Some early rock and roll figure pass on

Bobby Robinson ~ 94 ~ Record producer and owner of the first black owned rock and roll labels Fire, Red Robin, Enjoy and Fury Records. Produced Elmore James, Big Boy Crudup, Gladys Knight, Buster Brown, Tarheel Slim, Lee Dorsey, The Shirelles. Unlike many figures from the early years of Rock and R & B such as Barry Gordy, Sam Phillips or the Chess Brothers, Robinson kept touch with changing trends and later produced Kool Mo Dee and Grandmaster Flash.

Randy Wood ~ Founder of Dot Records; 1950's & 60's label for rock, pop, jazz and country artists like Roy Head, Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs, Tiny Hill & The Hilltoppers, Jimmy Rodgers, Louis Prima, Pat Boone, The Surfaris, The Chantays, Gary Usher, Mac Wiseman, Nervous Norvus, Roy Clark, Sanford Clark, Mac Curtis, Lonnie Donnegan, Jimmy Dorsey, Jack Kerouac, Count Basie, The Mills Bros, Robin Luke, The Four Lads ~94

Bobby Poe ~ 77 ~ A 1950's rockabilly singer who had a couple of minor hits like "Rock and Roll record girl" and an early version of "The Fool" which are much sought after by collectors. However he had a bigger impact when he discovered a talented black singer and pianist named Big Al Dowling to his band the Poe Kats making them one of the first bi-racial bands. Poe encouraged Dowling's obvious talents even sharing singing duties, a remarkably generous gesture for a band leader. Dowling would go on to a respected solo career with Stax Records. The Poe Kats would then go on to back up Wanda Jackson on some of her early singles. As tastes changed Poe would go on to a successful career as a music publisher and record label scout in Nashville.

Bobby Poe & The PoeCats (with Big Al Dowling) ~ :Rock and Roll record girl";



Jet Harris ~ 71 ~ Bassist with The Shadows. Easily the most important British group in the late 1950's and early 60's both as an instrumental group with numerous hit singles such as "Apache" and as backing band for the equally successful singer Cliff Richard. The Shadows have been cited as a major influence on literally every figure in British rock and roll from the Beatles and Stones to Dr.Feelgood and the Jam and their importance simply can not be over estimated. They would also be a major influence internationally on the surf and instrumental scene through such groups as The Ventures.

The Shadows ~ "Apache";




George Louvin ~ 83 ~ Along with his brother Ira, one half The Louvin Brothers, a popular country singing duo of the 1950's and early 60's. George was the shorter guitar playing one while Ira was taller mandolin playing tenor. One of such singing brother duos such as the Delmore Brothers, Stanley Brothers, Lilly Brothers, Whitstine Brothers and Bailey Brothers who provided a link between the older sounds of bluegrass and the newer more modern honky tonk and rockabilly and would reach it's peak with the Everly Brothers. The Louvins would score several hits into the the 60's ranging from secular and gospel and including the concept album "Satan is real" which is now a valuable collector's item. Changing tastes and the drinking problems of brother Ira and his combative personality led to The Louvin's breakup followed by Ira's death in a car crash in 1965. The quieter George kept a lower profile after that but would still occasionally record and appear at the Opry well into his 70's.

The Louvin Brothers ~ "I don't believe you've met my baby";




Johnny Preston ~ 77 ~ A country and rockabilly singer who was discovered by J.P. Richardson (AKA The Big Bopper) who wrote and produced the song "Running Bear" which would become a massive hit in 1959, almost surpassing The Bopper's own hit "Chantilly Lace". The Bopper and his friend George Jones also provided the back up war whoops on the single. Unfortunately The Bopper then died in the same plane crash as Buddy Holly and Richie Valens and while Preston would go on to have more hits none would come close to the same success.

Johnny Preston ~ "Billy Boy";



Mack Self ~ 81 ~ 1950's rockabilly singer who recorded for Sun Records without scoring any real hits although is records would later become popular with rockabilly collectors and he had a career after the rockabilly revival in the 1970's. He also recorded a number of country records.



Ferlin Husky ~ 85 ~ A country singer from the 1960's who had a huge crossover hit in the mid 1950's with "The wings of a dove" a rousing gospel ballad with a catchy finger snapping chorus. Husky would score country hits into the 1960's but his rather older straight laced image, sporting conservative string ties and jackets with short hair and pencil mustache were dangerously out of step with the changing tastes of rock and roll and he retreated back to Nashville and the Opry where he continued to perform into his 70's.

Ferlin Husky ~ "The wings of a dove";



Billy Grammer ~ Honky Tonk singer who recorded the original versions of "Detroit City" (by Mel Tillis) and "Gotta travel on" which became a crossover hit in 1959, later covered by Buddy Holly, Boxcar Willie, Kingston Trio, Chet Atkins, Seekers, Skeets MacDonald, Jerry Lee Lewis and The Lennon Sisters among others. ~ 85

Billy Grammer ~ "Gotta travel on";




Jerry Mayo ~ Trumpet player for Freddie and the Bellboys, one of the earliest non rockabilly white rock groups from the 1950's. Had a hit with a version of "Hound dog" and "Giddy up a Ding Dong", appeared in Alan Freed tours and movies. Freddie Bell died in 2008 ~ 76

Freddie Bell and the Bellboys ~ "We're gonna teach you to rock";




Carl Gardner ~ Vocalist w/ The Coasters, the greatest of all R&B vocal groups between the Doo Wop and Motowm eras with hits like "Charlie Brown", "Yakkety Yak", "Poison Ivy", "Along came Jones", "Searchin'", "I'm a hog for you" later covered by the likes of The Hollies, Monkees, Dr. Feelgood, Deja Voodoo, The Sadies, Leon Russell, Bad Company, Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Commander Cody, The Count Bishops and more ~ 83

The Coasters and Del Shannon ~ Searchin';




Gladys Horton ~ 65 ~ Lead singer with the Marvelettes, one of the early Motown girl groups who had a number of hits in the 1960's starting with "Please Mr. Postman" and following it up with a string of others including the much covered "I'll keep on holding on". Unfortunately for them while Horton was a better singer than Diana Ross she lacked Ross' sense of style, not to mention her all consuming ambition and when Motown boss Barry Gordy decided to focus all his efforts on promoting Ross and the Supremes the Marvelettes were pushed aside and faded away eventually breaking up.

The Marvelettes ~ "Don't mess with Bill";



Nicholas Ashford ~ R&B singer and songwiter with his wife Valerie Simpson for Motown in the 1960's to the 1980's with hits for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Marvelettes, Fifth Dimension, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Shirelles, Rufus, Chaka Kahn, Brothers Johnson, Teddy Pendergrass and even Ronnie Milsap as well as scoring hits as a singing duo ~ 70

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell ~ "Ain't no mountain high enough";



Kathy Kirby ~ British 1960's pop singer and blonde sex symbol with hit version of "Secret Love" (real name Kathleen O'Rourke) ~ 72

Kathy Kirby ~ "Secret Love";




John Walker ~ Bassist and singer with 1960's melodramatic pop group The Walker Brothers, who were not actually brothers and none of whom, were actually named Walker. Originally from the Los Angeles rock scene, they moved to London and recorded a series of increasingly melodramatic singles the biggest of which was "The sun ain't gonna shine anymore". By that time John had been largely supplanted as lead singer by the deeper voiced crooner Scott Walker.

The Walker Brothers ~ "The sun ain't gonna shine anymore";



Jerry Ragovoy ~ 80 ~ R&B Songwriter under the name Norman Meade; "Time is on my side" (by the Rolling Stones), "Take another piece of my heart","Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" and "Cry Baby" (all by Janis Joplin)

The Rolling Stones ~ "Time is on my side";



Hume Paton ~ Lead guitar for the underrated 1960's Scottish Mod group The Poets. No big hits but "That's the way it's gonna be" has turned up on many Nuggets comps and in the film "Factory Girl". Drummer Alan Weir died in 2010.

The Poets ~ "That's the way it's gonna be";



Mark Tulin ~ 62 ~ Bassist with the 1960's psychedelic garage band The Electric Prunes whose double shot 1967 hits "I had too much to dream last night" and "Get me to the world on time" became acknowledged classics of the era when they were included in the "Nuggets" collection and covered by Stiv Bators on his solo album. However the Prunes had trouble adjusting to changing tastes in rock like Folk Rock, Prog Rock, Southern Rock, Power Trios and their attempt at an early rock opera with a strange album of classical/rock fusion was a disaster. The band broke up thereafter but a generation later Tulin would get a second career when Prunes fan Billy Corrigan would invite him join a later version of The Smashing Pumpkins.

The Electric Prunes ~ "I Had too much to dream last night";



Robert Rozelle ~ Bassist with the Classic Los Angeles 1960's garage psychedelic garage band Love who had a few classic singles with "My little red book" and "7 and 7 is" and an album considered one of the all time greats in "Forever changes". Unfortunately the usual problems got in the way; drugs, conflicts, mental instability and the refusal of band leader Arthur Lee to tour led to the band's lost momentum and inevitable breakup.

Love ~ "My little red book";



Steve Serrato ~ 65 ~Drummer with Question mark and the Mysterions, the all Hispanic group from Michigan who's hit "96 Tears" became one of the instantly recognized classics of the era, later covered by The Music Machine and The Stranglers among many others.

Question Mark & The Mysterions ~ "96 Tears";



Rob Grill and Rick Coonce ~ Singer (Grill) and Drummer w/ 1960's garage band The Grass Roots who did the classic hit "Let's live for today". There were a few minor followups as well. Grill died in July at 67, Coonce died months earlier.

The Grass Roots ~ "Let's live for today";




Pinetop Perkins ~ Blues pianist and one of the last of the great Chicago bluesmen of the classic postwar era. Besides recording solo for Chess and Cobra Records he also played with the likes of Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonnyboy Williamson and BB King. He was still active at the time of his death and in fact in 2010 he became the oldest person to win a Grammy award.

Muddy Waters with Pinetop Perkins ~ Long distance phone call;



Eddie Kirkland ~ 88 ~ Blues and R & B guitarist who started out playing with Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker before going on a solo career and playing with Foghat which would not slow down until he died this year at the age of 88 on the road while on his way home from yet another gig. Known as the "Gypsy of the Blues" for his non stop touring.

Eddie Kirkland with Foghat;



Cato Walker ~ 61 ~ Saxophonist with Lou Rawls, The Bar-Kays and B.B. King. Later ran the record label, Strick 9.

Lloyd Knibb ~ Drummer with The Skatalites, widely noted as the founders of Jamaican Ska in the 1960's ~ 80

The Skatalites ~ "Ringo";



Don Kirshner ~ 75 ~ Although not a musician The Man With the Golden Ear was a Songwriter, Producer and promoter who wrote jingles for and with Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond and Connie Francis and Co-founded the Aldon music publishing company. In gthe 60's he branched out into television where he created The Monkees and after being fired in a dispute with his Frankenstein monster he then came up with the Archies. In the 70's he produced and hosted TV's, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert.

Huey P. Meaux ~ AKA "The Crazy Cajun", 1960's Louisiana record producer for Freddy Fender (Til the last teardrop falls"), The Sir Douglass Quintet (She's about a mover", Gene Summers ~ 82

David Honeyboy Edwards ~ Last of the old delta blues singers from the 1930's. Played with Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Son House, Tommy Johnson, Big Joe Williams, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Otis Spann, Walter Shakey Horton, also recorded two albums with the original Peter Green version of Fleetwood Mac through the folk blues revival of the 1960's until this year. He was just in town last year in fact. ~ 96

Honeyboy Edwards ~ "Lay my burden down";



Charles Kaman ~ Inventor who founded Ovation Instruments that became the Ovation Guitar Company which introduced one of the first production solid body electric guitars. He later founded Kaman Aircraft Company ~ 92


DeLois Barrett Campbell ~ American gospel singer w/The Barrett Sisters starting in the 1930's but did not start recording until the 1960's. Did versions of Sam Cooke's "Wonderful", "I'll Fly Away" and sang with Roberta Martin on "I Hear God", later appeared in the documentary "Say Amen somebody ~ 85

The Barrett Sisters (with Roberta Martin on piano) ~ "From out of nowhere";



Gene McDaniels ~ American 1960's R&B singer and songwriter w/hits "Tower of Strength", "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" by himself and "Feel Like Makin' Love" by Roberta Flack ~ 76

Esther Gordy Edwards ~ Sister of Barry Gordy and one of the founders of Motown Records ~ 91


Jean Dinning ~ 86 ~ Singer with 1950's pop vocal group The Dinning Sisters, a typical Andrews Sisters type pre-rock and roll schmaltz group. Her biggest hit however would come when she co-wrote her younger brother Mark Dinning's, hit "Teen Angel" a classic example of early rock and roll schmaltz and a massive hit. The song's ultra morbid theme about a guy dragging his love from a fiery car wreck was one of a trend that would include the likes of "The leader of the pack" and "DOA" from Bloodrock..

Dinning Sisters ~ "Clancy";



Mark Dinning ~ "Teen Angel";



Carl Bunch ~ Drummer with Buddy Holly & The Cricketts and later for Hank Williams jr and Roy Orbison ~ 71

John Pickett ~ Singer with vocal group The Picks who sang backups with Buddy Holly on most of his hits like "Oh Boy" ~ 77

Terry Clements ~ Drummer w/ Gordon Lightfoot on many of his hits including "The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" ~ 64

Loy Clingman ~ Arizona Rockabilly Singer later ran VIV Records ~ 88

Suze Rotolo ~ 67 ~ 1960's political activist and author, girlfriend of Bob Dylan, became famous as the cover model on "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" walking arm in arm with Dylan. Later became a writer

A few country music pickers from the 50's and earlier;

Buddy Charleton ~ Bassist and pedal steel player w/ Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn ~ 82

Buddy Jones ~ Drummer w/Patsy Cline, Faron Young, Leon Young, Red Sovine ~ 83

Buster Magness ~ Steel guitar player w/ western swing band of Johnny Lee Wills ~ 87

Doc Williams ~ 1930's and 40's Old time country singer who scored hits in the 1940's with Chickie Williams, founder of Wheeling Records ~ 94

Hazel Dickens ~ 1960's folk and bluegrass singer/guitarist/bassist with Alice Gerrard (nee Foster). Recorded for Folkways Records as one of the first female duos. Union activist and IWW supporter who later appeared in pro-union films like "Harlan County USA" and "Matewan" ~ 75

Hazel Dickens ~ (bio pic);



A few Doo Wop singers;

Grady Chapman ~ 81 ~ Singer with 1950's Doo Wop group The Robins who would later evolve into The Coasters albeit without Chapman.

Carl Rainge ~ 74 ~ Singer with The Spaniels who's classic "Goodnight sweetheart goodnight" would later be used as a closing theme by Sha Na Na on their 1970's TV show.

The Spaniels ~ "Good night Sweetheart";



Bobby Phillips ~ Singer with Doo Wop group The Cadillacs who's classic hit was "Speedo"

The Cadillacs ~ "Speedo";



Monte Owens ~ Singer with Doo Wop groups The Mello Moods and The Solitaires

The Mello Moods ~ "Tonight tonight";



Oscar Lawson ~ Singer with Texas Chicano Doo Wop group The Royal Jesters, known for their smooth sound. Their hit "Lonely Guy" was later covered by Big Sandy on his Doo Wop album ~ 74

The Royal Jesters ~ "Love me";



A few jazzbos and avant garde figures from the 50's, 60's and earlier;

Bob Flanigan ~ American singer and bassist/trombonist with 1950's pre-rock pop and jazz vocal group The Four Freshmen with numerous hits like in the mid 1950's and highly influential on later white doo-wop groups like The Crewcuts, The Diamonds and the Four Seasons as well as Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys and the Byrds. Unlike most other vocal groups the Freshmen were also excellent musicians. ~ 84

Ross Barbour ~ Singer with 1950's pop and jazz vocal group The Four Freshmen ~ 82

The Four Freshmen ~ "Ain't seen nothing like you";



Margaret Whiting ~ Big Band jazz and pop singer from the 1940's and 50's both solo and with her sister Barbara with hits like "One for my baby", "Ain't we got fun", "It might as well be spring". As rock and roll took over she became co-host of a TV sitcom with her sister.

Margaret Whiting ~ "It's just the gypsy in my soul";



Joe Morello ~ Jazz drummer w/Dave Brubeck, Stan Kenton, Art Pepper, Hank Garland ~ 82

Allen Smith ~ Big Band jazz trumpet player w/The Hellcats Navy Band in World War 2, also later with Benny Goodman, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. ~ 85

Frank Foster ~ American jazz saxophonist and flautist with Count Basie ~ 82

Sir George Shearing ~ The great blind British jazz pianist and band leader who had a number of hit albums in the UK and USA from the 1950's on. Ranging from solo work to quintets and as a duo, also recorded with Steffane Grapelli and Mel Torme. Retired in 2004 after a fall in his home, Knighted in 2007 ~ 91

Eric Delaney ~ British jazz drummer w/ Sir George Shearing ~ 87

Sir George Shearing ~ "Move";



Jiri Traxer ~ Czech/Canadian jazz pianist and composers from the 1930's on, considered one of the founders of jazz and swing in eastern Europe. Stayed in Czechoslovakia during the war but fled to the west in 1951 and moved to Canada. ~ 99

Jiri Traxler ~ Piano piece;



Conrad Schnitzler ~ Keyboard player with highly influential German electronic pioneers Tangerine Dream starting in 1969. Later w/Kluster, Eruption, Berlin Express ~ 74

Tangerine Dream ~ "Cyclone";



Milton Babbit ~ 96 ~ While not normally thought of as a rock and roll figure Babbitt was trail blazer in the development of the Moog. Milton Babbit was a avant garde composer of piano and electronic works starting in the late 1940's. His piano works were considered so advanced and difficult that it would take over 40 years before they would be recognized and awarded. However it is his electronic work that would have the most impact as he was one of the designers of the original Moog Synthesizer and among the first to treat it as a serious instrument, composing works for it. At the time the Moog was a massive computer that took up an entire room and required a bewildering array of vacuum tubes, patch cords, tape reels and punch cards, but twenty years later the Moog would be discovered by progressive rock groups like Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd, Yes and even the Monkees. Much later smaller and more compact and practical synths would evolve.

Milton Babbit ~ "Occasional variations";



Reinhold Marxhausen ~ American sound artist and sculpter inventor, teacher, author and painter from the 1960's on ~ 89

Reinhold Marxhausen ~ "Throne Dome" sound sculpture ;

"The Rodeo song" writer dies

If you are a (probably) white Canadian over the age of 30 you probably remember "The Rodeo Song". The infamously filthy non-hit that could never, ever. get played on the radio anywhere. And yet we all knew it, and used to sing it idiotically in high school to show how bad ass we were. Yeah sure there's gangsta rap and death metal but really, who could listen to that crap? Besides it wasn't nearly as funny. And juvenile. And filthy. It actually came as a bit of a surprise to discover that it was actually a legitimate song recorded in 1980 by a band from Alberta called The Showmen, who actually recorded a full album, which is more low key.

The Showmen ~ "The Rodeo Song" (note whoever posted this on youtube obviously thought it was by the late American country singer Chris LeDoux, in spite of the fact that he sounds nothing like this. He did have a song with that name though, as did David Allen Coe)



That does mean that there was an actual songwriter for this. It was in fact Gaye Delorme, a usually respectable and successful song writer and session guitarist who also worked with a number of thoroughly respectable people including Jann Arden, the Powder Blues Band, Lenny Breau, David Foster and even the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. He also produced KD Lang's first album. He did have another comedy hit though as he also wrote the Cheech and Chong semi-hit "Earache my eye". This was another hit with the easily stoned back in the day. It's since been covered by the likes of Metallica and Korn. I'm not sure this is the legacy a respected producer was looking for but on the other hand most musicians slave away their entire lives without anybody noticing so what the Hell. Delorme died June 23 aged 64 of a heart attack.

CHEECH & CHONG ~ "EARACHE MY EYE":



As for The Showmen, they never lived down their notoriety and broke up some time in the 1980's after recording another album which included a straight forward cover of the classic song (by another Canadian band named A Foot In Cold Water) "Make me do anything you want" failed to break through.

RIP to New Wave producer Martin Rushent

PETE SHELLEY ~ HOMOSAPIEN;



UK record producer Martin Rushent died June 4 aged 62. Producer for the classic New Wave hit albums of the 1980's by The Buzzcocks, Stranglers, Human League and Soft Cell.
The Buzzcocks and Stranglers albums made his name but he really hit the big time with the classic and massively successful series of hit albums with The Human League and Soft Cell. Besides selling tons of copies these records (that's right kids, actual records!) were also hugely influential to a new generation of electro music artist and dj's for better or worse. This is in spite of the fact that the technology then used will probably never be used again and would be considered by today's electronic musicians as being as hopelessly out of date as the player piano.

THE HUMAN LEAGUE ~ DON'T YOU WANT ME;



Today's electro musicians do can do everything from a single computer program using premade samples, drum tacks and auto-tuning which removes any actual human fingerprints. Rushent's records with The Human League and Soft Cell were done with analog technology (ask your parents) and required not only that each sample clip be separately edited in but also that the entire mix be programed in step by step lest it go out of time. Then you add in flourishes like a horn section which also had to be programed in step by laborious step and you have days and days of work for something that could be dashed off in a day now.

SOFT CELL ~ TAINTED LOVE;



At the time many music writers and musicians didn't see these records as being legitimate in the way that guitar oriented New Wavers like say, The Pretenders, Blondie, Police, Talking Heads or even avowedly keyboard heavy bands like Ultravox. Now, in retrospect we can see them as much a part of pop (if not exactly Rock and Roll) as the heavily orchestrated girl groups of the 1960's.

THE STRANGLERS ~ NO MORE HEROES;



And if that weren't enough remember Rushent also produced the classic albums by The Buzzcocks Generation X, 999, Dr. Feelgood, the dB's and the Stranglers, and nobody could deny those. He had actually been around since the early 1970's and had worked with T Rex, Fleetwood Mac, Gentle Giant and even Shirley Bassey.

999 ~ HOMICIDE;



Partial Martin Rushent discography;

1971;
T-Rex ~ Electric Warrior
Gentle Giant ~ Acquiring the Taste
Fleetwood Mac ~ Future Games
1972;
Gentle Giant ~ Three Friends
Gentle Giant ~ Octopus
Shirley Bassey ~ I Capricorn
1975;
Shirley Bassey ~ Good, Bad but Beautiful
1977;
The Stranglers ~ Rattus Norvegicus
The Stranglers ~ No More Heroes
1978;
The Stranglers ~ Black and White
The Buzzcocks ~ Another Music in a Different Kitchen
Generation X ~ Generation X
The Buzzcocks ~ Love Bites
999 ~ Separates
Dr Feelgood ~ Private Practice
1979;
The Stranglers ~ Live (X Cert)
The Buzzcocks ~ A Different Kind of Tension
J-J Burnel ~ Euroman Cometh
1981;
The Human League ~ Dare
Pete Shelley ~ Homosapien
The Raybeats ~ Guitar Beat
Altered Images ~ Happy Birthday
The dB's ~ Stands for Decibels
1982;
The Human League ~ Love and Dancing
Altered Images ~ Pinky Blue
1983;
The Human League ~ Fascination!
Pete Shelley ~ XL1
1984;
The Human League ~ Hysteria
The Go-Go's ~ Talk show


GENERATION X ~ KISS ME DEADLY;

Oh Cancer Up Yours!!

This is sad. Poly Styrene, one of the quirkiest and most beloved figures of the original 1976-78 London punk scene has died of cancer at 53.

As singer and lyricist for the legendary X Ray Spex, Poly was a striking presence as much for the playful and insightful lyrics as for the uninhibited wailing yelp she sang them with. She also set a visual style of her own combining a trash punk aesthetic with a Raggety Anne sensibility and a love of the gaudiest dayglo colours imaginable which gave her a look that was far removed from the angry goth bondage look sported by most of her contemporaries. Awkward and geeky and certainly not a conventional beauty with braces and sometimes a little chubby she could also appeal to girls who might be a little intimidated by Siouxsie The Ice Queen, Debbie Harry and Annabella Lwin The Pinups or Gaye Advert and Chrissie Hynde The Biker Chicks. Poly, whose real name was Marianne Joan Elliott-Said, was a mulatto of mixed Scots/English and Somali parents and she would so also become the first non-white figure in the punk scene.

X RAY SPEX ~ IDENTITY;



X Ray Spex put out one classic single in "Oh Bondage Up Yours", and appeared on the "Live at the Roxy" album, before releasing the brilliant "Germ Free Adolescents". In their book about the early days of punk, "The Boy looked at Johnny", writers Tony Parsons and Julie Burchill called Poly the one true poetess of punk.

X RAY SPEX ~ THE WORLD DAYGLO;



Unfortunately in spite of being a positive role model for many, Poly was also a fragile figure who was began to crack under the pressure first firing her female sax player, Laura Logic, then reporting seeing hallucinations which she claimed were alien UFOs who were communicating with her. She was hospitalized and misdiagnosed with schizophrenia then later as bi-polar. When released she later joined the Hare Krishnas. By then X Ray Spex had obviously broken up. She would resurface in years to come and occasionally even record an ep or two. But was essentially in retirement until the legacy of X Ray Spex was rediscovered and the band made a couple of reunion gigs in 2007 and 2008 minus guitarist Jak Airport who died of cancer in 2004. She announced her own solo album, produced by Youth from Killing Joke, to be released this year. Unfortunately she also announced in February that she had breast cancer which had spread to her spine. Actually I had a sort-of close encounter with Poly a few months back when I posted a response on Twitter to a statement made by Sammy Hagar in a vain attempt to appear interesting that he had made claiming to have seen a UFO. I pointed out that Poly had already done that years ago. Within a day or so she had added me on Twitter. That was pretty cool.

X RAY SPEX ~ GERM FREE ADOLESCENTS;



I am also going to take a moment to pay belated tribute to Mick Karn, (born Andonis Michaelides in Cyprus) bassist for early New Wave band Japan and later Dali's Car. Japan were actually contemporaries of the first wave of punks in the mid seventies with a look and sound like a European version of the New York Dolls that seemed dangerously out of step with the leather clad punk hordes but they kept slogging along and developing a more smooth Roxy Music meets Chic style that would become highly influential to the later New Romantics and Goths although Japan would always hold themselves aloof. As a bassist Karn, who was originally a bassoon player, developed a totally unique style involving extremely fluid runs on a fretless bass that was miles away from everyone else at the time, and since for that matter. He also played sax. Japan developed a rabid cult fan base and scored a few mid size hits before breaking up in 1982. After that Karn was briefly in an abortive project called Dali's Car with former Bauhaus singer Peter Murphy who recorded one album before also breaking up. Karn continued to do occasional solo work and there were announced plans to reform Dali's Car with in the summer of 2010 with Murphy when Karn suddenly announced that he also had cancer. He died in January of 2011 aged 52.

JAPAN ~ "LIFE IN TOKYO";



JAPAN ~ "CANTONESE BOY";

The People Who Died - 2011 edition

Liz Anderson ~ American country music singer-songwriter, mother of Lynn Anderson ~ 81

Nicholas Ashford ~ R&B singer and songwiter with his wife Valerie Simpson for Motown in the 1960's to the 1980's with hits for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Marvelettes, Fifth Dimension, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Shirelles, Rufus, Chaka Kahn, Brothers Johnson, Teddy Pendergrass and even Ronnie Milsap as well as scoring hits as a singing duo ~ 70

Milton Babbitt ~ Avant garde composer, pianist and Moog synth pioneer ~ 96

Billy Bang ~ Jazz violinist with Sun Ra ~ 63

Ross Barbour ~ Singer with 1950's pop and jazz vocal group The Four Freshmen ~ 82

DeLois Barrett Campbell ~ American gospel singer w/The Barrett Sisters, starting in the 1930's but did not start recording until the 1960's w/ version of Sam Cooke's "Wonderful", later appeared in documentary "Say Amen somebody" ~ 85

John Barry ~ Film composer for James Bond movies, "Born Free","Out of Africa","Dances with Wolves" ~ 77

Aaron Beamish ~ A.K.A. Aaron Arsenic, drummer with Toronto punk bands Slow Motion Victory, Five Minutes to Glory, Sweet Lips and The Famous Monsters ~ 26

Graham Bean ~ Bermuda born jazz guitarist with Dizzy Gillespie ~ 81

Gordon Beck ~ English jazz pianist w/ Nucleus, Alan Holdsworth, Phill Woods ~ 75

John Bishop ~ American soul and jazz guitarist, heart attack ~ 65

J. Blackfoot ~ Soul singer from late 1960's to 1980's w/The Bar Kays, The Soul Children and solo ~ 65

Sean Bonniwell ~ Singer/keyboards w/1960's garage punk group The Music Machine. Did the classic "Talk Talk" ~ 71

John Bottomley ~ Canadian singer-songwriter ~ 50

Doyle Bramhall ~ Texas blues drummer and songwriter. Worked with Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimmie Vaughn and the Fabulous Thunderbirds ~ 61

Theron Brison ~ A.K.A. Thee Ram, Funk bassist and teacher ~ 48

Bob Brookmeyer ~ American jazz valve trombonist w/Gerry Mulligan ~ 81

Joe Brooks ~ Songwriter ("You light up my life")and film score composer ("The Lords of Flatbush", "Eddie & the Cruisers") ~ 73

Kim Brown ~ Singer/guitarist w/ Finnish 1960's garage bands The Renegades and The Cadillacs ~ 61

Pearl Thurston Brown ~ Jazz and blues singer ~ 84

Bob Brunning ~ English Rock and Blues bassist w/ John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac, Savoy Brown ~ 68

Ray Bryant ~ Jazz pianist w/Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Melba Liston, and Coleman Hawkins, Carmen McRae and Aretha Franklin ~ 79

Slam Buckra ~ Blues guitarist w/ The Groove Palookas backing Albert King and Albert Collins ~ 64

George "Mojo" Buford ~ Blues harmonica player with Muddy Waters ~ 81

Carl Bunch ~ Drummer with Buddy Holly & The Cricketts and later for Hank Williams jr and Roy Orbison ~ 71

Bob Burnett ~ American musician with 1960's folk group The Highwaymen ~ 71

Philip "Fatis" Burrell ~ Jamaican reggae producer and record label head for XTerinator Records, Vena Records and Kings & Lions Records ~ 59

Roy Burris ~ Drummer country singer Merle Haggard ~ 79

Don Butler ~ American gospel singer, founder of Gospel Music Association ~ 80

Ron Byrd ~ Drummer for 1970's & 80's American roots rock band the Iron City Rockers ~ 61

Frankie Campagna Jr. ~ Guitarist with Neo-Rockabilly group Spector 45 ~ 24

John Du Cann ~ Singer/guitarist w/ British progressive rock band Atomic Rooster ~ 65

Jeanne Carroll ~ American blues singer ~ 80

Tod Cerney ~ Country/Blues and Pop Songwriter and session musician w/Etta James, Bread and Reastless Heart ~ 57

Grady Chapman ~ Singer w/Doo Wop group The Robins and The Coasters ~

Buddy Charleton ~ Bassist and pedal steel player w/ Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn ~ 82

Clarence Clemons ~ Sax player with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band on all their hits, also recorded with Jackson Browne, Aretha Franklin ("Freeway of love") and Lady Ga Ga as well as solo ~ 69

Terry Clements ~ Drummer w/ Gordon Lightfoot on many of his hits ~ 64

Loy Clingman ~ Arizona Rockabilly Singer later ran VIV Records ~ 88

James Graham Collier ~ British jazz bassist/composer and writer ~ 74

Scott Columbus ~ Drummer w/ Heavy Metal band Manowar ~ 54

Rick Coonce ~ Drummer w/ 1960's garage band The Grass Roots

Wilma Lee Cooper ~ Country singer from 1938 to the 1960's with husband Stony Cooper who died in 1977. Wilma continued to perform on occasion until last year. ~ 90

Tommy Crain ~ Guitarist w/Charlie Daniels Band ~ 59

Smiley Culture ~ Jamaican reggae singer and DJ ~ 48

Beryl Davis ~ English big band singer w/Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra and The Four Girls singing group, with Jane Russell, Rhonda Fleming, and Connie Haines ~ 87

Danny DeGennaro ~ Guitarist for American 1970's country rock band Kingfish ~ 56

Eric Delaney ~ British Jazz drummer w/ Sir George Shearing ~ 87

Gaye Delorme ~ Canadian guitarist/composer, did the music for Cheech & Chong's "Earache my eye", worked with Powder Blues Band, Lenny Breau, David Foster ~ 64

Clem DeRossa ~ American jazz drummer, director of the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) ~ 86

Joel DiGregorio ~ American keyboardist (The Charlie Daniels Band) ~ 67

Hazel Dickens ~ 1960's Bluegrass and Folk singer/bassist w/ Alice Gerrard ~ 75

Jean Dinning ~ Singer with 1950's pop vocal group The Dinning Sisters. She also co-wrote her brother Mark Dinning's, hit "Teen Angel" ~ 86

Frank Driggs ~ Jazz record producer and archivist/historian worked on re-issued recordings by Fletcher Henderson, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Gene Krupa and Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings (for which he received a Grammy in 1991) ~ 90

Harry Drukous ~ Singer/keyboardist w/ 1970's power pop group Earthquake

Derek Dugger ~ Rockabilly drummer w/Wanda Jackson, Big Al Dowling, Mack Stevens ~ 47

Cornell Dupree ~ Jazz bassist w/Archie Shepp, Grover Washington Jr., Snooky Young, Miles Davis, Lena Horne, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis ~ 69

David Honeyboy Edwards ~ Last of the old delta blues singers from the 1930's. Played with Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Son House, Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, Rev Gary Davis through the folk blues revival of the 1960's until this year. He was just in town last year in fact. ~ 96

Esther Gordy Edwards ~ Sister of Barry Gordy and one of the founders of Motown Records ~ 91

Charles Fambrough ~ Jazz Double bassist w/Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Art Blakey, Grover Washington Jr., McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis and Freddie Hubbard. ~ 51

Freddie Ferrara ~ 1950's Doo Wop singer w/The Del-Satins, The Brooklyn Bridge

Fraser Finlayson ~ Toronto blues harmonica player with The Cameo Blues Band and others ~ 61

Wild Man Fischer ~ Real name Larry, Infamous schizophrenic street person busker recorded by Frank Zappa in 1969 which are considered by some to be classics of "outsider art". A later album was the first release on Rhino Records ~ 66

Bob Flanigan ~ Vocalist and bassist/trombonist with 1950's jazz and pop vocal group group The Four Feshmen ~ 84

Frank Foster ~ American jazz saxophonist and flautist with Count Basie ~ 82

Dolores Fuller ~ Actress wife of Ed Wood Jr. also songwriter "Rock a Hula Baby" recorded by Elvis Presley and Jr. Brown ~ 88

Garcia ~ Half of duo Buckner & Garcia who had novelty hits in the 1980's with "Pac Man fever" and the "WKRP Theme" ~ 63

Carl Gardner ~ Vocalist w/ The Coasters (Charlie Brown", "Yakkety Yak", "Poison Ivy", "Along came Jones", "Searchin'", I'm a hog for you") ~ 83

Michael Garrick ~ English jazz pianist and composer and poet ~ 78

Buddy Gask ~ British rock and roll singer (Showaddywaddy) ~ 64

Earl Gilliam ~ Texas blues pianist w/Sam Lightin’ Hopkins, Albert Collins, Johnny Clyde Copeland, Little Joe Washington, T-Bone Walker, Albert King, Gatemouth Brown & solo ~ 81

Johnny Giosa ~ Drummer for 1980's hair metal band The Bullet Boys ~ 42

Andrew Gold ~ American singer-songwriter ("Lonely Boy", "Thank You for Being a Friend") ~ 59

David Gold ~ Canadian singer/guitarist/bassist for death metal band The Woods of Ypres ~ 31

Billy Grammer ~ Honky Tonk singer who recorded the original versions of "Detroit City" (by Mel Tillis) and "Gotta travel on" which became a crossover hit in 1959. ~ 85

Dobie Gray ~ 1960's Soul singer ~ 71

Robert Grill ~ Singer for 1960's American Garage band The Grass Roots, ("Live for today") ~ 67

Freddie Gruber ~ Jazz drummer w/ Charlie Parker, later teacher for Niel Peart (of Rush), Frank Zappa's Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Smith of Journey and Chick Corea drummer Dave Weckl. ~ 84

Barry Lee Hall jr. ~ Trumpet player w/ Duke Ellington ~ 61

Charles Hamm ~ American musicologist and historian ~ 86

Ronnie Hammond ~ Singer w/The Atlanta Rhythm Section ~ 60

Jack Hardy ~ Folk singer/guitarist and founder of Fast Folk Magazine ~ 63

Jet Harris ~ Bassist for The Shadows 1950's and 60's instrumental group and backing band w/Cliff Richard ~ 71

Keef Hartley ~ British drummer for The Keef Hartley band who played Woodstock, also played in The Artwoods and Rory Storm & The Hurricanes ~ 67

Warren Hellman ~ American investor, founder of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festivals ~ 77

Mean Steve Hocura ~ AKA Mean Steve Piano, Toronto Rockabilly pianist with The Razorbacks, Handsome Ned, Jack DeKeyser and solo, also radio host

Carl Hodges ~ R & B singer and guitarist ("Meet me in the bottoms")~ 80

Loleatta Holloway ~ 1970's disco singer ~ 64

Gladys Horton ~ Singer with the Motown group Marvelettes ("Please Mister Postman", "I'll keep on holding on")~ 65

Ferlin Husky ~ 1950's and 60's country singer ("Wings of a dove") ~ 85

Harvey James ~ English/Australian Guitarist w/Sherbert,Mississippi,Ariel ~ 58

Big Jack Johnson ~ Blues singer/guitarist ~ 70

Buddy Jones ~ Drummer w/Patsy Cline, Faron Young, Leon Young, Red Sovine ~ 83

Charles Kaman ~ Inventor who founded Ovation Instruments that became the Ovation Guitar Company which introduced one of the first production solid body electric guitars. He later founded Kaman Aircraft Company ~ 92

Laura Kennedy ~ Bassist with New York 1980's punk-funk band The Bush Tetras

Phil Kennemore ~ Bassist with 1980's metal band Y & T ~ 58

Kathy Kirby ~ British 1960's pop vocalist w/hits like "Secret Love" ~ 72

Eddie Kirkland ~ Blues singer/guitarist w/John Lee Hooker and Otis Redding ~ 88

Don Kirshner ~ Pop producer,songwriter and impresario w/The Monkees and TV host ~ 77

Alex Kirst ~ Drummer w/Iggy Pop and The Nymphs ~ 47

Moogy Klingman ~ Keyboardist w/Tod Rundgren and progrock band Utopia ~ 61

Lloyd Knibb ~ Drummer for 1960's Jamaican ska founders The Skatalites ~ 80

Rick Kulwicki ~ Guitarist for Denver Grunge band The Fluid and garage band The Buckingham Squares ~ 49

Gene Kurtz ~ 1960's Bassist/songwriter with Roy Head on "Treat her right" ~ 69

Jani Lane ~ Singer for 1980's hair metal band Warrant w/hit "Cheery Pie" ~ 47

Oscar Lawson ~ Singer with Doo Wop group The Royal Jesters ~ 74

Barbra Lea ~ Jazz singer ~ 82

Richard Leacock ~ Documentary film maker, made "Monterrey Pop" ~ 89

St. Clair Lee ~ Vocalist with 1970's pop/disco group The Hues Corporation ("Rock the boat") ~ 66

