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Stephen Sondheim. I wrote about him and I’m sure you’ve read something about his passing somewhere. What else is there to say other than he was one of the giants of musical theater, and American music in the 20th century.
Michael Nesmith: Texas’s own Monkee passed away this year. Nesmith was a quiet figure on the show but very outspoken, otherwise.
Robbie Shakespeare: A famous reggae music bassist whose career spanned just shy of 50 years, “Shakespeare collaborated with artists as varied as Madonna, Bob Dylan, No Doubt, Peter Tosh, the Rolling Stones and Grace Jones.”
Marilyn McLeod: McLeod wrote hit songs for Motown acts during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including Diana Ross’ “Love Hangover”
Joanne Shenandoah: A legendary Native American musician. A citizen of Oneida Nation, Wolf Clan, of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois) Confederacy in upstate New York, Shenandoah blazed a trail in both mainstream and Native audiences.
“Every word we speak; every song we sing; the songs which we subject ourselves to, whether in the womb, or as an elder, these songs affect us in very powerful and meaning ways. They can actually help to destroy us or they can help to heal us. In iroqouis way, music is an integral part of who we are. So there are songs that celebrate all elements of the earth. There are songs that will quicken your death. There are songs to sing to the plants and the medicines so that they will fulfill their responsibility. So walking upon this earth is pretty amazing. If you believe that you have a special gift, (which you do), if you use that in a good way, with a good mind, that gift actually helps to transform our entire being and it actually has a great effect on the earth.”
Burgess Gardner: Was a jazz trumpeter who played for 70 years “performing or recording with legends including Count Basie, Etta James, Louie Bellson, Ray Charles, the Dells, Woody Herman, B.B. King, King Kolax, Lou Rawls, Sammy Davis Jr., Koko Taylor and Sarah Vaughan.” He also taught music in Chicago public schools, and that alone makes him a most special individual.
Dave Frishberg: A jazz pianist and songwriter, he was probably best known for his musical contributions, including “I’m just a Bill,” to the animated Schoolhouse Rock!
Joe Siracusa: Started his career as a drummer for Spike Jones’ backing group the City Slickers.
Margo Guryan: Released an album of pop music in 1968 that quickly flopped as she chose not to go out on tour to promote it. Three decades later her music found an audience overseas. At the time, she told the Los Angeles Times, “People say I’ve been rediscovered. It’s not true — I’ve been discovered.”
Ronnie Wilson: Wilson founded The Gap Band. Their most recognized song is probably “Outstanding,” but this song always got me.
Emmett Chapman: Remember those guitars and basses that looked like just the neck of the instruments? They were popular in the 1980s. That was all Chapman. Those instruments are called “Chapman Sticks.”
Ginny Mancini: Was a big-band singer and the widow of famous composer Henry Mancini, and was a well-known philanthropist, starting the Society of Singers in 1984 to try and help professional singers in need.
Willie Cobbs: Harmonica bluesman Cobbs was an Arkansas native. “My uncle had a store, and those guys were pushing Sonny Boy meal and flour, and they’d play on the back of a truck after they’d run a cord into our store. That’s when I got my first dose of music, and I left for Chicago at 16. I got up there and played with Sonny Boy and Little Walter and Eddie Boyd and others.”
Sonny Osborne: Was one of the Osbourne Brothers that made up the innovative bluegrass group that released albums from the 1950s on. Sonny was a world-renowned banjo player.
Jay Black: Black was the “Jay” in Jay and the Americans pop group of the 1960s. You might remember “Come a Little Bit Closer,” by Jay and the Americans. It’s a banger.
Tommy DeBarge: Thomas Keith DeBarge was one of the original artistic forces of the DeBarge music family. Like the rest of his family he dealt with a lot of tragedy, addiction, and issues throughout his life, but the music was always good. Here’s Tommy on bass in 1978 on Soul Train.
Ronnie Tutt: He drummed for Elvis Presley, Jerry Garcia, and Neil Diamond, among others. Here his is live, but he’s also on the studio recording for “Burning Love.”
Paddy Moloney: He founded the Irish folk group The Chieftains, they played with everybody you’ve ever heard of. If you spent more than 15 minutes in a bar (that had a jukebox) in the 1990s, you heard a Chieftains song.
Carlisle Floyd: Was an opera composer and librettist, with an expansive collection of music that spanned more than 70 years.
Mike Renzi: He composed tons of music on the piano. If you’ve ever seen a famous jazz singer or crooner (or Mel Tormé) with a piano accompaniment, there’s a good chance the person on the piano is Renzi. He also worked as the music director for Sesame Street, for a time.
Julia Nixon: She replaced Jennifer Holliday in the Broadway production of “Dreamgirls,” and headlined throughout the Washington, D.C., area as a singer for four decades.
Dr Lonnie Smith: Considered a master of the Hammond organ. His sound is distinct and created a lot of imitators.
Pee Wee Ellis: A jazz saxophonist, he’s probably best known as James Brown’s musical director, Ellis arraigned one of the great songs in American history: “Say it loud!”
Sarah Dash: She was one part of the original LaBelle. Along with Nona Hendryx and Patti LaBelle, Dash made up an all-female singing group with hits throughout the 1970s. Their biggest hit, “Lady Marmalade,” has been covered far too many times to note.
Warner Williams: Was a blues guitarist, busking all over, but spending most of his life playing everywhere you could think of in Maryland.
Doc Gibbs: Known on television as the music director for Emeril Live, Gibbs was a revered percussionist. Born in Philadelphia, “Doc would go on to appear on more than 200 albums and tour the world playing with some of the greatest jazz, pop, R&B, and soul artists of our era, including George Benson, Nancy Wilson, Bob James, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Whitney Houston, Bob James, Ricki Lee Jones, Wyclef Jean, Erykah Badu, Eric Benet, and James Poyser, to name a few. Doc also served as an elected member of the Board of Governors of N.A.R.A.S. (National Association of Recording Artists and Sciences), Philadelphia chapter.”
Don Maddox: Maddox was the last surviving member of the legendary country, west coast honky-tonk band The Maddox Brothers & Rose (their sister). Maddox told Ken Burns that his brother’s innovative “slap bass” that changed the drive of old hillbilly standards into a new genre was simply a necessity. “It was born from that slap bass. Because Fred didn’t know what the notes were, he just slapped it for rhythm. We didn’t call it ’rockabilly.’ We called it ‘Okie boogie.’”
Lee Williams: An award-winning gospel music artist, his group Lee Williams and the Spiritual QC’s had been making music since the 1960s.
Kenny Malone: He drummed for Dolly Parton and Waylon Jennings. He worked with Emmylou Harris, Barbara Mandrell, and Kenny Rogers.
Charlie Watts: He was the drummer for the Rolling Stones. Watts’ story about him punching Mick Jagger in the face is one of the great rock ‘n roll stories of all time.
Don Everly: One half of (and the last surviving member of) the Everly Brothers passed away this year.
Larry Harlow: Harlow was a prominent name in the world of salsa. Called “El Judío Maravilloso (The Jewish Marvel)” and born to Eastern European immigrant parents in New York City, Harlow ended up falling into the world of Afro-Cuban-rooted Latin music.
Nanci Griffith: Was a folk and country music singer who appeared numerous times over the years on the various iterations of David Letterman’s show.
Ronnell Bright: A jazz pianist and composer, Bright accompanied many of the greats, like Lena Horne and Sarah Vaughn. Here’s Bright on piano: Thanks for the memories.
Mike Finnigan: Another Hammond organ and keyboard legend. Finnegan came out of Kansas, and played with everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Bonnie Raitt, and Rod Stewart to Taj Mahal.
Razzy Bailey: Was a big country and western hitmaker with No. 1 hits like “Midnight Hauler” and “Loving Up a Storm.”
Paul Cotton: The lead guitarist, sometimes singer, and songwriter for the country-rock band Poco passed away in August 2021.
Charles Connor: Connor drummed for legends Sam Cooke and Little Richard. His daughter Queenie told the Associated Press that he was a “great father” and “was one of those drummers that was a bricklayer of creating that rock ‘n’ roll genre. He played behind so many legendary musicians in the 1950s. He was a loving grandfather and was very proud of his family and took a lot of pride in his contributions to rock ‘n’ roll.”
Dusty Hill: He was the bassist for ZZ Top. Hill and Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard were together for 50 years. Known for their trademark long beards, ZZ Top’s greatest strength was the fact that very few rock ‘n roll outfits have ever had a more driving rhythm section, nor been entirely made up like a rhythm section supergroup.
Willie Winfield: Winfield was the lead vocalist for the Harptones. Seen on the nostalgia circuit for the past few decades, Winfield reminded folks that when you have a voice like this, it never goes out of style.
Robby Steinhardt: Was the co-lead vocalist and violinist of the group Kansas. Bandmate Kerry Livgren said of Steinhardt, “Robby had a totally unique function as a violinist, second vocalist, and MC in a live situation. Robby was the link between the band on the stage and the audience.”
Biz Markie: Growing up in NYC in the 1980s, you knew who Biz Markie was. There was something remarkable about how much of an across-the-board-hit the Biz was. You could be way into serious lyrics, you could be way into more ephemeral party lyrics, but regardless of your feelings about rap music, Biz Markie always made you smile. He was funny and endearing and a throw-back in some respects to the earliest days of hip-hop. While hip-hop was still in its relatively early stages, there was something about Markie that was timeless, probably something about in the innocent nature of having a good time and making house party music.
Jean Kraft: She was a American mezzo-soprano. According to Opera Wire, she “gave 800 performances between 1970-1989 with her debut coming as Flora in “La Traviata.”
Juini Booth: With a 60-year career, Booth was a renowned jazz artist and bassist. Born and raised in Buffalo, his parents passed away when he was 13. The Jazz Times writes that his full name was Arthur Edward Booth, Jr. but went by Juini (pronounced Joony) as his older sister couldn’t pronounce his actual nickname of “Junior” when they were children. Booth began on piano and moved to bass when he was 12. “I always had this dream that I wanted to play bass with some great jazz people.” He did it.
B.J. Thomas: Probably best known for his recording of “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” that featured prominently in the hit film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” Thomas had a long pop career with multiple hits.
Johnny Trudell: A Detroit native, Trudell was the lead Trumpeter for the in-house Motown band. You know his trumpet if you’ve ever listened to a single Motown hit.
Patrick Sky: Sky was a contemporary of Bob Dylan and Dave Van Ronk. A part of the Greenwich Village folk scene, Sky was one of a few Native American members of the scene at that time.
Roger Hawkins: Was the co-founder of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio (featured in the documentary about the studio). You know his drums well, playing on little-known songs like Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” and “I Say a Little Prayer,” as well as Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally.” And a million more songs you’ve heard a million times.
Alix Dobkin: A folk singer who put her lesbian womanhood at the forefront of her music. Dobkin is the predecessor of later groups like the Indigo Girls, and artists like Ani DiFranco and Melissa Etheridge.
Patsy Bruce: She was the co-writer of the hit, “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.”
Pervis Staple: Co-founder of the monumentally influential group the Staple Singers, Pervis spent his early days singing with his family and playing with his other boyhood friends, Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls, and Jerry Butler. According to his sister Mavis, “Pervis and the guys would stand under the lamp posts in the summertime singing doo-wop songs.”
Lloyd Price: Price had some of the earliest crossover success with R&B and pop hits “Personality” and “Stagger Lee.”
Al Schmitt: Schmitt had more Grammys for engineering than anyone else in the history the award. He helped record music by artists like “Henry Mancini, Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Natalie Cole, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Josh Groban, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.” And those are just a handful of the names you would recognize.
Shock G: Not unlike Biz Markie, Shock G used humor to cut across some of the boundaries that had been erected in the early days of hip-hop. He was well known for being a part of the West Coast music scene, helping bring it out of the shadow of East Coast primacy. He famously co-produced and helped bring Tupac Shakur into the public sphere. His alter-ego character Humpty Hump made some of the medicine go down smoother.
Joe Long: Was the bassist for the iconic Four Seasons, along with Frankie Valli. If you don’t remember the Four Seasons, there’s a good chance your parents do, or your parents’ parents do.
Jim Steinman: He wrote all of those very theatrical Meat Loaf hits. He wrote all of those dramatic Celine Deon hits. His hits were so theatrical, many of them ended up in musicals.
Mike Mitchell: The Kingsmen’s lead guitarist passed away. The band’s website released a statement saying, “He was the kindest and most generous man on the planet.” But I think we can all listen to this and remember how good this guitar (and song) is.
Bob Petric: Petric was an Ohio musician, and known in the alternative scene for being the guitarist of the Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments.
DMX: DMX hit the scene in the late 1990s with his rough, raspy voice, his literal barking, and rabid-dog intensity. The high-intensity beats and the claustrophobic grittiness of a performance in NYC’s Tunnel club of DMX’s first single “Get At Me Dog,” shot on old black-and-white film stock, blew people’s minds.
Bill Owens: He was Dolly Parton’s uncle and mentor, and gave Parton her start in music. She wrote of his passing, “I’ve lost my beloved Uncle Bill Owens. I knew my heart would break when he passed, and it did. I’ll start this eulogy by saying I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t been there. He was there… there in my young years to encourage me to keep playing my guitar, to keep writing my songs, to keep practicing my singing. And he was there to help build my confidence standing on stage where he was always standing behind me or close beside me with his big ol’ red Gretsch guitar.
He was there to take me around to all of the local shows, got me my first job on the “Cas Walker Show.” He took me back-&-forth to Nashville through the years, walked up-&-down the streets with me, knocking on doors to get me signed up to labels or publishing companies.
It’s really hard to say or to know for sure what all you owe somebody for your success. But I can tell you for sure that I owe Uncle Billy an awful lot.”
Wayne Peterson: A Pulitzer Prize winner for his composition “The Face of the Night, The Heart of the Dark,” Peterson was a professor at San Francisco State University. Get your orchestral shoes on. Here’s the opening!
Sonny Simmons: An alto saxophonist, Simmons reportedly considered the English horn his first instrument and employed it to unique ends in his playing.
Jill Corey: An actual coal miner’s daughter, Corey was a singing star and then a television star.
B.B. Dickerson: He was a co-founding bassist of the funk outfit War. If you think you don’t know the group War, you probably do.
Paul W. Whear: A World War II veteran, composer, and professor of music theory and composition, Whear’s friend and fellow professor Don Williams told the Herald-Dispatch that “Paul did not write just to make Paul Whear a better person; he was not writing to satisfy his ego. He was writing for an audience, the audience and player, whether they were in junior high or a professional; he was able to write for them.”
Malcolm Cecil: He created the world’s largest analog synthesizer, and most of those unbelievably great Stevie Wonder albums of the 1970s were produced by Cecil. When you do that you end up making music with just about everyone you’ve heard of.
Ethel Gabriel: She worked for 40 years at RCA as one of the very few female producers in the industry. According to the lead researcher on a documentary still being made about Gabriel, while Ethel boasted that she had produced somewhere around 2,500 records, evidence points to that being a modest number.
Don Heffington: The L.A.-based drummer played with everyone from Bob Dylan to Jackson Browne to Emmylou Harris.
Constance Demby: She was a new age composer who saw music as a healing experience. She created her own instruments and did some cool stuff.
Buddy Deppenschmidt: A jazz drummer that helped bring the bossa nova boom of the 1960s to America and the world. He was the drummer on the hit record “Jazz Samba”: “It was the first bossa nova recording by American musicians to become a major hit and remains the only jazz instrumental album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart.”
Dan Sartain: A young, prolific rock n’ roll musician, Sartain was an Alabama native. He reached some notoriety in the indie scene after touring as an opening act for a time with the White Stripes. “Last summer, he released a collaboration with Ganxsta Nip and donated all the funds to the Black Lives Matter Global Network.”
Paul Jackson: He was the bassist in Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters.
Freddie Redd: A hard bop jazz pianist, WBGO did an excellent piece on him here. He was a self-taught pianist from Harlem who played with Mingus and Blakey.
Ray Campi: Called the Rockabilly Rebel, Campi played on stages with many of the big names and lived out in California. He told the Los Angeles Times in 2012, “There’s so little money in it, but if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. People act like if you don’t sell a million records, you’re a failure, but success is hard to define. My phone rings, and I’ll be on my way to England or Finland. I’m turning 78 next week and I’ve still got my hair! So, I do consider myself a success.”
Jewlia Eisenberg: A unique musical presence creating an “entire galaxy” of her own creation. J Weekly’s Andrew Gilbert wrote a robust story explaining what has been lost with Eisenberg’s passing. “The Brooklyn-bred, Bay Area–based vocalist, composer, scholar, activist, educator, lay cantor and indefatigable cultural spelunker seemed to embrace the entire far-flung Jewish cosmos, from ancient Babylonia to the Dyke March.”
Stephen Scott: He pioneered the bowed piano, played by multiple musicians at the same time.
Stay tuned for Part Two!
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