Music Obituaries: November 2025

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While the news was devastating for 24 hours when it comes to celebrity deaths the other day (three in 24 hours, all 78 years old), we have to pause and remember the ones who left us last month. Every month I celebrate the music of those, famous or obscure, who made people’s lives brighter by their contributions to the world of music. Here are the music-related individuals who took their final bows in November 2025: Joseph Byrd (November 2, unknown cause, age 87): California-based musician who worked with several bands in the “psychedelic era,” most notably the band “The United States of America.” *Donna Jean Godchaux (November 2, cancer, age 78): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. The only female member ever of the Grateful Dead, she was inducted with them in the Hall of Fame. She also sang with her own band. John Wesley Ryles (November 2, unknown cause, age 74): primarily known for his country hit “Kay” in 1968, when he was 17, he was also a prolific session background singer in Nashville for decades. Victor Conte (November 3, pancreatic cancer, age 75): you might recognize the name from the BALCO scandal, but before he became embroiled in that, he was the bass guitarist for Tower of Power. *Robert Taylor (November 4, unknown cause, age 74): AUSTRALIAN RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAMER. Guitarist for the Australian Hall of Fame band Dragon and writer of their hit “This Time.” Gilson Lavis (November 5, unknown cause, age 74): drummer in the “classic” era of Squeeze, and later drummer for former Squeeze member Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. Bill Ivey (November 7, unknown cause, age 81): before he was the head of the National Endowment for the Arts, he was the president of the Country Music Foundation in Nashville. Richard Darbyshire (November 10, unknown cause, age 65): guitarist, singer, and songwriter for the British band Living in a Box. Todd Snider (November 14, pneumonia and sepsis, age 59): one of the most acclaimed singer/songwriters in alt-country and Americana in the past couple of decades, he was also a one time member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, and Buffett helped Snider get his first record deal. Hilly Michaels (November 15, unknown cause, age 77): singer and musician who had a solo career (Calling All Girls) as well as working with Sparks, Ellen Foley, Dan Hartman, and John Mellencamp. Alice Kessler (November 17, assisted suicide, age 89): one of the Kessler Twins, who sang on various programs in Germany, Italy, and even the US in the 60s and represented West Germany in the 1959 Eurovision contest. (See below.) Ellen Kessler (November 17, assisted suicide, age 89): one of the Kessler Twins (see above). The twin sisters, in failing health, decided to end their lives together. *Walt Aldridge (November 19, long illness, age 70): NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAMER. A member of the band The Shooters, he was also a songwriter on staff at Muscle Shoals. His biggest hits included Ronnie Milsap’s “(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me” and Earl Thomas Conley’s “Holding Her and Loving You.” Mani (né Gary Mounfield) (November 20, seizure, age 63): bassist for the British bands Stone Roses and Primal Scream. Garry “Jellybean” Johnson (November 21, unknown cause, age 69): drummer for the Minneapolis-based band The Time, featured in Prince’s film Purple Rain. Ian Lees (November 23, heart attack, age 73): bassist for the Australian band Moving Pictures, who had a US hit in 1981 with “What About Me.” *Jimmy Cliff (November 24, pneumonia, age 81): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. Pioneering reggae musicians whose film The Harder They Come helped popularize reggae beyond Jamaica. Judy Cheeks (November 26, autoimmune disease, age 71): R&B singer who had her own hit with “Reach” in the 1990s and also worked with the likes of Tina Turner and Stevie Wonder. Leslie Fish (November 29, unknown cause, age 72): folk singer best known for her comical spoof of Star Trek, “Banned From Argo.” Bob “Bongo” Starkie (November 29, leukemia, age 73): a guitarist with the legendary Australian rock group the Skyhooks. Antone “Chubby” Tavares (November 29, unknown cause, age 81): lead singer of Tavares, the group with a string of hits in the 70s including “It Only Takes a Minute” and “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel.” Billy Nichols (November 30, brief illness, age 85): R&B singer and songwriter best known for writing B.T. Express’ hit “Do It (‘Til You’re Satisfied).” Farewell, and thank you for the music. The late Chubby Tavares leading the group on their hit “It Only Takes a Minute:”