Christiane Legrand ~ French jazz singer from the 1950's & 60's. Also on 1973 Procol Harum album Grand Hotel ~ 81

Jerry Leiber ~ R& B and Rock & Roll songwriter with Mike Stoller from the 1950's to 1970's with dozens and dozens of hits for Elvis Presley, The Coasters, Drifters, Ben E King, Big Mama Thorton, Jimmy Witherspoon, Searchers, Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five and others too numerous to list here ~ 78

Aimee Leonard ~ Ottawa folkrock singer ~ 27

Jackie Leven ~ Scottish guitarist with 1980's new wave band Doll By Doll as well as folk rock solo albums under names like "John St Field" and "Sir Vincent Lone" and worked with John Foxx ~ 61

Tony Levin ~ British jazz drummer ~ 71

Eddie Joe Lewis (aka Eddie Joe Guess) - R&B singer and songwriter (wrote, "Son Of A Twister" for Jack Harris And The Arabians ) also worked with Ike And Tina Turner, The Jackson 5, Double Exposure, The Five Stairsteps, Bobby Taylor And The Vancouvers and The Chi-Lites. ~ 69

Barry Llewellyn ~ Jamaican musician, founding member of The Heptones ~ 63

George Louvin ~ Singer/guitarist w/ 1950's country duo The Louvin Brothers ~ 83

Ross MacManus ~ English trumpet player and singer/song writer. Father of Elvis Costello ~ 84

Mel McDaniel ~ American country singer 1980's & 90's ~ 68

Gene McDaniels ~ American 1960's R&B singer and songwriter w/hits "Tower of Strength", "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" by himself and "Feel Like Makin' Love" by Roberta Flack ~ 76

Andrew McDermott ~ Singer for British Prog Metal band Threshold ~ 45

Buster Magness ~ Steel guitar player w/ western swing band of Johnny Lee Wills ~ 87

Eddie Marshall ~ American Jazz/Fusion/Soul drummer w/Stan Getz, Jon Hendricks, The Pointer Sisters, Dionne Warwick and his own fusion bands The Fourth Way & Bebop & Beyond ~ 73

Hugh Martin ~ American composer (Have yourself a merry little Christmas) ~ 96

Reinhold Marxhausen ~ American sound artist and sculpter inventor, teacher, author and painter ~ 89

Huey P. Meaux ~ AKA "The Crazy Cajun", 1960's Louisiana record producer for Freddy Fender, The Sir Douglass Quintet, Gene Summers ~ 82

Liz Meyer ~ American singer songwriter ~ 59

Alphonse (Fonce) Mizell ~ 1970's R&B and Jazz Record producer along with his brother Larry with Motown and Blue Note Records. Had hits with the Jackson 5, A Taste of Honey, Mary Wells, Donald Byrd, Johnny Hammond Smith ~ 68

Garry Moore ~ Irish Guitarist w/Thin Lizzy later solo artist ~ 58

Joe Morello ~ Jazz drummer w/Dave Brubeck, Stan Kenton, Art Pepper, Hank Garland ~ 82

Greg Morris ~ Singer for 1980's Toronto punk band Johnny Onslaught

Bill Morrissey ~ American singer-songwriter, worked with Dave Alvin and Morphine ~ 59

Paul Motian ~ Jazz drummer w/Bill Evans, also played with Paul Bley, Keith Jarrett, Lennie Tristano, Warne Marsh, Joe Castro, Carla Bley, Charlie Haden, Don Cherry, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, Lee Konitz and even Arlo Guthrie (Motian performed briefly with Guthrie in 1968-69, and performed with the singer at Woodstock) ~ 80

Alex Napier ~ Bassist w/Rockabilly/blues band The LeRoi Bros also played with Charlie Sexton, Stevie Ray Vaughn ~ 60

Zim Ngqawana ~ South African jazz saxophonist w/Hugh Masekela & Archie Shepp ~ 51

Jimmy Norman ~ American R&B singer/songwriter/producer. Worked with Irma Thomas, Jimi Hendrix, The Coasters, Bob Marley. Co-wrote "Time is on my side" ~ 74

Walter Norris ~ American jazz pianist w/Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Mose Allison ~ 79

Henrik Ostergaard ~ Singer for Glam Metal band Dirty Looks ~ 47

Monte Owens ~ Singer with Doo Wop groups The Mello Moods and The Solitaires

Hume Paton ~ Lead guitar for the underrated 1960's Scottish Mod group The Poets. No big hits but "That's the way it's gonna be" has turned up on many Nuggets comps and in the film "Factory Girl". Drummer Alan Weir died in 2010.

Dan Peek ~ Singer/songwriter w/1970's pop group America ("Horse with no name") ~ 60

Bobby Phillips ~ Singer with Doo Wop group The Cadillacs ("Speedo")

James Phillips ~ Sax player w/ swing revivalists The Cherry Poppin Daddies ~ 49

John Pickett ~ Singer with vocal group The Picks, sang backups with Buddy Holly ~ 77

Richie Pickett ~ New Zealand country rock singer ~ 56

Pinetop Perkins ~ Chigago Blues pianist and singer w/Muddy Waters, Sonnyboy Williams, BB King and solo ~ 97

Bobby Poe ~ 1950's rock and roll singer and band leader ~ 77

Steve Popovich ~ Head of American 1970's record label Cleavland International Records (Meatloaf, BJ Thomas) ~ 68

Johnny Preston ~ 1950's and 60's pop rock singer "Running Bear" ~ 77

Seth Putnam ~ Vocalist w/American metal band Anal Cunt ~ 43

Wardell Quezergue ~ New Orleans 1950's & 60's R&B songwriter/producer w/ hits with Professor Longhair, “Iko Iko” by the Dixie Cups, “Barefootin’ ” by Robert Parker, “Groove Me” by King Floyd, “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jean Knight. ~ 81

Gerry Rafferty ~ Scottish 1970's pop star w/Stealers Wheel, duo with Billy Connally ~ 63

Carl Rainge ~ Singer with Doo Wop group The Spaniels ("Goodnight Sweetheart", "If I don't have you") ~ 74

Mike Reaves ~ Guitarist w/ American metal band Full Devil Jacket ~ 52

Jack Richardson ~ Canadian record producer for The Guess Who, Alice Cooper, Bob Seger, The Staccatos, Badfinger, Moxy, Poco, Max Webster. A Juno Award winner and Member of the Order of Canada. Father of music producer Garth Richardson ~ 81

Zoogz Rift ~ Prog-Punk guitarist and painter ~ 57

Sam Rivers ~ Bebop and Free Jazz sax, clarinet and flute player solo and w/Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Tony Williams, Anthony Braxton ~ 86

Thomas Roady ~ Drummer for country/bluegrass singer Ricky Scaggs ~ 62

Gil Robbins ~ American folk singer (The Highwaymen) and actor, father of Tim Robbins ~ 80

Alys Robi ~ Canadian Jazz singer ~ 88

Bobby Robinson ~ Record producer and owner of the first black owned rock and roll labels Fire, Red Robin, Enjoy and Fury Records. Produced Elmore James, Big Boy Crudup, Gladys Knight, Buster Brown, Tarheel Slim, Lee Dorsey, The Shirelles later Kool Mo Dee and Grandmaster Flash ~ 94

Coco Robicheaux ~ New Orleans blues musician and singer ~ 64

Johnny Roselli ~ 1950's Italian-American pop singer ~ 85

Suze Rotolo ~ 1960's political activist and author, girlfriend of Bob Dylan, cover model on "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ~ 67

Robert Rozelle ~ Bassist w/ classic 1960's psyche/garage band Love ~

Alan Rubin ~ A.K.A Mr Fabulous Trumpter with the Blues Brothers. Also with Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, Duke Ellington, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Sting, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Ray Charles ~ 68

Chuck Ruff ~ American rock drummer (Edgar Winter, Sammy Hagar) ~ 60

Martin Rushent ~ UK record producer w/The Human League, Soft Cell, Buzzcocks, Stranglers, 999, Pete Shelley, Dr Feelgood, Altered Images, Generation X, The dBs, Raybeats, The Go-Gos, T Rex, Fleetwood Mac, Gentle Giant, Shirley Bassey ~ 62

Calvin Russel ~ American Folk singer/guitarist known for protest songs ~ 62

Mark Ryan ~ British guitarist w/ Adam & the Ants and Steve Strange ~ 51

Taiji Sawata ~ Bassist with Japanese metal bands X Japan and Loudness ~ 49

Marvin Sease ~ American Blues and Gospel singer ~ 64

Mack Self ~ 1950's rockabilly singer for Sun Records, later recorded country ~ 81

Eddie Serrato ~ Drummer for 1960's Garage band Question Mark & the Mysterions ~ 65

Sir George Shearing ~ British jazz pianist ~ 91

Allen Smith ~ Big Band jazz tumpet player w/The Hellcats Navy Band, also with Benny Goodman, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. ~ 85

Gerard Smith ~ Bassist w/ TV On the Radio ~ 36

Willie "Big Eyes" Smith ~ American blues drummer & harmonica player w/Muddy Waters, later moved to Canada and became a singer & bandleader with several award winning albums. Also appeared (with John Lee Hooker) in the movie "The Blues Brothers" ~ 75

Cory Smoot ~ Guitarist with Gonzo Metal band Gwar ~ 34

Phoebe Snow ~ 1960's folk singer/songwriter ~ 60

Frankie Sparcello ~ American thrash metal bassist w/Exhorder

Melvin Sparks ~ Jazz and R&B guitarist w/Sonny Stitt ~ 64

Billie Jo Spears ~ American country music singer ~ 74

Benny Spellman, 79, American R&B singer recorded (but did not write) the original version of "Fortune Teller" since covered by the Rolling Stones, Robert Plant & Alison Krause and The Chains~ 79

Mike Starr ~ Bassist for 1990's grunge band Alice in Chains and Sun Red Sun ~ 44

Kaye Stevens ~ 1950's & 60's pop and big band singer, sang with the Rat Pack and in Bob Hope's USO shows. Became a soap opera actress and later a Christian singer ~ 76

Dag Stokke ~ Keyboardist for Norwegian glam metal band TNT ~ 44

B.Jeff Stone ~ 1950's & 60's Rockabilly singer songwriter who worked with The Newsboys and later w/ Marty Robbins, Willie Nelson, ~ 75

Dirk Strahlmeier ~ Guitarist w/ Metal band Sodom

Poly Styrene ~ Singer for 1970's punk band X Ray Spex (real name Marianne Joan Elliott-Said) w/hits; "Oh Bondage Up Yours!", "Identity" and "Germ Free Adolescents" ~ 53

Hubert Sumlin ~ Blues guitarist on many of Howlin Wolf's hits on Chess Records ~ 80

Bill Tapia ~ Hawaiian ukelele player believed to be the worlds oldest active professional musician ~ 109

Dan Terry ~ American Big Band trumpet player, w/Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan & Yma Sumac. Also played on soundtracks for "The Hustler" and "The Manchurian Candidate" ~ 87

Betty Thatcher ~ 67 ~ Poet and lyricist w/ early 1970's UK Prog Rock band Renaissance

Andy Tielman ~ Dutch/Indonesian guitarist from 1960's ~ 75

Bob Thurman ~ Guitarist w/1980's St Louis hardcore band White Suburban Youth and zine writer

Dutch Tilders ~ Dutch born blues guitarist/harmonica w/ John Mayal, Taj Mahal, Johnny O'Keefe, BB king, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee ~ 69

Frankie Toler ~ Rock drummer (The Allman Brothers Band, Gregg Allman Band, Marshall Tucker Band) ~ 59

Mark Tulin ~ Bassist for The Electric Prunes and The Smashing Pumpkins ~ 62

Myra Tyler ~ Jazz singer from 1930's on ~ 94

Phil Vane ~ Vocalist for metal band Extreme Noise Terror ~ 46

Al Vega ~ Boston based Jazz pianist w/Dizzy Gillespie, Betty Carter, Lester Young, Stan Getz, Billy Holiday ~ 90

Cato Walker (Cato T. Walker III) ~ Saxophonist, manager and promoter. Worked with Lou Rawls, The Bar-Kays and B.B. King, Ran the record label, Strick 9. ~ 61

John Walker ~ (John Maus) ~ Singer and bassist for 1960's melodramatic pop group The Walker Brothers ("The Sun ain't gonna shine anymore") ~ 67

Mike Waterson ~ British 1960's folk singer w/The Watersons and Blue Murder ~ 70

Don Wayne ~ American country music songwriter w/hits like "Saginaw Michigan" for Lefty Frizzell, also songs for Conway Twitty, Lorretta Lynn and Carl Smith ~ 78

Mikey Welsh ~ Bassist for 1990's alt rock group Weezer ~ 40

Margaret Whiting ~ 1940's and 50's pop singer ("That Old Black Magic","Moonlight in Vermont" and duets "Baby, It's Cold Outside" w/Johnny Mercer and Silver Bells w/Jimmy Wakely) also TV host and sitcom star ~ 86

Doc Williams ~ 1930's and 40's Old time country singer, founder of Wheeling Records ~ 96

Pat Williams ~ Jazz and R & B trumpet player w/Lionel Hampton, Nancy Wilson, The Temptations and B.B. King. ~ 68

Vesta Williams ~ American 1980's R&B singer ~ 50

Amy Winehouse ~ Multi Grammy Award winning British R&B singer ~ 27

Randy Wood ~ Founder of Dot Records 1950's & 60's label for Roy Head, Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs, Tiny Hill & The Hilltoppers, Jimmy Rodgers, Louis Prima, Pat Boone, The Surfaris, The Chantays, Gary Usher, Mac Wiseman, Nervous Norvus, Roy Clark, Sanford Clark, Mac Curtis, Lonnie Donnegan, Jimmy Dorsey, Jack Keruac, Count Basie, The Mills Bros, Robin Luke, The Four Lads ~94

Paul Yandell ~ Country guitarist with Chet Atkins, played w/Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Dolly Parton, Steve Wariner, Hank Thompson, Perry Como, Roger Whitaker, Kitty Wells, The Louvin Bros, Les Paul, Woody Herman, The Everly Bros. and Mary Chapin Carpenter ~ 76

Piotr Żyżlewicz ~ Drummer for Polish Prog Rock band (Voo Voo) ~ 46

Memorials for two 1980's Toronto music figures

Mean Steve Piano was a figure in the Toronto Rockabilly scene in the 1980's playing with The Paladins (not the L.A. band of the same name),The Razorbacks, Handsome Ned, Jack DeKeyser, Johnny Dee Fury, The Randy Peters as well as solo. He can be heard and seen playing and singing on the Razorbacks Christmas Special circa 1990 which is unfortunately only available in a very limited edition cassette (yes I have one and no you can't borrow it) however the best of it is on youtube ;



He also inherited Handsome Ned's radio show after he died in 1987. Later he traveled to Memphis and lived in Europe where he recorded a couple of solo cds in the 1990's.

