Blues Artists That Died In 2011

The Internet was buzzing last night with news of the death of British blues-rock guitarist Gary Moore. We have since confirmed that Moore passed away on Sunday, February 6, 2011 at the age of 58 while on vacation in Spain. While it is thought that Moore died of a heart attack, Spanish authorities have ordered an autopsy to confirm the cause of death. Influenced by artists like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and especially his mentor Peter Green, Moore made a splash as a guitar hero at a very young age. Throughout his lengthy career, Moore's solo work would veer from hard rock to heavy metal, and back to the blues, which always remained his first love.

Blues harpist George "Mojo" Buford, best known for his work as part of the great Muddy Waters' band, passed away on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 in a Minneapolis hospital after suffering from various health issues since the summer. Buford was 81 years old. Buford first played with Waters in 1959 as a replacement for the departing Little Walter. A few years later, however, the talented blues harpist moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to form his own band. He would re-join Waters' band in 1967 after James Cotton left, and played with the Chicago blues legend during the early 1970s. Buford also enjoyed a modicum of success as a solo performer.

Gil Scott-Heron, a pioneering talent in the fields of R&B and jazz music, and considered by many to be the "Godfather of Rap," died on Friday, May 27, 2011 of unknown causes. Scott-Heron had recently returned home to New York City after a brief European trip and took ill, passing away at St. Luke's Hospital. While not a blues musician in the strictest of terms, Scott-Heron's influence on all facets of African-American creative expression cannot be downplayed. In the end, Scott-Heron called his heady brew of blues, jazz, and soul simply "bluesology," and left it at that. It's a fitting epitaph for a pioneering writer and performer.

Chicago blues legend Hubert Sumlin – longtime Howlin' Wolf guitarist and acclaimed solo artist – passed away today, December 4, 2011 at the age of 80 years old. The beloved elder statesman of the blues reportedly died of heart failure while in a Wayne, New Jersey hospital. As a solo artist, Sumlin won a Blues Music Award for his 2004 album About Them Shoes, which included guest appearances from friends and admirers like Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Levon Helm, Bob Margolin, and others. The guitarist was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2008.

The Gazette newspaper, out of Colorado Springs, Colorado is reporting on the tragic death of blues guitarist John-Alex Mason on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at the young age of 35 years old. Mason had gone into the hospital for an out-patient procedure to remove cancerous tissue, and passed away from complications after the surgery. Mason was a familiar figure at blues festivals across the United States and Canada, performing both solo and with a four-piece band.

The Lancashire Evening Post newspaper is reporting that British blues pioneer Keef Hartley passed away on Saturday, November 26, 2011 at the age of 67 years old. Hartley's cause of death has yet to be established. Hartley is a little-known but integral member of the British blues and blues-rock scene of the 1960s, joining John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in the mid-1960s and appearing on several Mayall albums before forming his own Keef Hartley Band in 1968. The Keef Hartley Band released five albums of brilliant blues-and-jazz-influenced rock 'n' roll in three years.

From our friends at Alligator Records comes word of the passing of beloved Chicago bluesman Lacy Gibson. The singer and guitarist died on Monday, April 11, 2011 of a heart attack. Gibson made a name for himself during the 1960s as a session player, lending his talents to recordings by artists like Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, and Magic Slim, among others. Through the years, Gibson performed with some of the giants of Chicago blues, including Son Seals, Otis Rush, Willie Dixon, Billy Boy Arnold, and others as well as with Sun Ra. Gibson's jazz-influenced style lent itself to complimenting the different styles of the artists he played with, while his robust voice brought authority to his own performances.

Soul-blues singer Marvin Sease, a popular performer who mixed blues, soul, and gospel in the creation of his unique sound, passed away on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 in Vicksburg, Mississippi of pneumonia. Sease was a week short of his 65th birthday. Between 1987 and 2002, Sease would record a number of moderately-selling and often explicit albums for Polygram and, later, Jive Records, cementing his reputation as a "ladies man," a status reinforced by the distaff audience to be found at his typically sold-out concerts.

Blues legend Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins passed away on March 21, 2011 in his Austin, Texas home. The blues pianist was 97 years old and died from heart failure. The beloved artist had just finished up one of the most successful years in a career littered with milestones. Joined At The Hip, the 2010 album that he recorded with his friend and former Muddy Waters bandmate Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, earned the pair a Grammy® Award – Perkins' third – for "Best Traditional Blues Album" as well as a Blues Music Award nomination, and Perkins continued to perform live almost until his death.

It's with great sadness that we have to report on the death of blues great Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. Smith passed away on the morning of September 16, 2011 at his Chicago home, suffering from a stroke. The Chicago blues giant was 75 years old. Fortune smiled on the young musician when he sat in for Muddy Waters Band drummer Francis Clay and was later asked to join the band; Smith would play behind Waters from 1961 through 1964. Leaving Waters' employ, Smith hooked up with a number of other former Waters' employees, including the great Pinetop Perkins and Calvin "Fuzz" Jones as the Legendary Blues Band. This outfit recorded four acclaimed albums during the 1980s and received several Grammy® nominations.