Motown soul singerEdwin Starr, best-known for the 1970 chart-topping single “War”, died of a heart attack April 2 in England at his home near Nottingham. Starr, 61, was a native of Nashville, Tennessee. Hank Ballard, best-known for writing the early rock ‘n’ roll smash “The Twist”, died March 2 after battling throat cancer. Ballard, 75, [...]

Zal Yanovsky, a founding member of hitmaking 1960s folk-rock band the Lovin’ Spoonful, died December 13, 2002, in Kingston, Ontario, from heart problems. He was 57. Tommy Thompson, a founding member of North Carolina string-band revivalists the Red Clay Ramblers, died January 24, 2003, after struggling with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 65. Frank Edmonson, a [...]

Legendary songwriter LAURA NYRO, who made her mark in the 1960s with soulful pop songs that were made hits by such acts as Blood, Sweat & Tears and Three Dog Night, died April 8 of cancer at the age of 49. Shortly before her death, Columbia Legacy had released a two-disc, 34-track collection titled Stoned [...]

Charles Sawtelle, guitarist for the Boulder, Colorado, bluegrass band Hot Rize, died March 20 of complications from a bone marrow transplant following a battle with leukemia. He was 52. While occasionally joining Hot Rize for reunion concerts, he also performed with his band, Charles Sawtelle & the Whippets, ran a recording studio, and toured with [...]

Legendary music publisher Bill Lowery died of cancer June 8 at age 79. For more than 50 years, the Lowery Group was one of the most successful music publishing houses, representing such classic songs as “Be-Bop-A-Lula” and “I Never Promised You A Rose Garden”.… Hillbilly/rockabilly guitarist Jimmie Lee Fautheree died June 29 at age 70 [...]

Though he recorded 45 albums after, John Stewart is mostly remembered for the seven years he spent with the Kingston Trio (1961-67) and for writing the Monkees’ hit “Daydream Believer”. He died of a brain aneurysm or a massive stroke January 19 in the same San Diego hospital where he was born September 5, 1939. [...]

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.