The New York Times obituary written by Bill Morris is titled “Sam Moore of the Dynamic Soul Duo Sam & Dave Is Dead at 89”:
Sam Moore, the tenor half of the scorching soul duo Sam & Dave — known for indelible hits like “Soul Man,” “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and “I Thank You” — died on Friday in Coral Gables, Fla. He was 89.
His death, in a hospital after surgery, was confirmed by his wife and longtime manager, Joyce Moore. She said the exact cause was unclear.
At their peak in the 1960s, Sam & Dave churned out rhythm-and-blues hits with a regularity rivaled by few other performers. When “Soul Man” topped the R&B charts and crossed over to No. 2 on the pop charts in 1967 (it also won a Grammy), its success helped open doors for other Black acts to connect with white audiences.
Sam & Dave’s live shows were so kinetic — they were known as the Sultans of Sweat and Double Dynamite — that even as charismatic a performer as Otis Redding was hesitant to be on the bill with them, for fear of being upstaged. Mr. Moore once spoke of his need to “liquefy” the audience before he considered a show a success.
There’s more on them both in: Black Music Sunday: Prep your holiday meal with a side of ‘that sweet soul music’
February
Roberta Cleopatra Flack was born Feb. 10, 1937 and passed on Feb. 24, 2025. I featured her legacy in “Black Music Sunday: Roberta Flack wrapped us up softly in her songs.”
February was also the month we lost Jerry Butler, who was born Dec. 8, 1939, and passed on Feb. 20, 2025. Richard Williams wrote Butler’s obituary for The Guardian:
Singer nicknamed ‘the Iceman’ whose hits included Only the Strong Survive and Hey, Western Union Man
When a Philadelphia radio disc jockey gave the young Jerry Butler the nickname of “the Iceman”, it was in recognition of the singer’s avoidance of on-stage histrionics rather than any lack of warmth in his polished but ardent delivery.
Butler, who has died aged 85, had hits across three decades, with records that spanned the evolution of African-American popular music, from the gospel-influenced doo-wop of For Your Precious Love, aimed at the teenagers of the 1950s, through the suave balladry of Moon River and Make It Easy on Yourself in the 60s, to the sophisticated boudoir soul of I Want to Do It to You in the 70s.
There was a background to his unruffled demeanour. In his 2004 autobiography, titled Only the Strong Survive: Memoirs of a Soul Survivor, Butler gave credit to a teacher in the fifth grade at his elementary school in Chicago. Her name was Ernestine Curry and she taught “maths, English, history, music, etiquette and how to box”.
March
Vibraphonist, record producer, and composer Roy Ayers was born Sept. 10, 1940, and passed on March 4, 2025. Lars Gotrich at NPR wrote “Roy Ayers, whose ‘Everybody Loves The Sunshine’ charmed generations, dies at 84”:
Roy Ayers, the vibraphonist, composer and jazz-funk pioneer behind “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” has died at the age of 84.
He died Tuesday in New York City after a long illness, according to a statement shared on his Facebook page.
Ayers was born in Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 1940, to a musical family. Like a scene out of a movie, a 5-year-old Ayers boogie’d so hard at a Lionel Hampton concert that the vibraphonist handed Ayers his first pair of mallets.
“At the time, my mother and father told me he laid some spiritual vibes on me,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 2011.
Also in March we lost neo-soul, hip hop, and rap artist Angie Stone, who was born Dec. 18, 1961, and died in an automobile accident on March 1, 2025. She and R&B singer D’Angelo, who died later in 2025, shared a son. Peter Mason wrote Stone’s obituary for The Guardian:
Angie Stone, who has died aged 63 in a traffic incident, was an American soul singer and songwriter. She rose to international prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with two albums, Black Diamond and Mahogany Soul, that spawned a pair of popular singles, No More Rain and Wish I Didn’t Miss You.
Eight further solo albums displayed Stone’s command not just of soul but of gospel, R&B and funk, often in collaboration with other songwriters and artists, including Prince (U Make My Sun Shine, 2001), Snoop Dog (I Wanna Thank Ya, 2004), Anthony Hamilton (Stay for a While, 2004) and Betty Wright (Baby, 2007).
Stone had first come to light in the late 70s as a member of the Sequence, a pioneering hip-hop trio whose much sampled 1979 single Funk You Up is generally cited as the first rap record released by an all-female group.
April
James Gavin at JazzTimes wrote “In Memoriam: Andy Bey, 1939-2025”:
Jazz singer Andy Bey, who died at 85 on April 26, 2025, was a striking vision at the piano: a compact, muscley, mahogany-skinned man, half-smiling and lost in his own inscrutable world. Bey’s midnight-blue bass baritone was full of tension and drama; he colored his phrases with growls, hums, soft wails and gospel-like melisma. His work was full of jarring contrasts. He could leap into a satiny falsetto then sink down onto a rumbling, subterranean low note. A featherweight passage on piano might give way to a crashing, dissonant chord.
May
Jazz drummer Aloysius Tyrone Foster, known as Al Foster, was born Jan. 18, 1943, and passed on May 28, 2025.
June
In June we lost Sylvester Stewart, who you know as Sly Stone. Born on March 15, 1943, he died on June 9, 2025. His official website has his full biography but if you get a chance, read his AUWA Books autobiography titled “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” which was written with Ben Greenman.
Here’s the tune that became the book’s title:
July
Dame Cleo Laine, born Oct. 28,1927, passed on July 24, 2025, and was one of the three women I featured in “It’s Black History Month in the UK! Let’s celebrate with 3 Black British divas of song.”
August
Puerto Rican Latin jazz and salsa pianist and composer Eddie Palmieri was born on Dec. 15, 1936, in New York City and died on Aug. 6, 2025. His legacy was featured in “Black Music Sunday: Celebrating Eddie Palmieri, ‘El Maestro’ of Latin jazz.”
September
Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal was born June 22, 1936, and joined the ancestors on Sept. 13. Check out this video about him.
October
Drummer, pianist, and composer Jack DeJohnette was born on Aug. 8, 1942, and died of congestive heart failure at the age of 83 on Oct. 26, 2025. The Jazz Passing website has posted a stunning list of all the musicians he worked with over the course of his career.
In a career that spans five decades and includes collaborations with some of the most iconic figures in modern jazz, NEA and Grammy winner Jack DeJohnette has established an unchallenged reputation as one of the greatest drummers in the history of the genre. The list of creative associations throughout his career is lengthy and diverse: John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Keith Jarrett, Chet Baker, George Benson, Stanley Turrentine, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Joe Henderson, Freddy Hubbard, Betty Carter and so many more. Along the way, he has developed a versatility that allows room for hard bop, R&B, world music, avant-garde, and just about every other style to emerge in the past half-century.
Here’s a taste of DeJohnette the pianist:
Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer Michael Eugene Archer, known to the world as D’Angelo, was born Feb. 11, 1974, and died of pancreatic cancer on Oct. 14, 2025.
Julie Qauckenbush at Black Past wrote about D’Angelo:
D’Angelo was born to Mariann Smith and Luther Archer Sr., in Richmond, Virginia on February 11, 1974. His father and grandfather were both Pentecostal preachers which led to D’Angelo’s gospel roots. He began pursuing his musical talent on the piano and eventually started a band in his teens. At 16, his talent was recognized after winning awards three consecutive nights at the well-known Amateur Night contest at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
[…]D’Angelo’s solo success is closely tied to his role in the Soulquarians, a neo-soul and jazz fusion group that formed in the early 1990s. While members of the group changed over time, the core four members included J Dilla, Questlove, James Poyser, and D’Angelo. His close connections with these artists led to heartfelt and authentic music, much of which was released as a part of his album “Voodoo.” These artists used each other’s unique styles to create their own sound that, as many said, restored black music to its former glory.
His album, “Voodoo,” won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album in 2001.
November
November brought the passing of globally famed reggae artist and activist Jimmy Cliff , featured here in “Black Music Sunday: Jimmy Cliff crossed his final river at age 81.”
December
Last, but not least, fans of the music of Puerto Rico are mourning and paying tribute to Rafael Ithier, founder of El Gran Combo, who was born Aug. 29, 1926, and passed on Dec. 6. NPR’s Isabella Gomez Sarmiento wrote “Rafael Ithier, a legend of salsa music, dies at 99”:
For decades, El Combo served as an informal training ground for dozens of salsa musicians, leading to the nickname “la universidad de la salsa” (the university of salsa), which was also the title of a 1983 album. But even as the group’s lineup changed, Ithier remained its faithful leader, recording dozens of albums and performing on stages around the world. In 2015, El Gran Combo received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Latin Grammys.
Following news of Ithier’s death, musicians, collaborators and politicians took to social media to share their condolences. “Ithier leaves behind an eternal legacy in salsa,” wrote the Latin Recording Academy. “Thank you, maestro, for a life dedicated to music.”
Here’s a mix of their many hits:
