We'd been discussing the demise of William S. Burroughs in Mark's item #32; if nothing else, Burroughs rates a mention here for his work with Laurie Anderson. But in the same day's paper, on the page facing the Burroughs obituary, was another obit for Fela Kuti, of Nigeria.244 responses total.
I noticed that. I suppose we'll soon see Geo Harrison's obit.
Any reason to anticipate Harrison's demise (or is it just the old "celebrity deaths always come in threes" thing?) Burroughs worked with a fairly wide variety of musical artists. In addition to his work with Laurie Anderson on "Mr. Heartbreak" he had more involvement with projects by Material (contrary to appearances I do *not* receive kickbacks on sales of this album, I just like to plug it,) Disposable Heroes of Hiphophrisy, and several other bands..
William Burrough's also wrote, and appeared on Tom Wait's fantastic "Black Rider" album, did work with Kurt Cobain, Tony Trischka, and I believe had some involement with Throbbing Gristle. I also like Fela Kunti, BTW.
I remember Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie died within months of each other, about five years ago. it was a sad time for the jazz community..
Harrison's been diagnosed with lymphoma. Already removed one big lump, and I heard it's pretty well spread around.
Lymphoma can be beat. I'd imagine that he'll be doing the chemo/radiation thing, but since he's reletivly young, he should beat it.
KNock on vinyl.
Blues guitarist Luther Allison, who had appeared at the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival in the late 1960's, died Tuesday, August 12, of lung and brain cancer. Luther Allison was 57.
The Times had an obit for Conlon Nancarrow, who composed for player piano by punching lots of extra holes in the paper. My limited exposure to Nancarrow was on an old sampler EP from Columbia, the same one which introduced me to Harry Partch.
Wow...I had no idea Nancarrow lived this long. I had thought he died a while ago.
Today's Freep has a short notice too. Interesting sort of guy!
the latest famous musician death seems to be Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, a Pakistani singer who had gained popularity in the US in recent years through exposure from Peter Gabriel's RealWorld label and through collaborations with popular alternative musicians. He died Saturday in a London hospital More info at http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9708/16/nusrat.ap/index.html
re #12 What a bummer, I like his stuff at least the more tradational stuff he does that I have on CD.
I had the good fortune of seeing Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan here in town a few years ago. A great show. It's a real pity he's no longer with us...
I saw Cab Calloway a couple years before he died, and also saw Sun Ra about a year before his death. See those icons now, since next year they may move on to the next dimension...
I saw Dottie West perform at Hill Auditorium about a year before her death.
Scott, did you see Cab with the Detroit symphony? Good show , GREAT voice, relativly uninspired performance by the symphony, tho.
No, I saw him with a regular big band at MSU. Great show.
John Denver has died. His ultralight aircraft crashed into the ocean off Monterey, California.
I couldn't believe it when someone told me. I jokingly thought it was an alcohol-related accident. Well, despite all the fun that's been made of him (as his music is so..bland and almost cheesy), I miss him.
At Trailblazers this afternoon, during a "Jam Session," a lady in a wheelchair honored the late John Denver (never thought I'd be hearing that so soon) with an a capella rendintion of "Sunshine On My Shoulder."
My roommate, Jeremey, has an interesting story concerning John Denver. When he was a young teenager, he saw John in concert somewhere in southern Florida. He and his brother went to the hotel where John and company were staying hoping to get an autograph. Jeremey had John's first album, hoping to get it signed. He and his brother were standing in the lobby, when John came walking by fairly fast. Jeremey and his brother had to run to catch up. They asked for autographs, and John stopped and explained that he was in a huge hurry, and maybe another time. Well, an old couple standing nearby (around 80 years old, supposedly) heard John refuse the autograph, and they came over and the woman tore into John, shaming him into giving Jeremey and his brothers autographs. This is not to say anything bad about John at all. I don't know his situation at the time. He's a great musician, and has made some beautiful music, and I really regret that I never got to see him live.
The lead singer of the Austrailian group INXS died earlier
this weekend.
I know two poeple that have met John Denver. Each with their
own story. Another musician, Steve Macdonald, will proudfully say
that without John Denver, he never would have picked up/bought a
guitar; theirfore he never would have come to know many people he
enjoys being around today.
re #23: I hadn't heard that yet, so I checked out the "Music News
of the World" at the Addicted to Noise site.. It had this to say:
Michael Hutchence, the lead singer for INXS, was found dead in
a Sydney, Australia hotel room on Saturday. Local reports say
the charismatic and broodingly handsome singer hanged himself
by his own belt, according to Retuters news service. He was 37.
Hutchence's suicide comes just before the band was to embark
on a 20th anniversary tour of Australia following the release
earlier this year of their most recent album Elegantly Wasted.
How unexpected and tragically pointless...
Hutchence seems to have shadowed the death of one of the most important music writers: Robert Palmer (*no* not the Power Station Robert Palmer, different guy.) HE wrote _Deep Blues_ which is probably the most autoritative book on the subject of The Blues, and wrote the companion book to the PBS series _Rock and Roll: An Unruly History_ The book is more complete and more accurate than the series (don;t get me wron the series was excellent) He was in his lat 40's and dies waiting for a liver transplant. Also the rumours that either Paul Weller or Gary Glitter died are untrue, although Gary may wish he was dead soon.
I saw that Stephan Grappeli, the jazz violinist died recently.
NPR had a piece on him. I'm no jazz afficianado, but he could sure play the fiddle.
Grappeli's obituary appeared in this morning's New York Times. He was 89 years old and an active performer from the 1920's until just a year or so ago, when his health began to fail. Grappeli was a wonderful jazz musician. One of my favorite vinyls is a re-issue of work he did with guitarist Django Reinhardt in the 1930's.
Guitarist Michael Hedges died from injuries received in a car accident over the weekend, he was 42 or 43. I believe he was also a co-founder of the Windham Hill record label.
Nicolette Larson died last week at the age of 45.
