John Richards

George Michael (also of Wham fame) passed away on Christmas Day in 2016 at the age of 53. Watch George Michael singing this tribute to Freddie Mercury that took place at Wembley Stadium on April 20th, 1992 here: www.youtube.com

Tribute to the Layne Staley-led band sung by Chris Cornell, who passed away this year on May 18th, 2017: www.rollingstone.com

We lost American icon Tom Petty on October 2nd due to a heart attack at the age of 66. Stevie Nicks had this to say about her friendship with Petty: "He was surrounded by really strong women. The women around him pretty much went their own way, and he was good with that. He gave me a lot of advice about stuff. He was the kind of person who said, "Here's my advice. If you take it, great. If you don't, that's fine too.""

Keith Mitchell, drummer for Mazzy Star, passed away this year on May 14th. He was with them from the start, and played on all four studio albums. Statement from his bandmates Hope Sandoval and David Roback read, “We have lost the much beloved Keith Mitchell, a very talented and amazing drummer that we have had the privilege to work with for many years, he will live in all of our hearts forever.... We’ll miss you, Big Fella.”

Grandaddy bassist (and founding member) Kevin Garcia died of a stroke this year on May 2nd. He was only 41 years old. The band posted this statement shortly afterwards: "There are no accurate words to express what we need to. We are absolutely shattered to say that we lost our friend and band mate Kevin Garcia early this afternoon. He succumbed to the effects of a massive stroke. We were all able to say goodbye to him and he was surrounded by his closest friends and family here in Modesto. Kevin started playing with Grandaddy when he was fifteen. He was an actual angel. He navigated life with a grace, a generosity and a kindness that was utterly unique. And contagious. He is loved so deeply by so many. Kevin was a proud father of two children, Jayden and Gavin. He is survived by his grandmother Joan, his parents Randy and Barbara (who let us practice at their house until 2001…and who are the best), his brothers Craig and Jeff and his wife Sondra. We’ll have more to say in the days ahead. Right now the four of us are grieving together. With great sadness and love, Grandaddy"

We lost the beloved Screaming Eagle of Soul on September 23rd after complications from stomach and liver cancer at the age of 68. Watch his powerful performance of "Changes" in our Gathering Space from 2016 here: www.youtube.com

The (English) Beat saxophonist, Saxa, died at the age of 87 on May 3rd of this year. The Beat had this statement after his passing: "Dear Saxa (Lionel Augustus Martin), Thank you for your pure melody, your insights on music, love and life, and for your constant kindness to me. You now deserve to take your place as Top Tenor, First Chair, in St Peters Archestra, just as you had practiced for your whole life. Me love you Mr Martin. David xx"

Sylvia Moy, who penned this Stevie Wonder hit, died at the age of 78 on April 15th due to complications from pneumonia. She was discovered while singing at a Detroit club in 1963, and was signed by Motown for a dual songwriting/performing deal. Moy told the Free Press in 2016: "Motown came forth with a recording contract for me, a management contract and a songwriter's contract — which shocked me. Then I was told, 'Sylvia, we'll get to you as a singer. But in the meantime, we've got all these artists and they have no material. You're going to have to write.' I said OK. Because I was kind of shy anyway. And so that's what I started doing. I got into it, and the hits started coming."

Six months before his passing, Chris Cornell reunited with his Temple of the Dog bandmates for a brief, sold-out tour. Naturally, Seattle was the locale for the close-out shows, and you can read our recap here: blog.kexp.org

Found on the 1999 album, 'Echo.' Tom Petty passed away of cardiac arrest on October 2nd, read our tribute here: blog.kexp.org

Bob Wootton, guitarist for Johnny Cash for thirty years, passed away on April 9th at the age of 75. In addition to his long career with Cash, he served as a stuntman, and was also a bus driver for the Smashing Pumpkins.

Glen Campbell passed away this year at the age of 81 on August 8th. His family made this statement after his passing: "It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and legendary singer and guitarist, Glen Travis Campbell, at the age of 81, following his long and courageous battle with Alzheimer's disease"

Guitarist and co-founder of AC/DC, Malcolm Young, died at the age of 64 due to dementia on November 18th. Angus Young said, "As his brother it is hard to express in words what he has meant to me during my life, the bond we had was unique and very special. He leaves behind an enormous legacy that will live on forever. Malcolm, job well done."

