Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona, July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010) was an American rock and heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He fronted numerous groups including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band, Dio. He is credited with popularizing the "metal horns" hand gesture in metal culture. Dio has sold over 47 million albums throughout his career.

Lemmy

Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), known as Lemmy, was an English musician, singer and songwriter who founded and fronted the rock band Motörhead. His music was one of the foundations of the heavy metal genre. He was known for his appearance (including his friendly mutton chops) and his distinctive gravelly voice. Alongside his music career, he also had many minor roles in film and television.

Lemmy was born in Stoke-on-Trent and grew up in North Wales. He was influenced by rock and roll and the early Beatles, which led to him playing in several rock groups in the 1960s, including the Rockin' Vickers. He worked as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and the Nice, before joining the space rock band Hawkwind in 1971, singing lead on their hit "Silver Machine". After being fired from Hawkwind, he founded Motörhead as lead singer, bassist, songwriter and frontman. Motörhead's success peaked in 1980 and 1981 and included the hit single "Ace of Spades" and the top charting live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith. Lemmy continued to record and tour regularly with Motörhead until his death in December 2015 in Los Angeles, where he had lived from 1990.

---

David Bowie

David Bowie was born in South London's Brixton neighborhood on January 8, 1947. His first hit was the song "Space Oddity" in 1969. The original pop chameleon, Bowie became a fantastical sci-fi character for his breakout Ziggy Stardust album. He later co-wrote "Fame" with Carlos Alomar and John Lennon which became his first American No. 1 single in 1975. An accomplished actor, Bowie starred in The Man Who Fell to Earth in 1976. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Bowie died on January 10, 2016, from cancer at the age of 69. 

---

Douglas Lars "Doug" Fieger (August 20, 1952 – February 14, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter-musician. He was the lead singer of the power pop band The Knack, and co-wrote "My Sharona", the biggest hit song of 1979 in the USA, with lead guitarist, Berton Averre.

Kate McGarrigle, CM (February 6, 1946[2] – January 18, 2010) was a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, who wrote and performed as a duo with her sister Anna McGarrigle.

Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010[1]) was an English impresario, visual artist, performer, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in a creative way. Born into a dysfunctional family, he attended a number of British art colleges and adopted the stance of the social rebel in the style of French revolutionaries, the Situationists. With a keen eye for trends, McLaren realized in the 1970s that a new youth style was needed, and largely initiated the punk movement, to which he supplied fashions from the Chelsea boutique 'SEX', operated with his girlfriend Vivienne Westwood. After a spell advising the New York Dolls in the US, McLaren managed the Sex Pistols, to whom he recruited the nihilistic frontman Johnny Rotten. The issue of a controversial record, "God Save the Queen", satirising the Queen's Jubilee was typical of McLaren's shock-tactics, and he gained publicity by being arrested after a promotional boat trip outside the Houses of Parliament.

Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass (March 26, 1950[1] – January 13, 2010)[2] was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade. In 1982, he was severely injured in an auto accident in Philadelphia, resulting in his being paralyzed from the chest down.

Peter Thomas Ratajczyk (January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010), better known by his stage name Peter Steele, was the lead singer, bassist, and composer for the gothic metal band Type O Negative. Before forming Type O Negative, he had created the metal group Fallout and the thrash band Carnivore.

William Reese "Will" Owsley III (March 6, 1966 – April 30, 2010), known professionally as Owsley, was an American singer-songwriter. His two solo albums have won critical acclaim, and his debut album was nominated for a Grammy Award, as was the song "Threaten Me With Heaven" (posthumously). Owsley was also a record producer, a recording engineer, and the guitarist in Amy Grant's touring band.

Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr. (May 1, 1980 – January 13, 2010), better known by the stage name Jay Reatard, was an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. Lindsey was signed to Matador Records. He released recordings as a solo artist and as a member of The Reatards and Lost Sounds.

Mark Linkous (September 9, 1962 – March 6, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as leader of Sparklehorse. He was also known for his collaborations with such notable artists as Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Daniel Johnston, Radiohead, Black Francis, Julian Casablancas, Nina Persson, David Lynch, Danger Mouse, and Sage Francis.

William Alexander "Alex" Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star.

