The following is a list of notable performers of rock and roll music or rock music, and others directly associated with the music as producers, songwriters or in other closely related roles, who have died in the 1950s. The list gives their date, cause and location of death, and their age.
Rock music developed from the rock and roll music that emerged during the 1950s, and includes a diverse range of subgenres. The terms "rock and roll" and "rock" each have a variety of definitions, some narrow and some wider. In determining criteria for inclusion, this list uses as its basis reliable sources listing "rock deaths" or "deaths in rock and roll", as well as such sources as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
| Name | Age | Date | Location | Cause of death | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | January 28, 1950 | Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S. | Cancer[1] | ||
| Kansas Joe McCoy Harlem Hamfats | 44 | January 28, 1950 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Heart disease[2] | |
| 59 | March 30, 1950 | Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. | Kidney disease[3] | ||
| 45 | May 7, 1950 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Hit and run-related accident[4] | ||
| 26 | July 7, 1950 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Tuberculosis[5] | ||
| Papa Charlie McCoy Harlem Hamfats | 41 | July 26, 1950 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Paralytic brain disease | |
| 64 | October 23, 1950 | San Francisco, California, U.S. | Massive heart attack | ||
| 37 | February 4, 1951 | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | Pneumonia[6] | ||
| 41 | March 25, 1951 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Heart attack[7] | ||
| 56 | September 17, 1951 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Diabetes-induced stroke. | ||
| 43 | March 28, 1952 | Sugar Land, Texas, U.S. | Tuberculosis[8] | ||
| 43 | June 14, 1952 | Hollywood, California, U.S. | Unknown causes | ||
| 60 | June 25, 1952 | Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S. | Unknown causes[9] | ||
| 55 | December 29, 1952 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Unknown causes[10] | ||
| 52-53 | December 30, 1952 | Tunica, Mississippi, U.S. | Heart disease | ||
| 29 | January 1, 1953 | Oak Hill, West Virginia, U.S. | Acute right ventricular dilation[11] | ||
| 47 | February 23, 1953 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Heart attack[12] | ||
| 43 | May 16, 1953 | Fontainebleau, France | Brain hemorrhage[13] | ||
| 46 | August 19, 1953 | Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. | Bronchopneumonia[14] | ||
| 30 | October 22, 1953 | Newark, New York, U.S. | Heart attack[15] | ||
| 50-51 | November 16, 1953 | Either Los Angeles, California, U.S., or Seattle, Washington, U.S. | Unknown causes[16] | ||
| 34 | April 14, 1954 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Pneumonia[17] | ||
| 53 | April 18, 1954 | Richards, Texas, U.S. | Syphilis[18] | ||
| Danny Cedrone Bill Haley & His Comets | 33 | June 17, 1954 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Broken neck from falling down stairs | |
| 56 | August 22, 1954 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Lengthy illness [19] | ||
| 74 | September 20, 1954 | Teague, Texas, U.S. | Head injury[20] | ||
| 46 | November 9, 1954 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Unknown causes | ||
| 62 | November 29, 1954 | Portland, Oregon, U.S. | Unknown causes[21] | ||
| 70 | December 15, 1954 | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | Unknown causes[22] | ||
| 57 | December 16, 1954 | Rochester, New York, U.S. | Unknown causes | ||
| 25 | December 25, 1954 | Houston, Texas, U.S. | Accidental suicide by gunshot[23] | ||
| 34 | March 12, 1955 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Pneumonia[24] | ||
| 34 | May 25, 1955 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Heroin overdose[25] | ||
| 67 or 78 | September 12, 1955 | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | Stroke[26] | ||
| 65 | November 12, 1955 | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | Heart attack[27] | ||
| 61 | November 17, 1955 | Queens, New York City, U.S. | Unknown causes | ||
| 61 | December 12, 1955 | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | Atherosclerosis | ||
| 52 | December 14, 1955 | Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. | Unknown causes[28] | ||
| 25 | June 26, 1956 | Bedford, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Car crash[29] | ||
| 24 | June 26, 1956 | Bedford, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Car crash[30] | ||
| 60 | November 1, 1956 | Crystal Springs, Mississippi, U.S. | Heart attack[31] | ||
| 47 | November 5, 1956 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Uremia[32] | ||
| 51 | November 26, 1956 | Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. | Choking in sleep[33] | ||
| 47 | June 11, 1957 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Unknown causes[34] | ||
| 33 | July 16, 1957 | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | Spinal cancer | ||
| 35 | August 5, 1957 | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | Tetanus[35] | ||
| 57 | December 20, 1957 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Kidney ailment and pneumonia | ||
| 31 | December 29, 1957 | Heroin overdose | |||
| John Dolphin Record label owner, concert promoter and music producer | 55 | February 1, 1958 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Murdered[36] | |
| 84 | March 28, 1958 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Bronchial pneumonia[37] | ||
| 32 | April 10, 1958 | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | Peritonitis[38] | ||
| 35 | May 26, 1958 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Heart attack[39] | ||
| 65 | August 14, 1958 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Cancer[40] | ||
| 51 | November 26, 1958 | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | Stroke[41] | ||
| 56 | December 8, 1958 | Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | Heart attack[42] | ||
| 68 | December 26, 1958 | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | Complications from renal surgery[43] | ||
| Buddy Holly Buddy Holly & The Crickets | 22 | February 3, 1959 | Clear Lake, Iowa, U.S. | Plane crash[44] | |
| 28 | February 3, 1959 | Clear Lake, Iowa, U.S. | Plane crash | ||
| 17 | February 3, 1959 | Clear Lake, Iowa, U.S. | Plane crash | ||
| 32 | February 7, 1959 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Pneumonia[45] | ||
| style='text-align:center;" | 49 | March 15, 1959 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Bleeding from alcoholism[46] | |
| 62 | May 14, 1959 | Lung cancer[47] | |||
| 44 | July 17, 1959 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Liver cirrhosis[48] | ||
| 61 | August 19, 1959 | Milledgeville, Georgia, U.S. | |||
| 41-40 | November 14, 1959 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Unknown causes[49] |