Country music world rocked by deaths of 5 legendary singers – PennLive.com

Country music has lost some talented performers this year. Getty Images/Tetra images RF
The country music world has had plenty to celebrate so far in 2025, but not everything has been good news.
In fact, country music has lost a handful of legendary performers, and seen a heartbreaking outcome for another, this year.
The following is a look at those lost so far this year:
Ed Askew
Ed Askew, a cult folk music singer/songwriter and painter, died on Jan. 4.
He was 84.
PEOPLE Magazine reported that Askew had been battling “ongoing health struggles” and had been in hospice.
“Ed was a brave gay songwriter from the beginning, and I hope more come to know this,” Jay Pluck, Askew’s manager and friend, told PEOPLE. “Ed’s music changed the lives of people from many generations and continues to do so.”
Askew was a native of Stamford, Connecticut, and according to PEOPLE he studied paining at Yale Art School. The site said Askew was called up for the draft in 1966 but ended up teaching at a prep school in Connecticut instead. It said that is when he began writing his songs.
PEOPLE said Askew released 11 albums during his career. His first album “Ask The Unicorn” came in 1968 and his final, “London” came in 2020. PEOPLE said he also “had a prolific painting career.”
Carl Dean
Country music legend Dolly Parton announced the heartbreaking news Monday night that her husband, Carl Dean, has died.
A posted statement to her X page, said that Dean, who was 82, died in Nashville.
“He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending,” the statement read. “He was survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie.”
Parton provided a quote in the statement.
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” she said. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
The statement said the family asks for privacy during this time.
Parton and Dean were known for keeping their relationship out of the public eye, and they did so on purpose.
“I married a really good man, a guy that’s completely different than me,” Parton told Parade Magazine in 2015. “He’s not in show business.”
Parade reported that the duo first met at a laundromat in Nashville when Parton was just 18-years-old.
“I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me),” she wrote on her website, per Parade. “He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.”
Parade said the two “snuck off one weekend” about two years later to get married.
They renewed their vows in 2015.
“We just had a simple little ceremony at our chapel at our place,” she told Rolling Stone.
Melba Montgomery
Country music legend Melba Montgomery has died, according to Taste of Country.
The site reported that Montgomery died on Jan. 15.
She was 86.
Her daughter, Melissa Solomon Barrett, posted about her death on Facebook, too.
“It is with great sadness that we announce our family has lost our mother, Melba Montgomery Solomon,” she wrote. “She was a wonderful mother, grandmother, sister to my uncle, sister-in-law to my aunts and aunt to my cousins. She fought a long battle with dementia but is now with her loving husband, Jack Solomon in Heaven. We know mom has been waiting to hold dad for over 10 years.
“Thank you for loving our mom as much as we have,” she added. “She was an incredibly talented, kind and generous woman.”
Taste of Country noted that Montgomery was known for her duets with the likes of George Jones and her No. 1 hit, “No Charge,” which came in 1974.
Montgomery was born in Tennessee in 1938, and she got her career going in 1958. She had 22 solo studio albums, and was inducted into Nashville’s Walkway of the Stars in 1974.
George Jones’ daughter, Georgette, remembered Montgomery with a post on Facebook.
“Very sad news as yesterday the legendary Melba Montgomery passed away at age 86,” she wrote. “Melba recorded with my Dad many songs including ‘We Must Have Been Out Of Our Minds.” She was an incredible singer and songwriter as well as a very sweet and wonderful person. Please join me in praying for her family and friends.”
Chad Morgan
Australian country music star Chad Morgan died on Jan. 1.
He was 91.
Morgan was called “The Sheik of Scrubby Creek.” Known for his vaudeville style, he was considered a pioneer of country music in his country.
Popculture.com said Morgan released more than 20 albums across a 70-year career.
Buck White
Country music legend Buck White died this week
He was 94.
The news of his death was relayed from his four daughters by another country music legend, Ricky Skaggs, on his Facebook page.
“The Lord answered our prayers and took our daddy, Buck White, home peacefully this morning at 8:00 a.m.,” the message from the daughters — Sharon, Cheryl, Rosie and Melissa — read. “We are so thankful for his 94 years on this earth. He was a great dad who taught us by example to put Jesus first always. His great loves were the Lord, our mother, his family, and music. Most people will remember him not only for being a great musician and entertainer, but also for being fun-loving and full of mischief. He lived a full life and finished well.
White, along with his daughters Sharon and Cheryl, formed the Grammy Award-winning trio The Whites. Per Taste of Country, the group had several top 10 and Top 20 singles in the 1980s. The Whites were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1984, and in 2008 they were inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.
According to Taste of Country, the group was nominated for five Grammys and won two.
The Grand Ole Opry posted about White’s death on X.
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