# List of 2020 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 2020.

## 2020 deaths in popular music

| Preceded by 2019 | List of deaths in popular music 2020 | Succeeded by 2021 |
| Name | Age | Date | Location of death | Cause of death |
| Lexii Alijai | 21 | January 1, 2020 | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. | Fentanyl and ethanol overdose |
| Marty Grebb The Buckinghams | 74 | January 1, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Tommy Hancock | 90 | January 1, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Lorraine Chandler | 73 | January 2, 2020 | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | Undisclosed causes |
| Bo Winberg The Spotnicks | 80 | January 3, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Martin Griffin Ark, Sonic Assassins, Hawklords, Hawkwind | 69 | January 6, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Neil Peart Rush | 67 | January 7, 2020 | Santa Monica, California, U.S. | Glioblastoma |
| Edd Byrnes | 87 | January 8, 2020 | Santa Monica, California, U.S. | Natural causes |
| Bobby Comstock | 78 | January 9, 2020 | At his home in Southern California, U.S. | Unknown |
| Tom Alexander The Alexander Brothers | 85 | January 9, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Marc Morgan | 57 | January 10, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Alana Filippi | 59 | January 11, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Steve Martin Caro The Left Banke | 71 | January 14, 2020 | | Heart disease |
| Chris Darrow Kaleidoscope, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | 75 | January 15, 2020 | | Complications from a stroke |
| David Olney | 71 | January 18, 2020 | Fort Walton Beach, Florida, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Robert Parker | 89 | January 19, 2020 | Roseland, Louisiana, U.S. | Natural causes |
| Meritxell Negre Peaches & Herb | 48 | January 21, 2020 | Barcelona, Spain | Cancer |
| Joe Payne Divine Heresy, Nile | 35 | January 24, 2020 | Tampa, Florida, U.S. | Undisclosed cause |
| Sean Reinert Cynic, Death, Æon Spoke | 48 | January 24, 2020 | San Bernardino, California, U.S. | Aortic rupture |
| Reed Mullin Corrosion Of Conformity Teenage Time Killers | 53 | January 27, 2020 | Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. | Unknown |
| Bob Nave The Lemon Pipers | 75 | January 28, 2020 | Dayton, Ohio, U.S. | Unknown |
| Andy Gill Gang of Four | 64 | February 1, 2020 | London, England | Pneumonia and multiple organ failure |
| Josh Pappé Dirty Rotten Imbeciles Gang Green | 53 | February 1, 2020 | Texas, U.S. | Unknown |
| Ivan Král Patti Smith Group | 71 | February 2, 2020 | Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. | Cancer |
| Buddy Cage New Riders of the Purple Sage | 73 | February 5, 2020 | Connecticut, U.S. | Multiple myeloma |
| Lynn Evans Mand The Chordettes | 95 | February 6, 2020 | Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. | Possible natural causes |
| Steve Weber The Holy Modal Rounders | 76 | February 7, 2020 | Mount Clare, West Virginia, U.S. | Cause not disclosed |
| Lyle Mays Pat Metheny Group | 66 | February 10, 2020 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Died after battling an undisclosed illness |
| Joseph Shabalala Ladysmith Black Mambazo | 79 | February 11, 2020 | Pretoria, South Africa | Natural causes |
| Paul English | 87 | February 12, 2020 | Dallas, Texas, U.S. | Pneumonia |
| Jacob Thiele The Faint | 40 | February 13, 2020 | | Cause not revealed |
| Henry Gray | 95 | February 17, 2020 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. | Unknown |
| Andrew Weatherall | 56 | February 17, 2020 | London, England | Pulmonary embolism |
| Pop Smoke | 20 | February 19, 2020 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Shot |
| Elyse Weinberg | 74 | February 20, 2020 | Ashland, Oregon, U.S. | Lung cancer |
| David Roback Mazzy Star | 61 | February 25, 2020 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Metastatic cancer |
| Mike Somerville Head East | 67 | February 28, 2020 | | Undisclosed illness |
| Simon Posthuma The Fool | 81 | February 28, 2020 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Korsakoff syndrome |
| Nelė Paltinienė Lithuanian Pop singer and member of Kopų Balsai | 91 | February 29, 2020 | Mannheim, Germany | Pneumonia |
| Barbara Martin The Supremes | 76 | March 4, 2020 | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | Unknown |
| McCoy Tyner John Coltrane Quartet | 81 | March 6, 2020 | Bergenfield, New Jersey, U.S. | Undisclosed causes |
| Charlie Baty Little Charlie & the Nightcats | 66 | March 6, 2020 | Vacaville, California, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Eric Taylor | 70 | March 9, 2020 | Austin, Texas, U.S. | Liver disease |
| Keith Olsen Record producer and sound engineer from The Music Machine | 74 | March 9, 2020 | Geona, Nevada, U.S. | Cardiac arrest |
| Genesis P-Orridge Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV | 70 | March 14, 2020 | New York, New York, U.S. | Leukaemia |
| Phil Phillips | 94 | March 14, 2020 | Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S. | Unknown/Died on his 94th birthday |
| Jason Rainey Sacred Reich | 53 | March 16, 2020 | | Heart attack |
| Kenny Rogers Kenny Rogers and The First Edition | 81 | March 20, 2020 | Sandy Springs, Georgia, U.S. | Natural causes |
| Jerry Slick The Great Society | 80 | March 20, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Julie Felix | 81 | March 22, 2020 | | Undisclosed illness |
| Gabi Delgado Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft | 61 | March 22, 2020 | Either in a hospital in Portugal or in Córdoba, Spain | Heart attack |
| Manu Dibango | 86 | March 24, 2020 | Melun, France | COVID-19 |
| Bill Rieflin King Crimson, R.E.M. | 59 | March 24, 2020 | | Cancer |
| Neil Landon The Ivy League, Fat Mattress | 78 | March 26, 2020 | Hamburg, Germany | Cancer |
| Bob Andy | 75 | March 27, 2020 | Kingston, Jamaica | Cancer |
| Joe Diffie | 61 | March 27, 2020 | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | COVID-19 |
| Lou "L.A." Kouvaris Riot | 66 | March 28, 2020 | | Unknown, likely COVID-19 |
| Alan Merrill Arrows | 69 | March 29, 2020 | Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S. | COVID-19 |
| Bill Withers | 81 | March 30, 2020 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Heart complications |
| Cristina Singer with ZE Records | 64 | March 31, 2020 | New York City, New York, U.S. | COVID-19 |
| Wallace Roney Jazz trumpeter | 59 | March 31, 2020 | Paterson, New Jersey, U.S. | COVID-19 |
| Adam Schlesinger Fountains of Wayne, Ivy | 52 | April 1, 2020 | Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S. | COVID-19 |
| Vaughan Mason Vaughan Mason & Crew | 69 | April 3, 2020 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Unknown |
| Patrick Gibson The Gibson Brothers | 64 | April 4, 2020 | | COVID-19 |
| Luis Eduardo Aute | 76 | April 4, 2020 | Madrid, Spain | |
| John Prine | 73 | April 7, 2020 | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | Complications caused by COVID-19 |
| Hutch Davie Songwriter and arranger | 89 | April 7, 2020 | West Orange, New Jersey, U.S. | Unknown |
| Steve Farmer The Amboy Dukes | 71 | April 7, 2020 | Redford, Michigan, U.S. | Died at his home, unspecified cause |
| Glenn Fredly | 44 | April 8, 2020 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Meningitis |
| Carl Dobkins Jr. | 79 | April 8, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Moraes Moreira Novos Baianos | 72 | April 13, 2020 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Ryo Kawasaki | 73 | April 13, 2020 | Tallinn, Estonia | |
| Kenny Young Songwriter and member of Fox | 79 | April 14, 2020 | Banbury, Oxfordshire, England | Cancer/Died on his 79th birthday |
| Lee Konitz | 92 | April 15, 2020 | New York City, U.S. | |
| Christophe | 74 | April 16, 2020 | Brest, Brittany, France | COVID-19 |
| Barney Ales Music industry executive from Motown Records | 85 | April 17, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Matthew Seligman The Soft Boys, Thompson Twins | 64 | April 17, 2020 | London, England | Stroke following COVID-19 infection |
| Terry Doran Beatles associate, manager of Grapefruit | 80 | April 19, 2020 | London, England | Parkinson's disease or COVID-19 |
| Ian Whitcomb | 78 | April 19, 2020 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Stroke |
| Ronan O'Rahilly Founder of Radio Caroline | 79 | April 20, 2020 | Carlingford, County Louth, Ireland | Vascular dementia |
| Derek Jones Falling in Reverse | 35 | April 21, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Florian Schneider Kraftwerk | 73 | April 21, 2020 | Düsseldorf, Germany | Cancer |
| Hamilton Bohannon | 78 | April 24, 2020 | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | |
| Young Jessie | 83 | April 27, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Scott Taylor Then Jerico | 58 | April 27, 2020 | | Brain tumor |
| Bobby Lewis | 95 | April 28, 2020 | | Pneumonia |
| Tavo Limongi Resorte | 52 | May 1, 2020 | | Heart attack due to COVID-19 complications |
| Erwin Prasetya Dewa 19 | 48 | May 2, 2020 | Indonesia | Gastrointestinal bleeding |
| Dave Greenfield The Stranglers | 71 | May 3, 2020 | | COVID-19 induced heart failure |
| Bob Lander The Spotnicks | 78 | May 3, 2020 | | |
| Millie Small | 72 | May 5, 2020 | London, England | Stroke |
| Sweet Pea Atkinson Was (Not Was) | 74 | May 5, 2020 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Brian Howe Ted Nugent, Bad Company | 66 | May 6, 2020 | Lake Placid, Florida, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Agustín Villegas Los Solitarios | 79 | May 6, 2020 | Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico | Cardiorespiratory arrest |
| Little Richard | 87 | May 9, 2020 | Tullahoma, Tennessee, U.S. | Bone cancer |
| Betty Wright | 66 | May 10, 2020 | Miami, Florida, U.S. | Cancer |
| Moon Martin | 69 | May 11, 2020 | Encino, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Natural causes |
| Alberto Carpani | 64 | May 11, 2020 | Portofino, Italy | Pneumonia |
| Derek Lawrence Producer of Deep Purple and Wishbone Ash | 78 | May 13, 2020 | Peterborough, England | Cancer |
| Yoshio | 70 | May 13, 2020 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | COVID-19 |
| Jorge Santana Malo | 68 | May 14, 2020 | San Rafael, California, U.S. | Natural causes |
| Phil May Pretty Things | 75 | May 15, 2020 | Norfolk, England | Complications following hip surgery |
| Mory Kanté | 70 | May 22, 2020 | Conakry, Guinea | Untreated chronic health problems |
| Jimmy Cobb Miles Davis Quintet | 91 | May 24, 2020 | Manhattan, New York City, U.S. | Lung cancer |
| Al Rex Bill Haley & His Comets | 91 | May 25, 2020 | Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Pneumonia |
| Joey Image Misfits | 63 | June 1, 2020 | | Liver cancer |
| Chris Trousdale Dream Street | 34 | June 2, 2020 | Burbank, California, U.S. | Died of undisclosed illness |
| Steve Priest The Sweet | 72 | June 4, 2020 | | Died of undisclosed cause, after health failure |
| Rupert Hine Record producer from Thinkman, Quantum Jump | 72 | June 4, 2020 | Wiltshire, England | Undisclosed cause, although he had renal cancer and arrhythmia |
| Frank Bey | 74 | June 7, 2020 | Glenolden, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Undisclosed illness |
| Bonnie Pointer The Pointer Sisters | 69 | June 8, 2020 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Cardiac arrest |
| Pau Donés Jarabe de Palo | 53 | June 8, 2020 | Naut Aran, Catalonia, Spain | |
| Paul Chapman UFO, Lone Star | 66 | June 9, 2020 | | Died on his 66th birthday of undisclosed cause |
| Ricky Valance | 84 | June 12, 2020 | | Dementia |
| Keith Tippett Centipede, Mujician | 72 | June 14, 2020 | | Pneumonia |
| Yohan TST | 28 | June 16, 2020 | | Unknown cause, possible suicide |
| Vera Lynn | 103 | June 18, 2020 | Ditchling, East Sussex, England | Undisclosed cause |
| Hux Brown Toots and the Maytals | 75 | June 18, 2020 | Oakland, California, U.S. | Died in a Home Depot parking lot of unknown cause |
| Huey | 31 | June 26, 2020 | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | Shot |
| Tami Lynn | 78 | June 26, 2020 | New Port Richey, Florida, U.S. | Undisclosed cause |
| Pete Carr Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section | 70 | June 27, 2020 | Florence, Alabama, U.S. | Undisclosed cause |
| Tom Finn The Left Banke | 71 | June 27, 2020 | New York City, U.S. | Died after long battle with undisclosed illness |
| Benny Mardones | 73 | June 29, 2020 | Menifee, California, U.S. | Parkinson's disease |
| Max Crook | 83 | July 1, 2020 | | Undisclosed cause |
| Marvin Brown The Softones | 66 | July 3, 2020 | At the MedStar Harbor Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | Undisclosed cause |
| Erika Liskauskienė Lithuanian singer | 54 | July 4, 2020 | Kaunas, Lithuania | Undisclosed |
| Charlie Daniels | 83 | July 6, 2020 | Hermitage, Tennessee, U.S. | Stroke |
| Ennio Morricone | 91 | July 6, 2020 | Rome, Italy | fractured his femur in a fall. |
| Naya Rivera | 33 | July 8, 2020 | Lake Piru, California, U.S. | Drowning |
| Rich Priske Matthew Good Band | 52 | July 11, 2020 | | Heart attack |
| Judy Dyble Fairport Convention, Trader Horne | 71 | July 12, 2020 | | Lung cancer |
| Emitt Rhodes | 70 | July 19, 2020 | Hawthorne, California | Natural causes |
| Tim Smith Cardiacs, The Sea Nymphs | 59 | July 21, 2020 | | Heart attack |
| Sean O'Mahony Founder of The Beatles Book and Record Collector | 88 | July 21, 2020 | | |
| Peter Green John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Fleetwood Mac | 73 | July 25, 2020 | Canvey Island, Essex, UK | |
| Shmoulik Avigal Picture, The Rods | 65 | July 30, 2020 | Florida, U.S. | Cancer |
| Steve Holland Molly Hatchet | 66 | August 2, 2020 | Georgia, U.S. | Pneumonia following COVID-19 infection |
| Tony Costanza Machine Head | 52 | August 4, 2020 | | |
| Jan Savage The Seeds | 77 | August 5, 2020 | | |
| Wayne Fontana | 74 | August 6, 2020 | Stockport, England | Cancer |
| Mark Wirtz A Teenage Opera | 76 | August 7, 2020 | | Pick's disease |
| Salome Bey | 86 | August 8, 2020 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Dementia |
| Martin Birch Record producer | 71 | August 9, 2020 | | |
| Trini Lopez | 83 | August 11, 2020 | Palm Springs, California, U.S. | COVID-19 |
| Pat Fairley Marmalade | 76 | August 11, 2020 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Undisclosed |
| Pete Way UFO, Waysted, Fastway | 69 | August 14, 2020 | | Injuries from accident two months earlier |
| Jack Sherman Red Hot Chili Peppers | 64 | August 18, 2020 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Frankie Banali Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P. | 68 | August 20, 2020 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Pancreatic cancer |
| Justin Townes Earle | 38 | August 20, 2020 | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | Drug overdose |
| Mike Kirkland The Brothers Four | 82 | August 20, 2020 | U.S. | Cancer |
| Walter Lure The Heartbreakers | 71 | August 22, 2020 | Flushing Hospital, U.S. | Liver and lung cancer |
| Riley Gale Power Trip | 34 | August 24, 2020 | Dallas, Texas, U.S. | Drug overdose |
| Gerry McGhee Brighton Rock | 58 | August 25, 2020 | Canada | Cancer |
| Erick Morillo Reel 2 Real | 49 | September 1, 2020 | Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. | Acute ketamine toxicity |
| Ian Mitchell Bay City Rollers | 62 | September 1, 2020 | U.S. | Throat cancer |
| Simeon Coxe Silver Apples | 82 | September 4, 2020 | Fairhope, Alabama, U.S. | Pulmonary fibrosis |
| Lucille Starr | 82 | September 4, 2020 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Long illness |
| Bruce Williamson The Temptations | 49 | September 6, 2020 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | COVID-19 |
| Xavier Ortiz Garibaldi | 48 | September 6, 2020 | Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico | Suicide |
| Ronald Bell Kool & the Gang | 68 | September 9, 2020 | U.S. Virgin Islands | |
| Toots Hibbert Toots & the Maytals | 77 | September 11, 2020 | Kingston, Jamaica | COVID-19 |
| Charles Howard Patrick The Monotones | 82-83 | September 11, 2020 | | Unknown |
| Edna Wright Honey Cone | 76 | September 12, 2020 | | |
| Pamela Hutchinson The Emotions | 61 | September 18, 2020 | U.S. | Died after a long battle with an undisclosed illness |
| Lee Kerslake Uriah Heep, Ozzy Osbourne, Living Loud, Toe Fat | 73 | September 19, 2020 | | Prostate cancer |
| Tommy DeVito The Four Seasons | 92 | September 21, 2020 | Las Vegas, U.S. | COVID-19 |
