Music Obituaries: July 2025

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What a rough month. We have them in every walk of life: one month there are a dozen former baseball players who pass away, the next it’s actors, the next it’s writers. July 2025 was a brutal month for musicians, not only in terms of the number lost but the “name” value of those who died. Every month I pay tribute to the musicians who left us in the previous month; however, most of the time you’ll have one or two well-known individuals. July had a lot. Here are the people from the world of music for whom the final curtain fell in July 2025: Brenden Berg (July 1, car wreck, age 42): bassist and vocalist in the Canadian indie rock band Royal Canoe. Jimmy Swaggart (July 1, cardiac arrest, age 90): the fiery preacher was also a gospel recording artist and the cousin of rocker Jerry Lee Lewis and country singer Mickey Gilley. Kevin Riddles (July 4, illness, age 68): bassist in British heavy metal band Angel Witch. David Kaff (July 9, unknown cause, age 79): keyboard player in the British prog-rock band Rare Bird. He also played Spinal Tap’s keyboardist Viv Savage in This Is Spinal Tap. Iris Williams, OBE (July 9, unknown cause, age 79): Welsh-born singer who performed worldwide in both English and Welsh. Her audiences included former president Ford and Queen Elizabeth. Dave Cousins (July 13, long illness, age 85): guitarist in the British band the Strawbs. Connie Francis (July 16, pneumonia, age 87): legendary pop singer from the 50s and 60s whose hits included “Stupid Cupid” and “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool.” Gary Karr (July 16, brain aneurysm, age 83): classical double-bass virtuoso and teacher who also founded the International Society of Bassists. *Alan Bergman (July 17, natural causes, age 99): SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAMER. Legendary songwriter behind hits as diverse as “The Way We Were” and “It Might Be You” to “And Then There’s Maude,” the theme to the TV series Maude. Laura Vinson (July 17, unknown cause, age 78): Canadian country and folk singer/songwriter, known in Canada as “The Rocky Mountain Lady.” Helen Cornelius (July 18, unknown cause, age 83): country singer best known for her series of duet hits with Jim Ed Brown. *Frank Maffei (July 19, unknown cause, age 85): VOCAL GROUP HALL OF FAMER. Co-founder of, and the final original member of, the 50s doo-wop group Danny and the Juniors. Malcolm-Jamal Warner (July 20, drowned, age 54): beyond his work on The Cosby Show he was also a musician, winning a Grammy award in 2015. George Kooymans (July 22, ALS, age 78): singer, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dutch band Golden Earring and co-writer of their biggest hits, “Radar Love” and “Twilight Zone.” Chuck Mangione (July 22, unknown cause, age 84): legendary Grammy-winning jazz musician who scored a top ten hit in 1978 with “Feels So Good.” *John “Ozzy” Osbourne (July 22, heart attack, age 76): TWO-TIME ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. The “prince of darkness” helped invent heavy metal with his band Black Sabbath (named, in case you didn't know, after a movie!), then re-defined it in the 80s with a series of solo successes. John Palmer (July 22, unknown cause, age 82): member of the British prog-rock band Family. Michael Ochs (July 23, Parkinson’s/COPD, age 82): the brother of singer/songwriter Phil Ochs was a longtime photographer, capturing many iconic scenes of rock royalty throughout the years. *Hulk Hogan (ne Terry Bollea) (July 24, cardiac arrest, age 71): WWE HALL OF FAMER. Bet you didn’t know that, before Hulkamania roared onto the scene in the 80s, the future wrestling legend was playing bass in a southern rock band from Tampa called Ruckus. Dame Cleo Laine, OBE (July 24, natural causes, age 97): one of the great legends in jazz and pop music, both in England and the U.S. Tommy McLain (July 24, natural causes, age 85): Texas-based swamp rock musician and singer who had a Billboard hit with his cover of “Sweet Dreams (Of You).” Tom Lehrer (July 26, natural causes, age 97): the satirist’s satirist, with memorable things like “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” (based on a failed idea of New York City’s in the 50s) and “The Elements Song.” He also wrote and performed a number of songs on the children’s reading program The Electric Company. Sandy Pinkard (July 26, unknown cause, age 78): half of the country comedy duo Pinkard and Bowden, he also co-wrote such hits as “Coca Cola Cowboy” and “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma.” Paul Mario Day (July 29, cancer, age 69): original (pre-success) singer of Iron Maiden, and a post-success singer for The Sweet. Flaco Jimenez (July 31, unknown cause, age 86): a legend in the world of country, folk, Tex-Mex, and conjunto music. He played with the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Dwight Yoakam, Ry Cooder, and Doug Sahm. Farewell, and thank you for the music. The classic Golden Earring song, “Radar Love,” with the late George Kooymans on lead vocals: