Any Major Dude With Half A Heart

 

Who of us has not entertained flights of fancy that placed us on stage at a rock concert, possibly holding an air-guitar (or a tennis racket, if you were rich) or using the imaginary mic as a penis extension? The glamorous life!

But between shows there is the tedium of travel and hotels — realities our flights of fancy don’t take us to. Even the drugs, alcohol and sex with groupies probably become routine. I shall make no inquiries about air-shagging groupies…

I was intrigued to hear Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits talking about touring on the BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs. He recalled that when Dire Straits were a smallish outfit, the band and the roadies etc were like a family, travelling together. He enjoyed those times. But when the band became a big, corporate concern, he wouldn’t even get to know the roadies — to his great regret.

So on this collection of songs, singers and bands tell us about life in the music biz, especially the touring. Bob Seger, Jackson Browne and the Carpenters take a documentary approach to the alienation of touring life, while the Grateful Dead are a bit cryptic as they go on about something something playing in a band. Ace see the break-up with band-members in terms we recognise from songs in the domain of failed romance.

For the most part, our acts are trying to tell us about the downside of fame and of living the musician’s life. And, hey, not everybody can have such fun on the road as Led Zeppelin with their “amusing” degradation of groupies, occasionally involving maritime life.

But making a living as a musician certainly beats being the person who has to remove the chickens’ rectums in the KFC factories (for the manufacture of the nuggets, I assume). So even as our heroes are having a bit of a moan, this mix of songs is tremendous fun — in part because it gives us a glimpse into the lives of those whom we have sought to emulate in front of our mirrors, after a long day of removing poultry arseholes.

There are lots of great songs here, some of them old friends to many of us. The most obscure here is also one of the best: The Man In My Shoes by South African band Stingray. They were a short-lived outfit, active only from 1978 to 1981. The drummer on the featured track, Shaun Wright, lost a leg in a shark attack the following year.

Of course there’ll be a second volume — ABBA, CCR, Mott The Hoople, The Who, The Mamas and The Papas et al still want to put to you their case of musicians’ privations — and AC/DC have to offer a poignant postscript.
As always this mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R and includes home-airguitared covers, and the above text in a PDF. PW in Comments.

1. AC/DC – It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll) (1976)
   The Band Life: On the way to the top, you get ripped-off, underpaid, beat-up and stoned
2. Grand Funk Railroad – We’re An American Band (1973)
   The Band Life: When this band comes to your town, they’ll help you party it down
3. David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust (1972)
   The Band Life: Should we crush the star’s hands?
4. Mott The Hoople – The Saturday Gigs (1974)
   The Band Life: Chelsea groupies are the best company
5. Stingray – The Man In My Shoes (1979)
   The Band Life: Living fast and high never did no good
6. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (live) (1984)
   The Band Life: The founding tale of the E Street Band
7. Little River Band – Home On Monday (1977)
   The Band Life: Long-distance telephone call from the Hilton in Las Vegas
8. Joe Walsh – Life’s Been Good (1978)
   The Band Life: Because modesty is overrated
9. Ace – How Long (1974)
   The Band Life: Betrayal by band mates!
10. Jackson Browne – The Load Out (1977)
    The Band Life: There’s the downtime between gigs
11. The Rolling Stones – Torn And Frayed (1972)
    The Band Life: Just as long as the guitar plays, all’s okay
12. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – Turn The Page (Live) (1976)
    The Band Life: Riding 16 hours to the next gig and there’s nothing to do
13. Carpenters – Road One (1972)
    The Band Life: The endless cycle of crowds and all the temporary places can get to you
14. Elton John – Holiday Inn (1971)
    The Band Life: Boredom’s a pastime that one soon acquired
15. The Byrds – So You Want To Be A Rock ‘n’ Roll Star (1967)
    The Band Life: Old folkies rail against manufactured pop bands (guess whom they are spoofing)
16. Grateful Dead – Playing In The Band (1971)
    The Band Life: Who knows what the fuck they’re on, or on about?
17. Jeff Tweedy – The Ballad Of The Opening Band (2013)
    The Band Life: You were gonna be a singer on the hit parade, but…
18. Barenaked Ladies – Hello City (1992)
    The Band Life: The boys don’t like their gig much
19. Drive-By Truckers – Road Cases (2001)
    The Band Life: Instrument cases as a metaphor for the fleeting nature of fame
20. They Might Be Giants – The End Of The Tour (1994)
    The Band Life: The tour ends, popularity ends, relationships end, life ends…

