Phelps (Catfish) Collins (66) rhythm and blues guitarist, a veteran of James Brown’s J. B.’s, Parliament-Funkadelic, and his younger brother William (“Bootsy”) Collins’ Rubber Band. Catfish Collins died of cancer in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 6, 2010.
Travis Harrelson (80) considered one of the world’s best ukulele players. Harrelson performed, taught, and was a collector of ukuleles. He died of cancer two weeks short of his 81st birthday, in Seal Beach, California on August 1, 2010.
Bobby Hebb (72) singer whose 1966 pop music classic “Sunny” reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop chart. The song was recorded by many other singers, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Dusty Springfield, Wilson Pickett, José Feliciano, and Cher. Hebb died of lung cancer in Nashville, Tennessee on August 3, 2010.
Richie Hayward (64) Iowa-born drummer and founding member of the Little Feat band in 1969. Hayward also was a session drummer and performed live with artists including Eric Clapton, the Doobie Brothers, Bob Dylan, Peter Frampton, and Arlo Guthrie, among others. He was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2009 but died of pneumonia caused by untreated adult respiratory fibrosis, in Canada on August 12, 2010.
Abbey Lincoln (80) singer whose voice and songs made her a unique figure in jazz. Lincoln’s career included outspoken civil rights advocacy in the ‘60s, and for a time she acted in films with Sidney Poitier. Long recognized as one of jazz’s most striking singers, she gained stature as a songwriter only over the last 20 years. She died eight days after her 80th birthday, in New York City on August 14, 2010.
Jack Parnell (87) British jazz drummer, behind-the-scenes bandleader on Jim Henson’s The Muppet Show (1976-81); the onscreen bandleader was pop-eyed Muppet conductor, Nigel. As musical director at British broadcaster ATV from the late ‘50s, Parnell oversaw the music for the long-running variety show Sunday Night at the London Palladium, produced specials featuring Tom Jones and Barbra Streisand, and was musical director of The Benny Hill Show. He died of cancer in Southwold, eastern England, on August 8, 2010.
Michael Been (60) singer, songwriter, guitarist, and founding member of the northern California modern rock band The Call, which broke out with the 1983 MTV hit “The Walls Came Down." Been died of a heart attack at the Pukkelpop festival in Hasselt, Belgium, where he had been serving as a sound engineer for his son Robert’s band, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, on August 19, 2010.
Charles Haddon (22) lead singer of British pop band Ou Est Le Swimming Pool. Haddon jumped to his death from a telecommunications mast behind the main stage after playing at the Pukkelpop music festival in Hasselt, Belgium on August 20, 2010. Belgian police were treating the death as a suicide.
Robert Wilson (53) bassist for the funk and rhythm-and-blues group the Gap Band who had a string of hits including “You Dropped a Bomb on Me.” The group also included Wilson’s two brothers, Charlie and Ronnie. Robert Wilson died of an apparent heart attack in Palmdale, California on August 15, 2010.
George David Weiss (89) songwriter who had a hand in some of the biggest hits of mid-20th century pop music, recorded by some of the biggest stars. Among Weiss’s most famous numbers were “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” recorded by Elvis Presley; “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” recorded by the Tokens; and “What a Wonderful World,” recorded by Louis Armstrong. Weiss died in Oldwick, New Jersey on August 23, 2010.
