Any Major Dude With Half A Heart

I have brought my History of Country series under one roof, with a few edits, in an illustrated eBook (well, a booklet, really) in PDF format, titled A Brief History of Country.

Please feel free to pass it on in good conscience or to link to it on your website: while I assert my copyright for the text, the eBook is completely free. The more people read it and, I hope, gain enough of an understanding of the genre so that they will never call it “Country & Western” again, or say “yee haw, pardner”, the more they will appreciate the wealth of country.

And because everybody likes music, I am also posting a complete recording of the Grand Ole Opry radio show of 28 December 1940. It features Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, Paul Womack and the Gully Jumpers, Ford Rush and somebody called Brother Oswald. I obtained it on a site that had huge amounts of old radio shows; alas, I have lost the link.

…

Download A Brief History of Country eBook

Download Grand Ole Opry – Dec. 28, 1940 (PW in comments)

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A History of Country series

 

 

The unsung soul greats keep going. This month we lost Vince Montana (1), founder of the Salsoul Orchestra and member of Philadelphia International Records’ houseband MFSB. He played on and/or arranged an endless list of late ’60s and ’70s classics by the likes of The Delfonics, The O’Jays, Billy Paul, The Stylistics, Wilson Pickett, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, The Intruders, Patti LaBelle, Ronny Dyson, The Whispers, William DeVaughn, Lou Rawls and many more.

I had been playing The Montana Sextet’s Heavy Vibes in my car on the day Montana died, and on a Friday almost two weeks later I played George Jones (2) (the song from the Any Major Telephone mix), who died later that day. I am making myself a car mix consisting of Michael F Bolton, Chris Brown, Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit and Ted Nugent as we speak. Jones was, of course, a giant in country music. In a genre that is as much soul music as soul music itself, Jones was as tower of soul. He used his voice to great effect, of course, but it was the interpretation of the emotions which his songs communicated which made him a great of any musical kind.

I take no blame for the other headline death of April: that of Richie Havens (3). I don’t think the man really received the recognition he merited, not as a singer nor as a guitarist. Many people remember him for being the opening act at Woodstock. Those who met him testify that he was also a one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. This series by nature tends to emphasise the contributions which recently deceased people have made to music, but I think it is good to sometimes remember a musician not only for his music, but for being a thoroughly decent and nice person. Richie Havens clearly deserves this paragraph on both counts.

Harry J (4) is perhaps best known as the owner of the studio where Bob Marley and the Wailers, and other Island acts, did many of their recordings. His 1969 instrumental The Liquidator served as an inspiration for the British ska movement of the early 1980s — and was sampled by the Staple Singers for their 1972 hit I’ll Take You There. Chelsea fans will claim the song as their own.

US baby boomers might well have been fans of Annette Funicello (5), one of the original Mouseketeers in The Mickey Mouse Club. But she was also the first female solo artist to have a US top 10 hit, with Tall Paul. The song was written by the Sherman brothers who thereby came to the attention of Walt Disney and proceeded to write the great songs for movies such as Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book.

We rarely pay much mind to the graphic designers of album covers. Storm Thorgerson (6) designed many covers you will know, including one of the most famous of them all: the cover of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon (and, in fact, the covers of most Floyd albums). He also did the covers of the Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, Muse, Phish, 10cc, Black Sabbath, The Scorpions, Styx, The Cult, Ween, Biffy Clyro, Audioslave, The Cranberries, The Mars Volta and many more. He also directed music videos for Pink Floyd, Yes, Nik Kershaw, Paul Young and others. See the gallery below for just some of his album covers.

 

Johnnie Billington, 77, blues musician, founder of the Delta Blues Education Fund, on April 1

Roy Cox, 64, bass player of psychedelic rock band Bubble Puppy, on April 2
The Bubble Puppy – Hot Smoke & Sassafras (1969)

Harry J, 67, Jamaican musician, producer and studio owner, on April 3
Harry J & The All Stars – The Liquidator (1969)

Chris Bailey, 62, bass player of Australian rock band The Angels (or Angel City), on April 4
The Angels – Take A Long Line (1978)

Andy Johns, 61, British record producer  and engineer (Free, Humble Pie, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones), on April 7
The Rolling Stones – Sister Morphine (1971, as engineer)
Television – Prove It (1977, as producer)

Neil Smith, 59, early member of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, on April 7

Annette Funicello, 70, actress (The Mickey Mouse Club) and singer, on April 8
Annette Funicello – Tall Paul (1957)

Sara Montiel, 85, Spanish actress and singer, on April 8

Emilio Pericoli, 85, Italian singer, on April 9
Emilio Pericoli – Al di là (1961)

Jimmy Dawkins, 76, blues singer and guitarist, on April 10
Jimmy Dawkins – Me, My Gitar And The Blues (2006)

Paul Wilson, 29, drummer of South African rock group Southern Gypsey Queen, on April 10
Southern Gypsey Queen – Radio Revolution (2011)

Don Blackman, 59, jazz-funk pianist and session musician, on April 11
Don Blackman – Holding You, Loving You (1982)

Vincent Montana, 85, percussionist, bandleader, arranger and composer, on April 13
Soul Survivors  – Expressway To Your Heart (1967)
The O’Jays – Backstabbers (1972)
Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes (1982)

Chi Cheng, 42, bassist of alt.rock band The Deftones, after five-year coma on April 13
The Deftones – Teenager (2005)

George Jackson, 77, soul singer-songwriter, on April 14
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – Old Time Rock ‘n Roll (1979, as co-writer)
Otis Clay – The Only Way Is Up (1980, as co-writer)

Dave McArtney, singer and guitarist of New Zealand pop group Hello Sailor, on April 15
Hello Sailor – Gutter Black (1977)

Scott Miller, 53, member of pop groups Game Theory and The Loud Family, on April 15

George Beverly Shea, 104, gospel singer (Bill Graham crusades), on April 16

Rita MacNeil, 68, Canadian country-folk singer and variety show host, on April 16
Rita MacNeil – Working Man (1988)

Jim McCandless, 68, singer-songwriter, on April 16

Gary Biddles, singer of British indie groups Fools Dance and Presence, on April 17
Presence – On Ocean Hill (1993)

Yngve Moe, 55, bass guitarist of Norwegian rock band Dance with a Stranger, on April 17

Storm Thorgerson, 69, English LP cover designer, on April 18
Pink Floyd – Have A Cigar (1975, as cover designer)
Powderfinger – Burn Your Name (2009, as cover designer)

Cordell Mosson, 60, bass player with Parliament/Funkadelic), on April 18
Parliament – Chocolate City (1975)

Artie White, 76, southern soul singer, on April 20
Artie ‘Blues Boy’ White – Don’t Pet My Dog (1990)

Chrissy Amphlett, 53, singer of Australian rock band Divinyls, on April 21
The Divinyls – Ring Me Up (1983)

Dani Crivelli, drummer of Swiss heavy metal group Krokus (1987-89), on April 21

Richie Havens, 72, American folk singer and guitarist, on April 22
Richie Havens – Handsome Johnny (1967)
Richie Havens – This Is The Hour (1983)
Richie Havens – Will The Circle Be Unbroken (2012)

Bob Brozman, 59, eclectic guitarist, on April 24

Paulo Emilio Vanzolini, 89, Brazilian samba composer, on April 25

George Jones, 81, country legend, on April 26
George Jones – Why Baby Why (1955)
George Jones – Things Have Gone To Pieces (1966)
George Jones – The One I Loved Back Then (Corvette Song) (1985)

Lillian Leach, 76, member of doo wop band The Mellows, on April 26
The Mellows – Smoke From Your Cigarette (1955)

GET IT or HERE (PW in comments)

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Previous In Memoriams

Keep up to date with dead pop stars on Facebook

 

Here’s a mix that has been hanging on for a couple of years for completion: Songs about telephone calls. The rule was to choose songs that include some kind of conversation (or monologue) over the phone, preferably with a phone ringing or a call being disconnected. So a song like Abba’s Ring Ring, which is about the notion of making a call, rather than actually making it, is excluded. One song here bends the rule, but one ought to make some allowance for the inventor of the telephone. I might loosen the rules in the follow-up mix, which is in the works.

A bit of trivia: the voice on the other end of the line in Gene Simmons’ song is that of Cher, who at the time was in a relationship with the Kiss goon.

As for the lyrics of the opening song… Bloody Hell!

The mix is, as ever, timed to fit on a standard CD-R and includes front and back covers. PW in comments.

TRACKLISTING
1. Stan Mosley – Your Wife Is My Woman (2002)
2. Cadallaca – O Chenilla (1998)
3. Tommy Tutone – 867-5309/Jenny (1981)
4. Nick Lowe – Switchboard Susan (1979)
5. Gene Simmons – Living In Sin (1978)
6. Rupert Holmes – Answering Machine (1979)
7. Alessi – All For A Reason (1977)
8. England Dan & John Ford Coley – I’d Really Like To See You Tonight (1976)
9. The Partridge Family – Echo Valley 2-6809 (1971)
10. Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn – As Soon As I Hang Up The Phone (1974)
11. Tina & Daddy (George Jones) – The Telephone Call (1974)
12. Ernie Tucker & His Operators – Telephone Me Some Lovin’ (1961)
13. Chuck Berry – Memphis, Tennessee (1963)
14. Carl Graves – Baby Hang Up The Phone (1974)
15. Esther Williams – Last Night Changed It All (1976)
16. Yazoo – Bad Connection (1982)
17. Electric Light Orchestra – Telephone Line (1976)
18. Gilbert O’Sullivan & Kirsten Siggaard – Can’t Think Straight (1993)
19. 10cc – Don’t Hang Up (1976)
20. The Sweet – Alexander Graham Bell (1971)
21. Pink Floyd – Young Lust (1979)

GET IT or HERE

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More Mix-CDRs

The Any Major Soul 1967 mix received one of the most poignant comments yet. Trod wrote: “Listening to soul music takes me back to my days in Viet Nam. The good part anyway.” The incredible power of music, right there.

The soul mix for 1968 includes several legends of the genre doing what they did well: Aretha Franklin, Jerry Butler, Sam & Dave, The Delfonics , The Dells, The Intruders, Clarence Carter, Marvin & Tammi, Supremes & Tempations etc. And then there are The Ohio Players, future legends of uncompromising funk and purveyors in cover art of the pornographic metaphor. This mix kicks off with a track from their debut album, on which Dayton’s finest riffed on a danceable soul vibe.

Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers (as the name suggests, Canadians) had their sole hit, featured here, on Motown. It’s a fine song, but Taylor’s greater contribution to music history was discovering the Jackson 5. So, no, it wasn’t La Ross. Though the other two Supremes did discover the Vancouvers, who previously were known, charmingly, as Four Niggers and a Chink — the Asian component being Tommy Chong (later Cheech’s stoner sidekick) who was half-Chinese, half-Scottish. Chong co-wrote Does Your Mama Know About Me.

The Fantastic Four also had their solitary hit, I Love You Madly, on Motown. It had actually been recorded and issued on the Ric Tic Record label, but when Motown bought that label’s catalogue, they also scored the Fantastic Four’s contract.

Despite having a career spanning almost 50 years, The Masqueraders never really broke through and so are not very well known.  In fact, the fine track featured here was a flop when it was released as a single and led to the group being dropped by Wand Records. They kept recording until 1980, and in the late 1960s also did backing vocals for the Box Tops. Another group still performing, though with different personnel, are The O’Kaysions, a  blue-eyed soul group.

Mary Jane Hooper might be the most mysterious figure on this set. So little is known about the Eddie Bo protégé that many believe it is just a pseudonym used by soul singer Inez Cheatham, who she sounds like. It is true that Hooper’s name is an alias, but the New Orleans singer’s real name was Sena Fletcher, who previously recorded gospel music and backed Lee Dorsey. Soon after recording for Bo, she disappeared entirely from the music scene.

As far as monikers go, Diana Ross & the Supremes and the Temptations is a rather cumbersome. Their version of  Ain’t No Mountain High Enough is perfectly pleasant, but it is of obvious interest since a few years later Diana Ross recorded her rather more dramatic and utterly fabulous solo version of it.

Maurice & Mac were off-shoots of The Radiants, whose Voice Your Choice is a highlight on the Any Major Soul 1964 mix. The Radiants fell apart when Uncle Sam drafted two members into the army. Alas, although Maurice & Mac’s You Left the Water Running is an astonishing record, Chess Records messed up the promotion of the single, as they did with subsequent releases. Maurice McAllister was so disgusted by that neglect, he left the music industry.

Godoy Colbert might well have the best name on this mix. He was a member of The Pharaos, who backed Richard Berry in the original 1957 version of Louie Louie (his was the bass voice). In the early 1970s, Colbert was a member of The Free Movement, who had some success in 1972 with one of the greatest break-up songs in the canon, I’ve Found Someone Of My Own (featured on Any Major Soul 1972-73). Colbert died of cancer in 2002.

 

It seemed a bit left-field when actor and dancer Gregory Hines turned up on a Luther Vandross record in 1986 to sing a duet with the great man. In fact, Hines had been recording long before Luther. Gregory and brother Maurice had been a dance act as kids, known as the Hines Kids. In 1963 they were joined by their father, Maurice Sr, on drums, and changed the act’s name to Hines, Hines & Dad. The all-singing all-dancing act became a staple on Johnny Carson’s Tonight show.

Madeline Bell has featured on this blog several times. Her long career included stints with Blue Mink (of Melting Pot fame) and French disco group Space, and an appearance as backing singer at the Eurovision Song Contest. Having moved to Britain in the 1960s, she also was a close friend of and frequent backing singer for Dusty Springfield; the singers influenced one another, as can be heard on the featured track. Bell now lives in Spain and still touring as a jazz singer.

Another singer who has featured on thus blog several times is Grady Tate, who is represented here with a great black consciousness track, before these things became really popular in the early 1970s. To jazz lovers, Tate might be better known as a drummer, though on Grover Washington Jr’s beautiful 1981 track Be Mine (Tonight), Tate took the vocals (it featured on Any Major Soul 1980/81). He was first a drummer for Quincy Jones, then in Johnny Carson’s houseband, and played on records by people ranging from Charles Mingus to Marlena Shaw. He also played drums and percussions on Simon and Garfunkel’s Concert in Central Park. In between, Tate also released a few albums as a soul singer; 1972’s She Is My Lady and 1975’s By Special Request are particularly good. I’ve drawn several times from the latter in the Covered With Soul series, on Vol 1, Vol 3, Vol 6  and Vol 14.

Also of its time is the track by Archie Bell & the Drells that closes this mix: the lament of a soldier drafted to fight in the Vietnam War *”wait here Uncle Sam, I can’t fight on Sundays…”. Which brings this post to a full circle.

As always, this mix is timed to fit on a CD-R and covers are included. PW in comments.

TRACKLISTING
1. Ohio Players – A Little Soul Party
2. The Dells – Show Me
3. Sam & Dave – Don’t Turn Your Heater On
4. The Masqueraders – Do You Love Me Baby
5. Jay & the Techniques – Strawberry Shortcake
6. The Fantastic Four – I Love You Madly
7. Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers – Does Your Mama Know About Me
8. Mary Jane Hooper – I Feel A Hurt
9. The Delfonics – Break Your Promise
10. The Intruders – Turn The Hands Of Time
11. The O’Kaysions – Love Machine
12. Rita Wright – Can’t Give Back The Love
13. Diana Ross & the Supremes and the Temptations – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
14. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – Come On And See Me
15. Barbara Acklin – Love Makes A Woman
16. Betty Wright – Girls Can’t Do What The Guys Do
17. Maurice & Mac – You Left The Water Running
18. Jerry Butler – Hey Western Union Man
19. Aretha Franklin – Since You’ve Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby)
20. Jean Wells – Have A Little Mercy
21. Arthur Conley – Put Our Love Together
22. Godoy Colbert – Baby I Like It
23. Freddie Hughes – Send My Baby Back
24. Madeline Bell – I’m Gonna Leave You
25. Mary Wells – Soul Train
26. Hines, Hines & Dad – Hambone
27. Teri Nelson Group – Sweet Talkin’ Willie
28. Clarence Carter – She Ain’t Gonna Do Right
29. Grady Tate – Be Black Baby
30. Archie Bell & the Drells – A Soldier’s Prayer, 1967

GET IT or HERE

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More Any Major Soul

Many people have said nice things about this blog (and sometimes they say very little; were the Swingin’ London and Saved Vol. 4 mixes really that bad?). And once in a while, a kind opinion gets amplified. So it was when this little corner of the blogosphere was featured in Playboy’s 2013 Music Guide, published in the US version’s April edition.

The Playboy 2013 Music Guide’s editor, Rob Tannenbaum, featured this halfhearted dude among such emerging luminaries as Caitlin Rose (who has featured on this blog before), José James, Elle Varner, Kendrick Lamar, Richard Hell, and the rather more established David Grohl, Richard Thompson and My Bloody Valentine. And…this is the only music blog highlighted in the feature. I do feel validated. Read the whole guide HERE. You will have read Rob’s if you’ve ever been in the habit of reading Rolling Stone (he also features in the US April 11 edition), Spin, Blender, GQ…

And to celebrate I have banged together this mix. I shall leave it to you to work out what connects all of these tracks, though the answer is revealed in the file you can download. It is a pretty good (and certainly eclectic) mix, I think. For once, it is not timed to fit on a standard CD-R — it will fit if you cut the last two tracks — and includes no homestripped covers.

1. Paolo Conte – Via con me (1981)
2. O’Donel Levy – Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky (1974)
3. Jimmy McGriff – The Bird (1971)
4. Jimi Hendrix – Gypsy Eyes (1968)
5. Yuya Uchida & the Flowers – White Room (1969)
6. Cochise – Velvet Mountain (1970)
7. Ben Harper – Diamonds On The Inside (2003)
8. Josh T. Pearson – Drive Her Out (2011)
9. Belle & Sebastian – My Wandering Days Are Over (1996)
10. Terry Callier – Ho Tsing Mee (A Song Of The Sun) (1973)
11. Tomorrow’s People – Let’s Get With The Beat (1976)
12. Kool and the Gang – Funky Man (1971)
13. Chocolate Milk – Action Speaks Louder Than Words (1975)
14. Houston Person – Do It While You Can (1977)
15. Leon Ware – Body Heat (1976)
16. Ohio Players – Alone (1975)
17. James Gilstrap – Hello, It’s Me (1976)
18. Marie Laforêt – Henri, Paul, Jacques et Lulu (1974)
19. Martha Wainwright – Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole (2005)
20. Black Tape For A Blue Girl – Tell Me You’ve Taken Another (2009)
21. Jennifer Terran – Grand Canyon (2002)
22. Aidan John Moffat – End Of The Night (2010)
23. Daniel Lanois – For The Beauty Of Wynona (1993)

GET IT! or HERE
(PW in comments)

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More Mix-CD-Rs

 

The death of Margaret Thatcher is no cause for celebration. It came 35 years too late. The scars of her toxic policies (and those of her compadres in the war on the poor, such as Ronald Reagan) are with us still, and more than so now than they were in the 1980s, when they were being implemented. The global economic crisis that started in 2008 is the punishment for Thatcher, Reagan et al.

