Jackson, Mahalia
Music
Age 60
October 26, 1911 - January 27, 1972
Providence Memorial Park / Metairie / Louisiana / USA / North America
Known as the Queen of Gospel Music, Mahalia Jackson was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to the developme...
Jacquet, Illinois
Music
Age 81
October 30, 1922 - July 22, 2004
Woodlawn Cemetery / Bronx / New York / USA / North America
Although Illinois Jacquet may be best remembered as the tenor saxophonist who defined the screeching style of playing the instrument, his warm and sensitive tone may also be heard on countless jazz ballads and medium groove-tempo ...
Jam Master Jay
Music
Age 37
January 21, 1965 - October 30, 2002
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Jam Master Jay was a musician and the DJ of the influential hip hop group Run-D.M.C. During the 1980s, Run-D.M.C. became one of the biggest hip hop groups and are credited with breaking hip hop into mainstream music. On October 30...
James, Rick
Music
Age 56
February 1, 1948 - August 6, 2004
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Buffalo / New York / USA / North America
Rick James was a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and funk master who let everyone know "I'M RICK JAMES BITCH!"
Jennings, Waylon
Music
Age 64
June 15, 1937 - February 13, 2002
Mesa Cemetery / Mesa / Arizona / USA / North America
Waylon Jennings was the "outlaw" singer, songwriter and musician who was one of the founding pioneers of the Outlaw Movement in country music in the 1970s. A protégé of Buddy Holly and devotee of Hank Williams, he sold more than...
Johnson, Bunk
Music
Age 63
December 27, 1885 - July 7, 1949
St. Edward Cemetery / New Iberia / Louisiana / USA / North America
Willie "Bunk" Johnson was an prominent jazz trumpeter in New Orleans who lied and/or exaggerated his role in the development of jazz that historians have a difficult time understanding the truth from fiction. But what everyone agr...
Jones, Brian
Music
Age 27
February 28, 1942 - July 3, 1969
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire / Cheltenham Cemetery and Crematorium / Europe
Long-time Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman said of Brian Jones, "He formed the band. He chose the members. He named the band. He chose the music we played. He got us gigs. ... he was very influential, very important, and then slo...
Jones, Spike
Music
Age 53
December 14, 1911 - May 1, 1965
Holy Cross Cemetery / Culver City / California / USA / North America
Considered by many as the Father of Novelty Music, Spike Jones was the “Weird Al” Yankovic of the 1940s through the early 60s. A talented and serious musician and bandleader, Spike Jones and His City Slickers specialized in sp...
Joplin, Janis
Music
Age 27
January 19, 1943 - October 4, 1970
Cremated / USA / North America
A permanent member of the "27 Club" (rock stars who died at age 27) Janis Joplin was premier white female blues vocalist of the 1960s, who performed with a fierce and uninhibited musical style before dying of a drug overdose in a ...
Jürgens, Udo
Music
Age 80
September 30, 1934 - December 21, 2014
Der Wiener Zentralfriedhof / Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234 / Vienna / Austria / Europe
Udo Jürgens, was an Austrian composer and singer of German origin of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close to 1,000 songs, and sold over 104 million ...
Kendricks, Eddie
Music
Age 52
December 17, 1939 - October 5, 1992
Elwood Cemetery / Birmingham / Alabama / USa / North America
Eddie Kendricks was an American R&B singer and songwriter noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style. Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptations and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. He w...
Kenton, Stan
Music
Age 67
December 15, 1911 - August 25, 1979
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, Stan Kenton led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades performing such jazz standards as Tampico, Adventures in Jazz and West Side Story.
Kern, Jerome
Music
Age 60
January 27, 1885 - November 11, 1945
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
If he had only written the score for Showboat, Jerome Kern's position as a musical genius would be secure. Instead he also wrote Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, The Way You Look Tonight and countless other songs for Broadway and the movi...
Kilmister, Lemmy
Music
Age 70
December 24, 1945 - December 28, 2015
Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery Hollywood Hills / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Inspired by the Beatles and worked as a roadie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience in the 1960s, Lemmy Kilmister was the pure embodiment of the rock 'n' roll spirit. A fixture at the Rainbow on Hollywood Blvd when not on the road, Lem...
King, Albert
Music
Age 69
April 25, 1923 - December 21, 1992
Paradise Gardens Cemetery / Edmondson / Arkansas / USA / North America
Standing at six-foot-four, 300-pounds King was able to bend notes farther and more powerfully than almost any other guitarist, and his records influenced a generation bluesman from Eric Clapton to Duane Allman and, of course, Stev...
King, Freddie
Music
Age 42
September 3, 1934 - December 28, 1976
Sparkman Hillcrest Cemetery / Dallas / Texas / USA / North America
Known as one of the Three Kings of Blues (along with Albert King and B.B. King) Freddie King was the stylistic heir to T-Bone Walker and B.B. King. He would have been remembered as a great Texas blues legend had not been the for t...
King, Jimmie
Music
Age 18
June 8, 1949 - December 10, 1967
New Park Cemetery / Memphis / Tennessee / USA / North America
As a member of the Bar-Kays, Jimmy King played guitar for Otis Redding and died in the plane crash that took the life of Otis Redding, Phalon Jones, Carl Cunningham, Ronnie Caldwell and valet Matthew Kelly. Only Ben Cauley surviv...
Knust, Michael
Music
Age 54
March 11, 1949 - September 15, 2003
Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery / Houston / Texas / USA / North America
Michael was the lead guitarist for the psychedelic rock band Fever Tree who, in 1968, released their best known song, "San Francisco Girls (Return of the Native)", becoming the group's only nationally charting single.
Kreisler, Fritz
Music
Age 86
February 2, 1875 - January 29, 1962
Woodlawn Cemetery / Bronx / New York / USA / North America
Making his professional debut at the age of 13, Fritz Kreisler is considered the one of the greatest, if not the greatest, violinist ever to play the instrument. His technique was animated by a riveting vibrato the likes of which ...
Krupa, Gene
Music
Age 64
January 15, 1909 - October 16, 1973
Holy Cross Cemetery / Calumet City / Illinois / USA / North America
Before Keith Moon, before John Bonham there was the one and only Gene Krupa - one of the greatest drummers and drum kit innovators in the 20th century. With his arms flailing behind the drum kit, Krupa forever changed the role of ...