| Roy Head | 79 | September 21, 2020 | Montgomery County, Texas, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Juliette Gréco | 93 | September 24, 2020 | Ramatuelle, France | |
| Max Merritt The Meteors | 79 | September 24, 2020 | Los Angeles, U.S. | Autoimmune disease |
| Mark Stone Van Halen | 79 | September 26, 2020 | U.S. | Cancer |
| Jackie Dennis | 77 | September 28, 2020 | | |
| Mac Davis | 78 | September 29, 2020 | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | Complications from heart surgery. |
| Helen Reddy | 78 | September 29, 2020 | Los Angeles, U.S. | Addison's disease |
| Eddie Van Halen Van Halen | 65 | October 6, 2020 | Santa Monica, U.S. | Throat cancer |
| Johnny Nash | 80 | October 6, 2020 | Houston, U.S. | Natural causes |
| Brian Locking The Shadows | 82 | October 8, 2020 | North Wales | Bladder cancer |
| Dave Munden The Tremeloes | 76 | October 15, 2020 | | Respiratory infection |
| Gordon Haskell The Fleur de Lys, King Crimson | 74 | October 16, 2020 | | Cancer |
| Chet "JR" White Girls | 40 | October 18, 2020 | Santa Cruz, California, U.S. | Heart failure |
| Spencer Davis Spencer Davis Group | 81 | October 19, 2020 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Tony Lewis The Outfield | 62 | October 19, 2020 | London, England | Unknown |
| Jerry Jeff Walker | 78 | October 23, 2020 | Austin, Texas, U.S. | Throat cancer |
| Skirmantas Gibavičius Bassist for Bix | 52 | October 26, 2020 | ?, Lithuania | Undisclosed |
| MF DOOM Madvillain | 49 | October 31, 2020 (announced on December 31, 2020) | Leeds, England | Angioedema following a reaction to a blood pressure medication |
| Tom Wolgers Lustans Lakejer, Mockba Music | 61 | November 3, 2020 | | Cancer |
| Ken Hensley Uriah Heep, Toe Fat, The Gods, Blackfoot | 75 | November 4, 2020 | Agost, Spain | |
| Len Barry The Dovells | 78 | November 5, 2020 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Mmyelodysplasia |
| Bones Hillman Midnight Oil | 62 | November 7, 2020 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. | Cancer |
| Cándido Camero | 99 | November 7, 2020 | New York City, U.S. | |
| Jim Tucker The Turtles | 74 | November 12, 2020 | | |
| Henry Slaughter The Weatherford Quartet, The Imperials, Bill Gaither | 93 | November 13, 2020 | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | Complications of COVID-19 |
| Donnie Grant Guys 'n' Dolls | 71 | November 18, 2020 | | Abdominal aortic aneurysm |
| Tony Hooper Strawbs | 81 | November 18, 2020 | | |
| Linas Rugienius Member of Tipo Grupė | 42 | November 30, 2020 | ?, Lithuania | Cancer |
| Eric Pacheco Babylon A.D. | 53 | December 6, 2020 | | |
| Sean Malone Cynic | 50 | December 7, 2020 | Largo, Florida, U.S. | Suicide |
| Jason Slater Third Eye Blind | 49 | December 9, 2020 | Maui, Hawaii, U.S. | Liver failure |
| Charley Pride | 86 | December 12, 2020 | Dallas, Texas, U.S. | COVID-19 |
| Sam Jayne Love as Laughter, Lync | 46 | December 15, 2020 | | |
| Clay Anthony Junkyard | 61 | December 19, 2020 | Maui, Hawaii, U.S. | Car accident |
| Dieter Horns Lucifer's Friend | 74 | December 19, 2020 | Germany | Undisclosed cause |
| Pelle Alsing Roxette | 60 | December 20, 2020 | Sweden | Undisclosed cause |
| Chad Stuart Chad & Jeremy | 79 | December 20, 2020 | Hailey, Idaho, U.S. | Pneumonia |
| Leslie West Mountain | 75 | December 23, 2020 | Palm Coast, Florida, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Geoff Stephens New Vaudeville Band | 86 | December 24, 2020 | | Pneumonia |
| Armando Manzanero | 85 | December 28, 2020 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal. Mexico | COVID-19 |
| Phylis McGuire The McGuire Sisters | 89 | December 29, 2020 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Natural causes |
| Alto Reed Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band | 72 | December 30, 2020 | | Colon cancer |
| Eugene Wright Jazz Bassist for Dave Brubeck Quartet | 97 | December 30, 2020 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Undisclosed |
| Alexi Laiho Children of Bodom | 41 | December 31, 2020 | Helsinki, Finland | Complications of alcohol abuse |