Ronnie Montrose committed suicide in March at his home in Northern California. He was 64 and had been battling prostate cancer for the past five years.
Doobie Brothers drummer Michael Hossack also died in March at his home in Wyoming. He was 65 and had cancer.
Levon Helm passed in April from cancer at the age of 71. The voice and drummer of suchBand classics as "The Weight," "Up on Cripple Creek" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," had numerous health issues since being diagnosed with throat cancer in 1996.
Duck Dunn, bassist in Booker T and the MGs as well as for The Blues Brothers, Eric Clapton and so many others. He died in his sleep while on tour in Japan. He was 70.
Former Fleetwood Mac singer-guitarist Bob Welch took his own life in June. He was 65.
We said goodbye to many big names in the past year. Here's a roundup of celebs who died in 2012.
- Larry Hagman, actor - 11/23
- Arlen Specter, U.S. senator from Pennsylvania - 10/14
- George McGovern, Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 presidential election - 10/21
- Alex Karras, actor, football star - 10/10
- Andy Williams, singer - 9/25
- Michael Clarke Duncan, actor - 9/3
- Neil Armstrong, first person to walk on the moon - 8/25
- Jerry Nelson, puppeteer of Sesame Street's The Count - 8/24
- Phyllis Diller, comedian - 8/20
- Tony Scott, director - 8/19
- Ron Palillo, Horshack on Welcome Back, Kotter - 8/14
- Helen Gurley Brown, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine - 8/13
- Johnny Pesky, baseball player - 8/13
- Marvin Hamlisch, composer and conductor - 8/7
- Chad Everett, actor- 7/24
- Sherman Hemsley, star of The Jeffersons and Amen - 7/24
- Sally Ride, first American woman in space - 7/23
- Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - 7/16
- Celeste Holm, actress - 7/15
- Sage Stallone, actor, son of Sylvester Stallone - 7/13
- Richard D. Zanuck, producer - 7/13
- Ernest Borgnine, actor - 7/8
- Andy Griffith, actor - 7/3
- Nora Ephron, writer - 6/26
- LeRoy Neiman, artist - 6/20
- Rodney King, center of racial-profiling debate - 6/17
- Ray Bradbury, writer - 6/5
- Richard Dawson, actor, Family Feud host - 6/2
- Robin Gibb, member of The Bee Gees - 5/20
- Donna Summer, singer - 5/17
- Vidal Sassoon, hairdresser, businessman - 5/9
- Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are author - 5/8
- George Lindsey, Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show - 5/6
- Adam Yauch, member of the Beastie Boys - 5/4
- Junior Seau, NFL star - 5/2
- Dick Clark, host, producer - 4/18
- Levon Helm, actor member of The Band - 4/18
- Jonathan Frid, Barnabas Collins on Dark Shadows - 4/13
- Mike Wallace, TV reporter - 4/7
- Thomas Kinkade, artist - 4/6
- Andrew Breitbart, political commentator - 3/1
- Davy Jones, actor, member of The Monkees - 2/29
- Gary Carter, Hall of Fame catcher - 2/16
- Whitney Houston, singer, actress - 2/11
- Ben Gazzara, actor - 2/3
- Don Cornelius, Soul Train host - 2/1
- James Farentino, artist - 1/24
- Joe Paterno, embattled ex-Penn State football coach - 1/22
- Etta James, singer - 1/20
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