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In the UK, it is almost a received wisdom that 1975 represents the low point of pop music. That may well be true for the UK — as we saw on Any Major Hits 1975 Vol. 1, pop music in the US was in a decent state.

In British pop, 1975 was something of an interregnum. Glam had fizzled out, with only Sweet still regularly bothering the upper reaches of the charts. Instead of T. Rex or Slade, the biggest act in the UK was the Bay City Rollers — whose audience was mainly girls of barely pubescent age. Meanwhile, punk, and all it would inspire, was still a couple of years away. Disco and US soul provided some relief.

Looking at the #1 hits in Britain in 1975, I don’t see much to mark the year out as a disaster. There are the usual naff novelty hits. Whispering Grass by Windsor Davis & Don Estelle in June was pretty bad (and that was preceded by Tammy Wynette’s awful Stand By Your Man), but that was knocked off by 10cc’s superb I’m Not In Love. And for every If by Telly Savalas there was a Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel; for every Barbados by Typically Tropical, there was a Space Oddity by David Bowie. And the year ended with Bohemian Rhapsody at #1, at the time an exciting song. 1975 was no 1979, granted, but there still was plenty to like.

Talking of Bohemian Rhapsody… the next documentary talking-head idiot who’ll claim that Queen “broke all the rules” by releasing a single of over six minutes should be made to wear a dunce cap. Literally just a few months earlier, 10cc had topped the charts with the 6:08-long I’m Not In Love. And six years earlier, an obscure number titled Hey Jude by long-forgotten Liverpool combo The Beatles topped the UK charts, coming in at 7:12. Also: Bohemian Rhapsody did not invent the music video, nor revolutionise it. The Beatles produced a bunch of videos for many of their singles, and they weren’t the first nor the only act to do so. The Bohemian Rhapsody video certainly was influential, but that’s different gravy.

Aaanyway, this mix isn’t necessarily a collection of the year’s best singles — even if it includes the best of the year, ABBA’s SOS — but aims to recall the acceptable vibes of the year. Perhaps that vibe is more European than British.

The Leonard Cohen song was a big hit in Europe but didn’t dent the UK charts (Lenny never did in his prime). The lyrics are classic Cohen: “I asked my father, I said: ‘Father change my name. The one I’m using now, it’s covered up with fear and filth and cowardice and shame’. He said: ‘I locked you in this body, I meant it as a kind of trial. You can use it for a weapon, or to make some woman smile’.”

Likewise, Albert Hammond’s catchy anti-pollution song Down By The River didn’t make the UK charts, but was big in Europe. The song starts out as a camping romance poisoned by the polluted river; Hammond ends the song in ways that might have given me nightmares had I understood English then: “The banks will soon be black and dead, and where the otter raised his head will be a clean white skull instead, down by the river.” The b-side was the original version of the future Willie Nelson & Julio Iglesias hit To All The Girls I Loved Before.

Italian hits like Tornero might have set Europe alight, but wouldn’t cross the channel. I Santo California is still a going concern, and three of the five original members are still with the band.

