Legendary guitarist and one of the most important people in contemporary music, Bo Diddley, died at the relatively ripe age of 79. He died of heart failure at his Florida home on June 2.

Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell was found dead, aged 62, in his hotel room in Portland, Oregon on November 12. Tests showed that he died of natural causes.

Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim was found murdered in her hotel room in Dubai on July 28. She was 30 years old. In September an Egyptian businessman called Hisham Talaat Moustafa was arrested in Cairo and accused of paying a hitman to have Tamim killed.

Klaus Dinger – The German musician is famed for his work with defining Krautrock band Neu! The Berliner had also played drums with Kraftwerk. He died of heart failure three days short of his 62nd birthday on March 21.

Humphrey Lyttelton - Simply known as Humph to many, the English jazz musician and broadcaster died after undergoing a heart operation on April 25. He was 86. In 2000 he worked with Radiohead on their Amnesiac track 'Life In A Glasshouse'. The band\'s Jonny Greenwood posted a blog after his death saying: 'We were all sorry to hear of Humphrey Lyttelton's death - he was an inspiring person to record with, and without his direction, we'd never have recorded/released Life in a Glasshouse. So go and find Bad Penny Blues, and celebrate his life with some hot jazz.'

Miriam Makeba – Also known as Mama Afrika, the prolific South African singer and civil rights activist died of a heart attack while performing live in Italy. The Grammy Award winning star was 76 years of age.

MC Breed – The Michigan based rapper (born Eric Breed) shot to fame with songs like 'Ain't No Future in Yo Frontin' and 'Gotta Get Mine' with Tupac. Breed died in his sleep aged 37 while at a friend's home in Ypsilanti on November 22. Before his death he was working on his 14th studio album.

Mikey Dread – The Jamaican singer, producer and broadcaster has widely been cited as a crucial figure and innovator of reggae music. He died of a brain tumour in Stamford, Connecticut aged 53 on March 15.

Sean Levert – The American R&B singer - who was one-third of 1980s trio LeVert and son of O'Jays vocalist Eddie Levert - died aged 39 on March 30 after falling ill in jail in Cleveland, Ohio. He had been sentenced to a year in prison for failure to pay child benefits and died from a combination of sarcoidosis, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and withdrawal from Xanax.

Mike Smith, the lead singer and keyboardist of The Dave Clark Five (one of the bands responsible for the British Invasion in the 60s alongside The Rolling Stones and The Beatles), dies on February 28 of pneumonia at the age of 64. He died just 11 days before the band were inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame. He is pictured far left in 1965.

Rick Wright, one of the three remaining original members of Pink Floyd, died of an undisclosed form of cancer at his home on September 15. The keyboardist was 65 when he died.

Davy Graham – One of the most influential figures of the folk explosion in the sixties, Graham died of lung cancer on December 18 aged 68. He is said to have influenced an array of artists including Jimmy Page and Paul Simon.

Soul legend Isaac Hayes died after suffering a stroke at his Memphis home on August 10. The 'Shaft' singer and voice of Chef in South Park was 65 years old.

Gidget Gein – The former Marilyn Manson bassist died from an accidental heroin overdoseon October 8 at his home in Burbank, California. He had been clean from drugs and alcohol for a year before the overdose.

Ola Brunkert – The ABBA session drummer died in a freak accident on March 16. His body was found with cuts on the neck, initially causing suspicion. However it was found that he had hit his head on the door of his dining room and the smashed glass had cut his neck. He was 61.

Dennis Yost(centre) – The lead singer of sixties rock group Classics IV died of respiratory failure on December 7, aged 56.

Kenny MacLean – The Glasgow born bassist was a member of multi-platinum selling outfit Platinum Blonde. He died on November 24 of suspected heart failure at the age of 52.

Neil Aspinall – The British music industry executive was childhood friends with Paul McCartney and George Harrison and went on to run their Apple Corps label. Known as the '5th Beatle' due to his close ties with the Liverpool band, he even went to court on their behalf to fight Apple Computers. He died of lung caner at the Sloane-Kettering cancer hospital in New York (above) on March 23 aged 66.

Byron Lee – The leader of the Jamaican calypso/ska/soca band Byron Lee and the Dragonaires died on November 4 after a long battle with cancer. He was 73-years-old.

Russ Hamilton – Born Ronald Hulme in Everton, Liverpool in 1932, Hamilton went to become the first Liverpool act to achieve chart success in America. 'Rainbow' cracked the US charts in 1957, a good six years before The Beatles released their first single Stateside, 'Please Please Me'. He died at his North Wales home on October 11.

Johnny 'J' – The rapper, songwriter and producer is best known for his work on the multi-platinum albums by the late Tupac Shakur, 'Me Against The World' and 'All Eyez On Me'. He released one solo album 'I Gotta Be Me' in 1995. For most of 2008 he had been working on Tatyani Ali's second album before he allegedly commit suicide in October aged 39 while serving a DUI charge in prison.

Lita Roza – With her 1953 track '(How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window?', the Liverpool born singer became the first female artist to reach number one in the UK. She died at home aged 82 on August 14.

Eddy Arnold – The country star helped to define the Nashville sound within his genre of music. Between 1955 and 2005 he released an astonishing 50 albums. He died in his sleep at his Nashville home on May 8, just two months after his wife passed away. He was 89.

Artie Traum – An award winning guitarist, Artie Traum recorded and produced music with 35 different acts, including Eric Anderson and Tony Levin. He died on July 20th, aged 65.

Dottie Rambo – One of the greatest American gospel singers of all time, Dottie Rambo was tragically killed in a bus accident on May 10th, added 74. Her long career included Grammy and Dove awards. But sadly she was killed before being formally inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Utah Phillips – Utah Phillips will forever be remembered as having the "Golden Voice of the Great Southwest”. His passion for storytelling helped maintain some of folk music’s most favourite songs. He died from complications of heart disease on May 24th, aged 73.

Sean Costello – A true pioneer of blues music, Sean Costello released five albums and performed alongside greats such as Buddy Guy and B. B. King. His death from a drugs overdose in an Atlanta hotel room on April 15th came just hours after his final interview. He was 28.

Ronnie Matthews %u2013 Ronnie Matthews%u2019 ability to work the piano won him widespread critical acclaim. He died from pancreatic cancer in June, aged 72.

Jo Stafford – A pioneer of modern musical parody, Grammy Award winner Jo Stafford died on July 16th, Aged 90. She will always be remembered for becoming the first female to claim to top the UK singles chart.

Mel Galley – Mel Galley’s outstanding career saw him play guitar for a host of bands including Trapeze, Phenomena and Whitesnake, with whom he recorded two albums (1982’s ‘Saints and Sinners’ and 1984’s ‘Slide’). The guitarist died on July 1st. He had been suffering from cancer of the esophagus.

Eartha Kitt - Eartha Kitt died on Christmas Day following a battle from Colon Cancer. The singer and actress, most famous for her appearance as Catwoman in the 1960s television series Batman, collected Tony, Emmy and Grammy nominations during a glittering career. She was 81.

Freddie Hubbard - The legendary Jazz Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard died in hospital in Los Angeles in December. He was being treated at Sherman Oaks Hospital after suffering a heart attack in November. The musician’s career spanned six decades and saw him collaborate with fellow jazz pioneers Thelonious Monk and Coltrane.