From Ozzy Osbourne to Roberta Flack to Sly Stone and beyond, Billboard remembers the artists who left us this year.
2025 got off to a rough start in the music world, with two music greats passing away on the first day of the new year. Argentine artist and composer Leo Dan — known for his romantic tracks such as“Cómo Te Extraño Mi Amor,” “Mary Es Mi Amor” and “Pídeme La Luna” — died at age 82; Wayne Osmond, the second oldest of the Osmond Brothers, died at 73, his family announced the day after his passing.
Soul singer Brenton Wood, known for 1967’s “The Oogum Boogum Song,” died of natural causes on Jan. 3 at age 83. And before the first week of the new year ended, Peter Yarrow of popular folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary died in his New York City home at age 86 after a four-year battle against bladder cancer.
The losses continued with Sam Moore of the duo Sam & Dave passing away at age 89 on Jan. 10, followed by The Whites’ Buck White, who died three days later at age 94, then Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes passing on at age 65 after a cancer battle. And on the final day of the third week of the new year, Garth Hudson — the last surviving member of Rock Hall-honored group The Band — died in his sleep at age 87.
Music fans were dealt another blow when the iconic Roberta Flack died at age 88 on Feb. 24, surrounded by her loved ones. Another big loss hit on July 22, when metal icon Ozzy Osbourne passed away at the age 76, just weeks after the final Black Sabbath concert.
While the world has had to say goodbye to many musicians so far this year, they will live in the memories of not only their families, but their fans. Here, Billboard remembers the musical artists who passed away in 2025.
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Hermeto Pascoal
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Bobby Hart (second from right)
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Rick Davies
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Mark Volman
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Robby Turner (back)
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Hooshmand Aghili (center left)
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Xava Drago
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Brent Hinds
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Michael “Tunes” Antunes
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Ernesto Barajas
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Joe Hickerson
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Bobby Whitlock
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Eddie Palmieri
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Terry Reid
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David Roach (center)
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Jeannie Seely
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Flaco Jimenez
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Tom Lehrer
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Hulk Hogan
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Cleo Laine
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Chuck Mangione
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Ozzy Osbourne
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Malcolm-Jamal Warner
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Alan Bergman
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Connie Francis
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David Kaff (right)
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Young Noble
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Jimmy Swaggart
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Walter Scott Jr.
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Lalo Schifrin
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Bobby Sherman
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Mick Ralphs
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Cavin Yarbrough
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Patrick Walden (left)
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Lou Christie
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Brian Wilson
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Douglas McCarthy
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Sly Stone
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Wayne Lewis
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Renée Victor
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Alf Clausen
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Michael Sumler
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Rick Derringer
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Daniel Williams
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Rodney Brown
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Charles Strouse
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Johnny Rodriguez
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James Baker
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Jill Sobule
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Mike Peters
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David Thomas
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Wink Martindale
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Max Romeo
Image Credit: David Corio/Redferns (Nov. 22, 1947 – April 11, 2025)
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Rubby Perez
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Clem Burke
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Larry Bastian
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Dave Allen
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Amadou Bagayoko
Image Credit: Alessandro Bosio/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images (Oct. 24, 1954 – April 4, 2025)
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Johnny Tillotson
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Young Scooter
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Doug Kiker
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Alice Tan Ridley
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Huey P. Williams
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Larry Tamblin
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Jesse Colin Young
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Les Binks
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D’Wayne Wiggins
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Brian James
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Angie Stone
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Joey Molland
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David Johansen
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Robert John
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Chris Jasper
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Roberta Flack
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Rick Buckler
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Paquita la del Barrio
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Gene “Groove” Allen
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Irv Gotti
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Marianne Faithfull
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Ryan Whyte Maloney
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DJ Unk
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Garth Hudson
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John Sykes
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Buck White
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Sam Moore
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Peter Yarrow
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Brenton Wood
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Wayne Osmond
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Leo Dan
Image Credit: Courtesy of Sony Latin
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