Guitarist Steve Cropper has died, aged 84. His signature sound was what made Stax Records the cream of the crop for soul music in the 60s. He was a member of Booker T. & the M.G.'s and the go-to 6-string maestro for artists such as Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, and Carla Thomas. He was one of those rare musicians that are instantly recognizable, even after hearing only one note.
Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull has died at the age of 78 in London. She had one of the greatest voices in modern music, overcame terrible odds, at one time being a homeless junkie in Soho, and became an icon in her own right, not just Mick Jagger's girlfriend.
She was a peerless interpreter of the works of Weill and Brecht. In her later years she worked with Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, and PJ Harvey. And Keith Richards is adamant that it is was her, who wrote the lyrics for Sister Morphine, although she never got a writing credit for it.
Recording engineer and musician Steve Albini only made to 61. He died from a heart attack at his home in Chicago on May 7. He was the producer who made PJ Harvey and the Pixies sound great. He worked fast and did not care about effects. As a member of uncompromising noise bands like Big Black, Pigboy and Shellac he released a string of albums that made waves that were far bigger than the sales they generated. He hated the suits, and he suits hated him.
Guitarist Sturgis Nikides succumbed to an agressive form of cancer on April 9. He was 66. He started out in the NYC punk in the late Seventies, before becoming a member of John Cale's band in 1979 - he can be heard on the Mercenaries single and the Honi Soit album. Via a stay in Miami where he played with Diane Ward in hard-hitting rock band Voidville, he ended up in Memphis. Once he settled down, he founded the screaming blues band Low Society with his wife Mandy Lemons Nikides on vocals. The band became a showcase for his versatility on resonator and slide guitar. The band released three highly acclaimed albums: High Time You Can't Keep A Good Woman Down, and Sanctified.
From one Can vocalist to another: Malcolm "Desse" Mooney has posted a poem for Damo Suzuki on Can's Instagram:
Days have gone by
CAN this be
A member has to say farewell
But joins other "BROTHERS in the SKY'
NO need to cry,
They have left music so you can understand the bye and bye the journey
where your ears take over
and you start to fly
to hear the overtones the rhythms the decisions made
to create a trance
to dance
and shake your head wondering when the trance would release you and in which world
would you land.
So, Damo, Rest in Power
Malcolm "Desse" Mooney (c) 2024
Former Can singer Damo Suzuki succumbed to colon cancer yesterday. He was 74. He never trained as a vocalist and made things up on the spot, a master improviser who sounded like nobody else. After leaving Can, he gave up music for a decade, before returing as a performer. He started Damo Suzuki's Network, with himself as the sole constant member, playing for audiences who could appreciate his "without-a-net" approach.
Canadian guitarist Robbie Robertson, best known for his work with the highly influential quintet The Band, has died. He was 80 years old. As a songwriter he was the (co-)author of classics like The Weight, The Shape I’m In, Up on Cripple Creek and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. After the group split years of hassles followed, with singer and drummer Levon Helm as his most vocal opponent.
Singer and guitarist Tom Verlaine, the frontman of Television, has died after a brief illness. He was 73. With his instantly recognizable guitar tone, using lots of vibrato, he stood in the NYC punk in the late '70s. The band's Marquee Moon and Adventure are considered classics. He was a versatile solo artist and played one and off with Patti Smith, Luna, and was part of the short-lived supergroup Million Dollar Bashers.
Guitar maestro Jeff Beck has died from contracting bacterial meningitis, aged 78. He was the guitarist's guitarist, a rocker who became a jazz-fusion pioneer. His tone was impeccable, all the way from his days as member of The Yardbirds, The Jeff Beck Group, and as a versatile solo artist, getting sounds from his white Fender Stratocaster that were truly unique.
Tape Op has an in depth article about the recently deceased Moog synth pioneer Herb Deutsch. Without him electronic music would have taken way longer to catch on. He is the man behind the keyboard interface among other things that were essential for the instrument to become playable and start a sonic revolution.
Gary Brooker, the singer and pianist of influential English band Procol Harum, has succumbed to cancer. He was 76. This obituary posted on the band's website:
With the deepest regret we must announce the death on 19 February 2022 of Gary Brooker MBE, singer, pianist and composer of Procol Harum, and a brightly-shining, irreplaceable light in the music industry. Aged 76, he had been receiving treatment for cancer, but died peacefully at home.
From his earliest onstage duets with his musician father, through his youthful recording career with Southend’s The Paramounts, Gary exhibited and developed a highly-individual talent. His first single with Procol Harum, 1967’s A Whiter Shade of Pale, is widely regarded as defining ‘The Summer of Love’, yet it could scarcely have been more different from the characteristic records of that era.
Nor was it characteristic of his own writing. Over thirteen albums Procol Harum never sought to replicate it, preferring to forge a restlessly progressive path, committed to looking forward, and making each record a ‘unique entertainment’. Gary’s voice and piano were the single defining constant of Procol’s fifty-year international concert career. Without any stage antics or other gimmicks he was invariably the most watchable musician in the show (he played several other instruments in the studio).
Singer and actor Meat Loaf, who put the boom in bombast with his Bat Out of Hell album, has died. He was 74. Born Michael Lee Aday he became a bigger than life performer, always giving his all and not giving a fuck about being famous.
Fifty-one years ago Jimi Hendrix died at the Samarkand Hotel, 22 Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill in London. He was only 27. Tons of books have been written about the greatest guitarist of all time. He released only four albums during his career, but his extensive posthumous discography keeps growing nearly every year. Some of it is for hardcore afficonados only, but especially the songs for a fourth studio album and lot s of the live stuff is essential listening.
Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, whose groove made the band rock and swing since he joined them in 1963, has died. Besides laying down the beat his art skills were put to good use for record sleeves and stage design. A statement from his agency: "It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts. He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family."
Mick Jagger often told the crowd that "Charlie is good tonight, inne". He was good on any night. Watts had already bowed out of the upcoming Stones tour, due to health issues. His replacement Steve Jordan will be having an even harder time now.
— Keith Richards (@officialKeef) August 24, 2021
Dusty Hill, the rock solid bass player of ZZ Top, has died in his sleep, aged 72. His fellow band members Frank Beard and Billy Gibbons on the band's Facebook:
We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX. We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top'. We will forever be connected to that "Blues Shuffle in C.”
You will be missed greatly, amigo.
Frank & Billy
Guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, best known as a member of the New York Dolls, succumbed to cancer aged 69. The news was confirmed on his official Facebook page:
As most of you know, Sylvain battled cancer for the past two and 1/2 years. Though he fought it valiantly, yesterday he passed away from this disease. While we grieve his loss, we know that he is finally at peace and out of pain. Please crank up his music, light a candle, say a prayer and let’s send this beautiful doll on his way.
Gerry Marsden, leader of Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers, is dead at 78. He scored huge hits in the early Sixties with songs like How Do You Do It?, I Like It and Ferry Cross the Mersey. But it was the cover of You'll Never Walk Alone that will be forever associated with him. The song was adopted by Liverpool FC as their anthem, and tons of other football teams all over the world followed suit.
Leslie West, founding member of the pioneering hardd-hitting blues rock band Mountain is dead at 75. He suffered a heart attack, which proved to be fatal. His signature sound was an inspiration for players like Slash, Eddie Van Halen and Joe Bonamassa. he made the use of P-90 pickups on a Gibson Les Paul quite popular.
West was a lifelong sufferer from Diabetes. His leg was amputated above the knee in June 2011 during a life-saving surgery in June 2011, but that did not stop him from hitting the road to promote his guest-filled solo album Unusual Suspects.
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Spencer Davis, bandleader with the UK R&B band the Spencer Davis Group, has died in hospital yesterday, while being treated for pneumonia. He became a household name in the Sixties when his band scored hits with Gimme Some Lovin’ - written by bandmember Steve Winwood, Keep On Running, Somebody Help Me and I’m a Man. He became a huge part of the success of the Island label in the Seventies, launching the career of Robert Palmer and Winwood's solo outings.
Fifty years ago Jimi Hendrix died at the Samarkand Hotel, 22 Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill in London. He was only 27. Tons of books have been written about the greatest guitarist of all time. He released only four albums during his career, but his extensive posthumous discography keeps growing nearly every year. The latest addition is Live In Maui, comprising of the recording of both shows he played for (the really bad) Rainbow Bridge movie and yet another documentary, Music, Money, Madness . . . Jimi Hendrix In Maui, plus all the existing footage of the the performances.
