Business
Rupert Neve, Pro Audio Legend, Dead at 94
Legendary designer Rupert Neve died February 12, 2021, leaving behind a monumental legacy of equipment used in every corner of pro audio.
Obituary
Music Production
Elliot Mazer, Legendary Producer/Engineer, Dead at 79
Legendary producer/engineer Elliot Mazer, best-known for his work with Neil Young, Janis Joplin and others, died of a heart attack in his San Francisco home on Sunday, February 7, 2021.
Music Production
Phil Spector, Producer/Murderer, Dead at 81
Legendary producer and convicted murderer Phil Spector died January 16, 2021 of COVID 19-related complications.
Music Production
UK Producer Steve Brown, Dead at 65
Steve Brown, producer/engineer behind hits by Freddie Mercury, Wham, The Cult, Manic Street Preachers and more, has died following a fall in December.
Business
Pro Audio In Memoriam 2020
Here, we honor audio pros the industry lost this year that were memorialized in the pages of Pro Sound News, starting in January 2020 and moving chronologically through the year to December.
Music Production
Producer Jason Slater, Dead at 49
Jason Slater, founding bassist of Third Eye Blind and producer for numerous acts including Queensrÿche, has died at the age of 49.
Business
Bruce Swedien, Legendary Engineer, Dead at 86
A giant among recording engineers, Bruce Swedien died peacefully November 16 at the age of 86. Renowned for recording Michael Jackson’s 66-million-selling 'Thriller' album, Swedien worked with a Who’s Who of 20th Century popular music.
Music Production
Recording Engineer Donald C. Hahn Passes at 81
Don Hahn, whose engineering work could be heard on everything from "We Are The World" to Star Trek, died October 10 at the age of 81.
Business
BAE Audio Founder Cameron “Brent” Averill, 1949-2020
Cameron “Brent” Averill, founder of BAE Audio, died in August at the age of 71.
Business
Mark Brunner, Shure Executive, Passes
A veteran of the pro-audio industry for more than 30 years, Shure mainstay Mark Brunner passed October 1 of undisclosed causes.
Business
Zappa Engineer/Pro-Audio Exec Mark Pinske Dead at 70
Across five decades, Mark Pinske was a renowned studio owner, audio executive, and live sound engineer, most notably for Frank Zappa.
Business
David Croxton, KV2 Sales Director, Dead at 59
Industry veteran David Croxton, sales director of KV2, has died due to a fatal accident. He was 59.
International
Barry O’Hare, Legendary Jamaican Engineer, Dead at 56
A mainstay of Jamaica’s recording and live sound scene for decades, engineer Barry O’Hare died from COVID-19 on Saturday, September 19, 2020.
Music Production
Legendary Studio Designer Francis Manzella Passes
TEC Award-winning studio designer Francis Manzella died Sunday, August 16, due to complications from hip surgery.
Live
FOH Engineer Vinnie Kowalski, Dead at 58
FOH engineer Vincent Kowalski died July 17, 2020, closing a 40-plus year career that saw him tour with Blondie, fellow Long Islanders Dream Theater, Savatage, Kirk Franklin, Thin Lizzy, John Fogerty and Peter Frampton.
Music Production
Hard Rock Producer/Engineer Martin Birch, Dead at 71
Martin Birch, who recorded more than 60 albums for Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac and others, has died.
Post and Broadcast
Ken Nightingall, Star Wars Boom Operator, Dead at 92
A veteran film recordist, Nightingall became an unlikely cult figure among Star Wars fans due to his sartorial choices on the set of the first film.
Business
Former Sennheiser Executive Paul Whiting Passes
Former Sennheiser executive Paul Whiting passed away on Friday, June 5, following a brief illness.
Music Production
Producer/Artist Rupert Hine, Dead at 72
Rupert Hine, the producer behind hit albums by Rush, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, Stevie Nicks, The Fixx and others, was also an accomplished artist in his own right.
Music Production
Producer Robert “Bobby Digital” Dixon, Dead at 59
A mainstay of 1980s and 90s reggae, producer/engineer Robert “Bobby Digital” Dixon died of kidney disease.
Business
Roy Williams, FOH Engineer for Robert Plant/Led Zeppelin, Dead at 73
A veteran of the live concert business, Roy Williams helmed the 2007 Led Zeppelin reunion and multiple Robert Plant tours.
