Musicians Who Died in 2018

18 minutes for musicians who died in '18. Download the latest episode at weheartmusic.podomatic.com.

Below are some big names who died last year:

Interested in 2019? Go here Musicians Who Died in 2019

Walk Off The Earth (30 Dec 2018):
Mike “Beard Guy” Taylor from Walk Off The Earth has died of natural causes on Sunday, December 30th.
The band issued this statement, “Mike had a love for life that was unmatched and a willingness to give that went beyond ordinary means. Our deepest sympathies are with his two children, whom he adored more than anything else in the world.”

We caught Walk Off the Earth at the Basilica Block Party (08 July 2017) and said, "Walk Off the Earth was undoubtedly the most fun band to see of the weekend. The Ontario, CAN six-piece (+3 live) ensemble threw everything including the kitchen sink, into their energetic hour-long performance, including confetti cannons, drums that “blew” smoke rings when struck, a group kazoo solo, playing plastic pipes and pool noodles, and five members strumming a single guitar. Part jukebox band (they re-interpret several current hit songs) and with multi-genre songs of their own, they nearly define the term, musical melting pot. "

The Honeycombs (23 Dec 2018):
Also, girl-drummer/singer Honey Lantree, of The Honeycombs, has passed away at the age of 75 on December 23rd. Lantree was one of the very few girl drummers of her generation. The Honeycombs’ biggest hit song “Have I the Right?” (produced by Joe Meek) was #1 in the UK.
You can hear Lantree co-singing on the band’s second hit, “That’s the Way.”

Seventeen (22 Dec 2018):
A recent tsunami suddenly killed three members (and their road manager) of the Indonesian pop/rock group Seventeen while they were performing at Tanjung Lesung resort on 22 December 2018. The moment of the wave hitting the stage was captured by a fan recording.
The only surviving band member, Riefian "Ifan" Fajarsyah, announced that the band is no more.

Drummer Windu Andi Darmawan, bassist Muhammad Awal Purbani, and guitarist Herman Sikumbang, all died at the age of 36h.

Anca Pop (17 Dec 2018):
Also in the news is the death of Romanian-Canadian singer-songwriter Anca Pop. She was involved in a traffic accident that sent her car into the Danube River. Her body was found on December 17; she was only 34.

Pop’s music style was a little Balkan and mainstream pop. She had a big following in Japan.

Nancy Wilson (13 Dec 2018):
American singer Nancy Wilson has died on December 13th. I know we’re late to mention the news, but her contribution to blues and jazz is so important that we had at least acknowledge the sad news of her passing.

Wilson’s career spanned over five decades, starting in the mid-1950s to her retirement in 2010. Her signature song was “(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am” and her reinterpretation of “Guess Who I Saw Today”.

We previously wrote about Wilson, noting, “Growing up in Ohio, Nancy Wilson knew early she wanted to be a singer. After winning talent shows, working clubs, touring with a big band and studying briefly to become a teacher, she decided to make a move to New York City in 1959. Cannonball Adderly was so impressed with the up-and-coming singer he helped launch Wilson’s career by sharing his manager, John Levy, and his label, Capitol Records. That’s all the help she would need. Her debut was so well received she released five albums by her within the first two and a half years. And for the next forty Wilson would go on to record 70 albums with the last, “Turn to Blue,” winning a Grammy in 2006 for best jazz vocal.”

Buzzcocks (06 Dec 2018):
We are sad to learn that Buzzcocks’ co-founder Pete Shelley has died of a heart attack at the age of 63.

We caught the band’s last Minneapolis appearance at the Varsity Theater in September 2014 and wrote, “I may have said that Pete Shelley was the only original member of Buzzcocks. Although that is technically true, I believe Steve Diggle (who joined later) is really as much a part of the Buzzcocks as anyone since 1976. And let me tell you Рwatching Diggle on stage is a delight.”

I love so many Buzzcocks songs, and the band played many of my favorites on their live show (including “I Don't Mind”, “Fast Cars”, “Autonomy”, “What Do I Get?”, and, of course, their two best-known songs “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)” and “Orgasm Addict”.

December (38)

Roy Clark (15 Nov 2018):
We got the announcement that legendary “superpicker” Roy Clark has died at the age of 85 due to complications from pneumonia at home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He’s probably best known for the being the host of the longest-running syndicated show in television history Hee Haw, even though he was already famous being for being one of the first cross-over pop and country musician.