Re #30 And I still can't get her rendition of "Lotta Love" out of my mind.
Yep, whatta song.
I came across two songs by Nicolette Larson on a Christmas CD "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" on Rhino. She does 'One Bright Star' and 'Nothing But A Child'.
Pianist Floyd Kramer died of cancer at the age of 64 towards the end of 1997. His biggest solo hit was "Last Date" in the early 1960's, but he did play backup piano on Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" among other works.
Locally: Geoff Streadwick, 26, co-owner of 40 Ounce. Sound, ex-Gondolier bassist, and ex-Morsel guitarist. Geoff was one of my best friends. His influence on the Ann Arbor music scene was immesurable. There will be a memorial gathering Sunday Jan 4th from 2-6 pm at 40 Ounce Sound, 5007 Jackson Rd. Jan 4th would have been Geoff's 27th birthday.
yikes, goose, i'm sorry to hear that.
My mom had a few of Floyd Kramer's records. Good country piano. I hear Sonny Bono crashed into a tree while skiing and died. "And the beat goes on"
Looks like bmoran beat me to it, e.g., the death of entertainer turned Congressperson Sonny Bono. Ironically, Bono's death came less than a week after Michael Kennedy's life came to the same tragic end. Something tells me that tragic events like these come in groups of three.
Carl Perkins succumbed to a series of strokes today at the age of 65. His biggest hit was the classic "Blue Suede Shoes," which was covered by Elvis Presley. Other songs he wrote/performed include "Matchbox," "Honey Don't," and "Everybody's Tryin' To Be My Baby," which were covered by the Beatles early in their career.
For those who're still trying to place him, being more familiar with the artists who covered his work than with Perkins himself, he was an early rock'n'roll pioneer whose career never took off the way some others' did, partly because of a car accident at a critical juncture (isn't *that* a familiar story?)
Floyd Kramer, country pianist, died last week.
I believe blues harmonica great junior wells also died recently.
Carl Wilson, Beach Boy, has died of cancer at age 51. According to the CNN site, his death was announced by his family yesterday (Saturday..) He had apparently been diagnosed with lung and brain cancer in the spring of last year..
Austrian techno-pop singer Falco was killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic at the age of 40. His biggest hits were "Der Kommissar" <sp?> (1983) and "Rock Me Amadeus" (1986).
Hmm..I thought Der Kommissar was someone else.
It was..he did a cover of the song, which I thought was really bad-- it was just a cheesy, half-baked version of the original. I saw the video as Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore presented it on VH1 (as part of a promo for their 80's nostalgia movie "The Wedding Singer"). He must have had a low, low budget because the vid was REALLY, really bad. He was dancing badly to a background of Austrian police cars and such driving down the highway with flashing blue lights.
I think the other version might've been by "After the Fire" or something like that..
Excuse me..Falco wrote "Der Kommissar" himself-- I was enlightened by VH1's Pop-Up Video, of all sources. It's all in German, of course. "After the Fire" translated it to English, which Falco felt lost much of the meaning. The vid mentioned there were 7 different stories in the song, according to him. Falco of course, thought his version was best-- and he still maintained the rights to the royalties-- which meant none went to "After The Fire." His version was already on MTV before "After The Fire" even released their cover. They were pretty discouraged, as it went to #7. However, they decided to release it as the band broke up, and their version 'trounced' Falco's on the charts. Pity the band never got back together. I thought they improved the instrumentation and tone color of "Der Kommissar," and the video was much better than Falco's (perhaps this was a reflection of the new direction of music video at that time). As for Falco, I believe the show said during his "Amadeus" video that he had been in the Falkland islands or thereabouts, working on a new album. He was waiting for the right time to release it. Speaking of "Amadeus," the video for that one was bad, too.
(I think the album has been scheduled for a posthumous release.)
Ah. I have the feeling it will bomb (but I'm not going to hold my breath either way).
Reports from the German media say that Rob Pilatus <sp?>, half of the infamous Milli Vanilli duo, has died at the age of 32 as a result of substance abuse. In case you tuned in late, Milli Vanilli was the duo that won a Grammy for best new artist, only to lose it because they lip synched their songs from other people's recordings.
Apparently popular country music singer Tammy Wynette (responsible for the mega-hit "Stand By Your Man" has died, probably of a blood clot, at the age of 55.
RE #52 I had thought about entering the response on Tammy Wynette, but yielded to another person on Grex, as I had just entered the obit on the Milli Vanilli member who had died.
Also, Wendy O. Williams, member of the 80s punk band "the Plasmatics" (which were chiefly famous for her (at the time) outrageous antics) has apparently committed suicide..
Looks like death has once again come in groups of three, they being Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli, Tammy Wynette, and Wendy O. Williams rounding the trio out.
Is that supposed to be significant? Sounds like "numerology" to me.
Sorry to mess up the numbers but Cozy Powell, a rock drummer with many, imcluding Jeff Beck, also died Sunday
RE #57 I did see the obit on Cozy Powell in the _Ann Arbor News_ yesterday. BTW, he also replaced "Palmer" in Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
re #56: the "celebrity deaths occurs in threes" thing is a popular superstition that says a great deal more about the human mind's proclivity for finding or imposing patterns than it does about the distribution of celebrity deaths. I suspect bruin wasn't advocating a serious belief in it -- I thought of mentioning it myself to poke fun at it..
Actually, they occur in ones...but spaced unevenly in time. (I was not aware of the superstition, but I like to poke holes in superstitions as every little bit helps in eliminating them.)
I thought celebreties died according to the fibonacci sequence... ;-)
Fibonacci did....
Hmm. 63 in 63. There's some numerology for ya.
Celebreties die in three's. Exspecially airplane disasters.
Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, Richie Vallens. All on the same airplane.
Jim Croce and two of his musicians died in an airplane crash. Not
sure if it was airplane that also took out Bill Chase (of the group
Chase, from the early 70's).
Cowboys Copas, and two other Country stars (includeding a
more famous one, the brain sludge just won't give it up right now)
back in tthe 50is a well-remembered airplane disaster. So well so,
that even today, no three Country artists will fly in the same plane.
They prefer busses to get from city to city while on tour.
Wow. Web search on Cowboy Copas. He, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Patsy Cline died in a plane crash near Camden (?NJ?) on March 5, 1963. So actually after Buddy Holly, reinforcing the idea that you do not get in a plane with two othermusicians.
Superstitions aside, it is a fact that many corporations forbid their executives to fly on the same plane. This is not because of any mystical numerology, but to prevent the simultaneous loss of multiple executives in the event of a crash.
I rather suspect some companies would stand a greater chance of benefitting if their execs *were* on the same plane but since the execs make the rules they presuppose a certain amount about the importance and usefulness of executives.. After a tragic incident in WWII where a set of five (I think) brothers (the Sullivans?) all died together when their ship was sunk, the armed forces also have rules intended to minimize the impact of a single disaster on any given family..
RE #64 And wasn't there another country music star of that era who was killed in a traffic accident while traveling to (or from?) one of the funerals in the Cline/Copas/Hawkins plane crash.
Bruce Martin died in late '97, if I remember the news correctly. Martin was the official bagpiper of the Philadelphia Folk Festival; he opened every festival evening concert for 30 years. The March 1998 FOLK ROOTS reports that Simon Jeffes, leader of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, "died on February 19, aged 48, after a long battle with cancer."
Tuesday's New York Times brings another obit: Tom Cora, 44, who played in an experimental music group Skeleton Crew with Fred Frith -- and sometimes, with Zeena Parkins. I saw the Cora/Frith/Parkins group play the Ark about ten (?) years ago; the show was at the outer limit of what I perceive as music.
Didn't John Denver die in an airplane accident? Or have we already covered that one?
We covered that one. Maybe you weren't here.
I forgot to get back here to mention that (according to a net report) Tuesday 21 April was the 20th anniversary of the death of British singer Sandy Denny. (I'm sure it was April 1978 when she died, I remember the news well.)
Jazz pianist Dorothy Donegan, who played in Ann Arbor at the Summer Festival a few times, has died of colon cancer at the age of 76.
With little press notice, Wendy O. Williams (best known as vocalist of the Plasmatics) died recently.
I wouldn't call being mentioned in Newsweek little press notice. Ok, so they didn't give her what they gave Sinatra, but they did mention her.
Did Eddie Rabbit die recently?
re #74, 75: I agree that Williams' death got a fair amount of notice considering the number of people who can still recall anything of her recording career (I know I remembered her but couldn't recall a single Plasmatics song..) Besides Newsweek, her death got coverage on CNN and even response #54 of the Grex Music Conference obituaries item.. If that's not fame I don't know what is.. :-)
RE #76 Eddie Rabbitt did die of cancer at the age of 53 or 56, depending on your sources.
A fond farwell here to one of the singing cowboys, Roy Rodgers, who passed away earlier this week.
Ian A. Anderson of FOLK ROOTS magazine reports, on Usenet, the death of Lal Waterson. Lal was part of the English acapella singing family The Watersons and she also had made two notable recordings outside the group: one with her brother Mike in the 70s, and one with her son Oliver Knight in the early 1990s.
This is such a bummer. She was an interesting singer.
Lal died of cancer at age 55.
Wednesday's New York Times carries an obituary for UM music professor William Albright, who was a renowned ragtime player on piano - and also on organ, says the article. Mr. Albright was 53 and died of liver failure.
Yeah, his obit was in the AA News a few days ago; I was surprised that there was no accompanying or subsequent article.
I had Prof. Albright for some composition classes (he was a composer himself).
Jazz singer Betty Carter died today of pancreatic cancer at the age of 69. I had just listened to a eulogy of Betty on NPR's _All Things Considered_.
Gene Autrey died today according to NPR.
RE #87 First Roy Rogers, then Buffalo Bob, and now Gene Autry. Guess we have death come in groups of three (i.e. singing cowboys and/or Western related motifs). As Paula Cole stated so elequently in song, "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?"
Roddy McDowell died of cancer (I didn't catch what kind) I think he did some singing as well as acting.
Gene Autry probably died at last due to the heartache of his Anaheim Angels yet again failing to make it to the post season.
RE #90 Autry sold the Angels to Disney a few years ago.
Gene Autry also owned one of the Detroit Radio stations. I know it was one of the 1130AM incarnations of WCAR, but I cannot place the timeframe. It's FM companion was WTWR, but not the WTWR now out of Monroe, at 97.9??.
RE #92 Gene Autry was the CEO of Golden West Broadcasting, which at one time owned WCAR-AM 1130 (now WDFN -- The Fan) and WTWR-FM 92.3 (now WMXD -- Mix 92.3). He sold both stations in 1986 or thereabouts.
But he probably still considered them "his" Angels, and the heartache wasn't any less. Or not.
Polka king Frankie Yankovic (no relation to "Weird Al") died yesterday at the age of 83.
"No relation?!?!?!" Frank was Weird Al's father!!!!
No, Weird Al was *Frankie's* father. That's what's so weird about him! :-)
I seem to have been dreadfully misinfomred in #96. For years I thought Frank was Al's dad.
Eh? Now I'm confused..
<Oh, good, I'm not the only one)
On the NPR piece about this they said that Al may or may not be distantly related to Frankie. I had always made the Father/Son connection.
So had I.
Allow me to quote from a biography I found of Frank Yankovic at
>http://www.polkas.com/yankovic (OK, so I was bored):
"A musician having to be away from ordinary family living usually finds
hardship along the way. His marriage to June
with eight children: Linda, Frank Jr., Richard, Andrea, Gerald, Mark, John
and Robert, ended after 28 years. His
second marriage to Pat and two children: Theresa and Tricia, ended in divorce,
despite an attempt to slow down with
a move to Las Vegas."
bitter sweet, eh? No where on that entire page is Wierd Al mentioned.
finally, from the "Weird Al" Yankovic Frequently asked Questions at
http://www.emsphone.com/Al/faq/ it says this:
"6.Is Weird Al related to "Polka King" Frankie Yankovic?
No."
I hope that clears up that question. And yes, I was really, really bored.
You have to wonder about whoever wrote that bio -- I just love the sentence "His second marriage to Pat and two children: Theresa and Tricia, ended in divorce, despite an attempt to slow down with a move to Las Vegas." How did his first marriage to Pat and the two children end? And how tragic that Theresa and Tricia apparently ended with the divorce!! :-)
God only knows what's happened to folks now that he's dead...
Not necessarily a bona fide musical obituary, but a music-related obit nonetheless. Marvin Gay Sr. died on October 17, 1998, at the age of 84. He was the father of Motown superstar Marvin Gaye, whom he fatally shot on April 1, 1984, the eve of the younger Marvin's 45th birthday.
Jealous father?
late term abortion.
It is with great sadness that I announce the death of one of the great pioneers of Jamaican music, Roland Alphonso. Mr. Alphonso was one of the founders of the Skatalites. In the Skatalites, he played tenor sax ans wrote many of the groups signature tunes. The Skatalites were *the* first ska group, the name for the genre was taken from their name. Roland joins Tommy McCook, who died earlier this year, and Don Drummond who died in the late '60's, as deceased members of this fine group. The cause of death was not noted, but he had been in a coma in Jamaica for several days before his passing. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Alphonso on several occasions and he was always the gentlemen, humbled by all the attention the group, and particularly himself, had gotten over the last several years. He reminded me very much of my grandfather.
One correction, he died in Los Angeles, not Jamaica. He collapsed on stage after suffering a burst artery. He had already survived two earlier strokes and a heart atack a few years ago. A state funeral in Jamaica is supposedly being planned, as he was considered a national treasure.
And so he was.. It's difficult to exaggerate the influence the Skatalites had on the development of Jamaican music. I feel fortunate now to have seen him perform during the band's recent tours.
Yep. And great shows they were. He was actually Roland Alphonso, OD. "OD" is Order of Distinction, which is (by what I've read) the colonial equivalant of knighthood.
how sad...
Judge Myron Wahls died this week. His mention here is appropriate because he was a jazz musician (piano) long before he was a lawyer and Court of Appeals judge. In fact, he put together his own group while in law school as a means to supplement his income. His style was 50s jazz, and he played with many recognizable names of that era. In the past decade he even toured Europe with some of his contemporaries. He was respected for both his knowledge of law and music; a true Renaissance man. RIP Myron.
Musician/composer/actor Bobby Troup died on Sunday, February 7, 1999, at the age of 80. His best remembered musical composition invited listeners everywhere to "Get Your Kicks On Route 66." Troup also had a recurring role in the 1970's TV drama "Emergency."
One of my vaction plans for the year include a possible trip, getting
kicks, on Route 66. Start with visit with sister in Chicago, then find
the Chicago end of 66 and try to say on the historical route as much as
possible. After getting to Oklahoma City, I would be turning south to
visit sisters in Texas.
Hope I get to do it.
Actually, Bobby Troup wrote the song, but it wasn't used for the TV series. The song was done by Nelson Riddle to avoid paying royalties to Troup. I have this book on Route 66, complete with profiles of people who were significant in the creation and the folklore of the road, such as Will Rogers, John Stienbeck, George Maharis, Martin Milner, and Bobby Troup, among others that I cannot recall at the present moment. The book is very good, and follows the road from Chicago to Los Angeles, each chapter of the book being dedicated to a different state. Some states like Illinois, have removed all traces of the original road, replacing it with I-55, and yet others, New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma have taken the old highway and renamed it as SR 66. I think California did the same thing as Illinois did, removed all traces of it's existence, save for a plaque in a park in Santa Monica.
I saw and read that plaque in Santa Monica, honoring Will Rodgers.
resp: 117 That's too bad. I would have liked to travel the entire original road.
We're all about 40 yrs too late on that. I'm thinking about doing a book on US 6, which is the last great transcontinental road left in the US, and that ends in Bishop CA, well short of the coast. I just need funding an a car. ;)
In Arazona, I think, a section of the origional Route 66 remains as a "Historical Highway," their was a Nat'l Geographic artical about it.
I've been to both ends of US-41--Copper Harbor, MI and Naples, FL. I have also traveled some parts of it, including Chicago and Nashville.
For further discussion of Route 66 and other great American roads, please refer to the travel conference, item #65.
British pop singer Dusty Springfield has died following a long battle with breast cancer. She was 59.
CNN reports that Skip Spence died Friday at the age of 52. The cnn.com story says he "had long battled alcholism, schizophrenia and periods of homelessness." Spence was a drummer with the early Jefferson Airplane and then guitarist for Moby Grape.
You can also blame him for naming the Doobie Brothers . . . .
Martin (?) Sandman, the bassist/singer for the band Morphine died of a heart attack while performing in Rome recently. Although Morphine will never be noted as a prominent act, it did have an interesting sound featuring bass (with two strings removed, as I recall), sax, drums and *no* guitar. I always found their sound to be a refreshing break from the alt/grunge sounds that often bracketed their airplay . . . .
Yeah, I'm sorta bummed about Mark (not Martin) Sandman's demise... Morphine were a cool band and put on a great live show. They will be missed.
Jazz trumpeter Art Farmer died last monday of a heart attack.
Premier jazz vibrophonist Milt Jackson died at the age of 76. People: Get out and see some of these living legends before they're all gone!
Milt Jackson was best known for his work in the Modern Jazz Quartet, and I think I have a few other albums with him. He was pretty much the defining player of the vibes, as Chris said.
Is it just me, or is 1999 becoming the year that so many jazz greats have died?
