2016 in music

This topic covers notable events and articles related to 2016 in music.

Specific locations[edit]

Popular music
Timeline of musical events
2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1910s 1900s 1890s 1880s 1870s 1860s 1850s 1840s 1830s 1820s 1810s 1800s 1790s 1780s 1770s 1760s 1750s 1740s 1730s 1720s 1710s 1700s 1690s 1680s 1670s 1660s 1650s 1640s 1630s 1620s 1610s 1600s 1590s 1580s 1570s 1560s 1550s 1540s 1530s 1520s 1510s 1500s 1490s Early history
List of popular music genres
v t e

Specific genres[edit]

Albums released[edit]

Significant performances[edit]

• March 25 – British rock and roll band, The Rolling Stones become the first foreign rock band to perform in Cuba,^[1] which was documented in their 2016 concert film, The Rolling Stones: Havana Moon.

Awards[edit]

The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with Western culture and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this section, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new section, as appropriate. (August 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Bands formed[edit]

Soloist debuts[edit]

Bands reformed[edit]

Bands on hiatus[edit]

• Camera Obscura
• Chiodos
• Coal Chamber
• Man Overboard
• Middle Class Rut
• One Direction
• We Are the In Crowd
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Bands disbanded[edit]

Deaths[edit]

January[edit]

• 1
  • Gilbert Kaplan, (74), American conductor and businessman, cancer.^[5]
  • Mark B, (45), British hip-hop record producer.^[6]
  • Gilberto Mendes, (93), Brazilian composer.^[7]
• 2 – Rino Salviati, (93), Italian singer, guitarist and actor.^[8]
• 3
  • Paul Bley (83), Canadian jazz pianist.^[9]
  • Jason Mackenroth (46), American rock drummer (Rollins Band, Mother Superior), prostate cancer.^[10]
• 4
  • Long John Hunter, (84), American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.^[11]
  • Achim Mentzel, (69), German musician and television presenter.^[12]
• 5
  • Pierre Boulez, (90), French composer and conductor.^[13]
  • Nicholas Caldwell, (71), American R&B singer (The Whispers).^[14]
  • Hanna-Marie Weydahl, (93), Norwegian pianist.^[15]
• 7
  • Kitty Kallen, (94), American singer ("Little Things Mean a Lot").^[16]
  • Troy Shondell, (76), American singer, complications from Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.^[17]
• 8
  • Otis Clay, (73), American R&B and soul singer ("Tryin' to Live My Life Without You", "The Only Way Is Up"), heart attack.^[18]
  • Red Simpson, (81), American country singer-songwriter ("I'm a Truck"), complications from a heart attack.^[19]
  • Brett Smiley, (60), American singer-songwriter.^[20]
• 10 – David Bowie, (69), English songwriter and artist.^[21]
• 17
  • Carina Jaarnek (53), Swedish singer and Dansband artist (cerebral haemorrhage).^[22]
  • Dale Griffin (67), British rock drummer (Mott the Hoople, Mott, British Lions).
• 18 – Glenn Frey (67), American guitarist and vocalist (The Eagles).^[23]
• 25 – Leif Solberg (101), Norwegian composer and organist.^[24]
• 26
  • T.J. Tindall (65), American guitarist (MFSB)^[25]
  • Black (53), Pop/new wave singer-songwriter, Traffic accident
• 28
  • Signe Toly Anderson (74), American vocalist (Jefferson Airplane).^[26]
  • Paul Kantner (74), American guitarist and vocalist (Jefferson Airplane).^[27]

February[edit]

• 3 – Maurice White (74), founder of Earth, Wind and Fire.^[28]
• 4
  • Bobby Caldwell (68), American rock keyboardist (Terry Knight and the Pack)
  • Ulf Söderblom (85), Finnish conductor.^[29]
• 13
  • Viola Beach, English indie rock band, car accident.
  • Kristian "Kris" Leonard (20), Guitar and vocals.
  • River Reeves (19), Guitar.
  • Tomas Lowe (27), Bass.
  • Jack Dakin (19), Drums.
  • Craig Tarry (32), Band manager.
• 15 – Joyce Paul (78), American country music singer
• 19 – Harald Devold (51), Norwegian saxophonist (cancer).^[30]
• 20 – Ove Verner Hansen (85), Danish actor and opera singer (cardiac arrest).^[31]
• 22 – Sonny James (87), American country music singer-songwriter.^[32]
• 24 – Lennie Baker (69), American rock and roll saxophonist and singer (Sha Na Na)
• 29 – Josefin Nilsson (46), Swedish singer.^[33]

