), dies at 63
- Jul 27 George Russell, American jazz pianist, composer, arranger (The Jazz Workshop; Jazz in the Space Age), and music theorist (Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization), dies of complications from Alzheimer's disease at 86
- Jul 28 Peter Richard Tahourdin, English-Australian composer, dies at 80
- Aug 4 Joe Maneri, American jazz composer, saxophone and clarinet player (Boston Microtonal Society), dies at 82
- Aug 6 Bahadır Akkuzu, Turkish rock guitarist and singer (Kurtalan Ekspres), dies of a heart attack at 54
- Aug 6 Willibrordus S. Rendra, Indonesian poet (Ballad orang-orang tertjina), dies at 73
- Aug 6 Willy Deville [William Paul Borsey Jr.], American rock vocalist and guitarist (Mink DeVille; The Princess Bride - "Storybook Love"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 58
- Aug 7 Mike Seeger, American folk musician (b. 1933)
- Aug 12 Les Paul [Polsfuss], American guitarist, (How High The Moon), songwriter and inventor (solid-body electric guitar), dies at 94
- Aug 15 Jim Dickinson, American record producer (Mud Boy), dies at 67
- Aug 20 Larry Knechtel, American session piano and bass player (Simon and Garfunkel; Johnny Rivers), dies of a heart attack at 69
- Aug 21 Dean Turner, Australian rock musician (Magic Dirt), dies of cancer at 37
- Aug 21 Johnny Carter, American doo-wop singer (The Flamingos; The Dells), dies at 75
- Aug 25 Robert Heppener, Dutch composer (Hymns & Conversations for 28 Harps; Memento), dies at 84
- Aug 26 Ellie Greenwich, American singer-songwriter ("Da-Doo Ron Ron"; "Leader of the Pack"), dies of a heart attack at 68
- Aug 27 Virgilio Savona, Italian jazz singer and composer (Quartetto Cetra - "Un bacio a mezzanotte"; "Crapa pelada"), dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 89
- Aug 28 DJ AM [Adam Goldstein], American DJ and musician, dies of a drug overdose at 36
- Aug 29 Chris Connor [Mary Jean Loutsenhizer], American jazz singer ("I Wonder What Became of Me"), dies of cancer at 81
- Aug 31 Maria de Lourdes Martins, Portuguese pianist and composer, dies at 83
- Sep 1 Jake Brockman, British rock keyboardist (Echo & the Bunnymen), dies in a motorcycle accident at 53
- Sep 2 Guy Babylon, American keyboard player (Elton John) and arranger dies at 52
Sep 16 American folk singer (Peter Paul & Mary - "Puff" (The Magic Dragon)"; "Leaving On A Jet Plane"), dies of leukemia at 72
- Sep 17 Leon Kirchner, American contemporary classical composer (Pulitzer Prize for Music 1967), dies of congestive heart failure at 90
- Sep 19 Arthur Ferrante, American pianist and composer (Ferrante & Teicher - Exodus), dies at 88
- Sep 25 Alicia de Larrocha, Spanish pianist (Orquesta Sinfonica), dies at 86
- Sep 29 Greg Ladanyi, Hungarian-American record producer and recording engineer, dies of injuries sustained in a fall at 57
- Oct 3 Robert Kirby, British music arranger (Nick Drake), dies at 61
- Oct 4 Mercedes Sosa, Argentinian singer (exponent of nueva canción), dies at 74
- Oct 10 Stephen Gately, Irish pop singer (Boyzone - "A Different Beat"; "No Matter What"), dies of a congenital heart defect at 33
- Oct 12 Dickie Peterson American heavy metal bassist (Blue Cheer), dies of liver cancer at 63
- Oct 12 Ian Wallace, British buffo bass-baritone opera and concert singer ("Gendarmes' Duet"), and broadcaster (BBC's My Music, 1964-97), dies at 90
- Oct 13 Al Martino [Jasper Cini], American pop singer ("Here in My Heart"), and actor (The Godfather), dies of a heart attack at 82
- Oct 13 Roger Nixon, American composer, dies at 88
- Oct 17 Vic Mizzy, American composer (Green Acres and The Addams Family themes), and bandleader, dies at 93
- Oct 26 George Na'ope, Hawaiian-American musician, dancer and heritage preservationist, dies of cancer at 81
- Oct 30 Norton Buffalo [Phillip Jackson], American singer-songwriter and country and blues harmonica player, dies of cancer at 58
- Oct 31 Ron Gowans, Australian jazz saxophonist, dies of cancer at 83
- Nov 5 Félix Luna, Argentine historian and lyricist, dies at 84
- Nov 16 Edward Woodward, British actor (Breaker Morant; Wickerman; The Equalizer), and pop singer ("The Way You Look Tonight"), dies at 79
- Nov 18 Bill Narum, American counter-culture figure, illustrator and rock poster and album art designer (ZZ Top), dies at 62
- Nov 19 Annie Delorie, Dutch opera singer (Nederlandse Opera, 1950-70), dies at 84
- Nov 20 H.C. Robbins Landon, American musicologist (Haydn: Chronicle and Works), dies at 83
- Nov 23 Richard Graham Meale, Australian composer (Three Miró Pieces; Voss), dies at 77
- Nov 24 Hale Smith, American composer, dies at 84
- Nov 24 Kan Ishii, Japanese composer (Marimo), dies at 88
- Dec 1 Gustavo Adolfo Palma, Guatemalan singer (b. 1920)
- Dec 1 Ramses Shaffy, Dutch singer and cabaret actor (Zaak MP, Liefdesbekentenissen), dies at 76
- Dec 2 Eric Woolfson, Scottish singer and producer (The Alan Parsons Project), dies at 64
- Dec 8 Luis Días, Dominican Composer (b. 1952).
- Dec 13 Aubrey Bowman, British pianist, composer, and conductor (Workman's Music Association), dies from injuries after being struck by a car at 91
- Dec 13 Joe Castro, American bebop and West Coast jazz pianist (Teddy Edwards Quartet; June Christy), dies at 82
- Dec 15 Carolyn DeZurik, American country and polka singer and yodeler (The Cackle Sisters; Prairie Ramblers; The Polka Chips), dies at 90
- Dec 18 Oskar Danon, Yugoslav conductor (Belgrade Opera, 1944-65), dies at 96
- Dec 20 (Amada) "Amy" Santos Ocampo, Filipina pianist and composer, dies at 84
- Dec 20 James Gurley, American rock lead guitarist (Big Brother and the Holding Company), dies of a heart attack at 69
- Dec 20 Tony Ayre, Northern Irish rock bass player (The Adventures - "Broken Land", "Drowning in the Sea of Love"), dies at 51
- Dec 24 Tim Hart, British folk-rock singer, guitarist, mandolin and dulcimer player (Steeleye Span, 1969-82 - "All Around My Hat"; "Gaudete"), dies of lung cancer at 61
- Dec 25 Tony "T-Bone" Bellamy, American rock guitarist (Redbone), dies of liver failure at 63
- Dec 25 Vic Chesnutt, American singer-songwriter, dies of an overdose of muscle relaxants at 46
- Dec 26 Felix Wurman, American cellist and composer, dies of cancer at 51
- Dec 28 James Owen Sullivan, American drummer and songwriter (Avenged Sevenfold), dies aged 28
- Dec 30 Rowland S. Howard, Australian guitarist (The Birthday Party) (b. 1959)
- Dec 31 Earl Gaines, American R&B, soul, and electric blues singer (It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)), dies at 74
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