List of 2026 deaths in popular music

This is a list of notable performers of rock music and other forms of popular music, and others directly associated with the music as producers, songwriters, or in other closely related roles, who died in 2026.

Preceded by
2025 		List of deaths in popular music
2026 		Succeeded by
—
Name Age Date Location of death Cause of death
Tony Carr
CCS, Hot Chocolate		 98 January 2, 2026 London, England, U.K. Undisclosed[1]
Johnny Legend
Rockabilly musician		 77 January 2, 2026 Newport, Oregon, U.S. Complications from stroke and heart failure[2]
Calbo
Ärsenik		 52 January 4, 2026 Undisclosed[3]
Andrew Bodnar
The Rumour		 71 January 5, 2026 North Yorkshire, England, U.K. Undisclosed[4]
Jim McBride
Country music songwriter		 78 January 6, 2026 Huntsville, Alabama, U.S. Complications from a fall[5]
Guy Moon
American composer		 63 January 8, 2026 Los Angeles, California, U.S. Hit by a car while riding a scooter[6]
Yeison Jiménez
Colombian singer		 34 January 10, 2026 Paipa, Colombia Plane crash[7]
Terry Sullivan
Renaissance		 87 January 10, 2026 Short illness[8]
Bob Weir
Grateful Dead		 78 January 10, 2026 Cancer and lung issues[9]
John Forté
Refugee Camp All-Stars; producer for Fugees		 50 January 12, 2026 Chilmark, Massachusetts, U.S. Undisclosed[10]
Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin
Black Midi		 26 January 12, 2026 London, England Suicide[11]
Kenny Morris
Siouxsie and the Banshees		 68 January 15, 2026 Cork, Ireland Undisclosed[12]
Tony Dallara
Italian singer and actor		 89 January 16, 2026 Milan, Italy Undisclosed[13]
Destiny Boy
Nigerian singer-songwriter		 22 January 17, 2026 Ogun State, Nigeria Unknown[14]
Tucker Zimmerman
American singer-songwriter		 84 January 17, 2026 Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse, Belgium Asphyxiated in a house fire[15]
Stephen "Cat" Coore
Third World		 69 January 18, 2026 Jamaica Undisclosed[16]
Ralph Towner
Oregon		 85 January 18, 2026 Rome, Italy Undisclosed[17]
Anders Möller
Black Ingvars, Swedish Erotica		 63 January 19, 2026 Gothenburg, Sweden Cancer[18]
Billy Parker
American country music singer and DJ		 88 January 19, 2026 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. Undisclosed[19]
Rob Hirst
Midnight Oil, Backsliders, Ghostwriters		 70 January 20, 2026 New South Wales, Australia Pancreatic cancer[20]
Yaw Sarpong
Ghanaian gospel musician and songwriter		 66 January 20, 2026 Kumasi, Ghana Undisclosed[21]
Francis Buchholz
Scorpions, Dawn Road, Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock		 71 January 22, 2026 Hanover, Germany Cancer[22]
Guy Hovis
American singer		 84 January 22, 2026 Oxford, Mississippi, U.S. Undisclosed[23]
Margaret Ross
The Cookies		 83 January 23, 2026 Undisclosed[24]
Jean Cussac
French baritone and music director		 103 January 25, 2025 La Teste-de-Buch, France Undisclosed[25]
Gabe Lopez
American pop-rock singer-songwriter and producer		 49 January 25, 2026 Lymphoma[26]
Abhijit Majumdar
Indian composer and music director		 54 January 25, 2026 Bhubaneswar, India Liver disease[27]
Lucky Widja
Indonesian actor, singer, and songwriter		 49 January 25, 2026 Kidney damage caused by tuberculosis[28]
Mo Su-jin
Acoustic Collabo		 26 January 25, 2026 Undisclosed[29]
Sly Dunbar
Sly and Robbie		 73 January 26, 2026 Kingston, Jamaica Cancer[30]
António Chainho
Portuguese fado guitarist		 88 January 27, 2026 Amadora, Portugal Undisclosed[31]
Mingo Lewis
Santana, Al Di Meola, The Tubes		 72 January 27, 2026 Undisclosed[32]
Bryan Loren
American singer-songwriter and record producer		 59 January 28, 2026 Los Angeles, California, U.S. Undisclosed[33]
Abdelhadi Belkhayat
Moroccan singer		 85 January 30, 2026 Rabat, Morocco Prolonged illness[34]
Parthenon Huxley
ELO Part II, The Orchestra		 70 January 30, 2026 Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S. Natural causes[35]
Miklós Fenyő
Hungária		 78 January 31, 2026 Pneumonia[36]
Billy Bass Nelson
Funkadelic, Parliament-Funkadelic		 75 January 31, 2026 Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S. Natural causes[37]
Ken Peplowski
Jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist		 66 February 1, 2026 On a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico Undisclosed[38]
Steve Washington
Slave, Aurra		 67 February 1, 2026 Undisclosed[39]
James Moschello
The Elegants		 88 February 2, 2026 Staten Island, New York, U.S. Undisclosed[40]
Chuck Negron
Three Dog Night		 83 February 2, 2026 Los Angeles, California, U.S. Heart failure and COPD[41]
Yuan Wei-jen
Taiwanese singer-songwriter and record producer		 57 February 2, 2026 Taitung, Taiwan Pneumonia[42]
Lamonte McLemore
The 5th Dimension		 90 February 3, 2026 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Undisclosed[43]
Tommy Crook
American guitarist		 81 February 4, 2026 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. Undisclosed[44]
Helen Micallef
Helen and Joseph		 75 February 5, 2026 Undisclosed[45]
Fred Smith
Television, Blondie		 77 February 5, 2026 New York, New York, U.S. Cancer[46]
Lynn Blakey
Tres Chicas		 63 February 6, 2026 Undisclosed[47]
Brad Arnold
3 Doors Down		 47 February 7, 2026 Meridian, Mississippi, U.S. Renal cell carcinoma[48]
Greg Brown
Cake		 56 February 7, 2026 Brief Illness[49]
Mr. Complex
Polyrhythm Addicts		 February 7, 2026 Undisclosed[50]
Matti Caspi
Israeli singer		 76 February 8, 2026 Tel Aviv, Israel Cancer[51]
Ebo Taylor
Ghanaian guitarist		 90 February 8, 2026 Undisclosed[52]
Garland Green
American soul singer and pianist		 83 February 9, 2026 Undisclosed[53]
Andrew Ranken
The Pogues		 72 February 10, 2026 Undisclosed[54]
Jerry Kennedy
American record producer, songwriter and guitarist		 85 February 11, 2026 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. Undisclosed[55]
Simon Harris
English DJ and producer		 63 February 13, 2026 London, England Undisclosed[56]
Tim Very
Manchester Orchestra		 42 February 14, 2026 Undisclosed[57]
Wayne Proctor
We the People		 ca. February 15, 2026 Undisclosed[58]
Billy Steinberg
American songwriter		 75 February 16, 2026 Brentwood, California, U.S. Cancer[59]
Lil Poppa
American rapper		 25 February 18, 2026 Fulton County, Georgia, U.S. Suicide by gunshot[60]
Willie Colón
American salsa musician and actor		 75 February 21, 2026 New York City, New York, US Respiratory failure[61]

