In Memoriam: Artists & Industry Leaders We Lost In 2025

m.ozzyPNG — Ozzy Osbourne died July 22 at the age of 76, just weeks after his final performance with Black Sabbath at Villa Park in Birmingham, England. The singer had been battling Parkinson’s Disease and first revealed his diagnosis to the public in 2020. Osbourne started his career with Black Sabbath in 1970, a stripped-down, raw and heavy take on rock and roll that confused critics, scared parents and shook the walls of bedrooms across the world, defining heavy metal with a blend of horror-inspired imagery, pummeling riffs and Ozzy’s trademark caterwaul. Though notorious for his antics on stage, to music fans, Ozzy was known as a loveable force, always vigorously clapping along onstage and shouting “we love you!” to fans in the crowd.

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 2025.

Wayne Osmond | Jan. 1
The second-oldest of the Osmond Brothers, the sibling music group that evolved into The Osmonds.

Brenton Wood | Jan. 3
Soul / R&B singer whose hits included “The Oogum Boogum Song.”

Peter Yarrow | Jan. 7
One third of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary.

Sam Moore | Jan. 10
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer who was the surviving half of the soul/R&B duo Sam & Dave.

Buck White | Jan. 13
The mandolinist and patriarch of the country / bluegrass group The Whites.

John Sykes | Jan. 20
Guitarist/singer who was a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Tygers of Pan Tang and Blue Murder.

Garth Hudson | Jan. 21
Multi-instrumentalist who was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Band.

Scott Pang | Jan. 22
Veteran music agent with ICM Partners who represented Aretha Franklin and Earl Klugh among others.

m.faithfullPhoto — j
MARIANNE FAITHFULL, the British pop star, muse, libertine and old soul who inspired and helped write some of the Rolling Stones’ greatest songs and endured as a torch singer and survivor of the lifestyle she once embodied, died Jan 30, aged 78. Faithfull was a celebrity before turning 17, homeless by her mid-20s and an inspiration to peers and younger artists by her early 30s, when her raw, explicit Broken English album brought her the kinds of reviews the Stones had received. Over the following decades, her admirers would include Beck, Billy Corgan, Nick Cave and PJ Harvey, although her history would always be closely tied to the Stones and to the years she dated Mick Jagger.

Irv Gotti | Feb. 5
Hip-hop mogul and executive producer who co-founded Murder Inc. Records.

Jimmy Johnson | Feb. 16
A veteran tour manager who worked for artists like the Eagles, Elvis,
Prince, Josh Groban, The Everly Brothers, Faith Hill, Trace Adkins, James Taylor and his friend Lindsey Buckingham.

Rick Buckler | Feb. 17
English drummer for punk rock/New Wave band The Jam.

Paquita la del Barrio | Feb. 17
A Mexican singer known for performing feminist rancheras and boleros.

Chris Jasper | Feb. 23
Singer, songwriter and producer best known as a member of the soul/funk group Isley Brothers.

m.flackpng — Roberta Flack was the voice of a generation finding their footing after
the ’60s decade of love. Stark and powerful, soulful and intricate, she personified grace and breathtaking talent when glitter balls and platform shoes were the norm. The 88-year-old icon died Feb. 24 after announcing in November 2022 that she
had ALS and could no longer perform. The adored doyenne of the brokenhearted, Flack never stopped reverberating. Even though she sang with restraint,
she moved hearts.

David Johansen | Feb. 28
The lead singer and last surviving member of the glam/protopunk band the New York Dolls who later performed as his alter ego, Buster Poindexter.

Joey Molland | March 1
English guitarist and last surviving member of the rock band Badfinger.

Angie Stone | March 1
R&B singer who was a member of the all-female hip-hop trio The Sequence.

Roy Ayers | March 4
Percussionist, composer and vocalist who was called a pioneer of jazz-funk and the godfather of neo soul. Hits include “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.”

Brian James | March 6
Guitarist and founding member of punk-rock band The Damned.

Les Binks | March 15
Northern Irish drummer who played in Judas Priest 1977-1979.

Jesse Colin Young | March 16
The co-founder and vocalist for folk-rocker band The Youngbloods.

Amadou Bagayoko | April 4
Malian guitarist and singer who was one-half of the worldbeat music duo Amadou & Mariam.

Dave Allen | April 5
English bassist best known for his time with the post-punk band Gang of Four.

Clem Burke | April 6
Drummer for New Wave/punk rock band Blondie.

Rubby Perez | April 8
Dominican merengue vocalist.

David Thomas | April 23
Founder of experimental rock band Pere Ube.

Jill Sobule | May 1
Singer/songwriter whose singles included “I Kissed A Girl” and “Supermodel.”

