Regular readers know that I like to follow “oldest living person” stuff. April saw the death of the certified world’s oldest person, Inah Canabarro Lucas of Brazil, who was 116. The Catholic nun was 39 days shy of reaching the age of 117. Sister Inah died on April 30, a few days after the funeral of Pope Francis (who features in this month’s In Memoriam). The nun lived through 10 popes; had she held on another two weeks, she could have notched up Pope XI.
She was the last person alive from the year 1908. The current oldest person is Ethel Caterham from England, who was born on August 21, 1909. She is the last living person to have been a subject of King Edward VII, and the last known living person to have been born in the 1900s. She is also the oldest ever British person (as far as we know). For perspective: When Thatcher became British PM, Ethel was planning her 70th birthday party.
The Power Drummer
The heavenly pantheon of great drummers received a new member with the death at 70 of Clem Burke of Blondie. The focus of the band was, obviously, on Debbie Harry, but without Burke’s energetic and aggressive drumming, there would not have been the Blondie sound as we know it.
You could study any number of songs, but take Blondie’s 1978 cover of the doo-wop song Denis. It would have been a perfectly nice mid-tempo number, carried by Harry’s charismatic vocals, but Burke’s kit-punishing drumming turned it into an irresistible power pop anthem which provided the band with their breakthrough hit.
Burke’s part in the rise of Blondie also included the recruitment of bassist Gary Valentine, an act that dissuaded Harry and Chris Stein from disbanding the yet unsigned band.
As a drummer whose hero was, unsurprisingly, Keith Moon, Burke was not happy with the idea of Blondie dabbling in disco when their 1975 demo Once I Had a Love, initially a medium-paced funk, was going to be turned into what would become the 1979 mega-hit Heart of Glass. Burke delivered a steady but energetic groove, giving a human feel to the beat, which he played alongside a drum machine. Burke initially refused to play the song live; eventually he had to give in. His drumming on follow-up Dreaming was all the more ferocious and magnificent.
During Blondie’s long hiatus in the 1980s and ‘90s, he played with the Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones and joined The Romantics, backed the likes of Bob Dylan, Eurythmics (on their 1981 and 1986 albums), Pete Townshend, Iggy Pop, Joan Jett, Bob Geldof, Wanda Jackson, Nancy Sinatra, Little Steven and others.
In 2006 Burke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Blondie.
In 1987 Burke played with the Ramones as Elvis Ramone for two concerts. Elvis Ramone returned in 2004 with some remaining band members for a “Ramones Beat on Cancer” gig. On April 6, cancer got Clem Burke.
The Cancer Warrior
For a time in the mid-1980s, I was a great fan of The Alarm, the Welsh contribution to the so-called “Celtic Sound”, which bands like Big Country and U2 were considered part of. So I was particularly saddened to learn of the death at the age of 66 of frontman Mike Peters. By all accounts, he was the nicest person you could hope to meet.
The Alarm were a fantastic live band, and their anthemic songs were great singalong stuff, especially the hit 68 Guns. Not all of their stuff has aged well, but some of it still stands up today, such as The Stand, The Chant Has Just Begun, and the underrated Absolute Reality.
The end of The Alarm came abruptly in 1991, when Peters left the band during a gig at the Brixton Academy. Peters continued to record as a solo artist and toured in 2001 as part of a supergroup called Dead Men Walking with Pete Wylie of The Mighty Wah! (whose Story of the Blues is a great companion to 68 Guns), ex-Sex Pistol Glen Matlock, Captain Sensible of The Damned, and Kirk Brandon of Spear of Destiny. In 2011, Peters fronted Big Country.
Through it all, Peters had a long battle with cancer, beginning with a lymphoma diagnosis in 1995, followed by chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in 2005. These experiences led him to co-found the Love Hope Strength Foundation in 2006, which promotes cancer awareness and stem cell donation. In 2019, he was given an MBE for services to cancer care.
The World Musician
The duo Amadou & Mariam took the music of their native Mali and blended it with Western pop, blues, funk, hip hop, and Cuban, Middle Eastern and Indian sounds. Here, the label “World Music” truly applied. The husband-and-wife duo — who met at Mali’s Institute for the Young Blind — comprised Amadou Bagayoko, who has died aged 70, on vocals and electric guitar, and Mariam Doumbia on vocals. Amadou & Mariam’s songs often dealt with political and social themes, such as migration, homelessness, peace (especially in war-plagued DR Congo), and African identity.
Formed in the 1980s, the duo recorded and performed across Africa for many years, living in different countries. While recording in Côte d’Ivoire they met Stevie Wonder, through whom they were booked to perform at various international festivals. Their breakthrough came in the 2000s, especially with 2004’s Dimanche à Bamako (Sunday in Bamako), an album produced by Manu Chao.
In 2006, they recorded the official anthem for the World Cup in Germany, Celebrate The Day, with German groaner Herbert Grönemeyer, topping the German charts. In 2009, they played the main stage at England’s Glastonbury Festival, and the following year performed at the opening concert of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Last year, the duo performed at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris. More concerts had been scheduled for this year. Amadou’s funeral in Bamako, Mali, drew crowds of thousands.
The Rock & Roll Crooner
With his gentle tenor and clean-cut image, Johnny Tillotson appealed to both teenagers and adults in the early 1960s. He first had minor success in 1958, but it was his 1960 hit Poetry in Motion that brought him international stardom, reaching #2 on the Billboard charts and hitting #1 in the UK. A string of successful ballads followed, most notably 1962’s It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin’, a song he wrote about his father’s illness.
Tillotson shifted towards country — he was eventually inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame — and last troubled the country charts in 1984 with a cover of Smokie’s Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone, reaching a vertigo-proof #91.
He kept performing even when the hits dried up (his last Top 100 pop hit was in 1965), maintaining an especially strong fan base in Asia and New Zealand.
The Producer
Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody may be forever spoiled by overexposure and fuckin’ Wayne’s World, but it is an astonishing production, as was Somebody To Love. And producing these tracks was Roy Thomas Baker, who has died aged 78.
Baker cut his teeth as an engineer in the 1960s, for acts like Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, Frank Zappa and Free, before producing the likes of Nazareth and The Arnold Corns (David Bowie’s “undercover” vehicle). In 1973 he landed the producer’s gig for a new band, Queen. He’d produce five albums for them, up to 1978’s Jazz, and with them hits like Killer Queen, Don’t Stop Me Now, We Are the Champions, We Will Rock You, You’re My Best Friend, Bicycle Race and so on.
He also produced The Trammps, Hawkwind, Lindisfarne, Ted Nugent, The Cars (including My Best Friend’s Girl), Gasolin’, Ian Hunter, Dusty Springfield, Journey (including the majestic Wheel In The Sky), Foreigner (including Love On The Telephone), Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, Sammy Hagar, Deco, Mötley Crüe, Van Halen, Be-Bop Deluxe, Ozzy Osbourne, T’Pau (including China In Your Hand, Heart And Soul), The Stranglers, Chris de Burgh, The Darkness, Smashing Pumpkins, and others.
The Reggae Pioneer
One of the pioneers of reggae has fallen silent with the death of Max Romeo. Born Maxwell Smith, he had early success as a member of the proto-reggae trio The Emotions, but by the time they had hits, he was already known as Max Romeo. His first solo hit in 1968, Wet Dreams, was massive in Jamaica, but banned by the BBC in the UK for its sexually explicit lyrics. It still made the Top 10. It was his only UK chart hit, but he remained hugely popular as a touring act.
In the 1970s Romeo became political, in both music and activism. In the mid-1970s he worked with producer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, creating the 1976 album War Ina Babylon, a reggae classic that included the hit Chase The Devil.
They fell out soon after, and Romeo moved to the US, where he co-wrote and starred in the musical Reggae, and did backing vocals for The Rolling Stones, all while recording his own albums. But the big breakthrough in the US never came, and he ended up working in an electronics store in New York City before returning to Jamaica. He continued to record until 2021.
