One of our saddest jobs at SoulTracks is to inform SoulTrackers about the deaths of soul music artists. And 2016 was a devastating year, with the death of dozens of artists who were part of the fabric of our lives.
We feel it is part of our mission to pay tribute to the legacies of thest all time greats. On this page we provide a list of those artists who have died during 2016, and a link to our tributes to them. They are shown in the order of the date we reported on their deaths during the year. Each artist’s name is a link to our written tribute to him or her.
Rest in Peace, friends.
| Natalie Cole | |
| Nicholas Caldwell of The Whispers | |
| Otis Clay (blues legend) | |
| Norman Mayers (writer and multi-faceted artist) | |
| Clarence “Blowfly” Reid (singer and songwriter) | |
| Glenn Frey of The Eagles | |
| TJ Tindall (MFSB guitarist) | |
| Maurice White of Earth Wind & Fire | |
| Willie B Holland of The Persuaders | |
| Denise Matthews aka Vanity | |
| Gavin Christopher (singer and songwriter) | |
| Daryl Coley (Gospel great) | |
| Lee Andrews (Doo wop legend) | |
| Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest | |
| James Jamerson, Jr. (renowned bassist) |
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| Larry Payton of Brass Construction | |
| Leon Haywood (singer and songwriter) | |
| Doug Banks (radio legend) | |
| Prince | |
| Billy Paul (singer) | |
| Franklin Kennedy of Frankie and the Spindles | |
| Reginald Torian, Sr. of The Impressions | |
| Marshall “Rock” Jones of the Ohio Players | |
| Bernadette Randle (pianist) | |
| Nate Neblett (session drummer) | |
| Prince Be of PM Dawn | |
| Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns | |
| Jerome Teasley (Motown drummer) | |
| Bernie Worrell of Parliament-Funkadelic | |
| Sir Mack Rice (singer and songwriter) | |
| Allan Barnes of the Blackbyrds | |
| Kenny Kelly of Riff | |
| Jimmy Levine (musician and producer) | |
| David Camon (singer and songwriter) | |
| Toots Thielemans (legendary harmonica player) | |
| Edward “Dwight” Fields of the Manhattans | |
| Fred McFarlane (producer and musician) | |
| Clifford Curry (Southern Soul singer) | |
| Trisco Pearson of the Force MDs | |
| Kashif (singer, songwriter and producer) | |
| Little Royal Torrence (singer) | |
| Rod Temperton (legendary songwriter) | |
| Sonny Sanders (songwriter and producer) | |
| Larry “Bingo” Marcus of the Rude Boys | |
| Jimmy Williams of Double Exposure | |
| Victor Bailey of Weather Report | |
| Leon Russell (singer and songwriter) | |
| Rod Wayne of Blue Magic | |
| Sharon Jones (singer) | |
| Colonel Abrams (singer) | |
| Joe Ligon of the Mighty Clouds of Joy | |
| George Michael (singer and songwriter) | |
| Alphonse Mouzon (legendary drummer) | |
| Other Deaths |
Gato Barbieri (jazz saxophonist) David Bowie (rock singer) Cecil Bustamente Campbell (ska music star) Bill Carey of the 4 Fellows Leonard Cohen (songwriter and artist) Frances Collins of the Crystals (aka Fatima Johnson) Dennis Davis (drummer) Keith Emerson (of Emerson, Lake & Palmer) David Gest (producer) Mic Gillette of Tower of Power Merle Haggard (country singer) BJ Jackson (Go Go musician) Terry Johnson of the Mar-Keys Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane DJ Dave Mancuso George Martin (Beatles’ producer) Scotty Moore (rock guitarist) Bobby Peterson of the Magnetics/The Volumes Lewie Steinberg of Booker T and the MGs Robert Stigwood (manager and RSO label owner) Bongo Eddie Folk of Kid Creole and the Coconuts Troy Shondell (rock singer) Eddie Sullivan of the Desideros Joe Temperley (jazz saxophonist) Rudy Van Gelder (audio engineer) Papa Wemba (conga star) |
