Here’s a look back in tribute to some of the notable figures in music who died in 2011, broken down by the month in which they passed. Click through the links for expanded coverage. Artists who appear in all caps were the subject of special Something Else! tributes …
DECEMBER 2011:
Bob Brookmeyer, 81, jazz valve trombonist
Bob Burnett, 71, musician (The Highwaymen)
Billie Jo Spears, 74, country music singer (“Blanket on the Ground”)
Alan Styles, 75, roadie (Pink Floyd), subject of the song “Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast”
Hubert Sumlin, 80, blues guitarist (Howlin’ Wolf)
Myra Taylor, 94, jazz singer
Al Vega, 90, jazz pianist
NOVEMBER 2011:
J. Blackfoot, 65, soul singer
Doyle Bramhall, 62, blues musician
Gary Garcia, 63, musician (Buckner & Garcia)
Heavy D, 44, rapper
Christiane Legrand, 81, jazz singer
PAUL MOTIAN, 80, jazz drummer
Lee Pockriss, 87, songwriter (“Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini”)
Thomas Roady, 62, drummer (Ricky Skaggs)
Coco Robicheaux, 64, blues musician and artist
Andrea True, 68, adult film star and disco singer
Lee “Shot” Williams, 73, blues singer
OCTOBER 2011:
Butch Ballard, 92, jazz drummer.
Bob Brunning, 68, blues musician (Fleetwood Mac)
George “Mojo” Buford, 81, blues harmonica player
Beryl Davis, 87, big band singer and actress
Sir Jimmy Savile, 84, disc jockey, television presenter (Top of the Pops)
Mikey Welsh, 40, artist and musician (Weezer)
SEPTEMBER 2011:
Eddie Marshall, 73, jazz drummer
Sylvia Robinson, 75, singer (Mickey & Sylvia), music producer and record label executive
Uan Rasey, 90, film trumpeter (Chinatown, Singin’ in the Rain)
WILLIE ‘BIG EYES’ SMITH, 75, blues musician
Marv Tarplin, 70, guitarist and songwriter (The Miracles)
Robert Whitaker, 71, photographer, shot the Beatles’ butcher album cover
Johnnie Wright, 97, country music singer (Johnnie & Jack), husband of Kitty Wells
AUGUST 2011:
David “Honeyboy” Edwards, 96, blues guitarist and singer
Esther Gordy Edwards, 91, Motown executive, creator of Hitsville U.S.A
Billy Grammer, 85, country singer
Marshall Grant, 83, double bassist (Tennessee Two)
JANI LANE, 47, musician (Warrant)
B. Jeff Stone, 75, rockabilly singer-songwriter
JULY 2011:
Travis Bean, 63, guitar maker
Charlie Craig, 73, songwriter (“She’s Single Again”, “The Generation Gap”)
Frank Foster, 82, jazz saxophonist and composer (Count Basie)
Lil Greenwood, 86, vocalist (Duke Ellington Orchestra)
Gene McDaniels, 76, singer-songwriter
Fonce Mizell, 68, jazz and R&B record producer (Mizell Brothers)
Bill Morrissey, 59, singer-songwriter
Jerry Ragovoy, 80, songwriter (“Time Is on My Side”)
Jane Scott, 92, rock music critic
Amy Winehouse, 27, singer-songwriter
Würzel, 61, guitarist (Motörhead)
JUNE 2011:
Ray Bryant, 79, jazz pianist
CLARENCE CLEMONS, 69, saxophonist (E Street Band)
Carl Gardner, 83, singer (The Coasters)
Andrew Gold, 59, singer-songwriter (“Lonely Boy”, “Thank You for Being a Friend”)
Alan Rubin, 68, trumpeter (The Blues Brothers)
Martin Rushent, 63, record producer (Buzzcocks, Human League, The Stranglers)
Mack Self, 81, rockabilly musician and songwriter
Benny Spellman, 79, R&B singer, respiratory failure
Mike Waterson, 70, folk singer, cancer
MAY 2011:
