In Memoriam – April 2010
The big news death in April obviously was that of Malcolm McLaren, but more shocking perhaps was the suicide of rock singer-songwriter and Grammy-nominated sound engineer Will Owsley at 44. It also was not a good month for jazz keyboardists and drummers.
On a different note, I’d appreciate some feedback as to whether to continue with this series. It takes up a lot of work, but generally there is little comment, and download numbers tend to be modest.* * *
Malcolm McLaren, 64, haberdasher, musician and punk svengali, on April 8.
Malcolm McLaren – Double Dutch (1983).mp3
Morris Pert, 62, composer, jazz percussionist and session drummer/pianist (for Kate Bush, Paul McCartney, Mike Oldfield, John Martyn, Peter Gabriel, Nick Heyward, Talk Talk a.o.), on April 27
Morris Pert – Anthem For The Cuthin.mp3
Nick Heyward – Atlantic Monday (1983).mp3
Susan Reed, 84, folk singer, on April 29.
Susan Reed – The Soldier And The Lady (1947).mp3
(Will) Owsley, 44, singer-songwriter, in an apparent suicide on March 30.
Owsley – Dirty Bird.mp3
Corrado ‘Connie’ Codarini, 80, singer with The Four Lads, on April 28.
The Four Lads – Moments To Remember (1955).mp3
Mike Zwerin, 79, jazz musician in Miles Davis “Birth Of Cool” band, on April 2.
Miles Davis – Move (1949).mp3
Vinnie Chaz, ca. 41, bassist with LA glam metal group Pretty Boy Floyd, on April 6.
Pretty Boy Floyd – Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz (1989).mp3
Peter Steele, 48, singer and bassist with heavy metal band Type O Negative, on April 14
Type O Negative – Cinnamon Girl (1997).mp3
Guru, 48, rapper with Gang Starr, on April 19
Gang Starr – You Know My Steez (1997).mp3
Kenneth McKellar, 82, Scottish singer, on April 9.
Kenneth McKellar – A Man Without Love (1966).mp3
Bo Hansson, 67, Swedish prog rock instrumentalist, on April 24.
Bo Hansson – The Horns Of Rohan/The Battle Of The Pelennor Fields (1972).mp3
Devon Clifford, 30, drummer of Canadian indie band You Say Party! We Say Die!, on April 18
You Say Party! We Say Die! – Cold Hands! Hot Bodies! (1997).mp3
Steve Reid, 66, American jazz drummer and session musician (James Brown, Dionne Warwick, Horace Silver, Motown a.o.), on April 13
Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid – People Be Happy (2007).mp3
Gabriel Ayanniye & Omo Olope, drummer and percussionist with King Sunny Adé”s African Beats, in a car accident on March 26.
Kelvin Henderson, 62, British country musician and radio presenter, on April 2.
Luigi Waites, 82, American jazz drummer and vibraphonist, on April 6.
Graciela (Pérez Grillo), 94, Cuban singer, on April 7.
Mississippi Slim, 66, blues singer, on April 14.
George Melvin, 63, keyboardist and session musician, on April 15
Mal Perry, 70, English singer and early friend of John Lennon, on April 16.
Georgia Lee, 89, Australian jazz and blues singer, on April 23.
Dorothy Provine, 75, singer and actress, on April 25.
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Maybe people tend to get too sad to comment… I’d say keep it up, always an interesting read.
I’d keep it. It’s a nice tribute to a lot of intrumental (no pun intended) people in the music industry that would otherwise go unnoticed. Besides, I learn a lot from it. As I do from all of your posts
I agree with the comments already made. Music magazines focus on the (at present) more well known artists but your posts are obviously not so inclined. I enjoy all your posts, thanks.
You have to keep it up. The USA media is sadly lacking in reporting this mews unless they are American main stream stars. Europeans for instance generally don’t get a mention. This month was a good example, it was only when I was playing some Bo Hansson on the 30th that I found out he had passed because I happened to check my Last.FM feed and found out he had passed 6 days earlier. http://bearlyrambling.blogspot.com/2010/04/bo-hansson-rip.html
So keep up the sad but good work. Thanks
And I just noticed two more, I never knew that Kenneth McKeller or Dorothy Provine had gone. McKeller was an institution in Scotland, beloved and revered especially when you had a few beers in Edinburgh. Dorothy has a huge hit in the UK with “Don’t Bring Lulu”. Sad news.
Please continue. An interesting read and informative part of your blog. These people made contributions that would go unnoticed without your effort. Please keep up the good work.
It is an interesting feature; most of these aren’t covered in the major media, as someone wrote above, (hell, I’ve not heard of half of them!) As for a lack of comments, I think your readers might be giving a silent nod of respect to those who’ve gone. W.
All the above comments are so relevant, lets just enjoy what has been left behind
Regards
Rhod
If you have the energy – I have the love – please keep on keeping on
I’ll chime in with the others here. Since a great deal of these folks are “fringe” as far as the mass media is concerned, they get little press coverage. For instance, until I read your post, I had no idea Bo Hansson had passed away. So I find your posting these items on a monthly basis informative.