I was thinking that about 1998, myself. Lots of the jazz greats are of such a generation that they are dropping like flies lately. :( (I'm just happy I got to see Sun-Ra and Cab Calloway before their deaths)
I'm sad to see the afterfacts on the death of Hoyt Axton, song writer and performer, best know for his "Jeremiah was a Bullfrog" 'Joy to the World' and has appeared as an actor, in 'Gremlins' and as a back-hills singer on WKRP.
That is sad. My folks used to love Three Dog Night, so I grew up listening to some of the music he wrote.
I heard somewhere that the body of the guy from Iron Butterfly was found, recently...anyone here have anymore info?
Wasn't he found in his van at the bottom of a ravine? After 2 years missing?
That sounds familiar Katie, I think I read that on a mailing list.
Rick Danko, former bassist with The Band died of an apparent heart attack at his home Friday morning, a day after turning 56. He had played at the Ark Tues, and I had recorded him on Monday. I'm not a huge fan, but this has me a little freaked out. He was singing great, had been 'clean' for about a year, although he looked tired (and he had just done 11 shows in 11 days) It's just strange...
That's a bummer.. I've been listening to the Band all week and realizing how much I enjoy their music. I also liked some of what he'd done more recently with Danko/Fjeld/Andersen. I suppose even if I'd known he was playing the Ark on Tuesday there's no way I could've gone, but I would've like to have seen him perform..
yeah...that IS a bummer. :( i've always loved The Band. even when i was a mr scareyhead hardcore kid.
Grover Washington Jr., anohter big jazz name, died of an apparent heart attack on friday after taping a TV show. He was 56.
And we just lost a country music giant. Hank Snow, whose best known song was "I'm Movin' On" in 1950, died today in Nashville. He was 85.
I heard about that. CNN said he was a mentor to Elvis Presley.
And now Curtis Mayfield....56 or 57 I forget which... 1999 is a bad year for loss in music.
57. Freddie's Dead was one of my favorite funk songs.
We lost a number of legendary jazz performers in 1999, and on the second day of 2000, another one has gone. The musician is cornetist Nat Adderley, age 68, who died on Sunday after a long illness (he lost a leg to diabetes awhile back). Nat was also the brother of the late Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, who was best remembered for the pop hit "Mercy Mercy Mercy."
The University of Washington lost jazz prof Roy Cummings last week-- I forget the date. He's not of big note, but one of his students did acheive recognition-- Kenny G.
Roy-- Roy? I'm not even sure if that's the right first name. I'll go check.
Screamin' Jay Hawkins, died Feb 13. Quite the showman. :(
Promoters are already organizing the "Screamin' Jay Hawkins Voodoo Zombie" tour.. :-|
William Oliver Swofford died of cancer in Shreveport, LA, on 2/12/00. That name may not ring a bell until I tell you that, using only his middle name professionally, he had top ten hits in 1969 with "Good Morning Starshine" (from the musical "Hair") and "Jean" (from "The Pride Of Miss Jean Brodie").
Israili pop star Ofra Haza died Feb 23, 2000 at the age of 41. Details of her death are not being released, but she had been in the hospital for several weeks. Her funeral was attneded by both current PM Ehud Barak and former PM Shimon Peres.
Holy shit. I saw the report on cnn.com when she went into the hospital -- I vaguely recall that the report was of heart problems. Ofra Haza was one of the first artists in the mid-80s world music boom. Her album "Yemenite Songs" was quite popular in our household for a few years.
The April issue of the British magazine Folk Roots quotes Israeli sources as saying that Ofra Haza died of AIDS, which is still considered a taboo subject there. Today's web news reports the death of Ian Dury, from cancer. Ian Dury and the Blockheads were part of the first wave of British punk on the Stiff Records label; Dury's big hit was "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll," and there was a second hit with "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick," which is an old favorite song of Leslie's.
Dury was 57. His music career had fizzled in the 1980s, and he turned to acting and painting. He appeared in the films "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover," and in Roman Polanski's "Pirates."
Last week Ed(?) McCurdy died. He wrote "Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream," among other beloved and popular songs.
Vivian Fine, one of the more prominent women among the large, fruitful generation of American composers prominent in the 1930s-50s, died recently. She was 86.
And another jazz legend has bitten the dust! Trumpeter Jonah Jones died on April 30, 2000, at the age of 90. He had played with the Cab Calloway orchestra, and later had a successful solo career with jazzed-up versions of Broadway show tunes such as "On The Street Where You Live" and "Baubles, Bangles & Beads." He retired from performing in 1993.
Latin percussionist Tito Puente passed away yesterday.
'Cub' Koda, an Ann Arbor rock star from years ago, died last night. He's most famous for the Brownsville Station hit "Smokin in the Boys Room".
He's gone to dance the "Martain Boogie" after some "Random Drug Testing".
I'd had no idea he was from Ann Arbor....
He was my neighbor of late.
i'm havin a memory here...was he by any chance a native american?
Perhaps you're thinking of Ricky Medlocke and his brothers, of "Blackfoot."
oh...maybe. useta hang out with *whoever* at the liberty inn in the mid 80's once in awhile.
Cub Koda was actually from Waterloo, Michigan. I used to live down the street from him, back in my Chelsea days...
Just heard that jazz musician Stanley Turrentine had died. He was scheduled to perform at the Ann Arbor Blue & Jazz Festival this weekend.
Yep, he apparently had a stroke a day or so ago.
Steve Allen passed away in the evening of Octover 30, 2000.
Known also a TV personality that brought The Tonight Show to network
TV (for 3 years before Jack Parr had it for a few more and Johny Carson
hosted for 30 years), Steve Allen also is know for writting over 4,000
songs. He wrote a number of them for Steve Lawernce and Eddie Gormet,
who where the featured singers on his TV show.
If I recall correctly he also wrote "This Could Be the Start
of Something Big".
Your memories?
I was sharing this around the office: One of my favorite bits is actually timely. Back when the Tonight Show was Allen's, he did a "man in the street" bit (much like Leno's Jaywalking). He went about asking people their reactions if it turned out the President was heterosexual. He got everything from "I don't think that would be apporpriate at all, he should resign" to "I don't think that sort of thing really matters, it's a private thing."
Steve Allen was also one to who did not have to get the laughs himself, as long as people remember his *show* for being funny.
Steve also introduced quite a few new musicians on his show. One was a young guy from California named Frank Zappa, who tapped drumsticks on an upsidedown bicycle. When Steve asked him how long he had been playing the bicycle, Frank replied 'about 20 minutes, the rest of the band didn't show up, so I had to do something'. Steve laughed.
For me, Steve Allen is primarily the guy who had hired Allen Sherman to produce his tv show, wrote liner notes for Sherman's first album, and features prominently in Sherman's autobiography.
Erg, that's Allan Sherman. Usually I can tell my Alan/Allan/Allens apart.
(which one is the guy with the wrenches?)
The one with 2 l's.
But only one a.
I just heard that Kirsty MacColl has died in a boating accident in Mexico. Details are sketchy, but NME has an article here: http://www.nme.com/NME/External/News/News_Story/0,1004,11543,00.html
I had a roommate who used to listen to her music, but I'll always remember her for "Fairytale of New York"..
Re:#181 -- I will, too. Fairytale of New York holds a special place in my heart. That was my introduction to Kirsty, and shortly after purchasing that Pogues CD, I realized that she had blessed several of The Smiths' songs with her backing vocals. She's also on the soundtrack to one of my favourite movies, "She's Having a Baby." (covering a Smiths song) I have two of her solo CDs, KITE and ELECTRIC LANDLADY. I love Kite, and I'm lukewarm over Electric Landlady. I'll be digging both of these out of the racks tonight, in memoriam. Here's another nice obit: http://itn.co.uk/news/20001219/entertainment/09maccoll.shtml
Roebuck "Pops" Staples, the patriarch of the gospel/R&B group The Staple Singers, died today of injuries suffered earlier in a fall. Pops would have turned 85 on December 28, 2000.
Rob Buck, the lead guitarist for 10,000 Maniacs died of complications with liver failure Tuesday night. He was 42.
The pity about "Fairytale of New york" was that I thought it was a good song because of the Pogues, only to discover that I couldn't stand much else that the Pogues did, while I loved nearly everything I heard from Kirsty. An obscure contribution: Libery Horses, fronted by her brothers, on which she does backing vox for a few tracks (credited as Kitty MacColl).
(Les Brown died on Thursday of lung cancer. he was 88.) (Brown was a band leader in the '30s and '40s, but he's pribly best known for the Christmas tours with Bob Hope he began in 1950. He was instrumental in getting the Grammys on television, and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the leader of the longest lasting musical organization in recent music history.)
Wasn't he "Les Brown and his band of renown"?
I wonder if Mick Jagger will now claim that title?
Usenet newsgroup rec.music.folk has carried an obituary for American acoustic guitarist John Fahey. I haven't seen this confirmed in mainstream media yet. The obituary says he died following heart bypass surgery.
RE #189 John Fahey was remembered on today's "Fresh Air" and "All Things Considered" on NPR. He passed away after heart surgery at the age of 61.
There are two good obituary pieces at www.washingtonpost.com. As Fahey was a native of Takoma Park, these may be among the best pieces available. I haven't checked the Portland papers yet.
(Glenn Hughes died of lung cancer on March 4. he was the original biker for the Village People.)
"Papa" John Phillips (of The Mamas & the Papas) died this weekend of heart failure in a California hospital. He was 65.
I don't know which is more surprising: that he died or that he was 65. 65. Wow, man.
On last night's "Prairie Home Companion," with musical guests the Battlefield Band, Garrison Keillor announced the death of former Battlefield member Davy Steele. We'd known for a year that Davy Steele had a brain tumor, so this was not unexpected; his failing health had forced him to retire from the band several tours ago. Davy first came to my notice in the Scottish folk band Ceolbeg, and from there he moved to the Battlefield Band, probably in the mid-90s. He sang and played guitar, and wrote contemporary songs. Around the same time he joined Battlefield he married Patsy Seddon, harp player with The Poozies, and they had a child just before his illness struck. (From a web page created by fans where news is posted by the family, I gather Davy is also survived by one or more older children from a previous marriage.) At his last appearance at the Ark with the Battlefield Band, he was happy to chat with me at length about goings-on with his wife's band.
(CNN reports that Joey Ramone, the former lead singer of the seminal punk band The Ramones, died today of lymphoma. he was 49.)
Damn. I'd heard about his illness, but the report sounded optimistic. I saw the Ramones a couple of times near their peak, in 1978 and 1980. And finally there was the unusual evening, after the opening of the Detroit Opera House, when the opera chorus and their dates (including Leslie and I) ended up at the same hotel bar as the Ramones, who had played elsewhere in the city that night.
An e-mail from Green Linnett reports that the renowned fiddler P.J. Hayes died peacefully at his home in County Clare on Sunday, 6 May 2001, at the ripe old age of 80. He was a founding member of the Tulla Ceili Band, and the father of fiddler Martin Hayes.
From USA Today: Jazz singer Susannah McCorkle committed suicide, age 55. McCorkle was a constant critics favorite and I have several of her old LPs.
Ah. WEMU was playing some of her music while I was driving to work today, with a note that she had "died tragically over the weekend." Hadn't heard of her before that, though.
There will be a tribute to the late Susannah McCorkle tomorrow (Friday May 25, 2001) on "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross on NPR. The show will be heard at 12 Noon EDT on WUOM (91.7 FM) and at 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm (both times EDT) on WEMU (89.1 FM). Check your local NPR station's schedule outside of the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area for times.
(Thanks for mentioning this, bruin!)
If you like Susannah McCorkle, be sure to read the tribute to her by her long-time friend Jon Carroll, the San Francisco Chronicle columnist. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi? file=/chronicle/archive/2001/05/24/DD187499.DTL Get the above all into one line, and there you are. http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/carroll/ and choose May 24th is another way there.
Thanks, David, that was worth reading. Salon also has a piece (in their "Sex" column!) which says that McCorkle was depressed because her record company had told her they couldn't put out her newest release, and a regular singing gig in New York had ended.
Not only was the McCorkle article in Salon's sex column, they had the same day an article about sex in their "Living" (or whatever it's called) column. I think wires got crossed somewhere.
I was wondering why the name looked familiar. I brought home her "from broken hearts to blue skies" CD to listen to from work. It is a 1999 Susannah McCorkle release.
I heard John Hartford passed away. Gentile on my mind and all that. Saw him perform at The Ark a time or two. Impressive to see him pick and sing and dance on a special 'soft shoe' board that had a mic pickup on it.
last i heard he had been fighting cancer for YEARS know any details?
resp:207 :: "Gentile on my Mind" sounds like one of those song parodies Tim might collect. Actually the John Hartford song which I think Tim needs the most is "Good Old Fashioned Electric Washing Machine," from his first album EARTHWORDS AND MUSIC, the album which also included "Gentle On My Mind." That's a fave of mine; I have a beat-up old copy I got used. Unfortunately the LPs from Hartford's earliest recording years, 1967-1970, have never been reissued by RCA. Most of his work since 1971 is available. John Hartford's web page is at http://www.johnhartford.com and I guess he had made arrangements for it to be taken care of while he was ill, because his death is mentioned there. Hartford's failing health had been covered over several weeks in the rec.music.folk newsgroup -- always a bad sign -- but he must have had a recent rally because the web page lists several upcoming live dates for him. Unlike some performers who have faded away by the time they die, Hartford had a flood of activity in his last decade. His web page shows about 15 new CD releases since 1990; I know that I'd given up trying to keep track of them. He was involved with the soundtrack for the Coen Brothers film "O Brother, Where Art Thou" which was an unexpected smash hit by country/folk standards -- last I heard, it had sold 750,000 copies. Again according to his web site, John Hartford was to emcee a Carnegie Hall concert with the "O Brother" artists on June 13. I only saw Hartford perform once; about 25 years ago at the Ten Pound Fiddle coffeehouse at MSU. Memories are kind of distant, but I remember liking him a lot.
(( I generally disapprove of entire reprints, but this was so good
that today I'll make an exception. ))
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan,rec.music.folk
Subject: Re: John Hartford R.I.P.
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2001 21:54:29 -0700
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 10:17 p.m. ET
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- John Hartford, a versatile and wry performer who
wrote the standard ``Gentle on My Mind'' and turned his back on Hollywood to
return to bluegrass music, died Monday at a hospital after a long battle
with cancer. He was 63.
The singer-songwriter, comedian, tap-clog dancer, television performer and
riverboat enthusiast had cancer for more than a decade. He died at about
4:45 p.m., said hospital spokesman Russ Gannon.
``Gentle on My Mind'' has been broadcast on radio or television more than 6
million times, according to Broadcast Music Incorporated, which collects
song royalties. It has been recorded more than 300 times, most prominently
by Glen Campbell in 1967.
Hartford's career rambled from Hollywood to Nashville, with stops writing
and performing on network television, thousands of shows at bluegrass clubs
and festivals, and stints as a licensed steamboat pilot on the Mississippi
River.
At the height of his fame in the early 1970s, Hartford reconsidered his
decision to take an offer to star in a detective series on CBS. Instead, he
returned to Nashville and resumed his career as an innovative, relatively
low-profile bluegrass singer-songwriter.
``I knew that if I did it, I would never live it down,'' Hartford said of
the television series in a 2000 interview. ``Because then when I went back
to music, people would start saying, `Oh, he didn't make it in acting so
he's gone country.'''
Born in New York City and raised in St. Louis, Hartford was enthralled as a
youngster by riverboats and bluegrass music, in particular that of Lester
Flatt and Earl Scruggs. He moved to Nashville in 1965, and his first album
``John Hartford Looks at Life'' was released the following year.
Hartford's version of ``Gentle on My Mind'' from second album ``Earthwords &
Music'' was a minor hit in 1967. The song is about a hobo whose mind is
eased by the thought of a former lover.
Hartford moved to California in 1968, landing a job writing and performing
on ``The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.'' His went on to the cast of ``The
Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.''
Returning to Nashville in 1971, Hartford released the landmark acoustic
album ``Aereo-Plain'' and continued to record until his death.
He was one of the performers on the hit soundtrack to the film ``O Brother,
Where Art Thou?''
^------
On the Net:
John Hartford site: http://www.techpublishing.com/hartford
(( krj adds: I didn't check that URL, the one I used was
http://www.johnhartford.com ))
<barry sits here and feels sad>...i got to meet him & his wife for a sec once, real good down to earth people...i have an autographed 8*10 from that time..."For Bubba, from John Hartford" i literally grew up on his music...i use to have his first album, it may still be at my folks house i dunno. i saw him a few times at the ark but not for several years, last time musta been shortly after he was diagnosed, he looked pretty frail and was *balding* i treasure his music...he instilled a deep and abiding love for traditional southern rural music in me, and is the reason for my playing the banjo. i think my favorite show was one i saw him do with his son jamie on mandolin. he kept on subtly teasing his boy and making him blush. it was real nice. last i had heard of his illness was about 3 or 4 years ago maybe during an e-mail/banjo-L exchange i had with the GREAT SONNY OSBORNE in which he said that "Brother John was fighting the good fight" and "doing well" it may seem odd, being a former punker and all, but john has had a greater and deeper impact on me as a musical person than beefheart, the pistols, dylan, or even bob marley...really a deeper impact on me than any other musician. i will miss him, and as brother pete seger would say: "may he liven up the heavenly band!" /cues: "Let Him Go On Mama" prolly his COOLEST song ever.
I got three authographed CDs from one of the shows I did see.
One, "A John Hartform Anthology" or "Me oh My, How the Time Does Fly"
is a re-recording of this most known and personal favorites. It's
on Flying Fish and might also be available at Borders. Blue Plate Music
put out a John Hartford Live from Mountain Stage' CD last year. Oh
, I didn't mention, his authograph has to be the best in music, as they
look like part of the CD package.
He also joined with David Grisman and Mike Seeger to put out a
CD called "Retrograss", taking tunes like Chuck Berry's "Maybelline"
and making it sound like it came from the 1910's, not the 1950's. That
one I did find at Borders on Acoustic Disc. Try dawgnet.com.
that cd is a hoot. the anthology has some versions of songs that are improvements the version of *gentle* i like better as well as the version of *boogie* which is a more interesting version that the one on "Areo-Plain" i was lissening to a fine cd with my gal last night that i reccommend to any readers which was released in 93/94 "The Walls We Bounce Off Of" tim, you'd really enjoy the "All Collision All Explosion Song" i wonder if Dr. D. has heard it?
Yep, Dr. D has played "All Collision.." "Boogie" and "..Washing Machine".
Meaning no disrespect out of ignorance, but was it Hartford or Glen Campbell that made the Gentle on My Mind "famous"?
Glen Campbell's was the only version I can remember hearing.
campbell made it famous. hartford made it beautiful.
Can you explain the latter statement?
yes, but i won't, stupidhead.
how helpful...
I only recently learned at bangur is a different type of banjo, not a different pronunciation.
we players refers to them all thu same. i call mine a banjer. are you talking about an old-time gourd-banjer? those are really cool, i've played them a few times although the whole fret-less experience was difficult for my playin style.
I seen a bangur that is like guitar with a banjo head/sounder. banjo body with a guitar fret. Strung and plays like a guitar, plays a banjo sound.
a banjo-guitar.
NPR note #1: On Wednesday, "All Things Considered" ran a feature about a documentary film about the musicians who performed for the film "O Brother Where Art Thou?" Director D.A. Pennebaker said that the real star of that film was John Hartford. The film is called "Down From The Mountain."
i cant wait to see it. i rediscovered my old wore out tape of aereoplane, i last played it over a year ago. i went out and got it on cd, also my sister gave me a copy of his lat 60's comp :gentle on mmy mind and other originals"
Some unknown blues guy quit playing down here and went to the club in the sky. J.L. Hooker I believe was his name. Couldn't spell very well, they say he had a hit with "Boogie Chillin'" back in the late 40's. Some 'Modern' rockers said they were inspired by him. (What a voice!)
/tpryan lights a single candle.
john hartford john lee hooker carrol o'connor
Carroll O'Connor, of course, has a place in musical history for his vocal performance on the theme song from "All In The Family."
... a song which has usurped the title "Those Were the Days", and I often wonder if I'm the only person who remembers another song with that title, popularized by Mary Hopkin in the 60s ...
based on old Russian folk tune?
Is that the one Kool 107 used to play? (I've switched to WEMU, so I don't know that 107 isn't still playing it.)
There was a song by Mary Hopkin in 1968 called "Those Were The Days" (not the AITF theme). It was one of the first recordings on the Beatles' Apple label
I guess the answer to #231 is, "No." ;)
I guess the answer to 232 is probably "no", and the answer to 231 seems to be "dashed close to it."
My guess is that the answer to #232 is "yes." The song is definitely European; I'd always thought Greek, but Russian works.
Heard today that Chet Atkins passed away.
I need to get back to writing about Chet Atkins. ----- Folksinger Mimi Farina died on July 18. She was 56; we'd known she had cancer and was sliding downhill fast when her sister Joan Baez cancelled her Ann Arbor Folk Festival appearance, along with the rest of her concert schedule, to care for Mimi. Mimi Farina was best known for the two 1960s duet albums she recorded with her husband Richard Farina; their best-known song was "Pack Up Your Sorrows." After Richard was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1966 (Mimi was 21), she tried to keep a solo career going but it was not much of a success. In the 1970s she started a charity group, "Bread and Roses," which brings music performances to the imprisoned, the sick, the elderly and the poor. A recent book, "Positively Fourth Street," reportedly chronicles the tangled personal and artistic relationships among Richard & Mimi Farina, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. I haven't read it; the reviews make it sound like quite the soap opera. The Farinas' recordings have rarely if ever gone out of print: there was a new CD compilation issued last year. But I've found that few people younger than me have ever heard of them. Time to dust off the old Vanguard LPs.
I listen to my parents' copy of "Celebration for a Grey Day" now and again. (Do you know if any of Mimi's solo albums are still in print? I think I'd like "Celebration" a lot better if it weren't for Richard's voice...)
I haven't found any in-print listings for any solo Mimi Farina albums. The only ones I found listed anywhere were "Take Heart," with Tom Jans, from 1971; and "Solo", from 1985, which I dimly remember seeing as a CD edition.
Despite all the reviews of "Positively Fourth Street", the interest hasn't translated into obits of Mimi Farina in anything that I read, before now. Unfortunately, I don't know her work, solo or group. I've heard a few Richard-and-Mimi songs, and though Richard's voice is nasal, it's infinitely less annoying than that of Bob Dylan, whom I can't stand.
"Solo" turned up for sale on a few sites. There is a CD edition. I lost the URL, of course, but it's out there.
From rec.music.country.old-time: I have not tested the links: Now available for consumption by those who revered him, the program "Stashed Behind Your Couch", a 6-part retrospective of John Hartford. Has stuff from his first RCA material up to the most recent, and interviews with such as Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Pete Wernick, Bob Carlin, Tom Smothers, Dr. Demento, some lesser-known friends and a few cherished bits of John himself. Enjoy. Playlist file: http://www.kfjc.org/hartford/slowfull.m3u MP3 files: http://www.kfjc.org/hartford/SBYC1LOW.MP3 (and 2 thru 6). This program aired on Sat. July 21 2001 on KFJC 89.7 in the SF Bay Area. ((end quote))
You have several choices: