Music Obituaries: January 2026

Tweet

A new year has begun. Unfortunately, it brings with it the same old sadness as we have to say goodbye to a number of people in the world of music. Every month I celebrate those people, from the barely-known to the hall of famers, who’ve enriched us with their music. Here are the music-related individuals who took their final bows in January 2026: TONY CARR (January 2, natural causes, age 98): longtime session drummer whose work spanned decades of performing with the likes of Donovan, Hot Chocolate, Paul McCartney, Al Stewart, and Roger Daltrey. ANDREW BODNAR (January 5, unknown cause, age 71): bassist with Graham Parker and the Rumour. *JIM McBRIDE (January 6, fall, age 78): NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAMER. Songwriter of numerous country classics, including co-writing Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochie” and “Chasing That Neon Rainbow,” the Conway Twitty hit “A Bridge That Just Won’t Burn,” and Wade Hayes’ hit “What I Meant to Say.” DAVE HITCHCOCK (January 8, unknown cause, age 76): British record producer whose best-known work was the album Foxtrot with Genesis. GUY MOON (January 8, hit by car, age 63): primarily known as a music composer for cartoons. His best-known work was for the series The Fairly Odd Parents. PAUL MOFFETT (January 10, unknown cause, age 80): Louisville-area singer, songwriter, music promoter, and the founder of the Louisville Music News monthly paper. *BOB WEIR (January 10, cancer, age 78): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. Guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter with the Grateful Dead. JOHN WALLACE, OBE (January 11, unknown cause, age 76): Scottish trumpet player, educator, and composer who gained worldwide attention for his trumpet solo at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981. KENNY MORRIS (January 15, unknown cause, age 68): original drummer in the British new wave band Siouxsie and the Banshees. TUCKER ZIMMERMAN (January 17, house fire, age 84): folk singer and songwriter who found success overseas. He was living in Belgium at the time of his death, and his wife was also killed in the house fire. RALPH TOWNER (January 18, unknown cause, age 85): jazz guitarist and multi-instrumentalist who had decades of success as a solo performer, with his own band, Oregon, and as a session musician with the likes of Weather Report and Keith Jarrett. BILLY PARKER (January 19, natural causes, age 88): Oklahoma-based country singer and award-winning DJ. *ROB HIRST (January 20, pancreatic cancer, age 70): AUSTRALIAN MUSIC HALL OF FAMER. The drummer and one of the songwriters for the Australian band Midnight Oil. ARTRUDE “ARTY” LANGE (January 20, natural causes, age 88): one of those names that is relegated to liner notes readers. She co-wrote “He Don’t Deserve You Anymore” with Buck Owens, which Owens recorded and was later covered by Vince Gill. GUY HOVIS (January 22, unknown cause, age 84): longtime singer on The Lawrence Welk Show. FRANCIS BUCHHOLZ (January 23, cancer, age 71): original bassist for the German heavy metal band the Scorpions. SLY DUNBAR (January 26, cancer, age 73): legendary songwriter and reggae drummer who was part of the Sly and Robbie (Shakespeare) team. *BILLY BASS NELSON (January 26, unknown cause, age 74): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. Original bassist for Parliament/Funkadelic. KEN SETTLE (January 27, unknown cause, age 66): Detroit-based rock photographer who started as a fan taking photos of a young, pre-success Bob Seger and moved to his work featured in countless rock magazines. BRYAN LOREN (January 28, unknown cause, age 59): a songwriter who did a lot of work with Michael Jackson, and also wrote the Simpsons-based novelty hit, “Do the Bartman.” PARTHENON HUXLEY (né Richard Miller) (January 30, unknown cause, age 70): a guitarist and songwriter who worked in the ELO Part II band with original ELO drummer Bev Bevan. CATHERINE O’HARA (January 30, pulmonary embolism/cancer, age 71): although the SCTV alum had countless acting credits to her name, she’s included here for her singing role in the folk parody film A Mighty Wind. MINGO LEWIS (January 31, unknown cause, age 72): drummer who worked with the likes of the Tubes and Santana. Farewell, and thank you for the music. One of the best-known songs from the Grateful Dead, “Truckin’,” featuring the late Bob Weir on lead vocals: