J.D. “CAST” KING, whose 2005 country album Saw Mill Man won substantial acclaim, died December 13 in Old Sand Mountain, Alabama. He was 81.

Jazz saxophonist FRANK MORGAN died of colon cancer December 14. He was 73.

Tejano legend LYDIA MENDOZA died December 20. She recorded a handful of influential sides for Okeh in 1928, and over 50 albums altogether. She is perhaps best known for her 1934 hit “Mal Hombre”. Mendoza was 91.

Bloomington, Indiana, bassist EVAN FARRELL, who played in Rogue Wave, Japonize Elephants, and on the most recent Magnolia Electric Co. tour, died in a house fire December 23 in Oakland, California. He apparently woke the rest of the house up when a furnace caught fire, but did not save himself. He was 31.

Bluegrass fiddler and mandolinist VERNON DERRICK died January 4. He played with Jimmy Martin, the Stanley Brothers, and Hank Williams Jr. He was 74.

Silos bassist and multi-instrumentalist DREW GLACKIN died January 5 of heart damage caused by an overactive thyroid. Glackin had also played and recorded with Tandy, Crash Test Dummies, the Hold Steady and others. He was 45.