Tom "T-Bone" Wolk (December 24, 1951 – February 28, 2010) was the longtime bassist with Hall & Oates (since 1981's Private Eyes album) and was also at one time a member of the Saturday Night Live Band with H&O bandmate G.E. Smith. Wolk was a multi-talented instrumentalist and background singer who also worked with Hall & Oates member Daryl Hall on some of his solo material, as well as with Carly Simon, Jellyfish, Squeeze, Elvis Costello, Shawn Colvin and Billy Joel over the course of his career.

Paul Dedrick Gray (April 8, 1972 – May 24, 2010), also known as The Pig or by his number #2, was an American musician, best known as the bassist and one of the founding members of the Grammy Award-winning metal band Slipknot.

Harvey Fuqua (July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was a rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is noted for later having been one of the key figures in the development of the Motown label in Detroit, Michigan: his group gave Marvin Gaye's musical career a start, and Fuqua and his wife at the time, Gwen Gordy, distributed the very first Motown hit single, Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)", on their record label, Anna Records. Fuqua later sold Anna Records to Gwen's brother Berry Gordy, and became a songwriter and executive at Motown. He is the nephew of Charlie Fuqua of The Ink Spots and is the uncle of filmmaker Antoine Fuqua.

Kenny Edwards (February 10, 1946 – August 18, 2010) was an American singer/songwriter. He was a founding member of The Stone Poneys and a long-time collaborator with both Linda Ronstadt and Karla Bonoff

Peter Alexander Greenlaw "Pete" Quaife (31 December 1943 – 23 June 2010) was an English musician, artist and author. He was a founding member and the original bass guitarist for The Kinks, from 1963 until 1969.

Bobby Hebb (July 26, 1938 – August 3, 2010) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his writing and recording of "Sunny".

Michael Been (March 17, 1950 – August 19, 2010) was an American rock musician who achieved critical attention and rotation play on MTV in the 1980s with his band The Call. He later released an album of his solo work and toured with his son's band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. His song "Let the Day Begin" was the official campaign song of Al Gore's 2000 U.S. presidential campaign. His song "Oklahoma" was one of the top ten choices for Oklahoma's official state rock song and a line from the song provided the name for Another Hot Oklahoma Night: A Rock & Roll Exhibit at the Oklahoma History Center.

Mike Edwards (31 May 1948 – 3 September 2010), known as Swami Deva Pramada or simply Pramada, was an English cellist and music teacher. His wide-ranging career was most widely notable for his membership of the Electric Light Orchestra.

Ariane Daniela Forster (17 January 1962 – 20 October 2010), known by her stage name Ari Up, was a German-born vocalist best known as a member of the English punk group, The Slits.

Calvin Russell (born Calvert Russell Kosler, 1 November 1948 – 3 April 2011) was an American blues rock/roots rock singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Don Van Vliet ( born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, artist and poet known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band (1965–1982), with whom he recorded 13 studio albums. Noted for his powerful singing voice with its wide range, Van Vliet also played the harmonica, saxophone and numerous other wind instruments. His music blended rock, blues and psychedelia with avant-garde and contemporary experimental composition. Beefheart was also known for exercising an almost dictatorial control over his supporting musicians, and for often constructing myths about his life.

Gerald "Gerry" Rafferty (16 April 1947 – 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer-songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street" and "Right Down the Line", and with the band Stealers Wheel, "Stuck in the Middle with You". Rafferty was born into a working-class family in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. His mother taught him both Irish and Scottish folk songs as a boy; later, he was influenced by the music of The Beatles and Bob Dylan. He joined the folk-pop group The Humblebums in 1969. After they disbanded in 1971, he recorded his first solo album, Can I Have My Money Back? Rafferty and Joe Egan formed the group Stealers Wheel in 1972, producing several hits, most notably "Stuck in the Middle with You". In 1978, he recorded his second solo album, City to City, which included "Baker Street", his most popular song.

Gladys Catherine Horton (May 30, 1945 – January 26, 2011) was an American R&B and pop singer, famous for being the founder and lead singer of the popular Motown all-female vocal group The Marvelettes

Steve Lee (born Stefan Alois in Horgen, Switzerland, August 5, 1963 – October 5, 2010) was a Swiss musician and vocalist, best known as the vocalist of the band Gotthard. He also sung in Ayreon album 01011001.

Gregory Anthony Isaacs (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010) was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in the New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae". His nickname is the Cool Ruler.

Loleatta Holloway (November 5, 1946 – March 21, 2011) was an American singer, mainly known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run" and "Love Sensation", both of which have been sampled extensively.

Mark Shalom Tulin (November 21, 1948 – February 26, 2011) was the bassist with The Electric Prunes. They had hit singles with "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)" and "Get Me To The World on Time". In particular, "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)" is regarded by many critics as a defining song of the psychedelic and garage rock music, appearing on the famous Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968 compilation in 1972. In the late 1990s, renewed interest in The Electric Prunes led to a reunion of the original lineup. Since then, the band has toured and released albums consistently.

Andonis Michaelides (24 July 1958 – 4 January 2011),better known as Mick Karn, was a British multi-instrumentalist musician and songwriter, who rose to fame as the bassist for the art rock/New Wave band Japan, from 1974 to 1982.

Marianne Joan Elliott-Said (3 July 1957 – 25 April 2011), known by the stage name Poly Styrene, was a British musician, songwriter and singer, most notably in the punk rock band X-Ray Spex.

Solomon Burke (March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American recording artist and vocalist, who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s and a "key transitional figure in the development of soul music from rhythm and blues.

Scott Columbus (November 10, 1956 – April 4, 2011) was an American drummer, best known for his long period of collaboration with heavy metal band Manowar

Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 1952[1] – 6 February 2011), was a Northern Irish musician, most widely recognised as a singer and guitarist. In a career dating back to the 1960s, Moore played with artists including Phil Lynott and Brian Downey during his teens, leading him to memberships with the Irish bands Skid Row and Thin Lizzy on three separate occasions. Moore shared the stage with such blues and rock luminaries as B.B. King, Albert King, Colosseum II, George Harrison, and Greg Lake, as well as having a successful solo career. He guested on a number of albums recorded by high profile musicians, including a cameo appearance playing the lead guitar solo on "She's My Baby" from Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3.

Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), better known by her stage name Teena Marie, was an American singer, songwriter, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie; she later acquired the nickname of Lady Tee (sometimes spelled Lady T), given to her by collaborator and friend, Rick James. She was known for her distinctive soulful vocals which initially caused many listeners to believe she was black. Her success in R&B and soul and loyalty to these genres would earn her the title Ivory Queen of Soul. She played rhythm guitar, keyboards, and congas. She also wrote, produced, sang, and arranged virtually all of her songs since her 1980 release, Irons in the Fire, which she later said was her favorite album.

Etta James (born Jamesetta Hawkins; January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012) was an American singer. Her style spanned a variety of music genres including blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz and gospel. Starting her career in 1954, she gained fame with hits such as "The Wallflower", "At Last", "Tell Mama", "Something's Got a Hold on Me", and "I'd Rather Go Blind" for which she wrote the lyrics. She faced a number of personal problems, including drug addiction, before making a musical resurgence in the late 1980s with the album Seven Year Itch.[2] James is regarded as having bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and is the winner of six Grammys and 17 Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008. Rolling Stone ranked James number 22 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and number 62 on the list of the 100 Greatest Artists.

Flattus Maximus is the name of a former character and guitarist in the American heavy metal band Gwar. He is known by his red face, white dreadlocks, dinosaur-head shoulder pads and reptile feet. The name "Flattus" implies a flatulent character. His speaking mannerisms suggest a childlike intelligence and naivety.

Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member of Howlin' Wolf's band. Sumlin was listed as number 43 in the Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Michael Edward "Mikey" Welsh (April 20, 1971 – October 8, 2011) was an American artist and musician, best known as the former bassist of Weezer. He played with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo during Cuomo's time in Boston during the hiatus in the band Homie. Following original bassist Matt Sharp's decision to leave Weezer to focus on his group, The Rentals, Welsh was chosen to take over for him. Welsh played with Weezer from the time that they regrouped in 2000 until August 2001, when he suffered a mental breakdown. Shortly afterwards, he retired from music to focus on his art career. Welsh died on October 8, 2011

Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for her chart-topping 1975 hit "Poetry Man". She was described by The New York Times as a "contralto grounded in a bluesy growl and capable of sweeping over four octaves."

Seth Edward Putnam (May 15, 1968 – June 11, 2011) was an American musician who was the founder of grindcore band Anal Cunt. He was known for his brutal screaming and lyrics that either shock, offend, or invoke morbid humor. Throughout his career, Putnam had been involved in many side projects, including backing vocals on Pantera's The Great Southern Trendkill.

Taiji Sawada ( Sawada Taiji?, July 12, 1966 – July 17, 2011) was a Japanese musician, most widely known as former bassist of the band X (currently known as X Japan), with whom he also served as an occasional songwriter and acoustic guitarist. After leaving X in 1992 he went on to work with several other bands, including Loudness and D.T.R

Tonmi Kristian Lillman (3 June 1973 – 13 February 2012 ) was a Finnish musician, best known as Otus, the drummer of the band Lordi

Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (January 19, 1936 – September 16, 2011) was a Grammy Award-winning American electric blues vocalist, harmonica player, and multi-award winning drummer. He was best known for several stints with the Muddy Waters band beginning in the early 1960s.

Dobie Gray (July 26, 1940 – December 6, 2011) was an American singer and songwriter, whose musical career spanned soul, country, pop, and musical theater. His hit records included "The 'In' Crowd" in 1965 and "Drift Away", which was one of the biggest hits of 1973, sold over one million copies, and remains a staple of radio airplay.

Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death, he was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing the tenor saxophone.[3][4] He released several solo albums and in 1985, had a hit single with "You're a Friend of Mine", a duet with Jackson Browne. As a guest musician he also featured on Aretha Franklin's classic "Freeway of Love" and on Twisted Sister's "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" as well as performing in concert with The Grateful Dead and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. As an actor Clemons featured in several films, including New York, New York and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Daniel Milton "Dan" Peek (November 1, 1950 – July 24, 2011) was a musician best known as a member of the soft rock band America from 1970 to 1977, together with Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell. He was also a "pioneer in contemporary Christian music.

Jani Lane (February 1, 1964 – August 11, 2011) was an American recording artist and the lead vocalist, frontman, lyricist and main songwriter for the hard rock band Warrant. From Hollywood, California, the band experienced success from 1989-1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. Lane left Warrant in 2004 and again in 2008 after a brief reunion. Lane also released a solo album Back Down to One in 2003 and the album Love the Sin, Hate the Sinner with a new group Saints of the Underground in 2008. Lane contributed his lead vocals and song writing to many various projects throughout his career.

James Walter "Jimmy" Castor (January 23, 1940 – January 16, 2012) was an American pop and funk musician. He is best known as a fun disco/funk saxophonist, with his biggest hit single being 1972's million seller, "Troglodyte (Cave Man)"

Robert Frank "Rob" Grill (November 30, 1943 – July 11, 2011) was an American lead singer, songwriter and bass guitarist of the rock and roll band, The Grass Roots.

Charles Louis "Chuck" Brown (August 22, 1936 – May 16, 2012) was an American guitarist and singer who is affectionately called "the Godfather of Go-go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and around Washington, D.C. in the mid and late 1970s. While its musical classification, influences, and origins are debated, Brown is regarded as the fundamental force behind the creation of go-go music.

David Thomas "Davy" Jones (30 December 1945 – 29 February 2012) was an English actor, musician, recording artist, performing artist, and businessman best known as a member of the pop rockband, the Monkees, and star of the TV series of the same name. His acting credits include a Tony-nominated role as the Artful Dodger in Oliver! as well as roles in The Brady Bunch film and television show; Love, American Style; and My Two Dads. Jones is considered by some to be one of the great teen idols.

Donald "Duck" Dunn (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax Records. At Stax, Dunn played on thousands of records including hits by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, William Bell, Eddie Floyd, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, and many others.

Dick Clark (born Richard Wagstaff Clark; November 30, 1929 – April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting American television's longest-running variety show, American Bandstand, from 1957 to 1987. He also hosted the game show Pyramid and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, which transmitted Times Square's New Year's Eve celebrations worldwide. Clark was also well known for his trademark sign-off, "For now, Dick Clark. So long!", accompanied with a military salute.

Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded. He performed with his son Merle for over 15 years until Merle's death in 1985 in an accident on the family farm.

Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American rock musician and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band. Helm was known for his deeply soulful, country-accented voice, multi-instrumental ability, and creative drumming style highlighted on many of The Band's recordings, such as "The Weight", "Up on Cripple Creek", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". He also had a successful career as an actor, appearing in such films as Coal Miner's Daughter and The Right Stuff.

