2018 in Memoriam: Musicians we lost this year

As we’re about to leave 2018 behind, let’s remember the musicians who passed away during this last year. Of course the major loss is that of the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, but personally I felt sad about the losses of Dolores O’Riordan and Avicii, the latter not included in the following list as it’s exclusively for people of the rock music. And just a couple of weeks ago we learned that one of the punk’s pioneers, Pete Shelley of The Buzzcocks, died at the age of 63. RIP.

Rockers We’ve Lost in 2018, by Dave Lifton for Ultimate Classic Rock, 28 December 2018

Ultimate Classic Rock is honoring those musicians, producers, executives and other industry figures who passed away in 2018.

The year had barely begun when we learned of the death of Rick Hall. As the founder of FAME Studios, Rick Hall was responsible for creating the «Muscle Shoals Sound» that turned the small Northern Alabama town into one of the one of the most homes of soul music in the ’60s. Shortly thereafter, the Moody Blues’ Ray Thomas died only a few months before he and his band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and «Fast» Eddie Clarke, who played guitar in Motorhead’s classic lineup, passed away at the age of 67 from pneumonia.

As 2018 progressed, Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries passed away, as did Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ed King, Jefferson Airplane’s Marty Balin, the legendary Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, Fleetwood Mac’s Danny Kirwan and a pair of blues guitar greats in Otis Rush and Matt «Guitar» Murphy.

The death of former Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul on June 22 at his home in Las Vegas sent shockwaves throughout the rock world. As had been done for his brother Dimebag Darrell, Paul, 54, was buried in a Kiss Kasket that was donated by the band. Two months later, the Clark County Coroner revealed that the cause of death was an enlarged heart and severe coronary artery disease.

We also lost many people who weren’t musicians but had gained fame within the music industry, including Tower Records founder Russ Solomon, album cover designers Gary Burden and Andie Airfax, Schoolhouse Rock creator Bob Dorough, distortion pedal inventor Glenn Snoddy, Jackson family patriarch Joe Jackson and Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick.

Read more about their lives and others at Ultimate Classic Rock.