Kevin Bruder | May 11
General manager of the Maverik Center and president and CEO of the Utah Grizzlies.

m.shapiropng — Dave Shapiro, agent and co-founder of Sound Talent Group, died in a plane crash at age 42 in San Diego May 22, along with two other
employees from the company and Daniel Williams, former drummer for The Devil Wears Prada. Shapiro, a well known and influential agent in the worlds of heavy rock and metalcore music, was a licensed pilot and flight instructor, known for taking trips to Alaska. He alongside colleagues Tim Borror and Matt Andersen formed Sound Talent Group in 2018, an independent talent agency that now numbers into more than 40 full time employees, and dozens of music clients including Lamb of God, Sum 41, GWAR, Chiodos, Hanson and many others.

Daniel Williams | May 22
Drummer and co-founder of metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada.

Rick Derringer | May 26
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter
whose rock band the McCoys is best known for the single “Hang On Sloopy.”

m.stonepng — Sly Stone, the funk pioneer who fused soul music with psychedelia, rock and gospel with his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Band Sly and the Family Stone, died June 9 at the age of 82. The band — a rarity then and now as it included men and women, both Black and white — burst on to the scene in the late 1960s and performed at Woodstock, became a mainstay on radio in the era and for decades after, had No. 1 hits with “Everyday People,” “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” “Everybody Is A Star” and “Family Affair.”

PNGmayers — Jonathan Mayers, Bonnaroo festival co-founder, died at age 51 in June, just days before the groundbreaking event was to take place. In 1996, Mayers co-founded Superfly alongside Rick Farman, Richard Goodstone and Kerry Black. In 2002, they partnered with Ashley Capps of AC Entertainment, Chip Hooper at Paradigm and Red Light Management’s Coran Capshaw to launch Bonnaroo. With Superfly, Mayers also had a hand in the launch of a number of other festivals including most prominently, Outside Lands,
a landmark music festival located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park which launched in 2008 and saw Superfly partner with local promoter Another Planet Entertainment.

m.wilsonpng — Brian Wilson, who passed away on June 11 at the age of 82, did nothing less than change the course of contemporary music as we know it. His time with the Beach Boys, his prodigious singing, songwriting, arranging and production talents, his withdrawal from the road, mental and physical health struggles, manipulation by outside forces and spectacular Phoenix-like return in the late ’90s are well documented and one of the most poetic narratives in music history. Here, he’s seen directing the control room while recording the groundbreaking 1966 album, Pet Sounds.

Mick Ralphs | June 23
Guitarist for hard rock bands Bad Company and Mott the Hoople.

Bobby Sherman | June 24
A teen idol in the 1960s and ’70s with hits such as “Little Woman.”

Walter Scott Jr. | June 26
Founding member of R&B group The Whispers, with hits including “And the Beat Goes on” and “Rock Steady.”

Connie Francis | July 16
Pop singer whose hits included “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” and “Pretty Little Baby.”

Chuck Mangione | July 22
Trumpet player known for jazz-pop single “Feels So Good.”

Sonny Curtis | Sept. 19
Singer/songwriter and member of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Crickets.

Conrad Sverkerson | Sept. 30
The longtime stage manager at Minneapolis’ First Avenue.

John Lodge | Oct. 10
Bassist, co-lead vocalist and songwriter for the Moody Blues.

D’Angelo | Oct 14
Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and genius.

m.frehleypng — Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the KISS, who was otherwise known as “The Spaceman,” died Oct. 16 at age 74. After playing in local bands around New York City and serving as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix at age 18, Frehley joined KISS in 1973 and played with the glam rock band until his departure in 1982, later returning from 1996 to 2002. The guitarist released eight solo albums, as well as a few LPs with his band, Frehley’s Comet.

David Ball | Oct. 22
One-half of synth-pop duo Soft Cell.

Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay | Nov. 2
Singer who was best known for her time with the Grateful Dead.

Todd Snider | Nov. 14
Beloved Nashville alt-country singer/songwriter known shrewd witticism.

Claire Rothman | Nov. 22
An influential live executive who served as president and general manager of the Forum in Inglewood, California, from 1975 to 1995, during the Lakers’ “Showtime” era.

Gary “Mani” Mounfield | Nov. 20
English bassist for rock bands the Stone Roses and Primal Scream.

Jellybean Johnson | Nov. 21
A multi-instrumentalist and producer best known as the drummer for funk rock band The Time.

Jimmy Cliff | Nov. 24
Lgendary Jamaican singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Rafael Ithier | Dec. 6
A Puerto Rican musician and the founder of the salsa band El Gran Combo.

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