More Rockers From The 50's & 60's

Little Richard ~ 87 ~ Iconic 1950's New Orleans R&R singer/pianist ("Tutti Frutti", "Keep A Knockin", "Lucille")

LITTLE RICHARD ~ "TUTTI FRUTTI";


LITTLE RICHARD ~ "KEEP A KNOCKING";


LITTLE RICHARD ~ "LUCILLE";


Simeon Coxe ~ 82 ~ Singer/songwriter electronic player w/pioneering 1960's New York electronic band the Silver Apples

THE SILVER APPLES ~ "OSCILLATIONS";


THE SILVER APPLES ~ "WATER";


THE SILVER APPLES ~ "I HAVE FOUND LOVE";


Jimmy Winston ~ 75 ~ English keyboardist with the Small Faces

THE SMALL FACES ~ "I'VE GOT MINE";


THE SMALL FACES ~ "WHATCHA GONNA DO A BOUT IT";


Brian Locking ~ 81 ~ English rock bass guitarist w/Instro Guitar band The Shadows ("Apache") & Cliff Richards ("Do You Wanna Dance)

CLIFF RICHARDS & THE SHADOWS ~ "MOVE IT";


THE SHADOWS ~ "APACHE";


Dave Munden ~ 76 ~ Drummer & singer with UK 1960's band the Tremelos

THE TREMELOES ~ "HERE COMES MY BABY";


THE TREMELOES ~ "SUDDENLY YOU LOVE ME";


THE TREMELOES ~ "YELLOW RIVER";


Jimmy Rabbitt ~ Texas C&W singer/songwriter with Waylon Jennings & David Allen Coe, radio D and singer w/1960's Garage band Positively 13 O'Clock

POSITIVELY 13 O'CLOCK ~ "PSYCHOTIC REACTION";


Roy Head ~ 79 ~ Texas 1960's R&R singer ("Treat Her Right")

ROY HEAD ~ "TREAT HER RIGHT";


ROY HEAD ~ "TEENAGE LETTER";


TOMMY DEVITO ~ 92 ~ Singer/guitarist with 1950's Doo Wop group Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons ("Walk Like A Man", "Big Girls Don't Cry"

FRANKIE VALLI & THE FOUR SEASONS ~ "WALK LIKE A MAN";


FRANKIE VALLI & THE FOUR SEASONS ~ "BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY";


FRANKIE VALLI & THE FOUR SEASONS ~ "SHERRY";


Len Barry ~ 78 ~ American 1960's Pop singer with Doo Wop group and solo ("1-2-3", "Bristol Stomp")

LEN BARRY & THE DOVELLS ~ "BRISTOL STOMP";


LEN BERRY ~ "1,2,3";


LEN BERRY ~ "LIKE A BABY";


Carl Mann ~ 78 ~ American rockabilly singer with Sun Records "Mona Lisa"

CARL MANN ~ "LET'S PRETEND";


Chad Stuart ~ 79 ~ Singer with 1960's English folk/pop duo Chad & Jeremy ("Summer Song", "Yesterdays Gone"

CHAD & JEREMY ~ "SUMMER'S SONG";


CHAD & JEREMY ~ "JEREMY'S SONG";


Terry Porter ~ 70's ~ Drummer for 1960's American Psyche band The Lemon Pipers ("My Green Tamborine"), later music executive & agent

THE LEMON PIPERS ~ "MY GREEN TAMBORINE" & "RICE IS NICE;


THE LEMON PIPERS ~ "NO HELP FROM ME";


Ronnie Peel ~ 74 ~ Australian guitarist and singer with 1960's & 70's UK band Thunderclap Newman ("Something In The Air")

THUNDERCLAP NEWMAN ~ "SOMETHING IN THE AIR";


Leslie West ~ 75 ~ American guitarist & singer with 1960's & 70's groups the Vagrants and Mountain ("Mississippi Queen")

THE VAGRANTS ~ "OH THOSE EYES";


MOUNTAIN ~ "MISSISSIPPI QUEEN";


Guitar Crusher (real name Sidney Shelby) ~ 89 ~ American blues singer/guitaris/harpist from the 1950's onward

THE GUITAR CRUSHER ~ "I CAN'T HELP IT";


THE GUITAR CRUSHER ~ "THE MONKEY";


Stan Kesler - 92 - American Sun Records studio musician, songwriter ("I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone", "I Forgot to Remember to Forget") and producer w/Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Warren Smith, Charlie Feathers, James Carr, Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs ("Wully Bully")