Stan Lee (12 Nov 2018):
Legendary Marvel Universe creator Stan Lee has died at the age of 95.
Lee, along with Jack Kirby were responsible for many of the original Marvel Comics’ characters, such as The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and X-Men, etc.
Although Stan Lee is not necessary a musician, many singers and songwriters have been influenced by Stan Lee or many of his creations. For example, Joe Satriani’s classic album Surfing with the Alien features Stan and Jack’s Silver Surfer on his cover. Or bands like The Ramones covering the Spider-Man theme song, etc.

Deerhunter (04 Nov 2018):
We have just learned that Josh Fauver, the former bassist for Deerhunter, has died at the age of 39. Pitchfork wrote that Fauver joined Deerhunter in 2004, “after the band’s original bassist Justin Bosworth died following a skateboarding accident.”
He stayed with Deerhunter until he left in 2012.

Ranford Bigsby (04 Nov 2018):
Liam Anderson, who performs under the stagename Ranford Bigsby was allegedly killed by his close friend Matthew Flame in a fight, on the morning of November 4. Anderson was 26.
Anerson was following in the footsteps of his father, Gary “Angry” Anderson, the lead singer of rock band Rose Tattoo.

Dave & Sugar (01 Nov 2018):
Dave Rowland, of Dave & Sugar, has died at the age of 74, from an announcement from his publicist at 2911.us. Rowland died on November 1, 2018 in Nashville, due to complications from a stroke.
Dave & Sugar’s early singles (“Queen of the Silver Dollar”, “The Door Is Always Open”, “I'm Gonna Love You” and "Don't Throw It All Away”) were all huge hits for the trio (Dave Rowland, Jackie Frantz, and Vicki Hackeman) in 1975-77.
Their double #1 Country hit songs “Tear Time” and “Golden Tears” proved that the soulful trio became “the country ABBA” as labeled by critics and fans.

November (57)

The Residents (30 Oct 2018):
It happened so quickly that we didn’t get a chance to mention that Hardy Fox from the weird eyeball-band The Residents has died on October 30th. He is survived by his husband, Steven Kloman.

C.W. Vrtacek (21 Oct 2018): This recent death of C.W. Vrtacek (born Charles O’Meara) came from experimental electronic music collective Biota (which O’Meara was a member of). O’Meara was 65.

Jon James (20 Oct 2018): Canadian rapper Jon James McMurray (recording under the name Jon James), who fell to his death filming a music(?) video! He was 34. According to the story on cfjctoday.com, he was walking on the airplane’s wings when it lost control and he fell. He had a parachute, but failed to release it before ground impact.

All That Remains (17 Oct 2018): Oli Herbert, lead guitarist for All That Remains was found dead in a nearby pond at his Connecticut home, at the age of 44.
Police found him after families reported him missing, so cause of death is still a mystery at this time… according to TMZ.
We caught Oli in All That Remains just over a year ago September 2017 and was impressed by their cover of Garth Brooks’ “The Thunder Rolls”: “Believe me, you haven’t lived until you see bodies surfing to a country song.”

GNZ48 (17 Oct 2018): Du Yuwei from the massive 86-girl group GNZ48, who committed suicide from what appears to be a fallout of having an affair with a married man. In these all-girls pop idol groups, the singers have to sign a contract that prevent them from dating (or appears to be taken), so they would appeal to young boys.
It’s just sad to see these young people killing themselves… over just nothing really. Du Yuwei was only 19 years old.

October (61)

400 Bar (11 Sep 2018):
Local 400 Bar co-owner, Tom Sullivan died on September 11th, as reported by the Star Tribune. Sullivan was 62.
I moved to Minneapolis in 1999, and the 400 Bar (opened in 1996 by brothers Bill & Tom Sullivan) was one of the very first show that I attended (it was for Momus on 18 November 1999). I wasn't familiar with the area at the time, so I actually got there really early and saw the eye-patching-wearing Momus walking down the street.
In December 2012, the 400 Bar closed its doors at the Cedar location. Eventually, they pop up briefly at the Mall of America in June 2014 (we caught Kate Tucker on 28 July 2014), but everyone agreed that it wasn’t the same 400 Bar.

Crime (10 Sep 2018):
If you like early punk music at all, you’ve probably heard of the San Francisco band Crime (not to be confused with the bands Minneapolis' Crimes or London's Crimea). The singer and guitarist Johnny Strike, has recently died at the age of 70 to cancer.
With only one proper studio album (San Francisco's Doomed) and two official “bootlegs” (Terminal Boredom and Hate Us or Love Us, We Don't Give a F***), the band eventually broke up in the 90s. The group did reform with some changes in the lineup in the 2000s, with a second album, Exalted Masters.
Even though it was probably a crime that Crime never made it big, they sure looked cool trying.

