Van Halen – Eruption / You Really Got Me
Eddie Van Halen Died Oct 6, 2020
Years of jumping around on stage took a toll on Eddie. He had hip-replacement surgery in 1999. He also had cancer in his throat and tongue, which caused him to lose part of his tongue. That cancer claimed his life on October 6, 2020 – he was 65.
Eddie had serious stage fright, and the only way he could perform early on was by having some drinks beforehand, which was something his dad suggested. He quickly became a very high-functioning alcoholic, but his drinking had a profound effect on his health, his personal relationships, and the band. He credited his wife Janie Liszewski, whom he met in 2006, with getting him sober, which he finally did around 2009. For most of 2008, Eddie sat around the house watching television and weaning himself off of alcohol.
Bill Withers – Ain’t No Sunshine
Died March 30, 2020
His first single, “Ain’t No Sunshine” peaked at #3 in the US and won a Grammy award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song (1972). After “Grandma’s Hands” stalled at #42, Sussex Records released his second LP, Still Bill, from which he had the two biggest hits of his career, the #1 “Lean on Me” and the #2 “Use Me.” The former was composed in the late ’60s while he was working at Lockheed Aircraft. A live LP yielded a mid-size hit, #31 “Kissing My Love,” in 1973.
He wrote and provided vocal for Grover Washington Jr’s #2 “Just the Two of Us” in 1981.
Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac – No Place To Go
Died July 25th, 2020
English blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist.[3] As the founder of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Green’s songs, such as “Albatross“, “Black Magic Woman“, “Oh Well“, “The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)” and “Man of the World“, appeared on singles charts, and several have been adapted by a variety of musicians.
Green was a major figure in the “second great epoch”[4] of the British blues movement. Eric Clapton praised his guitar playing, and B.B. King commented, “He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats.”[5][6][7] Green was interested in expressing emotion in his songs, rather than showing off how fast he could play.[8] His trademark sound included string bending, vibrato, and economy of style.[4][9]
In June 1996, Green was voted the third-best guitarist of all time in Mojo magazine.[10][11] Rolling Stone ranked him at number 58 in its list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.[12] Green’s tone on the instrumental “The Super-Natural” was rated as one of the 50 greatest of all time by Guitar Player.
Green was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent time in psychiatric hospitals undergoing electroconvulsive therapy during the mid-1970s. Many sources attest to his lethargic, trancelike state during this period.[35] In 1977, Green was arrested for threatening his accountant David Simmons with a shotgun. The exact circumstances are the subject of much speculation, the most famous being that Green wanted Simmons to stop sending money to him.[36] In the 2011 BBC documentary Peter Green: Man of the World,[37] Green stated that at the time he had just returned from Canada needing money and that, during a telephone conversation with his accounts manager, he alluded to the fact that he had brought back a gun from his travels. His accounts manager promptly called the police, who surrounded Green’s house.
Green was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent time in psychiatric hospitals undergoing electroconvulsive therapy during the mid-1970s. Many sources attest to his lethargic, trancelike state during this period.[35] In 1977, Green was arrested for threatening his accountant David Simmons with a shotgun. The exact circumstances are the subject of much speculation, the most famous being that Green wanted Simmons to stop sending money to him.[36] In the 2011 BBC documentary Peter Green: Man of the World,[37] Green stated that at the time he had just returned from Canada needing money and that, during a telephone conversation with his accounts manager, he alluded to the fact that he had brought back a gun from his travels. His accounts manager promptly called the police, who surrounded Green’s house.
Charlie Daniels- Devil Went Down to Georgia
Died July 6, 2020
Charlie Daniels was born in Wilmington, North Carolina. He married his wife, Hazel, in 1963, and was with her until his death in 2020 (Daniels died at 83 after having a stroke).
