# List of deaths in rock and roll (1950s)

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 |
| Kansas Joe McCoy Harlem Hamfats | 44 | January 28, 1950 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Heart disease |
| Ada Brown | 59 | March 30, 1950 | Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. | Kidney disease |
| Bertha Hill | 45 | May 7, 1950 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Hit and run-related accident |
| Fats Navarro | 26 | July 7, 1950 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Tuberculosis |
| Papa Charlie McCoy Harlem Hamfats | 41 | July 26, 1950 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Paralytic brain disease |
| Al Jolson | 64 | October 23, 1950 | San Francisco, California, U.S. | Massive heart attack |
| Cecil Gant | 37 | February 4, 1951 | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | Pneumonia |
| Sid Catlett | 41 | March 25, 1951 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Jimmy Yancey | 56 | September 17, 1951 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Diabetes-induced stroke. |
| Black Boy Shine | 43 | March 28, 1952 | Sugar Land, Texas, U.S. | Tuberculosis |
| John Kirby | 43 | June 14, 1952 | Hollywood, California, U.S. | Unknown causes |
| Luke Jordan | 60 | June 25, 1952 | Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S. | Unknown causes |
| Fletcher Henderson | 55 | December 29, 1952 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Unknown causes |
| Willie Brown | 52-53 | December 30, 1952 | Tunica, Mississippi, U.S. | Heart disease |
| Hank Williams | 29 | January 1, 1953 | Oak Hill, West Virginia, U.S. | Acute right ventricular dilation |
| Big Maceo Merriweather | 47 | February 23, 1953 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Django Reinhardt | 43 | May 16, 1953 | Fontainebleau, France | Brain hemorrhage$^{:160}$ |
| Willie Love | 46 | August 19, 1953 | Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. | Bronchopneumonia |
| Carolina Slim | 30 | October 22, 1953 | Newark, New York, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Sol Hoʻopiʻi | 50-51 | November 16, 1953 | Either Los Angeles, California, U.S., or Seattle, Washington, U.S. | Unknown causes |
| Lil Green | 34 | April 14, 1954 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Pneumonia |
| Alger "Texas" Alexander | 53 | April 18, 1954 | Richards, Texas, U.S. | Syphilis |
| Danny Cedrone Bill Haley & His Comets | 33 | June 17, 1954 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Broken neck from falling down stairs |
| Lollypop Jones | 56 | August 22, 1954 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Lengthy illness |
| Washington Phillips | 74 | September 20, 1954 | Teague, Texas, U.S. | Head injury |
| Hot Lips Page | 46 | November 9, 1954 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Unknown causes |
| Dink Johnson | 62 | November 29, 1954 | Portland, Oregon, U.S. | Unknown causes |
| Papa Celestin | 70 | December 15, 1954 | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | Unknown causes |
| Lee Morse | 57 | December 16, 1954 | Rochester, New York, U.S. | Unknown causes |
| Johnny Ace | 25 | December 25, 1954 | Houston, Texas, U.S. | Accidental suicide by gunshot |
| Charlie Parker | 34 | March 12, 1955 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Pneumonia |
| Wardell Gray | 34 | May 25, 1955 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Heroin overdose |
| Carmen Miranda | 46 | August 5, 1955 | Beverly Hills, California, U.S. | Heart Attack |
| Frank Stokes | 67 or 78 | September 12, 1955 | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | Stroke |
| Bessie Brown | 65 | November 12, 1955 | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | Heart attack |
| James P. Johnson | 61 | November 17, 1955 | Queens, 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 |
| Clifford Brown | 25 | June 26, 1956 | Bedford, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Car crash |
| Richie Powell | 24 | June 26, 1956 | Bedford, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Car crash |
| Tommy Johnson | 60 | November 1, 1956 | Crystal Springs, Mississippi, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Art Tatum | 47 | November 5, 1956 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Uremia |
| Tommy Dorsey | 51 | November 26, 1956 | Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. | Choking in sleep |
| Ralph Willis | 47 | June 11, 1957 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Unknown causes |
| Serge Chaloff | 33 | July 16, 1957 | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | Spinal cancer |
| Joe Hill Louis | 35 | August 5, 1957 | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | Tetanus |
| Walter Page | 57 | December 20, 1957 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Kidney ailment and pneumonia |
| Ernie Henry | 31 | December 29, 1957 | | Heroin overdose |
| John Dolphin Record label owner, concert promoter and music producer | 55 | February 1, 1958 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Murdered |
| W. C. Handy | 84 | March 28, 1958 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Bronchial pneumonia |
| Chuck Willis | 32 | April 10, 1958 | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | Peritonitis |
| Leroy Foster | 35 | May 26, 1958 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Big Bill Broonzy | 65 | August 14, 1958 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Cancer |
| Tiny Bradshaw | 51 | November 26, 1958 | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | Stroke |
| Julia Lee | 56 | December 8, 1958 | Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | Heart attack |
| Henry "Son" Sims | 68 | December 26, 1958 | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | Complications from renal surgery |
| Buddy Holly Buddy Holly & The Crickets | 22 | February 3, 1959 | Clear Lake, Iowa, U.S. | Plane crash |
| The Big Bopper | 28 | February 3, 1959 | Clear Lake, Iowa, U.S. | Plane crash |
| Ritchie Valens | 17 | February 3, 1959 | Clear Lake, Iowa, U.S. | Plane crash |
| Guitar Slim | 32 | February 7, 1959 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Pneumonia |
| Lester Young | 49 | March 15, 1959 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Bleeding from alcoholism |
| Sidney Bechet | 62 | May 14, 1959 | Garches, France | Lung cancer |
| Billie Holiday | 44 | July 17, 1959 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Liver cirrhosis |
| Blind Willie McTell | 61 | August 19, 1959 | Milledgeville, Georgia, U.S. | |
| Al "Cake" Wichard | 41-40 | November 14, 1959 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Unknown causes |