All about Dead Musicians

Jamaican guitarist for Toots and the Maytals and Paul Simon, Hux Brown died June 18, 2020

Lynford Brown (December 4, 1944 – June 18, 2020), known as Hux Brown, was a Jamaican guitarist who featured on many successful rocksteady and reggae records in the 1960s and 1970s, and was later a member of Toots and the Maytals. Lynford “Hux” Brown was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica. He was nicknamed “Fordie”When at school, then “Fordux”, which eventually became “Hux”. He formed a band, the Vikings, before moving to Kingston where he joined…
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UFO guitarist Tonka Chapman died June 9, 2020

Paul William “Tonka” Chapman (June 9, 1954 – June 9, 2020) was a Welsh rock guitarist known as Tonka Chapman and best known for his work in bands such as UFO, Waysted and Lone Star. Paul Chapman was well known by his nickname “Tonka”, allegedly given to him because of his indestructible qualities. Tonka Chapman’s first notable band was when he replaced Gary Moore as guitarist in Skid Row in December 1971, but his time…
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Pointer Sister Bonnie Pointer died June 8, 2020

Patricia Eva “Bonnie” Pointer (July 11, 1950 – June 8, 2020) was an American singer, and founding member of the legendary vocal group, The Pointer Sisters, as well as a solo performer. Bonnie Pointer and her youngest sister June began singing together in their father’s West Oakland Church of God in California. They formed The Pointers, also known as The Pair, in 1969. After their sister Anita joined the duo that same year, they changed…
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The Sweet Bass player Steve Priest died June 4, 2020

Steve Priest (February 23, 1948 – June 4, 2020) was a British bass player and lead and backing vocalist of the glam rock band The Sweet. Stephen Norman (Steve) Priest was born in Hayes, Middlesex, UK. As a young teenager he made his own bass guitar and began playing in local bands after being influenced by artists such as the Shadows, the Rolling Stones and The Who. In January 1968, Steve Priest was invited to…
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KISS, Meat Loaf and WASP guitarist Bob Kulick died on May 29, 2020

Robert J. (Bob) Kulick (January 16, 1950 – May 29, 2020) was an American guitarist and record producer, best known for his studio work with KISS and shock-rock heavy metal band W.A.S.P. Robert J. (Bob) Kulick was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was the older brother of another former KISS lead guitarist Bruce Kulick. In late 1972 Bob Kulick took a chance and auditioned for the lead guitar spot in a new band called…
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Jazz Drummer Jimmy Cobb died May 24, 2020

Wilbur James Cobb (January 20, 1929 – May 24, 2020) was an American jazz drummer, known as Jimmy Cobb, and a member of the legendary Miles Davis’s First Great Sextet. Wilbur James (Jimmy) Cobb was born in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 1929 to Wilbur Cobb, a security guard and taxi driver, and Katherine, a domestic worker. As a teenager in the mid-1940s he became obsessed with jazz, listening to American wartime broadcasts and washing…
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Bluesman Lucky Peterson died May 17, 2020.

Judge Kenneth Peterson (December 13, 1964 – May 17, 2020), KNOW AS Lucky Peterson, was an American singer and musician who played contemporary blues guitar and keyboards, fusing soul, R&B, gospel and rock and roll. Lucky Peterson’s father James Peterson, who was also a bluesman, owned a nightclub in Buffalo, called The Governor’s Inn, which was a regular stop for fellow bluesmen including Howlin Wolf and Willie Dixon, who saw five-year-old Lucky Peterson performing at…
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Soul and R&B singer Betty Wright died May 10, 2020

Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), was known as Betty Wright, and was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and backing vocalist. Born in Miami, Florida, Betty Wright was the youngest of seven children of Rosa Akins Braddy-Wright and her second husband, McArthur Norris. Betty Wright began her professional career at the age of two when her brothers and sisters formed a gospel group called “the Echoes of Joy”, and…
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Rock n Roll Legend Little Richard died May 9, 2020

Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), better known as Little Richard, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Richard Wayne Penniman was born in Macon, Georgia, and was the third of 12 children to Charles “Bud” Penniman and Leva Mae. His father was a church deacon, a brick mason, sold bootlegged moonshine and owned a nightclub called the Tip In Inn. As a child Richard Penniman was nicknamed “Lil’ Richard” by…
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Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider died May 6, 2020

Florian Schneider-Esleben (known as Florian Schneider) (April 7, 1947 – May 6, 2020) was a German musician best known as one of the founding members of the legendary electronic band Kraftwerk and performed with them until November 2008. Florian Schneider-Esleben was born in the French occupation zone in southern Germany, in what would, in 1952, become the state of Baden-Württemberg. His family then moved to Düsseldorf, Germany when he was 3 years old. Florian Schneider…
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