Omar Ahmad, 46, entrepreneur (Napster) and politician
Odell Brown, 70, jazz organist and songwriter (“Sexual Healing”)
Cornell Dupree, 68, jazz and R&B guitarist
Bob Flanigan, 84, singer (The Four Freshmen) and musician
Kathy Kirby, 72, singer
Lloyd Knibb, 80, drummer (The Skatalites)
John Walker, 67, musician (The Walker Brothers)
Snooky Young, 92, jazz trumpeter
APRIL 2011:
BILLY BANG, 63, jazz violinist
Scott Columbus, 54, drummer (Manowar)
Tom King, 68, guitarist and songwriter (The Outsiders)
Efrain Loyola, 94, flautist
David Mason, 85, trumpeter, played solo on “Penny Lane”
Huey P. Meaux, 82, record producer
Joan Peyser, 80, musicologist
Gil Robbins, 80, folk singer (The Highwaymen) and actor, father of Tim Robbins
Phoebe Snow, 60, singer-songwriter (“Poetry Man”)
MARCH 2011:
Harley Allen, 55, bluegrass and country singer
Carl Bunch, 71, drummer (Buddy Holly and the Crickets)
Nate Dogg, 41, musician
Jet Harris, 71, musician (The Shadows)
Ferlin Husky, 85, country music singer
Big Jack Johnson, 70, guitarist and blues singer
St. Clair Lee, 66, musician (Hues Corporation)
Hugh Martin, 96, songwriter (“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”) and film composer (Meet Me in St. Louis)
Mel McDaniel, 68, country music singer (“Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On”)
Pinetop Perkins, 97, blues musician
Johnny Preston, 71, pop singer (“Running Bear”)
Melvin Sparks, 64, jazz and soul guitarist
Mike Starr, 44, bassist (Alice in Chains, Sun Red Sun)
J.B. Steane, 83, music critic
Dutch Tilders, 69, blues musician
FEBRUARY 2011:
Rick Coonce, 64, drummer (The Grass Roots)
Jean Dinning, 86, songwriter (“Teen Angel”)
Eddie Kirkland, 88, blues guitarist
GARY MOORE, 58, blues musician
David Shapiro, 58, jazz musician
GEORGE SHEARING, 91, jazz pianist
Marvin Sease, 64, blues singer
Mark Tulin, 62, bass player (The Electric Prunes, The Smashing Pumpkins)
JANUARY 2011:
John Barry, 77, film score composer (From Russia with Love, Chaplin, Out of Africa), five-time Academy Award winner
Grady Chapman, 81, doo-wop singer (The Robins)
Charles Fambrough, 60, jazz musician and composer
Barrie Lee Hall, Jr., 61, jazz trumpeter and band leader (Duke Ellington)
Gladys Horton, 65, R&B singer (The Marvelettes)
Mick Karn, 52, musician (Japan)
Don Kirshner, 76, record producer and songwriter, host of Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert
Charlie Louvin, 83, country music singer (The Louvin Brothers)
Eddie Mordue, 83, saxophonist
GERRY RAFFERTY, 63, singer-songwriter (Stealers Wheel)
Mark Ryan, 51, musician (Adam and the Ants)
Steve Prestwich, 56, drummer (Cold Chisel, Little River Band) and songwriter
Bobby Robinson, 93, record producer
Don Rondo, 81, singer (“White Silver Sands”)
Brian Rust, 88, jazz discographer and music journalist
Margaret Whiting, 86, pop singer (“A Tree in the Meadow”, “Moonlight in Vermont”)
- Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop, “When I Fall” (2024): Video premiere - March 15, 2024
- Disaster Pony,“Dead Neon & The Noon Sun” from ‘Disaster Pony’ (2024): Video premiere - February 27, 2024
- Christopher Hoffman, “Farewell Forever” from ‘Vision Is The Identity’ (2024): Streaming premiere - February 19, 2024