Thatcher was a war-monger. She was against the poor and against the workers. She was a supporter of apartheid, once calling Nelson Mandela a terrorist (last week Mandela seemed to slip away from us; today he still breathes, thank God, and Thatcher does not).

It’s too late to celebrate Thatcher’s death, but not too early to speak ill of the dead (and we should never be prevented from speaking ill of the dead when they merit our censure). It would have been better had Thatcher lived for another 20 years, into obscurity, before her simpering Trojan disciples such as Tony Blair — the Bono of British politics — could pay their glowing tributes , using her first name in the way other people do with soul legends.

Worse yet, some young people, naive young women in particular, seem to regard Thatcher as a feminist icon (no doubt influenced by Meryl Streep’s impressive but nauseating impersonation in that meandering film), not the enemy of women that she really was. Alas, Meryl’s scriptwriters failed to get the great mimic to deliver this immortal line: “I owe nothing to women’s lib. The feminists hate me, don’t they? And I don’t blame them. For I hate feminism. It is poison.”

Thatcher’s death is neither to be mourned nor to be celebrated. But we must forthrightly acknowledge and emphasise that she made the world a worse place and that her legacy must be despised.

So this mix is not by way of celebration, much as some of the songs endorse a sense of jubilation at Thatcher’s demise. View it as a musical testament of songs that are political and good, and as an indictment of that woman’s noxious policies.

If you leave out the last two tracks, the mix will fit on a CD-R.

1. Klaus Nomi – Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead
2. Hefner – The Day That Thatcher Dies
3. The Blow Monkeys – (Celebrate) The Day After You
4. Elvis Costello – Tramp The Dirt Down
5. Billy Bragg – Between The Wars
6. Morrissey – Margaret On The Guillotine
7. The The – Heartland
8. Fine Young Cannibals – Blue
9. Madness – Blue Skinned Beast
10. Style Council – The Lodgers (Or She Was Only A Shopkeeper’s Daughter)
11. The Specials – Ghost Town
12. The Beat – Stand Down Margaret
13. Robert Wyatt – Shipbuilding
14. Pink Floyd – The Fletcher Memorial Home
15. Richard Thompson – Mother Knows Best
16. Renaud – Madame Thatcher
17. UB40 – Madam Medusa
18. Pete Wylie – The Day That Margaret Thatcher Dies
19. Poison Girls – Another Hero
20. Sinead O’Connor – Black Boys On Mopeds

GET IT or HERE
(PW in comments)

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More Mix CD-Rs

It’s turning out to be bad year for soul singers who were overshadowed by more famous bandmates. This month we lost Bobby Rogers (1), a co-founder of The Miracles and frequent songwriting partner of Smokey Robinson, and Bobby Smith (2) of The Spinners, who took lead vocals on such hits as Could It Be I’m Falling In Love, I’ll Be There and Games People Play; often these vocals were incorrectly attributed to the more extroverted and equally marvellous Philippé Wynne, who died in 1984. From the classic 1970s line-up of one of the nicest groups in the world, only one member, the baritone Henry Fambrough, survives.

You might not have heard of the British trumpeter Derek Watkins (3), who died on March 22, but you’ll have heard him. He played on every James Bond soundtrack up to the recent Skyfall; those sharp, blazing trumpet sounds in movies such as Goldfinger,  Dr No or For Your Eyes Only (and, of course, that iconic theme), that was Watkins. And if Bond isn’t your thing, he also played the trumpet on The Beatles’ Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever.

Another session musician you’ll have heard many times is Hugh McCracken (4), who died on March 28. His guitar appeared on songs such as the Lefte Bank’s Walk Away Renee, Paul Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years, Roberta Flack’s Feel Like Making Love and on classic LPs such as Roberta Flack’s Quiet Fire, Paul McCartney’s Ram (he declined to co-found Wings), Barbra Steisand’s Barbra Joan Streisand, Aretha Franklin’s Young, Gifted and Black, Donny Hathaway’s Extension Of A Man, Hall & Oates’ Abandoned Launderette, Billy Joel’s The Stranger and 52^nd Street, John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy, Steely Dan’s The Royal Scam, Katy Lied and Gaucho and Donald Fagan’s The Nightfly.

The producer on some albums McCracken played on, such as Paul Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years and One-Trick Pony, Phoebe Snow’s Never Letting Go, and the Billy Joel albums, was the South African-born Phil Ramone (5), who died on March 30 (he produce all Joel albums from 1977’s The Stranger to 1986’s The Bridge). He won 14 Grammys, including one for best engineering for 1964’s Getz/Gilberto, which included The Girl From Impanema. He also had huge success producing duet albums by Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Tony Bennett. He was also credited with having recorded Marilyn Monroe’s famous Happy Birthday Mr President performance.

Peter Banks (6), who has died at 65, has been described as a pioneer of prog-rock. As a founder member of prog-rock bores Yes — the name was his idea — he probably deserves that dubious honour, even if he left Yes in 1970. As my little in-joke, I feature here the debut LP’s shortest track.

Yes’ Peter Banks is not to be confused by the member of the same name of Ten Years After, whose leader Alvin Lee (7) passed away the day before Banks. Afterlife is probably going to be slightly less eternal than one of Lee’s feared guitar solos, but he certainly influenced many guitarists — just listen to the current crop of metal solo merchants — and by all accounts Alvin was a thoroughly nice man.

Rockabilly singer Eddie Bond (8) was well regarded in his genre, but when he died on March 20, people remembered his one big clanger: at an audition for his band, he turned down Elvis Presley, then 18 years old. A recording artist in his own right, he later toured with Elvis, as well as with other Sun Records alumni with Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison.

