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The Death of Rock: Unknown Causes (includes disappearances)

Key

Some entries have special notations prior to their names. They represent induction into one of the following Halls of Fame:

* denotes induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

# indicates induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

^ symbolizes induction into the Blues Hall of Fame.

Charles Baskerville

member of Shep & the Limelites; he was 58. The cause of death (1995) is unknown. The doo-wop trio had a hit with "Daddy's Home" (1961). Lead singer, James "Shep" Sheppard, was found dead in his car in 1970, apparently the victim of a robbery. He was 34. "A Thousand Miles Away," "Everybody's Somebody's Fool"

Ricardo da Force

(Jervis Ricardo Alfonso Lyte), cause of death unknown. He was 45. Da Force died in 2013 while in Barbados. A vocalist and DJ, he appeared on hits including The KLF's "3 a.m. Eternal" and "Justified & Ancient", the latter of which also featured Country icon, Tammy Wynette (see 1998).

Willis Draffen

(Willis Lewis Draffen, Jr.), cause of death undisclosed (2002). Draffen was a known diabetic, but the specific cause of death was not released. He was 56. He was a member of Bloodstone, with Roger Lee Durham (see 1973) and Melvin Webb (see 1982). "Natural High," "Never Let You Go," "Outside Woman," "My Little Lady"

Hansi Droz

cause of death undisclosed (1999); he was 40. Droz was guitarist for Swiss metal band, Krokus, from 1975 to 1976 (with Remo Spadino, see 2010). Krokus: "Midnite Maniac," "Our Love," "Screaming in the Night"

Richey Edwards

Richey Edwards

(Richard James Edwards, also known as Richey James and Richey Manic), disappeard in 1995; declared dead in 2008. Edwards was the lyricist and guitarist for Manic Street Preachers. He went missing and his car was eventually found near Severn Bridge (United Kingdom), a known suicide spot. Several of the band's songs mention suicide and Edwards was taking Prozac at the time of his disappearance. He was never found. Edwards was 27. "A Design for Life," "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next," "The Masses Against the Classes"

Brian Gillis

cause of death not disclosed (2023); he was 47. Gillis was a founding member of '90s boy band, LFO (short for Lyte Funkie Ones). Two other members of the group, Rich Cronin (see 2010) and Devin Lima (see 2018) also died at a young age. "Summer Girls," "Girl On TV"

Eddie Harsch

(Edward Hawrysch) died at the age of 59 of undisclosed causes in 2016. He was the keyboardist for the Black Crowes and a member of Bulldog. The Black Crowes: "Hard to Handle," "She Talks to Angels," "Twice As Hard," "Jealous Again"

*Bob King

cause of death undisclosed (1955); he was 49. King was a member of the gospel/pop vocal group, The Soul Stirrers. (Sam Cooke - see 1964 - was another Soul Stirrer alum.) The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 (Early Influence) and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000. "By and By," "Touch the Hem of His Garment," "Any Day Now," "Mean Old World"

Roy Koutsky

cause of death unknown (he "passed away in his home") in 2016. He was 53. Koutsky was the original drummer for Seattle punk outfit, L7. The group had minor hits with 1992's "Pretend We're Dead" and 1994's "Andre". Read about his involvement with the Shadows of Seattle.

Jeff LaBar

found dead in his apartment (in 2021) of undisclosed causes. LaBar was the guitarist for '80s hair metal band, Cinderella. He was 58. "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)," "Nobody's Fool"

Mark Lanegan

cause of death undisclosed (2022); he was 57. Lanegan was the lead singer of the Seattle Grunge scene group, Screaming Trees, who gained notoriety when their song, "Nearly Lost You", appeared on the Singles movie soundtrack. Lanegan was also a member of Queens of the Stone Age and The Gutter Twins. (Screaming Trees bassist, Van Connor, would die of pneumonia in 2023 at the age of 55. Read about their involvement with the Shadows of Seattle.)

Mike Mahaffey

died in his sleep in 2005; unknown causes. Mahaffey was the guitarist of the Nashville band, Self. His brother, Matt, sang lead. Mike was 38. "So Low," "Borateen," "Cannon"

Richard McDougall

unknown causes in 1984; his age at death is also unknown. McDougall was a member of the Capitols, who had a hit in 1966 with "Cool Jerk." Lead singer, Samuel George, was killed in 1982 when he was stabbed during a family argument. He was 39.

Licorice McKechnie

(Christina McKechnie), disappeared; presumed dead. Licorice was a member of the Incredible String Band, playing percussion and performing backing vocals. The group appeared at the epochal Woodstock Festival in 1969. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, she returned in 1986 to visit family. After her departure to the United States, she was never seen again. The common narrative is that she was last spotted in 1987, hitchhiking through the deserts of Arizona. In 1987, McKechnie would have been 42 or 43 years old.

