COVID-19 (coronavirus)

Country Music Legend Charley Pride died December 12, 2020 from COVID-19 (coronavirus)

Charley Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis Presley. During the peak years of his recording career (1966–1987), he had 52 top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, including 30 which went to number one. Charley Pride won the Entertainer of the Year award at the Country Music Association Awards in 1971, was one of three African-American members of the Grand Ole Opry and was inducted into…
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The Four Seasons founder Tommy DeVito died September 21, 2020 from COVID-19 (coronavirus)

Tommy DeVito, born Gaetano DeVito (June 19, 1928 – September 21, 2020) was an American musician and singer, best known as a founding member, vocalist, and lead guitarist of rock band the Four Seasons. Tommy DeVito was born on June 19, 1928 in New Jersey, United States, the youngest of nine children in an big, traditional Italian-American family. At 8 years old, he taught himself to play his brother’s guitar by listening to country music on the radio, by 12 he was playing for tips in neighborhood bars and by 16, he had his own R&B band and was making $25…
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Toots and the Maytals Toots Hibbert died September 11, 2020 from COVID-19 (coronavirus)

Frederick Nathaniel “Toots” Hibbert (December 8, 1942 – September 11, 2020) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter and the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he performed for six decades and helped establish some of the fundamentals of reggae music. Toots Hibbert’s 1968 song “Do the Reggay” is widely credited as the start of the genre name reggae. His band’s album True Love won a Grammy Award in 2005. In 2010, Toots Hibbert ranked number 71 in Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”, and in August 2012 it was announced…
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The Temptations Bruce Williamson died September 6, 2020 of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Bruce Alan Williamson Jr. (September 29, 1970 – September 6, 2020) was an American R&B and soul singer and a one-time lead singer for The Temptations In August 2020, Bruce Williamson was diagnosed with COVID-19 after having recovered from gall bladder surgery. The Temptations Bruce Williamson died tragically died on September 6, 2020, in Las Vegas from complications of COVID-19, three weeks before his 50th birthday. Check out the Temptations on Amazon more to follow…

The Stranglers Dave Greenfield died May 3, 2020 from COVID-19 (coronavirus)

David Paul Greenfield (March 29, 1949 – May 3, 2020) was an English keyboardist, singer and songwriter who was a member of rock band The Stranglers. Dave Greenfield was born in the south coast seaside resort of Brighton, UK. Prior to the Stranglers, he played in local progressive rock band ‘Rusty Butler’. The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene and have had 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning four decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving and most “continuously successful” bands…
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Gospel Singer Troy Sneed died on April 27, 2020

Troy Sneed (December 14, 1967 – April 27, 2020) was an American gospel musician. Troy Sneed was born Troy Lenard Sneed Jr. on December 14, 1967, in Perry, Florida. He played football in college at Florida A&M University, but an injury on the field put an end to his playing days. He joined the choir at the university, and after graduating he became teacher at Jax Beach Elementary School in Jacksonville, Florida. Troy Sneed married Emily Frances Ianson on July 2, 1993, and they started their own record label Emtro, which is a blend of their first names. Their label…
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Bassist Matthew Seligman died April 17, 2020

Matthew Seligman (July 14, 1955 – April 17, 2020) was an English bass guitarist, best known for his work with the new wave music scene of the 1980s. Matthew Seligman was born in Cyprus, and his family moved to Wimbledon, London, England when he was eight months old. He was inspired to learn bass by hearing the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Andy Fraser from Free, and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads. Matthew Seligman was a founding member of Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club, which also included his friend Thomas Dolby (English musician, producer, entrepreneur and teacher). He played…
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Jazz Saxophonist Lee Konitz died April 15, 2020

Lee Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist. He performed in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Lee Konitz’s association with the cool jazz movement of the 1940s and 1950s included him playing in the legendary Miles Davis’s “Birth of the Cool” sessions, and working with pianist Lennie Tristano. He was one of only a few alto saxophonists of his era to retain a distinctive style, when Charlie Parker exerted a massive influence on most others. Like other students of Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz…
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John Prine, Folk Legend, died on April 7, 2020 from COVID-19 (coronavirus)

John Prine (October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American country folk singer-songwriter. He was active as a composer, recording artist, and live performer from the early 1970s until his death, was known for an often humorous style of country music with elements of protest and social commentary, and was widely regarded as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation. John Prine was born and raised in the Maywood suburb of Chicago and started playing guitar at age 14. He attended classes at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, and Proviso East High School in…
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Ellis Marsalis Jr, New Orleans jazz piano legend, died April 1, 2020

Ellis Louis Marsalis Jr. (November 14, 1934 – April 1, 2020) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was a jazz pianist and educator. Although he was active since the late 1940s, Ellis Marsalis Jr came to greater attention in the 1980s and 1990s as the patriarch of a musical family, with his sons Branford Marsalis and Wynton Marsalis rising to international acclaim. Ellis Marsalis Jr played saxophone during high school but switched to piano while studying classical music at Dillard University, where he graduated in 1955 before attending graduate school at Loyola University New Orleans. In the 1950s and…
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