Any Major Dude With Half A Heart

For the second year running, the Grim Reaper has taken it relatively easy, giving us more relief after the trauma of annus horribilis 2016. Still, we lost some young talent in artists like the Swedish House musician Avicii, we observed tragedy as we did in the death at 46 of The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan. As every year, there are some fallen giants, most notable of them Aretha Franklin, Hugh Masekela, Charles Aznavour and Elvis’ drummer, DJ Fontana.

As every year, here is a selection of the most notable deaths of the year (which, for our present purposes runs from December to the end of November, so it excludes people like Pete Shelley or Joe Osborn; the latter has been honoured with a special mix), sorted in Top 10s or Top 5s within various categories. These lists might exclude names you might have included; those names will have featured in the monthly In Memoriam round-ups.

To go with these lists is, by way of tribute, a mix of music by some of the big musicians who have died in 2018. As last year, I’ll limit myself to people who were in the featured band or performed solo, so no songwriters, producers or session musicians will feature, even if the body of their contributions was weighty. The tracklisting follows further down.


Here then are the names we should expect to see at the Grammys when some semi-lisping thongbird croons a slowed-down version of whatever the latest rediscovered classic song will be. Personally, I’d be pleased if they just played the Jim Carroll Band song that gave this post and playlist its name. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAKoU_W_mf8)

 

POP/ROCK
D.J. Fontana, 87, rock & roll drummer (Elvis Presley), on June 13
Mark E. Smith, 60, English songwriter, singer and leader of The Fall, on Jan. 24
Nokie Edwards, 82, lead guitarist with The Ventures, on March 12
Dolores O’Riordan, 46, singer of Irish band The Cranberries, on Jan. 15
Tony Joe White, 75, American singer-songwriter, on Oct. 24
Marty Balin, 76, co-lead singer of Jefferson Airplane/Starship, on Sept. 27
‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke, 67, British heavy metal guitarist, on Jan. 10
Alan Longmuir, 70, founder of the Bay City Rollers, on July 2
Ray Thomas, 76, songwriter, co-founder of The Moody Blues, on Jan. 4
Vinnie Paul, 54, founding drummer of heavy metal band Pantera, on June 22
Ed King, 68, guitarist of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Strawberry Alarm Clock, on Aug. 22
Danny Kirwan, 68, British guitarist (Fleetwood Mac 1968-72), on June 8

SOUL/FUNK/GOSPEL/HIP HOP/DANCE
Aretha Franklin, 76, soul and gospel singer, songwriter, pianist, on Aug. 16
Dennis Edwards, 74, soul singer (The Temptations), on Feb. 1
Denise LaSalle, 78, soul and blues singer, on Jan. 8
John ‘Jabo’ Starks, 79, drummer with James Brown’s J.B.s, on May 1
Avicii, 28, Swedish house musician, producer and DJ, on April 20
Edwin Hawkins, 74, American gospel musician, on Jan. 15
Clarence Fountain, 88, founding member of The Blind Boys of Alabama, on June 3
Danny Woods, 73, co-founder of soul group Chairmen of the Board, on January 13
Barbara Alston, 74, singer with The Crystals, on Feb. 16
Yvonne Staples, 80, baritone singer with The Staple Singers, on April 10
Lovebug Starski, 57, rapper and DJ, on Feb. 8

COUNTRY/FOLK
Roy Clark, 85, country singer and presenter of TV show Hee Haw, on Nov. 15
Chas Hodges, 74, half of English duo Chas & Dave, on Sept. 22
Randy Scruggs, 64, country guitarist, producer, songwriter, on April 17
Roy Bailey, 83, English folk singer, on Nov. 20
Freddie Hart, 91, country musician and songwriter, on Oct. 27

JAZZ/EASY LISTENING
Hugh Masekela, 78, South African jazz trumpeter, on Jan. 23
Vic Damone, 89, crooner, on Feb. 11
Keely Smith, 89, jazz singer, on Dec. 16
Cecil Taylor, 89, pioneering free jazz pianist and poet, on April 5
Randy Weston, 92, jazz pianist and composer, on Sept. 1

BLUES/REGGAE
Trevor McNaughton, 77, singer with Jamaican reggae band The Melodians, on Nov. 20
Lazy Lester, 85, blues musician, on Aug. 22
Otis Rush, 84, blues guitarist and singer, on Sept. 29
Irvin Jarrett, 69, percussionist of reggae band Third World, on July 31
Norris Weir, 72, singer of rocksteady band The Jamaicans and gospel singer, on Nov. 16

 NON-ENGLISH POP
Charles Aznavour, 94, French-Armenian singer, on Oct. 1
Johnny Hallyday, 74, French rock singer and actor, on Dec. 6
France Gall, 70, French singer, on Jan. 7
Abi Ofarim, 80, Israeli musician, on May 4
Jacques Higelin, 77, French pop singer, on April 6
Lys Assia, 94, Swiss singer, inaugural Eurovision Song Contest winner, on March 24
Jürgen Marcus, 69, German Schlager singer, on May 29
Lill-Babs, 80, Swedish singer and actress, on April 3
Rim Banna, 51, Palestinian singer, composer and activist, on March 24
Rose Laurens, 65, French singer and songwriter, on April 30

SESSION PLAYERS
Matt Murphy, 88, blues/soul guitarist, on June 14
Melvin ‘Wah Wah Watson’ Ragin, 67, session guitarist, on Oct. 24
Leon ‘Ndugu’ Chancler, 65, session drummer, on Feb. 3
Eddie Willis, 82, guitarist with The Funk Brothers, on Aug. 20
Max Bennett, 90, Wrecking Crew and jazz bassist, on Sept. 14

COMPOSERS/SONGWRITERS
Francis Lai, 86, French film score composer, on Nov. 7
Ron Dunbar, 77, soul songwriter, on April 3
John Morris, 91, film composer, on Jan. 24
Dominic Frontiere, 86, film & TV composer, arranger, on Dec. 21
Scott English, 81, songwriter and producer, on Nov. 16

PRODUCTION
Geoff Emerick, 72, English recording engineer, on Oct. 2
Reggie Lucas, 65, producer, guitarist and songwriter, May 19
Matt Dike, 55, hip hop producer, writer, mixer, label executive, on March 13
Tony Hiller, 91, British songwriter and producer, on Aug. 26
Patrick Williams, 79, film/TV and jazz composer, arranger and conductor, on July 25

MOVERS & SHAKERS
Rick Hall, 85, producer, songwriter, owner of FAME Studios, on Jan. 2
Kooster McAllister, 67, live engineer, co-owner of Record Plant mobile studio, on March 23
Glenn Snoddy, 96, engineer and inventor of the fuzz guitar pedal, on May 19
Adrian Cronauer, 79, radio disc jockey, on July 18
Dieter ‘Thomas’ Heck, 80, legendary German music TV host, on Aug. 23

And here’s the mix. As ever: CD-R lengths, lively covers, PW in comments.

1. Elvis Presley – Ready Teddy (D.J. Fontana; 1956)
2. The Ventures – Hawaii Five-O (Nookie Edwards; 1968)
3. Aretha Franklin – Day Dreaming (1973)
4. Edwin Hawkins Singers – Oh Happy Day (1969)
5. Blind Boys of Alabama – Way Down In The Hole (Clarence Fountain, 2001)
6. Tony Joe White – I’ve Got A Thing About You Baby (1972)
7. Roy Clark – Thank God And Greyhound (1970)
8. Vic Damone – It Had To Be You (1962)
9. Edith Piaf & Charles Aznavour – Le bleu de tes yeux (1953)
10. Louis Prima & Keely Smith – That Old Black Magic (1958)
11. Hugh Masekela – Thuma Mina (Send Me) (2006)
12. Denise LaSalle – Making A Good Thing Better (1973)
13. The Temptations – I Can’t Get Next To You (Dennis Edwards; 1969)
14. James Brown – Make It Funky (Part 1) (Jabo Starks, 1971)
15. Avicii – Hey Brother (2014)
16. Bay City Rollers – Summerlove Sensation (Duncan Longmuir; 1974)
17. The Cranberries – Dreams (Dolores O’Riordan; 1992)
18. The Fall – Victoria (Mark E. Smith; 1988)
19. Motörhead – Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers (‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke; 1980)
20. France Gall – La minute de silence (1996)

https://rapidgator.net/file/396380aa161af29f203d277c9fd29215/died18.rar.html

Oh, and the people on the cover? Top row (from left): Charles Azanavour, Dennis Edwards, France Gall, Aretha Franklin, Alan Longmuir, Keely Smith. Second row: Tony Joe White, Denise LaSalle, Hugh Masekela, Dolores O’Riordan. Third row: Vic Damone, Edwin Hawkins, Nookie Edwards, Fast Eddie Clarke. Bottom row: D.J. Fontana, Avicii, Clarence Fountain, Mark. E. Smith, Jabo Starks, Roy Clark.

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