Name |
Lifetime |
Comments |
Gregg Allman |
1947–2017 |
Rock musician and founding member of The Allman Brothers Band.[27] |
Mark Arm |
1962– |
Grunge singer/guitarist, and co-founding member of both Green River and Mudhoney.[28] |
Ray Benson |
1941– |
Front man of the band Asleep at the Wheel, he believed that he got hepatitis C from a tattoo needle. He later become a vocal spokesperson for the disease.[29] |
Natalie Cole |
1950–2015[30] |
Singer and daughter of Nat King Cole. She was diagnosed in 2008 during a routine examination, when she found that the disease had been in her body for 20 years without her knowing it.[31] |
David Crosby |
1941–2023 |
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter, best known for being a founding member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. He was diagnosed after collapsing onstage in the summer of 1994 and received a life-saving liver transplant later that year.[32] |
Willy DeVille |
1950–2009 |
One of the founders of the band Mink DeVille and a pioneer in punk rock. He was diagnosed with hepatitis C in February 2009 and was found to have pancreatic cancer during the course of his treatment.[33] |
Alejandro Escovedo |
1951– |
Songwriter, member of the San Francisco punk scene. By 2014, he had recovered from his illness, which was treated with holistic medicine.[29][34] |
Marianne Faithfull |
1946–2025 |
Singer and actress who dated Mick Jagger in the 60s. She was diagnosed with the virus in the 1990s, after a long period of drug abuse and clinical depression.[35][36][37] |
Freddy Fender |
1937–2006 |
Musician who introduced Tex-Mex music to a wider audience. Struggled with alcoholism, drug abuse, and diabetes. He had a kidney transplant (the kidney was donated by his 21-year-old daughter) in 2002 and had a liver transplant two years later.[38] |
Diamanda Galás |
1955– |
Avant-garde vocalist who got hepatitis C from drug use, by 2005, she was in remission.[39] |
Chet Helms |
1942–2005 |
Music producer who helped create the vibrant San Francisco rock music scene in the 1960s. He was undergoing treatment for hepatitis C when he suffered a stroke.[40] |
Dusty Hill |
1949–2021[41] |
Bassist and vocalist with rock group ZZ Top. Their tour was cancelled when he was diagnosed in 2000. After he received treatment and went into remission, the band resumed touring in 2002.[42] |
Etta James |
1938–2012 |
Singer, called "Little Peaches", who was best known for her song "At Last".[43] |
Naomi Judd |
1946–2022 |
Member of the mother-daughter duo The Judds; she retired in 1991 after being diagnosed with hepatitis C, but returned to touring with her daughter Wynonna by 2011.[44] |
Anthony Kiedis |
1962– |
American vocalist/lyricist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. He contracted hepatitis C from drug use.[45] |
Phil Lesh |
1940–2024 |
Founding member and bass guitarist of the rock band Grateful Dead. He received a life-saving liver transplant in 1998.[46] |
David Marks |
1948– |
Founding member of The Beach Boys, was diagnosed in 1999. After undergoing treatment, Marks has been virus free since 2004. His diagnosis inspired him to stop drinking and smoking, and lead a healthier lifestyle.[47] |
Tawn Mastrey |
1957–2007 |
Disc jockey who was the voice of 1980s heavy-metal scene in Los Angeles. She contracted hepatitis C when she was a child.[48] |
Kenny Neal |
1957– |
New Orleans blues guitarist. Diagnosed in 2005, less than one year after his brother, musician Ronnie Neal, died of hepatitis C. He was successfully treated and went into remission.[49] |
Chuck Negron |
1942– |
Vocalist and founding member of Three Dog Night. He contracted hepatitis C due to "the long-lasting effects of drug use and alcoholism".[50] |
Gary S. Paxton |
1938–2016[51] |
Bakersfield country and gospel music artist. He contracted hepatitis C through several blood transfusions and almost died from the disease in 1990.[52] |
Martin Phillipps |
|
Co-founder and front runner of the New Zealand-based, Dunedin sound rock band The Chills. Phillipps contracted hep C from alcohol and drug abuse in the 1990s, but received a "miracle reprieve" when the drug Harvoni was used to treat it in 2016.[53][54] |
Lou Reed |
1942–2013 |
Singer, guitarist, and songwriter whose work with the Velvet Underground influenced generations of rock musicians. He struggled with hepatitis C for many years before receiving a liver transplant in 2013, but died later that year.[55][56] |
Keith Richards |
1943– |
Founding member of The Rolling Stones. He credited his "incredible immune system" with curing his hepatitis C, "without even bothering to do anything about it".[57] |
Curtis Salgado |
1954– |
Blues musician who was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1988 and had a successful liver transplant in 2006.[58] |
Tony Scalzo |
1964– |
Rock musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the band Fastball.[29] |
Randy Turner |
1949–2005 |
Lead singer for the seminal hardcore punk band Big Boys.[29] |
Steven Tyler |
1948– |
Musician, songwriter, and member of the rock band Aerosmith. In September 2006, he announced that he had been diagnosed three years prior and had just completed eleven months of treatment.[59] |
Scott Weiland |
1967–2015 |
Singer, songwriter, and member of the rock bands Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver.[60] |