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Gone But Not Forgotten: Music Stars We Lost in 2012

These huge talents may have passed away this year, but they’ll always be remembered. CAPITAL STEEZ December 24, 2012 (Age 19) An up-and-coming rapper in the…

Gone But Not Forgotten: Music Stars We Lost in 2012
The world of music lost many of its treasured voices in 2012, from the heartbreak of Whitney Houston and Adam Yauch, to the unmatched influence of Dick Clark and Don Cornelius. Iconic guitar pickers, banda stars, disco and jazz icons, a sitar legend, a hip-hop mogul, songwriting legends, and beloved singers -- all gone, but never forgotten. As we prep for 2013, help us take a look back at what we've lost.

These huge talents may have passed away this year, but they’ll always be remembered.

CAPITAL STEEZ
December 24, 2012 (Age 19)
An up-and-coming rapper in the Brooklyn-based Pro Era collective.

MARVA WHITNEY
May 1, 1944 – December 22, 2012 (Age 68)
A fiery voiced funk-soul singer who toured and collaborated with James Brown — along the way earning the title “Soul Sister Number 1.”

MIKE SCACCIA
June 14, 1965 – December 22, 2012 (Age 47)
Originally a member of metal outfit Rigor Mortis, which formed in 1983, Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen recruited him to join his band in 1989.

LEE DORMAN
September 15, 1942 – December 21, 2012 (Age 70)
The Iron Butterfly bassist played on the band’s epic hit, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.”

RAVI SHANKAR
April 7, 1920 – December 11, 2012 (Age 92)
A master sitar player who earned three Grammys and left an indelible mark on generations of pop influencers, including the Beatles’ George Harrison.

JENNI RIVERA
July 2, 1969 – December 9, 2012 (Age 43)
The flamboyant, outspoken, big-voiced singer was the top-selling regional Mexican female star of her generation and a rising presence in television and film.

DAVE BRUBECK
December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012 (Age 91)
Jazz composer and pianist whose pioneering style in pieces such as “Take Five” caught listeners’ ears with exotic, challenging rhythms.

CHRIS STAMP
July 7, 1942 – November 24, 2012 (Age 70)
Co-managed The Who and started Track Records, signing a young Jimi Hendrix to a record contract.

MAJOR HARRIS
February 9, 1947 – November 9, 2012 (Age 65)
A former member of the “Philadelphia sound” group the Delfonics who had his own 1975 hit “Love Won’t Let Me Wait.”

MITCH LUCKER
October 20,1984 – October 31, 2012 (Age 28)
Frontman for the deathcore band Suicide Silence.

TERRY CALLIER
May 24, 1945 – October 27, 2012 (Age 67)
Fused jazz, soul, folk and a bit of funk throughout a 50-year career.

NATINA REED
October 28, 1979 – October 26, 2012
As a member of Blaque, scored R&B hits with “808,” “Bring It All to Me” and was featured in the 2000 film “Bring It On.”

B.B. CUNNINGHAM JR.
October 14, 2012 (Age 70)
A member of Jerry Lee Lewis’ band who earlier scored a hit with The Hombres.

R.B. GREAVES
November 28, 1943 – September 27, 2012 (Age 68)
The R&B singer scored a no. 2 solo hit in 1969 with the infectious break-up song “Take a Letter, Maria.”

ANDY WILLIAMS
December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012 (Age 84)
The singer and TV personality was best known for his rendition of “Moon River” and his NBC variety show “The Andy Williams Show.”

DOROTHY MCGUIRE
February 13, 1928 – September 7, 2012 (Age 84)
With sisters Christine and Phyllis for a string of hits in the 50s and 60s as the popular McGuire Sisters singing group.

JOE SOUTH
February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012 (Age 72)
Singer-songwriter who performed hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s including “Games People Play” and “Walk A Mile In My Shoes.”

HAL DAVID
May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012 (Age 91)
With Burt Bacharach, wrote a slew of hits including “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” “That’s What Friends Are For” and “What’s New, Pussycat.”

CHRIS LIGHTY
May 8, 1968 – August 30, 2012 (Age 44)
Hip-hop mogul who founded Violator, which represented such acts as LL Cool J, Missy Elliott, Nas, 50 Cent and Ja Rule.

SCOTT MCKENZIE
January 10, 1939 – August 18, 2012 (Age 73)
The gentle-voiced singer performed the hippie anthem “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair).”

MARVIN HAMLISCH
June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012 (Age 68)
Legendary film and musical composer whose long list of credits include “The Way We Were,” “The Sting” and “A Chorus Line.”

JASON NOBLE
August 4, 2012 (Age 40)
A principal member in the influential Louisville-based bands Rodan, Rachel’s and Shipping News.

TONY SLY
November 4, 1970 – July 31, 2012 (Age 41)
Frontman for punk rock band No Use for a Name.

BILL DOSS
September 12, 1968 – July 30, 2012 (Age 43)
A founding member of indie rock group the Olivia Tremor Control.

TONY MARTIN
December 25, 1913 – July 27, 2012 (Age 98)
Romantic singer who appeared in movie musicals from the 1930s to the 1950s and sustained a career in records, television and nightclubs from the Depression era into the 21st century.

LARRY HOPPEN
January 12, 1951 – July 24, 2012 (AGE 61)
Co-founded the 1970s pop-rock group Orleans and sang lead on the group’s hits including “Still the One” and “Dance With Me.”

BOB BABBITT
November 26, 1937 – July 16, 2012 (Age 74)
Born Robert Kreinar, he was a prominent Motown studio bassist and Funk Brothers member.

JON LORD
June 9, 1941 – July 16, 2012 (Age 71)
The keyboardist whose powerful, driving tones helped turn Deep Purple and Whitesnake into two of the most popular hard rock acts in a generation

KITTY WELLS
August 30, 1919 – July 16, 2012 (Age 92)
The “Queen of Country Music” was the genre’s first female superstar and paved the way for Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and others.

BOB WELCH
August 31, 1945 – June 7, 2012 (Age 66)
The Fleetwood Mac guitarist in the 1970s helped bridge the gap between the band’s blues-focused and pop-rock incarnations.

HERB REED
August 7, 1928 – June 4, 2012 (83)
The last surviving original member of 1950s vocal group the Platters who sang on hits like “Only You” and “The Great Pretender.”

DOC WATSON
March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012 (Age 89)
A Grammy-award winning folk musician whose lightning-fast style of flatpicking influenced guitarists around the world for more than a half-century.

ROBIN GIBB
December, 22 1949 – May, 20 2012 (Age 62)
A third of the singing Gibb brothers known as the Bee Gees; scored hits with “I Started a Joke,” “Jive Talkin'” and “Night Fever.”

DONNA SUMMER
December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012 (Age 63)
The “Queen of Disco” and one of the most successful recording artists of the 1970s and 1980s.

DOUG DILLARD
March 6, 1937 – May 16, 2012 (Age 75)
The banjo virtuoso helped introduce a generation to bluegrass with The Dillards and had a hand in creating country rock with Dillard & Clark.

CHUCK BROWN
August 22, 1936 – May 16, 2012 (Age 75)
Widely credited with creating go-go music, a percussion-based alternative to disco that resided in Washington in the mid-70s.

DONALD ‘DUCK’ DUNN
November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012 (Age 70)
Stax bass player and member of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame band Booker T. and the MGs.

ADAM YAUCH
August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012 (Age 47)
Gruff-voiced rapper, musician and video auteur known as MCA in the groundbreaking hip hop trio The Beastie Boys.

LLOYD BREVETT
August 1, 1931 – May 3, 2012 (Age 80)
The upright bass player was a founding member of the seminal Jamaican ska group The Skatalites.

CHRIS ETHERIDGE
February 10, 1947 – April 23, 2012 (Age 65)

A bass player who lent his musicianship and songwriting to country-rock pioneers the Flying Burrito Brothers, the International Submarine Band, Willie Nelson and others.

LEVON HELM
May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012 (Age 71)
The passionate singer, drummer and mandolin player in The Band lent his Southern tenor to the group’s classic songs “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”

DICK CLARK
November 30, 1929 – April 18, 2012 (Age 82)
The TV host and tireless entrepreneur behind “American Bandstand,” “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” and the American Music Awards.

EARL SCRUGGS
January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012 (Age 88)
The banjo legend behind instrumental “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” as well as “The Ballad of Jed Clampett,” the theme song of “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

MICHAEL HOSSACK
October 17, 1946 – March 12, 2012 (Age 65)
The Doobie Brothers drummer can be heard on early hits including “Listen To The Music,” “China Grove” and “Blackwater.”

JIMMY ELLIS
March 8, 2012 (Age 74)
Belted out the refrain “Burn, baby burn!” in the Trammps’ 1970s-era disco hit that’s still replayed in modern sports arenas.

RONNIE MONTROSE
November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012 (Age 65)
Rock guitarist who formed the band that bore his name and helped launch the career of Sammy Hagar.

DAVY JONES
December 30, 1945 – February 29, 2012 (Age 66)
The actor and beloved Monkees singer heard on hits “Daydream Believer” and “Valleri.”

CHRISTOPHER REIMER
February 21, 2012 (Age 26)
Guitarist for the noise rock group Women.

WHITNEY HOUSTON
August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012 (Age 48)
The pop music queen, whose voice was lost to years of drug use and erratic behavior, died on the eve of the Grammys.

DAVID PEASTON
March 13, 1957 – February 1, 2012 (Age 54)
The R&B and Gospel singer had a string of hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including “Two Wrongs (Don’t Make It Right).”

DON CORNELIUS
September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012 (Age 75)
The “Soul Train” host was the arbiter of cool and a brilliant TV showman who used his purring, baritone voice to seduce mainstream America into embracing black music and artists.

KING STITT
September 17, 1940 – January 31, 2012 (Age 71)
Pioneer of reggae “toasting,” an early precursor to rap.

ETTA JAMES
January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012 (Age 73)
The soul, R&B, rock and gospel icon turned “At Last” into a multi-generational standard.

JOHNNY OTIS
December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012 (Age 90)
The “godfather of rhythm and blues” wrote and recorded the R&B classic “Willie and the Hand Jive” and for decades evangelized black music to white audiences as a bandleader and radio host.

RUTH FERNANDEZ
May 23, 1919 – January 9, 2012 (Age 92)
The “soul of Puerto Rican song” broke racial and gender barriers and was later elected a senator for the U.S. territory.

BOB WESTON
November 1, 1947 – January 3, 2012 (Age 64)
Fleetwood Mac guitarist played on the band’s albums “Penguin” and “Mystery to Me.”

FRED MILANO
August 26, 1939 – January 1, 2012 (Age 72)
Made rock and roll history on doo-wop hits with Dion and the Belmonts in the 1950s.

Gone But Not Forgotten: Music Stars We Lost in 2012
The world of music lost many of its treasured voices in 2012, from the heartbreak of Whitney Houston and Adam Yauch, to the unmatched influence of Dick Clark and Don Cornelius. Iconic guitar pickers, banda stars, disco and jazz icons, a sitar legend, a hip-hop mogul, songwriting legends, and beloved singers -- all gone, but never forgotten. As we prep for 2013, help us take a look back at what we've lost.
The world of music lost many of its treasured voices in 2012, from the heartbreak of Whitney Houston and Adam Yauch, to the unmatched influence of Dick Clark and Don Cornelius. Iconic guitar pickers, banda stars, disco and jazz icons, a sitar legend, a hip-hop mogul, songwriting legends, and beloved singers — all gone, but never forgotten. As we prep for 2013, help us take a look back at what we’ve lost.

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