There's going be a memorial/grogfest Thursday March 10 at The Dominion on Queen;
This is a free and non-profit event for family, friends, fans & musical peers to gather and participate in a musical remembrance and tribute to Mean Steve Piano.

Many of Steve's friends and peers will be performing, including:

Danny Marks, Terry Wilkins, Victor Bateman, Big Rude Jake, Teddy Fury, Paul Brennan, Michael Danckert, Matt Allen, Glenn Kimberley, Ronnie Hayward, Steve Koch, Lori Yates... more to come!

Check back to this event listing as we get closer to March 10th to see the final list of performers. This Tuesday I'll be having some of the performers on my radio show playing live-to-air.

Video footage of The Mean Steve Rock'n Roll Spectaculars will also be screened.

There will be a cash bar and menu available.



Greg Morris was the singer for Johnny Onslaught a Toronto punk band circa late 1980's early 1990's. They only recorded a cassette as well. Onslaught bassist Pete Jones would later go on to the Tijuana Bibles and the Blue Demons.

There is going to be a less formal memorial/grogfest for Greg Morris Monday March 11
at Dimitra's Bistro (Greek Restaurant)
782 St. Clair St. W. Toronto, ON M6C 1B6 (between Atlas & Arlington)

The people who died - 2010 edition

Debbie Abono ~ Manager for metal bands Sepultura, Exodus, Skinlab, Possessed ~ 80

Glen Adams ~ Jamaican Ska/Reggae organist w/ Lee Scratch Perry & The Upsetters ~ 65

Francisco Aguabella ~ Cuban-American jazz percussionist w/Dizzy Gillespie, Mongo Sanatmaria, Tito Puente, Frank Sinatra ~ 84

Ahmad Alaadeen ~ Kansas City jazz sax player w/ Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Jay McShann, Ella Fitzgerald, The Count Basie Orchestra, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Eddie Vinson, and Motown singers Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and Sam Cooke ~ 76

Fred Anderson ~ Chicago avant garde jazz sax player, founder of Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) ~ 81

Arrow ~ Montserratian soca musician ("Hot Hot Hot") ~ 60

Bill Aucoin ~ Manager for Kiss ~ 66

Danny Bank ~ Big band sax player w/ Benny Goodman, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, and Paul Whiteman ~ 87

Ron Banks ~ Singer w/ Soul group The Dramatics ~ 58

Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vleit) ~ 1960's & 70's avant garde rock/blues singer and painter ~ 69

Micheal Been ~ American singer/songwriter w/1980's power pop band The Call ~ 60

Jack Berntsen ~ Norwegian folk singer ~ 69

Jo Jo Billingsley ~ Lynyrd Skynyrd back up vocals ~ 58

Bus Boyk ~ Country fiddler w/ Ray Price ~ 92

Jack Brokensha ~ Australian born vibe player w/ Motown house band The Funk Brothers ~ 84

Ken Brown ~ English bassist w/ The Quarrymen ~ 70

Marion Brown ~ Jazz bassist w/ John Coltrane, Archie Shepp ~ 79

Slim Bryant ~ Country singer guitarist w/ Jimmy Rodgers ~ 101

Jon Bunch ~ Big band pianist w/ Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson ~ 88

Iain Burgess ~ English/American record producer and engineer w/Big Black, Naked Raygun, The Effigies, Ministry, Breaking Circus, The Didjits, Jawbox ~ 46

Solomon Burke ~ 1960's Soul singer ("Everybody needs somebody to love") ~ 70

Stuart Cable ~ Welsh drummer w/ Stereophonics ~ 40

Hadley Caliman ~ Bebop and fusion sax and flute player w/Dexter Gordon, Carlos Santana, Joe Henderson, Earl Hines, Freddie Hubbard, Art Farmer ~ 78

Fred Carter Jr. ~ Nashville producer/guitarist w/ Levon Helm, Charlie McCoy, Ronnie Hawkins, Dale Hawkins, Conway Twitty, Muddy Waters, The Band, Simon & Garfunkel, Robbie Robertson ~ 76

Larry Cassidy ~ Bassist w/ British Factory Records post punk band Section 25 ~ 56

Bobby Charles ~ 1950's New Orleans R&B singer w/ Chess Records, did the original version of "See ya later alligator" ~ 71

Vinnie Chas ~ Bassist w/ 1980's hair metal band Pretty Boy Floyd

Alex Chilton ~ Singer w/ The Box Tops and Big Star ~ 59

Ian Christie ~ English trad jazz clarinetist ~ 82

Peter Christopherson (A.K.A. Sleazy ~ Keyboardist and graphic artist w/ Throbbing Gristle, Coil and Chris & Cosey ~ 55

Tony Clarke ~ Guitarist, Bassist and Producer w/ The Moody Blues, Rick Wakeman & Clannad ~ 68

Jim Clench ~ Bassist w/ April Wine and B.T.O. ~ 61

Devon Clifford ~ Canadian drummer w/ You Say Party! We Say Die! ~ 30

Hank Cochran ~ 1950's and 60's country singer ~ 74

Herb Cohen ~ Manager for Frank Zappa ~ 77

King Coleman ~ 1950's r&b singer ("Mashed Patatos") and radio dj ~ 78

Addison Junior Collins ~ French horn player w/ Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan, Glen Miller ~ 82

Catfish Collins ~ Guitarist w/ James Brown Bootsy Collins, Parliament/Funkadelic ~ 66

Buddy Collette ~ Jazz sax player w/ Charles Mingus ~ 89

Rich Cronin ~ American pop singer w/ LFO ~ 36

Larry Dale ~ American 1950's blues guitarist w/ Mickey Baker and pianist Champion Jack Dupree ~ 87

Brian Damage ~ Drummer w/ Punk bands Verbal Abuse, Genocide, The Skulls, The Fuzztones, The Misfits ~ 46

Makh Daniels ~ American heavy metal singer w/Early Graves ~ 28

Sir John Dankworth ~ English jazz sax player husband of Cleo Lane ~ 82

Tomas Dask ~ Singer/guitarist/pianist w/ Slovak art rock band The Bridgeheads ~ 25

Jimmy Dean ~ Country singer ("Big Bad John") ~ 81

Cherie De Castro ~ Singer w/ The De Castro Singers ~ 82

Rick Delvy ~ Drummer w/ Surf band The Bel Airs (Mr. Moto") and The Challengers ~ 67

Bob Demmon ~ Guitarist for 1960's Colorado surf band The Astronauts ~

Chris Dedrick ~ American musician for jazz pop band The Free Design and composer for Ray Bradbury Theatre ~ 62

Ronnie James Dio ~ Metal singer w/ Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Dio ~ 67

Diz Disley ~ Canadian/British jazz/folk guitarist w/ violinist Stéphane Grappelli. and Nigel Kennedy ~ 78

Bill Dixon ~ Avant Garde Jazz trumpet and piano player w/ Cecil Taylor and Archie Shepp ~ 84

Martin Drew ~ English jazz drummer w/ Oscar Peterson and Ronnie Scott ~ 66

Mike Edwards ~ Sax player w/ ELO ~ 62

Kenny Edwards ~ Singer/guitarist w/ 1960's country rock band The Stone Poneys ~ 64

Herb Ellis ~ Jazz guitarist w/ Oscar Peterson, Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Sweets Edison, Buddy Rich, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, The Casa Loma Orchestra ~ 88

Norm Ezell ~ Guitarist for 1960's Oklahoma pop group The Five Americans ~ 68

Bobby Farrell ~ Boney M singer ~ 61

Doug Fieger ~ Singer/songwriter w/ The Knack ~ 57

Dave Fisher ~ American folk singer (The Highwaymen) ~ 69

Dannie Flesher ~ Co-Founder of Waxtrax Records

Mallia Franklan ~ Singer w/ P-Funk ~ 57

James Freud ~ Bass and vocals for 1980's Australian band The Models ~ 51

Pauly Fuemana ~ Singer w/ New Zealand pop duo OMC ~ 40

Harvey Fuqua ~ American r & b singer (The Moonglows), and record producer w/Marvin Gaye ~ 80

Hotep Idris Galeta ~ South Africa jazz pianist w/ Hugh Masekela and the Byrds ~ 69

Mondine Garcia ~ French Gypsy jazz guitarist ~ 75

Al Goodman ~ Soul singer w/ Ray, Goodman and Brown ~ 67

Whitey Grant ~ Guitarist w/ country duo Whitey and Hogan ~ 94

Paul Gray ~ American heavy metal bassist Slipknot ~ 38

Mick Greene ~ Guitarist w/ 1960's U.K. bands Johnny Kid & The Pirates, Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas ~ 65

Guru ~ American rapper w/Gang Starr ~ 48

Walter Hawkins ~ American gospel music singer ("Oh Happy Day") ~ 61

Bo Hansson ~ Swedish jazz organist ~ 67

Peter Herbolzheimer ~ Romanian/German jazz trombonist w/ Stan Getz, Nat Adderley, Gerry Mulligan, Toots Thielemans, Clark Terry, Dianne Reeves, Chaka Kahn ~ 74

Lena Horne ~ Jazz singer ~ 92

Jake Hanna ~ Jazz drummer w/ Woody Herman, Marian McPartland, Maynard Ferguson ~ 78

Dale Hawkins ~ 1950's rockabilly singer ("Susie Q") ~ 73

Noah Howard ~ Free jazz sax player ~ 67

Alistair Hulett ~ Scottish/Australian folk singer ~ 57

Andy Hummel ~ Bassist w/ Big Star ~ 59

Ruby Hunter ~ Australian aboriginal folk/rock singer ~ 54

Marvin Isley ~ American bassist The Isley Brothers ~ 56

Gregory Issacs ~ Jamaican reggae singer ~ 59

Robbie Jansen ~ South African jazz and pop sax palyer with Juluka ~ 60

Mitch Jayne ~ Bluegrass banjoist w/The Dillards ~ 82

Otto Joachim ~ German-Canadian violinist and electronic music composer ~ 99

Dick Johnson ~ Big Band clarinet player w/ Artie Shaw, Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett ~ 84

Eddie Johnson ~ Sax palyer w/ Louis Jordan, Cootie Williams, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald ~ 89

General Johnson ~ 1970's soul singer/songwriter and producer with The Chairmen of The Board ~ 69

Dorthy Jones ~ Singer w/ 1950's & 60's R&B vocal group The Cookies and Ray Charles' backup group The Raylets. Sang on "The Locomotion" ~ 76

Hank Jones ~ American jazz pianist w/Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Max Roach ~ 91

Micky Jones ~ Singer/guitarist w/ Welsh prog rock band Man ~ 63

Letritia Kandle ~ 95 ~ Steel and Hawaiian guitarist and inventer from the 1930's to 50's w/Paul Whiteman and as bandleader

Ben Keith ~ Lap steel player w/ Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon, Ian and Sylvia, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, The Band, Paul Butterfield, Crosby Stills and Nash, JJ Cale ~ 73

Gene Kelton ~ Texas Rockabilly & Blues singer/guitarist ~ 55

Reg King ~ Singer w/ English 1960's R&B band The Action ~ 65

Ted Kowalski ~ Canadian singer w/ Doo Wop band The Diamonds ~ 79

Fud LeClerc ~ Belgian 1950's & 60's pop singer/pianist, first singer to score nul points at Eurovision Contest in 1963~ 86

Georgia Lee ~ Jazz and blues singer ~ 89

Steve Lee ~ Singer w/ Swiss hard rock band Gotthard ~ 47

Gene Lees ~ Canadian jazz critic and historian, biographer of Oscar Peterson and Woody Herman ~ 82

Gery Lecker ~ Drummer with 1970's Montreal punk band The Chromosomes

Herman Leonard ~ American jazz photographer ~ 87

Big Tiny Little ~ Pianist w. Lawrence Welk and Dick Dale ~ 79

Abbey Lincoln ~ Jazz singer ~ 80

Mark Linkous ~ Singer/songwriter w/ Sparklehorse and The Dancing Hoods ~ 47

Les Lockridge ~ Singer/guitarist w/ Southern Rock band Buckacre ~ 62

Gene Ludwig ~ Jazz organist w/ Arthur Prysock, Sonny Stitt, Leslie West ~ 72

Judy Lynn Kelly ~ Grand Ole Opry ~ 74

Johnny Maestro ~ American Doo-Wop singer w/The Crests, The Brooklyn Bridge ~ 70

Dick Maloney ~ Ottawa big band singer and radio dj ~ 77

Teena Marie ~ Motown singer/guitarist ~ 55

Malcolm McLaren ~ British musician and band manager Sex Pistols, New York Dolls, Bow Wow Wow ~ 64

Rob McConnell ~ Canadian big band leader and trombonist w/ The Boss Brass ~ 75

Kate McGarrigle ~ Canadian folk singer w/ The McGarrigall Sisters mother of Rufus Wainright ~ 63

Carole McGoldrick ~ American singer w/ 1960's girl group The Secrets ~ 66

Busi Mhlongo ~ South African jazz singer ~ 62

Mitch Miller ~ 1950's pop producer record exec w/ Marty Robbins, Guy Mitchell, Rosemary Clooney ~ 99

Randy Miller ~ Drummer for Seattle band The The Myriad ~ 39

Sugar Minott ~ Jamaican reggae singer ~ 54

Willie Mitchell ~ 1960's R7B band leader and producer and founder of Hi Records w/ Al Greene ~ 81

Alexander Monin ~ Singer w/ Russian metal band Kruiz ~ 56

James Moody ~ Jazz sax and flute player ~ 85

Ian Morris ~ Guitarist and producer w/ 1980's New Zealand power pop band Th' Dudes ~ 53

Buddy Morrow ~ 1940's big band trombone player ~ 91

Paulo Moura ~ Brazilian saxophonist and clarinetist w/ Cannonball Adderley ~ 77

Sam Mtukudzi ~ Zimbabwean jazz sax and guitarist ~ 21

Martin Mulloy ~ Singer and banjoist w/ Irish folk band The Mulloy Brothers ~ 58

Jamil Nasser ~ Jazz bassist w/ Ahmad Jamal, Lester Young, Sonny Rollins ~ 77

Shirley Nelson ~ Country singer and ex-wife of Willie Nelson ~ 78

Steve New ~ (A.K.A. Stella Nova) Guitarist w/The Rich Kids, Sid Vicious, Iggy Pop, PIL ~ 50

George Newcom ~ American 1960's psyche drummer (The Loading Zone) ~ 63

Owsley ~ Guitarist w/Amy Grant, Shania Twain, Wynonna Judd ~ 44

Chick Parker ~ Bassist w/ Toronto 1970's punk bands the Ugly, ZRO4, Arson, Screamin' Sam, Dick Duck & The Dorks

Johnny Parker ~ English Jazz pianist w/ Humphery Littleton ~ 80

Richard Edwin Parris jr. ~ Guitarist w/ Grunge band Animal Bag ~ 46

Don Partridge ~ English one man skiffle band ~ 68

Walter Payton ~ Jazz bassist w/ The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Harry Conick jr., Aaron Neville, Champion Jack Dupree, Lee Dorsey ~ 68

Tony Peluso ~ Pop record producer w/ The Carpenters ~ 60

Teddy Pendergrass ~ 1970's soul singer ~ 59

Mimi Perrin ~ French jazz singer & pianist w/ Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles ~ 84

Phillip Petty ~ American bassist w/ Southern Rock band Point Blank ~ 59

James Phelps ~ Gospel singer w/ The Soul Singers ~ 78

Bill Phillips ~ American 1960's country singer ~ 76

Greg Pianka ~ Bassist w/ Hair metal band Dirty Looks ~ 35

Trudy Pitts ~ Jazz organist w/ Sonny Stitt and Ben Webster ~ 76

Eddie Platt ~ 1950's & 60's R&B sax player ~ 88

Benny Powell ~ Jazz trombonist w/ Count Basie & Lionel Hampton ~ 80

Morris Pert ~ Scottish pianist and drummer w/Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Mike Oldfield, Peter Gabriel, Bryan Ferry, Phil Collins, Talk Talk ~ 62

Jim Pugliano ~ American drummer w/ The Jaggerz ~ 63

Pete Quaife ~ Kinks bassist ~ 66

Paul Quarrington ~ Canadian novelist, and songwriter ~ 56

Jay Reatard ~ (real name Jimmy Lindsay) Garage Punk singer/guitarist w/ The Reatards & Lost Sounds ~ 29

Susan Reed ~ American 1950's and 60's folk singer and harp and zither player ~ 84

George Richey ~ Nashville country songwriter and record producer, husband of Tammy Wynette ~ 74

Steve Reid ~ Jazz drummer w/ Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, James Brown, Fela Kuti, Sun Ra and session drummer w/ Motown ~ 66

Nick Santo ~ Singer with Doo-Wop band The Capris ("Morse code of love") ~ 69

Derf Scratch ~ Bassist w/ L.A. punk band Fear ~ 58

John Sekula ~ Guitarist for metal band Mushroomhead ~ 41

Lhasa De Sela ~ Mexican/American/French/Canadian singer songwriter ~ 37

William Shakespeare ~ Australian 1970's glam rock singer ~ 61

Eric Shark ~ Singer w/ U.K. pre punk band Deaf School (real name Thomas Davis) ~ 59

Gary Shider ~ Guitarist w/ Parliament Funkadelic ~ 56

Gregory Slay ~ Drummer w/ American band Remy Zero ~ 40

Mississippi Slim ~ American blues singer ~ 66

Carl Smith ~ 1960's Country singer ~ 82

Myrna Smith ~ Backup singer with Elvis Presley and co-writer w/ Brian Wilson ~ 69

Little Smokey Smothers ~ Blues singer/guitarist ~ 71

Peter Steele ~ Singer and bassist w/ Type O Negative and Carnivore ~ 48

Knut Stensholm ~ Norwegian drummer (w/ 1970's band Sambandet) ~ 56

Steve Strayhorn ~ American drummer w/ 1970's Prog Rock band A Full Moon Consort ~ 56

Monty Sunshine ~ English 1950's jazz clarinetist w/ Chris Barber ~ 82

Lynn Tait ~ Trinidadian/Canadian reggae guitarist w/ Derrick Morgan, Desmond Dekker, Lee Perry, Ken Boothe, Bob Marley, Johnny Nash ~ 75

Billy Taylor ~ American Jazz pianist/composer w/Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis. House pianist at Birdland. Won a Grammy, Emmy and Peabody Awards. ~ 89

Dennis Taylor ~ Nashville sax player w/ Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Delbert McClinton, Buckwheat Zydeco ~ 56

Tony Taylor ~ Singer for metal band Twisted Tower Dire ~ 42

Antoine "Tony" Thibodeaux ~ Cajun fiddle player 72

Ed Thigpen ~ Jazz drummer w/ Oscar Peterson, Cootie Williams. Ella Fitzgerald ~ 79

Judge Trevor Thoms ~ English prog rock guitarist w/ Hawkwind and The Pink Fairies, tour manager w/ Black Sabbath, Saxon, Manowar ~ 60

Ari Up ~ Singer w/ English punk band The Slits ~ 48

Malcolm Vaughn ~ English 1950's pop singer ~ 80

Lolly Vegas ~ Guitarist w/ 1970's rock group Redbone ~ 70

Ann Vervoort ~ Belgian singer w/ Milk Inc. ~ 33

Carlos Torres Vila ~ Agentine folk singer ~ 63

Luigi Waites ~ Jazz drummer and vibe player w/ James Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Jon Luc Ponty ~ 82

Albertina Walker ~ Gospel singer ~ 81

Phillip Walker ~ Blues singer/guitarist ~ 73

George Webb ~ English trad jazz pianist ~ 92

Fred Wedlock ~ English folk singer ~ 67

Alan Weir ~ Drummer for the underrated 1960's Scottish Mod group The Poets. No big hits but "That's the way it's gonna be" has turned up on many Nuggets comps and in the film "Factory Girl".

George David Weiss ~ American composer ("What a wonderful world", "Can't help falling in love" accused of falsely taking credit for "The Lion sleeps tonight") ~ 74

Ed Wiley jr. ~ 1950's r&b sax player w/Jackie Brenston ("Rocket 88"), Earl Hooker, Piney Brown, The Moonglows ~ 80

Harold "Ivory" Williams, Jr. ~ Keyboardist w/ Miles Davis and Rev. James Cleavland ~ 60

Robert Wilson ~ Singer/guitarist w/ 1970's funk band The Gap Band ~ 53

Gus Williams ~ Australian Aboriginal country singer ~ 73

Bernard Wilson ~ Singer w/Harold Melvin's Blue Notes ~ 64

Ed Wilson ~ Singer/songwriter w/ 1960's Brazilian rock band Renato e seus Blue Caps ~ 65

Tom Winslow ~ American folk blues guitarist/singer ~ 69

T Bone Wolk ~ Bassist w/ Hall & Oates, Carly Simon, Jellyfish, Squeeze, Elvis Costello, Shawn Colvin, Guy Davis, Billy Joel ~ 58

Wolly Wolstenholme ~ Keyboardist w/ English Prog Rock band Barclay James Harvest ~ 63

Marva Wright ~ American blues singer ~ 62

Sandra Wright ~ Blues and Gospel singer ~ 61

Rual Yarbourgh ~ Bluegrass banjoist ~ 80

Mike Zwerin ~ Cool jazz trumpet and tronbone player w/ Miles Davis "Birht of the cool" and Maynard Ferguson ~ 79

A trio of Canadian music figures pass on

It didn't get much notice and probably didn't really warrant much but we'll take a sec and mention a trio of figures from Canadian music who died recently;

Connie Codarini;
Bass singer with the Four Lads; Granted the Lads were not even vaguely cool even by the standards of the Pat Boone era of white schmaltzy pop of the early rock era. Hell, they were not even as cool as their Toronto mates the Crewcuts, and definitely not the Diamonds. But they were the first, scoring their first hit in 1952 and following up with 26 more top 50 Billboard hits in the next decade, making them the first Canadian group of the Rock and Roll era to do so. They also managed to score hits in England, Australia, New Zealand and Europe making them the first international Canadian stars.
Of course they weren't really a rock vocal group unlike the Diamonds who clearly were, or the Crewcuts who weren't but were able to fake it for a few years anyway. The Lads never tried to be either, they belonged firmly to the ultra white vocal groups like the Four Freshmen, Four Preps and Five Keys, and none of these groups even tried to figure out the new sounds of Doo Wop which were about to make them obsolete. However by sticking to what they knew they manged to keep their syrupy sounds around well into the rock era, scoring their last chart positions in 1959 and influencing Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney among others. They also recorded as back ups with Johnny Ray and Frankie Laine, including some credible gospel numbers. Then they went off to the adult contemporary circuit for the next thirty years with some success, albeit with numerous lineup changes over the years. Connie Codarini was a founding member but he left some years back, he did live to see the lads honoured by the Canadian Music Hall of fame in 1984 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. Codarini was 80 when he died of heart failure on April 29.

The Four Lads with Frankie Laine;



Rob McConnell;
Trombonist Rob McConnell was born too late to be part of the Big Band era he loved but he still managed to become Canada's most successful big band leader from the 1968 when he formed his Boss Brass on till he died of cancer at age 75 on May 1. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1997, was given the Order of Canada in 1998, won a bunch of Junos and also recorded with Mel Torme and Maynard Ferguson all without acknowledging that anything had changed in jazz since the end of World War 2.

Gene Lees;
A well respected jazz historian (and hater of rock and roll) from the late 1940's on. Lee's wrote for a number of papers and magazines as well as his own Jazzletter along with hosting a show on the CBC. He also wrote a number of books including the definitive bios on Oscar Peterson, Woody Herman and Henry Mancini as well as a study on the effects of racism on early jazz. Lees was actually a successful songwriter as well having songs recorded by Frank Sinatra, Charles Aznavour, Sarah Vaughn and Bill Evens. He also found time to record a couple of albums of his own. He died of heart disease at 82 on April 22.

Some Obits of early rock and roll figures of 2009

Les Paul was not only one of the first electric guitar heroes, he also made all subsequent guitar heroes possible. He invented or perfected a number of inventions including the iconic Les Paul Guitar, as well as pioneering such modern recording practices as multi-tracking, overdubbing, phase delay effects, echo effects, and feedback, in some cases inventing sound tools to make use of these techniques. He also scored a series of hits as a duo with his wife Mary Ford in the early 1950's which, while not exactly rockin' did feature some spectacular guitar work that would influence future generations of Rock, Jazz and Country guitarists. He also hosted (again with Mary Ford) hit radio and TV shows in the mid-to-late 50's. He was inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "architect" and has a stand alone exhibit, an honour given as well only so far to Sam Phillips and Alan Freed. He was 94.

