Music Obituaries: January 2025

Tweet

The new year has dawned. As each month passes, it takes with it a number of famous people in all walks of life. As my primary interest is music, I highlight the ones who left us in the preceding month. The new year began with a long list, sadly. Here are the musicians and music-related individuals for whom the final curtain fell in January 2025: Chad Morgan, OAM (January 1, natural causes, age 91): legendary Australian country music performer with a career that spanned over 70 years. Wayne Osmond (January 1, stroke, age 73): member of the singing Osmond Brothers family. Brenton Wood (neAlfred Smith) (January 3, natural causes, age 83): R&B singer with a string of hits including “Gimme Little Sign” and “The Oogum Boogum Song.” Blaine “Beej” Chaney (January 5, drowning, age 68): singer and guitarist for the Minneapolis-based punk band The Suburbs. Hope Foye (January 6, natural causes, age 103): folk singer who performed with Pete Seeger and the Weavers, who found her career stymied by the McCarran Committee in the 50s. *Peter Yarrow (January 7, bladder cancer, age 86): VOCAL GROUP HALL OF FAMER. One-third of the legendary folk band Peter, Paul, and Mary. He was also the writer of their most legendary song, “Puff the Magic Dragon.” *Sam Moore (January 10, complications from surgery, age 89): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. Half of the great R&B duo Sam and Dave. Jackie Farry (January 12, lung disease, age 57): tour manager for acts such as Nirvana, the Leomheads, and Elliott Smith. She was also host of the MTV show Superock in the mid-90s. Buck White (January 13, natural causes, age 94): mandolinist, pianist, singer, and patriarch of the country and bluegrass band the Whites. Melba Montgomery (January 15, natural causes, age 86): country singer who had a string of hits in the 60s and 70s. She also did a number of duets with George Jones. Toby Myers (January 16, cancer, age 75): bassist who worked for years with John Mellencamp. Jan Shepard (nee Josephine Sorbello) (January 17, pneumonia, age 96): actress who appeared in two movies — King Creole and Paradise, Hawaiian Style — with Elvis. Dave Bargeron (January 18, illness, age 82): trombone player who was one of the significant contributions to the sound of Blood, Sweat, and Tears during their heyday. Mike Miller (January 18, heart attack, age 71): guitarist who worked with the likes of Gino Vannelli, Boz Scaggs, Burton Cummins, and Bette Midler. Bob Kuban (January 20, stroke, age 84): man who fronted Bob Kuban and the In-Men, known for their one hit, “The Cheater,” in 1965. John Sykes (January 20, cancer, age 65): guitarist who worked with Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy. He also wrote the Whitesnake hits “Is This Love.” *Garth Hudson (January 21, natural causes, age 87): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. The final surviving member of The Band, who began as Bob Dylan’s backing band and went on to a career of their own. Elliot Ingber (January 21, unknown cause, age 83): guitarist in Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention. After his departure from that band he joined the Fraternity of Man and later played with Captain Beefheart. Barry Goldberg (January 22, unknown cause, age 83): blues keyboardist with The Electric Flag, co-founded with Mike Bloomfield. *Don Peachey (January 23, unknown cause, age 91): POLKA HALL OF FAMER. You didn’t know there was a Polka Hall of Fame, did you? There is, and Don Peachey’s 65-year career put him there. Buddy Brock (January 24, unknown cause, age 72): country songwriter whose biggest compositions include “There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With the Radio” and “Watermelon Crawl.” Bruce Howe (January 29, long illness, age 77): bassist with the Australian band Fraternity. That band was not successful but is known for featuring future AC/DC lead vocalist Bon Scott. Marianne Faithfull (January 30, unknown cause, age 78): singer and songwriter best known for her cover of the Stones’ song “As Tears Go By.” Ben Vaughn (January 30, unknown cause, age 49): the head of Warner-Chappell Music Publishing in Nashville since 2012. Farewell, and thank you for the music. The late Sam Moore, with Dave Prater (1937-1988), doing their classic tune “Soul Man”: