April 14, 1932 - October 4, 2022
Loretta Lynn, a groundbreaking country music singer-songwriter with a six decade career, has passed away peacefully at her ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. She was 90.
Loretta Lynn was born Loretta Webb on April 14, 1932 in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky. She was the second child and daughter of coal miner Melvin Theodore "Ted" Webb. Loretta had
seven siblings including her younger sister, country singer Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951).
Lynn began singing in local clubs in the late 1950s. She later formed her own band, the Trailblazers which included her brother Jay Lee Webb. Lynn won a wristwatch in a televised talent contest in Tacoma, Washington, hosted by Buck Owens.
Lynn's performance was seen by Canadian Norm Burley of Zero Records, who co-founded the record company after hearing Loretta sing.
A Zero Records recording session was then arranged in Hollywood and four singles were recorded. Her first release featured "Whispering Sea" and "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl".
Lynn next signed with Decca records and released her first single "Success", in 1962, starting a string of top 10 singles running through the 1970s.
In late 1964, she recorded a duet album with Ernest Tubb. Their lead single, "Mr. and Mrs. Used to Be", peaked within the Top 15. The pair recorded two more albums, Singin' Again (1967) and If We Put Our Heads Together (1969).
In 1965, her solo career continued with three major hits, "Happy Birthday", "Blue Kentucky Girl" (later recorded and made a Top 10 hit in the 1970s by Emmylou Harris), and "The Home You're Tearing Down".
In 1967, Lynn released the single "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)", It was her first number one country hit and marked the beginning of her mainstream success.
More #1 hits followed: "Fist City" (1968), Woman of the World (Leave My World Alone) (1969) and "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)."
She hit the Billboard 100 with "Coal Miner's Daughter" (1970). The #1 hit became a signature song for Loretta Lynn and was also the title of her bestselling 1976 autobiography.
In 1980, the biographical musical film Coal Miner's Daughter was released, based on her book. The film stars Sissy Spacek as Lynn. Spacek won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Lynn.
Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D'Angelo and Levon Helm, are featured in supporting roles. Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl make cameo appearances as themselves.
In 1971, Lynn began a professional partnership with Conway Twitty. As a duo, Lynn and Twitty had five consecutive No. 1 hits between 1971 and 1975, including "After the Fire Is Gone" (1971), which won them a Grammy award, "Lead Me On" (1971), "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" (1973), "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone" (1974), and "Feelins'" (1974).
As a solo artist, Lynn continued her success in 1971, achieving her fifth No. 1 solo hit, "One's on the Way", written by poet and songwriter Shel Silverstein.
In 1977, Lynn recorded I Remember Patsy, an album dedicated to her close friend, singer Patsy Cline, who died in a plane crash in 1963.
In 1979, Loretta Lynn became the spokesperson for Procter & Gamble's Crisco Oil.
Lynn's album Van Lear Rose (2004) was produced by the alternative rock musician Jack White of The White Stripes. The album featured guitar and backup vocals by White and won a Grammy Award for Best Country Album of the Year.
On March 19, 2021, Lynn released her 50th studio album Still Woman Enough.
Lynn received numerous awards in country and American music. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. She was honored in 2010 at the Country Music Awards. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2013.
Lynn died in her sleep at her home in Hurricane Mills on October 4, 2022, at the age of 90. She is buried on her Hurricane Mills ranch, beside her husband, Oliver Lynn
| 9/28/2022 | 59 | Coolio | rapper | | Los Angeles, California |
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Coolio
August 1, 1963 - September 28, 2022
Coolio, an American rap artist best known for his hit Gangsta's Paradise, has died at 59.
Born Artis Leon Ivey Jr. in Monessen, Pennsylvania, his family moved to Compton, California where he first rose to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle.
Coolio achieved mainstream success as a solo artist in the mid-to-late 1990s with his albums It Takes a Thief, Gangsta's Paradise, and My Soul.
In 1994, Coolio signed to Tommy Boy Records and released his debut solo album It Takes a Thief.
