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WDKX.com offers our prayers to all of the family and friends of the people we lost this year.
For complete stories, type the person's name in the search field.
Harlem Globetrotters member Chris "Flash" Richardson died in his sleep Wednesday while the team was on tour in Japan. He was 28.
Madelyn Dunham, Barack Obama's grandmother, passed away from cancer two nights before her grandson was elected president. She was 86.
Actor De'Angelo Wilson, who starred as "DJ Iz" in 8 Mile, apparently hung himself on November 26, just one day before Thanksgiving.
Paul Benedict, best known for his role as English neighbor Harry Bentley on the sitcom "The Jeffersons," was found dead Monday on Martha's Vineyard. He was 70.
Rapper Xzibit is mourning the loss of his newborn, Xavier Kingston Joiner, who died suddenly on May 26.
Odetta, the deep-voiced folk singer whose ballads and songs became for many a soundtrack to the American civil rights movement, has died at age 77, her manager said on Wednesday.
Bo Diddley, a founding father of rock 'n' roll whose distinctive "shave and a haircut, two bits" rhythm and innovative guitar effects inspired legions of other musicians, died Monday after months of ill health. He was 79.
Influential Flint rapper MC Breed, who was one of the first Midwest rappers to emerge onto the national hip-hop scene, has died. Breed was 36.
Jheryl Busby, the former president and chief executive of Motown Records who helped foster the careers of Boyz II Men and Johnny Gill, has died. He was 59.
Def Jam Executive Vice President, Shakir Stewart was found dead.
Soul singer Dee Dee Warwick, the older sister of R&B veteran Dionne Warwick, died Saturday at a nursing home in South Orange, NJ. She was 63.
Rudy Ray Moore AKA Dolemite passed away due to complications from diabetes.
Mother of community activist James Slater, Lacey Slater died.
Rochester's own Big Mac passed away.
Singer and actress Chris Calloway and daughter of the late show-business legend Cab Calloway, died of breast cancer. She was 62.
Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs, who possessed one of the most dynamic and emotive voices of all the Motown singers, died Friday at 72.
Former San Diego Chargers defensive lineman Chris Mims was found dead in his downtown apartment.
Jamaican reggae star Alton Ellis, known as the "Godfather of Rocksteady," died of cancer. He was 70.
Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost, a hip-hop pioneer whose acrobatic performance with the legendary Rock Steady Crew in the 1983 movie "Flashdance" helped set off a worldwide break-dancing craze, died after a long illness. He was 44.
Ernie Holmes, the two-time All-Pro football star who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1972-1977 and won two Super Bowls as an anchor of the team's Steel Curtain defense, died in auto accident when his car left the road and crashed near Lumberton, Texas. He was 59.
Hudson Tragedy - Singer Jennifer Hudson suffered several tragic losses this year when her mother, Darnell Donerson (57), her brother Jason (29) and her nephew Julian King (7), were all murdered. Donerson and Jason were shot to death inside of their Chicago home. Julian, who went missing for several days, was eventually found dead from multiple gunshot wounds inside of an abandoned Chevrolet Suburban.
Earl Palmer, the session drummer whose pioneering backbeats were recorded on such classics as Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" and The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," has died. He was 84.
Norman Whitfield, songwriter and producer who co-wrote a string of Motown classics including "War," "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," has died. He was 67.
Imam W.D. Mohammed, who succeeded his father Elijah Muhammad as leader of the Nation of Islam, died Tuesday at the age of 74.
Dr. Dre's son has reportedly died, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner. The body of Andre Young Jr. was found in his Woodland Hills home.
Actor Julius Carry III, best known as the villain Sho'Nuff from the 1985 film "The Last Dragon," died on Aug. 19 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56.
Gene Upshaw, the Hall of Fame guard who as union head helped get NFL players free agency and the riches that came with it, has died. He was 63.
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, an Ohio Democrat who was one of the few dissenting voices in Congress during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, died of a brain aneurysm.
LeRoi Moore, the versatile saxophonist whose signature staccato fused jazz and funk overtones onto the eclectic sound of the Dave Matthews Band, died. He was 46.
Pervis Jackson, one of the original members of the R&B group The Spinners, died Monday at a Detroit hospital two days after he was diagnosed with brain and liver cancer. He was 70.
Jerry Wexler, the man who first used the term rhythm and blues to describe popular music from black artists, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Sarasota, Fla. He was 91.
Ragan Henry, a Harvard-trained lawyer who built a media empire when it was not fashionable for blacks to own media outlets, has died at age 74. His July 26 death after a long illness went unreported until recent days when friends received a card from his family, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer today (Aug. 8). The son of a Kentucky sharecropper, he managed to get an Ivy League education and became the first black person to own a network-affiliated television station in America when he bought WHEC in Rochester, N.Y.
Isaac Hayes, the pioneering singer, songwriter and musician whose relentless "Theme From Shaft" won Academy and Grammy awards, died Sunday. He was 65.
Comedian Bernie Mac died at Northwestern Memorial hospital. He was 50.
Hiram Bullock born in Osaka, Japan to African American parents serving in the U.S. Military. He is most notable for his playing on Late Night with David Letterman and work with David Sanborn.
Jazz saxophonist Johnny Griffin, who once played with the likes of Thelonious Monk and Lionel Hampton, died hours before his scheduled appearance at a concert on Friday. He was 80.
Popular female DJ K-Swift died this morning (July 21) in a swimming pool accident in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.
George Carlin, the dean of counterculture comedians whose biting insights on life and language were immortalized in his "Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV" routine, died of heart failure. He was 71.
Tim Russert, who pointedly but politely questioned hundreds of the powerful and influential as moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press," died Friday of an apparent heart attack. The network's Washington bureau chief was 58.
Jazz/blues musician Jimmy McGriff, a legend on the Hammond organ and best known for his 1960s recordings of "I've Got A Woman" and "All About My Girl," died from multiple sclerosis, the Associated Press reported. He was 72.
Will Robinson, the first black basketball coach at a Division I school and a Detroit Pistons scout who discovered Joe Dumars and Dennis Rodman, died. He was 96.
Al Wilson, the soul singer and songwriter who had a number of 1970s hits including "Show and Tell," has died. He was 68.
Cedella Booker, the mother of reggae legend Bob Marley, died Tuesday night at her home in Miami, family spokesman Jerome Hamilton confirmed to the Associated Press. She was 81.
Kenneth "Tiny" Glover passed away of a heart condition. Tiny (as he was known) was very well known in the city of Rochester as a comedian, storyteller and radio personality.
Sean Levert, son of O'Jays lead singer Eddie Levert, was found dead in a Cleveland, Ohio.
Up and coming New York rapper Cavlar was shot and killed on a Brooklyn street yesterday as he was leaving a seafood restaurant.
Outkast road Manager and former pro-wrestler Chase Tatum was found dead in his Atlanta home of an apparent drug overdose.
Jason Rae, the musician-husband of soul singer Corinne Bailey Rae, was found dead Saturday in a London flat of a suspected drug overdose.
Ivan Dixon, an actor, director and producer best known for his role as Kinchloe on the 1960s television series Hogan's Heroes, has died. He was 76.
Drummer Buddy Miles, who played with Jimi Hendrix and sang in the claymation commercials featuring the California Raisins in the 1980s, has died. He was 60.
Producer and rapper Static Major, of the 90s R&B group Playa, died yesterday. He was 32.
Usher's father, Usher Raymond III, passed away at an Atlanta hospital on Friday, according to the R&B star's rep.
Juvenile's four-year-old daughter Jelani, her 11-year-old sister Micaiah and their mother Joy Deleston were killed.
Mary Ida Vandross, the mother of late R&B legend Luther Vandross, died last week of natural causes. She was 82.
Eartha Kitt, has died. The singer, dancer and actress was 81.
Jazz great Freddie Hubbard, a Grammy-winning trumpet player who collaborated with such musicians as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, died after suffering a heart attack. He was 70.
