It’s always sad to say goodbye to our favorite musicians when they pass away, and 2025 was certainly a tough year.
The music world lost a true legend on June 11 when Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson died in his sleep at the age of 82. He was living with dementia at the time and had been placed under a conservatorship in early 2024 following the death of his wife, Melinda Wilson.
Another influential artist we lost in 2025 was Sly Stone, of Sly and the Family Stone, who passed away June 9 at the age of 82. A statement revealed that he died “after a prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues.”
The rock world was in shock when news broke that Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne died on July 22 at the age of 76. His death came barely three weeks after he made his final onstage appearance at the 10-hour all-star Back to the Beginning concert in his hometown of Birmingham, England. He was laid to rest in Birmingham, with fans lining the city’s streets to pay their respects.
And Ace Frehley, guitarist and founding member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band KISS, died on Oct. 16 at the age of 64. His death came just weeks after he canceled the remainder of his 2025 tour due to health issues.
Here are some of the other music figures who died in 2025, in chronological order:
Jan. 7: Peter Yarrow, of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, 86.
Jan. 10: Sam Moore, the tenor half of the iconic soul duo Sam & Dave, 89.
Jan. 21: Garth Hudson, keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist who was the last surviving member of The Band, 87.
Jan. 30: British singer Marianne Faithfull, best known for her hit “As Time Goes By” and for her association with The Rolling Stones, 78.
Feb. 23: Chris Jasper, a member of the R&B group The Isley Brothers, 73.
Feb. 24: R&B singer Roberta Flack, best known for such songs as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “Killing Me Softly with His Song” and “Where Is the Love,” 88.
Feb. 24: Robert John, best known for the #1 single “Sad Eyes,” 79.
Feb. 28: David Johansen, lead singer and last surviving original member of the New York Dolls, who also found fame in the ’80s and ’90s as the throwback crooner Buster Poindexter, 75.
March 16: Jesse Colin Young, the voice heard on the Youngbloods‘ iconic hit “Get Together,” 83.
April 6: Clem Burke, drummer and founding member of Blondie, 70.
April 29: Mike Peters, frontman of Welsh rock band The Alarm, 66.
June 18: Lou Christie, best known for the 1966 #1 hit “Lightin’ Strikes,” 82.
June 23: Mick Ralphs, guitarist and founding member of Mott the Hoople and Bad Company, 81.
June 24: Former teen idol Bobby Sherman, 81.
July 16: Connie Francis, singer of such hits as “Pretty Little Baby” and “Who’s Sorry Now?,” 87.
July 22: Chuck Mangione, Grammy-winning jazz bandleader best known for 1978’s “Feels So Good,” 84.
Aug. 4: Terry Reid, the British musician who’s most famously known for turning down offers to front Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, 75.
Aug 10: Bobby Whitlock, pianist, guitarist and songwriter who formed Derek and the Dominoes with Eric Clapton, 77.
Sept. 5: Mark Volman, founding member of the rock band The Turtles, 78.
Sept. 6: Rick Davies, founding member of Supertramp who wrote and sang lead on their top-40 hit, “Goodbye Stranger,” 81.
Sept. 19: Sonny Curtis, a member of Buddy Holly‘s Crickets, who also wrote The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme song, 88.
Sept. 25: Chris Dreja, a co-founder of the Yardbirds, 78.
Oct. 10: John Lodge, bassist and vocalist of the progressive rock band Moody Blues, 82.
Oct. 22: David Ball, the multi-instrumentalist who, along with singer Marc Almond, rose to fame as the ’80s synth pop group Soft Cell, 66.
Nov. 2: Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, vocalist for the Grateful Dead from 1971 to 1979, 78.
Nov. 5: Gilson Lavis, former drummer for the band Squeeze, 74.
Nov. 24: Jimmy Cliff, Grammy Award-winning reggae singer and actor, 81.
Dec. 3: Steve Cropper, guitarist for Booker T. and the M.G.’s, 84.
Dec. 14: Carl Carlton, singer of hit tracks “Everlasting Love” and “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked),” 72.
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