We note with sadness the following contributors to rock and pop music of the 50s through the 80s – the BEST music ever made! – who passed on last month:
August 02
● Luis Gasca / (Luis Angel Gasca) → Texas-bred Latin-rock and jazz fusion virtuoso trumpeteer and flugelhorn player with a seven-decade career blending Afro-Cuban rhythms, psych-rock, and hard bop as a solo artist and collaborator with major rock and fusion artists; graduated from the prestigious Berklee College of Music and played with big bands led by Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, and Count Basie in the early 60s; later played horns with Mongo Santamaría, with Janis Joplin at Woodstock in 1969, on Carlos Santana‘s self-titled 1969 debut, in Latin-rock collective Malo alongside Jorge Santana in the 70s, and on albums by dozens of other artists through to the 80s; issued debut LP The Little Giant (1969) and two other solo albums in the 70s, as well as the star-studded Latin-fusion classic For Those Who Chant (1972); burned out from touring and recording by the mid-80s, dropped away to battle drug and alcohol addiction in a secluded spot in Mexico, and performed only sporadically until returning to the US in the 00s; appeared in a San Antonio charity concert in what turned out to be a final performance the day before dying from unspecified causes on 8/2/2026, age 86.
● David Z / (David Bruce Rivkin) → Guitarist in local Minneapolis garage rock bands in the 70s and in funk-disco Lipps Inc. (“Funkytown,” #1, R&B #2, 1980) before moving behind the soundboard and becoming a principal architect of the “Minneapolis Sound” of the 80s; engineered Prince‘s early demo tapes and co-produced the multi-platinum Dirty Mind (1980); later arranged and produced Prince‘s single “Kiss” (#1, UK #6,1986), Fine Young Cannibals‘ “She Drives Me Crazy” (#1, UK #5, 1989), soundtrack songs for films A Goofy Movie (1995) and Michael (1996), and albums by a broad, genre-spanning roster of artists including Etta James, Jody Watley, Neneh Cherry, and Jonny Lang; died from complications of an infection on 8/2/2026, age 73.
August 06
● Ann Bogan / (Ann Victoria Bogan) → R&B/soul singer in Cleveland-based girl group The Challengers before joining Motown session vocalists The Andantes in 1963; sang lead vocals on “(Like A) Nightmare” (1964) and backing vocals on other mid-60s Motown hits before joining The Marvelettes in 1968 during the group’s decline and transition to a backing group for singer Wanda Young; left in 1970 to co-found Detroit soul group Love, Peace & Happiness, which merged with Louisville-based funk and soul The Nite-Liters to form collective New Birth in 1971; sang lead vocals on the hit “I Can Understand It” (#35, R&B #4, 1972), but left the group thereafter to raise a family out of the limelight; died from unspecified causes on 8/6/2026, age 85.
August 08
● Randy Burns / (Randall R. Burns) → Teenage runaway and busker on the mid-60s Greenwich Village acoustic scene at various coffeehouse open mic events, eventually securing a permanent residency at the legendary Gaslight Café and opening for John Hammond, Phil Ochs and many other folk luminaries of the day; issued three LPs on the experimental jazz and folk label ESP-Disk in the late 60s, the debut album as a solo folk act performing covers and originals, the latter two with all original songs but as frontman for psychedelic-folk The Sky Dog Band, and with none of the three succeeding commercially; signed with Mercury Records and then Polydor and released three more unsuccessful albums in the 70s despite constant touring; returned to straight folk for ensuing decades and lived a nomadic life performing in coffeehouses and festivals across the country, touring Ireland for two years, occasionally recording and issuing CDs, and remaining a cult elder statesman of the original Village folk revival period; died from undisclosed causes on 8/8/2026, age 78.
August 09
● Gary “Rocky” Dwyer / (Gary Dwyer) → Percussionist in late-70s and early-80s Liverpool post-punk/psych-rock The Teardrop Explodes after recruitment to the nascent group in 1978 by frontman Julian Cope; became one of only three members to appear on all three of the group’s studio albums during their short, influential but combative run from 1976 to 1982, including the gold-certified debut album Kilimanjaro (#156, UK #24, 1980) and the UK Top 10 single “Reward” (UK #6, IRE #11, 1981); following the group’s final, turbulent dissolution in 1982, collaborated on various Liverpudlian post-punk and indie projects before dropping away from the industry for a second career in various jobs including as a fork lift operator; suffered from years of various maladies before dying from leukemia on 8/9/ 2026, age 67.