Mac Miller (07 Sep 2018):
News of Mac Miller’s death hit the internet hard at noon on Friday, and celebrities, sport stars, and fans across the country were paying tribute to the rapper. It was unexpected, because Mac Miller was only 26 and in the prime of his career. TMZ reported that it was an apparent overdose. His death came after We Came As Romans’s singer Kyle Pavone (age 28) also died of a drug overdose on August 31.

We caught Mac Miller in October 2016, as part of his The Divine Feminine tour, and said, “Mac Miller only needed a microphone to do his magic. The audience sang back all the popular songs. It’s unlike anything you’ll ever see, over one thousand fans singing and dancing in tune with Miller.”

Burt Reynolds (06 Sep 2018):
I wasn’t going to mention the death of Burt Reynolds , that is until reader Russell Lichter pointed out that Reynolds actually had a music recording career.
In 1973, Reynolds released the album called Ask Me What I Am. And what’s even funnier is in the review for Jeff Bridges, we wrote in Sep 2011: “Did you know that Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds and Kevin Costner have all released country albums? (Neither did I.)”

Reynolds died on September 6, 2018, to a heart attack. He was 82.

September (63)

Papa vs Pretty (28 Aug 2018):
It's always sad to mention that another young musician has recently died: Luke Liang of Papa vs Pretty, has died at the age of 28, according to dailymail.co.uk.
Papa vs Pretty's drummer Tom Myers wrote that Liang lost his life to "depression", which can only mean one thing… that he took his own life.

We wrote about the band in Aug 2010, before Liang joined the group (he joined in 2012), saying, “I was lucky enough to see an acoustic set in a quirky little pub basement in Darlinghurst, Sydney. Three youngsters from the Sydney-based band Papa Vs Pretty played two of the songs from their new EP, Heavy Harm. Heavy on the melody and quite intense lyrically. Foot-tappingly brilliant.”

We Came As Romans (25 Aug 2018):
Kyle Pavone, the singer of We Came As Romans, has died at the age of 28, as reported by cnn.com.
A cause of death was not clear, but Pavone’s sudden death is tragic as they are so young.
We saw the group in October 2015 and wrote, ‚ÄúWe Came As Romans stole the show last night, playing tracks from their latest self-titled album (Equal Vision Records)…. The crowd never slowed down for WCAR's set and neither did the band members. The amount of energy these guys have is immeasurable. Throughout the hour long set, WCAR had the crowd enthralled in their live show. You didn't have to know their lyrics to feel like you were a part of this band. That is why I feel like these guys stole the show. It didn't matter who you were there to see last night, you stopped what you were doing, stopped the conversation you were in the middle of, put your phones away the second these guys started.‚Äù

Lynyrd Skynyrd (22 Aug 2018):
Worth noting is that Ed King, the Hall of Fame guitarist for Strawberry Alarm Clock and Lynyrd Skynyrd, has died at the age of 68 to lung cancer. He’s probably most famous for co-writing the hit song “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Khaira Arby (19 Aug 2018):
“The Nightingale of Timbuktu” Khaira Arby has died on August 19, at the age of 59, as confirmed by her family.
japantimes.co.jp wrote “One of a generation of legendary musicians from the ancient northwestern Malian city, Arby became a major voice for peace in her troubled country.”

We saw the Malian singer in July 2011 and said, “So, the first thing that hits you when Khaira Arby sings is that she has an amazing voice. It's loud and it's powerful. Singing style, for some reason, I found it to sound very similar to Indian (East Asia), but sung in French and Bambara.”

Aretha Franklin (16 Aug 2018):
We’ve heard the rumors about Aretha Franklin on her deathbed, but when it was announced today that the Queen of Soul has died, it was still hard to take.
Anyone who likes soul music, heck, just music, loved Aretha Franklin. There’s just something unbelievable about her voice and power that demands to be heard. Sure, her big hit song “Respect” was a cover of Otis Redding, but Franklin’s version is so much better known that anyone would confusion “Respect” as on one else but Aretha Franklin’s song.
The past few years, we’ve lost a few singers in the world of Soul, like Sharon Jones (in 2016), Charles Bradley (in 2017), and, locally, Sonny Knight (also in 2017).

August (57)

John Maus (28 Jul 2018): Joe Maus, the bassist and brother to John Maus, has died while on tour. He was rather young, only 30 years old.
The news was announced by Ribbon Music via Twitter:
We regret to inform you that Joe Maus passed away on Saturday, July 28th in Cesis. Latvia while on tour with his brother John.
… Lastly, all listed John Maus shows are cancelled.