Another rockabilly singer (and like Boyd at one point a Sun Records artist) who died this month had a good claim to have used the first singer to have used the term rock & roll to refer to music. In 1950 Hardrock Gunter (9), who died on March 15, released a single titled (Gonna Rock and Roll) Gonna Dance All Night, a year before Alan Freed did so. Others had used the term before that to describe precursors to what we now call rock & roll, but those were not quite like the music we term so today. Some musicologists identify Gunter’s 1949 hit Birmingham Bounce as the first white rock & roll record (which was covered by R&B singer Amos Milburn). Some even call it the first rock & roll record, having preceded Rocket 88 by a year. Personally, I find the search for the “first” rock & roll record futile, but it is nonetheless sad that Gunter’s death went by quite unnoticed.

 

Jewel Akens, 79, R&B singer, on March 1
Jewel Akens – The Birds And The Bees (1965)

Magic, 37, rapper, in traffic accident on March 1

Bobby Rogers, 73, songwriter and member of The Miracles, on March 3
Smokey Robinson and The Miracles – You’re So Fine And Sweet (1964, on lead vocals)
The Temptations – The Way You Do The Things You Do (1964, as co-writer)

Fran Warren, 87, vocalist, on March 4
Tony Martin & Fran Warren – I Said My Pajamas (And Put On My Pray’rs) (1949)

John LaChapelle, 95, jazz guitarist, on March 5

Melvin Rhyne, 76, jazz organist and pianist, on March 5
Wes Montgomery – The Way You Look Tonight (recorded 1959, on organ)

Alvin Lee, 68, British guitarist and leader of Ten Years After, on March 6
Ten Years After – Love Like A Man (1970)

Stompin’ Tom Connors, 77, Canadian country-folk singer, on March 6

Peter Banks, 65, guitarist and co-founder of prog-rock group Yes, on March 7
Yes – Yesterday And Today (1969)

Claude King, 90, country music singer, on March 7
Claude King – Wolverton Mountain (1962)

Kenny Ball, 82, English jazz trumpeter, on March 7
Kenny Ball – Midnight In Moscow (1962)

Sammy Masters, 82, rockabilly musician and songwriter, on March 8
Sammy Masters – Pink Cadillac (1956)

Georgette Plana, 95, French singer, on March 10
Georgette Plana – Riquita (1968)

Clive Burr, 56, drummer of Iron Maiden (1979-82), on March 12
Iron Maiden – Run To The Hills (1982)

Jack Greene, 83, country singer, on March 14
Jack Greene – There Goes My Everything (1966)

Terry Lightfoot, 77, British jazz clarinetist, on March 15
Terry Lightfoot’s New Orleans Jazzmen – Wimoweh (1961)

Hardrock Gunter, 88, country and rockabilly musician, on March 15
Hardrock Gunter & the Pebbles – Birmingham Bounce (1949)
Hardrock Gunter & the Pebbles – Gonna Dance All Night  (1950, Bama label version)

Bobby Smith, 76, singer with The Spinners, on March 16
The Spinners – I’ll Always Love You (1965)
The Spinners – They Just Can’t Stop It (The Games People Play) (1975)

Jason Molina, 39, American singer-songwriter, on March 16
Songs: Ohia  – I’ve Been Riding With The Ghost  (2003)

Sean Hannan, 45, musician and songwriter with The Mad Hannans, on March 18
Mad Hannans – Blind Man (2007)

Floyd McRae, 80, singer with doo wop band The Chords, on March 19
The Chords – Sh-Boom (1954, also as co-writer)

Eddie Bond, 79, rockabilly singer, on March 20
Eddie Bond – Will I Be Lost Or Will I Be Found Again (1961)

Emílio Santiago, 66, Brazilian singer, on March 20

George Barrow, 92, jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist, on March 20
Charles Mingus Quintet – Haitian Fight Song (1955, on tenor saxophone)

Derek Watkins, 68, British trumpeter, on March 22
Shirley Bassey – Goldfinger (1964)
The Beatles – Penny Lane (alternate take) (1967)

Bebo Valdés, 94, Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer; father of Chucho Valdés, on March 22
Bebo Valdés – Pan Con Timba (2001)

Larry Robinson , 64, Americana musician, killed in a robbery on March 23

Deke Richards, 68, Motown songwriter, on March 24
The Jackson 5 – I Want You Back (1970, live)
Diana Ross – I’m Still Waiting (1970)

Lawrence McKiver, 97, member of ring shout group McIn­tosh County Shouters, on March 25
(see video HERE)

Jay Smith, 34, guitarist of Canadian rock group The Matt Mays Band, on March 26

Gordon Stoker, 88, tenor of Elvis’ backing vocalists The Jordanaires, on March 27
Elvis Presley with the Jordanaires – When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again (1956)
Ann-Margaret feat the Jordanaires – I Just Don’t Understand (1961)

Paul Williams, 64, author and founder of the first US rock magazine, Crawdaddy!, on March 27

Hugh McCracken, 60s, session guitarist and harmonica player, on March 28
Tim Rose – Long Time Man (1967)
Merry Clayton – One More Ride (1975)
Donald Fagen – I.G.Y (1982)

Enzo Jannacci, 77, Italian rock & roll pioneer and comedian, on March 29

Clive Graeme Miles, 77, British folk songwriter, on March 29

Phil Ramone, 72, record producer, on March 30
Getz, Gilberto, Jobim – The Girl From Ipanema (1964, album version; as engineer)
Quincy Jones – Theme From the Anderson Tapes (1971, as producer)
Billy Joel – Rosalinda’s Eyes (1978, as producer, feat Hugh McCracken on acoustic guitar)

Franco Califano, 74, Italian singer and actor, on March 30
Franco Califano – Io per le strade di quartiere (1988)

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(Photo of graveyard: www.flickriver.com/photos/wolfgangstaudt/tags/friedhof/)

 

 

Another Easter, another mix of Christian music. This fourth volume of the Saved! series covers gospel, R&B, country and a hint of jazz in the 1950s and early ’60s. Some of the artists are well-known gospel outfits (such as Claude Jeter’s Swan Silvertones, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Brother Joe May, Clara Ward), others are quite obscure (such as the Friendly Brothers). Gospel groups used to be a breeding ground for later soul stars: Sam Cooke was a gospel singer, of course. On this mix we meet Johnny Taylor — who two decades later would sing about the Disco Lady — as a member of the Highway QC’s. And in The Gospel Stars we have not only Motown’s first gospel outfit, but also the stars of the young label’s very first LP.

Other artists are very well known, though they are not usually thought of as purveyors of Christian music. It is no revelation, of course, that rock & roll pioneers Elvis, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis were men of deep faith, but also featured here are Charlie Rich, Patsy Cline and Dinah Washington, whose religious faith did not feature prominently in the public image.

Lula Reed has been largely forgotten, which is a shame. She was the first performer of the soul classic Drown In My Own Tears, and recorded both secular and sacred music. She could be described as a soul pioneer who retired from secular music before the genre really took off. She refused all offers to record a soul album. Lula Reed died in 2008 at the age of 82.

Of all acts featured here, The Prisonaires have the best story. As their name suggests, they were inmates at a Tennessee jail. Sun Records’ Sam Philips heard of their jailhouse music and recorded them, including their song Crying In The Rain, which later became a huge hit for Johnny Ray. The Prisonaires even performed, under guard, at the mansion of Tennessee’s governor.

And then there is the catchy Do Lord by the unwieldily named quartet of Jane Russell, Connie Haines, Beryl Davis, Della Russell (their alternative name, The Four Girls, never really caught on). Yes, it is that Jane Russell, actress and friend of Marilyn Monroe, who was a devout Catholic, and roped in fellow stars into a Christian Hollywood society, whence her singing group appeared. Davis and Haines were big band singers, though Haines appeared in a few films. Della Russell was the singer wife of crooner Andy Russell, with whom she regularly appeared in TV in the 1950s.Actress Rhonda Fleming was also a member of that group, though not on Do Lord.

As always, the mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R, and includes home-baptised covers. If you believe, have a happy Easter inspired by this mix; if you don’t, enjoy the chocolates and the music on this collection of fine music.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Zeb Turner – Why Don’t You Haul Off And Get Religion (1950)
2. The Spirit Of Memphis – Atomic Telephone (1952)
3. Brother Joe May – When The Lord Gets Ready (1959)
4. The Staple Singers – I Know I Got Religion (1959)
5. Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers – Jesus, Wash Away My Troubles (1955)
6. Clara Ward & The Ward Singers – Faith That Moves Mountains (1953)
7. The Chosen Gospel Singers – Watch Ye Therefore (1954)
8. The Friendly Brothers – You Can’t Even Thumb A Ride (1959)
9. The Dixie Hummingbirds – Devil Can Harm A Praying Man (1959)
10. Lula Reed – Just Whisper (1954)
11. Sister Wynona Carr – The Ball Game (3:04)
12. Little Richard – Every Time I Feel The Spirit (1959)
13. The Pilgrim Travelers – I’ve Got A New Home (1953)
14. The Zion Travelers – A Soldier Of The Cross (1957)
15. The Orioles – Deacon Jones (1950)
16. The Prisonaires – My God Is Real (1953)
17. Elvis Presley – It Is No Secret (What God Can Do) (1959)
18. The Louvin Brothers – The Great Atomic Power (1952)
19. Patsy Cline – Life’s Railway To Heaven (1959)
20. Dinah Washington – Lord, You Made Us Human (1960)
21. Louis Armstrong – Ezekiel Saw Da Wheel (1958)
22. Jane Russell, Connie Haines, Beryl Davis, Della Russell – Do Lord (1954)
23. Ken Carson feat. Hal Kanner – Wond’rous Word (Of The Lord) (1951)
24. Jess Willard – Boogie Woogie Preaching Man (1951)
25. Hank Williams – Thank God (released 1956)
26. Charlie Rich – Big Man (1959)
27. Jerry Lee Lewis – When The Saints Go Marching In (1959)
28. The Swan Silverstones – Jesus Remembers (1956)
29. The Highway QC’s – Somewhere To Lay My Head (1955)
30. The Gospel Stars – Make Everything Alright (1961)

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(PW in comments)

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For the second London mix (the first you’ll find HERE) we go back to the 1960s, riffing roughly on the idea of Swingin’ London, with all the Carnaby Street type references. Some are obvious London songs, others refer to London suburbs or landmarks incidentally, and a couple are set in London without making a fuss about it. Since the Swingin’ London vibe was a worldwide phenomenon, three songs here are in foreign language, French (Mireille Mathieu) and German (Sandie Shaw, Peggy March).

As always, the mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R, and home-brewed covers are included. PW in comments.

1. The Tornados – Swinging Beefeater (1963)
2. Roger Miller – England Swings (1965)
3. The Tremeloes – Negotiations In Soho Square (1967)
4. The Kinks – Dead End Street (1967)
5. Claude François – Bench No. 3 Waterloo Station (1967)
6. Herman’s Hermits – London Look (1968)
7. Cat Stevens – Portobello Road (1967)
8. Donovan – Sunny Goodge Street (1965)
9. Peter Reeves – Loneliness Of London (1969)
10. Anita Harris – London Life (1965)
11. Burt Bacharach – Bond Street (1967)
12. Mireille Mathieu – Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (1965)
13. Sandie Shaw – London (1968)
14. Barbara Ruskin – Euston Station (1967)
15. Jackie Trent – 7.10 From Suburbia (1965)
16. Miserable Guy Who Shall Not Be Named – Slim Slow Slider (1968)
17. The Rolling Stones – Play With Fire (1965)
18. David Bowie – The London Boys (1966)
19. Small Faces – Itchycoo Park (1967)
20. Peggy March – In der Carnaby Street (1969)
21. Booker T and the MG’s – Carnaby St (1967)
22. The Beatles – Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! (1967)
23. The New Vaudeville Band – Finchley Central (1967)
24. Simon & Garfunkel – Blessed (1966)
25. Bert Jansch & John Renbourn – Soho (1966)
26. Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity – Vauxhall To Lambeth Bridge (1969)
27. Davy Jones – Maybe It’s Because I’m A Londoner (1965)
28. Laurie Johnson Orchestra – Theme of The Avengers (1964)

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In Motown’s happy family it was common that the same songs would be recorded by different artists. So it is with Papa Was A Rolling Stone, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong.

The Undisputed Truth, who may be remembered for their hit Smiling Faces Sometimes (which was originally recorded by the Temptations), recorded Papa Was A Rolling Stone as a single release in 1971. It did not perform well, peaking at #63 in the US charts. A year later, Whitfield gave the song to The Temptations when he produced their 1972 All Directions album on which it appeared as a 12-minute workout of the kind that recalled the epic soul symphonies of Isaac Hayes (though the Undisputed Truth version sounds more like an Ike arrangement). The shortened single version went on to top the US charts.

