Already this year, we’ve lost many luminaries within the wide sphere of the music community. Below are some of the artists and music industry influencers who have passed this year. They are arranged alphabetically, the person’s name followed by the death date and a brief description of who they were.
If an artist’s name is underlined, you can click on it to be taken to Best Classic Bands’ full obituary.
Below the list of musical artists, we’ve also noted several other prominent figures whose lives were lost in 2025.
We will miss all of these great talents. RIP.
Susan Alcorn—1/31—Country and jazz pedal steel guitarist
Gene “Daddy G” Barge—2/3—Saxophonist best known for his work with Gary U.S. Bonds
Dave Bargeron—1/18—Trombonist and tuba player with Blood, Sweat and Tears
The Sonics in their mid-’60s heyday
Bob Bennett—2/?—Drummer with ’60s garage band the Sonics
Shaun Brighton—1/31—Vocalist/guitarist for new wave band Nervus Rex
Rick Buckler—2/17—Drummer with English punk/power pop trio The Jam
Jerry Butler—2/20—Chicago soul great and founding member of the Impressions
David Edward Byrd—2/3—Poster artist who created works for concerts by the Who, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and others, as well as the Broadway show Godspell
Colin Carter—1/10—Vocalist with U.K. prog band Flash
Austin de Lone—1/6—Keyboardist who played with Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Commander Cody and many others
Colin Earl—2/1—Pianist/founding member of Mungo Jerry (“In the Summertime”)
Marianne Faithfull—1/30—Singer-songwriter, actress and Rolling Stones muse; best known for her 1964 cover of Jagger-Richards’ “As Tears Go By”
Roberta Flack—2/24—R&B/pop/jazz singer-pianist, whose hits included “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Feel Like Makin’ Love”
Gordon “Snowy” Fleet—2/18—Drummer with Australian band the Easybeats (“Friday on My Mind”)
Peter Forrest (P. Fluid)—1/13—Founding vocalist of hard rock band 24-7 Spyz
Irv Gotti—2/5—Hip-hop producer and record label exec
Bill Ham—1/19—Liquid light show pioneer at San Francisco rock ballrooms in the ’60s
Garth Hudson—1/21—Multi-instrumentalist with The Band, best known for his organ work
Tommy Hunt—2/12—R&B singer and member of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the Flamingos
Elliot Ingber—1/21—Guitarist in the Mothers of Invention (Freak Out! album), Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band and Fraternity of Man
Related: 5 Years Ago: Musicians that died in 2020
Chris Jasper—2/23—Member of the Isley Brothers and Isley-Jasper-Isley
Dave Jerden—2/5—Producer who worked with Alice in Chains, Jane’s Addiction, others
Robert John—2/24—Composer and singer of the 1979 hit “Sad Eyes”
Bob Kuban—1/20—Leader of ’60s band Bob Kuban and the In-Men, of “The Cheater” fame
Sal Maida—2/1—Bassist with Roxy Music, Sparks and others; author (The White Label Promo Preservation Society volumes 1 & 2)
Gwen McCrae—2/21—R&HB singer best known for her 1975 hit “Rockin’ Chair”
Melba Montgomery—1/15—Country singer
Sam Moore—1/10—Half of the “Double Dynamite” Stax Records soul duo Sam and Dave
Jamie Muir—2/17—King Crimson percussionist from 1972-73
Wayne Osmond—1/1—Founding member of the Osmonds singing group
Mike Ratledge—2/5—Founding keyboardist of Soft Machine
Gary Stevens—2/17—One of the “Good Guys” on New York City radio station WMCA, from 1965-68
John Sykes—1/20—Guitarist for Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake
Brenton Wood—1/3—Soul singer who scored two hits in 1967, “The Oogum Boogum Song” and “Gimme Little Sign”
Peter Yarrow—1/7—Member of the popular folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary
Non-Music
Jules Feiffer—1/17—Cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter and children’s book author
David Lynch—1/16—Filmmaker behind such classics as Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet
Tom Robbins—2/9—Author (Even Cowgirls Get the Blues)
Tony Roberts—2/7—Actor frequently cast in Woody Allen films (Annie Hall; Play It Again, Sam)
Bob Uecker—1/16—MLB catcher who became a beloved baseball broadcaster and comedic actor
- Musician Deaths of 2025 - 02/26/2025
- Restored ‘Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII’ Gets Theater, Audio Releases - 02/26/2025
- Robert John, Who Topped the U.S. Singles Chart in 1979, Dies at 79 - 02/25/2025
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