Billboard remembers the artists who left us this year.
Musician Steve Harwell of Smash Mouth performs during the Under The Sun Tour at The Greek Theatre on Aug. 12, 2014, in Los Angeles.
Tommaso Boddi/WireImage
It’s always a big loss when the world loses a talented artist, and unfortunately, 2023 kicked off with several notable deaths in music. It began with Gangsta Boo, the pioneering Southern female rapper formerly of hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, who was found dead on New Year’s Day at age 43.
The next day, Alan Rankine of post-punk New Wave act The Associates, who also produced the Cocteau Twins and pursued his own solo music, died at age 64. Since then, we’ve also lost rock guitar legend Jeff Beck — who died at age 78 on Jan. 10 — and singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley, who suffered cardiac arrest and died on Jan. 12 at age 54.
Since then, the world has lost musical greats including Tina Turner, Tony Bennett, Gordon Lightfoot, David Crosby and more.
While their loved ones and fans around the globe mourn the loss of these artists, they will not be forgotten. Here, Billboard remembers the musicians who left us in 2023.
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Steve Harwell
Image Credit: Gary Miller/Getty Images -
Jimmy Buffett
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Jack Sonni (center)
Image Credit: Getty Images -
Faye Fantarrow
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Bernie Marsden
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Ray Hildebrand (left)
Image Credit: Photo Courtesy of Ray Hildebrand Music -
Gary Young (far left)
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Chris Peluso
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Robbie Robertson
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Sixto Rodriguez
Image Credit: Roberto Ricciuti/Redferns via Getty Images -
DJ Casper
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John Gosling (second from left)
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Magoo
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Ray “August 08” Jacobs
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Bob Feldman
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Young Capone
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Sinead O’Connor
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Randy Meisner
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Brad Houser
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Tony Bennett
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Jane Birkin
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Peter Nero
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Coco Lee
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Bobby Osborne
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Sheldon Harnick
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Choi Sung-bong
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Teresa Taylor (second from left)
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Big Pokey
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Johnny “Blackie Onassis” Rowan
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Astrud Gilberto
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George Winston
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Kaija Saariaho
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Cynthia Weil
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Pacho El Antifeka
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Joy McKean
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Bill Lee (right)
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Ed Ames
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Tina Turner
Image Credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images -
Pete Brown
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Andy Rourke (right)
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Rita Lee
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Young Lo
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Grace Bumbry
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Rob Laakso
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Linda Lewis
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Gordon Lightfoot
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Tim Bachman
Image Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images -
MoneySign Suede
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Harry Belafonte
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Otis Redding III
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Moon Bin
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Ahmad Jamal
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Mark Sheehan
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Lasse Wellander
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Ian Bairnson
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Edward “Kidd” Jordan
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Paul Cattermole
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Vivian Trimble (right)
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Brian Gillis
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Ryuichi Sakamoto
Image Credit: Joel Saget/AFP via GI -
Keith Reid
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Tom Leadon
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Wayne Swinny
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Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins (center)
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Bobby Caldwell
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Paul Beasley
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Jim Gordon
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Costa Titch
Image Credit: Oupa Bopape/Gallo Images via Getty Images -
Chaim Topol
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Gary Rossington (right)
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Michael Rhodes
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David Lindley
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Wayne Shorter
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Steve Mackey
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Tom Whitlock
Image Credit: Ron Galella Collection via GI -
Kyle Jacobs (right)
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Gerald Fried
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Chuck Jackson
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Huey “Piano” Smith
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Dave Jolicoeur
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Burt Bacharach
Image Credit: Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via GI -
Barrett Strong
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Tom Verlaine
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David Crosby
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Van Conner (right)
Image Credit: Gie Knaeps/GI -
C.J. Harris
Image Credit: FOX via Getty Images -
Lisa Marie Presley
Image Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic -
Robbie Bachman
Image Credit: Fin Costello/Redferns -
Jeff Beck
Image Credit: Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/GI -
Gordy Harmon of The Whispers
Image Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images -
Alan Rankine
Image Credit: David Corio/Redferns -
Gangsta Boo
Image Credit: Lee Shaner
