Tommy Makem / Uncle John Turner / Lawton Williams / Horace Scruggs / Bill Pinkney / Billy Wayne Herbert / Hy Zaret / George McCorkle / William “Bill” Moss Sr. / Richard Bell / Tommy Crank / Charles Cochran / Freddie Scott
R.I.P.: Irish music star Tommy Makem died in New Hampshire August 1 after a long battle with lung cancer. He worked with the Clancy Brothers and Liam Clancy during and after the folk boom, and is associated with “Red Is The Rose” and “The Four Green Fields”. Makem and the Clancys are credited with transforming Irish music from solo to group vocals. He was 74….
Texas blues drummer Uncle John Turner — who played or recorded with Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Lightnin’ Hopkins — died July 26 in Austin from complications related to hepatitis C. He was 62….
Lawton Williams, the writer of “Fraulein”, died July 26 in Fort Worth, Texas. He was 85….
Bluegrass guitarist Horace Scruggs, who long ago played with his brother, Earl, died July 19. He was 85….
Bill Pinkney, best known for singing with the Drifters, died July 4 in Daytona Beach, Florida. He was 81….
Guitarist Billy Wayne Herbert died July 4 in Memphis of heart failure. He played with the Tony Joe White, among others….
Hy Zaret (born Hyman Harry Zaritsky) died July 2 in Westport Connecticut. He co-wrote “One Meat Ball” and “Unchained Melody”….
George McCorkle, an original member of the Marshall Tucker Band and a longtime Nashville songwriter, died of cancer June 29. His best-known song is “Fire On The Mountain”. He was 60….
Gospel Hall of Fame singer William “Bill” Moss Sr. died June 25 of emphysema. He was 76….
Keyboardist and songwriter Richard Bell died June 15 after a long battle with multiple myeloma cancer. His career included stints with Janis Joplin’s Full Tilt Boogie Band, session work on more than 400 albums, and, most recently, membership in Burrito Deluxe….
Bluegrass musician and producer Tommy Crank, known as the Ol’ Mountain Preacher, died June 13. He worked with Ralph Stanley, Larry Sparks, and others. He was 81….
Keyboardist and arranger Charles Cochran died in a car accident June 7. He worked with everyone from Garth Brooks to John Prine to Bobby Vinton….
R&B singer and songwriter Freddie Scott (“Hey Girl”) died June 4 in Jamaica, Queens. He was 74.