Music world rocked by deaths of 3 iconic performers over weekend – PennLive
Angie Stone poses as she walks down the red carpet during the 2009 Soul Train Awards taping at the Georgia World Congress Center, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith, File)APCancer, another illness and a tragic car crash took the lives of three iconic performers, and has the music world reeling coming out of the weekend.The following is a look back at the heartbreaking weekend and those lost:David JohansenJust more than a week after he posted a video thanking fans for their support, legendary rocker David Johansen died on Feb. 28.A family spokesman told The Associated Press that Johansen, who was battling stage 4 cancer and a brain tumor, died at home on Friday.He was 75.“Hello everybody. I just wanted to thank you all for giving us a big boost here with our fundraising campaign, I guess you would call it,” Johansen said from his bed in a video shared in late February. “I’ve never asked for help in my life and lately Mara’s been teaching me the beauty of, when your chips are down, asking for help. That’s what I’m doing and it seems to be working out really marvelously.”Johansen’s daughter, Leah Hennessey, first alerted fans recently to how serious the 75-year-old’s situation is when she started the Sweet Relief page to raise money for his care.“David has been in intensive treatment for Stage 4 cancer for most of the past decade,” she wrote. “Five years ago at the beginning of the pandemic we discovered that David’s cancer had progressed, and he had a brain tumor. There have been complications ever since.”Hennessey said her father and mother are “generally very private people,” so he never revealed his diagnosis.“But we feel compelled to share this now, due to the increasingly severe financial burden the family is facing,” she wrote. “To make matters worse, the day after Thanksgiving David fell down the stairs and broke his back in two places.”She said the Johansen had been bedridden since the surgery, and his “illness has progressed exponentially. She said her mother was caring for him around the clock.Billboard.com said that Johansen “has long been a beloved figure on the New York scene, beginning with his time as the lead singer and provocateur of the gender-bending New York Dolls.” It noted that he also hosted a show on SiriusXM and also had several acting credits to his name.Joey Molland Joey Molland, the last surviving member of the original lineup of Badfinger, has died. He was 77.The guitarist reportedly died Saturday after battling “multiple health issues.” “Well, the day we never wanted to see has arrived,” Badfinger shared in a statement on its Facebook page. “Joey (Joseph Charles) Molland passed away last night, surrounded by Mary, his two sons, and other family members at 11:39 CST.”Parade Magazine noted that Molland’s girlfriend, identified as “Mary,” started a GoFundMe for him last November.“Joey was vaguely ill throughout the fall, and then in early December acquired a very bad bacterial infection due to his diabetes,” an update on that page read. “The infection caused septicemia and traveled through his body, causing harm in multiple critical organs and bones. His recovery has been slow and arduous, including several surgeries and procedures.”Molland joined Badfinger in 1969 and performed with the band across “several decades,” according to Parade. He continued to perform up until 2024.Angie Stone Grammy-nominated R&B singer Angie Stone was killed on March 1 in a car crash, according to multiple reports.She was 63.Music producer Walter Millsap III told The Associated Press that at about 4 a.m. the cargo van that Stone was riding in back to Atlanta from Alabama “flipped over and was subsequently hit by a big rig.”The Associated Press said that everyone else in the vehicle survived.It said that Stone was slated to sing during the halftime show of Saturday’s Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association men’s championship basketball game.Her death sent shockwaves across the R&B community and with fans on social media.Stone was a native of Columbia, South Carolina where she began singing in the church. Her professional career began in 1979.The Associated Press said that Stone “found a sweet spot in the early 2000s” alongside the likes of Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Maxwell and D’Angelo during the rise of neo-soul.If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025).© 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). 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