List of murdered musicians

Many musicians have been murdered during their active career. Most of the musicians had been shot or stabbed to death. Some of them have received extensive media attention, including the murder of John Lennon in 1980, the murder of Selena in 1995, the murder of Tupac Shakur in 1996, the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. in 1997, and the murder of XXXTentacion in 2018. Others have received less media attention, including the murder of Bryan Harvey, who was killed during the 2006 Richmond spree murders.

For hip hop musicians see: list of murdered hip hop musicians.

Murdered musicians

Below is a list of notable murders of musicians.

NameKnown asDate of murderAgeSite of deathPerpetratorMethod of murderCreditRef.
Alessandro StradellaAlessandro Stradella25 February 168238Genoa, ItalyUnknownStabbingClassical composer[1]
Jean-Marie LeclairJean-Marie Leclair22 October 176467Paris, FranceUnknownStabbingClassical composer and violinist[2]
Clarence SmithPinetop Smith15 March 192924Chicago, Illinois, USUnknownShootingBoogie-woogie pianist[3]
Alejandro García CaturlaAlejandro García Caturla12 November 194034Havana, CubaUnknownUnknownClassical composer[4]
Anton WebernAnton Webern15 September 194561Vienna, AustriaPfc. Raymond Norwood BellShootingClassical composer[5]
John WilliamsonSonny Boy Williamson1 June 194834Chicago, Illinois, USUnknownShootingBlues singer[6]
Francis BlackwellScrapper Blackwell7 October 196259Indianapolis, Indiana, USUnknownShootingBlues guitarist, composer
Marc BlitzsteinMarc Blitzstein22 January 196458MartiniqueThree menBeatingClassical/musical theatre composer[7]
Sam CookeSam Cooke11 December 196433Los Angeles, USBertha FranklinShootingSoul singer-songwriter
Darrell Banks Darrell Banks February 24, 1970 32 Detroit, Michigan, US Aaron Bullock Shooting Soul singer
Curtis OusleyKing Curtis13 August 197137New York City, USJuan MontanezStabbingJazz saxophonist[8]
Lee MorganLee Morgan19 February 197233New York City, USHelen MorganShootingJazz trumpeter
Víctor Lidio Jara MartínezVíctor Jara16 September 197340Santiago, ChileChilean military officersShooting and tortureSinger-songwriter
David AkemanStringbean10 November 197358Ridgetop, Tennessee, USJohn A. Brown and Marvin Douglas BrownShootingCountry banjo player[9]
Albert Jackson Jr.Al Jackson Jr.1 October 197539Memphis, Tennessee, USUnknownStabbingR&B, funk and soul drummer[10]
Eddie JeffersonEddie Jefferson9 May 197960Detroit, Michigan, USUnknownShootingVocalese[11]
Jannie Pought Jannie Pought September 1980 34 New Jersey Unknown Stabbing R&B singer [12]
John LennonJohn Lennon8 December 198040New York City, USMark David ChapmanShootingRock and pop artist
Claude VivierClaude Vivier7 March 198334Paris, FrancePascal DolzanStabbingClassical composer[13]
Felix Pappalardi Jr.Felix Pappalardi17 April 198343New York City, USGail PappalardiShootingRock artist[14]
Hugh MundellHugh Mundell14 October 198321Kingston, JamaicaRicardo CodringtonShootingReggae singer
Walter Notheis Jr.Walter Scott27 December 198340St. Peters, Missouri, USJames H. Williams Sr.ShootingRock and roll singer
Marvin GayeMarvin Gaye1 April 198444Los Angeles, California, USMarvin Gay Sr.ShootingR&B singer
Leonard BreauLenny Breau12 August 198443Los Angeles, California, USUnknownStranglingGuitarist[15]
Carlton BarrettCarly Barrett17 April 198736Kingston, JamaicaGlenroy Carter and Junior NeilShootingReggae drummer