Les Paul Trio ~ "Dark eyes"



Mike Seeger was less well known than his famous older half-brother Pete but he was still an important fonder of the folk revival of the late 1950's & early 1960's. He played virtually every stringed insturment used in North American folk and blues music including guitar, banjo, mandolin, dulcimer, autoharp, and fiddle as well as harmonica. Since 1959 he played on or produced at least a hundred recordings, mostly for Smithsonian/Folkways Records first with his band The New Lost City Ramblers or solo and with artists such as; Pop Stoneman, Hazel Dickens, Kilby Snow and Cousin Emmy. He was also an important historian, song collector and folklorist. Still active as of last year, he died of cancer at 75.

James Luther Dickenson Dickenson was a behind-the-scenes producer and songwriter from Memphis who started as a session musician playing guitar and piano for the likes of Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones (on "Wild Horses"), and The Flaming Groovies ("Teenage Head") then producing albums for Big Star, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Willy DeVille, Tav Falco, The Replacements, Green on Red, Mojo Nixon and Mudhoney. He also worked with Bob Dylan and Ry Cooder as well as recording some solo albums.

One of Dickenson's collaborators, Willy DeVille also died this month. Deville was the founder of Mink DeVille a fixture CBGB' era scene that also spawned The Ramones, Blondie, Suicide, Talking Heads, Richard Hell, Television and Robert Gordon. Like Gordon, DeVille's sound was closer to traditional Rock and Roll than punk and he later moved to New Orleans where he continued his career scoring an academy award nomination in 1987. Sometime after that I saw him do a drunken gig at the Diamond Club in Toronto where I stole one of his harmonicas after he fell off stage, which I still have.

Willy Deville ~ "Hey Joe"



Ellie Greenwhich never actually sang or played on a hit record but the Brill Building songwriter was responsible for more than her quota; "Be My Baby","River Deep Mountain High","Da Doo Ron Ron","The Leader of The Pack", dies at 68

The Shangri Las ~ "The Leader of the pack";



Sun Records Rockabilly great Billy Lee Riley who recorded the classic versions of "Red Hot" and "Flying Saucers Rock and Roll" dies at 75.

Billy Lee Riley ~ "Flying saucers rock and roll";




Deake Levin; Guitarist with Classic 1960's Seattle garage rockers Paul Revere and the Raiders, played on classics "Kicks", "Steppin Stone"," Just like me" dies at 62.

Paul Revere and the Raiders ~ "Kicks";



Doo Wop singer Johnny Carter, co-founder of 1950's The Flamingos ("I only have eyes for you"), later in the Dells after 1960 ("Oh what a night" & "There is") dies at 75.

The Flamingos (w/Alan Freed intro) ~ "Would I be crying";



Huey Long (not to be confused with the Kingfish), the last remaining member of the Ink Spots, a hugely influencial vocal pre-doo wop group of the 1930's & 40's died recently at age 104. Seriously.

The Ink Spots ~ "If I didn't care";



Jazz drummer Rashied Ali who played on the final recordings of John Cotrane as well as Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and James Blood Ullmer dies at 75.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While everybody's getting all 80's nostalgic over Jacko and Farrah lets take a minute for 1960's garage and surf heros Sky Saxon (of the Seeds) and Bob Bogle (of the Ventures) as well as 1950's blues diva Koko Taylor (of "Wang Dang Doodle" fame). So there.

The Seeds ~ Pushing too hard (worst lip-synching ever, with the possible exception of the Monkees);



The Ventures ~ Wipeout;

The people who died - 2009 edition

The People who Died 2009 edition;

Al Alberts ~ Singer w/ 1950's pop vocal group The Four Aces "Three coins in the fountain" ~ 87

Mike Alexander ~ Bassist w/ British thrash metal band Evile ~ 32

Rashied Ali ~ American jazz drummer w/ John Coltrane ~ 74

John Almond ~ English jazz & blues sax player w/ John Mayall ~ 63

Maryanne Amacher ~ American avante-garde composer and sound artist ~ 66

Douglas Arau ~ Singer/guitarist w/ Alaskan Grunge/metal band Dredgeseven ~ 34

Ron Asheton ~ Guitarist/Bassist for Punk Godfathers The Stooges and later Destroy All Monsters ~ 60

Ernie Ashworth ~ Country singer/songwriter ("Talk back trembling lips") ~ 80

Gerhard Asphiem ~ Norwegian jazz sax player and one of the founders of Norway's post war jazz scene ~ 79

Tony de la Barreda ~ Canned Heat bassist

Molly Bee ~ Country singer "I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus" ~ 69

Louie Bellson ~ Big Band drummer, married to Pearl Bailey, worked w/ Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Harry James, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Lionel Hampton, James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Armstrong, The Dorsey Bros. ~ 85

Chuck Bennett ~ Bassist w/ Link Wray ~ 66

Estelle Bennett ~ 67 ~ Singer with the classic girl group The Ronnettes with Phil Spector produced hits like "Be my baby", "Baby I love you" and "Christmas Baby please come home".

Jay Bennett ~ Wilco guitarist ~ 45

Terry Black ~ Canadian 1960's teen idol ("Only 16") and later radio dj ~ 62

Eddie Bo ~ New Orleans 1950's R&B singer/pianist/songwriter "Slippin' & Slidin'", "My dearest darling" ~79

Bob Bogle ~ Guitar/Bass for The Ventures ~ 75

Clarence Boyd ~ Country/Western Swing pianist w/ Patsy Cline, Johnny Lee Wills ~ 76

Jimmy Boyd ~ American singer "I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus ~ 70

Pat Brady ~ Drummer for 1980's Boston punk band The Moving Targets ~ 43

Randall Brewley ~ American guitarist w/ Pylon ~ 53

Jake Brockman ~ Keyboardist w/ Echo & The Bunnymen ~ 53

Billy Brown ~ Rockabilly singer "Meet Me In The Alley, Sally" and a version of "He'll Have To Go" ~ 79

Mel Brown ~ American/Canadian blues singer/guitarist ~ 69

Piney Brown ~ 1950's blues singer "You bring out the wolf in me" & songwriter w/ James Brown, Rosco Gordon, Little Milton ~ 87

Tom Brumley ~ Steel guitarist for Buck Owen's Buckaroos, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Rosie Madddox ~ 73

Stephen Bruton ~ American country/rock guitarist w/Kris Kristofferson, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, NRBQ ~ 60

Norton Buffalo ~ Singer/Harmonica player w/ The Stampede and also played w/ Elvin Bishop, Steve Miller, Clover, The Moonlighters, Commander Cody, Bonnie Raitt and Mickey Hart, appeared in "Heaven's Gate" and "The Rose" ~ 58

Irving Bush ~ Jazz trumpter w/ Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, George Shearing, Nat King Cole, Nelson Riddle, The Dorsey Bros. and music text book writer ~ 79

Sam Butera ~ Sax player w/ Louis Prima, Tommy Dorsey ~ 81

Gary Butler ~ Country piano & fiddle player w/ Webb Pierce, Tanya Tucker, Shenandoah ~

Randy Cain ~ R&B singer w/ The Delfonics ~ 64

Sam Carr ~ Blues dummer & son of Robert Nighthawk ~ 82

Jim Carroll ~ N.Y. punk singer/songwriter & poet/novelist ~ 60

Johnny Carter ~ Doo Wop singer with The Flamingos ("I only have eyes for you") and the Dells ~ 75

Ric Cartey ~ 1950's rockabilly singer, did original version of "Young Love" later covered by Sonny James & The Crewcuts ~ 72

John Cephas ~ American Piedmont blues guitarist w/ Cephas & Wiggins ~ 72

Jim Chapin ~ Jazz drummer and author of jazz drumming instructional books, also father of Harry Chapin ~ 89

Vic Chesnut ~ American singer/songwriter ~ 45

Johnithin Christ ~ Singer w/ Hardcore band Code of Honor ~ 51

Liam Clancy ~ Singer/guitarist w/ 1950's & 60's Irish folk band The Clancy Brothers ~ 74

Jeff Clyne ~ British jazz bassist w/ Ronnie Scott, John McClaughlin, Zoot Sims ~ 72

Mick Cocks ~ Guitarist for Australian Hard Rock bands Rose Tattoo and Heaven ~

Johnny Collins ~ British maritime folk singer ~ 71

Johnny Cox ~ Sax player w/ 1960's garage band the Swingin' Medallions ~

Hank Crawford ~ Jazz & R&B sax player w/ Ray Charles, Etta James, Ike Turner, Bobby Blue Bland, Dr. John ~ 74

Travis Criscola ~ Guitarist w/ Pop Punk band The Cute Lepers ~ 24

Corey Daum ~ Guitarist for American metal band Lizzy Borden ~ 39

Lester Davenport ~ Blues harmonica/guitar played on Bo Diddly's "Oh You Pretty Thing" & Arthur "Big Boy" Spires, Homesick James, Jimmy Dawkins, Snooky Pryor, The Kinsey Report ~ 86

John Dawson ~ Singer/Guitarist w/ New Riders of the Purple Sage ~ 64

Davie Dee ~ British singer for 60's britpop band Dave Dee, Dozy, Beakey Mich and Tich ~ 67

Simon Dee ~ British 1960's radio DJ on BBC and Radio Caroline ~ 73

Andy DeMize ~ Drummer for Danish Psychobilly band The Nekromantix ~ 25

Willy "Mink" Deville ~ New York & New Orleans based CBGB's era singer/guitarist ~ 55

Jim Luther Dickenson ~ Memphis based musician w/ Rolling Stones ("Wild Horses") & Flamin' Groovies ("Teenage Head") and producer, Big Star, Tav Falco, Mudhoney, Screamin Jay Hawkins, Willie DeVille ~ 67

Kenny Dino ~ Early 1960's pop singer known for his bad luck and bad management, he turned down a change to team up with a young Paul Simon (who teamed up with Art Garfunkel instead), his mangager then turned down a chance to record "Suspicion" which became a hit for Elvis and Terry Stafford. Died in a car of a heart attack while driving on his way from a two-a-day matinee gig in Florida. ~ 67

Art D'Lugoff ~ Owner of 1950's & 60's jazz/folk & comedy club the Village Gate ~ 85

Herbie Duncan ~ American rockabilly singer and cult figure ("Hot lips baby") ~ 72

Snooks Eaglin ~ New Orleans Blues and R&B singer/guitarist w/ Professor Longhair, Earl Hooker ~ 73

Travis Edmonson ~ American folk 1950's & 60's folk singer w/ Bud & Travis, The Kinsman, Gateway Singers~ 76

Tommy Ellison ~ Gospel singer w/ The Harmonizing Four ~ 77

Ian Evans ~ Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist ~ 48

Amy Farris ~ Fiddler, Singer, Arranger/Composer w/ Exene Cervenka, Dave Alvin, Alejadro Escovedo, Brian Wilson, Ray Price, Stan Ridgeway, Peter Case, Greg Dulli & solo~ 40

Chris Feinstein ~ Bassist w/ Ryan Adams & the Cardinals ~ 42

Steve Ferguson ~ Guitarist w/ NRBQ ~ 60

Jesse Fortune ~ Blues singer ~ 79

Lukas Foss ~ American Avant Garde Classical composer ~ 86

Jerry Fox ~ Swing trumpet player w/ Louis Prima & The Dorsey Bros. ~ 88

Freddie Frog ~ Rockabilly/Doo Wop singer ~ 66

Jerry Fuchs ~ Drummer for Athens, Georgia Psyche/Space rock band Maserati ~ 34

George Fullerton ~ Guitar maker w/ Leo Fender ~ 86

Mark Gallagher ~ Singer w/ 1960's garage rock band The Litter "Action Woman" ~ 70

Leonard Gaskin ~ BeBop bassist w/ Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Billie Holliday, Miles Davis ~ 88

Micky Gee ~ British guitarist w/ Dave Edmunds ("I hear you knockin"), Carl Perkins, Bill Wyman, Tom Jones, Shakin' Stevens ("The Green Door", "This old house") ~ 64

David Godbey ~ Country singer/guitarist/fiddle player w/ The Brazos County Boys ~ 69

Jack Golly ~ Dixieland clarinet player w/ Jimmie McPartland & Spike Jones ~ 86

Vern Gosdin ~ American country singer ~ 74

Bobby Graham ~ 1960's U.K. session drummer w/ the Kinks "You really got me","All day and all of the night", The Dave Clark 5 and Dusty Springfield, was the original choice to replace Pete Best in The Beatles ~ 69

Ellie Greenwhich ~ Brill Building songwriter on; "Da Doo Ron Ron","Be My Baby","River Deep Mountain High","The Leader of The Pack" ~ 68

Archie Greene ~ Canadian/American musicologist (The IWW Little Red Songbook) ~ 91

Buck Griffin ~ Country/rockabilly singer/guitarist/songwriter w/ Marty Robbins & Red Foley ~ 86

Kelly Groucutt ~ ELO bassist ~ 63

Peter Haggert ~ Bassist w/ U.K. Skiffle King Lonnie Donegan ~ 83

Guy Hall ~ Big Band sax player w/ Sammy Kaye ~ 94

Monte Halle ~ 1940's singing cowboy actor ~ 89

Walter Haynes ~ Steel guitarist & songwriter w/ Del Reeves, Everly Brothers, Little Jimmy Dickens, Webb Pierce, Patsy Cline, J.J. Cale ~ 60

