Musicians we’ve lost so far this year 2019

[IceWizard]

26 March 2019, British musician Ranking Roger died age 56. In January 2019 it was announced
that Roger had undergone surgery for two brain tumours, and was undergoing treatment for lung cancer.
He was a vocalist in the 1980s two-tone band the Beat (known in North America as the English Beat)
and later General Public.




27 March 2019, Beatles’ booking manager Joe Flannery, also known as “Secret Beatle”, died aged 87.
He was the band’s booking manager from 1962-63 and according to Flannery, members
of The Beatles would often sleep at his flat and he would drive them home the next morning.
He is also said to have given a young George Harrison driving lessons.




30 March 2019, American singer Songwriter Billy Adams died age 79.
He wrote and recorded the mid-1950s rockabilly staple ‘Rock, Pretty Mama,’
Other songs he recorded in the late ’50s include ‘You Heard Me Knocking,’
‘True Love Will Come Your Way’ and ‘You Gotta Have a Duck Tail.’




31 March 2019, American rapper, songwriter Nipsey Hussle died age 33 after being shot
multiple times in the parking lot of his store, Marathon Clothing, in South Los Angeles.
Hussle initially became known for his numerous mixtapes, including his Bullets Ain’t Got No Name series,
The Marathon, The Marathon Continues and Crenshaw.
His debut studio album Victory Lap was released in February 2018 to critical acclaim
and commercial success and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 61st Annual
Grammy Awards in 2019.




2 April 2019, American electronica, soul, gospel, and house music singer, Kim English died age 48.
She had been diagnosed with kidney failure for five years, and had been on dialysis, and
awaiting a transplant. By 2007, English had earned her sixth, seventh and eighth US dance
number ones with ‘It Makes a Difference’, ‘C’est La Vie’ and ‘My Destiny’.




5 April 2019, Shawn Smith a long-time singer-songwriter on the Seattle music scene
died age 53 due to complications from diabetes. He performed with the bands Brad,
Pigeonhead and Satchel, among others. In a strange coincidence, fellow Seattle
luminaries Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley (Alice in Chains)
died on the same date in 1994 and 2002, respectively.




6 April 2019, American country musician Jim Glaser died age 81.
With The Glaser Brothers they charted nine singles on the
Billboard Hot Country Singles charts and became members of
the Grand Ole Opry in the 1960s.




10 April 2019, American country music singer-songwriter Earl Thomas Conley
died age 77 from cerebral atrophy. Conley charted more than thirty singles on the
Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, of which eighteen reached number one.




12th April 2019, John Hutch drummer with the Liverpudlian group The Big Three died age 79.
The Big Three rivalled The Beatles for popularity before the Mersey sound became a national
and international phenomenon in the early Sixties. Hutch filled in on drums behind
Lennon, McCartney and Harrison in both 1960 and 1962 and later claimed he was offered
the opportunity to become Pete Best’s successor before
Ringo Starr was given the job in The Beatles.




13 April 2019, English keyboardist and guitarist Paul Raymond died age 73.
He joined Plastic Penny in the early 60s as their keyboardist, vocalist, and replaced
Christine McVie in British blues band Chicken Shack. He first joined UFO in 1976 and
played with the band during four different stints, he was a regular in the UFO lineup
since 2003. Raymond had also worked with Michael Schenker in MSG.




15 April 2019, English songwriter Les Reed died age 83.
His major songwriting partners were Gordon Mills, Barry Mason and Geoff Stephens,
although he wrote songs with many others such as
Roger Greenaway, Roger Cook, Peter Callander, and Johnny Worth.
Reed co-wrote around sixty hit songs, and is best known for
‘It’s Not Unusual’, ‘Green, Green Grass of Home’ and ‘Delilah’, (hits for Tom Jones)
as well as ‘The Last Waltz’ (Engelbert Humperdinck).




26 April 2019, Molly Hatchet Singer Phil McCormack died age 58.
He’d fronted the Southern rock band since 1996 after having performed
with them previously, taking over from Danny Joe Brown.