There’s always something tragically romantic about a musician dying on tour. So it was with two acts in August. Rapper Fatman Scoop died after collapsing on stage in Hamden, Connecticut, and Chon Travis, lead singer of punk band Love Equals Death, was found dead in his hotel room in Stafford, England, holding his guitar.
On August 19, the world’s oldest person died. Maria Branyas of Spain was 117 years and 168 days old. She was born in 1907, and was the last survivor from that year. She’d have remembered the First World War; she became an adult during the 1920s. During the Spanish Civil War, she was a nurse in a field hospital in Catalonia (unfortunately on the wrong side).
The current oldest (recorded) person in the world is a Japanese woman who is 116 years old. There are only six people in the world on record as having been born before 1910, all women. The oldest man alive (on record) is a chap called John Tinniswood of Liverpool, who turned 112 on August 26.

The Doo Wop Legend
With the death of Maurice Williams at the age of 86, we have lost a true doo wop legend. With his group The Zodiacs, Williams had his biggest hit with 1960’s Stay, which made a comeback 27 years later on the soundtrack of Dirty Dancing.
Written by Williams seven years earlier, it was recorded at the end of a session, almost as an afterthought, with Williams taking lead and Henry Gaston on falsetto. A US #1 (at 1:36 the shortest ever), Stay served as a blueprint for acts that were to follow, especially The Four Season. It was later a hit for The Hollies, The Four Seasons (inevitably) and Jackson Browne.
The Zodiacs, named after a British Ford model, had been around for a while, first as the Royal Charms, then The Gladiolas and The Excellos. As The Gladiolas, they had a minor hit in 1957 with Little Darlin’, another song Williams had written earlier, at the age of 16. It became a mainstream hit for a white band from Canada, The Diamonds (whose version, it must be said, is better).
Williams remained in music, recording and touring, and also worked as a journalist in his native South Carolina.
The Power Rocker
Some acts simply didn’t travel well outside the US. Greg Kihn, who has died at 75, was one of them. With his imaginatively named Greg Kihn Band, he had a series of hits that fused rock with pop and, as the 1970s turned into the ’80s, new wave influences. The most famous song of these was 1983’s Jeopardy, the chorus of which resembled that of the Jeopardy! game show theme, leading to some legal disputes.
Kihn, who was his band’s lead vocalist, had an early champion in Bruce Springsteen, who gave him at least two songs, the featured For You (1977) and Rendezvous (1979). The former features a fine guitar solo by the band’s Dave Carpender.
After his band’s era of success, Kihn became a DJ on a classic rock radio station and an author of horror fiction novels.
The Chambers Brother
Psychedelic rock owed a lot to soul band the Chambers Brothers. Their epic 1967 song Time Has Come, clocking in at over 11 minutes, was a pioneering work. It was co-written by guitarist Joe Chambers, who has died at 81.
One might file The Chamber Brothers under soul, but in truth they traversed genres, often within one album. The brothers had their roots in gospel, and their albums always featured a bit of God-praising. But they were also part of the folk scene in the 1960s, playing at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival (the one where Bob Dylan was booed for going electric) and were at home in funk and rock.
The Hit Arranger
English arranger Charles Blackwell, who has died at 84, started his career as a teenager with Joe Meek, the master of weirdness, arranging the 1961 UK #1 Johnny Remember Me by Johnny Leyton. The following year he returned to the top of the UK with a song he wrote and produced, Mike Sarne’s Come Outside (featuring future Eastenders mom Wendy Richards).
Blackwell went on to arrange some of the most mainstream hits of the 1960s, such as Engelbert Humperdinck’s Release Me and Tom Jones’ What’s New Pussycat. He also crossed the channel to work with acts like Michel Polnareff, Brigitte Bardot, Marlene Dietrich, and Françoise Hardy. In France his composition Tchin Tchin was a 1964 hit for Richard Anthony.
Blackwell worked with acts such as including Shirley Bassey, Gene Pitney, Lulu, PJ Proby, Jackie DeShannon, Long John Baldry, Alma Cogan, Lena Horne, Buddy Greco, Rita Pavone, Billy Fury, Adam Faith, Paul Anka, Vera Lynn, Bobby Goldsboro, Jay & The Americans, Samantha Jones, Jay & The Americans, Dionne Warwick, Brook Benton, Del Shannon, Johnny Wakelin and others.
In the 1970s he headlined a disco act; in the 1990s he wrote a number of hits for David Hasselhof. The recording of his orchestration of the Anthem of Europe (Beethoven’s Ode to Joy) with a 70-man orchestra is played at every sitting of the European Parliament.
The Experimental Pioneer
With the death of Catherine Ribeiro, French music has lost on of its pioneering forces. The Paris-born daughter of Portuguese parents began her career in the early 1960s, initially focusing on chanson music. But by the late 1960s and early 1970s, as the frontwoman of the band Ribeiro et Les Rabble and later Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes (her collaboration with composer and musician Alain Gozland), her music became more experimental, drawing from psychedelic rock, jazz, folk-rock, avant garde and traditional French elements. It opened many doors for French rock musicians.
She was also an outspoken political voice, stating her opposition to the Vietnam war and advocating for Palestinians.
The Acting Giant
The obituaries for Alain Delon unsurprisingly concentrated on his acting career which merits the widely misused term iconic. Few words were spent on his recording career, which spanned three albums and a bunch of singles and collaborations. It is fair to say that Delon was not much of a singer (you can hear that on the featured duet with soul singer Phyllis Nelson), so his contribution to the world of music consisted mainly of mumbling gruffly in what may be a cool fashion.
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.
Nicu Covaci, 77, guitarist with Romanian rock band Transsylvania Phoenix, on Aug. 2
SymPhoenix – Fata verde (1992)
Shari Martin, 54, Kenyan gospel singer, on Aug. 2
Shaun Martin, 45, jazz fusion musician and gospel producer, on Aug. 3
Snarky Puppy – Gemini (2016, as member)
Maurice Williams, 86, doo wop and soul singer and songwriter, on Aug. 4
The Gladiolas – Little Darlin’ (1957, as lead singer and writer)
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs – Stay (1960, as lead singer and writer)
Maurice Williams – Whirlpool (1970)
Caçulinha, 86, Brazilian musician, on Aug. 4
Paul Gilmartin, drummer of British goth band Danse Society, announced Aug. 6
Danse Society – Somewhere (1983)
Carl Bevan, 51, drummer of Welsh rock band 60 Ft. Dolls, announced Aug. 9
60FT Dolls – Talk To Me (1996)
Dave Sweetapple, 58, Canadian bassist of indie band Sweet Apple, announced Aug. 9
Sweet Apple – Everybody’s Leaving (2017)
Carl Weathersby, 71, electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, on Aug. 9
Carl Weathersby – Somebody Help Me (1996, also as writer)
Dean Roberts, 49, New Zealand electronica musician and composer, on Aug. 10
Chon Travis, lead singer of punk band Love Equals Death, on Aug. 11
Talos, 37, Irish indie singer and musician, on Aug. 11
Talos – To Each His Own (2019)
Belén Fernández, 29, Argentine cumbia singer, on Aug. 11
Greg Kihn, 75, rock musician and songwriter, on Aug. 13
Greg Kihn Band – For You (1977)
Greg Kihn Band – Remember (1978)
Greg Kihn Band – Jeopardy (1983)
Joe Chambers, 81, singer and songwriter with soul band Chambers Brothers, on Aug. 15
The Chambers Brothers – Time Has Come Today (1967, also as co-writer)
The Chambers Brothers – Don’t Lose Your Cool (1969, also as writer)
The Chambers Brothers – Love, Peace And Happiness (1970, also as co-writer)
Tore Ylwizaker, 54, keyboardist of Norwegian electronica band Ulver, on Aug. 16
Ulver – Een Stemme Locker (1994)
Charles Blackwell, 84, English producer, arranger, film composer and songwriter, on Aug. 16
Richard Anthony – Tchin, Tchin (1963, as writer)
Tom Jones – Danny Boy (1967, as arranger)
Blackwell – I Love To See Ya Dancin’ (1978, as writer and arranger)
Luther Kent, 76, blues singer, on Aug. 16
Bobby Hicks, 91, bluegrass fiddler, on Aug. 16
Bobby Hicks – Faded Love (1998)
Johnny ‘Dandy’ Rodríguez, 78, Latin jazz percussionist, on Aug. 17
La Tipica 73 – Acere Bonco (1972, as member on bongos)
Celia y Johnny – Toro Mata (1974, on congas)
Bert Susanka, 62, singer and guitarist of cowpunk band The Ziggens, on Aug. 17
The Ziggens – Big Salty Tears (2020)
Alain Delon, 88, French-Swiss actor and recording artist, on Aug. 18
Shirley Bassey & Alain Delon – Thought I’d Ring You (1983)
Alain Delon & Phyllis Nelson – I Don’t Know (1985)
Françoise Hardy feat. Alain Delon – Modern Style (2006)
Erik Barrett, 48, bassist of metalcore band 100 Demons, announced Aug. 20
Russell Stone, c.77, English singer, songwriter and producer, on Aug. 21
R&J Stone – We Do It (1975, also as writer)
Tim Hinkley, 78, English blues singer-songwriter, keyboardist and producer, on Aug. 21
Hinkley’s Heroes feat. Joe Cocker – Saturday Blues (1999)
Diana, 76, Brazilian singer, on Aug. 21
Diana – Uma Vez Mais (1973)
Justin Chearno, 54, musician with punk band Pitchblende, on Aug. 22
Dewi ‘Pws’ Morris, 76, Welsh singer, actor, TV presenter, on Aug. 22
Umberto Marcato, Italian singer, on Aug. 22
Catherine Ribeiro, 82, French singer, songwriter and actress, on Aug. 23
Catherine Ribeiro – La Nuit Et La Vent (1966)
Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes – Jusqu’à Ce Que La Force De T’aimer Me Manque (1972)
Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes – Tous les droits sont dans la nature (1979)
Daron Beck, 48, member of metal band Pinkish Black, announced Aug. 23
Umberto Marcato, 88, Italian singer, on Aug. 23
Russell Malone, 60, jazz guitarist, on Aug. 23
Russell Malone – Heartstrings (2001)
Jamie Gowers, drummer of British rock group As Everything Unfolds, on Aug. 26
Paul Dwayne, 60, Canadian country singer-songwriter, on Aug. 26
Pete Wade, 89, country guitarist, on Aug. 27
Loretta Lynn – Fist City (1968, on guitar)
George Jones – He Stopped Loving Her Today (1980, on guitar)
Richard Macphail, 73, singer of English rock group Anon, road manager, on Aug. 27
Makaya Ntshoko, 84, South African jazz drummer, on Aug. 27
The Jazz Epistles – Dollar’s Moods (1960, as member)
Hugh Masekela – Inner Crisis (1972, on drums)
Cunnie Williams, 61, soul singer, announced Aug. 30
Cunnie Williams – What Is Black Music (1993)
Fatman Scoop, 56, rapper, on Aug. 30
Fatman Scoop – Be Faithful (2003)
Danielle Moore, 52, singer of English electronic band Crazy P, on Aug. 30
Crazy P – Like A Fool (2015)
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