# List of 2011 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 2011.

## 2011 deaths in popular music

| Preceded by 2010 | List of deaths in popular music 2011 | Succeeded by 2012 |
| Name | Age | Date | Location | Cause of death |
| Mick Karn Japan | 52 | January 4, 2011 | Chelsea, London, England | Cancer |
| Grady Chapman The Robins | 81 | January 4, 2011 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Heart failure |
| Gerry Rafferty Stealers Wheel | 63 | January 4, 2011 | Stroud, Gloucestershire, England | Liver failure |
| Bobby Robinson Record producer and record label executive | 93 | January 7, 2011 | Harlem, New York City, U.S. | |
| Trish Keenan Broadcast | 42 | January 14, 2011 | Warwick, England | Swine flu |
| Steve Prestwich Cold Chisel, Little River Band | 56 | January 16, 2011 | Sydney, Australia | Brain tumor |
| Don Kirshner Producer of Don Kirshner's Rock Concert | 76 | January 17, 2011 | Boca Raton, Florida, U.S. | Heart failure |
| Gladys Horton The Marvelettes | 65 | January 26, 2011 | Sherman Oaks, California, U.S. | Stroke |
| Eddie Mordue | 83 | January 28, 2011 | | |
| Mark Ryan The Moors Murderers, Adam and the Ants | 51 | January 31. 2011 | Heath, Cardiff, Wales | Complications from liver damage |
| Sidney Cipriano Fat Family | 46 | February 1, 2011 | Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil | Heart attack |
| Clay Hammond | 74 | February 4, 2011 | Houston, Texas, U.S. | |
| Gary Moore Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II | 58 | February 6, 2011 | Estepona, Málaga, Spain | Heart attack |
| Karin Stanek Czerwono-Czarni | 68 | February 15, 2011 | Wolfenbüttel, Germany | Pneumonia |
| Mark Tulin The Electric Prunes | 62 | February 26, 2011 | Avalon, California, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Eddie Kirkland | 87 | February 27, 2011 | Crystal River, Florida, U.S. | Traffic accident |
| Johnny Preston | 71 | March 4, 2011 | Beaumont, Texas, U.S. | Heart failure |
| Mike Starr Alice in Chains | 44 | March 8, 2011 | Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. | Drug overdose |
| Joe Morello | 82 | March 12, 2011 | Irvington, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| Big Jack Johnson | 70 | March 14, 2011 | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | |
| Nate Dogg 213 | 41 | March 15, 2011 | Long Beach, California, U.S. | Stroke |
| Melvin Sparks | 64 | March 15, 2011 | Mount Vernon, New York, U.S. | Diabetes and hypertension |
| Jet Harris The Shadows | 71 | March 18, 2011 | Winchester, England | Cancer |
| Loleatta Holloway | 64 | March 21, 2011 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Heart failure |
| Pinetop Perkins | 97 | March 21, 2011 | Austin, Texas, U.S. | Cardiac arrest |
| Frankie Sparcello Exhorder | 44 | March 22, 2011 | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | |
| Zoogz Rift | 57 | March 22, 2011 | | Complications due to diabetes |
| Calvin Russell | 62 | April 3, 2011 | Garfield, Texas, U.S. | Liver cancer |
| Scott Columbus Manowar | 54 | April 4, 2011 | | Suicide |
| Roger Nichols Steely Dan | 66 | April 9, 2011 | Burbank, California, U.S. | Pancreatic cancer |
| Gerard Smith TV on the Radio | 36 | April 20, 2011 | | Lung cancer |
| Tom King The Outsiders | 68 | April 23, 2011 | Wickliffe, Ohio, U.S. | Congestive heart failure |
| Poly Styrene X-Ray Spex | 53 | April 25, 2011 | Sussex, England | Breast cancer |
| Phoebe Snow | 60 | April 26, 2011 | Edison, New Jersey, U.S. | Cerebral hemorrhage |
| Dag Stokke TNT, Vagabond | 44 | April 27, 2011 | Norway | Cancer |
| L.V. Banks | 78 | May 2, 2011 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Heart failure |
| John Walker The Walker Brothers | 67 | May 7, 2011 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Liver cancer |
| Cornell Dupree | 68 | May 8, 2011 | Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | Emphysema |
| Ivo Pešák Banjo Band | 66 | May 9, 2011 | Prague, Czech Republic | Complications from bypass surgery |
| Jack Richardson Record producer for The Guess Who and Manowar | 81 | May 13, 2011 | London, Ontario, Canada | |
| Bob Flanigan The Four Freshmen | 84 | May 15, 2011 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Heart failure |
| Gil Scott-Heron | 62 | May 27. 2011 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Pneumonia |
| Simon Brint | 60 | May 29, 2011 | | Suicide |
| Ray Bryant | 79 | June 2, 2011 | New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| Andrew Gold Wax | 59 | June 3, 2011 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Heart failure |
| Benny Spellman | 79 | June 3, 2011 | Pensacola, Florida, U.S. | Respiratory failure |
| Martin Rushent Record producer | 62 | June 4, 2011 | Upper Basildon, Berkshire, U.K. | |
| Seth Putnam Anal Cunt, Upsidedown Cross | 43 | June 11, 2011 | | Heart attack |