See also

References

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  2. ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 2, 2026). "Daily Update: NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20, CMLL Sin Salida, Johnny Legend". Wrestling Observer. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
  3. ^ "Le rappeur Calbo, membre du duo emblématique Ärsenik, est mort à l'âge de 52 ans" [Rapper Calbo, a member of the iconic duo Ärsenik, has died at the age of 52]. Ouest-France (in French). January 4, 2026. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  4. ^ Kremer, Henk (January 5, 2026). "Bassist Andrew Bodnar (o.a. Graham Parker & The Rumour) overleden" [Bassist Andrew Bodnar (formerly of Graham Parker & The Rumour) has died]. Hitzound (in Dutch). Retrieved January 6, 2026.
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  8. ^ Lewry, Fraser (January 10, 2026). "Renaissance drummer Terry Sullivan has died". Louder. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
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  42. ^ You Yanni (February 2, 2026). "袁惟仁病逝「走得平靜」 黃韻玲悲泣：親愛的小胖離開了" [Yuan Weiren passed away peacefully; Huang Yunling wept: "My dear Little Fatty has left us."]. Mirror Daily (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  43. ^ Cashmere, Paul (February 5, 2026). "LaMonte McLemore Dies At 90, The 5th Dimension Co-Founder And Cultural Chronicler". Noise11. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  44. ^ Tramel, Jimmie (February 6, 2026). "Oklahoma Music Hall of Famer Tommy Crook dies at 81". Tulsa World. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
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  51. ^ Linde, Steve (February 8, 2026). "Israeli music icon Matti Caspi dies at 76". JNS. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  52. ^ Wilberforce, Mark (February 8, 2026). "Influential Ghanaian highlife musician Ebo Taylor dies at 90". BBC. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  53. ^ ""Jealous Kind of Fella" singer Garland Green dies at 83". Soul Tracks. February 9, 2026. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  54. ^ Yap, Timothy (February 11, 2026). "Legendary Pogues Drummer Andrew Ranken Dies at 72". JubileeCast. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
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  56. ^ "British breakbeat & Hip-Hop pioneer, Simon Harris, passed away". Blackout Hip Hop. February 14, 2026.
  57. ^ Iasimone, Ashley (February 14, 2026). "Manchester Orchestra Drummer Timothy Very Dies, Band Confirms". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  58. ^ Murray, Robin (February 15, 2026). "We The People's Wayne Proctor Has Died". Clash Magazine. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  59. ^ Newman, Melinda (February 16, 2026). "Songwriter Billy Steinberg, Co-Writer of 'Like a Virgin' and 'True Colors,' Dies at 75". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  60. ^ Saponara, Michael (February 19, 2026). "Lil Poppa's Cause of Death Ruled a Suicide". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
  61. ^ https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2026/02/21/willie-colon-death/88798547007/
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