“It’s with a heavy, heavy heart we acknowledge the passing of our firmed and bandmate, Chuck Mosley. He was a reckless and caterwauling force of energy who delivered with conviction and helped us set on a track of uniqueness and originality that would not have developed the way it had had he not been a part. How fortunate we are to have been able to perform with him last year in a reunion style when we re-released our very first record. His enthusiasm, his sense of humor, his style and his bravado will be missed by so many. We were a family, an odd and dysfunctional family, and we’ll be forever grateful for the time we shared with Chuck.” - Mosley died on November 9th at the age of 57

From Christy Turlington, one of the supermodels featured in the iconic music video for "Freedom! 90": "Each of us filmed for a day on our own, except Linda and I overlapped on the last day because we had a scene together. They were long days. I don't recall any specific direction from David Fincher. He was focused on the lighting I recall. George was there the whole time and very involved. I didn't get the cassette for the song until I arrived. I listened to the track repeatedly the entire drive to the studio. I barely had the lyrics down when we filmed. My first shot which was me crawling behind a paper board with a slit cut in it so it only revealed a part of my face. Every time I couldn't remember the words, I ducked down so only my eyes were visible. By the end of the shoot, I couldn't not hear the song in my head." We lost George Michael on Christmas Day 2016. He was 53.

The funky drummer himself, Clyde Stubblefield, passed away this year at the age of 73 on February 18th. We devoted an entire day of programming to his iconic beat back in 2016, read more here: blog.kexp.org

One of the many songs that samples Clyde Stubblefield's beat. Stubblefield died this year on February 18th from kidney failure.

Roland founder and the engineer for the 808 drum machine, Ikutaro Kakehashi, (also known as Taro) died on April 1st at the age of 87.

Marc Almond of Soft Cell (who uses the 808 machine on this 1981 hit) made this statement after the death of Ikutaro Kakehashi this year: "A man who changed music Ikutaro Kakehashi the Man behind the Roland Synth,808 and more has sadly passed. Thanks for the Electro sounds"

Check out a history of the 808 drum machine, engineered by Ikutaro Kakehashi (who died this year on April 1st) here: 8daysof808.com

Hüsker Dü drummer and co-founder, Grant Hart, passed away this year at 56 on September 13th. Read our tribute and see his live performance with us in 2011 here: blog.kexp.org

If you're just tuning in, we're paying tribute till 6:00 PM today to the musicians and artists we lost in 2017.

Pat DiNizio, lead singer for The Smithereens, died just this last Tuesday. Read the statement from his bandmates here: officialsmithereens.com

Read this collection of tributes from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, and more after the death of Tom Petty in October here: www.rollingstone.com

The Johnny Cash tune that Chris Cornell did because he "wanted to create this hillbilly Black Sabbath crossover that I'd never heard before." We lost Cornell in May at the age of 52.

Seattle's Spoonman was also stunned by the loss of Chris Cornell this year. "Chris just .... who sings like that?" - www.seattlepi.com

Co-founder and bassist for Can, Holger Czukay, died on September 5th at the age of 79. The statement from his bandmates read: "We are very sad to confirm that Holger passed away yesterday, in his home, the old CAN Studio in Weilerswist. His wife U, she passed away only weeks before. Holger was devastated by the loss of his beloved partner, but was looking forward to making more music and was in good spirits. His passing has come as a shock."

Steely Dan guitarist, bassist, and co-founder, Walter Becker, passed away on September 3rd at the age of 67. According to his wife Delia, "Walter passed peacefully in our New York City home, surrounded by his family, his music, and a blustery rainstorm — one of his favorite sounds — blowing outside the window."

"Tommy was my little brother. Well, at least until he was twelve, when he morphed into my younger brother. As such, I understood and accepted, from my earliest memory, my role to take care of him and to protect him. This role became even more evident at the respective ages of 8 and 5, when our parents separated for several years. This role then became a primary force in my life after the tragic death of our mother in 1977, when I was 21 and Tommy was 18. With that tragedy, I thought we were done with our fair share of tragedies. Then we lost my wife Kathy in December 2015. And now we lose Tommy. It feels like being struck by lightning three times. To say I am struggling with it all, is the definition of an understatement..." tommykeene.com

Nigerian electro-funk pioneer who passed away on January 16th at the age of 70