One of our saddest jobs at SoulTracks is to inform SoulTrackers about the deaths of soul music artists. And 2020 was about as sad a year as we remember for the passings of music greats.
We feel it is part of our mission to pay tribute to the legacies of these all time greats. On this page we provide a list of those artists who have died during 2020, 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.
Martha Levert (mother of Gerald and Sean Levert)
Robert Parker (“Barefootin'” singer)
Toni Smith (“Funkin For Jamaica” singer)
Ed Stroud (guitarist)
Harold Beane (Funkadelic guitarist)
Jeff Ramsey (singer and educator)
Lyle Mays (jazz keyboardist)
James Carmichael (Instant Funk lead singer)
Trudy Melvin of Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes
McCoy Tyner (jazz pianist)
Barbara Martin of the Supremes
Mickey Atkins of Funkadelic
Skip Mahoney of The Casuals
Kenny Rogers (singer)
James Mays of the VanDykes
Sandy Anderson of Unlimited Touch
Wallace Roney (trumpeter)
Ronn Matlock (singer and songwriter)
Bill Withers (singer and songwriter)
Bill Randle (radio host)
Patrick Gibson of the Gibson Brothers
Onaje Allan Gumbs (jazz great)
Bruni Pagan (disco star)
Vaughan Mason (singer)
Sweet Sable (singer)
Larry Griffin of Serieux
Eddie Cooley (singer and songwriter)
Barney Ales (Motown executive)
Nicole Mitchell (singer)
Hamilton Bohannon (singer and producer)
Sir Dean Gant (songwriter and producer)
Bobby Lewis (singer)
Sweet Pea Atkinson of Was (Not) Was
Andre Harrell (Uptown Records founder)
Little Richard (singer and songwriter)
Betty Wright (singer)
Wesley “Pike” Hall (of BT Express)
Willie Wild Sparks of Graham Central Station
Tyrone “The Bone” Proctor (Soul Train dancer)
Bonnie Pointer of the Pointer Sisters
Larome Powers (soul singer)
Sandra Feva (singer)
Eddie Ray Johnson of the GroovaLottos
Louie Patton of Side Effect
Marvin Brown of the Softones
Sharon Paige of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Reggie Haynes of The Escorts
Troy Sneed (Gospel singer)
J
oseph B. Jefferson (songwriter)
Helen Jones Woods (historic bandleader)
David “Cowboy” Sanders of The Masqueraders
D.J. Rogers (singer)
Clarence Burke, Sr (father of The Five Stairsteps)
Bruce Williamson of the Temptations
Ronald “Khalis” Bell of Kool & The Gang
Danny Webster of Slave
Edna Wright of The Honey Cone
Roy C (Southern Soul Singer)
Pamela Hutchinson of The Emotions
Georgia Dobbins Davis of The Marvelettes
Rocco Prestia of Tower of Power
Jimmy Williams (legendary bass guitarist)
Rance Allen (Gospel great)
Len Barry (singer)
Bruce Swedien (famed audio engineer)
Gordon Keith (music producer)
Buddy Banks of The Rude Boys
Richie Rome (Philadelphia producer and arranger)
Gwendolyn Oliver Wesley of The Ritchie Family
John Fletcher (aka Ecstasy) of Whodini
Kimberly Washington (noted radio personality)
Rudy Salas of Tierra