Donna Summer (née LaDonna Adrian Gaines; December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012) was an American singer and songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the late 1970s. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Summer was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach number one on the United States Billboard album chart and charted four number-one singles in the United States within a 13-month period. Summer has sold over 130 million records worldwide.

Ronald Douglas "Ronnie" Montrose (29 November, 1947 – 3 March, 2012) was an American rock guitarist, who led a number of his own bands as well as performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Beau Brummels, Boz Scaggs, Beaver & Krause, Gary Wright, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Dan Hartman, Marc Bonilla, Edgar Winter, and Johnny Winter.

Tommy Marth (November 23, 1978 – April 23, 2012) was an American saxophone player, best known for his recordings and live performances with The Killers. He toured widely with the band in 2008–2009, and also played on the albums "Sam's Town" and "Day & Age"

Adam Nathaniel Yauch (pronounced /ˈjaʊk/; August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012) was an American rapper, musician, film director, and human rights activist. He was best known as a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. He was frequently known by his stage name, MCA, and sometimes worked under the pseudonym Nathanial Hörnblowér. Yauch founded Oscilloscope Laboratories, an independent film production and distribution company based in New York City. A Buddhist, he was involved in the Tibetan independence movement and organized the Tibetan Freedom Concert.

Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a three-finger banjo-picking style (now called "Scruggs style") that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. Although other musicians had played in three-finger style before him, Scruggs shot to prominence when he was hired by Bill Monroe to fill the banjo slot in his group, The Blue Grass Boys. He later reached a mainstream audience through his performance with Scruggs on "The Ballad of Jed Clampett", the theme for the network television hit The Beverly Hillbillies, in the early 1960s.

Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord (9 June 1941 – 16 July 2012) was an English composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with Deep Purple, as well as Whitesnake, Paice Ashton Lord, The Artwoods, and The Flower Pot Men. In 1968 Lord co-founded Deep Purple, a hard rock band of which he was regarded as the leader until 1970. Together with the other members, he collaborated on most of his band's most popular songs. He and drummer Ian Paice were the only continual band members during the period from 1968 to 1976, and also from when it was reestablished in 1984 until Lord's retirement from Deep Purple in 2002. On 11 November 2010, he was inducted as an Honorary Fellow of Stevenson College in Edinburgh, Scotland. On 15 July 2011, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree by the University of Leicester.

Robin Hugh Gibb, CBE (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was an English musician, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as a member of the Bee Gees, which was co-founded with his fraternal twin brother Maurice and older brother Barry.

James Charles "Jim" Marshall, OBE (29 July 1923 – 5 April 2012) known as The Father of Loud or The Lord of Loud, was an English businessman, and pioneer of guitar amplification. His company, Marshall Amplification, has created kits used by some of the biggest names in rock, producing amplifiers with an iconic status. In 2003 Marshall received an OBE honour for "services to the music industry and to charity". Marshall is referred to as one of the four forefathers of rock music equipment along with Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover.

Douglas Lee Dorman (September 15, 1942 – December 21, 2012) was an American bass guitarist best known as a member of the rock band Iron Butterfly. He also played in the band Captain Beyond. Dorman was from St. Louis, Missouri, and moved to San Diego, California in the 1960s. He began playing bass guitar in his teens. While recording In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Dorman assisted Erik Brann with the arrangement of Brann's song "Termination," and was given a co-writing credit.

Alvin Lee (born Graham Alvin Barnes, 19 December 1944 – 6 March 2013) was a British guitarist and singer, best known as the lead guitarist and singer with the blues-rock/pop band Ten Years After.

Chi Cheng (July 15, 1970 – April 13, 2013) was an American musician, best known as the bassist for the American alternative metal band Deftones. His career came to an abrupt halt in 2008, when he was involved in a serious automobile accident in Santa Clara, California. After the accident, he remained in a semi-comatose state for four years before dying of a cardiac arrest in April 2013.

Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter and a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement. Ayers was a founding member of the pioneering psychedelic band Soft Machine in the late 1960s, and was closely associated with the Canterbury scene.

