Three old associates of Bob Dylan died in July: folk singer Happy Traum, who was in the group that first recorded Blowin’ In The Wind; Bernice Johnson Reagon of The Freedom Singers, a black group who sang We Shall Overcome while linking arms with Dylan and others at the 1963 Newport Festival; and Mary Martin, the mover-and-shaker who brought The Band to Dylan. More on all three below.
The most tragic music story in July was that of Grammy-nominated gospel group The Nelons. Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and daughter Amber Nelon Kistler died in a plane crash, while flying to Seattle where they were going to join a cruise ship as performers. Another daughter, Autumn Nelon Streetman, was not on the flight. Four others died in the crash. The Nelons were inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016.
The Four Top
For 16 years, Abdul “Duke” Fakir was the last surviving member of the hit-making Four Tops. Now he has left us at the age of 88. Fakir was the son of an immigrant from what is now Bangladesh and an African-American mother with Ethiopian heritage (or, as somebody quite demented might claim, a white mother. He founded the Four Tops, orignally the Four Aims, with singer Levi Stubbs in 1953, when he was 17 years old. He performed as a Four Top for more than 70 years, retiring only two days before his death.
Back in 1953, he and Levi brought in Lawrence Payton and Renaldo “Obie” Benson, and the line-up would remain unchanged until 1997, when Payton died of cancer at the age of 59. Payton was followed by Benson in 2005 and Stubbs in 2008. Duke kept the show rolling with new members; in the end he even anointed his own successor so that the Four Tops franchise may survive him.
By the time the Four Tops came to Motown, they were already veterans. Working with the Holland-Dozier-Holland team (who were subject of a Songbook a couple of years ago) in particular, they scored a string of classic hits. In the late 1960s their sound became more mature under Norman Whitfield’s production, but though critically well-received it yielded no hits.
Commercial success returned when the Four Tops moved to ABC-Dunhill, with hits like 1972’s Keeper Of The Castle and, the following year, Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got). By 1976 the mainstream hits dried up again, which even a short sojourn to the Philly Soul scene couldn’t help, though they enjoyed a UK Top 3 hit with When She Was My Girl in 1981. They had a final big hit in the UK with 1988’s not great Loco In Acapulco, from the movie Buster.
In late December 1988, the Four Tops received an invitation to perform that song on BBC’s Top of the Pops, which forced them to cancel their flight home. That flight, Pan Am 103, exploded over Lockerbie in Scotland in a terrorist attack…
The White Blues Godfather
Few people can claim to have had as much influence on British blues — and by that virtue on the development of rock music — as John Mayall, who has died at 90. Encouraged by Alexis Korner (one person who might claim greater influence), Mayall founded the Bluesbreakers in 1963. The band’s rotating roster of members included up-and-coming musicians such as Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, who went on to form their own successful groups. Mayall himself was known for his distinctive slide guitar and bluesy vocals.
The featured song, 1964’s I’m Your Witchdoctor, has a line-up that includes Clapton on guitar, McVie on bass, and Hughie Flint (future half of McGuinness Flint) on drums, with Mayall on vocals and keyboards. It was produced by a pre-Led Zep Jimmy Page.
Despite his influence and critical acclaim, Mayall never achieved commercial mainstream success, certainly not on the level of those whom he had mentored. Mayall was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
The Queen of HiNRG
In 1984, Evelyn Thomas issued the anthem of HiNRG — the mid-’80s heir of disco — with the appropriately-titled High Energy. The song, a big hit in the UK and Europe, also soundtracked my 1984 (it features on Life In Vinyl 1984 Vol. 1). Follow-up singles Masquerade and Heartless were popular in the clubs, but had no great hit potential (Heartless is the better of the two).
Previous to High Energy, Chicago-born Thomas had enjoyed a couple of UK hits in the 1970s, reaching #26 in 1976 with Weak Spot, and just failing to reach the Top 40 with Doomsday. Both were popular on the Northern Soul scene.
The Stealers Wheel
The greatest success in the musical career of Joe Egan was the Stealers Wheel 1973 hit Stuck In The Middle With You, which he co-wrote with Gerry Rafferty. On the video, it is Egan miming to Rafferty’s vocal track, as the latter had by then left the band, temporarily. On the record, Egan does the harmonies and plays keyboard and, I think, rhythm guitar.
Egan had played with his school friend Rafferty in various bands and as session musicians in the 1960s. They founded Stealers Wheel in 1972. The group lasted for two LPs, and split in 1975, before the release of their third album, Right Or Wrong. Since both were tied to complicated contracts, they were unable to release any solo recordings for three years.
Rafferty bounced back in 1978 with the mega-hit Baker Street. Egan couldn’t match that success, even though his 1979 solo debut, Out Of Nowhere, received very good reviews. The 1981 follow-up album, Map, received little attention and failed to sell well. Since Egan didn’t like being in the public eye anyway, he retired as a recording act.
The Golf Anthem Writer
A second cousin of Kenny’s, Dave Loggins made a name for himself with his fine US #5 hit Please Come To Boston, later covered to great effect by Joan Baez (featured on Any Major American Road Trip Vol. 1). He had another hit in 1984 with Anne Murray, Nobody Loves Me Like You Do, though he didn’t write (it was also recorded the following year by Whitney Houston on her debut album).
Loggins also wrote Three Dog Night’s 1973 hit single Pieces Of April, Morning Desire by Kenny Rogers and Juice Newton’s You Make Me Want To Make You Mine. He also wrote for acts like Tanya Tucker, Wynonna Judd, Reba McEntire, Billy Ray Cyrus, Alabama, Toby Keith, Don Williams and Crystal Gayle. His 1980 song Augusta, meanwhile, became the theme song of golf’s US Masters tournament.
The System Critic
The 1970s were politically tumultuous in West Germany, and among the critics of the system were the band Ton Steine Scherben, which was formed in West Berlin in 1970, led by singer Rio and French-born guitarist R.P.S. Lanrue (real name Ralph Peter Steitz), who has died at 74.
The band’s music drew from folk, rock, and blues influences, with a distinct anarchic rock edge which anticipated to advent of punk. Their lyrics were confrontational, with 1975’s Keine Macht für Niemand (No power for nobody) becoming an anthem for the anti-establishment movement.
That outspokenness brought TSS in frequent conflict with the authorities. In 1972, they were banned from performing in West Berlin after Reiser at a gig condemned police brutality.
Ton Steine Scherben split in 1985 after a series of internal conflicts. Lanrue continued to play on Reiser’s solo albums, but did not join any reunions until after the lead singer’s death in 1996.
The Hit Writer
Some clever people will refer, with a knowing smile, to Gary Pucket’s 1968 hit Young Girl as a paedo anthem which cannot be countenanced today. They are fools. The lyrics make it clear that the singer is deliberately avoiding accusations of pederasty the moment he realises the subject of his affection is, in fact, underaged.
The man who wrote and produced the song, Jerry Fuller, has now died at the age of 85. Fuller had tried his luck at a recording career in the late 1950s and through the 1960s, broaching the Billboard Top 100 on four occasions (his peak was #63 with his 1959 version of Tennessee Waltz), and returned as a country singer in the late 1970s.
But it was as a songwriter and producer that he made his mark. Long before the chart-topping Young Girl, he had written several hits for Ricky Nelson — Travelin’ Man, A Wonder Like You, Young World, and It’s Up to You — and The Knickerbockers’ 1965 hit Lies. His song Show And Tell, originally recorded by Johnny Mathis (as featured on The Originals – Soul Vol. 2), became a soul hit in 1973 for Al Wilson.
Fuller also produced acts like Andy Williams, Mark Lindsay, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Betty Davis, Billy Joe Royal, Mac Davis, O.C. Smith, Johnny Mathis, George Clinton, George Clinton, Glen Campbell, Collin Raye, and more.
The Folk Pioneer
Among that first wave of the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s was Happy Traum. He played on the historic Broadside Ballads recording session in late 1962 alongside other folk musicians such as Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Gil Turner, Peter LaFarge and The Freedom Singers (see next entry).
With his group The New World Singers, Traum recorded the first versions of Dylan’s Blowin’ In The Wind (as part of the Broadside Ballads session) and Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right. He recorded a number of songs with Dylan, a few albums with his brother Artie, and several solo efforts.
Apart from recording, Traum also taught songwriting and guitar. From the late 1960s, he wrote several instructional books and articles, and taught workshops at folk festivals and colleges.
The Activist
Another folk pioneer left us, a day before Traum, in Bernice Johnson Reagon. Born in Albany, Georgia, in 1942, she studied music and became involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), where she began singing and writing songs for the civil rights struggle.
As mentioned in the entry for Happy Traum, she was a member of The Freedom Singers, who were founded as a touring group to sing at SNCC rallies (she was married to fellow member Cordell Reagon from 1963-67). The Freedom Singers became part of the pioneering folk movement of the early 1960s, famously singing We Shall Overcome while linking arms with Dylan, Joan Baez and Peter, Paul & Mary at the 1963 Newport Festival.
In 1971, Johnson Reagon co-founded the vocal group Sweet Honey In The Rock, which became renowned for its powerful harmonies and politically charged lyrics. In 2000 she founded the global music ensemble Voices Of The South, which brought together musicians from diverse cultures to promote understanding and collaboration.
A PhD holder, Johnson Reagon was also a dedicated educator and academic, focusing on the relationship between music and social justice. She played a key role in preserving and documenting the music of the civil rights movement.
The Scout
Talent scout, manager and record executive Mary Martin, who has died at 85, helped start the careers of the likes of Leonard Cohen, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill, but maybe her greatest single act in music history was to bring together Bob Dylan and The Band.
Martin was in the audience at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival on the day Bob Dylan went electric, to widespread booing. Martin listened to it all, found it wanting, and decided that Dylan needed a good backing band. She knew a rock band called The Hawks, whom she virtually forced on an initially reluctant Dylan. The backing group renamed itself The Band, and it worked out pretty well for all concerned. The cat Dylan holds on the cover of his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home was Martin’s.
In 2001, Martin co-executive produced a tribute album of songs by Hank Williams, titled Timeless and featuring acts such as Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Mark Knopfler, Sheryl Crowe, Tom Petty, Lucinda Williams, Keith Richards, Keb’ Moe, Johnny Cash and others.
The Canadian-born Martin was a chain smoker with a tendency to colourful language who stood her ground in a male-dominated world, especially when it came to protecting artists against the dictates of profit.
As always, this post is reproduced in illustrated PDF format in the package, which also includes my personal playlist of the featured tracks. PW in comments.
Laurie Lindeen, 62, lead singer and guitarist of indie band Zuzu’s Petals, on July 1
Zuzu’s Petals – Cinderella’s Daydream (1992, also as writer)
Larry Monroe, 84, jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger, on July 1
Fausto Bordalo Dias, 75, Portuguese singer and songwriter, on July 1
Fausto – A Guerra é a Guerra (1996)
Julien Terzics, French musician and anarchist, on July 1
Cliff Waldron, 83, half of bluegrass duo Emerson & Waldron, on July 1
Emerson & Waldron – Fox On The Run (1970)
Rusty Golden, 65, country and gospel songwriter, on July 1
The Oak Ridge Boys – Back In Your Arms Again (1982, as writer. Also see below)
Tom Fowler, 73, rock and jazz bass guitarist (Frank Zappa), on July 2
Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention – Can’t Afford No Shoes (1975, on bass)
Maria Rita Viaggi, 69, Italian singer-songwriter, on July 3
Mark Germino, 73, folk and country singer-songwriter, on July 3
Mark Germino – The Greatest Song Ever Written (2021, also as writer)
Mary Martin, 85, talent scout, manager and record executive, on July 4
Bob Dylan & The Band – Million Dollar Bash (1967, as match-maker)
Keb’ Moe – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (2001, as executive producer)
Joe Egan, 77, Scottish singer and songwriter with Stealers Wheel, on July 6
Stealers Wheel – Late Again (1972, also as co-writer)
Stealers Wheel – Stuck In The Middle With You (1972, also as co-writer)
Joe Egan – Back On The Road (1979)
Edgardo Huertas, 65, Puerto Rican singer and actor, July 6
Pino D’Angiò, 71, Italian singer and songwriter, on July 6
Pino D’Angiò – Ma quale idea (1980)
Jim Rotondi, 61, jazz trumpeter, on July 7
Jim Rotondi – I Wish I Knew (2010)
Adrián Olivares, 48, Mexican singer with teen band Menudo (1990-93), on July 8
Joe Bonsall, 76, singer with country group The Oak Ridge Boys, on July 9
The Oak Ridge Boys – I’ll Be True To You (1977)
The Oak Ridge Boys – Back In Your Arms Again (1982, see above)
The Oak Ridge Boys – Touch A Hand, Make A Friend (1985)
Dave Loggins, 76, singer and songwriter, on July 10
Dave Loggins – Please Come To Boston (1974, as writer)
Dave Loggins – Pieces Of April (1979, also as writer)
Anne Murray & Dave Loggins – Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (1984)
Tommy Drennan, 82, Irish showband singer (The Monarchs), on July 11
Shelley Duvall, 75, actress and singer, on July 11
Shelley Duvall – He Needs Me (1980)
Philippe McKenzie, 70, Canadian folk singer-songwriter and poet, on July 12
Philippe McKenzie – Innu (1982)
Gogo Theodorou, 77, Greek singer, on July 12
Ayres Sasaki, 35, Brazilian musician, electrocuted on stage on July 13
Sandra Booker, c.57, jazz singer, on July 14
Sandra Booker – A Night In Tunisia (1994)
RPS Lanrue, 74, lead guitarist of German rock band Ton Steine Scherben, on July 14
Ton Steine Scherben – Keine Macht für Niemand (1972)
Ton Steine Scherben – Laß uns ein Wunder sein (1983)
Jean Williams, bassist of pop-rock band The Feminine Complex, announced July 15
The Feminine Complex – I Won’t Run (1969)
Wieteke van Dort, 81, Dutch actress and singer, on July 15
Tomcraft, 49, German techno and trance DJ and producer, on July 15
DJ Tomcraft – Loneliness (2003)
Ulf Dageby, 80, Swedish rock musician, songwriter (Nationalteatern), on July 16
Bernice Johnson Reagon, 81, singer, composer and activist (Freedom Singers), on July 16
The Freedom Singers – Ain’t Gonna Let Segregation Turn Us Around (1963)
The Freedom Singers – We Shall Overcome (1963, Newport Festival version)
Sweet Honey In The Rock – Hey Man (1976, as founder and writer)
Irène Schweizer, 83, Swiss free jazz pianist, on July 16
Happy Traum, 86, folk singer, on July 17
New World Singers – Blowin’ In The Wind (1962, as member)
Happy & Artie Traum – Misty Dreams (1969)
Happy Traum – I Shall Be Released (1980)
Johnny Stingray, singer, guitarist, bassist of punk band The Controllers, announced July 17
Heather Wood, 79, singer with English folk band The Young Tradition, on July 17
The Young Tradition – The Hungry Child (1966)
Pinche Peach, 57, singer of death metal band Brujeria, on July 17
Jerry Fuller, 85, songwriter, singer and producer, on July 18
Jerry Fuller – Shy Away (1961)
O.C. Smith – Son of Hickory Holler’s Tramp (1968, as producer)
Al Wilson – Show And Tell (1973, as writer)
Fresia Saavedra, 90, Ecuadorian singer-songwriter, on July 18
Jerry Miller, 81, lead guitarist, songwriter with Moby Grape, Rhythm Dukes, on July 20
Moby Grape – Hey Grandma (1967, also as co-writer)
Moby Grape – Murder In My Heart For The Judge (1968, also as co-writer)
Sandy Posey, 80, country-pop singer, on July 20
Sandy Posey – Single Girl (1966)
Sandy Posey – Bring Him Home Safely To Me (1971)
Evelyn Thomas, 70, soul and dance singer, on July 21
Evelyn Thomas – Doomsday (1976)
Evelyn Thomas – High Energy (1984)
Duke Fakir, 88, singer with the Four Tops, on July 22
Four Tops – Kiss Me Baby (1956)
Four Tops – It’s The Same Old Song (1965)
Four Tops – Keeper Of The Castle (1972)
Four Tops – Tonight I’m Gonna Love You All Over (1981)
John Mayall, 90, British blues musician, songwriter and producer, on July 22
John Mayall & The Blues Breakers – I’m Your Witchdoctor (1964, also as writer)
John Mayall – Don’t Pick A Flower (1969, also as writer and producer)
John Mayall – Sunshine (1976, also as writer and producer)
Craig Figl, ex-guitarist of Australian metal band Mortality, announced on July 23
Malome Vector, 32, Lesotho-born South African rapper and singer, in car crash on July 24
Malome Vector – Naledi (2024, also as co-writer)
Shafin Ahmed, 63, singer and songwriter of Bangladeshi rock band Miles, on July 24
Miles – Been Too Long (1986)
Antonio Cabán ‘El Topo’ Vale, 81, Puerto Rican guitarist, singer and composer, on July 24
Antonio Cabán Vale – Verde Luz (1973)
Bill Crook, Canadian metal musician (Spiritbox, Living With Lions), announced July 24
Pascal Danel, 80, French pop singer-songwriter, on July 25
Pascal Danel – Kilimandjaro (1966)
Tadashi Yabe, 59, Japanese DJ with nu-jazz outfit United Future Organization, on July 25
United Future Organization – United Future Airlines (1995)
Tomáš Vendl, 52, bassist of Czech black metal band Master’s Hammer, on July 26
Kelly Nelon Clark, 64, alto singer with gospel group The Nelons, in plane crash on July 26
Jason Clark, lead singer with gospel group The Nelons, in plane crash on July 26
Amber Nelon Kistler, soprano singer with gospel group The Nelons, in plane crash on July 26
The Nelons – Look For Me (2023)
Misia, 69, Portuguese fado singer, on July 27
Misia – Unicórnio (1995)
Pat Collier, 72, bassist of English punk band The Vibrators and producer, on July 27
The Vibrators – Baby Baby (1977)
Katrina & The Waves – Walking On Sunshine (1985, as producer)
DJ Polo, DJ with hip hop collective Juice Crew and producer, on July 27
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo – Trilogy Of Terror (1989)
Chino XL, 50, rapper and actor, on July 28
Chino XL – Kreep (1996)
Martin Phillipps, 61, guitarist and songwriter of New Zealand indie band The Chills, on July 28
The Chills – Kaleidoscope World (1986, also as writer)
Mick Underwood, 78, English hard rock drummer, on July 28
Quatermass – Gemini (1970, as member)
Gillan – Restless (1981, as member)
Onyeka Onwenu, 72, Nigerian singer, actress and activist, on July 30
Onyeka Onwenu – Endless Life (1982)
DJ Randall, 54, British drum and bass DJ and producer, on July 31
Arthur Miles, 74, R&B, dance and jazz musician, on July 31
Arthur Miles – Victims Of Our Love (1991)
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