Hamilton Bohannon’s Disco Stomp was a Top 10 hit in the UK. In West Germany, it became the theme of the monthly Disco music show. Presented by a young comic actor named Ilja Richter, Disco showcased a strange mix of schlager stars and international headline acts, all interspersed with Richter’s cabaret-type sketches that were rarely better than absolutely embarrassing. Still, if you see a 1970s music clip on YouTube, and there are lots of orange TVs on the set, then that’s a clip from Disco.

Disco, the genre, was becoming big in 1975, with a UK act getting in on it. 5000 Volts, whose I’m On Fire lit up the charts, was basically Martin Jay (whom we would later encounter in Tight Fit and Enigma) and Tina Charles, who would soon score a huge solo hit with I Love To Love. When I’m On Fire became a hit, Charles was replaced on the lip-synching Top of the Pops by blonde actress Luan Peters, who also appeared on most single sleeves (she is otherwise best known as the hot Australian over whom Basil Fawlty fawns in Fawlty Towers’ “The Psychiatrist” episode). The subterfuge caused a scandal at the time, with the German label replacing the single sleeves for I’m On Fire to depict Tina Charles with Martin Jay and some other guy.

Even if you have no memory of Jim Gilstrap’s oddly-titled doo-wopping Swing Your Daddy, you’ll have heard his voice before. He was one of the two backing singers whom Stevie Wonder roped in to sing the opening verse of You Are The Sunshine Of My Life. Gilstrap was also one of the voices on the theme for the TV show Good Times.

I mentioned Sweet as a glam act that was still having hits in 1975. Fox On The Run was their fifth #2, out of ten Top 10 hits — and only one of the ten topped the charts.

Fox On The Run had appeared on the 1974 album Desolation Boulevard; the 1975 single was an improved re-recording, produced by the band. The song is about groupies: “I don’t wanna know your name, ’cause you don’t look the same, the way you did before. OK, you think you got a pretty face, but the rest of you is out of place; you looked all right before.” Charming.

In 1975, Braford band Smokie broke through, on the RAK label and produced by Chinn/Chapman. They had a #3 hit in the summer with If You Think You Know How To Love Me, and reached #8 with the superior Don’t Play Your Rock ‘n Roll To Me in the autumn.

On the covers of these singles, their name was rendered as Smokey. As I recall it, the Motown legend Mr Robinson apparently believed that the name Smokey was his trademark alone, possibly concerned that the public might become confused between his high-tenor and Chris Norman”s pebble-gargling voice. Or that people might not properly process the picture of four white Yorkshiremen on a sleeve, and buy the record in the belief that they were getting a Quiet Storm. Faced with the threat of litigation, our four friends changed their name to Smokie.

One of the more unexpected names on this playlist is Al Matthews, whose marvellous hit Fool reached only #16 on the UK charts in early autumn. Matthews’ career as a soul singer didn’t get any more successful, but the former US Marine went on to make his name as an actor, remembered especially for his role as gunnery sergeant Apone in the 1986 film Aliens.

Singing backing vocals on Fool is Maxine Nightingale, who had a hit in late 1975 with the wonderful Right Back Where We Started From. In fact, she owes her discovery as a recording artist to those backing vocals on Fool.

Links for all past mixes in the series are up.  If you dig the feel of 1975, take a look at the collection of posters from West-Germany’s Bravo magazine in 1975 (other years are available, too)

As with other Any Major Hit mixes, the sequencing is roughly chronological. The mix is timed to fit on as standard CD-R and includes home-bumped covers and the above text in a PDF. PW in comments.

