In Memoriam 2024

Pollstar pauses to remember the artists and industry leaders, from Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers to those behind the scenes bringing the magic to the stage, whom we lost in 2024.

GARY SMITH
JAN. 20
By the time Gary Smith retired from the role of Chief Executive Officer of Pollstar in 2019, he helped founder Gary Bongiovanni take a primitive, but revolutionary, computerized reporting system to track box office receipts, venue avails for touring artists, and a business directory, and built it into an industry Bible for inside analysis, news and information – all backed by the most extensive database in the business. Prior to launching Pollstar in the early ’80s, Smith promoted concerts at Fresno, California-based Papa Productions, including shows by The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and more. He was also a management associate for Average White Band.

MELANIE
JAN 23
Melanie, the singer-songwriter who rose through the New York folk scene, performed at Woodstock and had a series of 1970s hits including the enduring cultural phenomenon “Brand New Key.” Melanie wrote and sang hits including “Look What They’ve Done to My Song Ma” and “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” delivering a powerful vocal performance backed by the Edwin Hawkins Singers. She continued recording, working on what would have been her 32nd album, until a month before her death.

Toby Keith | Feb. 5
A country singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and businessman.

Nina Avramides | Feb. 17
Artist manager who spent more than four decades with Jimmy Buffett, Jimmy Page and The Cult, among others.

Erv Woolsey | March 20
Artist manager who changed modern country music through his stewardship of George Strait’s career.

Michael McMartin | March 31
Manager of Hoodoo Gurus for 41 years and helped establish Music Managers Forum and Australia’s Association of Artist Managers.

Garry Van Egmond | April 6
Promoter who sold 30 million tickets in Australia and New Zealand over 50 years.

Dickey Betts | April 18
Co-founded Allman Brothers Band, wrote “Ramblin’ Man,” and helped create the genre of Southern rock.

Steve Albini | May 7
Frontman for Shellac and producer of such influential artists as Nirvana, Pixies, PJ Harvey, Breeders and more.

David Sanborn | May 12
Grammy-winning saxophonist on tunes such as David Bowie’s “Young Americans” and James Taylor’s “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You).”

Alice Faye Kelly | June 20
Longtime business manager for Moo TV.

Kinky Friedman | June 27
Singer, songwriter, satirist and sometime politician toured with Bob Dylan, sang with Willie Nelson and ran for Governor of Texas.

Larry Vallon | July 14
Executive who shaped the concert landscape in Southern California for more than 50 years before retiring from AEG Global Touring in 2019.

Jack Russell | Aug. 7
Lead singer of Great White whose hits included “Once Bitten Twice Shy.”

Kevin Chisholm | Aug. 10
Former tour director / manager for Carlos Santana and Bill Graham Presents Production Manager.

Theresa Chambers | Aug. 11
New York City industry executive who worked as a talent buyer, promoter and manager.

Greg Kihn | Aug. 13
Rock musician and a longtime DJ for the Bay Area’s KUFX radio.

Tom Campbell | Aug. 13
Founder of the nonprofit Guacamole Fund.

MAXIE SOLTERS
AUG 15
Scoop Marketing publicist Maxie Solters, who was also a writer, actor and producer, died on Aug. 15. She was 37. In joining Scoop Marketing in 2012, she became the third generation of Solters to enter the public relations field, following in the footsteps of her highly-esteemed father, Larry, and late grandfather, Lee, a famed Hollywood press agent. Beyond her career, Solters was passionate about women’s rights, including being actively involved in V-Day International and the Music Forward Foundation.

Frankie Beverly | Sept. 10
Singer/songwriter/producer who founded R&B/soul band Maze.

Tito Jackson | Sept. 15
One of five brothers making up Rock & Rock Hall of Fame group Jackson 5.

John David “JD” Souther | Sept. 17
Songwriters Hall of Fame member who collaborated with Eagles, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt and many more.

Kris Kristofferson | Sept. 28
Kris Kristofferson could have been a success in any number of disciplines. He was a defensive back, rugby player, bartender, Golden Gloves boxer, forest firefighter and an Army Ranger who flew helicopters. But when he was assigned by the Army to teach literature at West Point, he left the military in 1965 to become a Nashville songwriter. A skilled and nuanced tunesmith, Kristofferson transformed country music by fearlessly excavating themes that were deeply personal, politically charged and socially progressive.

Julie Gordon | Oct. 2
Former A&R exec who founded industry forum The Velvet Rope.

Cissy Houston | Oct. 7
Grammy winning gospel singer and matriarch of family that included niece Dionne Warwick and daughter Whitney Houston.

LIAM PAYNE
OCT 16
Liam Payne, 31, gained recognition as a member of One Direction at 17 years old. He was a popular member of the band throughout its tenure from 2011 to 2016, going solo after the band announced its indefinite hiatus in 2016. He released his first (and only) solo album, LP1, in 2019. His last public performance was on Feb. 12, 2022, with plans to embark on his first solo tour postponed in August 2023 following a kidney infection.

OCT 25
Phil Lesh, 84, who co-founded the Grateful Dead with the late Jerry Garcia, was a classically trained violinist and jazz trumpeter who found his true calling reinventing the role of rock bass guitar. Hailing from Berkeley, California, Lesh was the oldest and the longest-surviving member of the band’s “core four” and classic lineup. Lesh took part in a 2009 Grateful Dead tour and again in 2015 for their “Fare Thee Well” 50th anniversary concerts, as well as performing with Phil Lesh and Friends.

QUINCY JONES
NOV 4
Quincy Jones, the prolific and multi-talented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s historic Thriller album to writing prize-winning film and television scores and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, was 91. He was the producer of the smash charity single “We Are The World,” which sold more than 20 million copies to benefit USA For Africa, as well as recording several of his Top 40 hits.

Shel Talmy | Nov. 13
Producer of legendary artists including The Kinks and The Who.

Ryan McElrath | Nov. 22
Live Nation Senior VP of Touring.