January 4th: Bono is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian honor.

January 7th: Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary dies in his New York City home from bladder cancer. He was 86.

January 10th: Sam Moore, who came to prominence as one half of the 1960s soul duo Sam and Dave and subsequently had a long career as a solo artist, dies in Coral Gables, Florida at the age of 89.

January 16th: Toby Myers, who played bass in John Mellencamp's band and on all of his studio albums from 1983 to 1999, dies at age 75.

January 21st: Garth Hudson, one of the two keyboardists, and occasionally the saxophonist, of the group known simply as The Band, dies at the age of 87. He passed in his sleep at a nursing home near where he lived in Woodstock, New York.

January 22nd: Blues-rock keyboardist Barry Goldberg passes away from non-Hodgkins lymphoma at age 83. He also was in Bob Dylan’s band when he went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 and Goldberg co-founded the Electric Flag with Michael Bloomfield.

January 30th: Marianne Faithfull, who rose to fame in the 1960s via her music and her relationship with Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, dies. She was 78 years old.

January 30th: The all-star FireAid benefit is held at two venues in Inglewood, California -- the Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum. Among those who perform to raise money for victims of the recent wildfires are Rod Stewart, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks, Billie Eilish, John Fogerty, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell, The Black Crowes, Green Day, John Mayer, No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Alanis Morissette.

February 5th: Dave Jerden, who engineered albums by The Rolling Stones, Talking Heads and Red Hot Chili Peppers, dies in his sleep. He was 75.

February 28th: David Johansen, who went from the frontman of the iconic New York City band the New York Dolls to a crooner named Buster Pointdexter, dies at age 75 at his Staten Island, New York. Johansen had revealed that he had been dealing with a brain tumor for five years and was bedridden with a broken back.

March 1st: Joey Molland, the last remaining member of the classic Badfinger lineup, dies at age 77.

March 2nd: Bassist Bob Rupe, who played in Cracker from 1994 to 1999, dies at age 68. Rupe was also a founding member of The Silos and Gutterball.

March 25th: Engineer and producer Terry Manning died at his home in El Paso, Texas on Tuesday at age 77. His six-decade career included work with Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, George Thorogood, Joe Walsh, Joe Cocker, Lenny Kravitz and many others.

April 7th: Blondie announce that drummer Clem Burke died at age 70. The band issues a statement saying that Burke died from cancer.

April 9th: The wife of Weezer bassist Scott Shriner, Jillian Lauren, was shot by Los Angeles police Tuesday while they were pursuing three hit-and-run suspects. Lauren was taken to a local hospital and then charged with attempted murder and released on a $1 million bond.

April 12th: Roy Thomas Baker, the producer whose technique of multi-tracking vocals and guitar parts helped launch the careers of Queen and The Cars, died at his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. He was 78.

April 16th: The Who announce they’ve let go longtime drummer Zak Starkey.

April 19th: The Who do a 180 on their dismissal of longtime drummer Zak Starkey.

April 29th: Mike Peters, the singer and co-founder of The Alarm, passes away at 66 with Richter’s Syndrome, an aggressive form of lymphoma.

May 1st: Jill Sobule -- who wrote and recorded the groundbreaking 1995 hit "I Kissed a Girl" -- dies at age 66 in a fire at her home in Minneapolis.

May 14th: Bruce Springsteen opens his European tour by making pointed comments about Donald Trump.

May 16th: Josh Freese announces he’s been let go by Foo Fighters.

May 18th: The Who announce they’ve let go longtime drummer Zak Starkey, again.

June 9th: Sly Stone, a pioneer in the development of funk music and its fusion with other genres, dies at age 82 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other health issues.

June 11th: Brian Wilson, founder and creative genius of The Beach Boys and a longtime solo artist, dies at age 82 of respiratory arrest.

July 4th: Oasis opens their reunion tour in Cardiff, Wales.

July 7th: Matt Cameron leaves Pearl Jam.

July 30th: Nine Inch Nails and Foo Fighters swap drummers, as Josh Freese rejoins NIN and Ilan Rubin joins the Foos.

August 10th: Keyboardist and singer Bobby Whitlock, best known as a member of Derek and the Dominos, passes at his home in Texas from cancer. He was 77.

September 25th: Jillian Lauren, the wife of Weezer bassist Scott Shriner, avoids jail time for the shooting incident involving L.A. cops back in April.

September 26th: Twenty One Pilots are number-one on the Billboard 200 chart with Breach.

October 1st: Chris Dreja [pr: DRAY-ha], co-founder and rhythm guitarist and bassist in the Yardbirds, dies at age 79.

October 9th: John Lodge of The Moody Blues dies at age 82.

October 24th: The Bruce Springsteen bio-pic, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, opens in theaters.

November 2nd: Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, who sang with the Grateful Dead from 1971 to 1979, dies at the age of 78.

November 4th: Radiohead start their first tour in seven years in Madrid, Spain.

November 5th: Former Squeeze drummer Gilson Lavis dies at age 74 at his home in Lincolnshire, England.

November 8th: Soundgarden, White Stripes, Bad Company, Cyndi Lauper, Joe Cocker and Warren Zevon are among the honorees at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Los Angeles.

November 19th: Onetime Stone Roses bassist Gary “Mani” Mounfield dies after collapsing following a seizure. He was 63 years old.

November 24th: Jimmy Cliff, the legendary reggae artist and Jamaican icon, passes away at the age of 81.

December 3rd: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Steve Cropper dies at age 84.

December 8th: Raul Malo of The Mavericks dies of cancer at age 60.

December 17th: Perry Farrell and the other members of Jane's Addiction each issue statements about their on-stage fight in Boston in September 2024 and confirm that the band is broken up for good.

Jim Gaffigan

Everything is Wonderful! Tour