Burton Lane, who composed the music for Finian's Rainbow, On a
                 Clear Day You Can See Forever and other stage and movie musicals.
                 Jan. 5. Age 84. Stroke.

Lavern Baker, rock 'n' roll hall of famer for such hits as Tweedle-Dee
                 and Jim Dandy. March 10. Age 67. Diabetes.

Allen Ginsberg, the poet laureate of the Beat Generation whose
                 writing and lifestyle shaped the music, politics and protests of the next
                 40 years. April 5. Age 70. Heart attack after battling liver cancer.

Laura Nyro, singer-songwriter of the '60s and '70s whose unique style
                 influenced many women to follow, writer of such hits as Stoned Soul
                 Picnic and Wedding Bell Blues. April 8. Age 49. Ovarian cancer.

Lawrence Payton, a member of the Four Tops who gave the Motown
                 group its distinctive harmonies on hits such as Baby I Need Your
                 Loving and Reach Out (I'll Be There.) June 20. Age 59. Liver cancer.

William S. Burroughs, the stone-faced godfather of the Beat
                 generation whose experimental novel Naked Lunch unleashed an
                 underground world that defied narration. Aug. 2. Age 83. Heart attack.

John Denver, multimillion-selling singer of the 1970s whose love of
                 the outdoors was reflected in hits like Rocky Mountain High and in his
                 environmental activism. Oct. 12. Age 53. Plane crash.

Stephane Grappelli, the French jazz violinist who, teaming with
                 guitarist Django Reinhardt, helped shatter the image of jazz as an
                 exclusively American art form. Dec. 1. Age 89. Complications of hernia
                 surgery.
 

Townes Van Zandt, singer-songwriter who wrote the country hits If I
                 Needed You and Pancho and Lefty and gained a cult following for his
                 blues-inspired recordings about life's losers. Jan. 1. Age 52. Heart
                 attack.

Irwin Jesse Levine, whose song Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the
                 Old Oak Tree became an unofficial anthem of the nation during the Iran
                 hostage crisis. Jan. 21. Age 58. Kidney failure.
 

Richard Berry, the rhythm and blues pioneer whose song Louie
                 Louie launched a generation of garage bands and provoked a federal
                 obscenity probe. Jan. 23. Age 61. Possible aneurysm.

Gerald Marks, a Tin Pan Alley composer best known for the song
                 All of Me. Jan. 27. Age 96.

Christopher Wallace, the rapper known as The Notorious B.I.G.
                 March 9. Age 24. Killed in drive-by shooting.

Harold Melvin, leader of the Blue Notes who molded Teddy
                 Pendergrass into a lead singer on the hits The Love I Lost and If You
                 Don't Know Me By Now. March 24. Age 57. Stroke.

Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, a jazz trumpeter who played with artists
                 such as Bessie Smith and Cab Calloway and blossomed into a widely
                 praised solo artists in later years. June 2. Age 91. Stroke.

Arthur Prysock, a two-time Grammy-nominated rhythm and blues
                 singer known for his deep, sultry voice on songs like Teach Me
                 Tonight. June 21. Age 74.

Luther Allison, bluesman whose stage energy and blistering guitar
                 playing attracted three decades of rock 'n' roll fans. Aug. 12. Age 57.
                 Cancer.

Jimmy Witherspoon, a Grammy-nominated blues singer whose
                 trademark deep, smoky voice graced hits such as Blues Around the
                 Clock and Some of My Best Friends Are the Blues. Sept. 18. Age
                 74.

Arthur Tracy, radio's "Street Singer" who delighted millions of
                 listeners in the 1930s with his sweet, flexible tenor. Oct. 5. Age 98.

Saul Chaplin, composer and arranger who shared in three Oscars for
                 scoring the musicals An American in Paris, Seven Brides for Seven
                 Brothers and West Side Story. Nov. 15. Age 85. Injuries from a fall.

Michael Hutchence, lead singer for the Australian rock band INXS,
                 which shot to international success in the late '80s with hits such as
                 Never Tear Us Apart and Devil Inside. Nov. 22. Age 37. Hanging.
 

By The Associated Press