List of 1950s deaths in popular music

The following is a list of notable performers of rock and roll music or rock music, and others directly associated with the music as producers, songwriters or in other closely related roles, who have died in the 1950s. The list gives their date, cause and location of death, and their age.

Rock music developed from the rock and roll music that emerged during the 1950s, and includes a diverse range of subgenres. The terms "rock and roll" and "rock" each have a variety of definitions, some narrow and some wider. In determining criteria for inclusion, this list uses as its basis reliable sources listing "rock deaths" or "deaths in rock and roll", as well as such sources as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Preceded by
— 		List of deaths in popular music
1950s 		Succeeded by
1960s
Name Age Date Location Cause of death
Jaybird Coleman 53 January 28, 1950 Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S. Cancer[1]
Kansas Joe McCoy
Harlem Hamfats		 44 January 28, 1950 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Heart disease[2]
Ada Brown 59 March 30, 1950 Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. Kidney disease[3]
Bertha Hill 45 May 7, 1950 New York City, U.S. Hit and run-related accident[4]
Fats Navarro 26 July 7, 1950 New York City, U.S. Tuberculosis[5]
Papa Charlie McCoy
Harlem Hamfats		 41 July 26, 1950 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Paralytic brain disease[2]
Al Jolson 64 October 23, 1950 San Francisco, California, U.S. Massive heart attack
Roy Howard
Florida Boys		 ? ?, 1951 ? Heart Attack[6]
John A. Pope
The Excelsior Band		 80s ?, 1951 ? Possibly Old Age[7]
Cecil Gant 37 February 4, 1951 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. Pneumonia[8]
Sid Catlett 41 March 25, 1951 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Heart attack[9]
Jimmy Yancey 56 September 17, 1951 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Diabetes-induced stroke.[3]
Black Boy Shine 43 March 28, 1952 Sugar Land, Texas, U.S. Tuberculosis[10]
John Kirby 43 June 14, 1952 Hollywood, California, U.S. Unknown causes[11]
Luke Jordan 60 June 25, 1952 Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S. Unknown causes[12]
Fletcher Henderson 55 December 29, 1952 New York City, U.S. Unknown causes[13]
Willie Brown 50s December 30, 1952 Tunica, Mississippi, U.S. Heart disease[3]
Bobby Strickland
Bobby Strickland's Crusaders Quartet		 ? ?, 1953 ? Unknown[14]
Walter Adams
The Drifters		 ? ?, 1953 ? Unknown
Hank Williams 29 January 1, 1953 Oak Hill, West Virginia, U.S. Acute right ventricular dilation[15]
Big Maceo Merriweather 47 February 23, 1953 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Heart attack[16]
Django Reinhardt 43 May 16, 1953 Fontainebleau, France Brain hemorrhage[17]: 160 
Míla Spazierová-Hezká 51 July 27, 1953 České Budějovice, Czechoslovakia Heart condition[18]
Betty Jack Davis
Davis Sisters		 21 August 2, 1953 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. ?
Willie Love 46 August 19, 1953 Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. Bronchopneumonia[19]
Carolina Slim 30 October 22, 1953 Newark, New York, U.S. Heart attack[20]
Sol Hoʻopiʻi 50s November 16, 1953 Either in Los Angeles, California, U.S., or in Seattle, Washington, U.S. Unknown causes[21]
Lil Green 34 April 14, 1954 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Pneumonia[22]
Alger "Texas" Alexander 53 April 18, 1954 Richards, Texas, U.S. Syphilis[23]
Danny Cedrone
Bill Haley & His Comets		 33 June 17, 1954 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Broken neck from falling down stairs[24]
Lollypop Jones 56 August 22, 1954 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. Lengthy illness [25]
Washington Phillips 74 September 20, 1954 Teague, Texas, U.S. Head injury[26]
Hot Lips Page 46 November 9, 1954 New York City, U.S. Unknown causes
Dink Johnson 62 November 29, 1954 Portland, Oregon, U.S. Unknown causes[27]