The Temptations line-up for that period differed significantly from that of the 1970s glory days, with only Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin remaining. Dennis Edwards had replaced David Ruffin; Richard Street, who had been a member of a Temptations precursor, had replaced the troubled Paul Williams; and Damon Harris had replaced Eddie Kendricks.

 

Recorded in June 1972 and released the following month, all but Otis Williams took lead vocals on Papa Was A Rolling Stone (see below), backed by Motown’s in-house session band, The Funk Brothers, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. It topped the US charts, but only made #14 in the UK, two positions lower than the Was (Not Was) 1990 cover.

Cover versions sprung up almost immediately. The earliest featured here is by jazz multi-instrumentalist Jay Berliner, in 1972. The same year Stevie Wonder performed it on TV, using the then little known vocoder. Billy Wolfer’s electronic version in 1982 featured the artist on the vocoder, and Michael Jackson — who had been party to the Jackson 5’s live cover in 1973 — contributing to the background vocals. In 1996 Isaac Hayes, who clearly influenced Whitfield in both of his versions, finally got around to recording Papa Was A Rolling Stone, live with Soul II Soul.

A couple of other versions of the 30 featured here are worth mentioning. Malik Adouane gives it the Arab-Funk treatment, and Los Lobos’ soft acoustic version is quite splendid. I’ll spare us the recent versions by Phil Collins and Craig David.

Back to The Temptation’s version, here are the vocal leads:

Dennis Edwards:
It was the third of September.
That day I’ll always remember, yes I will.
’Cause that was the day that my daddy died.
I never got a chance to see him.
Never heard nothing but bad things about him.
Mama, I’m depending on you, tell me the truth.
And Mama just hung her head and said,

ALL (lead Edwards)
“Son, Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.
Papa was a rolling stone, my son.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.”

Edwards
Well, well.
Hey Mama, is it true what they say,
that Papa never worked a day in his life?

Melvin Franklin
And Mama, bad talk going around town
saying that Papa had three outside children and another wife.
And that ain’t right.

Richard Street
Heard some talk about Papa doing some store front preaching.
Talking about saving souls and all the time leeching.
Dealing in debt and stealing in the name of the Lord.
Mama just hung her head and said,

All (lead Street)
“Papa was a rolling stone, my son.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.
Hey, Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.”

Damon Harris
Hey Mama, I heard Papa call himself a jack of all trade,
Tell me is that what sent Papa to an early grave?
Folk say Papa would beg, borrow, steal to pay his bill.
Richard Street
Hey Mama, folk say that Papa was never much on thinking,
Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking.
Damon Harris
Mama, I’m depending on you to tell me the truth.
Mama looked up with a tear in her eye and said,
All (lead Harris)
“Son, Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.
Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.
I said, Papa was a rolling stone. Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.”

This post is obviously in tribute to Harris and Street, both whom died last month (as noted in last week’s In Memoriam post).

Here are the featured versions:

The Undisputed Truth (1971) • The Temptations (1972) • Stevie Wonder (1972) • Jay Berliner • Fausto Papetti (1973) • The Pioneers (1973) • Roy Ayers (1973) • The Jackson 5 (1973) • The Temptations (live, 1973) •  Gene Ammons (1973) • Sidney, George and Jackie (1973) • 20th Century Steel Band (1975) • Bill Wolfer (1982) • Precious Wilson (1983) • Was (Not Was) (1990) • South Central Cartel (1992) • Isaac Hayes & Soul II Soul (1996) • Third World (1996) • Los Lobos (1999) • Paul Bollenback (1999) • Ray Brown, John Clayton, Christian McBride (2001) • Malik Adouane (2002) • Lee Ritenour feat Lisa Fischer & Chris Botti (2003) • Leningrad Cowboys (2003) • Rare Earth (2005) • Horace Andy (2005) • Gilbert Montagné (2006) • Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry (2009) • Papa John Defrancesco (2011)

GET IT or HERE

And while we’re on the subject of old soul, check out this excellent article in SPIN on R&B legend Swamp Dogg, who, it’s fair to say, has his share of great stories to tell and opinions to state.

And more pictures from Soul Train on my Flickr series.

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More Song Swarms

 

The Grim Reaper wreaked mayhem in the short month of February. He took some beloved musicians from us — people such as Cecil Womack and Donald Byrd — and at least one who entertained us with his eccentricities. It’s worth it finding the recording of the Troggs members in argument; on the notorious “Troggs Tape”, Reg Presley (picture 1), whose rendition of Wild Thing was punk a decade before it was invented, is acting with the decorum we might associate with the genre he presaged.

With his brothers, Cecil Womack (2) was a member of The Valentinos in the 1960s. The group was discovered by Sam Cooke. In 1977 Cecil married Sam’s daughter Linda (after Cooke’s death, brother Bobby had married Sam’s widow, but that didn’t last long enough to create hilarious fun and games at family reunions). With Linda, Cecil formed the great soul duo Womack & Womack. He also wrote for other acts, including The O’Jays, Patti LaBelle, Teddy Pendergrass, George Benson and his first wife, Mary Wells. The featured version of Love T.K.O., a hit for Pendergrass, is the original.

Two members of The Temptations died this month within just over a week from one another: Richard Street (3), a member from 1971-93, and Damon Harris (4) (1971-75, returning later). Both appeared on Papa Was A Rolling Stone. Harris did the remarkable falsetto, Street was a tenor. Street’s other great contribution to pop music was to coach a Detroit trio of girls who would soon come to be known as The Supremes. From the two essential Temptations line-ups, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, David Ruffin, Richard Street and Damon Harris are now dead. Only Otis Williams and Dennis Edwards are still alive.

It is always sad to hear of the last surviving member of anything big passing. So it is with Paul Tanner (5), a name few would have remembered. He outlived all former members of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, in which he was the trombonist from 1938-42. Tanner also co-developed the electrotheremin, which was played by Tanner on Beach Boys songs like I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times, Wild Honey and Good Vibration (it’s that high-pitched sound in the chorus and in the fade out).

Diehard soul fans will recognise the name Darlene McCrea (6), member of The Cookies. That band is also rather forgotten; still they recorded the original of The Beatles’ Chains and the first (unreleased) version of On Broadway. They also did backing vocals on hits such Little Eva’s The Locomotion and later morphed into The Raelettes, Ray Charles backing singers. Darlene was also the older sister of one-time Cookie Earl-Jean.

Soul fans will also mourn the death of Cleotha ‘Cleedi’ Staples (7), the oldest of Pops’ daughters in The Staple Singers. Cleotha never really got lead vocal duties — that was Mavis’ job — but what would the Staple Singers have been without the backing vocals?

Beatles fans will be saddened to learn of the death of Tony Sheridan (8), a British singer with whom The Beatles, still with Pete Best , recorded a Bert Kaempfert-produced album, going by the name The Beat Brothers, because the names Beatles sounded too much like a northern German slang word for urinating. That LP featured the first Beatles composition (Cry For A Shadow, credited to Harrison/Lennon) and the single which led Brian Epstein to the group, My Bonnie.

Two artists died of suicide in February: Italian techno musician Mo-Do, who was particularly popular in Germany, and country star Mindy McCready (9). For McCready, this was the final of several suicide attempts over the years. She was dogged by controversy, some of her own making, and evidently had mental health issues which she did not address because she feared the effect of the stigma attached to them. It is shocking that such fears should still persist, and McCready’s life stands an indictment of a society that continues to fail to eradicate the prejudice attached to mental health. McCready shot herself on the very spot on her porch on which her boyfriend (and father of her youngest child) had killed himself a month earlier. Spare a thought (or, if you are inclined to, a prayer) for her children, and especially for the poor kid who lost both of his parents to suicide.

Ken Hodges, 76, singer and bassist with Spanky & Our Gang a.o., on January 29
Spanky and Our Gang – Like to Get To Know You (1968)

Cecil Womack, 65, soul singer and songwriter, on February 1
The Valentinos – Lookin’ For A Love (1962)
Womack & Womack – Baby I’m Scared Of You Baby (1984)
David Oliver – Love T.K.O.  (1980, as songwriter)

Reg Presley, 71, singer of The Troggs, on February 4
The Troggs – With A Girl Like You (1966)

Darlene ‘Ethel’ McCrea, member of R&B band The Cookies and The Raelettes, on February 4
The Cookies – Don’t Say Nothin’ Bad (About My Baby) (1963)
Darlene McCrea – My Heart’s Not In It (1964)

Donald Byrd, 80, jazz trumpeter, founder of jazz-funk band The Blackbyrds, on February 4
George Wallington & Donald Byrd Quintette – Snakes (1955)
Donald Byrd – House Of The Rising Sun (1965)
The Blackbyrds – Gut Level (1974)

Pat Halcox, 82, British jazz trumpeter and singer, on February 4

Paul Tanner, 95, trombonist and last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, on February 5
Glenn Miller and his Orchestra – King Porter Stomp (1938)
Beach Boys  – Wild Honey (1967, on electrotheremin)

Mo-Do, 46, Italian techno musician, of suicide on February 6

Jon Cook, 40, bassist of ’90s hardcore band Crain, on February 9

Rick Huxley, 72, bassist of The Dave Clark Five, on February 11
Dave Clark Five – Catch Us If You Can (1965)

Kevin Peek, 66, Australian guitarist and member of Sky, on February 11
Sky –Toccata (1980)

Trevor Grills, 54, singer of British sea shanty group Fisherman’s Friends, on February 11

Ben Todd, 24, punk musician with D.Watusi and record label founder, on September 12

George ‘Shadow’ Morton, 72, songwriter and record producer (The Shangri-Las, Vanilla Fudge, Janis Ian, Iron Butterfly), on February 14
The Shangri-Las – Leader Of The Pack (1963, as songwriter and producer)
Janis Ian – Society’s Child Baby I’ve Been Thinking (1967, as producer)

Tim Dog, 46, rapper, on February 14

Mark Kamins, 57, DJ who discovered Madonna, on February 14
Madonna – Everybody (1982, as producer)

Goldie Harvey, 29, Nigerian R&B and pop singer, on February 14

Dennis Palmer, 55, synthesizer player and visual artist, co- founder of Shaking Ray Levis, on February 15

Francisco Fellove, 89, Cuban soul singer and songwriter, on February 15

Tony Sheridan, 72, English singer, early collaborator with The Beatles, on February 16
Tony Sheridan with The Beat Brothers – The Saints (1962)

Lanier Greig, 64, organist and original member of ZZ Top, on February 16
ZZ Top – Salt Lick (1969)

Stanley Knight, 63, guitarist with southern rock band Black Oak Arkansas, on February 16
Black Oak Arkansas – Back Door Man (1975)

Mindy McCready, 37, country singer, suicide on February 17
Mindy McCready – I’m Still Here (2008)

Mike Westhues, 64, US-born, Finnish-based singer-songwriter and guitarist, on February 17

Shmulik Kraus, 77, Israeli actor and pop singer, on February 17

Damon Harris, 62, first tenor/falsetto singer with The Temptations (1971-75), on February 18
The Temptations – Love Woke Me Up This Morning (1972)

Kevin Ayers, 68, English psychedelic rock musician (Soft Machine), on February 18
Soft Machine – Joy Of A Toy (1968)
Kevin Ayers feat Syd Barrett – Religious Experience (Singing A Song In The Morning) (1970)

Cleotha Staples, 77, member of The Staples Singers, on February 21
The Staple Singers – Don’t Knock (1960)
The Staple Singers – Brand New Day (1970)

Magic Slim, 75, blues singer and guitarist, on February 21
Magic Slim & The Teardrops – Crazy Woman (1998)

Kenny Clutch, 27, rapper, assassinated on February 21

Norma Zenteno, 60, Latin/jazz/rock singer and guitarist, on February 21

Diane Lampert, 89, songwriter for Brenda Lee, Red Foley a.o., on February 22
Brenda Lee – Break It To Me Gently (1961)

Virgil Johnson, 77, leader of doo-wop band The Velvets, on February 24
The Velvets – Tonight (Could Be The Night) (1961)

‘Dangerous’ Dan Toler, 64, guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and Gregg Allman Band, on February 25
The Allman Brothers Band – Crazy Love (1979)

Richard Street, 70, singer with The Temptations (1971-93), on February 27
The Temptations – Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are) (1972)

Daniel Darc, 53, singer of French new wave group Taxi Girl, on February 28
Taxi Girl – Cherchez le garçon (1980)

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