This past year we lost several important figures in music from legends to pop icons, country
crooners and metal thrashers. Innocent Words would like to honor those the music community
have lost in 2014.
Thank you for the music, rest in peace.
JANUARY
01/01/14
Tabby Thomas, 84, American blues musician.
01/02/14
Jay Traynor, 70, American singer (Jay and the Americans), liver cancer
01/03/14
Phil Everly, 74, American singer and musician (The Everly Brothers), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Roy Campbell, Jr., 61, American jazz trumpeter.
01/13/14
Ronny Jordan, 51, English jazz guitarist.
Freddie Fingers Lee, 76, British rockbilly pianist (Screaming Lord Sutch), pneumonia.
Gary Grimshaw, 67, American rock concert graphic poster artist
01/16/14
Bud Spangler, 75, American jazz drummer.
Masahide Sakuma, 61, Japanese musician (Plastics) and music producer (Glay, Judy and Mary),
stomach cancer.
01/17/14
Joe Evans, 97, American jazz alto saxophonist.
01/18/04
Dennis Frederiksen, 62, American rock singer (Angel, Le Roux, Toto), liver cancer.
01/25/14
Arthur Doyle, 69, American jazz musician
01/27/14
Pete Seeger, 94, American folk singer and songwriter (“Turn! Turn! Turn!”, “If I Had a Hammer”,
“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”)
01/30/14
The Mighty Hannibal, 74, American R&B, soul and funk singer, songwriter and record producer.
01/31/14
Anna Gordy Gaye, 92, American songwriter (“Baby, I’m for Real”), co-founder of Anna Records,
natural causes.
FEBRUARY
02/11/14
Tomaž Pengov, 64, Slovenian singer-songwriter, guitarist, lutist and poet.
02/12/14
Seán Potts, 83, Irish musician (The Chieftains).
02/17/14
Bob Casale, 61, American musician (Devo), heart failure.
Ray Kennedy, 67, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist
Wayne Smith, 48, Jamaican reggae musician (“Sleng Teng”)
02/18/14
Bernd Noske, 67, German musician (Birth Control).[
02/19/14
Marty Thau, 75, American rock and roll entrepreneur and music producer, (Red Star Records)
renal failure
02/24/14
Franny Beecher, 92, American guitarist (Bill Haley & His Comets).
Kelly Holland, 52, singer/songwriter (Cry of Love)
02/25/14
Angèle Arsenault, 70, Canadian singer-songwriter, cancer.
Paco de Lucía, 66, Spanish flamenco guitarist, heart attack
Gene Pyrz, 56, Canadian actor and rockabilly singer, cancer.
Philip Smart, 53, Jamaican record producer, pancreatic cancer.
02/26/14
Frank Reed, 59, American soul singer (The Chi-Lites).
Frankie Sardo, 77, American rock and roll musician, cancer.
Georges Hamel, 66, Canadian country music singer-songwriter.
MARCH
03/05/14
Kazuo Yairi, 81, Japanese guitar craftsman (Yairi), multiple organ failure.
Dave Sampson, 73, English rock singer.
Selim Lemouchi, 34, Dutch musician (The Devil’s Blood).
03/08/14
Van Buren Fowler, 54, American rock and roll guitarist (Drivin’ N Cryin’, R.E.M.).
03/12/14
George Donaldson, 46, Scottish singer (Celtic Thunder), heart attack.
Iola Brubeck, 90, American jazz lyricist (“In Your Own Sweet Way”), cancer
03/15/14
Scott Asheton, 64, American drummer (The Stooges).
Cees Veerman, 70, Dutch singer and musician (The Cats).
03/18/14
Joe Lala, 66, American actor (Monsters, Inc., On Deadly Ground) and musician (Blues Image)
sessions musician (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, the Allman Brothers Band, the Eagles, the Bee
Gees, the Byrds, Eric Clapton, Chicago, and John Mellencamp), lung cancer.
03/23/14
Oderus Urungus, 50, Canadian heavy metal singer (Gwar).
03/25/14
Bill Merritt, 66, Canadian rock bassist and festival director, director of the Winnipeg Folk
Festival, co-founder of the Winnipeg International Children’s Festival, cancer.[
03/31/14
Frankie Knuckles, 59, American disc jockey and record producer, complications of diabetes.
APRIL
04/01/14
King Fleming, 91, American jazz pianist, natural causes
04/03/14
Arthur Smith, 93, American musician and songwriter (“Guitar Boogie”, “Dueling Banjos”).
04/05/14
David Lamb, 35, American folk musician (Brown Bird), leukemia.
Wayne Henderson, 74, American jazz trombonist (The Jazz Crusaders) and record producer.
04/06/14
Jason McCash, 38, American doom metal bassist (The Gates of Slumber). (death announced on
this date)
Leee Black Childers, American punk rock and art photographer (The Factory, Andy Warhol).
04/07/14
George Shuffler, 88, American Hall of Fame bluegrass musician (The Stanley Brothers).
Gary Haber, 68, American celebrity business manager (Carrie Underwood, Lynyrd Skynyrd,
Peter Frampton).
04/09/14
Gil Askey, 89, American-born Australian musician and composer (Lady Sings the Blues).
04/11/14
Jesse Winchester, 69, American musician and songwriter, cancer.
04/15/14
Shane Gibson, 35, American guitarist (Korn, stOrk), complications from a blood clotting
disorder.
04/19/14
Kevin Sharp, 43, American country music singer, complications from a digestive disorder.
Deon Jackson, 68, American soul singer and songwriter.
04/20/14
Herb Wong, 88, American jazz producer (Palo Alto Records, Black Hawk)
Mike Atta, 53, American hardcore punk rock guitarist (Middle Class), kidney and lung cancer
04/29/14
Paul Goddard, 68, American bassist (Atlanta Rhythm Section), cancer
04/30/14
Joe Young, 54, American guitarist (Antiseen).
MAY
05/02/14
Jessica Cleaves, 65, American singer (The Friends of Distinction, Earth, Wind & Fire).
Lester Armistead, 71, American bluegrass musician, cancer.
05/03/14
Bobby Gregg, 78, American drummer (Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel) and record producer.
05/06/14
Martin Erdman, 77, Australian music producer.
05/09/14
Joe Wilder, 92, American jazz trumpeter, heart failure.
05/10/14
Marlow Tackett, 69, American country music singer.
Ed Gagliardi, 62. original bassist for Foreigner,
05/12/14
Nash the Slash, 66, Canadian rock musician (Gary Numan, FM)
Ernie Chataway, 62, founding Judas Priest guitarist (Earth, Bullion and Ricky Cool & the
Icebergs) lung cancer.
05/13/14
Akihiro Yokoyama, 49, Japanese metal bassist (United).
Tessa Watts, 68, British music video producer, pancreatic cancer.
05/17/14
Eric Gentry, 21, American musician, (Feast for Kings) industrial accident
05/18/14
Jerry Vale, 83, American singer (“Have You Looked into Your Heart”, “The Star-Spangled
Banner”) and actor (Goodfellas, Casino).
05/20/14
Prince Rupert Loewenstein, 80, Spanish-born, British educated, German Bavarian aristocrat and
rock band manager (The Rolling Stones).
Randy Coven, 54, bassist (Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Via, Leslie West)
05/21/14
Martin Lister, German keyboardist (Alphaville).
05/30/14
Coleman Lewis, American rock guitarist (Smoke, Cat Power), heroin overdose.
JUNE
06/01/14
Victor Agnello, 50, drummer for Laaz Rockit, leukemia.
Tom Rounds, 77, American radio and rock festival production executive (American Top 40),
complications from surgery.
06/02/14
Weldon Myrick, 76, country steel guitarist (Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson),
stroke.
06/03/14
James Alan Shelton, 53, American bluegrass guitarist (Ralph Stanley), cancer.
06/04/14
Doc Neeson, 67, singer for the Angels, cancer.
06/05/14
Don Davis, 75, American musician, songwriter (Disco Lady, Who’s Making Love), and Grammy
Award-winning producer (You Don’t Have to Be a Star).
Bob Abrahamian, 35, American DJ and record collector, suicide.
06/12/14
Jimmy Scott, 88, American jazz singer.
06/15/14
Casey Kasem, 82, American radio personality (American Top 40), music historian and voice actor
(Shaggy Rogers), Lewy body dementia.
06/18/14
Horace Silver, 85, American jazz pianist (Song for My Father, Blowin’ the Blues Away), natural
causes.
Johnny Mann, 85, American composer, Grammy Award-winning arranger (“Up, Up and Away”)
and singer (Alvin and the Chipmunks).
Don Light, 77, American Hall of Fame Gospel musician, record executive (Jimmy Buffett) and
race car driver.
06/19/14
Gerry Goffin, 75, American Hall of Fame lyricist (“Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, “The Loco-
Motion”, “Go Away Little Girl”, “Take Good Care of My Baby”).
06/21/14
Jimmy C. Newman, 86, American country music singer, cancer.
06/22/14
Teenie Hodges, 68, American rhythm and blues guitarist (Hi Rhythm Section) and songwriter
(“Take Me to the River”, “Love and Happiness”),
06/25/14
Patrik Karlsson, 53, Swedish bassist (Sven-Ingvars), brain hemorrhage. (death reported on
this date)
06/27/14
Bobby Womack, 70, American Hall of Fame R&B singer (“Woman’s Gotta Have It”, “Across
110th Street”) and songwriter (“It’s All Over Now”).
