This is a list of notable performers of rock music and other forms of popular music, and others directly associated with the music as producers, songwriters, or in other closely related roles, who died in 2026.
| Preceded by 2025 | List of deaths in popular music 2026 | Succeeded by — |
| Name | Age | Date | Location of death | Cause of death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Carr CCS, Hot Chocolate | 98 | January 2, 2026 | London, England, U.K. | Undisclosed [1] |
| Johnny Legend Rockabilly musician | 77 | January 2, 2026 | Newport, Oregon, U.S. | Complications from stroke and heart failure [2] |
| Calbo Ärsenik | 52 | January 4, 2026 | Undisclosed [3] | |
| Andrew Bodnar The Rumour | 71 | January 5, 2026 | North Yorkshire, England, U.K. | Undisclosed [4] |
| Jim McBride Country music songwriter | 78 | January 6, 2026 | Huntsville, Alabama, U.S. | Complications from a fall [5] |
| Guy Moon American composer | 63 | January 8, 2026 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Hit by a car while riding a scooter [6] |
| Yeison Jiménez Colombian singer | 34 | January 10, 2026 | Paipa, Colombia | Plane crash [7] |
| Terry Sullivan Renaissance | 87 | January 10, 2026 | Short illness [8] | |
| Bob Weir Grateful Dead | 78 | January 10, 2026 | Cancer and lung issues [9] | |
| John Forté Refugee Camp All-Stars; producer for Fugees | 50 | January 12, 2026 | Chilmark, Massachusetts, U.S. | Undisclosed [10] |
| Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin Black Midi | 26 | January 12, 2026 | London, England, U.K. | Suicide [11] |
| Kenny Morris Siouxsie and the Banshees | 68 | January 15, 2026 | Cork, Ireland | Undisclosed [12] |
| Tony Dallara Italian singer and actor | 89 | January 16, 2026 | Milan, Italy | Undisclosed [13] |
| Destiny Boy Nigerian singer-songwriter | 22 | January 17, 2026 | Ogun State, Nigeria | Unknown [14] |
| Tucker Zimmerman American singer-songwriter | 84 | January 17, 2026 | Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse, Belgium | Asphyxiated in a house fire [15] |
| Stephen "Cat" Coore Third World | 69 | January 18, 2026 | Jamaica | Undisclosed [16] |
| Ralph Towner Oregon | 85 | January 18, 2026 | Rome, Italy | Undisclosed [17] |
| Anders Möller Black Ingvars, Swedish Erotica | 63 | January 19, 2026 | Gothenburg, Sweden | Cancer [18] |
| Billy Parker American country music singer and DJ | 88 | January 19, 2026 | Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. | Undisclosed [19] |
| Rob Hirst Midnight Oil, Backsliders, Ghostwriters | 70 | January 20, 2026 | New South Wales, Australia | Pancreatic cancer [20] |
| Yaw Sarpong Ghanaian gospel musician and songwriter | 66 | January 20, 2026 | Kumasi, Ghana | Undisclosed [21] |
| Francis Buchholz Scorpions, Dawn Road, Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock | 71 | January 22, 2026 | Hanover, Germany | Cancer [22] |
| Guy Hovis American singer | 84 | January 22, 2026 | Oxford, Mississippi, U.S. | Undisclosed [23] |
| Margaret Ross The Cookies | 83 | January 23, 2026 | Undisclosed [24] | |
| Jean Cussac French baritone and music director | 103 | January 25, 2025 | La Teste-de-Buch, France | Undisclosed [25] |
| Gabe Lopez American pop-rock singer-songwriter and producer | 49 | January 25, 2026 | Lymphoma [26] | |
| Abhijit Majumdar Indian composer and music director | 54 | January 25, 2026 | Bhubaneswar, India | Liver disease [27] |
| Lucky Widja Indonesian actor, singer, and songwriter | 49 | January 25, 2026 | Kidney damage caused by tuberculosis [28] | |
| Mo Su-jin Acoustic Collabo | 26 | January 25, 2026 | Undisclosed [29] | |
| Sly Dunbar Sly and Robbie | 73 | January 26, 2026 | Kingston, Jamaica | Cancer [30] |
| António Chainho Portuguese fado guitarist | 88 | January 27, 2026 | Amadora, Portugal | Undisclosed [31] |
| Mingo Lewis Santana, Al Di Meola, The Tubes | 72 | January 27, 2026 | Undisclosed [32] | |
| Bryan Loren American singer-songwriter and record producer | 59 | January 28, 2026 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Undisclosed [33] |
| Abdelhadi Belkhayat Moroccan singer | 85 | January 30, 2026 | Rabat, Morocco | Prolonged illness [34] |
| Parthenon Huxley ELO Part II, The Orchestra | 70 | January 30, 2026 | Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S. | Natural causes [35] |
| Miklós Fenyő Hungária | 78 | January 31, 2026 | Pneumonia [36] | |
| Billy Bass Nelson Funkadelic, Parliament-Funkadelic | 75 | January 31, 2026 | Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S. | Natural causes [37] |
| Ken Peplowski Jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist | 66 | February 1, 2026 | On a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico | Undisclosed [38] |
| Steve Washington Slave, Aurra | 67 | February 1, 2026 | Undisclosed [39] | |
| James Moschello The Elegants | 88 | February 2, 2026 | Staten Island, New York, U.S. | Undisclosed [40] |
| Chuck Negron Three Dog Night | 83 | February 2, 2026 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Heart failure and COPD [41] |
| Yuan Wei-jen Taiwanese singer-songwriter and record producer | 57 | February 2, 2026 | Taitung, Taiwan | Pneumonia [42] |
| Lamonte McLemore The 5th Dimension | 90 | February 3, 2026 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Undisclosed [43] |
| Tommy Crook American guitarist | 81 | February 4, 2026 | Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. | Undisclosed [44] |
| Helen Micallef Helen and Joseph | 75 | February 5, 2026 | Undisclosed [45] | |
| Fred Smith Television, Blondie | 77 | February 5, 2026 | New York, New York, U.S. | Cancer [46] |
| Lynn Blakey Tres Chicas | 63 | February 6, 2026 | Undisclosed [47] | |
| Brad Arnold 3 Doors Down | 47 | February 7, 2026 | Meridian, Mississippi, U.S. | Renal cell carcinoma [48] |
| Greg Brown Cake | 56 | February 7, 2026 | Brief Illness [49] | |
| Mr. Complex Polyrhythm Addicts | February 7, 2026 | Undisclosed [50] | ||
| Matti Caspi Israeli singer | 76 | February 8, 2026 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Cancer [51] |
| Ebo Taylor Ghanaian guitarist | 90 | February 8, 2026 | Saltpond, Ghana | Undisclosed [52] |
| Garland Green American soul singer and pianist | 83 | ca. February 9, 2026 | Undisclosed [53] | |
| Andrew Ranken The Pogues | 72 | February 10, 2026 | Undisclosed [54] | |
| Jerry Kennedy American record producer, songwriter and guitarist | 85 | February 11, 2026 | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | Undisclosed [55] |
| Simon Harris English DJ and producer | 63 | February 13, 2026 | London, England, U.K. | Undisclosed [56] |
| Wayne Proctor We the People | 78 | February 13, 2026 | Undisclosed [57] | |
| Tim Very Manchester Orchestra | 42 | February 14, 2026 | Undisclosed [58] | |
| Billy Steinberg American songwriter | 75 | February 16, 2026 | Brentwood, California, U.S. | Cancer [59] |
| Shinya Luna Sea | 56 | February 17, 2026 | Colorectal cancer [60] | |
| Lil Poppa American rapper | 25 | February 18, 2026 | Fulton County, Georgia, U.S. | Suicide by gunshot [61] |
| Willie Colón American salsa musician | 75 | February 21, 2026 | New York, New York, U.S. | Undisclosed [62] |
| Mark Kennedy Spectrum, Ayers Rock, Marcia Hines | 74 | February 21, 2026 | Clayton, Victoria, Australia | Undisclosed [63] |
| Luci4 American rapper | 23 | February 22, 2026 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Undisclosed [64] |
| Éliane Radigue French composer | 94 | February 23, 2026 | Paris, France | Complications from a fall [65] |
| Monti Rock III American singer, member of Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes | 86 | February 23, 2026 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Complications from COPD [66] |
| Neil Sedaka American singer-songwriter, member of The Tokens | 86 | February 27, 2026 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Undisclosed [67] |
| Travis Wammack American rock and roll guitarist | 81 | February 27, 2026 | Alabama, U.S. | Undisclosed [68] |
| John P. Hammond Blues guitarist and singer | 83 | February 28, 2026 | Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. | Undisclosed [69] |
| Gary Walker The Walker Brothers, The Standells | 83 | March 1, 2026 | Essex, England, U.K. | Complications from a stroke [70] |
| Len Garry The Quarrymen | 84 | March 2, 2026 | Liverpool, England, U.K. | Pneumonia [71] |
| Mike Vernon English record producer and music executive | 81 | March 2, 2026 | Undisclosed [72] | |
| Roy Book Binder American folk and blues musician | 82 | March 3, 2026 | Undisclosed [73] | |
| Vidi Aldiano Indonesian singer-songwriter | 35 | March 7, 2026 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Kidney cancer [74] |
| Donny Fattah God Bless | 75 | March 7, 2026 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Sarcopenia, vascular blockage, and autoimmune diseases [75] |
| Walter Martino Goblin | 72 | March 7, 2026 | Livorno, Italy | Undisclosed [76] |
| Country Joe McDonald Country Joe and the Fish | 84 | March 7, 2026 | Berkeley, California, U.S. | Complications from Parkinson's disease [77] |
| Dilworth Karaka Herbs | 75 | ca. March 8, 2026 | Undisclosed [78] | |
| Tommy DeCarlo Boston | 60 | March 9, 2026 | Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. | Brain cancer [79] |
| Zeph Ellis British rapper | 37 | ca. March 9, 2026 | Gambia | Undisclosed [80] |
Police in Nigeria have made one arrest as they investigate the death at 22 of popular singer Destiny Boy, whose real name was Afeez Adesina.... Family members have said the singer had been living with a long-term illness, which they said caused him to have seizures.