Music Production
Sam Clayton Jr, Producer-Engineer / Jamaican Bobsled Team Member, Dead at 58
The producer/engineer, who worked with acts like Steel Pulse and Toots and the Maytals, was also a founding member of the storied Jamaican bobsled team that competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Recording
Producer/Engineer Knox Phillips, Dead at 74
The son of Sun Records founder Sam Phillips, Knox Phillips made his own way, recording the likes of Willie Nelson, John Prine and Jerry Lee Lewis before becoming an emissary of Memphis’ music scene.
Business
Larry Edgeworth, NBC News Audio Tech, Dies of COVID-19
Larry Edgeworth, a 25-year veteran of NBC News who worked out of the network’s Rockefeller Plaza headquarters in Manhattan, died on Thursday, March 19, from complications brought about by the coronavirus.
Post and Broadcast
Tom Kobayashi, Skywalker Sound / ISDN Pioneer, Dead at 91
Tom Kobayashi built and ran George Lucas’ Skywalker Sound before pioneering the use of ISDN and fiber optic networks for audio work.
Music Production
Legendary Producer Keith Olsen Dead
Keith Olsen, the Grammy-winning producer/engineer who arguably defined the sound of hard rock in the late Seventies and Eighties, has died.
Business
Lectrosonics Rep Howard Kaufman Passes
A longtime part of the Lectrosonics family, Northeastern technical sales representative Howard Kaufman died on Feb. 27.
Live
Legendary Monitor Engineer Brian Hendry Passes at 67
Monitor engineer Brian Hendry spent 40 years mixing top acts, from Tom Petty to Jennifer Hudson.
Music Production
Producer Andrew Weatherall, Dead at 56
Producer and DJ Andrew Weatherall has died at the age of 56, with the UK music industry hailing him as one of the most influential figures of his generation.
Studio
Andrew Weatherall dies aged 56, industry pays tribute
The revered DJ and producer passed away on February 17 as the result of a pulmonary embolism
Music Production
Recording Engineer Nick Blagona, Dead at 74
Canadian engineer Nick Blagona designed Le Studio and recorded classic tracks by The Police, Bee Gees, King Crimson, Deep Purple, Alexisonfire, April Wine, Chicago, Rainbow and others.
Music Production
Tim Boyle, Hollywood Score Mixer, Dead at 71
A first-call score mixer for decades, Boyle had more than 300 film and television credits across his career.
Blogs
The METAlliance Report: Ed Cherney (1950-2019)—Someone Truly Special
METAlliance co-founder Elliot Scheiner pays tribute to his friend, recording legend Ed Cherney, who passed away in October.
Recording
Busbee, Grammy-Nominated Producer and Songwriter, Dead at 43
By Steve Harvey. The noted producer collaborated extensively with Maren Morris and Lady Antebellum, and co-wrote hits with Pink, Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts.
Live
Veteran Engineer David Turner Killed in Tour Bus Crash
By Clive Young. David Turner, monitor engineer for country artist Josh Turner, was killed Wednesday night when a crew tour bus left Highway 46 East 20 minutes outside of Paso Robles and drove off a 50-foot embankment into a...
Recording
Jimmy Johnson, Engineer, Producer and Swamper, Dead at 76
By Steve Harvey. Producer, engineer and guitarist Jimmy Johnson had a hand in some of the Sixties and Seventies’ most indelible hits, working with everyone from Aretha Franklin to Lynyrd Skynyrd to The Rolling Stones.
Business
Jack Renner, Grammy-Winning Engineer/Label Founder, Dead at 84
By Clive Young. Music teacher-turned-Grammy winning engineer Jack Renner co-founded Telarc in 1977.
Business
Producer Phillipe Zdar dies after ‘accidental fall’ in Paris
The producer, one half of French dance outfit Cassius, was 50 years old
Studio
Producer Phillipe Zdar dies after ‘accidental fall’ in Paris
The acclaimed producer, one half of French dance outfit Cassius, was 50 years old
Business
Founder and MD of VMS Live Steve Forster Dies
By Fiona Hope. Steve Forster, a longtime veteran of the UK music industry and founder and managing director of VMS Live, has passed away due to injuries from a serious car accident.
Blogs
Remembering Hal Blaine (1929–2019)
Mr. Bonzai, co-author of Hal Blaine’s autobiography, shares insight into the legendary session drummer who passed yesterday at the age of 90.
Live
Live Sound Pro Andy Sottile, Dead at 67
Systems engineer worked at Clair Global for more than three decades.