06/30/14
Linda Rodney, American blues singer.
JULY
07/01/14
Betty Cody, 92, Canadian-born American country music singer.
07/03/14
Peter Dawkins, 68, New Zealand-born Australian record producer (Dragon, Australian Crawl, Air
Supply) and musician, injuries from a fall.[
Annik Honoré, 56, Belgian music journalist and promoter, portrayed in Control.
Hope Powell, 90, American photographer and country music album cover designer.
07/09/14
John Spinks, 60, British guitarist and songwriter (The Outfield), liver cancer.
07/10/14
Chris Grier, American musician (To Live and Shave in L.A.) and journalist, cardiac arrest.
07/11/14
Charlie Haden, 76, American jazz bassist and bandleader, three-time Grammy Award winner
(Nocturne, Land of the Sun, The Shape of Jazz to Come), post-polio syndrome.
Tommy Ramone, 65, Hungarian-born American Hall of Fame record producer and drummer (The
Ramones), bile duct cancer.
7/16/14
Johnny Winter, 70, American Hall of Fame blues guitarist, singer and triple Grammy Award- winning producer (1978–1980).
07/17/14
Richard Nichols, 55, American band manager (The Roots), leukemia.
07/17/14
Lionel Ferbos, 103, American jazz trumpeter.
07/21/14
Gene Walker, 76, American jazz and rock saxophonist.
07/24/14
Christian Falk, 52, Swedish singer and bassist (Imperiet), pancreatic cancer. (death announced on
this date)
07/30/14
Manny Roth, 95, American nightclub owner (Cafe Wha?). (death announced on this date)
Dick Wagner, 71, American rock guitarist (The Frost, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed), lung infection
following heart surgery.
AUGUST
08/01/14
Rod de’Ath, 64, Welsh drummer (Rory Gallagher).
08/04/14
Jake Hooker, 61, Israeli-born American pop musician (Arrows), songwriter (“I Love Rock ‘n’
Roll”) and producer.
08/07/14
Henry Stone, 93, American record company executive and record producer (TK Records).
Tommy Gill, 49, American jazz pianist, renal failure.
08/08/14
Johnny Ray Allen, 56, founding bassist and songwriter for the Subdudes
08/10/14
Maria ‘Tristessa’ Kolokouri, 37, Multi-instrumentalist and Astarte frontwoman; cancer
08/14/14
Rick Parashar, 50, American record producer (Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog, Alice in Chains),
blood clot.
08/16/14
Billy Rath, 66. bassist for Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers
08/17/17
Ralph Morman, 65, American vocalist (The Joe Perry Project, BUX, Savoy Brown).
08/20/14
Derek Rieth, 43, American percussionist (Pink Martini), suicide by gunshot. (body discovered on
this date)
08/21/14
Jean Redpath, 77, Scottish folk singer-songwriter, cancer.
08/26/14
Tim Williams, 30, American bassist (Suicidal Tendencies).
08/27/14
Jan Groth, 68, Norwegian singer (Aunt Mary, Just 4 Fun), cancer.
08/28/14
Joe Bethancourt, 68, American folk musician.
Glenn Cornick, 67, British bassist (Jethro Tull), heart failure.
08/31/14
Jimi Jamison, 63, American musician (Survivor), heart attack
SEPTEMBER
09/01/14
Andrew Richardson, 36, guitarist the Crush and the sales manager for the respected guitar pedal
company ZVEX Effects
Tobias Graf, 35, former Deadlock drummer
David Anderle, 77, American record producer, cancer.
09/05/14
Kerrie Biddell, 67, Australian jazz and session singer, stroke. (death reported on this date)
Simone Battle, 25, American singer (G.R.L.), suicide by hanging.
09/08/14
Gerald Wilson, 96, American jazz musician, pneumonia
09/09/14
Robert Young, 49, Scottish guitarist (Primal Scream). (body discovered on this date)
09/11/14
Bob Crewe, 82, American songwriter (“The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore)”, “Lady
Marmalade”) and record producer (The Four Seasons)
Cosimo Matassa, 88, American recording engineer and studio owner
09/12/14
Joe Sample, 75, American jazz musician (The Crusaders).
Andrea Marongiu, British-Italian drummer (Crystal Fighters).
Tom Skeeter, 82, American music executive and manager, co-founder and owner of Sound City
Studios. (death announced on this date)
John Gustafson, 72, English singer and bassist (Ian Gillan Band, Roxy Music, The Big Three).
09/14/14
Peter Gutteridge, 53, New Zealand singer and guitarist (The Clean, The Chills, Snapper).
09/15/14
Jackie Cain, 86, American jazz vocalist (Jackie and Roy), complications from a stroke.
09/17/14
George Hamilton IV, 77, American country music singer (Abilene), complications from a heart
attack.
09/18/14
Kenny Wheeler, 84, Canadian jazz trumpeter.
Pete Shutler, 68, British folk musician (The Yetties), cancer.
OCTOBER
10/01/14
Lynsey de Paul, 64, English singer-songwriter (“Won’t Somebody Dance with Me”), brain
haemorrhage.
10/02/14
Rob Skipper, 28, British rock musician (The Holloways) (death reported on this date)
10/04/14
Paul Revere, 76, American musician (Paul Revere & the Raiders)
10/06/14
Andrew Kerr, 80, British festival organizer (Glastonbury Festival)
10/07/14
Lou Whitney, 72, American rock musician (Skeletons and the Morells) and studio owner, kidney
cancer.
10/13/14
Mark Bell, 43, British musician and house music producer (LFO), complications from surgery.
(death announced on this date)
10/14/14
Isaiah “Ikey” Owens, 38, American keyboardist (Mars Volta, Jack White), heart attack.
10/15/14
Leonard Delaney, 71, American drummer (The Tornadoes), Alzheimer’s disease.
10/16/14
Tim Hauser, 72, American musician (The Manhattan Transfer), cardiac arrest.
10/18/14
Paul Craft, 76, American musician and songwriter (“Brother Jukebox”).
Mick Burt, British drummer (Chas & Dave), Parkinson’s disease and dementia
10/19/14
Raphael Ravenscroft, 60, British saxophonist (“Baker Street”) and author, heart attack.
10/21/14
Tyson Stevens, 29, American singer-songwriter (Scary Kids Scaring Kids)
10/23/14
Alvin Stardust, 72, English singer (“My Coo Ca Choo”).
10/24/14
Jack Bruce, 71, Scottish bassist (Cream, Manfred Mann) and composer, liver disease.
NOVEMBER
11/01/14
Wayne Static, 48, American singer and musician (Static-X).
11/02/14
Michael Coleman, 58, American Chicago blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter.
Acker Bilk, 85, British jazz clarinetist (“Stranger on the Shore”).
11/05/14
Gary Lane, 76, bassist for the Standells, lung cancer
11/06/14
Rick Rosas, 65, American session musician (Neil Young, Joe Walsh, Crosby, Stills, Nash &
Young), cerebral hemorrhage.
11/09/14
Jonathan Athon, 32, American bass guitarist (Black Tusk), motorcycle accident.
11/11/14
Big Bank Hank, 58, American rapper (The Sugarhill Gang), kidney complications of cancer
11/14/14
Johnny Elichaoff aka Johnny Toobad, 55, English drummer (King Crimson, Robert Fripp, B52s),
suicide
11/17/14
Jimmy Ruffin, 78, American soul singer (“What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”).
11/18/14
Dave Appell, 92, American musician, musical arranger and record producer.
11/23/14
Clive Palmer, 71, British folk musician (Incredible String Band).
11/28/14
Frances Nero, 71, American soul and jazz singer.
Jamie “Bluesboy” Powell, member of the Generation Blues Experience, heart attack while
undergoing treatment in hospital.
DECEMBER
12/02/14
Bobby Keys, 70, saxophonist for The Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Joe Cocker, B.B. King, Carly Simon, Lynyrd Skynyrd and others. , cirrhosis
Jon Ster, 52, Lillian Axe guitarist, heart failure
12/03/14
Ian McLagan, 69, English keyboardist (Small Faces), stroke.
12/04/14
Bob Montgomery, 77, American songwriter (“Heartbeat”, “Misty Blue”), Parkinson’s disease.
Nick Talbot, 37, British singer-songwriter (Gravenhurst). (death announced on this date)
12/11.14
Dawn Sears, 53, American country musician (Nothin’ but Good), lung cancer.
12/12/14
John Hampton, 61, American music engineer and producer (White Stripes, Jimmie Vaughn), complications of cancer.
12/14/12
Joe Carr, 63, American bluegrass musician, stroke.
Millie Kirkham, 91, American sessions singer. (Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison)
12/16/14
Rock Scully, 73, American band manager (Grateful Dead), lung cancer
Wendy Rene, 67, American soul singer, complications from stroke.
12/18/14
Larry Henley, 77, American singer (The Newbeats) and songwriter, (“Wind Beneath My Wings”).
Larry Smith, 63, American record producer (Run–D.M.C., King of Rock).
John Fry, 69, American record producer, founder of Ardent Studios, cardiac arrest
12/22/14
Joe Cocker, 70, British singer (“With a Little Help from My Friends”, “You Are So Beautiful”, “Up Where We Belong”), lung cancer.