Frank Farian
Peter Bischoff/Getty Images
There’s simply no way around it. The music industry, with all its boundless nooks and crannies, will say farewell to many behind-the-scenes players over the course of 2024. From corporate executives of all stripes, to agents, managers and live promoters, to deal-making lawyers and policy-influencing lobbyists, and studio producers and other knob-twisters and songwriters, they are all part of the fabric of music.
To honor those who have passed on, we’re highlighting these often-unsung individuals who’ve left a lasting impression across every aspect of the business. In the early months of 2024, we’ve already lost important figures including label executive Bob Fead, consequential lawyer Leon Wildes, a pair of BBC Radio icons, an inventor of one of music’s weirdest devices and the Svengali-like figure who gave the world Milli Vanilli.
Here are the industry players we’ve lost in 2024:
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FRAN BOYD, 84
Image Credit: Courtesy of ACM March 9
A former executive director of the Academy of Country Music, Boyd played a pivotal role in shaping the ACM from its early days in California in the 1960s, all the way into the new millennium. [More]
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VINCE POWER, 76
Image Credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images March 9
The legendary Irish impresario built the Mean Fiddler Music Group from the ground up, creating an empire that began as a single venue and grew to one encompassing 30 venues and events. “I just love organizing festivals,” he told Billboard in 2008. [More]
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DEBRA BYRD, 72
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images March 5
A longtime collaborator of Barry Manilow’s, Byrd is perhaps best known for her long run as vocal coach on American Idol, where she tutored future EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson and dozens of other contestants. She was also a vocal coach on the Oscar telecast in 2014 and was chair of the vocal department at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. [More]
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LYNN FAINCHTEIN, 61
Image Credit: Presley Ann/FilmMagic March 1
The Mexican music director and producer was known for her work as music supervisor on films such as Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores Perros and Alfonso Cuarón’s Academy Award-winning Roma. [More]
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BOB HEIL, 83
Image Credit: Derik Holtmann/Belleville News-Democrat/Tribune News Service via Getty Images February 28
An accomplished live music sound designer best known as the inventor of the Heil Talk Box — synonymous with Peter Frampton (“Show Me the Way”), Joe Walsh (“Rocky Mountain Way”) and other guitarists looking to manipulate their guitar tones with their own voice. [More]
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SHINSADONG TIGER, 40
Image Credit: Yang Ji-ung/Yonhap/AP February 23
Born Lee Ho-yang in Pohang, South Korea, the songwriter and music producer achieved great heights working with K-pop artists including EXID, Beast, T-ara and HyunA. [More]
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EDDIE CHEEBA, 67
Image Credit: Johnny Nunez/WireImage February 13
A DJ regarded as a founding father of hip-hop for his innovative style of rapping over recorded tracks at NYC clubs in the 1970s. [More]
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STEVE WRIGHT, 69
Image Credit: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images February 12
The legendary British broadcaster and host of BBC Radio 1’s Steve Wright in the Afternoon, among other programs, also dabbled in television staples like Top of the Pops. He died a day after taping the Valentine’s Day edition of his Love Songs radio show. [More]
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MOJO NIXON, 66
Image Credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images February 7
While perhaps best known for his revved-up rockabilly hits like “Elvis Is Everywhere” and “Don Henley Must Die,” Nixon was also a longtime Cincinnati radio personality and host of SiriusXM’s Loon in the Afternoon on Steven Van Zandt’s Outlaw Country channel. [More]
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TOBY KEITH, 62
Image Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic February 5
The “How Do You Like Me Now?!” and “Beer for My Horses” singer helped Scott Borchetta (with whom he worked during his Dreamworks days) launch Big Machine alongside his own label, Show Dog Nashville. [More]
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MARTIN KIRKUM, 75
Image Credit: Getty Images for City of Hope February 4
Katy Perry’s longtime manager and co-founder — with Steven Jensen — of Direct Management Group. Over the decades, he also worked closely with the B-52s, Tracy Chapman, k.d. lang, the Go-Go’s, Counting Crows and many others. [More]
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FRANK FARIAN, 82
Image Credit: Fryderyk Gabowicz/picture alliance via Getty Images January 23
The German producer and occasional singer (see: Boney M) will forever be known for concocting Milli Vanilli, the pop vocal group featuring two dancers (Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus) who didn’t sing a note. [More]
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ANNIE NIGHTINGALE, 83
Image Credit: Peter Stone/Mirrorpix via Getty Images January 12
The London native earned a lofty string of “firsts” — BBC Radio 1’s first female DJ, the first woman to solo host a rock music TV show (The Old Grey Whistle Test) and she still ranks No. 1 in lists of longest-serving female radio host at over 50 years. [More]
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MIKE TAYLOR, 54
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo January 11
The U.S.-born music executive made his mark in Australia, where he was head of A&R at Sony Music for many years before a a 15-year tenure with Universal Music Australia, where he was founding general manager and head of Island Records Australia. [More]
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LEON WILDES, 90
Image Credit: James Garrett/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images January 8
While initially brought in to help John Lennon and Yoko Ono extend their visas, the prominent immigration lawyer soon had to fend off the Nixon administration’s attempts to deport the couple. He eventually won, and Lennon was given his green card. [More]
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DEL PALMER, 71
Image Credit: Dave Hogan/Getty Images January 5
The English musician and songwriter was entangled — both professionally and romantically — with Kate Bush for decades and is best known for engineering and mixing her classic albums Hounds of Love, The Sensual World and The Red Shoes, among others.
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BOB FEAD, 89
Image Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images January 2
The Edwin Jackson of the music biz, Fead (pictured, left) held key positions at a multitude of labels over the decades, including A&M Records, Liberty Records, RCA, Alfa Records (which he launched), Monument Records, Pacific Arts Video, Famous Music and Warner Chappell Music. “Both [his] opinion and advocacy changed lives!” said ASCAP president Paul Williams. [More]