1. Pilot – January
2. Kenny – The Bump
3. Frankie Valli – My Eyes Adored You
4. Leonard Cohen – Lover Lover Lover
5. Jim Gilstrap – Swing Your Daddy
6. Fox – Only You Can
7. Sweet – Fox On The Run
8. KC & The Sunshine Band – Get Down Tonight
9. Minnie Riperton – Lovin’ You
10. 10cc – I’m Not In Love
11. The Glitter Band – The Tears I Cried
12. Bay City Rollers – Give A Little Love
13. Hamilton Bohannon – Disco Stomp
14. The Stylistics – I Can’t Give You Anything (But My Love)
15. Albert Hammond – Down By The River
16. Al Matthews – Fool
17. 5000 Volts – I’m On Fire
18. ABBA – S.O.S
19. I Santo California – Tornero
20. Smokey – Don’t Play Your Rock ‘n Roll To Me
21. Jigsaw – Sky High
22. Hello – New York Groove
23. Maxine Nightingale – Right Back Where We Started From

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Any Major Hits from 1944
Any Major Hits from 1947
Any Major Hits from 1961
Any Major Hits from 1970
Any Major Hits from 1971
Any Major Hits from 1972 Vol. 1
Any Major Hits from 1972 Vol. 2
Any Major Hits from 1973 Vol. 1
Any Major Hits from 1973 Vol. 2
Any Major Hits from 1974 Vol. 1
Any Major Hits from 1974 Vol. 2
Any Major Hits from 1975 Vol. 1

A Year in Hits
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August was a pretty quiet month, though it could still tell a few tales (and, of course, there’s little comfort in that quietness for those who mourn any of those who made it onto our list this month).

One non-music yet music-related death was that of Hollywood stuntman Ronnie Rondell Jr, the man who appeared ablaze on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1975 album Wish You Were Here. Rondell agreed, reluctantly, to be set on fire for the image of two businessmen shaking hands, one engulfed in flames. Despite wearing flame-retardant gear, a sudden gust on the 15th (!) take singed his moustache and eyebrow. That was a lesser of his countless injuries over a five-decade career which include stuntwork in films like Blazing Saddles, Lethal Weapon and The Matrix Reloaded.

Not a musician but part of a great moment in music was actor Terence Stamp, who has died at 87. As part of the drag trio in the Australian film Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert, he lip-synched memorably to various songs, including CeCe Penniston’s Finally.

One song here merits special mention: Arsch huh-Zäng ussenander — which marks the death of Greek-born musician Nick Nikitakis — was the anthem of a 1992 collection of Cologne musicians that formed part of an anti-racism and anti-Nazi campaign, sung in the local Kölsch dialect by the biggest names in that form of rock (BAP, Zeltinger, Bläck Fööss, Höhner, and even veteran actor Willy Millowitsch). Kölsch rock has been surprisingly popular outside Cologne. The title means “Ass up, teeth apart”, urging the listener to stand up, speak out and take action against racism.

Also leaving us this month was influential folk singer and Pete Seeger collaborator Tony Saletan, who adapted the spirituals Kumbaya and Michael Row The Boat Ashore into popular folk-pop songs. He had the distinction of being the first-ever musical guest on Sesame Street, in 1969, riffing on Woody Guthrie songs. See the whole episode here; Saletan appears after the intro and throughout. The Ernie and Bert scene is pretty funny.

The Domino
The Dominoes are falling. With the death of Bobby Whitlock, only two of the five members of Eric Clapton’s short-lived but hugely influential Derek and the Dominos remain with us. The keyboardist, singer, songwriter and occasional guitarist and bassist was thus part of Layla, Keep On Growing and Bell Bottom Blues, which he co-wrote with Clapton.

Before Derek and the Dominoes, Whitlock and co-members were part of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass recording sessions. Before and after that, Whitlock was part of the Delaney & Bonnie collective.

Memphis-born Whitlock cut his teeth cut his teeth at Stax Records, working with the house band Booker T. & the MG’s and absorbing the soul and gospel styles that would define his playing.

After the Dominos disbanded, Whitlock pursued a solo career, releasing several well-received albums in the 1970s, backed by friends like Clapton, Harrison, Jim Gordon, Jim Keltner, Bobby Keys, Jim Price, Klaus Voormann, and so on.

Elton John, whom Derek and the Dominoes supported on his 1970 US tour, said that he watched Whitlock’s stage antics “like a hawk”, learning his fellow keyboard tinkler.

Whitlock retired from the music industry in 1976, and lived with his musician wife CoCo Carmel and children on a farm. He sporadically returned to performing and recording.

He also served as a session player for the likes of The Rolling Stones (uncredited on their Exile On Main St. album), Stephen Stills & Manassas, Donovan, Dr. John, Don Nix, John Prine, Marty Stuart, Johnny Cash, The Jeff Healey Band, Buddy Guy and others, as well as his old friend Eric Clapton.

The What-If Man
One night wonder how the obits for Terry Reid, who has died at 75, might have read, if only he had been the kind of guy to accept invitations.

Born in 1949, the English singer, songwriter and guitarist began his career as a teenager with Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers, joining the band towards its end in 1965. With Reid, the band was part of a 1966 package tour of the UK with The Rolling Stones, Ike & Tina Turner and The Yardbirds. When the band split, producer Mickie Most, the future RAK honcho, took Reid under his wing. In 1968 Reid released his debut album Bang Bang, You’re Terry Reid, and was hailed as a rising star.

That same year, Jimmy Page invited Reid — who was nicknamed “Superlungs” for his powerful singing — to become the lead singer of the new band he was assembling after the Yardbirds’ split. Reid declined, citing prior touring commitments with The Rolling Stones and Cream. But he had some ideas for Page: pick Robert Plant as lead singer and John Bonham, as drummer. Reid would joke that he was the man who put Led Zeppelin together.

That song would remain the same soon after. When Ritchie Blackmore sought a frontman for Deep Purple following Rod Evans’ departure, Reid turned the offer down, saying the band’s sound didn’t suit him, and preferring to pursue his own solo career.

Reid went on to release several albums, none of which was commercially successful, but he earned a reputation as a “musician’s musician”, with peers such as Aretha Franklin and Graham Nash (who’d go on to produce Reid) stating their admiration.

His best-known composition was Without Expression, which he wrote at just 14 years old. First released on his debut album, it went on to be reinvented under various titles. The Hollies recorded it in 1968 as A Man With No Expression (with Nash on vocals), and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cut it in 1969 as Horses Through A Rainstorm (again with Nash again on lead). That version was originally intended for Déjà Vu but remained unreleased for years. REO Speedwagon covered the song in 1973 as Without Expression (Don’t Be The Man), and John Mellencamp revived it in 1988.

Over the decades, Reid became something of a cult figure. As for turning down Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, Reid said he never regretted those decisions.

The Centenarian
When I started the monthly In Memoriam series 15 years ago, I’d often feature recordings from the 1940s on which the recently-departed appeared. With the passage of time, these occasions become very rare. The death of singer Jane Morgan at the age of 101 affords me an opportunity to do so, with a track from 1947. (Another centenarian musician, jazz woodwinds player Joe Soldo, died this month at the age of 100; his earliest involvement, an uncredited turn, dates to 1944).

Born Florence Catherine Currier in Massachusetts, Morgan trained in opera at Juilliard but found her breakthrough in Europe, when French bandleader and pianist Bernard Hilda took her to France. Fluent in French, she became a sensation in Paris, also working with the great Charles Trenet, before returning to the United States.

Morgan signed with Kapp Records, where she scored a series of hits including 1957’s Fascination (an old French number which became her signature song), The Day The Rains Came (an English version of a Gilbert Bécaud song) and Love Makes the World Go Round. Morgan was one of the earlier adopter of Burt Bacharach compositions; in 1959 she recorded his song With Open Arms (featured on the Bacharach Lesser-Known Songbook).

She also performed in musicals on stage and Broadway, including roles in Can-Can, The King And I, Kiss Me Kate, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Hello Dolly, and was a regular on television, including three specials of her own.

Her sophisticated repertoire blended pop, jazz, French chansons, Broadway standards, light classics and, in the 1960s, country. Morgan’s career wound down in the 1970s.

