Music’s most shocking deaths of 2025: Losses no one saw coming

It has truly been a heartbreaking year for the music world with some real legends having already died in 2025.

But there have been a handful of deaths, too, that nobody saw coming. No death is easy, but when it seemingly comes out of nowhere, it just makes it that much tougher to deal with.

The artists below were lost in that way. As we move forward into the year, take a moment to look back and remember those who are gone too soon:

Beej Chaney

Beej Chaney, described as a punk rock hero in Minnesota, died on Jan. 5.

Chaney, 68, who played with the band The Suburbs, was reportedly found after he went for a swim in the Pacific Ocean.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Chaney had a daily routine of swimming in the ocean, and that he went out around sunset. Friends and bandmates reportedly found his body on Hermosa Beach later that night.

The newspaper said that the Hermosa Beach Police Department said crews responded to a call at around 7 p.m. after Chaney’s body washed up. His death was ruled accidental. The Suburbs drummer Hugo Klaers told the newspaper that Chaney survived a near-death experience during a swim last year. On that occasion, he said, the musician collapsed on the beach.

“His body temperature had dropped to like 75 degrees,” Klaer told the newspaper. “They put him in an induced coma for three days and he actually came back, and the doctor called him ‘her little miracle’ because she said most people when their body temperature gets this low don’t survive. They told him he couldn’t swim for a month and any future swimming he had to wear a wet suit because he was only wearing swim trunks when he was swimming in the ocean.”

Chaney helped found The Suburbs in 1977 and played with the band through 2014.

Karl Cochran

If Karl Cochran’s name doesn’t ring a bell it probably should.

At least, that is, if you are a rock fan.

And that is because the 61-year-old was a talented guitarist and songwriter who had a long and legendary career, working with the likes of KISS star Ace Frehley as well as playing with The Eric Singer project.

Cochran was killed on Feb. 19, according to reports, when a car driven by 90-year-old mother, Anna Cochran, backed across their front yard in New Jersey and struck a tree. He was ejected from the vehicle.

Cochran was reportedly flown to Robert Wood Johnson University in New Brunswick where he later died.

There was no report regarding the status of his mother.

“The tragic news of Karl Cochran’s death in a car accident was gut wrenching to hear,” former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick wrote on X. “Karl was a fantastic musician who I worked with in a band called ESP (Eric Singer Project). He was a gentle giant who was taken too soon from all of us. The stroke that affected him many years ago too nothing away of his spirit, love and humanity. It made him even more special in his own unique way. As a frequent guest on the Kiss Kruise everyone that met him was touched with his smile and his special passion of life. My condolences to his family and his wonderful fiancé’ Ger Fasano who was his loving partner. RIP.”

The main KISS account on X also posted about Cochran’s death.

“Karl was a vocalist and guitarist extraordinaire who suffered a massive stroke but never stopped fighting to make his way back,” the post read. “He was loved by our fans worldwide through his appearances worldwide and was a constant inspiration as our guest on our KISS Kruises. Our deep condolences to Geri and family.”

Peter Forrest

Peter Forrest, better known as former frontman P. Fluid for rock band 24-7 Spyz, has died.

He was 64.

Loudwire.com reported that Forrest was found beaten to death on Jan. 13 in New York City. Forrest had reportedly been driving an ambulette and after he failed to make pickups and stopped answering his phone they became concerned. That’s when a co-worker used GPS to track his vehicle, and when they found him, per the report, the front window had been broken and Forrest was lying face down in the back of the ambulette.

Police determined he was beaten to death.

Loudwire said that 24-7 Spyz had its “greatest success in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s delivering a brand of funk metal representative of the difference influences the band picked up in their native Bronx.”

Forrest was the frontman for the three of the band’s eight studio albums.

He left the band for four years, per Loudwire, leaving following a 1990 tour alongside Jane’s Addiction and returning in 1994.

“He brought a sense of reckless abandon, but in a fun way,” 24-7 Spyz guitarist Jimi Hazel told Rolling Stone. “He was climbing on the rafters. When he wanted to sing, he could sing. But he got more into screaming and shouting.”

Loudwire reported that Forrest had a couple of other projects, including forming the band BlkVampires with which he split in 2019.

Aurelio Martinez

Aurelio Martinez, a famed and beloved musician and politician from Honduras, was among 12 killed in a plane crash Monday night in the Caribbean.

According to reports, Martinez, 56, was onboard a Lanhsa airlines Jetstream plane that crashed off the coast of Roatan, Honduras. The plane had just taken off from Roatan and had reportedly suffered a mechanical failure before going down in the ocean.

There were reportedly 17 people onboard, and five survived.

BLAST reported that Martinez was “a legendary Garifuna musician and politician, whose impact on Honduran culture was widely recognized.” While his career began as a star musician, the site noted that he moved into politics and was serving as a representative in the Honduran National Congress.

Belize’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade issued a statement, acknowledging his death.

“Belize joins Honduras in mourning the passing of Aurelio Matinez Sauzo, one of six victims who perished in a plane crash near Roatan, Honduras,’ the statement on X read. “Aurelio was a great friend of Belize and a true champion of Garifuna culture and music. As a renowned Garifuna musician, Aurelia was a powerful voice in preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage of the Garinagu people.

“Aurelio, alongside Belize’s Andy Palacio and Paul Nabor were instrumental in bringing Garifuna music to global stage and international recognition,” the statement continued. His passing leaves a void in the world of music and culture, but his legacy will live on in the hearts of all who loved his art and his people.

“Belize expresses out deepest condolences to the government and people of Honduras amidst this tragedy and the Garifuna community worldwide.”

Angie Stone

Grammy-nominated R&B singer Angie Stone was killed early Saturday morning in a car crash, according to multiple reports.

She was 63.

Music producer Walter Millsap III told The Associated Press that at about 4 a.m. the cargo van that Stone was riding in back to Atlanta from Alabama “flipped over and was subsequently hit by a big rig.”

The Associated Press said that everyone else in the vehicle survived.

It said that Stone was slated to sing during the halftime show of Saturday’s Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association men’s championship basketball game.

Her death sent shockwaves across the R&B community and with fans on social media.

Stone was a native of Columbia, South Carolina where she began singing in the church. Her professional career began in 1979.

The Associated Press said that Stone “found a sweet spot in the early 2000s” alongside the likes of Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Maxwell and D’Angelo during the rise of neo-soul.