In Memoriam 2010-2019: Remembering the Country Greats Who Died This Decade [Pictures]
The 2010s were a great decade for country music, but the genre also lost some really key figures over the last ten years. Take a look through the photos below, which honor the country singers, musicians, songwriters, producers and other movers and shakers who died between 2010 and 2019.
The decade began with the deaths of some really impactful figures in country music in 2010, including legendary session musician Fred Carter, Jr., Jimmy Dean and Hank Cochran. It closed out with a string of losses in 2019 that included Maxine Brown Russell of the Browns, famed instrumentalist Harold Bradley, producer Fred Foster, Earl Thomas Conley, singer-songwriter and producer Busbee and more.
Loss came in many forms for country's finest over the last decade. While the normal range of illnesses took some of the older, most iconic country musicians from us, the genre endured the unexpected losses of quite a few younger artists, as well. Unexpected illnesses, car accidents, alcohol and other addictions, gun violence and even a helicopter crash took the lives of some of country music's most beloved figures in the prime of their lives in the 2010s, leaving the genre forever changed.
Scroll through the photos below to remember which country artists died in the 2010s, and to honor their contributions to country music.
Remembering the Country Greats Who Died in the 2010s: