Musicians and singers who died in August 2020

Saxophonist Mark Colby died Aug. 31 from complications related to cancer, according to an email sent to DownBeat from Elmhurst University. He was 71.
… via downbeat.com

John was born in Three Springs, a small farming town in rural Western Australia. The first born of Dutch immigrants, John’s father Jan was a jazz fan and John grew up to the sounds of Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and the like.
… via guitargods.com

Daddy Boastin ‘was born in 1959 in Saint Vincent, Caribbean. In Sweden, he collaborated with Latin Kings and Teddybears Sthlm and influenced the Swedish reggae scene during the 1990s and 2000s.
… via svt.se

Renowned Saraiki folk singer Shafaullah Rokhri died here on Saturday due to cardiac arrest, a private news channel reported.
… via dunyanews.tv

The violinist, accompanist of the B.S. P. I. Tchaikovsky, Mikhail Shestakov (Михаил Шестаков) has died in Moscow.
… via classicalmusicnews.ru

Mike Noga, esteemed solo artist and former drummer for Australian rock bands The Drones and Legends Of Motorsport has died at the age of 43.
… via abc.net

Ronnie Kole, the renowned New Orleans pianist who performed for six presidents, a pope and audiences around the world, died Thursday. He was 89.
… via nola.com

Veteran Assamese singer Archana Mahanta passed away at a city hospital on Thursday. She was 72. Mahanta had suffered a stroke in mid July and her condition deteriorated since.
… via indianexpress.com

Nazrul and classical music exponent Ustad Sunil Kumar Dhar died of heart failure on Thursday night at a hospital in Mymensingh city. He was 87.
… via newagebd.net

Marseille saxophonist and composer Georges Bœuf died on Tuesday August 25 in Marseille, at the age of 82. Jack-of-all-trades, his catalog of compositions spanned from solo piano to opera.
… via francemusique.fr

Mick Hart, the ARIA-nominated singer-songwriter who developed a following in Australia and Europe with songs like ‘Still The Flowers Bloom’, has passed away in Sydney, aged 50
… via themusicnetwork.com

With very heavy hearts, BraveWords sadly must report the passing of Brighton Rock singer Gerald Damian “Gerry” McGhee, who found more worldwide success with Isotope Music Canada, Isotope Music UK and the recent major resurgence of vinyl, launching Precision Record Pressing that was located in located in Toronto and Burlington, Ontario
… via bravewords.com

Albert Appel, with his wife Clare, turned a 116-acre property in rural Elmer into a summer arts camp for children in 1960. The couple then nurtured their project into the Appel Farm Arts & Music Center, a regional attraction that drew students, performers and spectators over the years.
… via courierpostonline.com

The staff arranger for the University of Alabama’s Million Dollar Band, has passed away.
Steve Sample Sr. wrote the band’s iconic arrangement of “Yea Alabama”.
… via wvtm13.com

It is with the greatest of sadness we must announce that our lead singer and brother Riley Gale passed away last night.
… via weheartmusic.com

Very sad news. One of the very greats of British jazz, saxophonist Peter King, passed away on Sunday 23 August, just a few days after his 80th birthday. He had been ill for some time.
… via londonjazznews.com

Charli Persip, whose career as a leading jazz drummer included close associations with Dizzy Gillespie, Randy Weston and many others — along with nearly 40 years at the helm of his own big band, SuperSound — died at Mt. Sinai Morningside in New York City on Sunday.
… via wbgo.org

Singer Giannis Poulopoulos, one of the greatest Greek singers whose voice has been identified with some of the greatest hits of Greek discography, has died at the age of 79.
… via kathimerini.gr

Walter Lure, who was guitarist in iconic NYC punk band The Heartbreakers, has died after battle with lung cancer and liver cancer. He was 71.
… via brooklynvegan.com

On August 22, the People’s Artist of Russia, the leading baritone of the Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theater Anatoly Yakovlevich Ponomarenko passed away.
… via sova.info

He never received the popular acclaim that his talent warranted, but for his many fans — and his musical peers — he was appreciated to the core. Today was say a sad goodbye to singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist DJ Rogers (born DeWayne Julius Rogers). He was 72.
… via soultracks.com

Australian music industry legend Ron Tudor has passed away at the age of 96.
Ron was awarded the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1979 for his services to the recording industry.
… via noise11.com

Justin Townes Earle, the singer-songwriter and son of Steve Earle, has died. The news was confirmed on his official Facebook page on Sunday night. He was 38.
… via pitchfork.com

Quiet Riot’s Frankie Banali has died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. The drummer passed away last night (Thursday, August 20) at the age of 68.
… via blabbermouth.net

The singer, guitarist, actor Piotr Szczepanik is dead – performer of one of the most beautiful Polish ballads about love “Kochać”; also such songs as “Goniąc Kormorany” and “Żółte calendars”.
… via pitchfork.com

Randall Craig Fleischer, the longtime music director of the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, died Wednesday night at his home in California, according to media reports. He was 61 years old.
… via adn.com

Founding Widespread Panic drummer Todd Nance has died at age 57 today in Athens, Georgia due to “sudden and unexpectedly severe complications of a chronic illness.”
… via jambase.com

Lou Ragland, leader and lead vocalist of The World Famous Ink Spots, died on August 19th at his home in Las Vegas. He was 78.
… via celebrityaccess.com

There are a couple of clichés used to describe a good guy. One is he would give you the shirt off his back. The other is that he didn’t seem to have an enemy in the world.
… via bluegrasstoday.com

Sean Pentecost, original drummer and founding member of Australian metal band Superheist, has passed away.
… via musicfeeds.com

As it became known to “MK”, ​​the body of 84-year-old Boris Purgalin was found at about 6.45 am on the territory of the Federal Research and Clinical Center FMBA on Orekhovy Boulevard.
Boris Purgalin is the author of the popular TV show Benefis, the author of the lyrics for the film Only in the Music Hall. Collaborated with Vladimir Presnyakov, Anatoly Kalvarsky and other composers.
… via blabbermouth.net

Roger Quigley, the leading musician and composer of the British indie scene in the late 90s, died this Tuesday in Manchester at the age of 51.
… via elpais.com

Jack Sherman, who was the guitarist on the first Red Hot Chili Peppers album and contributed to the group’s second, has died. He was 64 and no cause of death has been determined.
… via deadline.com

One of the doyens of Indian classical music, Pandit Jasraj died at the age of 90 in New Jersey, USA. Pandit Jasraj suffered a cardiac arrest at 5.15 EST (2.45 pm IST), his family informed the media.
… via indiatoday.in

Classical guitarist and lute player Julian Bream has died at his home in Wiltshire at the age of 87.
… via bbc.com

Ewa Demarczyk is dead. The great artist died on August 14 in the morning.
The “Black Madonna” of Polish culture, on social media. Ewa Demarczyk changed the Polish song; took it to a different level – said Witold Wnuk, artistic director of the Summer Jazz Festival in Piwnica pod Baranami, who collaborated with the artist
… via onet.pl

Valentina Legkostupova is a pop singer, Honored Artist of Russia. She made her debut in 1985, and in the late 80s she won prizes in competitions for young performers. The most famous artist brought the song “Berry-Raspberry”, which was first performed in the program “Blue Light” on January 1, 1987.
… via ria.ru

Iconic bass player Pete Way, founder of UFO, WAYSTED and, more recently, THE PETE WAY BAND, has died at the age of 69. He sustained life-threatening injuries in an accident two months ago
… via blabbermouth.net

Author of the national anthem of independent Tajikistan Gulnazar Keldi, 75, died in hospital today, a source in the Ministry of Health told Asia-Plus.
… via asiaplustj.info

Trini Lopez, the guitarist and singer whose renditions of “If I Had a Hammer” and “Lemon Tree” climbed the charts in the 1960s and an actor who appeared in films including The Dirty Dozen, has died of complications from COVID-19
… via rollingstone.com

The singer Belle du Berry, voice of the group Paris Combo which had known a great success in the years 2000, chaining the scenes in France and abroad, died in the night of Monday to Tuesday, “carried away in a sudden way by cancer,” the group announced on Wednesday August 12.
… via lemonde.fr

Pat Fairley, co-founder of Scottish pop rock group Marmalade, dies aged 76
Tributes have been paid to Pat Fairley, one of the founding members of Marmalade, the Scottish pop rock group which enjoyed a string of hits throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
… via scotsman.com

Rahat Indori, one of the most popular contemporary Urdu poets in India, breathed his last on Tuesday. He was 70.
Earlier today, he had informed his fans on Twitter that he was tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing some initial symptoms.
… via dnaindia.com

Don Martin, an original member and bass player of Mi-Sex has lost his battle with cancer.
Don had been fighting cancer for a number of years. Keyboard player Murray Burns broke the news to fans.
… via noise11.com

Aside from the musicians themselves, no one did more for jazz in Chicago than impresario Joe Segal.
For more than 70 years, starting in 1947 as a student at Roosevelt University, Segal presented the world’s greatest jazz musicians in rented hovels, rundown showrooms, dilapidated hotels and, eventually, elegant clubs and concert halls.
… via chicagotribune.com

Legendary British producer Martin Birch, who is best known for engineering and producing albums by Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac… died earlier today (Sunday, August 9) at the age of 71.
… via blabbermouth.net

Eminent music director Alauddin Ali breathed his last on Sunday afternoon. He was 67 years old.
He was admitted to a hospital in the capital on Saturday in critical condition. He had been suffering from lung complications and was in life support.
… via dhakatribune.com

Angolan musician Waldemar Bastos, died this morning in Lisbon, victim of cancer, at the age of 66, said a source from the communication office of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment of Angola.
… via blitz.pt

Salome Bey, regarded as Canada’s first lady of blues, died Saturday. She was 86.
“Salome had the most powerful voice coupled [with] the most gentle spirit, but she was resilient,” wrote Rosemary Sadlier, former president of the Ontario Black History Society, in a tribute on Facebook
… via iheartradio.ca

Today, August 8, 2020, the heart of the Ukrainian opera singer, teacher, professor, People’s Artist of Ukraine Anatoly Ivanovich Duda stopped beating.
Anatoly Ivanovich was 73 years old.
… via vgorode.ua

Erich Gruenberg, violin soloist and former leader of the London Symphony Orchestra amongst other ensembles, has died at his home in Hampstead Garden Suburb. He was 95.
… via thestrad.com

Our colleagues from the Future have announced the death at the age of 70 of singer Alain Delorme who was very popular in the 70s in our region where he hosted popular balls with his group Crazy Horse of which he was the leader.
… via sudinfo.be

A piece of Frisian pop history has passed away: today it was announced that Paul Dokter, one of the two singing and song-writing figureheads of the legendary Frisian band The Serenes, died of cardiac arrest last Friday at the age of 59.
… via oor.nl

German actress Ruth Gassmann has passed away at the age of 85. In the 1960s she starred in the groundbreaking information film Helga, which was seen by millions of people worldwide.
… via nos.nl

Brilliant producer/artist Mark Wirtz passed away early this morning from Pick’s Disease, a form of dementia. He was one of the 1960’s most talented producers and renowned artist in his own right.
… via thestrangebrew.co.uk

Wayne Fontana, who found pop stardom in the 1960s with songs including Game Of Love, has died at the age of 74.
With his band The Mindbenders, the Manchester-born singer broke into the UK top five in 1964 with Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um.
… via bbc.com

Vern Rumsey, who played bass in the great ’90s/early 2000s post-hardcore band Unwound, has died. He was 47.
… via brooklynvegan.com

Buck Jan Reeder, also known as Jan Savage of The Seeds, 77, of Ada, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, in Ada.
Arrangements are pending with Estes-Phillips Funeral Home.
… via theadanews.com

The artist Anita Lindblom, known among other things for having sung the hit song “Sånt är livet”, has passed away at the age of 82 after a short illness.
… via sydsvenskan.se

Greece’s well-known Rebetiko musician Agathonas Iakovidis passed away suddenly in Thessaloniki at the age of 65 on Wednesday, according to information from the website thestival.gr.
… via greekreporter.com

Tony Costanza – who performed in Machine Head (1991-1994), Crowbar (2001), Papsmear (1986), Area 51, Crisis (1999-2001) and Debris Inc. (according to Metal Archives) – has died at the age of 52.
… via nextmosh.com

Rajko Dujmić ended up in an induced coma after a serious traffic accident. Doctors fought for his life, but there was nothing they could do. He died in the Rijeka hospital in Sušak.
… via 24sata.hr

FBG Duck has reportedly been shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in his hometown of Chicago.
… via xxlmag.com

Billy Goldenberg, the Emmy-winning composer and songwriter, died Monday night at his home in New York City. He was 84.
… via variety.com

Inés Rivadeneira passed away in Madrid on August 3 at 91, after a long illness. The mezzo-soprano had an outstanding professional career in both opera and zarzuela.
… via beckmesser.com

A star of Chicago’s folk scene and an award-winning composer who toured the United States and Canada for more than half a century, Michael Smith died Monday at 78 of colon cancer, according to his friend, singer Jamie O’Reilly.
… via suntimes.com

Leon Fleisher, the brilliant American pianist who was in his 30s when fingers in his right hand suddenly stopped working — a fateful twist that cut short his playing career — and for three decades was one of the great enigmas of the classical-music world, died Aug. 2 at a hospice care center in Baltimore
… via washingtonpost.com

Steve Holland, founding guitarist of Southern rock band Molly Hatchet, has died.
News of Holland’s passing was shared on social media by his most recent band, Gator Country.
… via consequenceofsound.net

Chicago jazz pianist Larry Novak, a fixture of Chicago’s 1960s club scene, died Sunday at age 87.
“We lost a giant today,” bassist Eric Hochberg, who recorded with Novak, wrote on Facebook.
… via suntimes.com