2020 was a hard year for everyone. Especially with a pandemic raging on, music was an escape for a lot of people. Music helped us get through dark times in lockdown, it helped us reconnect with ourselves in a way we never had to experience it before. With this article, we are remembering the legendary musicians we lost in 2020.
We lost legendary musicians in every genre, unfortunately. We lost rock legends and also up and coming stars who never really reached their potential and we will never be able to hear their art blossom.
With this list, we are trying to pay tribute to the musicians we lost in this horrible 2020 year.
Neil Peart
Rock Legend, drummer of Rush
Jimmy Heath
Legendary saxophone player
Bob Gulotti
Legendary jazz drummer, teacher at the renowned Berklee College of Music
Andy Gill
British punk guitarist and producer. Produced even the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
Lyle Mays
Jazz piano player. Best known with his collaboration with Pat Metheny
Pop Smoke
Young Hip Hop artist from Brooklyn who just started his career.
McCoy Tyner
Another jazz legend who left us in 2020. McCoy revolutionary piano playing made him a jazz legend
Kenny Rogers
Country music superstar
Bill Withers
Legendary singer songwriter
Wallace Roney
Jazz trumpet player. Miles Davis’s only protégé.
Ellis Marsalis
Renowned jazz pianist and educator. Father of the Marsalis Brothers.
Bucky Pizzarelli
Legendary jazz guitarist
Andy Gonzaléz
Latin music double bass player
Lee Konitz
American saxophonist played on Miles Davis’s “Birth of the Cool” album.
Tony Allen
Drummer, one of the creators of the Afro-Beat style of music.
Little Richard
Rock and Roll legend!
Bonnie Pointer
Founding member of the Pointer Sisters
Freddy Cole
Jazz piano player and singer. Brother of Nat King Cole.
Ennio Morricone
Famous Italian composer
Peter Green
Rock singer, founder of Fleetwood Mac
Francis Rocco Prestia
Legendary bass player. Member of Tower of Power
Malik B
An early member of The Roots
Charlie Persip
Jazz drummer, worked with Dizzy Gillespie
Gary Peacock
Jazz double bassist, best known for his work with the Keith Jarrett trio
Bruce Williamson Jr.
Gospel singer who performed with The Temptations
Ronald Bell
Saxophonist and founding member of Kool and the Gang
Eddie Van Halen
Legendary rock guitarist, a founding member of Van Halen. Guitar god.
MF Doom
Legendary underground hip hop artists
Sean Malone
Heavy metal bassist, played for Cynic
Unfortunately, there were a lot more legendary musicians we lost that we didn’t cover in this article.
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