George Jones and some other classic Country singers

This week country legend George Jones died. Considered by many to be the greatest male country singer of all time (Hank Williams Sr. doesn't count, because he's Hank, and so is Johnny Cash). Starting out as just another hyperactive Honky Tonk and Rockabilly singer (recordong a rockabilly single, which he later disowned, under the name Thumper Jones), George Jones sang with a sobbing tenor on the verge of a nervous breakdown that would personify the Hurtin' Song for the Honky Tonks of the 1960's and 70's. He had a more modern style than the older nasal twang of the previous post war generation of Hank, Webb, Ernest and Hank Snow, and having an obvious influence on Buck Owens and Johnny Paycheck in particular. Jones was also able to absorb the new Nashville Sound with it's assembly line approach of syrupy back ground vocals and lush string laden production on the strength of his instantly recognizable voice. In a way he was the male Patsy Cline.

GEORGE JONES ~ "WHITE LIGHTNING";


Of course his county outlaw persona helped keep him from becoming another faceless product, especially since the image was largely real. Jones was not a rebel in the sense of being a bad-ass rebel without a clue, like his friend Johnny Paycheck say. Jones was by all accounts a nice, friendly, down-to-earth guy, but he did like to drink and popped a lot of pills. By the late 1960's his reputation for blowing off gigs by being too drunk or hungover had earned him the nick-name "No Show Jones". On one occasion he had to be carried off stage in a straight jacket after having a bizarre on-stage meltdown in which he stumbled and slurred, insulted the audience, forgot the words to his songs or the names of his band and launched into an extended imitation of Donald Duck.

GEORGE JONES ~ "WHO SHOT SAM";


He went through a few marriages (of course) including to Tammy Wynette, with whom he would record a number of hit duets. They would continue to do so even after their divorce. All the while he would continue to churn out the hits, always supported by his devoted fans.

GEORGE JONES ~ "THE RACE IS ON";


By the 1990's he had quit, or at least cut back on the drinking and was still recording and touring up to a few years ago. He was 81.

GEORGE JONES ~ "SHE THINKS I STILL CARE";


Gordon Stoker ~ Singer with 1950's & 1960's Country, Pop and Gospel vocal group The Jordanaires who sang with Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Faron Young, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves, ~ 88

THE JORDINAIRES ~ "SOMETHING WITHIN";


THE JORDINAIRES ~ "GREAT GETTING UP MORNING";


DON GIBSON & THE JORDINAIRES ~ "I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU";


FARON YOUNG & THE JORDINAIRES ~ "THE SHRINE OF ST CECILIA";


Claude King ~ 1950's Country singer with classic hit "Wolverton Mountain" ~ 90

CLAUDE KING ~ "THE COMANCHEROS";


Jack Greene ~ 1960's & 70's Country singer with hits w/ "There Goes My Everything", "Statue of a Fool", "All The Time" ~ 83

JACK GREENE ~ "THERE GOES MY EVERYTHING";


JACK GREENE ~ "ALL THE TIME";

Two One Hundred Year Old Singers Pass On

This week had the odd distinction of having not one but two totally different singers die who were over one hundred years old.

George Beverly Shea ~ A Canadian/American Gospel singer who sang with The billy Graham Crusdae since the 1950's on and had recorded hundreds of songs.His style, with a deep stately baritone had little to do with the black gospel tradition and showed his formal vocal training. Although he came from a devout christian background Shea did make an attempt to succeed as a secular singer in the 1930's on the popular Fred Allen Radio Show and On "Your Hit Parade", however he soon decided to give up secular music and focus on Gospe lwhich he did from the early 1940's on. He was best known for his work with Billy Graham. He was 104 and was still occasionally active as of few years ago. .

GEORGE BEVERLY SHEA ~ "HE'S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS";


GEORGE BEVERLY SHEA ~ "HOW GREAT THOU ART";


GEORGE BEVERLY SHEA ~ "THE LORDS PRAYER";


Bi Kidude was billed as The World's Oldest Singer although her real age was unknown. Born in Zanzibar about one hundred years ago she was a master of singing styles known as Taarab and Unyago music by the Muslim people of Tanzania. She was still active as of a few years ago.

