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List of murdered musicians

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Many musicians have been murdered during their active career. Most of the musicians had been shot or stabbed to death. Some of them have received extensive media attention, including the murder of John Lennon in 1980, the killing of Marvin Gaye in 1984, the murder of Selena in 1995, the murder of Tupac Shakur in 1996, the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. in 1997, the murder of XXXTentacion in 2018, and the assassination of Sidhu Moose Wala in 2022. Others have received less media attention, including the murder of Bryan Harvey, who was killed during the 2006 Richmond spree murders.

For hip hop musicians see: list of murdered hip hop musicians.

Murdered musicians

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Below is a list of notable murders of musicians.

Name Known as Date of murder Age Site of death Perpetrator Method of murder Credit Ref.
Alessandro Stradella Alessandro Stradella 25 February 1682 38 Genoa, Italy Unknown Stabbing Classical composer [1]
Jean-Marie Leclair Jean-Marie Leclair 22 October 1764 67 Paris, France Unknown Stabbing Classical composer and violinist [2]
Clarence Smith Pinetop Smith 15 March 1929 24 Chicago, Illinois, US Unknown Shooting Boogie-woogie pianist [3]
Alejandro García Caturla Alejandro García Caturla 12 November 1940 34 Havana, Cuba Unknown Unknown Classical composer [4][circular reference]
Anton Webern Anton Webern 15 September 1945 61 Vienna, Austria Pfc. Raymond Norwood Bell Shooting Classical composer [5]
John Williamson Sonny Boy Williamson 1 June 1948 34 Chicago, Illinois, US Unknown Shooting Blues singer [6]
Francis Blackwell Scrapper Blackwell 7 October 1962 59 Indianapolis, Indiana, US Unknown Shooting Blues guitarist, composer
Marc Blitzstein Marc Blitzstein 22 January 1964 58 Martinique Three men Beating Classical/musical theatre composer [7]
Sam Cooke Sam Cooke 11 December 1964 33 Los Angeles, US Bertha Franklin Shooting Soul singer-songwriter
Darrell Banks Darrell Banks 24 February, 1970 32 Detroit, Michigan, US Aaron Bullock Shooting Soul singer
Curtis Ousley King Curtis 13 August 1971 37 New York City, US Juan Montanez Stabbing Jazz saxophonist [8]
Lee Morgan Lee Morgan 19 February 1972 33 New York City, US Helen Morgan Shooting Jazz trumpeter
Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez Víctor Jara 16 September 1973 40 Santiago, Chile Chilean military officers Shooting and torture Singer-songwriter
David Akeman Stringbean 10 November 1973 58 Ridgetop, Tennessee, US John A. Brown and Marvin Douglas Brown Shooting Country banjo player [9]
Albert Jackson Jr. Al Jackson Jr. 1 October 1975 39 Memphis, Tennessee, US Unknown Shooting R&B, funk and soul drummer [10]
Eddie Jefferson Eddie Jefferson 9 May 1979 60 Detroit, Michigan, US Unknown Shooting Vocalese [11]
Jannie Pought Jannie Pought September 1980 34 New Jersey Unknown Stabbing R&B singer [12]
John Lennon John Lennon 8 December 1980 40 New York City, US Mark David Chapman Shooting Rock and pop artist
Claude Vivier Claude Vivier 7 March 1983 34 Paris, France Pascal Dolzan Stabbing Classical composer [13]
Felix Pappalardi Jr. Felix Pappalardi 17 April 1983 43 New York City, US Gail Pappalardi Shooting Rock artist [14]
Hugh Mundell Hugh Mundell 14 October 1983 21 Kingston, Jamaica Ricardo Codrington Shooting Reggae singer
Walter Notheis Jr. Walter Scott 27 December 1983 40 St. Peters, Missouri, US James H. Williams Sr. Shooting Rock and roll singer
Marvin Gaye Marvin Gaye 1 April 1984 44 Los Angeles, California, US Marvin Gay Sr. Shooting R&B singer
Leonard Breau Lenny Breau 12 August 1984 43 Los Angeles, California, US Unknown Strangling Guitarist [15]
Carlton Barrett Carly Barrett 17 April 1987 36 Kingston, Jamaica Glenroy Carter and Junior Neil Shooting Reggae drummer
Winston Hubert McIntosh Peter Tosh 11 September 1987 42 Kingston, Jamaica Dennis Lobban and two other individuals Shooting and torture Reggae artist
John Pastorius, III Jaco Pastorius 21 September 1987 35 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US Luc Havan Beaten (barfight), brain hemorrhage Jazz bassist
Amar Singh Chamkila Chamkila 8 March 1988 27 Mehsampur, Punjab, India Unknown Shooting Punjabi singer
Michael David Fuller Blaze Foley 1 February 1989 39 Austin, Texas, US Carey January Shooting Country, folk singer-songwriter [16]
Osbourne Ruddock King Tubby 6 February 1989 48 Kingston, Jamaica Unknown Shooting Reggae sound engineer [17]
Cornell Gunter Cornell Gunter 26 February 1990 53 Las Vegas, Nevada, US Unknown Shooting R&B singer
Andrzej Zaucha Andrzej Zaucha 10 October 1991 42 Kraków, Poland Yves Goulais Shooting R&B singer, saxophonist
Christopher Lamont Bender Chris Bender 3 November 1991 19 Brockton, Massachusetts, US Eroy Kindell Shooting R&B singer [18]
David Rowbotham Dave Rowbotham 8 November 1991 33 Manchester, England Unknown Bludgeoned by hammer Rock musician
Rosalino Sánchez Félix Chalino Sanchez 16 May 1992 31 Culiacán, Mexico Unknown Shooting Narcocorrido singer [19]
Willie Irving Gaston Junior Heavy One 29 September 1992 24 Eaton Road Barry Farms Southeast DC Unknown Shooting Bass, drummer, of the Junk Yard Band [20]
Mia Zapata Mia Zapata 7 July 1993 27 Seattle, Washington, US Jesus Mezquia Strangling Rock singer [21]
Donald Myrick Don Myrick 30 July 1993 53 Los Angeles, California, US Police Officer Gary Barbaro Shooting Jazz saxophonist [22]
Øystein Aarseth Euronymous 10 August 1993 25 Oslo, Norway Varg Vikernes Stabbing Black metal guitarist
Rhett Forrester Rhett Forrester 22 January 1994 37 Atlanta, Georgia, US Unknown Shooting Heavy metal musician [23]
Hasni Chakroun Cheb Hasni 29 September 1994 26 Oran, Algeria Armed Islamic Group of Algeria Shooting Raï singer
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez Selena 31 March 1995 23 Corpus Christi, Texas, US Yolanda Saldivar Shooting Tejano singer
Tupac Shakur Tupac;
2Pac;
Makaveli		 13 September 1996 25 Las Vegas, Nevada, US Orlando Anderson (suspected) Shooting Rapper
Christopher Wallace The Notorious B.I.G.;
Biggie Smalls;
Frank White		 9 March 1997 24 Los Angeles, California, US Wardell "Poochie" Fouse (suspected) Shooting Rapper
Lounès Matoub Lounès Matoub 25 June 1998 42 Aït Aissi, Tizi Ouzou, Algeria Armed Islamic Group of Algeria Shooting Kabyle music singer
Jaki Byard Jaki Byard 11 February 1999 76 New York City, US Unknown Shooting Jazz pianist
Roger Troutman Roger Troutman 25 April 1999 47 Dayton, Ohio, US Larry Troutman Shooting Funk musician
Darrell Abbott Dimebag Darrell 8 December 2004 38 Columbus, Ohio, US Nathan Gale Shooting Heavy metal guitarist
Bryan Harvey Bryan Harvey 1 January 2006 49 Richmond, Virginia, US Ray Joseph Dandridge and Ricky Javon Gray Blunt-force trauma Folk rock singer/guitarist
Valentín Elizalde Valentin Elizalde 25 November 2006 27 Reynosa, Mexico Unknown Shooting Banda singer [24]
Winston Riley Winston Riley 19 January 2012 68 Kingston, Jamaica Unknown Shooting Rocksteady/reggae singer and producer
Natalia Strelchenko Natalia Strelle 30 August 2015 38 Manchester, England John Martin Head trauma, strangulation Classical pianist [25]
Christina Grimmie Christina Grimmie 10 June 2016 22 Orlando, Florida, US Kevin James Loibl Shooting Pop singer
Amjad Sabri Amjad Sabri 22 June 2016 39 Karachi, Pakistan Pakistani Taliban Shooting Qawwali singer [26]
Jahseh Onfroy XXXTentacion 18 June 2018 20 Deerfield Beach, Florida, US Four men indicted[27][28] Shooting Rapper and singer [29]
Andrea Meyer Nebelhexe 13 October 2021 52 Kongsberg, Norway Espen Andersen Bråthen Stabbing Rock and electronic singer [30]
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu Sidhu Moose Wala 29 May 2022 28 Punjab, India Unknown Shooting Rapper and singer [31]
Yurii Kerpatenko Yurii Kerpatenko 16 October 2022 46 Kherson Oblast, Ukraine Russian soldiers Shooting Classical conductor, accordionist [32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Gianturco, Carolyn. "Alessandro Stradella (1639–1682)". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  2. ^ Sadler, Graham, Leclair, Jean-Marie, in Sadie, Stanley (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, New York, Grove (Oxford University Press), 1997, II, pp. 1118–1119 (ISBN 978-0-19-522186-2)
  3. ^ Pinetop Smith
  4. ^ "Alejandro García Caturla".
  5. ^ Moldenhauer, Hans (1961). The Death of Anton Webern: A Drama in Documents. New York: Philosophical Library. OCLC 512111.
  6. ^ "Sonny Boy Williamson". Biography.com.
  7. ^ Shewey, Don (16 July 1989). "'Moonlight' and Marxism". The New York Times Book Review.
  8. ^ Kernfield, Barry Dean. New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Grove's Dictionaries. p. 544.
  9. ^ "Stringbean Akeman's killer free on parole". The Tennessean. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  10. ^ Lisle, Andria (25 November 2015). "Memphis sunset: The Mysterious death of Stax heartbeat Al Jackson, Jr". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Eddie Jefferson, 60, Jazz Lyricist, Slain After Leaving Detroit Club". The New York Times. 10 May 1979.
  12. ^ Hickey, Andrew (25 November 2019). "Episode 58: "Mr. Lee" by the Bobbettes". A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  13. ^ Gilmore, Bob (2014). Claude Vivier. A Composer's Life. University of Rochester Press. ISBN 978-1580464857.
  14. ^ Katel, Jacob (14 September 2010). "Top 10 Murdered Musicians You've Never Heard Of". Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  15. ^ Forbes-Robert, Ron. (2006). "One Long Tune: the life and music of Lenny Breau". Denton, TX. University of North Texas Press. ISBN 1-57441-210-8.
  16. ^ "Blaze Foley: Killing of a Songwriter". 7 October 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  17. ^ Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, pp. 138–141
  18. ^ Sandy Coleman (9 November 1991). "500 mourn slain Brockton singer In eulogy, minister urges youth to shun drugs, violence". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  19. ^ POV (17 January 2006). "El Valiente: Chalino Sánchez - Al Otro Lado". PBS. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  20. ^ Avis Thomas-Lester (16 October 1992). "SLAIN GO-GO DRUMMER EULOGIZED". Washington Post. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  21. ^ Tizon, Alex (23 August 1998). "Who Murdered Mia Zapata? No Arrests, Few Clues 5 Years After Slaying". Seattle Times.
  22. ^ Chazanov, Mathis (15 August 1993). "Questions Cloud Life, Death of Saxophonist". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  23. ^ Katel, Jacob (14 September 2010). "Top 10 Murdered Musicians You've Never Heard Of". Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  24. ^ "Mexico: Musician killed for his drug related lyrics". 18 March 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  25. ^ "Natalia Strelchenko murder: 'Jealous' husband John Martin jailed", BBC News, 21 March 2016, retrieved 22 March 2016
  26. ^ Ali, Imtiaz (22 June 2016). "Famed qawwal Amjad Sabri gunned down in Karachi". Dawn.com. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  27. ^ "Four men indicted in murder of Florida rapper XXXTentacion". Reuters. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  28. ^ Neal, David J.; Teproff, Carli (19 July 2018). "Rapper XXXTentacion had $50,000. Four men have been indicted for killing him to get it". Miami Herald. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  29. ^ Margol, Andrea Torres, Amanda Batchelor, Ian (19 June 2018). "Rapper XXXTentacion killed in Deerfield Beach shooting". local10.com. Retrieved 19 June 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ Meyer, Andrea. "Metal Musician Andrea Meyer Dies in Bow-and-Arrow Attack: What We Know". popculture. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  31. ^ Moose Wala, Sidhu. "Sidhu Moose Wala: Murder of popular Indian singer sparks anger". BBC. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  32. ^ "Russian troops kill Ukrainian musician for refusing role in Kherson concert". the Guardian. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
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