The Eurovision Singer
Her biggest lasting claim to fame was a song that brought her fourth place in the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest. Clodagh Rodgers, who has died aged 78, had already been a star in Britain with two Top 10 hits under her belt when she was chosen to perform the song Jack In The Box at the contest in Dublin.
Despite a ropey schlager opening, was a good pop song, very much of its age, and became a hit throughout Europe. Coming fourth was no disgrace in a very strong field (the first- and third-placed tracks featured on Any Major Eurovision)
The greater problem for Rodgers was death threats from the IRA, who objected to a Catholic from Northern Ireland representing the UK in a singing contest. Her orange counterparts might well have felt the same — albeit for different reasons.
After Jack in the Box, Rodgers had one more hit (a #22); her 1976 original of the later Clout hit Save Me didn’t chart. Still, she remained a fixture on British and Irish TV, and later also on stage.
The Crooner
One of the great torchsong ballads in the Great American Songbook is Since I Fell For You, and of all the great versions, the 1963 hit interpretation by Lenny Welch, who has died aged 86, might be the best. The velvet-voiced crooner began singing in high school and was performing in amateur shows.
He scored his first hit in 1962 with a reworking of the Doris Day song You Don’t Know Me, but it was Since I Fell for You that became his signature song, reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Welch continued to chart through the 1960s with cover songs like Ebb Tide and Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (turning the Neil Sedaka pop number into a torch ballad, before Sedaka did the same).
Welch disappeared from the charts but remained active as a nightclub performer, session singer, and vocalist on commercials for the likes of Coca-Cola and Buick. In later years, Welch joined the nostalgia circuit.
The Instrumentalist Singer
He wasn’t a household name, and despite creating some fine funk records, Nino Tempo had a somewhat unfair reputation as an easy listening merchant. Born Antonino LoTempio in 1935, he was a child actor (appearing, among others, in The Glenn Miller Story) and a saxophone and clarinet prodigy, winning a talent show at the age of four and playing with Benny Goodman at seven. His first appearance on record was at age 19, backing Maynard Ferguson (whom he’d support again over the years).
In the early to mid-1960s, he was a session musician (on sax, keyboards and percussion) with the LA-based Wrecking Crew collective, playing on many of Phil Spector’s famous Wall of Sound productions for the likes of The Ronettes, The Crystals, The Righteous Brothers, Ike & Tina Turner, and so on.
Tempo is perhaps best known for his musical partnership with his sister, who went by the stage name April Stevens. Together, the duo scored a US #1 hit in 1963 with the standard Deep Purple, which also won a Grammy for Best Rock and Roll Record. The siblings followed it with other hits, such as Whispering and All Strung Out, showcasing Nino’s versatility as a producer, arranger, and vocalist.
In the 1970s, Tempo continued his session work, backing acts like Linda Ronstadt (on Desperado), Kenny Rankin, Dion, John Lennon, Elkie Brooks, Cher, Carole Bayer Sager, Bobby Bland, and others.
Meanwhile, he also founded a funk outfit called 5th Ave. Sax, which had a hit in 1973 with Sister James, the first disco instrumental to chart.
The Disaster Victim
On 8 April at 12:44 am, merengue singer Rubby Pérez was performing on stage at the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, when the building’s roof collapsed. The 69-year-old was among the 226 fatalities.
Video footage shows a concertgoer pointing to the roof, saying that “something fell from the ceiling”. Pérez is also seen looking up. Less than 30 seconds later, a loud noise is heard and the recording goes black. According to eyewitnesses, Pérez initially survived the collapse, and even sang to comfort the terrified patrons. He later died of injuries sustained in the disaster, which also killed two retired baseball stars and a provincial governor.
Pérez was a big star in his home country and throughout Latin America, also enjoying success in the United States.
The Holy Father
He was many things, but Pope Francis was not a rock star — even if he appeared on the cover of the Rolling Stone. And yet, here he is, as a featured album artist.
Pope Francis didn’t have much to do with the production. The rock-influenced album Wake Up!, released in 2015, features excerpts from the pope’s speeches and liturgical prayers over musical compositions by contemporary composers, with various vocalists lending the operation a credible vibe — rather than subjecting the pope to novelty drivel. It’s pretty good, if you like that sort of thing. The album was produced as a charitable effort, with proceeds supporting education programmes for refugees.
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.
Dave Arbus, 83, English violinist, saxophonist and flautist (East Of Eden), on March 21
The Who – Baba O’Riley (1971, on violin)
Wayne Handy, 89, rock & roll singer and songwriter, on April 1
Wayne Handy – Say Yeah (1957, also as writer)
Johnny Tillotson, 86, pop and country singer and songwriter, on April 1
Johnny Tillotson – Poetry In Motion (1960)
Johnny Tillotson – It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin’ (1962, also as writer)
Johnny Tillotson – Apple Bend (1971)
Michael Hurley, 83, folk singer-songwriter, on April 1
George Freeman, 97, jazz guitarist and composer, on April 1
George Freeman – Happy Fingers (1974, also as composer)
Miles Griffith, 55, jazz singer, on April 2
Amadou Bagayoko, 70, half of Malian duo Amadou & Mariam, on April 4
Amadou & Mariam – Je pense à toi (1998)
Amadou & Mariam – Beaux Dimanches (2004)
Amadou & Mariam – Sabali (2008)
Bob Kelley, 60, guitarist with bluegrass band String Therapy, on April 4
Dave Allen, 69, English bassist (Gang of Four, Shriekback), on April 5
Gang of Four – Damaged Goods (1978, also as co-writer)
Shriekback – All Lined Up (1983)
Clem Burke, 70, drummer of Blondie, on April 6
Blondie – In The Sun (1976)
Blondie – Denis (1978)
Blondie – Dreaming (1979)
Eurythmics – When Tomorrow Comes (1986, on drums)
Larry Bastian, 90, country songwriter, on April 6
Garth Brooks – Unanswered Prayers (1990, as co-writer)
Al Barile, 63, guitarist of punk-metal band SSD, on April 6
Rubby Pérez, 69, Dominican merengue singer, in nightclub disaster on April 8
Rubby Pérez – Tú Vas A Volar (1999)
Lenny Welch, 86, pop singer, on April 8
Lenny Welch – Since I Fell For You (1964)
Lenny Welch – Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (1970)
Alice Tan Ridley, 72, pop singer, announced April 9
Randy Jones, 58, bluegrass mandolinist and singer, on April 9
Terje Venaas, 78, Norwegian jazz bass player, on April 9
Nino Tempo, 90, singer, saxophonist, keyboardist, songwriter, producer, on April 10
Nino Tempo & April Stevens – All Strung Out (1966, also as co-writer)
Linda Ronstadt – Desperado (1973, on saxophonist)
Nino Tempo & 5th Ave Sax – Sister James (1973, also as co-producer)
Nino Tempo & 5th Ave Sax – (Hooked On) Young Stuff (1979, also as co-writer, co-producer)
Drew Zingg, 68, rock guitarist, announced on April 10
Steely Dan – Peg (Live) (1995, on guitar)
Mike Berry, 82, English singer and TV actor, on April 11
Max Romeo, 80, Jamaican reggae singer, musician, songwriter, producer, on April 11
Max Romeo & The Emotions – I’ll Buy You A Rainbow (1966, also as writer and producer)
Max Romeo – Wet Dream (1968, also as writer)
Max Romeo & The Upsetters – Chase The Devil (1976, also as co-writer and co-producer)
Roy Thomas Baker, 78, English record producer, arranger, songwriter, on April 12
Queen – Somebody To Love (1976, as producer)
Journey – Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’ (1979, as producer)
T’Pau – Heart And Soul (1987, as producer)
Pilita Corrales, 85, Filipino singer and actress, on April 12