The Mixing Producer
London-born and Brooklyn-raised, hip hop DJ and producer Howie Tee (born Howard Thompson), who has died at 61, helped shape the sound of late 1980s and early 1990s rap and R&B. Starting out as a DJ with UTFO and the Real Roxanne, he soon made his mark as a producer for Chubb Rock, Special Ed, Stetsasonic and Whistle, whose 1986 hit (Nothing Serious) Just Buggin’ he also co-wrote.

Beyond hip hop, Howie Tee also produced and mixed tracks for acts R&B acts such as Color Me Badd, and made remixes for the likes of Madonna, Heavy D, Maxi Priest, and Little Shawn.
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.

Jeannie Seely, 85, country singer, songwriter and producer, on Aug. 1
Jeannie Seely – Don’t Touch Me (1966)

David Roach, 59, lead singer of metal band Junkyard, on Aug. 1
Junkyard – All The Time In The World (1991, also as co-writer)

Howie Tee, 61, English-born hip hop DJ and producer, on Aug. 2
Whistle – (Nothing Serious) Just Buggin’ (1985, as co-producer and co-writer)
Color Me Badd – All 4 Love (1991, as producer)

Joe Daley, 75, jazz tuba player, on Aug. 3

Terry Reid, 75, English singer, songwriter and musician, on Aug. 4
Terry Reid With Peter Jay’s Jaywalkers – The Hand Don’t Fit The Glove (1967)
Terry Reid – Without Expression (1968, also as writer)
Terry Reid – Seed Of Memory (1976, also as writer)

Alain Bouchet, 81, French jazz trumpeter, cornetist, on Aug. 4

Jane Morgan, 101, pop singer, on Aug. 4
Bernard Hilda & son orch. avec Jane Morgan – Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (1946)
Jane Morgan – Fascination (1957)
Jane Morgan – The Day the Rains Came (1958)

Larry Gillstrom, 70, guitarist with Canadian metal band Kick Axe, on Aug. 4

Nick Nikitakis, 70, Greek Germany-based musician and songwriter, on Aug. 4
AG Arsch Huh – Arsch huh-Zäng ussenander I (1992, as composer and on guitar)

Nancy King, 85, jazz singer, on Aug. 5

Col Joye, 89, Australian singer, business manager (Bee Gees), on Aug. 5
Col Joye – Heaven Is My Woman’s Love (1973)

Eddie Palmieri, 88, salsa pianist, composer and bandleader, on Aug. 6
Eddie Palmieri – Vámonos Pa’l Monte (1968)

John Blanchfield, 79, Australian pop singer and manager, on Aug. 7
Jon – Upstairs, Downstairs (1967; written by the Bee Gees)

Arlindo Cruz, 66, Brazilian samba singer-songwriter (Fundo de Quintal), on Aug. 8

Judy Bailey, 89, New Zealand-Australian jazz and classical pianist, on Aug. 8

NoB, 61, singer of Japanese hard rock band Make-Up, on Aug. 9

Bjørn Kjellemyr, 74, Norwegian jazz bassist, on Aug. 9

Bobby Whitlock, 77, singer, songwriter and keyboardist, on Aug. 10
Derek And The Dominos – Bell Bottom Blues (1970, on Hammond organ and as co-writer)
Bobby Whitlock – Back in My Life Again (1972, also as writer)
John Prine – Slow Boat To China (1984, as co-writer, on keyboards and backing vocals)

Graham Fenton, 76, singer of UK rockabilly band Matchbox, on Aug. 10
Matchbox – Midnite Dynamos (1980)

Chuck Girard, 81, pop singer (The Castells, The Hondells), on Aug. 11
The Castells – Sacred (1961)

Gabi Novak, 89, Croatian singer, on Aug. 11

Sheila Jordan, 96, jazz singer, on Aug. 11
Sheila Jordan – Falling In Love With Love (1962)