Daniels also recorded and toured with Leonard Cohen. He played the Isle of Wight Festival alongside Cohen in 1970. “That was real nice but we played second to last before Richie Havens came out and closed the show after three solid days of music,” he said. “Leonard’s music is so fragile that if there are a lot of people hollering and carrying on, you can’t concentrate on it properly. If people aren’t almost reverently quiet, then it just destroys it and that’s what happened at some festival we played in France right after the Isle of Wight.”
In 1979, Daniels’ song “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” charted at #3 on the Hot 100, crossing from country to pop. The song received the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance that same year. This track features in the film, Urban Cowboy, in which Daniels makes a cameo.
Kenny Rogers- The Gambler
Died March 20, 2020
Born in Houston, Texas, Kenny Rogers is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer and actor who began performing in his teens. Known as a Country singer though his work crossed genre, his hits such as “Lucille” appeared on both the Pop and Country charts. Several collaborations gained popularity, notably with Dolly Parton, Aretha Franklin and Alison Krauss. His influence has been widely noted in the music industry, for composing, arranging, performance and production.
Rogers continued to diversify his activities, often appearing at benefit concerts and charitable causes. In response to the hugely successful Feed the World campaign in Britain, Kenny took Harry Belafonte’s idea and formed the coalition behind We Are The World in 1985. Recording of the Michael Jackson-Lionel Richie anthem originated in Rogers’ music studio. The following year, Kenny was instrumental in launching the Hands Across America project, yet another anti-hunger initiative. Over six million people joined hands in a show of solidarity and part of the large national fund raiser.
Kenny Rogers is a well-respected photographer. He was invited to the White House in 1993 to create a portrait of then first lady Hillary Clinton
Neil Peart – Drummer for Rush
Tom Sawyer 4.58
Died January 7th, 2020
Neil Peart pronounces his last name “Peert,” which many outside of Canada mispronounce as “pert,” including Jack Black’s character, Dewey Finn, in the movie School of Rock
They’re from Toronto, where they are held in very high esteem. In 1979, the Canadian government named them “Official Ambassadors Of Music.”
Peart’s daughter Selena was killed in a car accident in 1997. Tragedy struck again when his wife, Jacqueline, died of cancer the following year. Peart remarried in 2000.
Peart writes most of the lyrics. Their original drummer, John Rutsey, left the band due to creative differences and complications with his diabetes. He became a bodybuilder.
Peart was for many years rumored to possess a doctorate degree. He does not, and has never even completed high school. Despite this, he does appear to be one of the more intelligent and literate of songwriters.
Peart’s lyrics, especially early on, centered around mythological, sci-fi and fantasy themes. He never writes about sex or drugs.
Neil Peart developed brain cancer in 2016 but kept the news to his inner circle. He died on January 7, 2020, but the announcement wasn’t made until three days later. The last Rush tour was their R40 Live trek in 2015.
Hux Brown &
Toots Hibbert
Sept 11, 2020
Toots & The Mayhall
Toots and the Maytals, originally called The Maytals, were a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. Frontman Toots Hibbert is considered a Reggae pioneer on a par with Bob Marley.
The first Toots and the Maytals album released and distributed by Chris Blackwell‘s Island Records was Funky Kingston. Music critic Lester Bangs described the album in Stereo Review as “perfection, the most exciting and diversified set of reggae tunes by a single artist yet released.”[16] Chris Blackwell had a strong commitment to Toots and the Maytals, saying “I’ve known Toots longer than anybody – much longer than Bob [Bob Marley]. Toots is one of the purest human beings I’ve met in my life, pure almost to a fault.”[17]
In 1970, the band first charted overseas with “Monkey Man” reaching No. 47 in Britain.[3]
Hibbert also appeared in the groundbreaking Jamaican film The Harder They Come, in which his band sings “Sweet and Dandy”.[18] The film’s soundtrack included the Maytals’ 1969 hit song “Pressure Drop“.[19] The Harder They Come features fellow musician and actor Jimmy Cliff in the leading role as Ivan, a character whose story resembles Hibbert’s
Hux Brown later joined the touring version of Toots and the Maytals, where he remained for some 35 year
Spencer Davis – Gimme Some Lovin (Big Chill Soundtrack Version)
Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 1939 – 19 October 2020) was a Welsh singer and musician. He founded The Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including “Keep On Running“, “Gimme Some Lovin’“, and “I’m a Man“, all sung by Steve Winwood. Davis subsequently enjoyed success as an A&R executive with Island Records
In 1963, Davis went to the Golden Eagle in Birmingham to see the Muff Wood Jazz band, a traditional jazz band featuring Muff Winwood and his younger brother, Steve Winwood. Davis persuaded them to join him and drummer Pete York as the Rhythm and Blues Quartet. Davis performed on guitar, vocals and harmonica, Steve Winwood on guitar, organ and vocals, Muff Winwood on bass and Pete York on drums.[8] Reportedly, they adopted the name The Spencer Davis Group because Davis was the only band member who agreed to press interviews, allowing the other band members to sleep longer.[1][4] The group’s live reputation attracted the attention of Island Records founder Chris Blackwell who signed the group to its first contract and became their manager.[1] The group had No. 1 hits in the UK with consecutive single releases in 1966 (“Keep On Running” and “Somebody Help Me“). Steve Winwood sang lead vocals on all the Spencer Davis Group’s hits up to “I’m a Man” in 1967.[8]
The Spencer Davis Group continued after Winwood left to form Traffic in April 1967. The group recorded two more albums before splitting in 1969. Another version of the group with Davis and York appeared in 1973 and disbanded in late 1974. Various incarnations of the band toured in later years under Davis’s direction.[1][8]
Adam Schlesinger – Bass Player for Fountains of Wayne
That Thing You Do!
Adam Schlesinger, bass player for Fountains Of Wayne, wrote this song. In a 2011 Songfacts interview with Schlesinger, he revealed how the track made its way into the movie: “That was a very long time ago. That was 1995 I think I first heard about it, or ’96, and I was just starting out. I had a publishing deal as a writer and they told me about this movie – they said that they were looking for something that sounds like early Beatles. And they knew that that was an era that I liked a lot. So I just took a shot at it and got very lucky and they used the song.”
Schlesinger said he found he was more known for this song than Fountains of Wayne’s hit single “Stacy’s Mom.”
On April 1, 2020, Schlesinger died of COVID-19-related complications at a hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York, amid a coronavirus pandemic in New York; he was 52.[38][7][39][4] He had been hospitalized and placed on a ventilator for over a week prior to his death.
Lynn Evans – The Chordettes Lollipop
Died Feb 6, 2020
Also voiced Mr. Sandman
Lynn Evans Mand, who was plucked from obscurity to become the lead singer of the Chordettes, performing with them during the height of their fame in the 1950s and ’60s on songs like the instantly recognizable hits “Mr. Sandman” and “Lollipop,” died on Feb. 6 at a care facility in Elyria, Ohio. She was 95.
Her grandson Robert Evans II said the cause was a stroke.
The Chordettes began in the 1940s in Sheboygan, Wis., as an all-woman barbershop quartet. They appeared regularly on Arthur Godfrey’s popular radio and television shows.
In 1953 Ms. Evans, as she was known at the time, was a case worker for the Red Cross and sang with an amateur barbershop quartet in Youngstown, Ohio. One day the Chordettes came through town for a performance, and Ms. Evans had a chance to sit in.
The members of the group were so impressed with her voice that when the time came to replace one of the original Chordettes, Dorothy Schwartz, who was leaving to have a child, Ms. Evans was asked to audition for the spot. She won it.
David Roback – Fade Into You Founder of Mazzy Star
Feb 24, 2020
American guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as a founding member of the duo Mazzy Star.
While promoting the album, Smith acrimoniously exited the band while they were partway through a tour opening for The Jesus and Mary Chain.[5] She was replaced by Hope Sandoval, but this lineup never released an album; they changed the name of the band to Mazzy Star in 1989.[6] Mazzy Star released three albums in the 1990s: She Hangs Brightly (1990), So Tonight That I Might See (1993), and Among My Swan (1996), making their commercial breakthrough with the 1994 single “Fade into You” before going on hiatus
He passed away from cancer at 61.
Little Richard – Tutti Frutti
May 9, 2020
Little Richard was born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Georgia. He was one of twelve children; “Little Richard” was his childhood nickname, and even though he was not a little adult (almost 6 feet tall), he kept the name. His family listened to singers like Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald. Richard couldn’t find any music he liked, so he created it.
In 1957, he left the music business to pursue a life as a minister. As a child, he wanted to be part of the church, so as an adult he enrolled in Oakwood Theological College in Huntsville, Alabama. During his studies there, the British Invasion took over the musical landscape and Little Richard returned to rock ‘n roll. In 1970, he earned a BA in Theological Studies at Oakwood and became an ordained minister in the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Little Richard grew up in a time and place – the American South – that could be very difficult for a black man. He never sang about racism, however, and downplayed his numerous encounters with racism, preferring to focus on the positive things that bring us together. Richard said on the subject: “We are all God’s bouquet, we all need each other the same as the birds need air.” He’s also maintained that homosexuals are equal in the eyes of God, stating: “God don’t just have Heaven for the straight man. Heaven is for all of us if we do his will.”
Richard says he started wearing make-up to make himself less threatening when he played for white audiences. He felt he could avert a lot of trouble if it looked like he had no interest in the white women screaming for him. His focus was on the music and entertaining, and the make-up helped facilitate that.
Regarding his sexuality, Little Richard told his biographer Charles White: “We are all both male and female. Sex to me is like a smorgasbord. Whatever I feel like, I go for. What kind of sexual am I? I am omnisexual.” He was married to a woman from 1959-1961. He never fathered a child but did adopt a son named Danny Jones.
Ennio Morricone – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Ennio Morricone (10 November 1928 – 6 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpet player who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classical works, Morricone is widely considered as one of the most prolific and greatest film composers of all time.[2][3] His filmography includes more than 70 award-winning films
Morricone lived in Italy his entire life and never desired to live in Hollywood. The New York Times Magazine listed him among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
He was nominated for a further six Oscars, and in 2016, received his only competitive Academy Award for his score to Quentin Tarantino’s film The Hateful Eight, at the time becoming the oldest person ever to win a competitive Oscar. His other achievements include three Grammy Awards, three Golden Globes, six BAFTAs, ten David di Donatello, eleven Nastro d’Argento, two European Film Awards, the Golden Lion Honorary Award, and the Polar Music Prize in 2010. Morricone influenced many artists from film scoring to other styles and genres, including Hans Zimmer,[13] Danger Mouse,[14] Dire Straits,[15] Muse,[16] Metallica,[17] Fields of the Nephilim, [18] and Radiohead.[19]
Ronald Khalis Bell Kool & The Gang
Sept 9, 2020
Ronald Nathan Bell (November 1, 1951 – September 9, 2020), also known as Khalis Bayyan,[1] was an American composer, singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, saxophonist and co-founding member of Kool & the Gang. The band recorded nine No. 1 R&B singles in the 1970s and 80s, including its No. 1 pop single “Celebration“.[2] The group is honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[3]
Ronald Bell composed, arranged, produced and performed some of the most popular music.[13] He was a self-taught musician, and his distinctive sound is on the group’s horn lines, bass, synthesizer and vocals. He wrote and produced many of the Kool & the Gang’s songs, including “Celebration“, “Cherish“, “Jungle Boogie“, “Summer Madness“, and “Open Sesame“.[14] He said his favorite song was “Celebration”,
gré records and coffee 