July (37)

The Jackson Five (27 Jun 2018):
Joe Jackson, the patriarch of the Jackson family (not to be confused with English songwriter Joe Jackson), has died at the age of 89, according to tmz. Joe Jackson was the mastermind behind The Jackson 5, launching them to a music career… but not without an iron fist. Although his abusive parenting style does not look good on Joe, he said that his style kept made his kids successful, particularly the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and his sister Janet Jackson.

Pantera (22 Jun 2018): Founding Panatera member
Vinnie Paul is dead. The influential metal band was nominated for Grammys in 1995 and 2001 and their record Far Beyond Driven went to #1 in 1994.
It’s tragically sad, because Vinnie Paul’s brother, Dimebag (also in Pantera), was shot and killed during a Damageplan concert in 2004.

XXXTentacion (18 Jun 2018):
We don‚Äôt really follow rap, but by all accounts XXXTentacion was a rising rapper who knew his lifestyle would lead to death. In an recent TMZ interview, he said that he wouldn‚Äôt hire bodyguards because when it‚Äôs his time to leave, it‚Äôs his time. Just prior to his death, he had a positive message of hope… as if he knew he was going to be killed.
With his death, his two albums 17 and ? skyrocketed to #1 on the sales charts.

Jimmy Wopo (18 Jun 2018): Jimmy Wopo, he is affiliated with fellow Pittsburgh based rapper, Wiz Khalifa. Wopo was found shot in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Fleetwood Mac (08 Jun 2018): Thanks to Bernie for passing along the news that former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Danny Kirwan is dead at the age of 68. According to CNN, Kirwan died in London.

June (58)

Frightened Rabbits (10 May 2018):
We are sad to learn that Frightened Rabbits singer and songwriter, Scott Hutchison, is dead at the age of 36. More details on bbc.com: “The discovery was made at Port Edgar, between the Forth Road Bridge and Queensferry Crossing, at about 20:30 on Thursday…. Mr Hutchison had spoken openly about his battle with depression over the years, with elder brother Neil saying he had done so "in an attempt to help other people with similar conditions".”
It is suggested that Scott Hutchison committed suicide as a result of suffering from depression.

Dead or Alive (04 May 2018): Dead or Alive’s drummer Steve Coy has died at the age of 56. Coy joined the group to replace Joe Musker, who left the group in 1982.
What is sad is that singer Pete Burns died of a heart attack in 2016.

May (49)

Avicii (20 Apr 2018):
Truly shocking news of the Swedish DJ and musician Avicii on April 20th. He was only 28. Oman’s police officially ruled out any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.
Fans speculate that Avicii’s death is likely attributed to his constant life of partying and drinking. Avicii said that he was forced to stop drinking when he got his first pancreatitis attack at the age of 21… but TMZ showed a photo of Avicii holding what appears to be a drink the day before his death.

Dale Winton (18 Apr 2018):
If you live outside of the UK, you probably have never heard of English radio DJ and television presenter Dale Winton. He died on April 18th, as confirmed by his long-term agent Jan Kennedy said.
Winton started his career as a DJ in London, before landing a gig on local radio. He joined BBC Bristol in 1986, and his big break came when he became the host of Supermarket Sweep from 1993 to 2001. If you’re a Britpop fan Рyou may know him from a brief cameo on Trainspotting, and also as the star of Sleeper’s “Inbetweener” UK music video.

April (48)

Veronica Falls (03 Mar 2018):
Patrick Doyle, the Scottish drummer for Veronica Falls has died over the weekend. His death was confirmed by his solo project Boys Forever. It’s always tragic to hear about these deaths, especially from someone so young (Doyle was 32). We caught Veronica Falls in March 2013 and February 2012 touring for Waiting for Something to Happen and Veronica Falls, respectively.

March (66)

Jóhann Jóhannsson (09 Feb 2018):
Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson has died on Friday, February 9th, as confirmed by his manager. He was 48.
We caught Jóhannsson on a rare U.S. tour in October 2016 and wrote, “we are very lucky to have caught Jóhannsson on this truly unique tour.” Those words, now have a deeper meaning… as we think about how truly, truly incredibly grateful to have seen him in person.

The Temptations (01 Feb 2018):
The Temptations’ lead singer Dennis Edwards has died at the age of 74 from complications from meningitis.
Edwards started his career singing in a gospel vocal group called The Mighty Clouds of Joy and eventually ended up singing for The Contours when their singer Billy Gordon fell ill. The Contours opened up for several The Temptations shows, so they had a good relation with Motown founder Berry Gordy.
The Temptation’s singer, at the time, David Ruffin was letting things get to his head and not showing up to shows… and as a result Gordy decided to replace Ruffin with Edwards.

