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 assassination of John Lennon in 1980, the killing of Marvin Gaye in 1984, the murder of Selena in 1995, the murder of Tupac Shakur in 1996, the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. in 1997, the murder of Christina Grimmie in 2016, the murder of XXXTentacion in 2018, the murder of Pop Smoke in 2020, and the assassination of Sidhu Moose Wala in 2022. 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.

Name Known as Date of murder Age Site of death Perpetrator Method of murder Credit Ref. Alessandro Stradella 25 February 1682 38 Genoa, Italy Unknown Stabbing Classical composer Jean-Marie Leclair 22 October 1764 67 Paris, France Classical composer and violinist 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 () Clarence Smith Pinetop Smith 15 March 1929 24 Chicago, Illinois, US Shooting Boogie-woogie pianist Pinetop Smith Alejandro García Caturla 12 November 1940 34 Havana, Cuba Unknown Classical composer Anton Webern 15 September 1945 61 Vienna, Austria Pfc. Raymond Norwood Bell Shooting John Williamson Sonny Boy Williamson 1 June 1948 34 Chicago, Illinois, US Unknown Blues singer Francis Blackwell Scrapper Blackwell 7 October 1962 59 Indianapolis, Indiana, US Blues guitarist, composer Marc Blitzstein 22 January 1964 58 Martinique Three men Beating Classical/musical theatre composer Sam Cooke 11 December 1964 33 Los Angeles, California, US Bertha Franklin Shooting Soul singer-songwriter James "Shep" Sheppard 24 January 1970 34 Long Island, New YorkUnknownDoo-Wop singerDarrell Banks24 February 197032Detroit, Michigan, USAaron BullockSoul singer Curtis Ousley King Curtis 13 August 1971 37 New York City, US Juan Montanez Stabbing Jazz saxophonist Kernfield, Barry Dean. New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Grove's Dictionaries. p. 544. Lee Morgan 19 February 1972 33 New York City, US Helen Morgan Shooting Jazz trumpeter Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez Víctor Jara 16 September 1973 40 Santiago, Chile Chilean military officers Shooting and torture Singer-songwriter David Akeman Stringbean 10 November 1973 58 Ridgetop, Tennessee, US John A. Brown and Marvin Douglas Brown Shooting Country banjo player Al Jackson Jr. 1 October 1975 39 Memphis, Tennessee, US Unknown R&B, funk and soul drummer Eddie Jefferson 9 May 1979 60 Detroit, Michigan, US Vocalese Jannie Pought September 1980 34 New Jersey, US Stabbing R&B singer John Lennon 8 December 1980 40 New York City, US Mark David Chapman Shooting Rock and pop artist Rusty Day 3 June 1982 36 Longwood, Florida, US Unknown Shooting Rock Singer Claude Vivier 7 March 1983 34 Paris, France Pascal Dolzan Stabbing Classical composer Felix Pappalardi 17 April 1983 43 New York City, US Gail Pappalardi Shooting Rock artist Prince Far I King Cry Cry 15 September 1983 39 Kingston, Jamaica Unknown Reggae vocalist/producer http://reggaelicious.pbworks.com Hugh Mundell 14 October 1983 21 Kingston, Jamaica Ricardo Codrington Reggae singer Walter Notheis Jr. Walter Scott 27 December 1983 40 St. Peters, Missouri, US James H. Williams Sr. Rock and roll singer Marvin Gaye 1 April 1984 44 Los Angeles, California, US Marvin Gay Sr. Shooting R&B singer Lenny Breau 12 August 1984 43 Los Angeles, California, US Unknown Strangling Guitarist Forbes-Robert, Ron. (2006). "One Long Tune: the life and music of Lenny Breau". Denton, TX. University of North Texas Press. . Carly Barrett 17 April 1987 36 Kingston, Jamaica Glenroy Carter and Junior Neil Shooting Reggae drummer Gary Driscoll 8 June 1987 41 Ithaca, New York, U.S. Unknown Shooting Drummer Winston Hubert McIntosh Peter Tosh 11 September 1987 42 Kingston, Jamaica Dennis Lobban and two other individuals Shooting and torture Reggae artist John Pastorius III Jaco Pastorius 21 September 1987 35 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US Luc Havan Beaten (barfight), brain hemorrhage Jazz bassist Amar Singh ChamkilaChamkila8 March 198827Mehsampur, Punjab, IndiaUnknownShootingPunjabi singer Michael David Fuller Blaze Foley 1 February 1989 39 Austin, Texas, US Carey January Country, folk singer-songwriter Osbourne Ruddock King Tubby 6 February 1989 48 Kingston, Jamaica Unknown Reggae sound engineer Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, , pp. 138–141 Belgin Sarılmışer Bergen 14 August 1989 31 Pozantı, Turkey Halis Serbest Arabseque Singer, actress Cornell Gunter 26 February 1990 53 Las Vegas, Nevada, US Unknown R&B singer Andrzej Zaucha 10 October 1991 42 Kraków, Poland Yves Goulais R&B singer, saxophonist Chris Bender 3 November 1991 19 Brockton, Massachusetts, US Eroy Kindell R&B singer Dave Rowbotham 8 November 1991 33 Manchester, England Unknown Bludgeoning with hammer Rock musician Rosalino Sánchez Félix Chalino Sanchez 16 May 1992 31 Culiacán, Mexico Shooting Narcocorrido singer Willie Irving Gaston Junior Heavy One 29 September 1992 24 Eaton Road, Barry Farms, Southeast DC, US Bassist and drummer of the Junk Yard Band Mia Zapata 7 July 1993 27 Seattle, Washington, US Jesus Mezquia Strangling Rock singer Tizon, Alex (23 August 1998). "Who Murdered Mia Zapata? No Arrests, Few Clues 5 Years After Slaying". Seattle Times. Don Myrick 30 July 1993 53 Los Angeles, California, US Police Officer Gary Barbaro Shooting Jazz saxophonist Øystein Aarseth Euronymous 10 August 1993 25 Oslo, Norway Varg Vikernes Stabbing Black metal guitarist Rhett Forrester 22 January 1994 37 Atlanta, Georgia, US Unknown Shooting Heavy metal musician Hasni Chakroun Cheb Hasni 29 September 1994 26 Oran, Algeria Armed Islamic Group of Algeria Raï singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez Selena 31 March 1995 23 Corpus Christi, Texas, US Yolanda Saldívar Shooting Tejano singer Tupac Shakur Tupac; 2Pac; Makaveli 13 September 1996 25 Las Vegas, Nevada, US Orlando Anderson (suspected) Shooting Rapper Christopher Wallace The Notorious B.I.G.; Biggie Smalls; Frank White 9 March 1997 24 Los Angeles, California, US Wardell "Poochie" Fouse (suspected) Shooting Rapper Gulshan Kumar 12 August 1997 46 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Unknown Shooting Bhajan singer Lounès Matoub 25 June 1998 42 Aït Aissi, Tizi Ouzou, Algeria Armed Islamic Group of Algeria Kabyle music singer James "Jimmy" Ellis Orion 12 December 1998 53 Orrville, Alabama, US Jeffery Lee Rock singer Jaki Byard 11 February 1999 76 New York City, US Unknown Jazz pianist Roger Troutman 25 April 1999 47 Dayton, Ohio, US Larry Troutman Funk musician John Whitehead 11 May 2004 55 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US Two unknown men R&B singer Darrell Abbott Dimebag Darrell; Diamond Darrell 8 December 2004 38 Columbus, Ohio, US Nathan Gale Shooting Heavy metal guitarist Bryan Harvey 1 January 2006 49 Richmond, Virginia, US Ray Joseph Dandridge and Ricky Javon Gray Blunt-force trauma Folk rock singer/guitarist Valentín Elizalde 25 November 2006 27 Reynosa, Mexico Unknown Shooting Banda singer Winston Riley 19 January 2012 68 Kingston, Jamaica Rocksteady/reggae singer and producer Natalia Strelchenko Natalia Strelle 30 August 2015 38 Manchester, England John Martin Head trauma, strangulation Classical pianist Christina Grimmie 10 June 2016 22 Orlando, Florida, US Kevin James Loibl Shooting Pop singer Amjad Sabri 22 June 2016 39 Karachi, Pakistan Pakistani Taliban Qawwali singer Jahseh Onfroy XXXTentacion 18 June 2018 20 Deerfield Beach, Florida, US Four men indicted Shooting Rapper and singer Bashar Jackson Pop Smoke 19 February 2020 20 Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, US Three men and two minors indicted Shooting Rapper Andrea Meyer Nebelhexe 13 October 2021 52 Kongsberg, Norway Espen Andersen Bråthen Stabbing Rock and electronic singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu Sidhu Moose Wala 29 May 2022 28 Mansa, Punjab, India Unknown Shooting Rapper and singer Rakim Allen PnB Rock 12 September 2022 30 Los Angeles, California, US Two men and one minor indicted Shooting Rapper and singer Yurii Kerpatenko 16 October 2022 46 Kherson Oblast, Ukraine Russian soldiers Classical conductor, accordionist Ian Watkins 11 October 2025 48 HM Prison Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England Two men indicted Stabbing Rock singer and convicted pedophile Talay Riley 5 June 2026 35 Silvertown, London, England Three men indicted R&B singer

See also List of murdered hip hop musicians List of deaths in popular music List of musicians who died of drug overdose 27 Club Curse of the ninth

References