Musicians and singers who died in May 2020

David Hales, pianist and repetiteur for the Cairo Opera Company, passed away in the early hours of Sunday in Cairo after suffering an age-related health crisis.
… via ahram.org

Mady Mesplé was at ease both in Lakmé de Delibes and in the repertoires of her contemporaries. The Toulouse soprano Mady Mesplé passed away on Saturday May 30, 2020 at the age of 89 years.
… via francemusique.fr

John Nzenze took his last breath on Saturday at St. Elizabeth Mukumu Mission Hospital in Kakamega, where he had been admitted for a month after undergoing stomach surgery.
Nzenze is best known for his Angelike hit released in the 1960s and was among the few surviving legends of the Kenya Twist genre. His other popular songs include Veronica and Twisti ni Nzuri.
… via mwakilishi.com

Famously laconic and never one for self-promotion, or likely to stand out as the snappiest dresser on the scene, the great British tenor-saxophonist Don Weller, who has died aged 79, found a way to play that marked him out as one of the most distinctive of local jazz voices
… via jazzwise.com

The musician composer, singer and guitarist from Ceará Evaldo Gouveia died at the age of 91 on Friday (29), in Fortaleza, as a result of Covid-19
… via globo.com

Guitarist Bob Kulick, who recorded and toured with artists such as Kiss, Meat Loaf and Lou Reed, has reportedly died at the age of 70.
… via ultimateclassicrock.com

Claude Heater, the Bay Area native who became renowned as a heldentenor in European opera houses, passed away peacefully at age 92 after a prolonged battle with heart disease
… via legacy.com

Lennie Niehaus, the West Coast alto saxophonist, arranger and composer who played with Stan Kenton’s band and collaborated with Clint Eastwood on more than two dozen films, has died
… via hollywoodreporter.com

Veteran lyricist Yogesh Gaur, known as Yogesh in the film industry, passed away on Friday. He was 77.
Yogesh wrote the lyrics of hit songs “Kahin duur jab din dhal jaye” and “Zindagi kaisi hai paheli” that defined the superhit film Anand (1971). He worked with many prominent names including Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee.
… via indianexpress.com

Showband legend Brendan Bowyer has passed away in the US. He died peacefully surrounded by his family at his home in Las Vegas
… via waterfordlive.ie

Drummer and actor Gustavo Guillén died this Thursday in a sanatorium in the city of La Plata at the age of 57 due to cancer.
… via telam.com.ar

Iconic rock urbano pioneer Charlie Monttana reportedly died on Thursday at the age of 58. His death was announced via Facebook by his partner Cherie Monttana. An official cause of death has not been determined although some reports suggest a cardiac arrest as said cause.
… via remezcla.com

At the age of 79, the maestro Federico García Vigil died suddenly, who between 1993 and 2008 served as Titular Director of the Montevideo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Born on January 5, 1941, García Vigil began studying piano at an early age, at the Guillermo Kolischer Conservatory
… via tvshow.com.uy

Famed Kikuyu benga musician James Githinji (pictured) popularly known as Jimmy wa Yuni is dead.
Githinji died in a road accident at Githurai, along Thika Super-highway last night.
… via standardmedia.co.ke

Presidential Award winning singer Ijaz Qaiser, who made Pakistan famous all over the world, has passed away. He was suffering from heart, kidney and lung diseases
… via jang.com

George Floyd’s death at the hands of an arresting police officer inspired weeks of protest for change. In 1994, he performed on stage as “Big Floyd” in the hip-hop group Screwed Up Click
… via chicagotribune.com

Bucky Baxter — an ace pedal steel guitarist who played in Bob Dylan’s band for much of the Nineties on Dylan’s Never Ending Tour — died Monday in Sanibel Island, Florida
… via rollingstone.com

The renowned Nicaraguan singer-songwriter and composer Otto de la Rocha died this Monday, May 25, as a result of diseases that have afflicted him for a long time, confirmed Rosario Murillo, vice president of Nicaragua.
Otto Benjamín de la Rocha López, who was born on August 23, 1933 in Jinotega
… via laprensa.com.ni

As a member of the aptly named Comets, bassist Al Rex supplied the pioneering rockabilly punch and the visual acrobatics that helped launch Billy Haley & His Comets into the rock ‘n’ roll stratosphere in the mid ’50s.
By 1962, when his son was born, Rex was going by his real name, Albert Piccirilli, and had left a brief but promising solo career, as well as his days as a Comet, behind him
… via delcotimes.com

“Today, May 24, 2020, my soul brother left us, the artist, crazy, passionate, musician, composer, singer, arranger, but above all, a great human being. Jorge Spiteri, you left listening to your music, you chose that moment. Your work will last forever. God take you in his bed,” reported a text late Sunday afternoon on the musician’s Facebook account.
… via diariolasamericas.com

Jimmy Cobb, the drummer who played on Miles Davis‘s famous jazz album Kind of Blue, passed away on Sunday at the age of 91
… via nu.nl

Lily Lian, considered the last street singer in Paris, friend of Maurice Chevalier, died Sunday at Ivry hospital. “Lily Paname” had been one of her record successes in the 1950s and 1960s
… via lefigaro.fr

For the third time this year, Brooklyn is mourning the loss of another rapper after KJ Balla was gunned down on Friday in the East New York section of Brooklyn. He was 23 years old.
According to reports, Balla, whose real name is Kennedy Noel, was found with a gunshot to the torso when paramedics arrived a little after 9:15pm.
… via thesource.com

Steven “Thee Slayer Hippy” Hanford, best known for his work as a drummer in the influential Oregon punk band Poison Idea, has died, according to Portland alt-weekly Willamette Week and Blackhouse Records
… via pitchfork.com

The singer Mory Kanté, who helped bring African music to world audiences with hits like Yéké Yéké, has died in Guinea.
Kanté died in hospital on Friday in the capital, Conakry, aged 70, his son Balla Kanté told the AFP news agency.
… via bbc.com

Klaus Selmke, drummer of the GDR rock band City, passed away on Friday at the age of 70. The band announced this on their Facebook page. The drummer founded the band together with guitarist Fritz Puppel in 1972 in the Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg.
… via nordkurier.de

The reggae and dancehall music fraternity has been plunged into mourning following the death of legendary studio engineer and music producer Bobby ‘Bobby Digital’ Dixon, who died yesterday at age 59 of a kidney-related illness.
… via dancehallmag.com

American composer John Zdechlik passed away on May 21, 2020, at home in White Bear Lake, MN. Cherished husband of 58 years to Catherine (Baxter) Zdechlik; dedicated father of John (Marjorie), Mark (Amy) and Sarah Kolo (David)
… via legacy.com

The opera singer Berith Bohm has passed away after a period of illness, 87 years old, says her daughter
… via svt.se

Neil Howlett, principal baritone for 17 years at English National Opera, died this morning in Lincoln Hospital after a lengthy period of illness
… via slippedisc.com

Hawaii has lost music legend Willie K.
Born William Awihilima Kahaiali’i, many simply knew him as “Uncle Willie.” His fans grew to love him as Willie K.
According to his loved ones, Willie K died peacefully late Monday night at his home in Wailuku after enduring a lengthy battle with lung cancer
… via hawaiinewsnow.com

News has reached fans’ ears that musician Sean Tyla died on 17 May. As you may know, guitarist and singer Sean was the leader of pub rock legends Ducks Deluxe and later the Tyla Gang for whom he wrote many cracking tunes and led with aplomb.
… via willbirch.com

The Ecuadorian singer Mercedes Mendoza passed away this Sunday, May 17, 2020, at 93 years old. She was a member of the renowned musical duo of the Mendoza Suasti Sisters.
… via elcomercio.com

Legendary American Bluesman Lucky Peterson, master of the blues guitar and the Hammond B3, has died at the age of 55, according to his Facebook page.
… via rockandbluesmuse.com

Peter Thomas, who died on Sunday in Lugano, composed music for 100 German feature films and 550 TV series.
He was known ‘Raumpatrouille’, which was used by the Brit-Pop band Pulp in their 1998 album ‘This is Hardcore’.
… via slippedisc.com

Jazz pianist Donn Trenner was a larger-than-life musical figure for decades in Connecticut, after returning from decades on the national scene, where he rubbed shoulders, toured and recorded with Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Stan Getz, Ann-Margret, Steve Allen, Bob Hope and Shirley MacLaine.
… via ctinsider.com

The renowned folk music singer, Eusebio ‘Chato’ Grados, died this Saturday of a cardiac arrest, as confirmed by his son, Victor Grados, through his personal Facebook account
… via elcomercio.pe

Veteran music director, composer, singer Azad Rahaman passed away at Bangladesh Specialized Hospital in the capital’s Shyamoli on Saturday afternoon at about 4:30pm
… via newagebd.netF

Canadian multi-instrumentalist, sound engineer, producer and songwriter Denny De Marchi has lost his battle against cancer.
De Marchi had some notoriety especially as a shift worker for the famous Irish rock band The Cranberries during his reunion Tour (2009-2011)
… via melodicrock.it

Phil May, frontman of riotous band the Pretty Things who were acclaimed peers of David Bowie and the Rolling Stones, has died aged 75.
… via theguardian.com

Ezio Bosso, the pianist who knew how to move, is dead. He was 48 years old
… via news1.news

Sergio Denis died on the morning of this Friday, May 15 at the Alcla rehabilitation clinic, at the age of 71.
… via infobae.com

