MAY
?
Little Johnny Harper, ??
Maxwell Street singer and frequent performer at The Water Hole in Chicago
5
Hillard "Sweet Pea" Atkinson, 74
BORDERLINE BLUES
R&B singer and one of the vocalists for Was (Not Was)
6
Merlin " Bronco" Brunkow, 79
Longtime sax player in the Twin Cities R&B scene; of natural causes
9
Little Richard, 87
BLUES-ISH
Pianist and singer who was a rock and roll trailblazer; of bone cancer
Betty Wright, 66
Soul blues singer famous for the classic, Clean Up Woman
11
Darick Campbell, 53
GOSPEL
Lap steel player with the Campbell Brothers
13
Lee O. Ellis Jr., 68
BLUES ADJACENT
Husband of Indianapolis-based blues singer Queen Delphine (of Queen Delphine and the Crown Jewels)
14
Melva Houston, 70
BORDERLINE BLUES
Backup singer on many Isaac Hayes-produced sides for Stax; of lung cancer
15
Phil May, 75
Member of the British band, Pretty Things
17
Lucky Peterson, 53
Master of the guitar and Hammond B3
17
Bob Levis, 68
Chicago area guitarist known as Barstool Bob and most famous for his association with Otis Rush
18
Stan Mixon, 59
Chicago bass player
18
Willie K, 59
William Kahaiali'i, Hawaiian guitarist and son of jazz guitarist Manu Kahaiali'i who played jazz, blues and traditional Hawaiian music; of lung cancer
25
John H. Burnett, 81
BLUES ADJACENT
Former WDCB jazz DJ and leader of the jazz/swing band, the John Burnett Orchestra
JUNE
2
Carl "SweetMeet" Green, 71
San Francisco bay area sax player
4
Peter Clan Crawford, 69
Guitarist, founder of Red Beans Records, owner of B.L.U.E.S Etc.
and much more
7
Floyd Lee, 86
(aka Theodore Williams)
Mississippi vocalist/guitarist who played in the NY subway system for 30 years
7
Frank Bey, 74
Soul blues singer
8
Bonnie Pointer, 69
BLUES-ISH
One of the Pointer Sisters; of cardiac arrest
21
Walkin' Cane Mark, 53
Phoenix-based harp player and vocalist
27
Peter Carr, 70
Session musician who was a member of the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
27
Khari Parker, 46
BORDERLINE BLUES
Chicago-based jazz and gospel drummer
JULY
7
Ron "Spin Daddy" Regnas, 68
Bass player with Cadillac Groove and also with Studebaker John and the Hawks andBilly King Band
16
Jamie Oldaker, 68
Drummer for Leon Russell, Eric Clapton and more
16
Patrick Ellis, 77
GOSPEL
Host of Gospel Spirit for more than
40 years on WHUR-FM in Washington, DC
25
Peter Green, 73
Founding member of Fleetwood Mac, widely considered the best guitarist to come out of the British blues scene
25
Helen Woods Jones, 96
BORDERLINE BLUES
Groundbreaking female trombonist and member of all-female jazz band, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm in the 1940s
AUGUST
17
Cleother (Cleo) "Pete" Williams, 81
Chicago drummer who played with many of our local legends, including Howlin' Wolf, Willie Kent and Buddy Guy
20
Justin Townes Earle, 38
BORDERLINE BLUES
Americana singer/songwriter and musician and son of musician Steve Earle; of suicide
21
Bryan Lee, 77
Blind blues guitarist and singer who, for many years, fronted the house band at the Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street in New Orleans
31
Willis Prudhomme, 88
ZYDECO
Leader of the band The Zydeco Express
Rest in Peace
SEPTEMBER
2
Donald "Duck" Jennings, 82
BLUES-ISH
Austin, TX-based trumpet player who was a member of The Texas Trumpets
6
Stering Magee, 84
(aka Mr. Satan)
Harlem street musician who played with harp player Adam Gussow in the duo, Satan and Adam; of complications from COVID-19
7
Big Doo Whopper, 67
(aka Cornell Williams)
Singer, who was about to release a new recording on Delmark
12
Robert Smith Hagan, 61
Memphis street musician who performed as Beretta Mo Betta
16
Roy "C" Hammond, 81
Southern soul blues singer, songwriter and producer; of liver cancer
23
Sidney Selby, 89
(aka Guitar Crusher)
American blues guitarist/harp player/singer, based for many years in Berlin; of complications from an operation on his spine
26
Mark Stone, ??
BLUES ADJACENT
Original bass player for Van Halen, who was replaced by Michael Anthony
OCTOBER
4
John Valenteyn, 73
Co-founder of the Toronto Blues Society, a DJ and member of the Maple Blues Awards Steering Committee
6
Eddie Van Halen, 65
BLUES ADJACENT
Rock god and leader of the band, Van Halen; of throat cancer
6
Reverend John Wilkins, 76
Singer and son of blues singer Robert Wilkins; of COVID-19
12
Kim Massie, 63
St. Louis-based singer
17
Bob Biggs, 74
BLUES ADJACENT
Founder of Los Angeles independent label Slash Records; due to complications from Lewy body dementia
18
Larry Van Loon, 69
Nashville keyboardist who played with Andy T. Nixon, Shaun Murphy and others
19
Spencer Davis, 81
Welsh musician who founded the. blues-ish band, The Spencer Davis Group; of pneumonia
21
Gavin. Andrew McKee, 35
(aka Ben Richards)
Road manager for the Eric Gales Band
28
Angela Kilgo-Cunningham, ?
Vocalist for the Chris Canas Band; of cancer
31
Rance Allen, 71
GOSPEL
Singer for the Rance Allen Group; of complications from surgery
NOVEMBER
6
Scrap Iron, 69
(aka Frank Robinson Jr.)
Longtime road manager for Little Milton and in recent years a fixture on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruises; the result of a car accident in Memphis
19
Hal Yeagy, 63
Owner of the Slippery Noodle Inn in Indianapolis, who transformed it from a lunch counter with two employees to an esteemed blues music destination; of cancer
26
Herman Green, 90
BORDERLINE BLUES
Sax player and Memphis jazz and blues icon
DECEMBER
10
Joseph "Mojo" Morganfield, 56
The youngest son of Muddy Waters, who was pursuing a music career of his own and was working on a CD at the time of his death; of a heart attack
16
Carl Mann, 78
BLUES-ISH
Rockabilly singer who was one of the last artists that Sam Phillips recorded
23
Leslie West, 75
BLUES-ISH
Rock guitarist and founder of the band, Mountain, most famous for the song, Mississippi Queen; of cardiac arrest
OTHER PASSINGS
Several Chicago blues musicians also lost family members this year:
Mzz Reese lost her father, the Legendary Godfather
Chick Rodgers lost her mom
Shorty Mack lost his wife
Rico McFarland lost his niece
JANUARY
1
Marty Grebb, 74
Chicago-based musician who worked with everyone from Eric Clapton and Etta James to Leon Russell; keyboard player for the Chicago band, The Buckinghams
2
Tom Hyslop, 56
Staff writer and contributing editor for Blues Revue and Blues Music Magazine
19
Robert Parker, 89
BORDERLINE BLUES
New Orleans singer know for the 1966 song, Barefootin'
22
Brett Champlin
Guitarist and founder of the Chicago Blues Camp, which he sold in late 2019
FEBRUARY
4
Reggie Wayne Morris, ??
Baltimore-based guitarist
7
Jack Cohen
A member of the San Francisco blues community who tirelessly promoted the blues scene in the Bay area.
