Neil Sedaka performs at State Theater on Aug. 11, 2017, in New Brunswick, N.J. Bobby Bank/Getty Images
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January 2026 started off with a cold, hard fact: Death is inevitable.
The first major musician death to make the news this year was that of Jim McBride, the Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame artist known for penning country hits alongside Alan Jackson; he died days into the new year on Jan. 6 at age 78. Among his most known songs that he collabed with the country star on were “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow,” “Someday,” “That’s All I Need to Know,” “(Who Says) You Can’t Have It All” and “Chattahoochee,” with the last song peaking at No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1993.
Days later, on Jan. 10, Colombian singer-songwriter Yeison Jiménez passed away in a plane crash that took the lives of six people. He was 34. Deadheads were stunned the same day when a statement on Bob Weir’s Instagram account announced that the Grateful Dead founding member had died at 78 after beating lung cancer, but had “succumbed to underlying lung issues.”
Another unexpected death of a celebrated artist was announced before the new year was even two weeks old. Grammy-nominated musician John Forté, who is known for his work with the Fugees, was found dead at age 50 in his Massachusetts home on Jan. 12. Fugees singer Lauryn Hill paid tribute to her late collaborator days later, writing on Instagram, “This loss is unexpected and surreal and my heart aches… for his family, for his wife, for his children, for his friends, and for all of us who were blessed to know him.”
Then on Feb. 25, hours after the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame revealed that the Wu-Tang Clan had received its first nomination for induction, the iconic hip-hop group confirmed that co-founder Oliver “Power” Grant had died at age 52. And just two days later, legendary singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka’s family announced that the musician behind hits such as “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” had died at 86.
Though the year is still young, Billboard remembers the musicians who have passed so far in 2026.
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Oliver Tree
Image Credit: Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images -
Carlos “Indio” Solari
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Peabo Bryson
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Dexter Wansel
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Ronald LaPread
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Rob Base
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Ryan Porter
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Totó La Momposina
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Claudine Longet
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Clarence Carter
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Nedra Talley Ross
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Dylan Carter
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Alan Osmond (right)
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Don Schlitz
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Lucha Moreno
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Afrika Bambaataa
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Gwendolyn Chisolm
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James Gadson
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Christopher North
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DJ Dan
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Dash Crofts
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Chip Taylor
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Ronnie Bowman
Image Credit: Photo courtesy of Sony -
Chuck Norris
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Phil Campbell
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Lord Sear
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Tommy DeCarlo
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Country Joe McDonald
Image Credit: Getty Images -
Neil Sedaka
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Oliver “Power” Grant
Image Credit: Efren Landaos/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images -
Willie Colon
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Billy Steinberg (left)
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Tim Very
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Andrew Ranken
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Brad Arnold
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Greg Brown
Image Credit: Courtesy of the Greg Brown Family -
Lamonte McLemore (second from right)
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Chuck Negron
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Billy “Bass” Nelson (second from right)
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Lowell “Sly” Dunbar
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Francis Buchholz
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John Forté
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Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin (right)
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Bob Weir
Image Credit: GAB Archive/Redferns -
Yeison Jimenez
Image Credit: David Cabrera/Billboard -
Guy Moon
Image Credit: Courtesy of YouTube/Speech Bubble with Butch Hartman -
Jim McBride
Image Credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images