Winston Hubert McIntoshPeter Tosh11 September 198742Kingston, JamaicaDennis Lobban and two other individualsShooting and tortureReggae artist
John Pastorius, IIIJaco Pastorius21 September 198735Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USLuc HavanBeaten (barfight), brain hemorrhageJazz bassist
Amar Singh Chamkila Chamkila 8 March 1988 27 Mehsampur, Punjab, India Unknown Shooting Punjabi singer
Michael David FullerBlaze Foley1 February 198939Austin, Texas, USCarey JanuaryShootingCountry, folk singer-songwriter[16]
Osbourne RuddockKing Tubby6 February 198948Kingston, JamaicaUnknownShootingReggae sound engineer[17]
Cornell GunterCornell Gunter26 February 199053Las Vegas, Nevada, USUnknownShootingR&B singer
Andrzej ZauchaAndrzej Zaucha10 October 199142Kraków, PolandYves GoulaisShootingR&B singer, saxophonist
David RowbothamDave Rowbotham8 November 199133Manchester, EnglandUnknownBludgeoned by hammerRock musician
Rosalino Sánchez FélixChalino Sanchez16 May 199231Culiacán, MexicoUnknownShootingNarcocorrido singer[18]
Mia ZapataMia Zapata7 July 199327Seattle, Washington, USJesus MezquiaStranglingRock singer[19]
Donald MyrickDon Myrick30 July 199353Los Angeles, California, USPolice Officer Gary BarbaroShootingJazz saxophonist[20]
Øystein AarsethEuronymous10 August 199325Oslo, NorwayVarg VikernesStabbingBlack metal guitarist
Rhett ForresterRhett Forrester22 January 199437Atlanta, Georgia, USUnknownShootingHeavy metal musician[21]
Hasni ChakrounCheb Hasni29 September 199426Oran, AlgeriaArmed Islamic Group of AlgeriaShootingRaï singer
Selena Quintanilla-PérezSelena31 March 199523Corpus Christi, Texas, USYolanda SaldivarShootingTejano singer
Tupac ShakurTupac;
2Pac;
Makaveli		13 September 199625Las Vegas, Nevada, USOrlando Anderson (suspected)ShootingRapper
Christopher WallaceThe Notorious B.I.G.;
Biggie Smalls;
Frank White		9 March 199724Los Angeles, California, USWardell "Poochie" Fouse (suspected)ShootingRapper
Lounès MatoubLounès Matoub25 June 199842Aït Aissi, Tizi Ouzou, AlgeriaArmed Islamic Group of AlgeriaShootingKabyle music singer
Jaki ByardJaki Byard11 February 199976New York City, USUnknownShootingJazz pianist
Roger TroutmanRoger Troutman25 April 199947Dayton, Ohio, USLarry TroutmanShootingFunk musician
Darrell AbbottDimebag Darrell8 December 200438Columbus, Ohio, USNathan GaleShootingHeavy metal guitarist
Bryan HarveyBryan Harvey1 January 200649Richmond, Virginia, USRay Joseph Dandridge and Ricky Javon GrayBlunt-force traumaFolk rock singer/guitarist
Valentín ElizaldeValentin Elizalde25 November 200627Reynosa, MexicoUnknownShootingBanda singer[22]
Winston RileyWinston Riley19 January 201268Kingston, JamaicaUnknownShootingRocksteady/reggae singer and producer
Natalia StrelchenkoNatalia Strelle30 August 201538Manchester, EnglandJohn MartinHead trauma, strangulationClassical pianist[23]
Christina GrimmieChristina Grimmie10 June 201622Orlando, Florida, USKevin James LoiblShootingPop singer
Amjad SabriAmjad Sabri22 June 201639Karachi, PakistanPakistani TalibanShootingQawwali singer[24]
Jahseh OnfroyXXXTentacion18 June 201820Deerfield Beach, Florida, USFour men indicted[25][26]ShootingRapper and singer[27]
Andrea MeyerNebelhexe13 October 202152Kongsberg, NorwayEspen Andersen BråthenStabbingRock and electronic singer[28]
Shubhdeep Singh SidhuSidhu Moose Wala29 May 202228Punjab, IndiaUnknownShootingRapper and singer[29]
Yurii KerpatenkoYurii Kerpatenko16 October 202246Kherson Oblast, UkraineRussian soldiersShootingClassical conductor, accordionist[30]

See also

References
  1. Gianturco, Carolyn. "Alessandro Stradella (1639–1682)". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  2. Sadler, Graham, Leclair, Jean-Marie, in Sadie, Stanley (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, New York, Grove (Oxford University Press), 1997, II, pp. 1118–1119 (ISBN 978-0-19-522186-2)
  3. Pinetop Smith
  4. "Alejandro García Caturla".
  5. Moldenhauer, Hans (1961). The Death of Anton Webern: A Drama in Documents. New York: Philosophical Library. OCLC 512111.
  6. "Sonny Boy Williamson". Biography.com.
  7. Shewey, Don (16 July 1989). "'Moonlight' and Marxism". The New York Times Book Review.
  8. Kernfield, Barry Dean. New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Grove's Dictionaries. p. 544.
  9. "Stringbean Akeman's killer free on parole". The Tennessean. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  10. Lisle, Andria (25 November 2015). "Memphis sunset: The Mysterious death of Stax heartbeat Al Jackson, Jr". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  11. "Eddie Jefferson, 60, Jazz Lyricist, Slain After Leaving Detroit Club". The New York Times. 10 May 1979.
  12. Hickey, Andrew (25 November 2019). "Episode 58: "Mr. Lee" by the Bobbettes". A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  13. Gilmore, Bob (2014). Claude Vivier. A Composer's Life. University of Rochester Press. ISBN 978-1580464857.
  14. Katel, Jacob (14 September 2010). "Top 10 Murdered Musicians You've Never Heard Of". Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  15. Forbes-Robert, Ron. (2006). "One Long Tune: the life and music of Lenny Breau". Denton, TX. University of North Texas Press. ISBN 1-57441-210-8.
  16. "Blaze Foley: Killing of a Songwriter". 7 October 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  17. Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, pp. 138–141
  18. POV (17 January 2006). "El Valiente: Chalino Sánchez - Al Otro Lado". PBS. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  19. Tizon, Alex (23 August 1998). "Who Murdered Mia Zapata? No Arrests, Few Clues 5 Years After Slaying". Seattle Times.
  20. Chazanov, Mathis (15 August 1993). "Questions Cloud Life, Death of Saxophonist". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  21. Katel, Jacob (14 September 2010). "Top 10 Murdered Musicians You've Never Heard Of". Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  22. "Mexico: Musician killed for his drug related lyrics". 18 March 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  23. "Natalia Strelchenko murder: 'Jealous' husband John Martin jailed", BBC News, 21 March 2016, retrieved 22 March 2016
  24. Ali, Imtiaz (22 June 2016). "Famed qawwal Amjad Sabri gunned down in Karachi". Dawn.com. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  25. "Four men indicted in murder of Florida rapper XXXTentacion". Reuters. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  26. Neal, David J.; Teproff, Carli (19 July 2018). "Rapper XXXTentacion had $50,000. Four men have been indicted for killing him to get it". Miami Herald. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  27. Margol, Andrea Torres, Amanda Batchelor, Ian (19 June 2018). "Rapper XXXTentacion killed in Deerfield Beach shooting". local10.com. Retrieved 19 June 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. Meyer, Andrea. "Metal Musician Andrea Meyer Dies in Bow-and-Arrow Attack: What We Know". popculture. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  29. Moose Wala, Sidhu. "Sidhu Moose Wala: Murder of popular Indian singer sparks anger". BBC. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  30. "Russian troops kill Ukrainian musician for refusing role in Kherson concert". the Guardian. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
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