In 1995, Coolio released "Gangsta's Paradise" for the soundtrack of the film Dangerous Minds. It became one of the most successful rap songs of all time, earning a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance.
While at a friend's Los Angeles house on September 28, 2022, Coolio was discovered unresponsive on a bathroom floor. He was pronounced dead by first responders. He was 59 years old.
John Hartman
March 18, 1950 - September 24, 2022
John Hartman, co-founding member and original drummer for the Dobbie Brothers, has died at age 72.
The Doobie Brothers formed with the meeting of Hartman and singer-guitarist-songwriter Tom Johnston in San Jose, California, 1970.
They were soon joined by singer-guitarist-songwriter Patrick Simmons and bassist Dave Shogren.
In 1971, the group added a second drummer, Michael Hossack, to its line-up, leading to the band's unusual double-drum sound. Hossack died in 2012.
Hartman performed with the Doobie Brothers from 1970 to 1979 and performed on a string of hits the band had during those years:
"China Grove," "Listen To The Music," "Jesus Is Just Alright," "Black Water," and "Takin' It To The Streets," among many others. He returned for another run with the band from 1987 to 1992.
In 2020, Hartman and other surviving members of the original group, including Johnston, Simmons and Michael McDonald, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Ramsey Lewis
May 27. 1935 - September 12, 2022
Ramsey Lewis, a Chicago jazz pianist who redefined and popularized the genre, has died at age 87.
In his lifetime, Lewis won three Grammys, earned seven gold records and in 2007 was named a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master, the highest honor bestowed upon jazz musicians in the US.
Jerry Allison
August 31, 1939 - August 22, 2022
Jerry Ivan Allison was the drummer for Buddy Holly and the Crickets and co-writer of their hits "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue" (named after Allison's girlfriend and later wife).
Allison had a solo hit with his 1958 recording of "Real Wild Child" and also worked as a studio musician, notably playing on the recording of the Everly Brothers' "(Till) I Kissed You" in 1959.
Allison lived on a farm in Lyles, Tennessee, where he died from cancer on August 22, 2022, a few days before his 83rd birthday.
| 8/8/2022 | 79 | Olivia Newton-John | singer, actress and activist | Cancer | Santa Ynez Valley, California |
Olivia Newton-John
September 26, 1948 - August 8, 2022
Olivia Newton-John, singer and actress, star of the musical film Grease, has died of cancer complications. She was 73.
| 8/5/2022 | 79 | Judith Durham | The Seekers, vocalist | Lung disease | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
Judith Durham
July 3, 1943 - August 5, 2022
Judith Durham, Australian folk music icon and lead singer of The Seekers, has died of lung disease at age 79.
Durham made her first recording at 19 and rose to fame after joining The Seekers in 1963. The Seekers sold over 50 million records and are remembered for hits including "The Carnival is Over," "I'll Never Find Another You," "A World of Our Own" and "Georgy Girl."
Durham was born with asthma and at age four she caught measles, which left her with a life-long chronic lung disease, bronchiectasis. Durham died from that disease at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne August 5, 2022, at age 79.
| 8/4/2022 | 87 | Sam Gooden | The Impressions, vocalist | | Chattanooga, Tennessee |
Sam Gooden
September 2, 1934 - August 4, 2022
Sam Gooden, one of the original members of the Chicago soul group The Impressions and a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has died. He was 87.
The Impressions formed in the 1950s after Gooden and brothers Richard and Arthur Brooks met Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler in Chicago. Butler sang baritone lead on their breakthrough record in 1958, the classic ballad "For Your Precious Love," although many of their hits featured Mayfield's tenor, with Gooden singing bass behind him.
Mayfield helped write many hits for The Impressions, including "People Get Ready", "Gypsy Woman", "Keep on Pushing", "We're a Winner" and their highest-charting Hot 100 hit "It's All Right."
Manny Charlton
July 25, 1941 - July 5, 2022
Manuel Charlton, founding member of the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, has died in Texas at age 80.
Brett Tuggle
September 23, 1951 - June 19, 2022
Brett Tuggle, keyboardist who played with Fleetwood Mac and the David Lee Roth band, has died at age 70.