Papa Celestin 70 December 15, 1954 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. Unknown causes[28]
Lee Morse 57 December 16, 1954 Rochester, New York, U.S. Unknown causes
Johnny Ace 25 December 25, 1954 Houston, Texas, U.S. Accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound[29]
Charlie Parker 34 March 12, 1955 New York City, U.S. Pneumonia[30]
Wardell Gray 34 May 25, 1955 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Heroin overdose[31]
Carmen Miranda 46 August 5, 1955 Beverly Hills, California, U.S. Heart Attack[32]
Frank Stokes 60s September 12, 1955 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. Stroke[33]
Bessie Brown 65 November 12, 1955 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. Heart attack[34]
James P. Johnson 61 November 17, 1955 New York City, U.S. Unknown causes
Cow Cow Davenport 61 December 12, 1955 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. Atherosclerosis
Oscar "Buddy" Woods 52 December 14, 1955 Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. Unknown causes[35]
Clifford Brown 25 June 26, 1956 Bedford, Pennsylvania, U.S. Car crash[36]
Richie Powell 24 June 26, 1956 Bedford, Pennsylvania, U.S. Car crash[37]
Tommy Johnson 60 November 1, 1956 Crystal Springs, Mississippi, U.S. Heart attack[38]
Art Tatum 47 November 5, 1956 Los Angeles, California, U.S. Uremia[39]
Tommy Dorsey 51 November 26, 1956 Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. Choking in sleep[40]
Lonnie Barron 25 January 9, 1957 Muttonville, Michigan Murder[41]
Ralph Willis 47 June 11, 1957 New York City, U.S. Unknown causes[42]
Jimmy Dorsey 53 June 12, 1957 New York City, U.S. Throat cancer
Serge Chaloff 33 July 16, 1957 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Spinal cancer[43]
Joe Hill Louis 35 August 5, 1957 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. Tetanus[44]
Walter Page 57 December 20, 1957 New York City, U.S. Kidney ailment and pneumonia
Ernie Henry 31 December 29, 1957 ? Heroin overdose[45]
John Dolphin
Record label owner, concert promoter and music producer		 55 February 1, 1958 Los Angeles, California, U.S. Murdered[46]
W. C. Handy 84 March 28, 1958 New York City, U.S. Bronchial pneumonia[47]
Chuck Willis 32 April 10, 1958 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Peritonitis[48]
Leroy Foster 35 May 26, 1958 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Heart attack[49]
Big Bill Broonzy 65 August 14, 1958 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Cancer[50]
Tiny Bradshaw 51 November 26, 1958 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. Stroke[51]
Julia Lee 56 December 8, 1958 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. Heart attack[52]
Henry "Son" Sims 68 December 26, 1958 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. Complications from renal surgery[53]
Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly & The Crickets		 22 February 3, 1959 Clear Lake, Iowa, U.S. Plane crash[54]
The Big Bopper 28 February 3, 1959 Clear Lake, Iowa, U.S. Plane crash[54]
Ritchie Valens 17 February 3, 1959 Clear Lake, Iowa, U.S. Plane crash[54]
Guitar Slim 32 February 7, 1959 New York City, U.S. Pneumonia[55]
Lester Young 49 March 15, 1959 New York City, U.S. Bleeding from alcoholism[56]
Sidney Bechet 62 May 14, 1959 Garches, France Lung cancer[57]
Billie Holiday 44 July 17, 1959 New York City, U.S. Liver cirrhosis[58]
Blind Willie McTell 61 August 19, 1959 Milledgeville, Georgia, U.S. ?
Mario Lanza 38 October 7, 1959 Rome, Italy Heart Attack[59]
Al "Cake" Wichard 40s November 14, 1959 Los Angeles, California, U.S. Unknown causes[60]
Robin Milford 56 December 29, 1959 Lyme Regis, England Committed suicide[61]

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b Guarino, Mark (2010-10-01). "The Harlem Hamfats: Rediscovering the real McCoys of Chicago blues". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
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