10
Scott Sessions
Trumpet player for the Denver-based band, The Movers and Shakers, a band that made to the 2020 semifinals at the International Blues Challenge; murdered
15
Ron Thompson, 66
San Francisco Bay area guitarist who worked with many musicians during his career, including John Lee Hooker, Lowell Fulson and Big Mama Thorton; complications from diabetes-related illnesses
15
Jan Michael Faircloth, 43
Kansas City area blues drummer; of terminal cancer
17
Henry Gray, 95
American blues piano player who played with Chicago blues royalty–Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Junior Wells
19
Little Al Thomas, 89
Local Chicago musician
28
Paris Delane
BORDERLINE BLUES
Vocalist with the R&B band, Sonia Dada
19
Little Al Thomas, 89
Local Chicago musician who often played on Maxwell Street
MARCH
6
Little Charlie Baty, 66
One of the most respected guitarists of his generation, best known as the leader of Little Charlie and the Nightcats (now Rick Estrin and the Nightcats); of a heart attack
6
McCoy Tyner, 81
BORDERLINE BLUES
Jazz pianist known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet
9
Snooky Flowers, 79
Sax player and member of Janis Joplin's Kozmic Blues Band
17
George "Duke" Albiez, 69
Owner of Duke's Bistro, a blues and jazz club in South Bend, IN
25
Fantastic L'Roy, 74
aka Leroy Perryman
Soul blues singer who co-owned the South Side club, Linda's Lounge, with his wife; of COVID-19
25
Landon Cecil Spradin, 66
Evangelical Christian pastor and blues musician in Virginia; of COVID-19
29
David Edmond, 62
Blues singer and bassist who played in the Lafayette, LA, blues and soul scene; Was a longtime member of Roscoe Chenier's Inner City Blues Band
30
Bill Withers, 76
BLUES-ISH
Singer/songwriter famous for Ain't No Sunshine
APRIL
1
Marcus "MG" Gibsons, 41
Milwaukee area drummer
2
Lysa Dawn Robinson, 55
BLUES ADJACENT
Percussionist and former drummer for the Grammy Award-winning soul singer Billy Paul
5
Ben Elliot, 67
BLUES ADJACENT
Engineer and record producer who recorded many musicians, including Levon Helm and Huber Sumlin
5
Neil Lasher, 72
BLUES ADJACENT
Industry executive and MusiCares supporter
6
Berry T. Harris, 90
Wichita-based blues singer/guitarist
7
John Prine, 73
BLUES-ISH
Chicago's own master storyteller and American roots singer/songwriter; of complications from COVID-19
8
Peter Ecklund, 74
BORDERLINE BLUES
Cornetist, composer and arranger specializing in American pre-swing jazz who played with Leon Redbone, the David Bromberg Band, Gregg Allman and others; of complications due to Parkinson's Disease
9
Doug Rice,72
South Bend, IN, blues musician
10
Big George Brock, 87
One of the last of the great Mississippi Delta bluesmen
15
Lee Gates, 82
Milwaukee guitarist, singer and songwriter who was a cousin of Albert Collins
14
Roosevelt E. Johnson, ??
Chicago bass player who played with a number of different bands, including Low-reen and the Maxwell St. Market Blues Band; of COVID-19
15
Knox Phillips, 65
Son of Sun Records founder Sam Phillips
16
Sir Walter Scott, 76
Chicago guitarist who had a regular gig at the xxx on Chicago's far Southeast side
21
John Cole, 78
Rochester, NY-based singer/guitarist who formed the John Cole Blues Band
26
Alton " Big Al" Carson, 66
New Orleans blues singer/traditional jazz tuba player and trumpeter; of a heart attack
27
Troy Sneed, 52
GOSPEL
Grammy-nominated American gospel singer, songwriter, and musician; of COVID-19
28
Bobby Lewis, 95
BORDERLINE BLUES
R&B singer best know for the 1960s megahit Tossin' and Turnin'
A look back at the musicians and members of the blues
(and blues-ish) communities who left us in 2020