Anthony J. Sly (November 4, 1970 – July 31, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the front man of the punk rock band No Use for a Name. Most recently, he was also known for his acoustic solo career, with two acoustic split albums he released with Lagwagon front man Joey Cape and two solo albums of his own

Jeffrey John "Jeff" Hanneman (January 31, 1964 – May 2, 2013) was an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the American thrash metal band Slayer. Hanneman contributed both lyrical and musical material to every Slayer album and wrote the songs "Raining Blood", "War Ensemble", "South of Heaven", "Mandatory Suicide", "Chemical Warfare", "Seasons in the Abyss" and "Angel of Death", which have been played at almost every live Slayer show. He had his own signature guitar, the ESP Jeff Hanneman Signature model.

Christine Joy "Chrissy" Amphlett (/æmflət/; 25 October 1959 – 21 April 2013) was an Australian singer who was the frontwoman of the Australian rock band Divinyls. Amphlett grew up in Geelong, Australia as a singer and dancer. She left home as a teenager and travelled to England, France and Spain—she was imprisoned for three months in the latter country for singing on the streets

Tony Sheridan (born Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity, 21 May 1940 – 16 February 2013), was an English rock and roll singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was best known as an early collaborator of The Beatles, (though the record was labelled as being with "The Beat Brothers"), one of two non-Beatles (the other being Billy Preston) to receive label performance credit on a record with the group, and the only non-Beatle to appear as lead singer on a Beatles recording which charted as a singl

Trevor Bolder (9 June 1950 – 21 May 2013) was an English rock bassist, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with The Spiders from Mars, the one-time backing band for David Bowie, although he also played alongside a variety of musicians from the early 1970s.

Allen Glover Lanier (June 25, 1946 – August 14, 2013) was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult. Lanier played keyboards and rhythm guitar. He resided in Manhattan. Lanier wrote several songs for Blue Öyster Cult albums, including "True Confessions", "Tenderloin", "Searchin' for Celine", "In Thee" and "Lonely Teardrops". In addition to his work with Blue Öyster Cult, he also contributed to music by Patti Smith, Jim Carroll, The Dictators and The Clash, among others. He dated Patti Smith for several years during the 1970s

Clive Burr (8 March 1957 – 12 March 2013) was an English drummer, best known as a member of Iron Maiden from 1979 to 1982.

Filip Topol (12 June 1965 – 19 June 2013) was a Czech singer, songwriter, pianist and writer. He was best known as leader of the alternative rock band Psí vojáci (Dog Soldiers), but he also performed as a solo artist. Topol was the younger brother of the writer Jáchym Topol, son of the playwright and dissident Josef Topol and grandchild of the writer Karel Schulz

Fontella Bass (July 3, 1940 – December 26, 2012) was an American R&B soul singer best known for her 1965 hit, "Rescue Me".

Leroy Roosevelt Bonner (March 14, 1943 – January 26, 2013). Born in Hamilton, Ohio, about 20 miles north of Cincinnati in 1943, Leroy Bonner grew up poor, the oldest child in a large family. After running away from home at 14, he wound up in Dayton, where he connected with the musicians who would form the Ohio Players. The band’s lineup changed over the years, but its instrumentation and sound remained basically the same: a solid, driving groove provided by guitar, keyboards, bass and drums, punctuated by staccato blasts from a horn section. Assisted by Roger Troutman and his Zapp brethren, Sugarfoot went solo in 1985 with Sugar Kiss - the same year Zapp released The New Zapp IV U (featuring “Computer Love”), while Shirley Murdock was on the verge of scoring with the Troutman-produced “As We Lay.”

Raymond Daniel Manczarek Jr. (February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American musician, singer, producer, film director, and author, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973. He was a co-founding member of Nite City from 1977 to 1978, and of Manzarek–Krieger from 2001 to his death.

Reg Presley (born Reginald Maurice Ball; 12 June 1941 – 4 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter. He was best known as the lead singer with the 1960s rock and roll band The Troggs, whose best known hit was "Wild Thing", though their only UK number one single was the follow-up "With a Girl Like You". He also wrote the song "Love Is All Around" which featured in the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral. Contents

Mikhail "The Pot" Gorsheniov (Russian: Михаил "Горшок" Горшенёв, full name given at birth - Михаил Юрьевич Горшенёв; 1973-2013) was a lead singer and composer of Russian horror punk/hard rock band Korol i Shut (The King and the Jester).

Joseph "Joey" Edward Covington (June 27, 1945 – June 4, 2013) was an American drummer, best known for his involvements with Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.