Rock and Pop Singers/Musicians Who Died on Christmas

Christmas trees, Santa Claus, a giant feast, treats, church celebrations, and presents are some of the things that come to mind on Christmas. Sadly, Christmas is also a day when the world lost some wonderful rock and pop performers. Let's take a look at some of them.

George Michael

 Born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, George Michael got his real music break when he and close friend Andrew Ridgeley formed the group Wham. Wham reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with their single "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," a song that was certified Platinum.

 After about five years, Michael left Wham to branch out on a solo career, which brought such hit songs as "Faith" and "I Want Your Sex." Over the span of his career, Michael sold more than 120 million records and in 2023 was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 

Michael passed away in 2026 at the age of 53 from natural causes stemming from dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver.

Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood

 A member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood was mostly known for his saxophone playing, although he did occasionally play guitar and add his vocals to their music. He recorded several albums with the band, including "Freak Out!," "We're Only in It For the Money," and "Weasels Ripped My Flesh."

 Sherwood also appeared on Zappa's solo album, "Lumpy Gravy," although he used his alter ego name Larry Fanoga. In the early 1980s, he joined with other previous members of Mothers of Invention to form The Grandmothers, a band which performed Mothers of Invention music, although Frank Zappa was not a part of it.

 In 2011, at the age of 69, Sherwood passed away in his sleep after suffering from an inoperable brain tumor.

Alphonse Mouzon is known for his work as a composer and jazz fusion drummer, and is probably best known for his work with Larry Coryell in the band The Eleventh House, as well as being one of the founding members of the group Weather Report, whose album "Heavy Weather" reached #1 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums Chart.

 However, Mouzon was also known for his rock drumming talent and worked with legends such as Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, and Jeff Beck.

 Mouzon passed away at the age of 68 from cardiac arrest following a bout of Neuroendocrine Carcinoma, a rare form of cancer.

Tiffini Hale

 An original member of The All New Mickey Mouse Club, Tiffini Hale performed alongside some other famous cast alumni including Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake. The TV series spawned the band The Party, a dance-pop band.

 Hale recorded albums with the band, which released singles including "That's Why," "Summer Vacation," and "Free." Some of the band's singles made the Billboard charts, but none were huge hits.

 Little is known about what happened to Hale after her time with The Party up until the time of her death. In early December of 2021, Hale, age 46, suffered a heart attack, which left her in a coma. She never regained consciousness before her passing on Christmas Day. 

Bryan MacLean

Guitarist and singer Bryan MacLean was a founding member of the rock group Love. The group is best known for their third album, "Forever Changes," which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was also ranked #40 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003.

In his later years, MacLean joined a Christian ministry and began to record Christian music. His most popular album was "Praise & Worship," which contains 32 songs of worship.

He was about to record another Christian album when he died of a heart attack at the age of 52.

Tony "T-Bone" Bellamy 

Starting out performing with Dobie Gray, Tony "T-Bone" was also a member of the San Francisco band Peter and the Wolves before joining the band Redbone as a guitarist and singer. 

The band Redbone is best known for their song, "Come and Get Your Love," which hit a respectable #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's been featured in several movies, including Grown Ups, Avengers: Endgame, and Disney's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The band was inducted into the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame in 2008.

Bellamy continued to perform with Redbone until his death at age 63 from liver failure.

James Brown

"The Godfather of Soul," James Brown had a music genre that was a crossover of soul, R&B, and rock & roll. With a total of over 100 albums, Brown is best remembered for hits like "I Got You (I Feel Good,)" "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," and "Get Up Offa That Thing."

Making the Billboard Charts well over 100 times, Brown has been honored numerous times in the music industry. A three-time Grammy winner, he received the BET Lifetime Entertainment Award, as well as being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Kennedy Center Honors, to name but a few. He was also part of the inaugural class of inductees in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

At age 73, Brown died of heart failure after being admitted to the hospital with pneumonia.

The performers mentioned in this article are only those who have a rock & roll or pop background. Many other wonderful musicians and singers have passed on Christmas, including "The King of Cool," Dean Martin, and songstress Eartha Kitt.