| Carl Gardner The Coasters | 83 | June 12, 2011 | Port St. Lucie, Florida, U.S. | Congestive heart failure and vascular dementia |
| Clarence Clemons Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band | 69 | June 18, 2011 | Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. | Complications caused by stroke |
| Michael "Würzel" Burston Motörhead | 61 | July 9, 2011 | | Ventricular fibrillation |
| Rob Grill The Grass Roots | 67 | July 11, 2011 | Orlando, Florida, U.S. | Complications caused by stroke |
| Jerry Ragovoy | 80 | July 13, 2011 | | Stroke |
| Taiji Sawada X Japan, Loudness | 45 | July 17, 2011 | Saipan, Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands, U.S. | Suicide by hanging or possible homicide |
| Amy Winehouse | 27 | July 23, 2011 | London, England | Alcohol poisoning |
| Bill Morrissey | 59 | July 23, 2011 | Dalton, Georgia, U.S. | Heart disease |
| Dan Peek America | 60 | July 24, 2011 | Farmington, Missouri, U.S. | Fibrinous pericarditis |
| Gene McDaniels | 76 | July 29, 2011 | Kittery Point, Maine, U.S. | |
| Vytautas Katilius Manager for Vairas | ? | July 30, 2011 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Undisclosed |
| Andrew McDermott Threshold | 45 | August 4, 2011 | | Kidney failure |
| Marshall Grant Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three | 83 | August 7, 2011 | Jonesboro, Arkansas, U.S. | |
| Jani Lane Warrant | 47 | August 11, 2011 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Alcohol poisoning |
| Jerry Leiber Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | 78 | August 22, 2011 | San Francisco, California, U.S. | Cardiopulmonary failure |
| Nickolas Ashford Ashford & Simpson | 70 | August 22, 2011 | Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S. | Throat cancer |
| Laurie McAllister Bass guitar for The Runaways | 54 | August 25, 2011 | Eugene, Oregon, U.S. | Asthma attack |
| Frederick "Fred" Farran The Arbors | 74 | August 29, 2011 | Greenville, Michigan, U.S. | Pneumonia |
| David "Honeyboy" Edwards | 96 | August 29, 2011 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Congestive heart failure |
| Willie "Big Eyes" Smith | 75 | September 16, 2011 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Stroke |
| John Du Cann Atomic Rooster | 65 | September 21, 2011 | Hampstead, North West London, England | Heart attack |
| Vesta Williams | 53 | September 22, 2011 | El Segundo, California, U.S. | Hypertensive heart disease |
| Sylvia Robinson | 76 | September 29, 2011 | Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S. | Congestive heart failure |
| Marv Tarplin The Miracles | 70 | September 30, 2011 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Natural causes |
| Bert Jansch Pentangle | 67 | October 5, 2011 | Hampstead, London, England | Lung cancer |
| Mikey Welsh Weezer | 40 | October 8, 2011 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Roger Williams (pianist) | 87 | October 8, 2011 | Encinos, California, U.S. | Pancreatic cancer |
| Norman Durham Kleeer | 59 | November 2, 2011 | Chestnut Ridge, Hudson Valley, New York, U.S. | Carbon monoxide poisoning |
| Andrea True | 68 | November 7, 2011 | Kingston, New York, New York, U.S. | Congestive heart failure |
| Heavy D Heavy D & the Boyz | 44 | November 8, 2011 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Pulmonary embolism |
| Lisa Fay Beatty 7 Year Bitch | 47 | November 25, 2011 | Mentone, California, U.S. | Traffic accident |
| Don DeVito Record producer, music business and company executive from Columbia Records | 72 | November 25, 2011 | | Prostate cancer |
| Keef Hartley Keef Hartley Band | 67 | November 26, 2011 | Preston, Lancashire, England | |
| J. Blackfoot | 65 | November 30, 2011 | Germantown, Tennessee, U.S. | Pancreatic cancer |
| Howard Tate | 72 | December 2, 2011 | Burlington, New Jersey, U.S. | Multiple myeloma and leukaemia |
| Hubert Sumlin | 80 | December 4, 2011 | Wayne, New Jersey, U.S. | Heart failure |
| Dobie Gray | 71 | December 6, 2011 | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | Cancer |
| Tony Duran Ruben and the Jets | 66 | December 16, 2011 | Bruceville, Texas, U.S. | Prostate cancer |
| Ralph MacDonald | 67 | December 18, 2011 | Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. | Lung cancer |
| Sean Bonniwell The Music Machine | 71 | December 20, 2011 | Visalia, California, U.S. | Lung cancer |
| Dennis Wayne Loosely Tight | 57 | December 20, 2011 | Houston, Texas, U.S. | Diabetes |
| Jim Sherwood The Mothers of Invention, Ruben and the Jets | 69 | December 25, 2011 | | Brain tumor |
| Sam Rivers | 88 | December 26, 2011 | Orlando, Florida, U.S. | Pneumonia |
| Danny "Rio" DeGennaro Kingfish | 56 | December 28, 2011 | Levittown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Shot |