ELVIS PRESLEY ~ "I'M LEFT YOU'RE RIGHT SHE'S GONE";


SAM THE SHAM & THE PHARAOHS ~ "WULLY BULLY";


SAM THE SHAM & THE PHARAOHS ~ LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD";


Pepe Salvaderi ~ Guitarist and singer with Italian 1960's & 70's pop band Dik Dik

DIK DIK ~ "CALIFORNIA DREAMING";


DIK DIK ~ "WHITER SHADE OF PALE";


Stefano D'Orazio ~ 72 ~ Italian percussionist w/1960's & 70's Pop band Pooh

POOH ~


Laszlo Benko ~ 77 ~ Keyboradist with 1960's & 70's Hungarian Psyche & Prog band Omega

Tamás Mihály ~ 73 ~ Hungarian bassist with 1960's & 70's Hungarian Psyche band Omega

OMEGA ~ "GYONGYHAJU LANY";


OMEGA ~ "REGI CSIBESZEK";


Ossi Runne ~ 93 ~ Finnish trumpeter, orchestra leader and composer

ANN-CHRISTINE NYSTROM & OSSI RUNNE ORCH ~ "PLAYBOY";


OSSI RUUNE ~ "PATRICIA";


Phillis McGuire ~ 89 ~ Singer with 1950's Pop vocal group the McQuire Sisters ("Sincerly", "Sugartime")

THE McGUIRE SISTERS ~ "YOU BELONG TO ME";


THE McGUIRE SISTERS ~ "SUGAR TIME";


THE McGUIRE SISTERS ~ "SINCERLY";

Some Figures From The 1950's & 60's

GEORGE MARTIN (90);
Known as "The Fifth Beatle" Martin was record producer for them on all their recordings. Martin had been known for recording comedy acts including Peter Cook & Dudley Moore but he had also been recording Skiffle bands like The Vipers and was actively looking for a R&R combo when he was assigned to the Beatles by EMI with whom he would work for the rest of their careers. Martin is credited with introducing them to more sophisticated recording techniques and arrangements. He would also work with a number of other bands like Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas, Shane Fenton & The Fentones, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Cila Black and the young Gary Glitter in his pre-glam years. Martin would later work with America, Ultravox, Jeff Beck, Cheap Trick, UFO, Elton John, Neil Sedaka and Celine Dion.

THE BEATLES ~ "PENNY LANE";


BILLY J KRAMER & THE DAKOTAS ~ "FROM A WINDOW";


GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS ~ "I LIKE IT":


PAUL KANTER (74) & SIGNE TROLY ANDERSON (74);
Kanter was a singer/guitarist/songwriter and founding member of Jefferson Airplane, the iconic band of the San Francisco Psychedelic scene of the 1967 Summer Of Love. The Airplane were not the first Psychedelic band, The Charlatans and the Greatful Dead claimed that honour, but the Airplane were the first band of the scene to score serious international hits with the still classic "White Rabbit" and "Somebody To Love" off the album "Surrealistic Pillow".
Paul Kanter was one of the founding members although at first the band's leader was singer Marty Balin. One their first album, 1966's "Takes Off" the Airplane were a typical folk-rock band of the time, not as inventive or distinctive as The Byrds but solid enough. They also lacked a charismatic frontman. Balin and female singer Signe Troly Anderson had good looks and a strong tenors and but lacked the larger-than-life persona of a great frontman. That problem would soon be found when rival band The Great Society broke up and freeing up their singer (and former model) Grace Slick to replace Signe Anderson who had gotten pregnant and decided to retire from band life for motherhood. Slick would also bring two songs from her previous band, the afore mentioned "White Rabbit" and "Somebody To Love", along with a soaring ice queen voice and stunning looks.

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE ~ "WHITE RABBIT";


Kanter may not have appeared essential to the early airplane's sound. Balin had started the band and Kanter's rhythm guitar lacked the flash of Jorma Kauconen's leads or Jack Cassidy's rumbling bass. But Kanter contributed to the songwriting and after a few years Balin became dissatisfied with the band's direction and started to absent himself, eventually stalking out entirely leaving Kanter in charge. The Airplane became more focused on Kanter's favored themes of politics and science fiction. This led to later hit songs like "Volunteers", "Mexico" and "Have You Seen The Saucers".

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE ~ "WHITE RABBIT" & "SOMEBODY TO LOVE";


By the 1970's the band had changed their name to Jefferson Starship and they continued to score hits through the decade. Eventually Kaukonen and Cassidy left followed by Slick but Kanter continued to slog away for a time as the last original mamber before he too packed it in and went off to a low key solo career. A version of the band would carry on into the eighties, even luring back Grace Slick for a time and managed to score a couple of surprise hits in the late eighties with a bland ballad "Sara" and the much despised "We Built This City On Rock & Roll", a song on most people's lists of the worst top ten hits (and videos) of all time.

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE ~ "THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS LIFE";


DAN HICKS ~ 74;
The Charlatans were the fist San Fransico Psyche bands to get attention with their combination of Folk-Rock, Garage and Psyche along with their Victorian/Cowboy/Art Nouveau/Thrift Shop image in both their clothes and poster art. They didn't really score any major hits but they were a popular live act in California and Nevada from 1964 to 1966. Dan Hicks was not an original member but he joined in 1967 as a drummer then moving to guitar, vocals and songwriting. He left in 1968 with to form his own folk group Dan Hicks & Hot Licks which me would maintain on and off until recently.

THE CHARLATANS ~ "32/20 Blues";


Keith Emerson ~ 71 ~ Keyboardist with British 1960's & 70's Prog-Rock bands The Nice and Emerson, Lake & Palmer

THE NICE ~ "HANG ON TO A DREAM";


THE NICE ~ "AMERICA";


Gilli Smyth ~ 83 ~ Singer with 1960's Psychedelic Rock band Gong
GONG ~ "I NEVER GLID BEFORE";


GONG ~ "WITCH'S SONG/I'M YOUR PUSSY";


GONG ~ "DYNAMITE";


GONG ~ "DREAMING";


Teddy Rooney ~ 66 ~ Bassist w/Los Angeles 1960's Psychedelic Garage Band American The Yellow Payges

THE YELLOW PAYGES ~ "COPY THE BOUNCING BALL";


Gary Loizzo ~ 71 ~ Singer/guitarist with 1960's Pop band the American Breed

THE AMERICAN BREED ~ "BEND ME SHAPE ME":


Andy Thunderclap Newman ~ 73 ~ British singer of one-hit-wonder "Something In The Air" (1969) written & produced by Pete Townsend, guitarist Jimmy McCullagh later played in Wings

THUNDERCLAP NEWMAN ~ "SOMETHING IN THE AIR";


Sverre Kjelsberg ~ 69 ~ Singer and bassist with 1960's Norwegian rock band The Pussycats

THE PUSSYCATS ~ "GONNA SEND YOU BACK TO GEORGIA";


Tommy Brown ~ 84 ~ American 1950's R&B singer with The Griffin Brothers

THE GRIFFIN BROS & TOMMY BROWN ~ "WEAPIN' & MOANIN";


Lee Andrews ~ 79 ~ American doo-wop singer w/Lee Andrews & the Hearts ("Teardrops", "Long Lonely Nights" and "Try the Impossible")

LEE ANDREWS & THE HEARTS ~ "LONG LONELY NIGHTS";


Carlo Mastrangelo ~ 77 ~ American Doo-Wop singer w/Dion & The Belmonts

DION & THE BELMONTS ~ "A TEENAGER IN LOVE";


DION & THE BELMONTS ~ "I WONDER WHY";


Jack Hammer ~ 90 ~ American 1950's R&R performer and songwriter ("Great Balls Of Fire", "Fujiyama Mama" (for Wanda Jackson), "Rock & Roll Cal" (for Louis Jordan) as well as solo. Joined the Platters in the 60's.

JERRY LEE LEWIS ~ "GREAT BALLS OF FIRE";


WANDA JACKSON ~ "FUJIYAMA MAMA";


Dorothy Schwartz ~ 89 ~ American singer w/ 1950's Pop vocal group The Chordettes ("Mr Sandman" & "Lollipop")

THE CHORDETTES ~ "LOLLIPOP" & "MR SANDMAN"


Gogi Grant, 91, American pop singer ("The Wayward Wind")

GOGI GRANT ~ "IT'S A WONDERFUL THING TO BE LOVED";


L. C. Ulmer ~ 87 ~ American Delta blues singer/guitarist from the 1950's onward but did not actually record until 2011

L.C. ULMER ~ "CC RIDER";