His first professional gig, in 1970, was with Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels for a tour and to work on their LP Detroit.
In 1981, Tuggle worked as keyboardist for John Kay & Steppenwolf's world tour, before meeting Rick Springfield and joining his band in early 1982.
He later toured briefly with Tommy Shaw and Belinda Carlisle.
He played keyboards with David Lee Roth in Roth's post-Van Halen career 1986-1994. In 1988, Tuggle co-wrote the top 10 hit single "Just Like Paradise" with Roth.
Tuggle joined Mick Fleetwood's side project the Zoo in 1992 and also played on Lindsey Buckingham's solo tours. He played keyboards on every Fleetwood Mac tour from 1997 to 2017, and also gigged extensively with Stevie Nicks, Buckingham, and Buckingham McVie.
| 6/6/2022 | 79 | Jim Seals | Seals and Crofts | | Nashville, Tennessee |
Jim Seals
October 17, 1942 - June 6, 2022
Jim Seals, half of the duo Seals and Crofts, has died at age 80.
Seals and Crofts are remembered for 1970s soft rock hits like "Summer Breeze" and "Diamond Girl." The duo met in Texas where they performed in local bands.
They moved to Los Angeles to join the Champs after the band had a #1 hit with "Tequila" in 1958.
Seals toured with Eddie Cochran in 1959. In 1961, Seals had one of his compositions ("It's Never Too Late") recorded by Brenda Lee as the B-Side of her single "You Can Depend on Me".
By 1963, Seals, Crofts, Glen Campbell and Jerry Cole left the Champs to form a band named Glen Campbell and the GCs.
His younger brother, Danny Seals, was half of the duo England Dan & John Ford Coley, who had several hits in the late 1970s. Dan Seals
died in 2009.
Seals had a stroke in 2017. After a long illness, he died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 6, 2022, at age 79
| 5/17/2022 | 79 | Vangelis | musician, composer | Heart failure, Covid-19 complications | Paris, France |
Vangelis
March 29, 1943 - May 17, 2022
Vangelis, Greek musician and composer known for his film scores and collaborations with Yes vocalist Jon Anderson, has died at age 79.
Vangelis began his career in the 1960s as a member of Greek rock bands The Forminx and Aphrodite's Child; the latter's album 666 (1972) is now acclaimed as a progressive-psychedelic rock classic.
After moving to London, he released a series of successful and influential albums for RCA Records, including: Heaven and Hell (1975), Albedo 0.39 (1976), Spiral (1977) and China (1979).
From 1979 to 1986, Vangelis performed in a duo with Yes vocalist Jon Anderson, releasing several albums as Jon and Vangelis.
Vangelis won an Academy Award for Best Original Score for the film Chariots of Fire (1981). Other notable film score compositions include Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), and Alexander (2004).
Cynthia Plaster Caster
May 24, 1947 - April 23, 2022
Cynthia Plaster Caster (born Cynthia Dorothy Albritton) was an American artist and self-described "recovering groupie" who gained fame for creating plaster casts of celebrities' erect penises.
In a college art class, when given an assignment to "plaster cast something solid that could retain its shape", she hit upon the idea of casting erect male genitalia,
After trying her mold making technique on a few friends, she found her first celebrity client in Jimi Hendrix. Her 1968 cast of his erect penis was donated to the Icelandic Phallological Museum shortly before her death.
After meeting Frank Zappa, Cynthia moved to Los Angeles where she found many willing assisants eager to prepare the subjects for casting.
in 1971, after her apartment was burglarized, she entrusted her casts to Herb Cohen, Zappa's legal partner, for safekeeping and possible use in a future exhibition.
After years of wrangling, Albritton found herself in 1993 having to go to court in order to retrieve the 25 casts Cohen held (she eventually got all but three of them back).
In 2001, a film documentary, Plaster Caster, was made about her. She also contributed to the BBC Three documentary My Penis and I (2005), made by British filmmaker Lawrence Barraclough about his anxiety about his small 3.5 inch penis.