Two days before his 75th birthday, Edwards suffered a heart attack as a result with meningitis and pneumonia, and died in a Chicago hospital.

February (51)

American Idol (31 Jan 2018):
Ex-NBA player Rasual Butler and his wife, Leah LaBelle, were both killed in a car crash outside of Marshalls in Studio City, California.
According to TMZ Sports, Butler was driving and lost control of his Range Rover around 2 AM, struck a parking meter and slammed into a wall. The car flipped.

R&B singer Leah LaBelle appeared on American Idol, and currently signed to Epic Records. LaBelle was 31.

Glee (30 Jan 2018): Mark Salling (who played “Puck” from the musical television show Glee) has committed suicide by hanging. His body was discovered by police today, January 30th. He was 35. Salling’s troubles began after he was arrested for possession of child pornography and was facing four to seven years in prison.

In happier days, Salling was a talented musician, who wrote and sang his own music, under his stage name Jericho. He found fame as a regular cast member for Glee, at least for the first four seasons.

The Fall (24 Jan 2018): You know that we love The Fall here, so we’re devastated to hear that Mark E Smith has died at the age of 60. It’s funny to think that Smith was only 60, because I thought he was 60 when I got into The Fall, hearing Smith’s unique vocal styling for the first time in the early 90s. No one can quite sing like Mark E. Smith.
To be honest, although I love some of the Fall’s songs and albums, I could never keep up with their prolific output as a band. From 1979 to 2017, the band released 32 studio albums!
The last time we talked about The Fall was when they released Live: Uurop VIII-XII Places in Sun & Winter, Son in 2014, and we noted that “The Fall: always the same, always different”. We also said that at Mark E Smith’s age, that he won’t tour America.

The Cranberries (15 Jan 2018):
To the faithful departed, Irish singer Dolores O'Riordan, of The Cranberries, has died at the age of 46.

The last time we heard from the band was that they had released a unique collection called Something Else via BMG/The End Records. The album was a re-working of their major hits like “Linger” and “Zombie”, in addition to three new songs.

The record was in celebration of their 25th anniversary as a band, and would also include a 14 U.S. tour dates to promote the record. Unfortunately, via buzz.ie, they had to cancel all U.S. dates (from September to October) due to ‚ÄúDolores O‚ÄôRiordan‚Äôs recovery from her ongoing back problem…‚Äù

France Gall (07 Jan 2018):
Iconic French singer France Gall has died at the age of 70, according to reuters.com: "Gall passed away on Sunday after a two-year struggle against cancer, French media reported. The news prompted tributes including from President Emmanuel Macron, who said on his Twitter account that “she leaves behind songs that are familiar to all French people and the example of a life devoted to others.” Gall, whose father penned songs for French greats Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour, rose to fame as a teenager with help from legendary singer and songwriter [Serge] Gainsbourg."

Gainsbourg and Gall collaborated on their hit song, ‘Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son’, which won the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg in 1965.
Her songs were covered by contemporary musicians, including Belle & Sebastian for ‘Poupee…’ and April March for ‘Laisse Tomber Les Filles’. March’s version, ‘Chick Habit’ cover appeared in the film Grindhouse.

Jerry Van Dyke (05 Jan 2018):
Actor, comedian Jerry Van Dyke, the brother of Dick Van Dyke, has died at the age of 86, according to tmz.com: Jerry's wife, Shirley, tells us … he died Friday afternoon at their Arkansas ranch with her by his side. She says they were involved in a car accident over 2 years ago … and Jerry's health had deteriorated since.
In addition to his acting and comedy career, Jerry Van Dyke recorded duets for his regular appearance on The Judy Garland Show.

Rick Hall (02 Jan 2018): One of the big names to drop is music producer and FAME Studios founder Rick Hall, who recently has died at the age of 85.
His family issued the following statement:
It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the passing of our father, husband and beloved grandfather, Rick Hall. His spirit will live on forever through the massive amount of legendary music that he so tirelessly produced. Music was his life and because of him, Fame Studios and Muscle Shoals will always be “shooting for the stars!" We hope the band in Heaven is ready. If not, there’s going to be a problem.

Considered “Father of the Muscle Shoals Sound,” Rick Hall help define a new sound that would inspire artists, to come to his FAME Studios. With over 300 hit singles, and over 40 Gold and Platinum records, it helped Hall earn a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement.

January (78)