August 13
● Ruby Andrews / (Ruby Mae Stackhouse) → R&B/soul singer in Chicago vocal group The Vondells before signing with Zodiac Records and scoring an immediate hit with the raw, foot-stomping single “Casonova [sic] (Your Playing Days Are Over)” (#51, R&B #9, 1967); followed with a string of charting hits, including “You Made A Believer out of Me” (#96, R&B #18, 1969), plus three albums of material written and produced by the Detroit-based Brothers of Soul vocal group; founded and headed Genuine Ruby Records and married to Chicago smooth soul The Chi-Lites’ singer Robert “Squirrel” Lester until his death in 2011; released several Swamp Dogg-produced albums of bluesy songs in the 90s and continued to perform on the international soul and oldies circuit into her later years; appeared for a final time at the Chicago Blues Festival in 2022 and was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2023; died at home in Chicago from unspecified causes on 8/13/2026, age 79.
August 14
● Dave Marsh / (David Rodney Marsh) → Respected and passionately opinionated music critic, prolific author, magazine editor, and radio talk show host best known as an early editor of music magazine Creem in 1969, writing for The Village Voice, Rolling Stone and other music magazines in the 70s and 80s, and publishing four books about Bruce Springsteen, including the bestsellers Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story (1979) and Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s (1987), among more than 20 other titles about music and music makers; credited with coining the term “punk rock” in 1971; served on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame selection committee and contributed to newsletters and works by others; hosted long-running SiriusXM satellite radio programs Live from E Street Nation, Kick Out the Jams, and Live from the Land of Hopes and Dreams over a 19-year run through 2023; died from complications of posterior cortical atrophy, a form of dementia, on 8/14/2026, age 76.
August 17
● Frank Beard / (Frank Lee Beard) → Drummer and only beardless member of legendary Texas boogie/blues-rock trio ZZ Top; joined guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill in 1969 and played with them for 56 years and on 14 of 15 studio albums; battled drug and alcohol addictions in the 70s and early 80s and was absent during the recording of the Eliminator album (1983), but returned to drum on the group’s eleven Mainstream Rock Top 10 hits from 1984 to 1996; appeared in the 2014 documentary film ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 alongside Gibbons and Hill; continued to tour with the group despite suffering from heart issues in later years; died from pneumonia and heart failure while in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas on 8/17/2026, age 77.
● Barry Mitchell → Bass guitarist with glam-rock Queen from August 1970 through January 1971; left due to creative differences and before the group’s debut album in 1973; later played with rock bands Tiger and Crushed Butler; died from undisclosed causes on 8/17/2026, age 74.
August 21
● Janie Bradford / (Janie May Bradford Hobbs) → One of the original Motown Records employees and co-writer, with label founder Berry Gordy Jr., of Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want)”.(#23, R&B #2, 1959) and received credit as a songwriter on Mary Wells’ “Your Old Standby” (#40, R&B #8, on Marvin Gaye’s “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby” (#4, R&B #1, 1969) as well ason numerous other Motown songs; famously championed the name “The Supremes” for the group originally known as The Primettes; relocated to Los Angeles when Motown moved there in 1970 and became head of writer relations for Jobete Music, Motown’s publishing company; left Motown in 1979 and struggled financially for a time, but eventually founded a magazine about the music industry and started a nonprofit organization, the Heroes and Legends Scholarship Foundation, providing support to students interested in entertainment careers; was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame in June 2026 and died in a Los Angeles hospital after a long but undisclosed illness on 8/21/2026, age 87.
● Dale Morris → Nashville songwriter and penner of Johnny Paycheck’s “Don’t Monkey With Another Monkey’s Monkey” (Country #41, 1967) before starting a talent management business, Dale Morris & Associates, and stewarding the careers of dozens of country music artists over the next six decades; discovered future Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Alabama in a South Carolina bar in 1979 and managed their rise to the pinnacle of the industry with thirty-three Country #1 hits; started nurturing Kenny Chesney’s career in the 90s and helped make him the highest grossing country music artist of all time; also represented Martina McBride, Jake Owen and the estate of Barbara Mandrell, among others; died in his sleep on 8/21/2026, age 89.
August 22
● Shelley Fabares / (Michelle Ann Marie Fabares) → Emmy-winning TV actress on The Donna Reed Show (1958-65, 192 episodes) and Coach (1989-97, 199 episodes), plus appearances on nearly 50 other TV programs, as well as fifteen feature films, including three starring opposite Elvis Presley; best known to pop music fans for singing “Johnny Angel” (#1, UK #41, 1962) and four other minor chart hits that year; wife of music and movie producer Lou Adler from 1964 to 1980, and of MAS*H star Mike Farrell from 1984 until dying at home in Los Angeles from pneumonia on 8/22/2026, age 82.
● Latimore / (Benjamin William Lattimore) → Miami smooth soul singer with two standout, bluesy R&B crossover hits, “Let’s Straighten It Out” (#31, R&B #1, 1974) and “Somethin’ ‘Bout ‘Cha” (#37, R&B #7, 1977), and a third R&B Top 10 hit, “Keep The Home Fire Burnin’” (R&B #5, 1975) among ten other minor chart R&B singles in the 70s; switched labels in 1982, adopted a modern blues sound, and issued a stream of 21 albums through 2013, the last being a tribute to Ray Charles, at the same time doing session work as an electric pianist and appearing on albums by Josh Stone and others; continued to perform in the 10s and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2017; died at home from undisclosed causes on 8/22/2026, age 86.
August 24
● Jaye P. Morgan / (Mary Margaret Morgan) → MOR pop music singer with 20 charting singles during the formulative years of rock ‘n’ roll, including “That’s All I Want From You” (#3, 1954); simultaneously launched a five-decade career as a TV show character actress (General Electric Theater, The Joey Bishop Show, The Odd Couple, and others), nightclub singer, and quick-witted, breast-baring game show panelist (The Gong Show, Match Game, Hollywood Squares, etc.); continued with occasional TV appearances in the 90s but largely dropped from the limelight in the 00s; died after a fall in a hospital in Washington State on 8/24/2026, age 94.
August 25
● Tim Curry / (Timothy James Curry) → English actor and singer with a 60-year career in films and on stage, starting in London’s West End production of Hair (1968-69) and most famously as originator of the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1973-75); released three solo rock albums including Fearless (1979) and its single, “I Do The Rock” (#91, 1979); earned three Tony Award nominations for his work in Amadeus (1980-83), My Favorite Year (1992-93), and Spamalot (2004-07); moved to Los Angeles in the 80s and embarked on a career in Hollywood films, from the fast-talking butler Wadsworth in Clue (1985) to suspicious hotel concierge in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) and Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island (1996); survived a major stroke in 2012 and continued voice acting and making appearances in celebrations on anniversaries of RHPS, including his last onscreen performance in the 2026 TV remake; died from coronary artery disease at his home in Los Angeles on 8/25/2026, age 80.
● Dolly Parton / (Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean) → Appalachian sharecropper’s daughter, rags-to-riches story heroine, sequin and rhinestone afficionado, bouffant-coiffed and bodaciously-figured actress, angelic singer, prolific songwriter, astute businesswoman, gracious and generous philanthropist, and globally-beloved cultural phenomenon over a 60-year, multiple award winning career; moved to Nashville in 1964 and started writing songs for others before issuing a debut album in 1967; followed with 48 more studio albums through 2023, wrote over 3,000 songs and released nearly 250 singles, among them 25 country number-ones, including “I Will Always Love You” (Country #1, 1974 and 1982, and a worldwide #1 hit for Whitney Houston in 1992) and the movie theme song “9 To 5” (#1, AC #1, Country #1, 1980); starred in the film version of 9 to 5 (1980) and seven other films, as well as numerous appearance on TV programs; awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2004 and the Jean Hershoff Humanitarian Award in 2025 for her advocacy of child literacy and famously donated millions books to children’s reading programs around the world, among many other philanthropic efforts; faced various health issues in her later years and cancelled a planned residency in Las Vegas in 2025 after losing husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, in March 2025; died after a “brief battle” with cancer in a Nashville hospital on 8/25/2026, age 80.
