Music Obituaries: April 2025

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Wow, I just realized that I hadn't posted the April music obits yet. Shame on me for being this late. Every month I look back at the preceding month to bid farewell to the people in the world of music, the famous and the barely-known, who left us. Not everyone was a Prince or a Michael Jackson, but they all deserve a final round of applause. Here are the music individuals who sang their final song in April 2025: George Freeman (April 1, natural causes, age 97): jazz guitarist who played for nine decades on his own and with the likes of Charlie Parker and Jackie Wilson. Wayne Handy (April 1, long illness, age 89): early rock and roller who became the victim of American Bandstand payola rules in the 50s: after appearing on the show, performing his minor hit “Say Yeah,” he was told he’d have to pay to appear on the show again. Neither he nor his label would consent, and his career dried up quickly. Johnny Tillotson (April 1, Parkinson’s disease, age 86): singer/songwriter who was a little hard to define (rock hit “Poetry in Motion” and country hit “It Keeps Right on a-Hurtin’”) throughout his career. Chris Youlden (April 4, bronchial pneumonia, age 82): British blues-rock singer, songwriter, and pianist in the band Savoy Brown. Dave Allen (April 5, early-onset dementia, age 69): bassist in the legendary post-punk British band Gang of Four. *Clem Burke (April 6, cancer, age 70): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. Drummer for the band Blondie. Nancy Goodman Tenney (April 6, complications of dementia, age 78): the widow of singer/songwriter Steve Goodman, she slept on a train while he composed his most famous song, “City of New Orleans.” William Finn (April 7, lung disease, age 73): composer who won a 1992 Tony for his music for Falesttos. Rubby Pérez (April 8, Jet Set Nightclub tragedy, age 69): superstar Dominican merengue singer. He was performing at the Jet Set Nightclub in Atala, Santo Domingo when the roof collapsed, killing him and 235 others (including baseball player Octavio Dotel and Monte Cristi Province governor Nelsy Cruz). Lenny Welch (April 8, long illness, age 86): pop singer from the late 50s and early 60s, with his biggest hit being “Since I Fell for You.” Nino Tempo (April 10, natural causes, age 90): the brother half of Nino Tempo & April Stevens, known for their 60s hit “Deep Purple.” He later was a saxophonist in the L.A.-based band of session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. Mike Berry (April 11, unknown cause, age 82): British actor in Are You Being Served? who also had a number of pop hits including “Don’t You Think It’s Time” and “The Sunshine of Your Smile.” Roy Thomas Baker (April 12, unknown cause, age 78): British record producer whose successes include the first album by The Cars and a string of Queen albums. Wink Martindale (April 15, lymphoma, age 91): best-known as a game show host, he had a hit in 1959 with his cover of the hillbilly recitation “Deck of Cards.” Mac Gayden (April 16, Parkinson’s disease, age 83): singer/songwriter whose hits include the writing the Robert Knight hit “Everlasting Love.” Roger McLachlan (April 16, pancreatic cancer, age 71): bassist for the Little River Band for their first two albums which included their breakout hit “It’s a Long Way There.” *David Briggs (April 22, renal cancer, age 82): MUSICIANS HALL OF FAMER. A keyboardist in the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (the Swampers), the A-Team session group in Nashville, and member of Elvis’ TCB band. Lulu Roman (April 23, heart failure, age 78): Hee Haw cast member who also had an extensive career as a southern gospel singer. David Thomas (April 23, long illness, age 71): singer and songwriter for the band Pere Ubu. Peter McIan (April 24, unknown cause, age 78): American singer, songwriter, and record producer whose biggest successes were the first two albums by the Australian band Men At Work. Roy Phillips (April 24, unknown cause, age 83): British keyboardist who was a member of the 60s trio The Peddlers. Richard Wernick (April 25, natural causes, age 91): American composer who won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his composition Visions of Terror and Wonder. Raymond “Wizz” Jones (April 27, natural causes, age 86): British folk guitarist whose skills led him to obtain a number of high-profile students such as Keith Richards. Stan Love (April 27, long illness, age 76): the former NBA player and father of Kevin Love also was the younger brother of Beach Boy Mike Love. He also served as bodyguard and assistant to Brian Wilson in the 90s. Brian Montana (April 28, police shootout, age 60): early member of Possessed, considered one of the pioneers of the “death metal” genre. He was killed by police after shooting at them for over half an hour at his home. Mike Peters (April 28, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, age 66): lead vocalist for the 80s Welsh band The Alarm. He later worked as lead singer in the band Big Country. Farewell, and thank you for the music. The late Mike Peters, singing lead on The Alarm's biggest hit, "Rain in the Summertime":