Lee Binks, 73, ex-drummer of metal band Judas Priest, announced April 14
Judas Priest – Beyond the Realms of Death (1978, also as co-writer)
Danny Dearden, 34, British pop singer, X-Factor contestant, announced April 15
Eddie Fluellen, keyboardist of soul band Switch, on April 15
Switch – Love Over And Over Again (1980)
Wink Martindale, 91, singer, radio DJ and TV personality on April 15
Wink Martindale – Deck Of Cards (1959)
Nora Aunor, 71, Filipino singer and actress, on April 16
Roger McLachlan, 71, New Zealand bassist of the Little River Band (1975-76), on April 16
Little River Band – Everyday Of My Life (1976)
Mac Gayden, 83, singer, songwriter, producer, guitarist, on April 16
Love Affair – Everlasting Love (1967, as co-writer)
Robert Knight – Love On A Mountain Top (1968, as co-writer and co-producer)
Nuno Guerreiro, 52, Portuguese pop singer, on April 17
Clodagh Rodgers, 78, Northern Irish singer and TV personality, on April 18
Clodagh Rodgers – Come Back And Shake Me (1969)
Clodagh Rodgers – Jack In The Box (1971)
Clodagh Rodgers – Save Me (1976)
Ricky Siahaan, 48, guitarist of Indonesian metal band Seringai, on April 19
Kimble Rendall, c.67, Australian rock musician and film director, announced April 20
Le Hoodoo Gurus – Leilani (1981, as member on guitar)
Cristina Buarque, 74, Brazilian singer and composer, on April 20
Pope Francis, 88, spiritual leader, on April 21
Pope Francis – Salve Regina (2015)
Pope Francis – ¿Por Qué Sufren los Niños? (2015)
Hajji Alejandro, 70, Filipino singer and actor, on April 21
David Briggs, 82, country and pop session keyboardist and producer, on April 22
Tony Joe White – Polk Salad Annie (1969, on keyboards)
Emmylou Harris – Evangeline (1981, on piano)
Odd Magne Gridseth, 65, Norwegian jazz bassist, on April 22
David Thomas, 71, singer and songwriter of rock band Pere Ubu, on April 23
Pere Ubu – 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (1975, also as writer)
Pere Ubu – Waiting For Mary (1988, also as co-writer)
Lulu Roman, 78, Hee Haw comedian and gospel singer, on April 23
Peter McIan, producer (Men At Work), musician and songwriter, announced April 24
Men At Work – Overkill (1983, as producer and co-engineer)
The City – Planets In Motion (1986, as member on keyboards, producer and writer)
Jamie McMann, 48, engineer and producer, on April 24
Roy Phillips, 83, British keyboardist, on April 24
The Peddlers – Girlie (1966, as member on organ)
Karen Silva, 17, contestant on The Voice Kids Brazil, on April 24
Edy Star, 87, Brazilian singer-songwriter, actor, artist, on April 24
Paul A. Batiste, 75, jazz-funk guitarist, flautist, and writer, on April 25
Batiste Brothers Band – It’s On (The Jam Is On) (1985, also as writer)
Andy Bey, 85, jazz singer and pianist, on April 26
Andy Bey – I Know This Love Can’t Be Wrong (1974)
Wizz Jones, 86, English folk singer-songwriter, acoustic guitarist, on April 27
Wizz Jones – One Grain Of Sand (1972)
Mike Peters, 66, singer of Welsh rock band The Alarm and songwriter, on April 28
The Alarm – The Stand (1983)
The Alarm – Absolute Reality (1985)
Mike Peters – My Calling (1996)
Brian Montana, 60, ex-guitarist of death metal band Possessed, shot by police on April 28
Alan ‘Irish’ O’Duffy, Irish-born producer and engineer, announced April 30
Wings – Venus And Mars/Rock Show (1975, as engineer)
Alan Price – Groovy Times (1978, as co-producer)
Joe Louis Walker, 75, blues guitarist and singer, on April 30
Joe Louis Walker – Gospel Blues (2015)
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