"The Lizard King"

*Jim Morrison

(James Douglas Morrison), unknown. Morrison was found dead in his bathtub while living in Paris in 1971. The official cause of death was myocardial infarction (heart attack). Some speculate that he actually succumbed to some type of drug (heroin or cocaine) and/or alcohol overdose. Others believe "The Lizard King" still lives. Morrison was lead singer of The Doors and a published poet; he was 27 at the time of his death. The Doors were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. (Keyboardist Ray Manzarek died in 2013 of bile duct cancer; he was 74.) "Riders on the Storm," "Hello, I Love You," "The End," "Light My Fire"

Interesting aside: In 1967, The Doors were booked to play three shows in San Francisco, headlined by soul singer Otis Redding. Redding was killed two weeks before the scheduled performances. (Visit Redding's Tribute.) Morrison paid tribute to the fallen singer during the first performance and again in The Doors' song "Runnin' Blue": "Poor Otis, dead and gone, left me here to sing his song..."

2007 - Update: Sources (including Morrison's close friend, Sam Sernett) are surfacing, stating that Morrison actually overdosed on heroin in a Paris nightclub bathroom and was quietly moved to his apartment where the bathtub death scene was staged.

Chet Powers

(also known as Dino Valenti), "died suddenly" (no cause disclosed) in 1994. He was 57. Powers was a lead singer for Quicksilver Messenger Service. He also wrote the '60s anthem, "Get Together" under the name Jesse Oris Farrow. With Quicksilver Messenger Service: "Fresh Air," "What About Me," "Who Do You Love"

Johnny "Blackie Onassis" Rowan

cause of death not disclosed (2023); he was 57. Rowan was the drummer for '90s alternative group, Urge Overkill. The band's biggest hit was a cover of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon", which was featured in the film, Pulp Fiction. Other singles include "Sister Havana" and "Positive Bleeding".

John Siomos

causes unknown (2004); he was 56. Siomos was a session drummer who toured with Peter Frampton and appears on Frampton Comes Alive! Siomos co-wrote the hit "Do You Feel Like We Do". (Bob Mayo, who was the keyboardist for the Frampton tour, also died in 2004.) Siomos also appeared on Todd Rundgren's "Hello It's Me" and Carly Simon's "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be". Siomos was found dead in his apartment. No cause of death was named, but it was supposedly "natural causes."

Epic Soundtracks

(Kevin Godfrey), died in his sleep in 1997; unknown causes. He was 37. Soundtracks was a solo artist and once part of Swell Maps, a '70s rock outfit that he had formed with his brother, Nikki Sudden (see 2006).

Remo Spadino

cause of death undisclosed (2010); he was 57. Spadino was bassist for Swiss metal band, Krokus, from 1975 to 1976 (with Hansi Dorz, see 1999). Krokus: "Midnite Maniac," "Our Love," "Screaming in the Night"

Ian "Spike" Spice

cause of death (2000) was not disclosed, although there are rumors that he was killed in a car accident in Thailand; he was 34. Spice was the drummer for Breathe, who had several pop radio hits in the late '80s. "How Can I Fall?" "Hands to Heaven," "Does She Love That Man?"

Jim Sullivan

(James Anthony Sullivan), disappeared; presumed dead. He was 34. Sullivan was a songwriter and guitarist who released two albums and had a presence on the folk-rock scene. While traveling from Los Angeles to Nashville, Sullivan stopped in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. He was supposedly seen the following day (6 March 1975) at a remote ranch, walking away from his car toward the desert. Money, documents, his guitar, clothes, and a box of his unsold records were found in his car, abandoned at the ranch. Sullivan was never seen again. The owners of the ranch on which Sullivan's car and belongings were found inexplicably moved out of state soon after the singer's disappearance. Eerily, on his album U.F.O., he sang about a man very comfortable with death who disappeared in the desert.

Melvin Webb

cause of and age at death unknown; 1982. Webb was a founder and the drummer of Bloodstone with Roger Lee Durham (see 1973) and Willis Draffen (see 2002). "Natural High," "Never Let You Go," "Outside Woman," "My Little Lady"

*Paul Wilson

undisclosed causes in 1988. Wilson was a member of the early doo-wop group, The Flamingos, He was 53. The Flamingos scored a major hit with their dreamy rendition of "I Only Have Eyes for You". The group received the Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Award in 1996 and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Doo-Wop Hall of Fame in 2004.

Robert "Throb" Young

found dead in his flat in 2014. The cause of death was not disclosed, although a manager of the group suggested that drugs or alcohol were involved. Young was 49. He was a member of the alternative rock band, Primal Scream, from 1984 to 2006. "Movin' On Up," "Come Together," "Loaded"