Musician Deaths of 2025

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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

Larry Appelbaum—2/21—Jazz journalist, broadcaster and historian

Roy Ayers—3/4—Jazz, funk and soul vibraphonist and composer

Gene “Daddy G” Barge—2/2—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

Martin John Butler—2/15—Guitarist who was a member of the Demons and Pandora; solo singer-songwriter in an Americana vein

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

Cocoa Tea—3/11—Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter, born Colvin George Scott

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”)

Harry Elston—3/4—Co-founder of the Friends of Distinction; lead vocalist on their hit “Grazing in the Grass”

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

Barry Goldberg—1/22—Keyboardist who played with Bob Dylan at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival; was also a founding member of the Electric Flag and played with many blues greats

Irv Gotti—2/5—Hip-hop producer and record label exec

Herb Greene—3/3—Photographer whose portraits of San Francisco bands and others, including Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin, helped define the classic rock era

Bill Ham—1/19—Liquid light show pioneer at San Francisco rock ballrooms in the ’60s

Bob Harvey—3/18—First bassist for Jefferson Airplane, prior to Jack Casady; Harvey was ejected from the band before it ever recorded

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

Brian James—3/6—Founding guitarist of British punk band the Damned

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

David Johansen—2/28—Lead singer and last surviving member of the New York Dolls; solo artist who worked under his own name, as Buster Poindexter, and as David Johansen and the Harry Smiths

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

Adrian Lillywhite—3/21—Drummer with the English punk band the Members

Sal Maida—2/1—Bassist with Roxy Music, Sparks and others; author (The White Label Promo Preservation Society volumes 1 & 2)

Terry Manning—3/25—Producer/engineer, singer/songwriter/musician and photographer who worked with numerous artists ranging from Otis Redding to Bobby Fuller, Led Zeppelin, Big Star, Staple Singers and others

Gwen McCrae—2/21—R&HB singer best known for her 1975 hit “Rockin’ Chair”

Joey Molland—3/1—Guitarist, singer and songwriter with Badfinger; was the last surviving member of the band’s classic lineup

Melba Montgomery—1/15—Country singer

Chris Moore—2/7—Illustrator for album covers (Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart, Journey)

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

Bob Rupe—3/3?—Bassist with Cracker, the Silos and other bands

Gary Stevens—2/17—Last of the surviving “Good Guys” of New York City radio station WMCA, from 1965-68

Angie Stone—3/1—R&B artist

John Sykes—1/20—Guitarist for Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake

Larry Tamblyn—3/21—Co-founding keyboardist of the Standells (“Dirty Water”)

D’Wayne Wiggins—3/7—Singer-guitarist with ’90s soul group Tony! Toni! Toné!

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

Jesse Colin Young—3/16—Lead singer and bassist for the Youngbloods (“Get Together”) and singer-songwriter

Non-Music

Jules Feiffer—1/17—Cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter and children’s book author

George Foreman—3/21—Heavyweight boxing champion and grilling entrepreneur

Gene Hackman—2/18—Revered actor whose many films included The French Connection, Bonnie and Clyde, Superman, The Conversation and Mississippi Burning

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