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 ...
Lang, Eddie
Music
Age 30
October 25, 1902 - March 26, 1933
Holy Cross Cemetery / Yeadon / Pennsylvania / USA / North America
Born Salvatore Massaro in Philadelphia, PA, in 1920 at age 18 Salvatore legally changed his name to Eddie Lang, exchanged his violin for a banjo, and began working with band leaders Charlie Kerr, Bert Estlow, Vic D’Ippolito, an...
Legrand, Michel
Music
Age 86
February 24, 1932 - January 26, 2019
Cimetière du Père Lachaise / Paris / France / Europe
It is difficult to pin the multi-talented Michel Legrand down into one single category. This amazingly versatile French singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, conductor and producer has enjoyed a whirlwind career, excelling in an...
Lenoir, J.B.
Music
Age 38
March 5, 1929 - April 29, 1967
Salem Missionary Baptist Church / Monticello / Mississippi / USA / North America
Monticello area native J. B. Lenoir was a distinctive blues artist, in both his high-pitched singing style and the candid political critiques in many of his song lyrics and is best remembered for his 1955 hit “Mama, Talk to Your...
Levant, Oscar
Music
Age 65
December 27, 1906 - August 14, 1972
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Oscar Levant was a brilliant composer and pianist who originally studied seriously with Zygmunt Stojowski and later with Arnold Schoenberg. After New York he moved to Los Angeles where he met and befriended George Gershwin. From ...
Lewis, Furry
Music
Age 88
March 8, 1893 - September 14, 1981
Hollywood Cemetery / Memphis / Tennessee / USA / North America
A notable guitarist in both the bottleneck and finger-picking styles, Furry was a country blues guitarist and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee whose greatest productivity came late in life during the folk blues revival of th...
Lightnin' Hopkins
Music
Age 69
March 15, 1912 - January 30, 1982
Forest Park Cemetery (Lawndale) / Houston / Texas / USA / North America
Sam Lightnin' Hopkins began his blues trail as Blind Lemon Jefferson's guide before spending 30 years on the weekend juke joint circuit. As a soloist who loved to drink, smoke, gamble, fight and chase women, Hopkins had the scars ...
Little, Booker Jr.
Music
Age 23
April 2, 1938 - October 5, 1961
New Park Cemetery / Memphis / Tennessee / USA / North America
Booker Little, twenty-three year-old composer, arranger and trumpet player has lately come to demonstrate, in recordings and as the musical director of the Max Roach group, a talent that was taken too early. When he died suddenly ...
Lockwood Jr., Robert
Music
Age 91
March 27, 1915 - November 21, 2006
Riverside Cemetery / Cleveland / Ohio / USA / North America
Robert Lockwood Jr. was a Delta blues guitarist who recorded for Chess Records and other Chicago labels in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the only guitarist to have learned to play directly from Robert Johnson. Robert Lockwood was on...
Loewe, Frederick
Music
Age 86
June 10, 1901 - February 1, 1988
Desert Memorial Park / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Frederick Loewe was was an Austrian-American composer who collaborated with lyricist Alan Jay Lerner on a series of Broadway musicals, including classic musicals like Gigi, Camelot, My Fair Lady, Paint Your Wagon and Brigadoon. A ...
London, Julie
Music
Age 74
September 26, 1926 - October 18, 2000
Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. Julie London was known for her sultry vocals, and her recording of "Cry Me a River" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. As a successful actress, L...
Longhair, Professor
Music
Age 61
December 19, 1918 - January 30, 1980
Mount Olivet Cemetery / New Orleans / Louisiana / USA / North America
Professor Longhair (or "Fess" for short) was a Louisiana born singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday of early rhythm and blues and later in the resurgence of ...
Lopes, Lisa "Lefteye"
Music
Age 30
May 27, 1971 - April 25, 2002
Hillandale Memorial Gardens / Lithonia / Georgia / USA / North America
For many, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes simply was TLC who jacked the pop charts with a blend of soul and rap that preached safe sex and self-reliance. Two years after their first album was released, TLC went on to garner internationa...
Lunceford, Jimmie
Music
Age 45
June 6, 1902 - July 12, 1947
Elmwood Cemetery / Memphis / Tennessee / USA / North America
Jimmie Lunceford was one of the most underrated American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleaders in the golden years of the Swing Era. Any list of the greatest bands of the swing era usually starts with those of Count Basie, Benny G...
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr.
Music
Age 54
April 20, 1951 - July 1, 2005
George Washington Memorial Park / Paramus / New Jersey / USA / North America
Luther Vandross was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Throughout his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA-certified platinum albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide. After a short s...