Self-taught jazz trumpeter, a pianist, an actor, a singer and songwriter, a restaurant owner, a filmmaker, a poet, a chef, Joey Giambra – almost always known as “Joey” – died at 86 late Thursday in a Covid-19 wing at Buffalo General Medical Center
… via buffalonews.com

The opera singer Berith Bohm has passed away after a period of illness, 87 years old, says her daughter for TT.
Berith Bohm was born in Stockholm and debuted in 1952 at the Oscar Theater in the musical “South Pacific”
… via svt.se

Italian tenor Angelo Loforese has passed away today at the age of 100.
… via plateamagazine.com

Jorge Santana … the youngest brother of famed guitarist Carlos Santana, and an accomplished musician on his own, has died … TMZ has learned.
… via tmz.com

Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash wrote on his band’s facebook today, May 14, 2020: … our old friend and the architect of our first 3 albums, including the wonderful Argus album, Derek Lawrence, has passed away. Derek left us yesterday at age 78.
… via thehighwaystar.com

Singer Yoshio died from complications of COVID-19 After several days in hospital, the singer lost his life on Wednesday afternoon
… via infobae.com

Gospel star Malibongwe Gcwabe has died following a short illness.
The singer’s daughter Agape Gcwabe shared the news of his passing on her Facebook page on Wednesday evening.
… via sowetanlive.co.za

We learn of the death of Gabriel Bacquier, which occurred this morning a few days before his 96th birthday.
… via forumopera.com

Astrid Kirchherr, a German photographer whose portraits of the Beatles when the musicians were a scruffy British bar band playing in Hamburg’s red-light district captured not only their toughness but also the sensitivity beneath their leather-clad exteriors, died on Tuesday in Hamburg, Germany
… via smh.com.au

The singer, but also Quebec actress Renée Claude died Tuesday morning at the age of 80.
Renée Claude was taken by COVID-19 to the CHSLD where she had been living for two and a half years.
… via radio-canada.ca

Alberto Carpani, aka Albert One, died this morning, Monday 11 May 2020 at the Maugeri clinic where he was hospitalized for the consequences of a serious lung infection
… via primapavia.it

Quebec singer Jean Nichol died. The man who had been nicknamed “Quebec’s Tom Jones” was killed by cancer, said former cultural journalist Serge Drouin.
The artist, whose real name is Louis Simoneau, was born in Windsor
… via tvanouvelles.ca

Betty Wright, the soul and R&B icon, has died at the age of 66.
Wright’s cause of death has not been made public
… via heavy.com

The Italian trumpet player and composer Aldo Bassi passed away tonight at his home in Latina. He was 58 and had been sick for some time.
… via ilmessaggero.it

Composer David Corrêa died on Sunday afternoon, at the age of 82, at Hospital Marcílio Dias, in Lins, in the North Zone of Rio.
According to family members the death certificate reported that the cause of death was Covid-19.
… via globo.com

An international musicology reference, Father José López Calo passed away this morning at the Jesuit residence in Salamanca
… via lavozdegalicia.es

Sonny Parsons, a former member of the ‘80s all-male group Hagibis, succumbed to heart attack on Sunday.
… via inquirer.net

Little Richard, the rock and roll trailblazer known for his electrifying stage presence and lively piano skills, has died.
The “Good Golly Miss Molly” singer died at the age of 87
… via people.com

Andre Harrell, a veteran music executive best known as the founder of Uptown Records, where Sean “Puffy” Combs got his start in the business, who later went on to head Motown Records, has died
… via variety.com

A second member of a leftwing popular folk music group banned in Turkey has died after a hunger strike in protest of the government’s crackdown on the band. Grup Yorum, said on Thursday its bass guitarist İbrahim Gökçek, 41, had died in a hospital in Istanbul
… via theguardian.com

Ty, the acclaimed UK hip-hop star who was nominated for the Mercury prize for his album Upwards, has died aged 47 after contracting coronavirus.
… via theguardian.com

The former choir director of the Vienna State Opera, Norbert Balatsch, died on Wednesday at the age of 92 after a short serious illness.
… via orf.at

Yesterday, composer, arranger and conductor Willy Hautvast died suddenly in his hometown of Nijmegen at the age of 87.
The musician born in Maastricht was, among other things, a clarinetist at the Chapel of the Royal Netherlands Air Force
… via klankwijzer.nl

Brian Howe, the lead singer of Bad Company, has died.
Brian was believed to be on his way to hospital when he died from cardiac arrest, TMZ reports.
… via irishmirror.ie

Musician Vu Duc Sao Bien breathed his last breath at 11:25 on May 6 at his home in Ho Chi Minh City due to throat cancer.
The family of musician Vu Duc Sao Bien said that after two years of fighting this evil disease, he took his last breath in the family’s grief.
… via nld.com.vn