Cool John Ferguson, 71, blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, on Aug. 12
Cool John Ferguson – It’s True (2006)

Mathias Grassow, 62, German ambient musician, on Aug. 13

Klaus Wirzenius, 37, Finnish rock bassists and guitarist, drowned on Aug. 13

Joe Soldo, 100, jazz saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, on Aug. 15
Oscar Brown Jr. – Somebody Buy Me A Drink (1961, on saxophone)
Tony Bennett – Country Girl (1967, on flute)

Jamshied Sharifi, 64, composer, musician and producer, on Aug. 15
Jamshied Sharifi – A Prayer For The Soul Of Layla (1997)

Perinho Albuquerque, 79, Brazilian songwriter and producer, on Aug. 15

Joe Hickerson, 89, folk singer, lyricist, musicologist, on Aug. 16
Kingston Trio – Where Have All The Flowers Gone (1961, as co-writer)

Duane Bodenheimer, singer of punk band The Derelicts, announced Aug. 18

Aesop The Black Wolf, rapper with Living Legends, announced Aug. 18

Ernesto Barajas, lead singer of Mexican group Enigma Norteño, murdered on Aug. 19

Mike Fisher, drummer of Heart precursor Army, announced Aug. 19

Michael Antunes, 85, rock tenor saxophonist, on Aug. 19
John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band – On The Dark Side (1983)

Ronny Whyte, 88, jazz singer, songwriter, actor, on Aug. 19

Enric Hernàez, 68, Spanish singer-songwriter, on Aug. 19

Mike Fisher, drummer of Heart precursor Army, announced Aug. 19

Brent Hinds, 51, metal guitarist and songwriter (Mastodon), in motorcycle crash on Aug. 20

Frank Øren, 59, singer with Norwegian a cappella band Bjelleklang, on Aug. 20

Salvador ‘Xava Drago’ Aguilar, 56, singer of Mexican rock band Coda, on Aug. 21
Coda – Tócame (1993)

Stanisław Sojka, 66, Polish jazz and pop musician and composer, on Aug. 21

Billy Cardenas, 84, producer and manager, on Aug. 23
The Premiers – Farmer John (1964, as producer)

Nisse Karlén, 50, lead singer of Swedish black metal band Sacramentum, announced Aug. 25

Bengt Pegefelt, 70, US-born Swedish music singer and songwriter, on Aug. 25

Rogério Meanda, guitarist of Brazilian rock band Blitz, on Aug. 25

Tyler Harris, 29, drummer of UK indie band The Ultra Violets, announced Aug. 26
The Utra Violets – (She Don’t Smell Like) Roses (2023)

Tony Saletan, 94, folk singer, adapter of trad. Folk songs, on Aug. 26
Tony & Irene Saletan – Bright Morning Stars (1970)

Mestre Damasceno, 71, Brazilian Carimbó singer, on Aug. 26

Manuel de la Calva, 88, Spanish singer with Dúo Dinámico and songwriter, on Aug. 26
Massiel – La, La, La (1968, as co-writer; Eurovision winner)

Jim Kimball, 59, punk drummer (Laughing Hyenas, Mule, Jesus Lizard), on Aug. 27

Jürgen Bartsch, member of German trash metal band Bethlehem, on Aug. 27

Walfredo de los Reyes, 92, Cuban percussionist, on Aug. 28
Louie Bellson & Walfredo De Los Reyes – Javilla (1978)

Germain Gauthier, 75, Canadian singer-songwriter, on Aug. 28

Ray Mayhew, drummer of UK new wave band Sigue Sigue Sputnik, on Aug. 28
Sigue Sigue Sputnik – Love Missile F1-11 (1986)

Ex Tuuttiz, c.36, Finnish rapper, FJ and producer, on Aug. 29

Diego de Morón, 78, Spanish flamenco guitarist, on Aug. 31

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