BI KIDUDE ~ "PAKISTANI";


BI KIDUDE& CULTURAL MUSIC CLUB ~ "KIJITI";

Some 1950's Rock, Pop and Doo-Wop figures pass on

Eddie Bond ~ 1950's Rockabilly singer originally on Sun Records then on Mercury later became a country singer ~ 79

EDDIE BOND ~ "TORE UP";


EDDIE BOND ~ "ONE WAY TICKET";


Floyd McRae ~ Singer with 1950's Doo-Wop group The Chords who do the original version of the classic hit "Sh-Boom" later covered by The Crewcuts ~ 80

THE CHORDS ~ "SH-BOOM" (recorded in 1980);


THE CREWCUTS ~ "SH-BOOM";


Virgil Johnson ~ Singer with Doo-Wop group The Velvets ~ 77

THE VELVETS ~ "MY LOVE";


Bob Engemann ~ Singer with 1950's Pop Vocal Group The Letterman w/hits like "Love is A Many Splendored Thing", "When I Fall In Love", "The Way You Look Tonight", "Softly", and covers of pop hits like "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Up Up And Away", "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" and "Walk On By" ~ 76

THE LETTERMEN ~ "LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING";


THE LETTERMEN ~ "WALK ON BY";

A Few Of Punk & Metal Figures Pass On

Steve Knight ~ Keyboardist for 1960's & 70's Proto-Metal band Mountain, best known for their appearance at Woodstock and the hit "Mississippi Queen" ~ 76

MOUNTAIN ~ "MISSISSIPPI QUEEN";


Clive Burr was the original drummer for classic British band Iron Maiden during the pre-Bruce Dickenson Paul Dianno era of the late 1970's & early 1980's died of Muscular Dystrophy ~ 56

IRON MAIDEN ~ "PHANTOM OF THE OPERA";


IRON MAIDEN ~ "IRON MAIDEN";


Chris Bailey ~ Bassist for 1970's & 80's Australian Proto-Punk band The Angels, he had previously been in Mount Lofty Rangers with Bon Scott in 1974 ~ 62

THE ANGELS ~ "TAKE A LONG LINE";


THE ANGELS ~ "AM I A+EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN";


Neil Smith ~ Bassist for 1970's versions of AC/DC and Rose Tattoo ~ 59

ROSE TATTOO ~ "ROCK N ROLL OUTLAW";


ROSE TATTOO ~ "BAD BOY FOR LOVE";


Chi Cheng ~ Bassist for California Metal Band The Deftones (in a coma from a car crash since 2008) ~ 42

THE DEFTONES ~ "DIAMOND EYES";


Kent Abbott ~ Guitarist for Toronto Hardcore Band Grade ~ 32

GRADE ~ "TERMITES HOLLOW";


GRADE ~ "A YEAR IN THE PAST, FOREVER IN THE FUTURE";


Roach, the bassist for 1990's Toronto?Hamilton Hardcore band the Liquor Pigs died aged 44

THE LIQUOR PIGS ~ "IRAQI LOVE";


THE LIQUOR PIGS ~ "ENERGIZER";


Jeff Hanneman ~ Guitarist for Thrash Metal Legends Slayer ~ 49

SLAYER ~ "SEASONS IN THE ABYSS";


Dani Crivelli ~ Drummer for 1980's Swiss Metal Band Krokus

KROKUS ~ "HEADHUNTER";

Stompin Tom, Reg; The Other Presley, and some other other early Rockers

Reg Presley was the singer for the British Beat group The Troggs who of did the classic hits "Wild Thing", (a massive hit which has since been covered by Jimi Hendrix, X, The Cult, Runaways, Cheap Trick, Divinyls, um...Sam Kinison and lord knows how many other bands), "I Can't Control Myself" and "Love is All Around". He was 71

THE TROGGS ~ "WILD THING";


THE TROGGS ~ "I CAN'T CONTROL MYSELF";


George Shadow Morton ~ Songwriter and Producer with 1960's Girl Group The Shangri-La's with classic hits "The Leader of The Pack" & "(Remember) Walking in the Sand" and later Janis Ian, Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly and The New York Dolls ~ 72

THE SHANGRI-LA'S ~ "THE LEADER OF THE PACK";


VANILLA FUDGE ~ "YOU KEEP ME HANGING ON";


THE NEW YORK DOLLS ~ "PERSONALITY CRISIS";


THE NEW YORK DOLLS ~ "LOOKING FOR A KISS";


Alvin Lee, singer guitarist for Blues Rock super group Ten Years After, best known for their epic performance at Woodstock ~ 68

TEN YEARS AFTER ~ "I'M GOING HOME";


TEN YEARS AFTER ~ "SPOONFUL";


Rick Huxley ~ English bassist with 1960's Beat Band The Dave Clark Five w/ hits like "Glad All Over", "Bits & Pieces" (later covered by Joan Jett), "I Like it Like That", "Catch us if You can" ~ 72

THE DAVE CLARK FIVE ~ "DO YOU LOVE ME" & "GLAD ALL OVER";


THE DAVE CLARK FIVE ~ "BITS AND PIECES";


THE DAVE CLARK FIVE ~ "I LIKE IT LIKE THAT";


Tony Sheridan ~ British 1960's Skiffle and Mersey Beat singer, had The Beatles as his back-up band and did their first recordings ~ 72

TONY SHERIDAN ~ "SHAKE IT SOME MORE";


