One of our saddest jobs at SoulTracks is to inform SoulTrackers about the deaths of soul music artists. And with so many great soul artists reaching an advanced age, it seems like we’re doing this too often.
For the past few years, we’ve made a special point to let SoulTrackers know about artists who have passed on and to make sure we pay tribute to their legacies. On this page we provide a list of those artists who have died during 2015, in the order of the date we reported on their deaths during the year. Each artist’s name is a link to our story on him or her.
Rest in Peace, friends.
| King Sporty (Reggae singer/songwriter) | |
| Andrae Crouch (Gospel legend) | |
| Clifford Adams (R&B trombonist) | |
| Cynthia Layne (soul and jazz singer) | |
| Victor Castarphen (songwriter and musician) | |
| Kenneth Kelly of the Manhattans | |
| James “Ajax” Baynard (R&B Trumpeter) | |
| Charmayne Maxwell of Brownstone | |
| Cheryl McClurkin (singer and writer) | |
| Ethan White of Tortured Soul | |
| Mike Porcaro of Toto | |
| Billy Butler (singer and guitarist) | |
| Miriam Bienstock (Atlantic Records co-founder) | |
| Linton Beckles of the group Central Line | |
| Percy Sledge (singer) | |
| Johnny Kemp (singer) | |
| Ben E. King (singer) | |
| Errol Brown of Hot Chocolate | |
| B.B. King (blues legend) |
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| Louis Johnson of the Brothers Johnson | |
| Mel Waiters (Southern Soul singer) | |
| Andrew Wright (songwriter) | |
| Suzanne “Minnie” Thomas of A Taste of Honey | |
| Larry Johnson of the Artistics | |
| Mighty Sam McClain | |
| Michael Masser (songwriter) | |
| William Brown of the Mad Lads | |
| Donald Haywoode of the Velours | |
| Danny Sembello (singer and songwriter) | |
| Morris Alan (singer) | |
| Don Griffin (guitarist and Miracles singer) | |
| Ben Cauley of the Bar-Kays | |
| Wilton Felder of The Crusaders | |
| Ronald Abner of the Fabulous Peps |
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| Allan Toussaint | |
| Cynthia Robinson of Sly and the Family Stone | |
| Wally Roker of The Heartbeats | |
| William Guest of Gladys Knight & The Pips | |
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Other Deaths
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Ortheia Barnes (singer and activist) Bob Belden (Jazz saxophonist) Marcus Belgrave (Jazz trumpeter) Judy Barrow-Tate (Motown singer) Lenny Cocco of The Chimes Ornette Coleman (jazz saxophonist) Tony Drake (guitarist) Frankie Ford (singer) Joe Houston (saxophonist) Bruce Lundvall (record company executive) Demis Roussos (Greek singer) Clark Terry (Jazz Trumpeter) Cory Wells of Three Dog Night |