She has inspired at least two songs: "Five Short Minutes" by Jim Croce and "Plaster Caster" by Kiss.
In 1969, Pamela Des Barres, of Frank Zappa's group The GTOs, recorded a telephone conversation with Cynthia from Chicago for the GTOs album Permanent Damage.
Albritton was a candidate for mayor of Chicago in the 2011 election on the "Hard Party" ticket.
Albritton died from cerebrovascular disease at a care facility in Chicago on April 21, 2022, aged 74.
| 4/5/2022 | 79 | Bobby Rydell | singer, teen idol | | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Bobby Rydell
April 26, 1942 - April 5, 2022
Bobby Rydell, singer, actor and teen idol, has died at a Philadelphia area hospital after a bout with pneumonia.
Born Robert Louis Ridarelli on April 26, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he adopted the stage name Bobby Rydell at an early age.
His most well-known songs include "Wildwood Days," "Wild One" and "Volare" (cover of an Italian song by Domenico Modugno, "Nel blu, dipinto di blu"); in 1963 he appeared in the musical film Bye Bye Birdie alongside Ann-Margret and Dick Van Dyke,
Rydell died from complications of pneumonia at Jefferson Abington Hospital on April 5, 2022, at the age of 79.
Taylor Hawkins
February 17, 1972 - March 25, 2022
Oliver Taylor Hawkins, drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters, has died at age 50 in a hotel room in Bogota, Colombia.
Hawkins joined the Foo Fighters in 1997, replacing original drummer William Goldsmith. He had been working as a touring drummer for Alanis Morrisette, supporting her on her Jagged Little Pill and her Can't Not tour.
He also appeared in the videos for "You Oughta Know", "All I Really Want", and "You Learn."
In addition to his drumming with the Foo Fighters, Hawkins also provided vocals, guitar, and piano on some of their recordings. He performed the lead vocal on a cover of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar".
Hawkins was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 as a member of Foo Fighters.
Hawkins' final performance with the Foo Fighters before his death was at the Lollapalooza Argentina festival on March 20, 2022.
A tribute concert for Hawkins was performed at Wembley Stadium in London, on September 3, 2022.
| 2/22/2022 | 57 | Mark Lanegan | Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age | | Killarney, Ireland |
Mark Lanegan
November 25, 1964 - February 22, 2022
Mark Lanegan, lead singer of early grunge band Screaming Trees, and later a member of Queens of the Stone Age and The Gutter Twins, has died at age 57.
Gary Brooker
May 29, 1945 - February 19, 2022
Gary Brooker, founder and lead singer of the British rock band Procol Harum, has died at age of 76.
Procol Harum is best known for their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale". Brooker co-wrote the song with lyricist Keith Reid.
Brooker also released three studio albums as a solo artist, including his 1979 debut "No More Fear of Flying" and the 1985 "Echoes in the Night," though these did not reach the same commercial heights as Procol Harum's output.
| 2/9/2022 | 75 | Ian McDonald | King Crimson, Foreigner | Cancer | New York, New York |
Ian McDonald
June 25, 1946 - February 9, 2022
Ian McDonald, founding member of the progressive rock band King Crimson as well as a founding member of rock hard Foreigner, has died in New York City at age 75.
McDonald was born in Osterley, Middlesex, England into a musical family. Initially, he played the clarinet, but later learned piano, flute and saxophone and taught himself music theory.
Around age 20, he moved to London and began making music with former Fairport Convention singer Judy Dyble. The pair were introduced to Robert Fripp and Michael Giles which led to the formation of King Crimson.
King Crimson's first album, In the Court of the Crimson King was released in 1969. On the album, McDonald played keyboards, woodwind instruments, and the Mellotron.
McDonald and drummer Michael Giles departed King Crimson and formed a spin-off group that released an album McDonald and Giles. McDonald reappeared with King Crimson in 1974, playing on the album Red.
McDonald moved to New York City in the mid-1970s and became a founding member of the band Foreigner, playing guitar, woodwinds and keyboards.
He left the group following their third album, Head Games, after disagreements with group leader Mick Jones.
McDonald also worked as a session musician and played on T. Rex's hit "Get It On (Bang a Gong)", where he borrowed Mel Collins' baritone saxophone.
In 1999, he released a solo album, Drivers Eyes, which featured musicians John Wetton, Lou Gramm, John Waite and Gary Brooker.
McDonald died at his home in New York City on February 9, 2022 aged 75, after suffering from cancer.
Willie Leacox
February 1, 2022
Willie Leacox, longtime drummer for rock band America, has died at age 74.
Leacox joined America in 1973, a couple of years after they released their first album that contained the hit Horse With No Name. He was with the group when they released their second chart-topping song, Sister Golden Hair, in 1975, from the album Heart.
He remained a member of the band until 2014.
Leacox died at his home in Stockton, California. No cause of death has been revealed.
Hargus Robbins
January 18, 1938 - January 30, 2022
Hargus "Pig" Robbins, a notable American session keyboard player, has died at age 84.
Robbins played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Loretta Lynn, Kenny Rogers, George Jones, Charlie Rich, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, J.J. Cale, John Hartford, Mark Knopfler, Ween, Alan Jackson, Merle Haggard, Roger Miller, David Allan Coe, Moe Bandy, George Hamilton IV, Sturgill Simpson, and Conway Twitty.
He played on Roger Miller's Grammy Award-winning "Dang Me" in 1964.
Robbins was blind, having lost his sight at age four due to an accident involving his father's knife.
On October 21, 2012, Robbins was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
| 1/29/2022 | 81 | Howard Hesseman | Actor, fictional DJ | Colon Cancer | Los Angeles, California |
Howard Hesseman
February 27, 1940 - January 29, 2022
Howard Hesseman, an actor best known for his role as DJ Dr. Johnny Fever on the hit TV show WKRP in Cincinnati, has died of complications from colon surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles. He was 81 and suffering from colon cancer.
In the late 1960s, Hesseman worked as a real radio DJ on the underground station KMPX in San Francisco, under the alias Don Sturdy. The experience helped model his later TV character as the burned-out, disco-hating DJ Dr. Johnny Fever.
He appeared on WKRP in Cincinnati on CBS TV from 1978 to 1982 and was awarded a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1980 and 1981 for his portrayal of Fever.
The show was created by Hugh Wilson, a former sales executive at a Top 40 radio station. He fashioned Fever's character after Skinny Bobby Harper, an Atlanta area DJ that Wilson once knew.
On July 18, 1969, he appeared with the improv comedy group The Committee in several sketches on The Dick Cavett Show, and appeared in one sketch with guest Janis Joplin.
Hesseman made a number of other TV appearances, including appearing on a Dragnet, episode in 1968 in which he portrayed a hippie named Jesse Chaplin, the editor of an underground newspaper.
He also appeared in two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and made several appearances on The Bob Newhart Show as Mr. Plager, a member of a group therapy session.
Hesseman played teacher Charlie Moore on the ABC series Head of the Class for four seasons from 1986 to 1990. He played Sam Royer, the man who married Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin) on One Day at a Time from 1982 to 1984.
He also made three appearances on Saturday Night Live.
He appeared in several movies: In Shampoo (1975), Hesseman played a lazy, boozy character known as Red Dog, then showed up in The Sunshine Boys (1975), Silent Movie (1976), The Big Bus (1976) and The Other Side of Midnight (1977).
Hesseman played a pimp opposite Dan Aykroyd in Doctor Detroit (1983); and the manager of rocker Duke Fame in This Is Spinal Tap (1984).
In 1994, Hesseman introduced lost footage of Janis Joplin in a documentary on Woodstock.
| 1/22/2022 | 88 | Don Wilson | The Ventures | | Tacoma, Washington |
Don Wilson
February 10, 1933 - January 22, 2022
Don Wilson, co-founder of the surf rock group the Ventures, remembered for hits like "Walk, Don't Run", has died at age 88.
Meat Loaf
September 27, 1947 - January 20, 2022
Meat Loaf, heavyweight rock superstar, Grammy Award winning singer and actor, has died at age 74.