When Chris Blackwell signed Hillard “Sweet Pea” Atkinson to Island Records, he wanted to do more than just make a solo album for the Was (Not Was) singer.
“He wanted to make a comic book where Sweet Pea was the main character,” Don Was tells Billboard, “because he was a larger than life guy — which is how I still think of him. I don’t think of him as a regular human.”
… via billboard.com, thanks to Andy

Today, the world learned that Florian Schneider, the cofounder of Kraftwerk—which went on to influence countless bands and artists and, indeed, entire genres of music—has died at the age of 73 after a brief but intense bout with cancer
… via vogue.com

Millie Small, the Jamaican singer who introduced the world to ska with her hit My Boy Lollipop in the 1960s, died yesterday in England. She was 73.
… via jamaicaobserver.com, thanks to Andy

Nas & Jungle’s artist Kiing Shooter allegedly dies from COVID-19
… via hotnewhiphop.com

A talented saxophone player who wound up becoming a coach, Sonny Cox was both admired and feared by his peers, many of whom accused him of “stealing” their star players when he persuaded them to transfer to the South Side power at 44th and Drexel.
… via chicagotribune.com

Kjell Karlsen was born in Sarpsborg in 1931 and led, among others, Kjell Karlsens Orchestra from 1953.
He was a profiled figure in Norwegian jazz music for many years, and Kjell Karlsen’s orchestra became a concept with his commercial focus on pop and jazz-inspired entertainment music.
… via aftenposten.no

The singer, composer, guitarist and poet Ciro Pessoa, died in the early hours of Tuesday, May 5. The information was published on Instagram by bassist Branco Mello, colleague and friend of Pessoa.
… via radiorock.com.br

New Orleans staple and noted percussionist Alfred “Uganda” Roberts has died at the age of 77.
Roberts was born and raised in the Crescent City and had a passion for rhythm from a young age.
… via relix.com

Campursari singer Didi Kempot died in Solo, Jawa Tengah, Tuesday (5/5/2020).
… via kompas.com

The composer and writer Aldir Blanc, 73, died of Covid-19, at dawn this Monday (4), at Pedro Ernesto University Hospital, in Vila Isabel, North Zone of Rio.
… via globo.com

Northern Macedonia Health Minister Venko Filipce wrote on Facebook that Vucic died this morning from coronavirus at the Infectious Disease Clinic in Skopje, where he was hospitalized eight days after his condition worsened and has since been treated in intensive care.
… via danas.rs

Dave Greenfield, keyboardist for The Stranglers, most famous for their hit Golden Brown, has died at the age of 71 after testing positive for coronavirus.
The musician died on Sunday evening (3 May) after contracting Covid-19 following a stay in hospital for heart problems.
… via metro.co.uk

The characteristic singer and guitarist, Bob Lander, or Bo Starander, of the legendary Gothenburg rock band The Spotnicks, has died
… via gp.se

Legendary mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias has died at the age of 90.
Born on March 13, 1930, Elias was the 13th and youngest child in her Lebanese-American family.
… via operawire.com

Apparently, Ron West passed away on or around May 2, 2020. Ron was the lead singer, guitarist, keyboard player, harmonica player and songwriter for the band, Missouri
… via Charlie F

Singer-songwriter Cady Groves has died. She was 30.
Groves — best known for the 2012 single “This Little Girl,” as well as her most recent single, 2017’s “Oil and Water” — died on Saturday
… via etonline.com

The singer, Idir, who was one of the main ambassadors of Kabyle song around the world, died on Saturday May 2 at the age of 70.
… via lemonde.fr

At the end of the 1960s, he was widely regarded as the Irishman most likely to become a major superstar. In the end, it didn’t happen on that level, but the Drogheda-born Jon Ledingham – he changed his name to Jonathan Kelly – released five albums and wrote songs for a number of serious international names
… via hotpress.com

Alto saxophone great Richie Cole once referred to in Downbeat magazine as “the sax machine,” has died at the age of 72. Cole is believed to have passed away in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 2nd
… via jazzbuffalo.org

Former Dewa 19 bass player, Erwin Prasetya, died on Saturday (05/02/2020) at dawn.
The death of the former Dewa 19 bass player was due to bleeding in his stomach and had dropped consciousness.
… via kompas.com

The Mexican singer Gustavo Limongi ‘Tavo’ member and founder of the Mexican metal group Spring (Resorte), died at 52 years old
… via explica.co

At home in Tiel, guitarist Will Theunissen (65) died on Friday. His family reports this on Saturday. As a guitarist, Theunissen was one of the founders of the Frank Boeijen Groep. The native of Nijmegen was terminally ill.
… via omroepgelderland.nl