March[edit]

• 3 – Gavin Christopher, 66, American R&B singer-songwriter and producer^[34]
• 5 – Jimmy Henderson, 61, American guitarist (Black Oak Arkansas)
• 8 – George Martin, (90), English producer.^[35]
• 9
  • Ray Griff (75), Canadian country singer-songwriter, (aspiration pneumonia).^[36]
  • Naná Vasconcelos (71), Brazilian percussionist.^[37]
• 10
  • Keith Emerson (71), English pianist and keyboardist (Emerson, Lake & Palmer).^[38]
  • Ernestine Anderson (87), American jazz and blues singer
• 12
  • Tommy Brown (84), American R&B singer
  • Jimmie Snell, 69, American soul and pop singer (Limmie & Family Cookin')
• 13 – Sidney Mear, (97), American trumpeter.^[39]
• 14 – Peter Maxwell Davies, (81), English composer and conductor
• 22 – Phife Dawg, (45), American rap musician (A Tribe Called Quest), complications from diabetes.^[40]
• 23 – James Jamerson, Jr., 58, American bass player (Chanson)
• 24 – Peter Anders, 74, American singer-songwriter (The Trade Winds) and record producer
• 26 – David Baker, 84, American symphonic jazz composer

April[edit]

• 2 – Gato Barbieri, (83), Argentine jazz saxophonist, pneumonia.^[41]
• 3 – Bill Henderson, (90), American jazz vocalist and actor (Clue, City Slickers, White Men Can't Jump), cancer.^[42]
• 6 – Merle Haggard, (79), American singer-songwriter ("Okie from Muskogee", "The Fightin' Side of Me", "Carolyn"), Grammy winner (1984, 1998, 1999), complications from pneumonia.^[43]
• 13 – Mariano Mores, (98), Argentine tango composer and pianist.^[44]
• 21
  • Prince, (57), American musician.^[45]
  • Lonnie Mack, (74), American rock, blues, and country singer-songwriter guitarist, natural causes.^[46]
• 24
  • Billy Paul, (81), American soul singer.
  • Papa Wemba, (66), Congolese singer and musician.
  • Jan Henrik Kayser, (81), Norwegian pianist.

May[edit]

• 1 – Sydney Onayemi (78), Nigerian-born Swedish DJ.^[47]
• 4 – Olle Ljungström (54), Swedish singer and guitarist.^[48]
• 6 – Candye Kane, (54), American blues singer and entertainer
• 9
  • Jim Manolides (76), American rock and roll bassist (The Frantics)
  • Riki Sorsa (63), Finnish singer.^[49]
• 14 – Lasse Mårtenson (81), Finnish singer^[50]
• 16 – Fredrik Norén (75), Swedish jazz drummer^[51] (death announced on this date)
• 17 – Guy Clark, (74), American folk and country music singer-songwriter
• 19 – John Berry, (52), American guitarist (Beastie Boys)
• 21 – Nick Menza, (51), American instrumentalist, former drummer for the band Megadeth^[52]
• 30 – Thomas Fekete, (27), American guitarist (Surfer Blood)

June[edit]

• 2 – Freddie Wadling (64), Swedish singer and songwriter.^[53]
• 3 – Dave Swarbrick, (75), British folk musician and singer-songwriter (Fairport Convention), emphysema.^[54]
• 4 – Bobby Curtola, (73), Canadian singer.^[55]
• 5 – Phyllis Curtin, (94), American soprano.^[56]
• 6 – Rolf Schweizer, (80), German composer.^[57]
• 8
  • Vladislav Yankovsky, (64), Russian musician (Novosibirsk Youth Symphony Orchestra).^[58]
  • Terje Fjærn (73), Norwegian orchestra conductor ("La det swinge").^[59]
• 9 – J. Reilly Lewis, (71), American choral conductor and Baroque music specialist, heart attack.^[60]
• 10
  • Habib, (63), Iranian singer, heart attack.^[61]
  • Christina Grimmie, (22), American singer-songwriter (Find Me) and talent show participant (The Voice), gunshot wound.^[62]
• 13 – Chips Moman, (79), American producer, songwriter, guitarist.^[63]
• 17 – Attrell Cordes, (46), American musician, producer and rapper, co-founder of P.M. Dawn.^[64]
• 18 – Alejandro Jano Fuentes (45), Mexican singer and talent show participant (La Voz... México), gunshot wound.
• 21 – Wayne Jackson (74), American soul and R&B musician (The Mar-Keys), congestive heart failure.
• 22
  • Amjad Sabri (39), Pakistani Qawwali singer, gunshot wound.^[65]
  • Jim Boyd (60), Native American singer-songwriter and actor
• 24 – Bernie Worrell, (72), American keyboardist and composer (Parliament-Funkadelic).
• 27 – Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (83), Danish composer.^[66]
• 28 – Scotty Moore (84), American guitarist (Elvis Presley).
• 29 – Rob Wasserman (64), American composer and bass player (RatDog, Lou Reed).

July[edit]

• 1 – Jimmy Arthur Ordge (80), Canadian country music singer
• 16
  • Alan Vega (78), American vocalist and visual artist (Suicide).
  • Bonnie Brown (77) American country music singer, member of The Browns.
• 18 – Karina Jensen, Danish singer (Cartoons) (cancer).^[67]
• 19 – Tamás Somló (73), Hungarian musician, singer, artist and composer (Locomotiv GT), cancer.
• 26
  • Sandy Pearlman (72), American producer (Blue Öyster Cult, The Clash), songwriter, educator, complications from cerebral hemorrhage.^[68]
  • Roye Albrighton (67), German musician (Nektar), unspecified illness.^[69]
• 27
  • Pat Upton (75), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Spiral Starecase).^[70]
  • Einojuhani Rautavaara (87), Finnish composer.^[71]
• 31 – Mike Mohede (32), Indonesian singer and talent show participant (Indonesian Idol), heart attack.

August[edit]

• 3 – Ricci Martin (62), American musician.^[72]
• 4
  • Patrice Munsel (91), American coloratura soprano.^[73]
  • Snaffu Rigor (69), Filipino singer and songwriter, lung cancer.^[74]
• 5
  • Richard Fagan (69), American songwriter and musician, liver cancer.^[75]
  • Vander Lee (50), Brazilian singer-songwriter.^[76]
• 6 – Guillermo Anderson (54), Honduran singer, thyroid cancer.^[77]
• 7
  • B. E. Taylor (65), American musician ("Vitamin L"), brain cancer.^[78]
  • Dolores Vargas (80), Spanish singer, complications of leukemia.^[79]
  • Ruby Winters (74), American soul singer ("Make Love to Me", "I Will").^[80]
• 9
  • Pádraig Duggan (67), Irish musician (Clannad, The Duggans).
  • Jimmy Levine (61/62), American R&B musician and record producer.^[81]
• 11 – Glenn Yarbrough (86), American folk singer ("Baby the Rain Must Fall", "It's Gonna Be Fine", "San Francisco Bay Blues").^[82]
• 12 – Ruby Wilson (68), American blues, soul and gospel singer, heart attack.^[83]
• 13 – Connie Crothers (75), American jazz pianist, cancer.^[84]
• 14 – James Woolley (49), American keyboard and synthesizer player (Nine Inch Nails, 2wo).
• 15 – Bobby Hutcherson (75), Jazz vibraphonist, emphysema.
• 19 – Horacio Salgán (100), Argentine tango musician.
• 20
  • Matt Roberts (38), American rock guitarist (3 Doors Down), drug overdose.^[85]
  • Tom Searle (28), British rock guitarist (Architects), cancer.^[86]
• 22
  • Toots Thielemans (94), Belgian jazz musician.^[87]
  • Gilli Smyth (83), English musician (Gong).
• 28 – Juan Gabriel (66), Mexican singer and songwriter, heart attack.

September[edit]

• 1
  • Fred Hellerman, (89), American folk singer (The Weavers), guitarist, producer and songwriter.^[88]
  • Kacey Jones, (66), American singer-songwriter ("I'm the One Mama Warned You About"), producer and humorist, cancer.^[89]
• 2
  • Jerry Heller, (75), American music manager (N.W.A.).^[90]
  • Gary D., (52), German trance producer and DJ, pulmonary embolism.^[91]
• 3
  • Fred McFarlane, (55), American songwriter ("Show Me Love", "Don't Wanna Go Home"), record producer and musician.^[92]
  • Johnny Rebel, (77), American country singer.^[93]
• 7
  • Clifford Curry, (79), American beach music and R&B singer ("She Shot a Hole in My Soul").^[94]
  • Farhang Sharif, (85), Iranian musician and tar player.^{[citation needed]}
  • Graham Wiggins, (53), American musician.^[95]
• 8 – Prince Buster, (78), Jamaican ska musician ("One Step Beyond", "Al Capone").^[96]
• 10 – Chris Stone, (81), American recording studio owner (Record Plant) and entrepreneur, heart attack and stroke.^[97]
• 12 – Hidayat Inayat Khan, (99), English-French composer and conductor.^[98]
• 16
  • Jerry Corbetta, (68), American musician (Sugarloaf), Pick's disease.^[99]
  • Trisco Pearson, (53), American R&B singer (Force MDs), cancer.^[100]
  • Qiao Renliang, (28), Chinese singer and actor, suicide.^[101]
• 19 – Bobby Breen, (88), Canadian-born American actor and singer, natural causes.^[102]
• 20 – Micki Marlo, (88), American singer and model.^[103]
• 21
  • Shawty Lo, (40), American hip-hop musician (D4L), traffic collision.^[104]
  • John D. Loudermilk, (82), American singer and songwriter ("Tobacco Road", "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye", "Indian Reservation"), bone cancer.^[105]
• 24 – Buckwheat Zydeco, (68), American accordionist and zydeco musician
• 25
  • Kashif, (59), American musician (B.T. Express) and record producer.^[106]
  • Hagen Liebing, (55), German musician (Die Ärzte).^[107]
  • Jean Shepard, (82), American honky tonk singer-songwriter ("A Dear John Letter", "Slippin' Away"), Parkinson's disease.^[108]
• 26
  • Joe Clay, (78), American rockabilly musician.^[109]
  • Ioan Gyuri Pascu, (55), Romanian singer, producer, actor and comedian, heart attack.^[110]
• 27
  • Aurelian Preda [ro], (46), Romanian folk singer, cancer.^[111]
  • Märta Schéle [sv], (80), Swedish singer.^[112]
• 29
  • Lecresia Campbell (53), American gospel singer, pulmonary embolism.^[113]
  • Nora Dean (72), Jamaican singer.^[114]
  • Royal Torrence (82), American soul music singer (Little Royal and The Swingmasters).^[115]
• 30
  • Oscar Brand (96), Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, author and radio broadcaster (WNYC).^[116]
  • Michael Casswell (53), English guitarist.^[117]
  • Lilleba Lund Kvandal (76), Norwegian opera singer.^[118]

October[edit]

• 1 – Toni Williams (77), Cook Islands-born New Zealand singer.^[119]
• 2
  • Steve Byrd (61), English guitarist (Gillan, Kim Wilde), heart attack.^[120]
  • Sir Neville Marriner (92), English conductor and violinist
  • Thomas Round (100), British opera singer.^[121]
• 3
  • Ljupka Dimitrovska, (70), Macedonian-born Croatian singer.^[122]
  • K. David van Hoesen (90), American bassoonist.^[123]
  • Joan Marie Johnson (72), American singer (The Dixie Cups), heart failure.^[124]
• 4 – Caroline Crawley (53), British singer and musician (Shelleyan Orphan, This Mortal Coil).^[125]
• 5 – Pompeiu Hărășteanu (81), Romanian opera singer.^[126]
• 7 – Anne Pashley (80), British athlete and opera singer, Olympic silver medalist (1956).^[127]
• 8 – Don Ciccone (70), American singer-songwriter and musician (The Critters, The Four Seasons, Tommy James and the Shondells).^[128]
• 9
  • Bored Nothing (26), Australian musician, suicide.^[129]
  • Michiyuki Kawashima (47), Japanese musician (Boom Boom Satellites), brain tumor.^[130]
  • Quique Lucca (103), Puerto Rican musician, founder of La Sonora Ponceña.^[131]
  • Guy Nadon [fr], (82), Canadian jazz drummer.^[132]
  • Marin Petrache Pechea [ro] (71), Romanian jazz musician, cancer.^[133]
• 10 – Issa Bagayogo,= (54), Malian musician.^[134]
• 11 – Peter Reynolds, (58), Welsh composer.^[135]
• 12
  • Robert Bateman, (80), American songwriter and record producer ("Please Mr. Postman"), heart attack.^[136]
  • Sonny Sanders (77), American songwriter, arranger and record producer.^[137]
• 15
  • Danny Champagne (65), Jamaican music producer, complications from stroke.^[138]
  • Robert Edwards (74), American singer (The Intruders), heart attack.^[139]
• 20
  • Achieng Abura, Kenyan musician.^[140]
  • Brian Edwards (72), Canadian rock bassist and singer (Mashmakhan)
  • Mieke Telkamp (82), Dutch singer.^[141]
• 23 – Pete Burns, (57), British singer (Dead or Alive)^[142]
• 24 – Bobby Vee (73) American pop singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s
• 30 – Curly Putman, (85), American singer-songwriter. D-I-V-O-R-C-E, Green, Green Grass of Home and the subject of Paul McCartney & Wings song Junior's Farm.

November[edit]

• 1
  • Nico Carstens (90), South African accordionist and songwriter^[143]
  • Pocho La Pantera (65), Argentine cumbia singer
• 3 – Kay Starr (94), American pop and jazz singer, complications of Alzheimer's disease.
• 4
  • Eddie Harsch, 59, Canadian keyboardist (The Black Crowes)
  • Jean-Jacques Perrey, 87, French electronic music producer
• 7 – Leonard Cohen (82), Canadian singer-songwriter^[144]
• 11
  • Victor Bailey (56), American jazz bass guitarist
  • Esma Redžepova-Teodosievska, (73), Macedonian vocalist, songwriter, and humanitarian of Romani ethnicity.
• 12 – Jacques Werup (71), Swedish musician and writer.^[145]
• 13 – Leon Russell (74), American musician and songwriter
• 15
  • Holly Dunn (59), American country singer-songwriter
  • Mose Allison (89), American pianist and singer.^[146]
• 18 – Sharon Jones (60), American soul and funk singer
• 24 – Pauline Oliveros (84), American composer
• 29 – Allan Zavod (71), Australian keyboardist and composer
• 30 – Ivar Thomassen (62), Norwegian folk singer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.^[147]

December[edit]

• 2
  • Cash Askew (22), guitarist (Them Are Us Too)
  • Mark Gray (64), American singer-songwriter (Exile)
• 4 – Ralph Johnson (67), American singer (The Impressions)
• 7 – Brian Bennett (65), American garage-rock keyboardist (The Cherry Slush)
• 8
  • Greg Lake (69), English progressive-rock vocalist and multi-instrumentalist^[148]
  • Junaid Jamshed (52), Pakistani singer-songwriter (Vital Signs), flight collision^[149]
• 11 – Joe Ligon (80), American gospel singer (Mighty Clouds of Joy)
• 24 – Rick Parfitt (68), English musician and songwriter (Status Quo)^[150]
• 25 – George Michael (53), English singer-songwriter (Wham!) ^[151]

Musical films[edit]

• Florence Foster Jenkins
• La La Land
• Oasis: Supersonic
• Sing Street
• The Beatles: Eight Days a Week

See also[edit]

• Timeline of musical events
• Women in music

References[edit]