Born Marvin Lee Aday in Dallas Texas, he was the son of a school teacher who raised him on her own after divorcing his alcoholic father, a police officer.
After graduating from college, he moved to Los Angeles and was soon fronting his band Meat Loaf Soul.
By the mid-1970s, he was playing the lobotomized biker Eddie in the theater and film versions of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," had served as an understudy for his friend John Belushi for the stage production of National Lampoon and had begun working with Steinman on "Bat Out of Hell."
Meat Loaf soared to the pinnacle with 1977's "Bat Out of a Hell," his mega-selling collaboration with songwriter Jim Steinman and producer Todd Rundgren.
Meat Loaf sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and acted in more than 50 movies and TV shows. He earned a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for his 1993 hit "I'd Do Anything for Love".
| 1/13/2022 | 85 | Fred Parris | Five Satins | | New Haven, Connecticut |
Fred Parris
March 26, 1936 - January 13, 2022
Fred Parris, frontman of the Five Satins, a doo-wop group remembered for their 1956 hit "In the Still of the Night", has died at age 85.
"In the Still of the Night" was written by Parris while he was on guard duty at a Philadelphia U.S. Army base and recorded in the basement of New Haven, Connecticut St. Bernadette Catholic Church.
Later, the song was prominently used in movies including Dirty Dancing and The Irishman.
Ronnie Spector
August 10, 1943 - January 12, 2022
Ronnie Spector, lead singer of the 1960's girl group the Ronettes, has died of cancer at age 78.
Ronnie Spector (born Veronica Greenfield) joined with her elder sister Estelle Bennett and their cousin, Nedra Talley to form the Ronettes in 1961.
The group found fame after they auditioned for music producer Phil Spector, creator of the 1960s' "Wall of Sound" style, who signed them to his label Philles Records in 1963.
With the Ronettes, Spector sang lead on a string of hits including "Be My Baby" (1963), "Baby, I Love You" (1963), "The Best Part of Breakin' Up" (1964) and "Walking in the Rain" (1964).
They supported and toured with the Beatles on their 1966 US tour. The group's last charting single, "I Can Hear Music", produced by Jeff Barry, reached number 100 in 1966. The Ronettes broke up in 1967, following a European concert tour.
Ronnie Spector had a successful solo career, releasing several albums. In 1986, her career rejuvenated when she was featured on Eddie Money's song "Take Me Home Tonight".
She was in an abusive marriage to producer Phil Spector from 1968 until they divorced in 1974.
In 1990, she published a memoir, Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, Or, My Life as a Fabulous Ronette. In 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Ronettes.
| 1/8/2022 | 77 | Michael Lang | Woodstock co-creator | non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma | New York, New York |
Michael Lang
December 11, 1944 - January 8, 2022
Michael Lang, co-creator of the Woodstock Music Festival, has died at age 77.
Lang was just 24 when Woodstock took place in August 1969 in New York's Catskill Mountains. The festival he helped to organize and run was a defining moment for a generation and the zenith of the 1960s music scene.
A crowd of about 100,000 was expected, but nearly 450,000 eventually showed up to hear music by Santana, Joan Baez, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Joe Cocker, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Band and Jimi Hendrix, among others.
A Brooklyn native, Lang dropped out of New York University and headed to the Miami area to organize music events, including the 1968 Miami Pop Festival, which featured Jimi Hendrix. He later moved to Woodstock, New York where he worked with Artie Kornfeld and partners Joel Rosenman and John Roberts to plan the Woodstock festival, which took place from Aug. 15-18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm near Bethel, New York.
Lang also produced follow-up events Woodstock '94 and Woodstock '99 and was working on a planned Woodstock 50th anniversary festival in 2019, but that event was canceled.
In 2009, Lang wrote the critically acclaimed New York Times Best Seller The Road to Woodstock, co-written with Holly George-Warren.
Lang died from a rare form of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma while being treated at Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City. He is survived by wife Tamara and his five children, Shala, Lariann, Molly, Harry and Laszlo.
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