All about Dead Musicians

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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Bad Company frontman Brain Howe died May 6, 2020

Brian Anthony Howe (July 22, 1953 – May 6, 2020) was an English rock singer and songwriter, best known for replacing Paul Rodgers as the lead singer of Bad Company. Brian Howe was born in Portsmouth, England in 1953. He sang with a local band called Shy, then joined White Spirit, replacing singer Bruce Ruff, but the band quickly collapsed, and Brian Howe never recorded an album with them. In 1983 Howe’s career was jump-started…
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My Boy Lollipop singer Millie Small died May 5, 2020

Millicent Dolly May (Millie) Small (October 6, 1946 – May 5, 2020) was a Jamaican singer and songwriter, best known for her 1964 recording of “My Boy Lollipop”, which reached number two in both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100. Millie Small was born in Clarendon, Jamaica, the daughter of a sugar plantation overseer and was one of seven brothers and five sisters. Millie’s music career began by winning the Vere…
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R&B singer Sweet Pea Atkinson died May 5, 2020.

Hillard “Sweet Pea” Atkinson (September 20, 1945 – May 5, 2020) was an American R&B singer known as one of the vocalists for the band Was (Not Was). Hillard Atkinson was born in Oberlin, Ohio, and moved to Detroit as a child. He worked at the Chrysler factory, and sang with work colleagues in a local band called Hi Energy. He met Don Was in the late 1970s, when he was rehearsing at the same…
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The Stranglers keyboard player 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…
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Country and Pop singer songwriter Cady Groves died May 2, 2020

Cady Groves (July 30, 1989 – May 2, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter from Marlow, Oklahoma. Cady Groves was born to Carol Pettit and Larry Groves and was the youngest of seven. After her parents divorced, she would turn on Christina Aguilera’s “Genie In A Bottle” and sing along from the inside of her closet, because she didn’t want any of her family members to hear her attempts to match Christina. One day,…
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