In Memoriam: 2023 Deaths

The rock world said goodbye to several notable figures in 2023, including David Crosby, Jeff Beck and Gary Rossington.

Music fans were stunned by the January death of guitar virtuoso Beck, who had completed a tour with Johnny Depp less than two months earlier.

The death of David Crosby during the same month also came as a shock to fans. The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash co-founder had been working on new solo music and preparing to tour again and had posted to social media just days before.

Rossington, who was the last founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, had dealt with multiple health issues in recent years, including emergency heart surgery.

A number of artists left surprisingly soon. Robbie Robertson of the Band died of an undisclosed “long illness,” though he’d recently completed another score for a film by his friend and frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese. Sinead O’Connor died at the tragically young age of 56, about a year and a half after her son died of suicide. Shane MacGowan of the Pogues died at 65 following a battle with viral encephalitis.

Elvis Presley’s only child, Lisa Marie Presley, died suddenly and was mourned by many fellow fans and peers, including Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses and the Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan. Both appeared at her funeral, performing tracks from their respective catalog that had been some of Presley’s favorites.

The namesake for the Marshall Tucker Band also died early in the year. Even though he wasn’t a member of the group, he unknowingly helped launched their career.

Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Fred White, who played on many hits by the legendary R&B and pop group during his decade with them, also died. He carved out a long career that included work on key albums by Linda Ronstadt and Little Feat.

Motown songwriter Barrett Strong (who wrote the classic “Money,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and many of the Temptations’ hits), Television’s Tom Verlaine, Derek and the Dominos drummer Jim Gordon and Tom Leadon of Mudcrutch are also among the other losses. Read on for more information about the entertainers we’ve lost in 2023.