John Doyle ~ Singer/Guitarist with 1960's Miami Garage Punk band The Evil ~

THE EVIL ~ "FROM A CURBSTONE";


Cecil Womack was one of the Womack Brothers (including Bobby, Harry, Friendly and Curtis) who started out in Cleveland as a Gospel group and were discovered by Sam Cooke who signed them to his S.A.R. Record label in 1961 renamed as The Valentinos. They recorded the original version of "It's All Over Now" which was later covered by The Rolling Stones. After Cooke's death in 1964 S.A.R Records folded and Bobby Womack left the group and married Cooke's widow which created some outrage from Cooke's fans. The remaining brothers kept the band together and signed to Chess Records and recorded a few singles which failed to chart. They then signed to Jubilee Records with no greater success. The Valentinos broke up when Henry Womack was stabbed to death by his girlfriend. The renaming brothers became backup singers for their by no more successful brother Bobby's solo career.

THE VALENTINOS ~ "IT'S ALL OVER NOW";


Deke Richards ~ Songwriter and Producer for Motown. Wrote hits like "Love Child" for The Supremes and produced songs like "I Want You Back" and "ABC" for The Jackson 5 ~ 68

THE SUPREMES ~ "LOVE CHILD";


Bluesman Magic Slim was a cousin of the great Magic Sam, he would go on to record several respected albums for Alligator Records died at 75

MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS ~ "LET ME LOVE YOU BABY";


And of course Stompin Tom Connors, the legendary Canadian Folk/Country singer died at 77. It's been a little hard for Canadians to explain to Americans exactly what made Stompin Tom such an icon. Or even to come up with a real comparison. Woody Guthrie? Sort of, both were working man's troubadours and champions of a nationalism that was never right wing or racist. Johnny Cash? Both wore black and both were coolly charismatic. But Connors had a goofy sense of humour that Guthrie and Cash would have found undignified. The closest I can come up with is Guthrie as done by Lonnie Donnegan.

STOMPIN TOM CONNORS ~ "BUD THE SPUD";


STOMPIN TOM CONNORS ~ "MARGO'S GOT THE CARGO";

Three Jazz Pioneers; From Swing to Psyche

Donald Byrd ~ American Be-Bop Jazz trumpet player from the 1950s on. Played with John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, Eric Dolphy, Jackie MacLean, Gigi Gryce and Art Pepper. He later recorded with his own band for several highly successful albums on Bklue Note Records in the 1970's & 80's. His work has been heavily sampled and used on Hip Hop and Acid Jazz ~ 80

DONALD BYRD ~ "CRISTO REDEMER";


Kenny Ball ~ British Jazz trumpet player who had several hits in the 1960's ~ 82

KENNY BALL ~ "MIDNIGHT IN MOSCOW";


Paul Tanner ~ Big Band trombone player with Glenn Miller who later went on to pioneer the electro-theremin, which he played on Beach Boys records including "Good Vibrations" ~ 95

THE GLENN MILLER ORCH ~ "IN THE MOOD";


THE GLENN MILLER ORCH ~ "I GOT A GAL IN KALAMAZOO";


THE GLENN MILLER ORCH ~ "CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO";


THE GELNN MILLER ORCH ~ "SERENADE IN BLUE";


THE BEACH BOYS ~ "GOOD VIBRATIONS";

Two Totally Different Types of Female Singers

On the one hand;
Patti Page was a pre-rock n' roll pop singer from the early singers with huge hits like "Tennessee Waltz", originally by Pee Wee King, which was number one on the charts for 13 weeks and is still one of the biggest selling singles of all time. It was later made the official state song. Other hits included "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window", "red Sails In The Sunset" and "Old Cape Cod". She also hosted her own TV show. She was 85

PATTI PAGE ~ "TENNESSEE WALTZ";


PATTI PAGE ~ "RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET";


The Andrews Sisters were by far the biggest female vocal group of the Swing Era with numerous hits like "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" and literally dozens more from 1938 to 1955. They would have an influence on later Doo Wop and Pop Vocal Groups of the 1950's, including male groups, especially the Crewcuts. The last surviving sister, Patty died aged 94.

THE ANDREWS SISTERS ~ "BOOGIE WOOGIE BUGLE BOY FROM COMPANY B";


THE ANDREWS SISTERS ~ "DON'T SIT UNDER THE APPLE TREE";


And on the other hand;
Precious Bryant was a Folk Blues singer/guitarist from the 1960's on, although she did not record until the 1980's, she was 72.
PRECIOUS BRYANT;


Saffire; The Uppity Blues Women were a trio who mixed serious versions of blues classics with bawdy obscurity in the 1990's on Alligator Records to critical acclaim. They broke up in 2009. Anne Rabson died at 67.

SAFFIRE; THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN ~ "BALD HEADED BLUES";


SAFFIRE; THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN ~ "MIDDLE AGED BLUES";