As the artists of the vinyl era get older, the list gets longer. Here are the artists we lost during 2006:
- Clifford Antone - Owner of Austin blues club that launched Stevie Ray Vaughan - May 23; 56
- Etta Baker - Blues guitarist - September 23; 93
- Prentiss Barnes - Singer with the Moonglows (Ten Commandments of Love, Sincerely) - September 30; 81
- Syd Barrett - Co-founder of Pink Floyd - July 7; 60
- Ray Barretto - Jazz percussionist (El Watusi) - February 17; 76
- James Brown - The biggest artist in the history of the R B charts (Say It Loud, I'm Black, I'm Proud, I Got You (I Feel Good)) - December 25; 73
- Ruth Brown - Atlantic records biggest selling R B artist of the 50's (Teardrops From My Eyes, (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean) - November 17, 78
- Raymond "Boz" Burrell - Bass player for Bad Company (Can't Get Enough) - September 21; 60
- John Allan Cameron - Canadian Folk musician - November 22; 67
- Janette Carter - Last surviving member of the Carter Family (Keep on the Sunny Side, No Depression) - January 22; 82.
- Helen Cohn - With her husband, designed and made rhinestone creations for Elvis Presley, Roy Rogers and others - April 7; 92
- Ian Copeland - Agent who represented the Police, R.
E.M., Go-Gos
and others.Brother of Stewart Copeland - May 23; 57
- William Cowsill - Lead singer of the Cowsills - February 18; 58
- Desmond Dekker - Reggae artist who had the first hit from the genre in the U.S. (Israelites) - May 25; 64
- Willie Denson - Songwriter (Mama Said, Backstage) - July 1; 69
- Mike Douglas - Talk show host and singer (The Man in My Little Girl's Life) - August 11; 81
- Johnny Duncan - 1970's country singer (Thinkin' of a Rendezvous, She Can Put Her Shoes Under My Bed Anytime) - August 14; 67
- Ahmet Ertegun - Founder of Atlantic Records, producer, songwriter - December 14; 83
- Freddy Fender - Tex-Mex and country singer (Before the Next Teardrop Falls, Wasted Days Wasted Nights) - October 14; 69
- Maynard Ferguson - Jazz trumpeter and bandleader (Theme from Rocky) - August 23; 78
- Danny Flores - Saxophone player (and Tequila!
shouter) for the Champs - September 19; 77
- King Floyd III - Soul singer and songwriter (Groove Me) March 6; 61
- Freddie Garrity - Lead singer of Freddie and the Dreamers (I'm Telling You Now, Do the Freddie) - May 19; 69
- Bruce Gary - Drummer for the Knack (My Sharona, Good Girls Don't) - August 22; 55
- Georgia Gibbs - 50's pop vocalist (Dance With Me, Henry, Kiss of Fire) December 9; 87
- Johnny Grande - Keyboardist of Bill Haley the Comets - June 2; 76
- Irving Green - Co-Founder of Mercury Records - July 1; 90
- Lula Mae Hardaway - Mother of Stevie Wonder and songwriter (Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I Was Made to Love Her) - May 31; 76
- Jessie Mae Hemphill - Blues musician - July 22; 71
- Perry Henzell - Filmmaker of The Harder They Come - November 30; 70
- Buddy Killen - Country songwriter and producer who helped start Dolly Parton's career - November 1; 73
- Arthur Lee - Front-man for Love (My Little Red Book, Seven Seven Is) - August 3, 61
- Gerald Levert - Member of Levert and solo artist (Casanova) Nov. 10; 40
- Denis Linde - Songwriter (Burnin' Love, John Deere Green) - December 22
- Robert Lockwood, Jr. - Blues artist who first learned from Robert Johnson - November 21; 91
- Arif Mardin - In house producer for Atlantic Records.
Produced Aretha Franklin, Rascals, Wilson Pickett and many more - June 25; 72
- Fred Marsden - Drummer for Gerry and the Pacemakers (Ferry Cross the Mercy) - December 9; 66
- Scott Mateer - Songwriter (Dear Me) and disk jockey - December 18; 46
- Paul Mauriat - French composer and orchestra leader (Love is Blue, Love in Every Room) - November 3; 81
- Gene McFadden - Of McFadden and Whitehead (Ain t No Stoppin Us Now) -January 27, 56
- Grant McLennan - Lead singer of the Go-Betweens (Was There Anything I Could Do) - May 6; 48
- Bill Miller - Pianist for Frank Sinatra - July 11; 91
- Paul Nelson - Rolling Stone critic - July 4; 40
- Anita O'Day - Master jazz vocalist - November 23; 87
- Bonnie Owens - Wife of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard and minor country hitmaker - Age 76. April 24; 76
- Buck Owens - One of the original purveyors of the Bakersfield Sound in country music (Act Naturally, Love's Gonna Live Here) - March 25; 76
- Johnny Paris - Of Johnny the Hurricanes (Red River Rock, BeatnikFly) - May 1; 65
- John R. Pepper II - Co-founder of WDIA-AM (Memphis), the first radio station with programming black audiences - November 20; 91
- Wilson Pickett - R B great recorded for Atlantic in 60's (In the Midnight Hour, Land of 1000 Dances) - January 19; 64
- Gene Pitney - Recorded sixteen Top 40 hits in the 60's (Only Love Can Break a Heart, (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance) - April 5; 66
- June Pointer, 52.
Youngest of the Pointer Sisters (I'm So Excited, Jump) April 11; 52
- Billy Preston - Keyboard great who played with Beatles Eric Clapton. Recorded string of 70's hits (Nothing from Nothing, Will It Go Round in Circles) - June 6; 59
- Lou Rawls - Pop, jazz and R B great (Love is a Hurtin' Thing, You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine) - January 6; 72
- Jumpin' Gene Simmons - Rockabilly musician (Haunted House) and songwriter (Indian Outlaw) - August 29; 69
- Bennie Smith - St. Louis blues musician - September 10; 72
- Claydes Charles Smith - Guitarist for Kool and the Gang (Celebration, Too Hot) - June 20; 57
- Mariska Veres - Singer for Shocking Blue (Venus) - December 2; 59
- Phil Walden - Co-founder of Capricorn Records.
Guided the careers of Otis Redding and the Allman Brothers - April 24; 66
- Billy Walker - Country singer with 38 hits between 1954 and 1976 (Charlie's Shoes, Cross the Brazos at Waco) - May 21; 77
- Cindy Walker - Country music songwriter (You Don't Know Me, In the Misty Moonlight, Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream) - March 23; 87
- Vince Welnick - Last keyboard player of the Grateful Dead. Also former member of The Tubes - June 3; 51
- Sandy West - Drummer for the Runaways (Cherry Bomb) - October 21; 47
- Johnnie Wilder, Jr.
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