Kent Henry ~ Guitarist w/ Steppenwolf ("Black Pit" and "For Ladies Only"), Blues Image ("Ride Captain Ride"), Lord Sutch ~ 61

Sam Hinton ~ 1960's folk singer, illustrator and marine biologist and author ~ 92

Dan Honaker ~ Bassist w/ Bob Seger's 1960's band, played on "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" ~ 57

Freeman Hover ~ 1950's Rock n' Roll dj ~ 79

Lux Interior ~ Legendary frontman for the Cramps ~ 62

Reg Isadore ~ Drummer for Peter Green & Robin Trower ~ 59

Marcel Jacob ~ Bassist w/ Swedish metal bands Euroope and Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force ~ 45

Micheal Jackson ~ The King of Pop ~ 50

Maurice Jarre ~ French film composer (Dr. Zivago, Lawrence of Arabia) ~ 84

Ted Jarrett ~ Songwriter "You Can Make It If You Try" covered by the Rolling Stones other songs by Fats Domino, Pat Boone, Jerry Butler, Johnnie Ray ~ 82

Claude Jeter ~ Gospel singer with the Swan Silvertones and the Dixie Hummingbirds ~ 94

Greg Johnson ~ AKA Greg Gory, singer/guitarist w/ Vancouver garage punks The Fiends

Jan Jones ~ Guitarist w/ German metal band Blitz ~ 49

Johnny Jones ~ Guitarist w/ 1960's Memphis R&B band Johnny Jones & the King Casuals w/ Jimi Hendrix and Billy Cox ~ 73

Mickie Jones ~ Bassist w/ 1970's Glam rock band Angel

Uriel Jones ~ Motown session drummer w/ The Funk Brothers, played on most Motown hits ~ 74

Genevieve Joy ~ French modernist/classical pianist ~ 90

Kazuhiku Kato ~ Guitarist w/ Japanese glam band The Sadistic Mika Band ~ 62

George Kaufman ~ Bassist w/ New Wave band The Nails "88 Lines about 44 women" ~ 58

Bob Keane ~ Founder of Del-Fi Records, label for Richie Valens, Chan Romero, Bobby Fuller & The Surfaris ~ 87

Charlie Kennedy ~ Swing Sax player w/ Louis Prima & Gene Krupa ~ 83

Willie King ~ Blues singer/guitarist ~ 76

Yvonne King ~ Singer w/ Big Band vocal group The King Sisters, ("In the mood") also sang w/ Artie Shaw ~ 89

Robert Kirby ~ English orchestral folk-pop arranger w/ Nick Drake, also Nick Lowe, Elton John, Paul Weller, Chris DeBugh, The Strawbs ~ 61

Alan Klein ~ Manager for The Rolling Stones, Beatles and Sam Cooke and all around weasel ~ 77

Larry Knetchel ~ Session piano w/ The Beach Boys "Smile" & "Pet Sounds" and Simon & Garfunkel ","Bridge over troubled water", later in 70's soft rock band Bread ~ 69

Marie Knight ~ Gospel and R&B singer "Cry me a river" ~ 84

Pim Koopman ~ Dutch progrock drummer w/ Kayak ~ 56

Tim Krekel ~ Country/Rock songwriter w/ songs done by Petty Loveless, Crystal Gayle, Bo Diddly, Rick Nelson, Canned Heat, Jerry Reed, Dr. Feelgood, Delbert McClinton, B.J. Thomas, Delbert McClinton, Billy Swan, Pam Tillis
and Jason And The Scorchers ~ 59

Malcom Laycock ~ Jazz & Big Band radio DJ w/ the BBC ~71

Drake Levin ~ Guitarist w/ Paul Revere and the Raiders ~ 62

Vic Lewis ~ British jazz guitarist and band leader w/ George Shearing ~ 89

Big Bill Lister ~ 1950's honky tonk singer w/ Hank Williams later had solo hit with "There's a tear in my beer" which Williams gave him. Hank's demo version was lost and wasn't released until 40 years later ~ 86

Hank Locklin ~ American country singer; "Please help me I'm falling", "Send me the pillow that you dream on" ~ 91

Bess Lomax-Hawes ~ Folklorist/singer/mandolinsit member of The Almanac Singers, sister of Alan Lomax ~ 88

Huey Long ~ Singer/guitarist w/ 1930's & 40's pre-Doo-Wop group The Ink Spots ("I don't want to set the world on fire") ~ 105

Lawrence Lucie ~ Jazz guitar, banjo & mandolin w/ Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Billie Holliday, Big Joe Turner, Jelly Roll Morton, Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson, Red Allen, The Mills Bros. ~ 92

Joe McKamey ~ Drummer w/ 1960's Northwest garage band the Squires

Liam Maher ~ Singer w/ Britpop band Flowered Up ~ 41

Dewey Martin ~ Drummer for The Buffalo Springfield, Standells ~ 68

Al Martino ~ 1950's pop singer and actor "The Godfather" ~ 82

John Martyn ~ English folk singer/songwriter/guitarist ~ 60

Aubrey Mayhew ~ Country producer w/ Johnny Paycheck, Stonewall Jackson & Lightnin' Hopkins in the 1960's, founded Little Darlin' Records ~ 81

John Mayhew ~ Early Genesis drummer ~ 61

Dirty Danny McBride ~ Sha Na Na singer ~ 42

Fred Mills ~ Big Band trumpet player w/ the Canadian Brass ~ 74

Taylor Mitchell ~ Toronto based folk singer/songwiter ~ 19

Whitey Mitchell ~ Big Band sax player w/ Gene Krupa & Benny Goodman ~ 76

Vic Mizzy ~ Film & TV composer; wrote and sang theme to "The Addams Family" and also "Green Acres" ~ 93

Sonny Monroe ~ Doo-Wop singer w/ The Falcons ~ 71

Buddy Montgomery ~ Jazz vibes player w/ Big Joe Turner & Miles Davis and w/ his brothers Wes and Monk Mongomery ~ 78

Pee Wee Moore ~Jazz & R&B sax player w/ Dizzy Gillespie, Lucky Millinder, Wynonie Harris, Mary Lou Williams, Bill Doggett ~ 81

Brendon Mullen ~ Owner of Los Angeles punk club The Masque ~ 80

Hayden Neale ~ Singer w/ Toronto soul band Jacksoul ~ 39

David "Fathead" Newman ~ Jazz / R&B sax player w/ Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, BB King ~ 75

Gates Nichols ~ Keyboards, Pedal Steel and horn player w/ country rock band Confederate Railroad ~ 65

Dennis Noda ~ Bassist w/ 60's garage band Cannibal & The Head Hunters "Land of 1000 dances" ~

Pat O'Brien ~ Guitarist w/ Maryland hardcore band Cobra Clutch ~ 25

Nancy Overton ~ R&B singer w/The Chordettes ("Mr. Sandman", "Lollipop") ~ 83

Andy Parle ~ Drummer w/ Britpop band Space ~ 42

Les Paul ~ Pioneer guitar player and inventer ~ 94

Dickie Peterson ~ Bassist/Vocals w/ 1960's Psyche/Metal/Blues band Blue Cheer ~ 61

Fayette Pinkey ~ Singer w/ 1970s soul/disco group The Three Degrees ~ 61

Nick Plumb ~ Guitarist w/ Pop-Punk band the Deloreans ~ 26

Billy Powel ~ keyboard player for Lynnard Skynard ~ 56

Paul Premiger ~ Drummer w/ Vancouver garage/pop/punks The Smugglers

Eddie Preston ~ Jazz saxman w/ @!$%# Basie, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Louis Jordan, Charles Mingus, Sonny Stitt, Archie Shepp ~ 80

Brian Redman ~ Bassist w/ Vancouver metal band 3 Inches of Blood ~ 31

Ron Richards ~ Pianist, and producer on The Beatles "Love me do", The Hollies "He ain't heavy", Gerry & The Pacemaker "You'll never walk alone", Spencer Davis, P.J. Proby, Ella Fitzgerald ~ 80

Billy Lee Riley ~ 1950's Sun Records rockabilly singer/giutarist ("Flying Saucers Rock & Roll", "Red Hot") ~75

Beverly Roberts ~ 1940's Big Band singer w/ The Dorsey Brothers ~ 95

Freddie Robinson ~ A.K.A. Abu Talib, blues guitarist w/ Ray Charles, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, John Mayall, Jimmy Rogers, Bobby "Blue" Bland and Mighty Joe Young ~ 70

Paulie Rocco ~ Guitarist w/ The Chesterfield Kings, Johnny Thunders, Gilby Clarke ~ 48

Jack Rose ~ Guitarist for Noise/drone band Pelt also respected for his accoustic work ~ 38

George Russell ~ Bop and Post Bop Jazz Drummer/Pianist and Composer/Arranger w/ Dizzy Gillespie, Artie Shaw, Benny Carter & Buddy DeFranco ~ 86

Dan Seals ~ 1970's pop/country singer songwiter ~ 61

Sky Saxon ~ Singer/Bassist for 60's garage icons The Seeds ("Pushing too hard", "No Escape") ~ 63

Allen Schellenberger ~ Drummer for American pop-punk band Lit ~ 39

Aaron Schroeder ~ Composer of over 1500 songs including Elvis Presley's hits "I got stung", "Big hunk a love", "It's now or never", later producer for most of Gene Pitney's hits and the first album from Blood Sweat & Tears ~ 83

Mike Seeger ~ Folk singer/guitarist/banjo player and historian, half bother to Pete Seeger ~ 75

Allen Shelton ~ Bluegrass banjo player w/ Jim and Jesse & the Virginia Boys and Mac Wiseman ~ 73

Mashira Shimura ~ Singer/guitarist w/ Japanese New Wave/Power Pop band Fujifabric ~ 29

Shelby Singleton ~ Producer w/ Brook Benton, Leroy Van Dyke, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, Roger Miller, Dave Dudley, Jeannie C. Riley, Paul & Paula, later bought Sun Records from Sam Phillips in 1969 ~ 77

Sirone ~ Free Jazz bassist w/ The Revolutionary Ensemble also w/ Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, Sonny Sharrock, James Blood Ulmer Also worked with Smokey Robinson & Sam Cooke ~ 69

Eugene Smith ~ American gospel singer w/ The Roberta Martin Singers ~ 88

Mark Smith ~ Bassist for Scottish band The Waterboys, also producer w/ 49

Jeff Spencer ~ Rockabilly singer/guitarist w/ The Memphis Rockabilly Band ~ 63

Spider (AKA Warren Hastings) ~ Founder of Punkfest ~ 63

Andy Starr ~ 1950's rockabilly singer ~ 80

Sable Starr ~ Notorious groupie of the CBGB's New York punk scene ~ 52

Norm Stephens ~ Country guitarist w/ Merle Haggard, Lefty Frizzell and Hank Thompson ~ 77

Martin Streek ~ CFNY DJ ~ 45

Jim Stradler ~ Country rock bassist w/ The Tractors ~ 54

Koko Taylor ~ 1950's Blues singer ("Wang Dang Doodle") ~ 80

Rev. Leroy Taylor ~ Gospel singer w/ The Soul Stirrers ~ 89

Sammy Taylor ~ Blues / R&B guitarist/songwriter w/ Joey Dee & the Starlighters ("Peppermint Twist"), Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Isley Brothers, mentor to Jimi Hendrix, Leslie West & The Rascals ~ 74

Jay Dean Telfer ~ Guitarist w/ Canadian 60's garage bands A Passing Fancy & The Dimensions ~ 61

Miika Tenkula ~ Guitarist/Vocalist for Finnish Metal Band Sentenced ~ 34

Mary Travers ~ 1960's folk singer w/ Peter, Paul & Mary ~ 72

Uli Trepte ~ Bassist w/ Kraut Rock bands Faust & Neu ~ 58

Scott Turner ~ Canadian born country songwiter w/ Tennessee Ernie Ford, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, Slim Whitman, Del Reeves, Guy Mitchell, Jimmy Clanton ~ 78

Beau Velasco ~ Drummer w/ Australian Techno-Punk band The Death Set

Gordon Waller ~ Vocalist with 1960's folk-pop duo Peter & Gordon ("A world without love") ~ 64

Donald Washington ~ Jazz and soul sax player w/ Nat King Cole, Jerry Butler, Donald Bird, BB King, Diana Ross, Horace Silver, Neil Sedaka, Sammy Davis jr. & Grover Washington jr. (to whom he was unrelated) ~ 79

Jackie Washington ~ Canadian folk blues singer/guitarist ~ 84

Teddy Washington ~ Trumpet player w/ James Brown & BB King ~ 78

Harry Wells ~ Big band drummer w/ Cab Calloway ~ 80

Kitty White ~ Singer, dueted w/ Elvis on "Crawfish" in the movie "King Creole" ~ 86

Viola Wills ~ American soul singer ("Both sides now") ~ 69

John Wilson ~ Singer w/ 1950's Doo-Wop group the Silhouetes "Get a job" ~ 72

David Winnans ~ American Gospel singer ~ 74

Eric Wolfson ~ Scottish singer and keyboardist w/ The Alan Parsons Project ~ 64

Timothy Wright ~ Gospel singer ~ 61

Zeke Zarchy ~ American Jazz trumpeter w/ Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Ella Fitzgerald, Tommy Dorsey ~ 94