2013 In Memoriam: Musicians We Lost This Year

The Divinyls singer, known internationally for her band's sultry 1991 hit "I Touch  Myself," passed away on April 21st after battling breast cancer and multiple sclerosis. 

The original guitarist for British prog pioneers Yes, Banks (far left) died from heart failure in his London home on March 7th. He was 65.

The Ohio Players frontman and voice behind ubiquitous soul and funk hits like "Love Rollerocaster," died from undisclosed causes on January 26th. He was 69-years-old.

The Jamaican-born saxophonist, famous for his playing alongside reggae artists like Burning Spear and as part of ska group the Skatalites, dies from cardiac arrest in a New York hospital on May 3rd. He was 70.

The former White Zombie drummer and member of Wisconsin metal band Last Crack died in his sleep from undisclosed causes on May 19th. He was 46.

The R&B singer (middle), one-fifth of sibling group the Five Stairsteps, was best known for his vocals on their 1970 smash "O-o-h Child." Burke Jr. died from undisclosed causes on May 26th, one day after his 64th birthday.

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Iron Maiden's original drummer, who played on the British heavy metal act's first three records — including the landmark The Number of the Beast — died from multiple sclerosis on March 12 at the age of 56.

A jazz trumpeter, Byrd was both a groundbreaker in hard bop and helped steward the genre's pop crossover, died of undisclosed causes on February 4th. He was 80-years-old.

JJ Cale, the Oklahoman songwriter and guitarist whose original compositions have been covered by everyone from Eric Clapton to Spiritualized, died from a heart attack on July 26. He was 74.

Tom Petty Guitarist Mike Campbell Remembers JJ Cale

The Deftones bassist, who had been in a coma since sustaining injuries in a 2008 car accident, passed away from heart failure on April 13th. He was just 42-years-old.

Slash, Tom Morello, Gerard Way mourn Chi Cheng

Pogues guitarist and Irish punk icon Phil Chevron died from an inoperable tumor following several years of struggles with cancer on October 8th. He was 56.

Benjamin Curtis, the former Secret Machines guitarist and Tripping Daisy drummer who most recently made up half of the dream-pop duo School of Seven Bells, died at age 35 after battling T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Pioneering rockabilly star Mac Curtis died on September 16th from a brain hematoma brought on by injuries sustained in a car accident. He was 74.

The jazz fusion keyboardist, who helped color the sound of records by everyone from Miles Davis to Frank Zappa, died, at age 67, from chronic lymphocytic leukemia on August 5. 

A founding member of Memphis rap stars and Oscar winners Three 6 Mafia, Dunigan died at age 40 of a sudden heart attack. 

Brothers Arash and Soroush Farazmand, 28 and 27-years-old respectively, both founding members of Iranian indie band the Yellow Dogs, were tragically shot and killed in their Brooklyn apartment on November 11 by fellow musician Ali Akbar Mohammadi Rafe. Arash and Soroush's neighbor, songwriter Ali Eskandrian, was also murdered, before Rafe took his own life on the building's roof.

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The frontman for California punk eccentrics White Flag was an advocate for music outsiders up until his death from natural causes on September 24th. He was 52.

Thomas Paul aka "Tompall" Glaser, a key figure in country music's "Outlaw Movement" and contemporary of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, died from an unspecified illness on August 13th. He was 79-years-old.

The beloved balladeer and "Blame it on the Bossa Nova" singer, who toured and performed for decades with husband Steve Lawrence as Steve and Eydie, died from an undisclosed illness on August 10th. She was 84.

Slayer's influential co-lead guitarist and songwriter (Hanneman penned classics such as "Raining Blood") died from cirrhosis of the liver on May 2nd. He was 49.

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The influential San Francisco-cum-New York electronic DJ, who was one-third of techno trio the Hardkiss Brothers, died of undisclosed causes on March 25th. He was 43.

Havens, the folk singer/songwriter, who famously opened the original Woodstock festival with a stirring performance of his song "Freedom," died of a heart attack in his New Jersey home on April 22nd at 72-years-old.

Richie Havens on opening Woodstock

The original bassist/co-vocalist for '80s jangle-poppers and R.E.M. contemporaries Let's Active died of an apparent suicide at her North Carolina home on July 21st. She was 59-years-old.

The bass player for British Invasion pop stars and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees the Dave Clark Five died on February 11. Huxley had battled for years with emphysema, though the official cause of death was not disclosed. He was 72.

Johns, a producer and engineer whose credits included Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti and the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street, died on April 7th after visiting the hospital with a stomach ulcer. He was 62.

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The country legend, whose hard living mirrored his bittersweet lyrics, died from complications related to fever and irregular blood pressure on April 26th. Known as "the greatest voice in country music," Jones passed away at the age of 81.

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The Kriss Kross rapper (right), who scored one of the '90s most enduring hits with "Jump," died of a drug overdose on May 1st. He was 34.

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Allen Lanier — a co-founding member of Blue Öyster Cult who also contributed to vital punk records by Patti Smith and the Clash — died on August 14th. Lanier, who was 67, succumbed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 

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The lyrical reed player, one of the first to introduce world music influences into jazz, died on December 23rd at 93.

A studio drummer for the likes of Michael Jackson and Eric Clapton, Lawson died following a brain aneurysm at 59.

The guitar virtuoso and leader of British rock band Ten Years After died from complications during a surgical procedure on March 6th