Courtesy of
December 21, 2022 by Kerry Doole
Kerry Doole has worked as a Toronto-based freelance arts journalist for the past four decades. He has written on music and film for major newspapers, trade and consumer…
As the clock winds down on 2022, we pause and reflect upon those Canadian artists and music industry luminaries who left us during the year. We remain grateful for their contributions. Unintended omissions are purely accidental, and for these, we offer our regrets.
Jan. 2: Larry Green, Toronto broadcaster and music industry executive, age 80.
Jan. 6: Kody Chaisson, member of Juno-winning East Coast folk/roots favourites The East Pointers, age 37.
Jan. 7: Harpdog Brown, award-winning blues vocalist and harmonica player, age 59.
Jan. 7: R. Dean Taylor, a hit singer/songwriter signed to Motown Records, at age 82.
Jan. 11: Vince Fontaine, Juno award-winning member of Indigenous roots duo Eagle & Hawk, age 60.
Jan. 11: Tyrone Gabriel, Toronto vocalist best known as a member of The Nylons, age 57.
Jan. 19: Mel Shaw, Canadian record industry pioneer and recipient of the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award, age 82.
Jan. 19: Michael Jones, new age pianist, composer and author, age 79.
Jan. 22: Bob Yeomans, musician, songwriter, and a member of Jackson Hawke, age 74.
Jan. 25: Bill Anderson, Toronto radio personality, CFGM, age 77.
Jan. 30: Rose-Ellen Nichols, Indigenous BC opera singer, age 41.
Feb. 3: Donny Gerrard, singer best known as a member of the band Skylark in the early 1970s, age 75.
Feb. 8: Salim Sachedina, former owner of Toronto recording studio Sounds Interchange, age 83.
Feb. 17: Dallas Good, singer/songwriter/guitarist in acclaimed Toronto roots-rock band The Sadies, age 48.
Feb. 17: Kerry Chater, hit country songwriter and member of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, age 76.
Feb. 19: Gary Smyth, BC country musician and member of The Cruzeros, age 68.
early March: Ziggy Sigmund, BC guitarist and member of Slow, Copyright and Econoline Crush, age 56.
March 2: Donald Coakley, noted classical musician, composer, and educator, age 87.
March 4: Iwan Edwards, chorus master of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and a Juno and Grammy winner, age 84.
March 23: Peter Goddard, prolific author and the Toronto Star’s full-time pop music critic from 1972 to 1988, age 78.
April 5: Boris Brott, Hamilton-based internationally-renowned classical conductor and entrepreneur, age 78.
April 5: Pastelle LeBlanc, member of award-winning PEI folk group Vishten, age 42.
April 12: Bob Luhtala, veteran Toronto-based artist manager, age 72
April 16: Bill Bourne, acclaimed veteran Canadian folk/roots singer/songwriter/guitarist, age 68.
April 16: Michael Armstrong, percussionist with Change of Heart and King Cobb Steelie, age 58.
April 18: Jerry Doucette, Juno-winning rock guitarist and singer/songwriter, age 70
April 25: Susan Jacks, BC pop singer best remembered as a member of The Poppy Family, age 73.
April 25: Shane Yellowbird, Indigenous country singer/songwriter, from Alberta, age 43.
April 29: Walter Rossi, Juno-winning rock guitarist and vocalist, age 74.
May 11: Charles Camroux, radio executive and founder of CRN, age 81.
May 16: Michael Wrycraft, Juno-winning album cover designer, Toronto concert promoter, and radio producer, age 65.
May 20: Hilly Leopold, Montreal record producer, songwriter and label executive.
May 26: Louise Glatt, pianist, music teacher, author, and booster of the Ottawa music community, age 85.
May 29: Ronnie Hawkins, legendary rockabilly singer and bandleader credited with launching the career of The Band, age 87.
June 1: Olivia Quan, head recording engineer at Monarch Studios in Vancouver, age 25.
June 14: Curtis Lee, vocalist in Toronto soul band Sweet Blindness, age 74.
June 16: Jake Hiebert, jazz and roots troubadour known as Big Rude Jake, age 59.
June 24: Jack Zaza, Toronto session musician and composer, age 91.
June 26: Adele Armin, internationally acclaimed violinist and TSO member, age 76.
June 29: Roy Warhurst, Albertan musician and producer, age 89.
July 12: Bramwell Tovey, composer and Grammy-winning conductor who led the VSO, age 69.
July 18: Brian Cram, Toronto trumpeter and composer, age 61.
Late July: Tony Malone, Toronto rock singer and songwriter best known for Drastic Measures.
Early Aug.: Gord Lewis, Canadian punk pioneer as guitarist in Hamilton’s Teenage Head, age 65.
Aug. 8: Keith Correa, Toronto music scenester, promoter, and DJ known as The Original Kid Rock.
Aug. 24: Martin Onrot, prominent Toronto concert promoter, manager and record label executive, age 82.
Sept. 5: Pat Stay, East Coast battle rapper, age 36.
Sept. 7: Elmer Tippe, BC recording artist and radio DJ, age 89.
Sept. 14: Stu Mitchell, Edmonton musician and songwriter, age 79.
Oct. 19: Geoff Nuttall, violinist and co-founder of The St. Lawrence String Quarter, age 56.
Oct. 22: Rodney Graham, Vancouver-based post-punk musician and noted visual artist, age 73.
Oct. 30: John McGale, guitarist and songwriter in famed Quebec rock band Offenbach, age 66.
Nov. 18: Jean Lapointe, Quebec singer and comedian turned Senator, age 86.
Nov. 25: Al Mair, Canadian music industry giant and co-founder of the Attic Music Group, age 82.
Dec. 3: Phil Strong, much-awarded Toronto-based composer and sound designer, age 59.
Dec. 5: John Beckwith, prolific and acclaimed composer, age 95.
Dec. 12: Greg Brown, member of Ocean, best known for the hit Put Your Hand In the Hand, age 75.
Dec. 15: Shirley Eikhard, Juno-winning singer/songwriter known for writing the Bonnie Raitt hit Something To Talk About, age 67.
Dec. 21: Doug MacPhee, Cape Breton pianist and Order of Canada recipient, age 85.
