Did my Any Major Peace mix jinx featured acts? Last month we lost Country Joe McDonald; now Afrika Bambaataa… In the case of the latter, I had to think a bit about how to treat the man, a hip hop pioneer but also a sexual predator. Should he be relegated to the end of this article? Ignore his music? Write a do-not-speak-ill-of-the-dead hagiography? In the event, this is a series about musical legacies, so that must be honoured, but the sexual abuse may not be ignored. I call it the Michael Jackson Conundrum, and I’ll admit that there won’t be any consistency when future cases arise.
Otherwise, it was a busy month, but also with some great music, some to hear again in a new context and some to discover.
And a quick reminder that all In Memoriams going back to January 2017 are back up. You can find them HERE!
The Troubadour
After a restless career, Dave Mason died peacefully at his home in Nevada at the age of 79.
Born in Worcester, England, in 1946, Mason was a session musician by his mid-teens. Among his friends was Jimi Hendrix, whom he turned on to Bob Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower, on which he then played 12-string acoustic guitar. He also provided backing vocals to Crosstown Traffic. Around the same time he played the shehnai, an Asian woodwind instrument, and bass drum on The Rolling Stones’ Street Fighting Man.
By then, Mason had co-founded Traffic with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood. He wrote and sang on two of the band’s most famous songs: Hole In My Shoe, which reached number two in the UK charts (and again in 1984 in neil’s cover), and Feelin’ Alright?, which would be widely covered, most famously by Joe Cocker. He wrote the latter about (temporarily) leaving Traffic before their debut album was even released.
By September 1968, Mason had left the band, briefly rejoining in 1971. His solo career took off only in 1970, with Only You Know And I Know, a US Top 50 hit and soon a bigger hit for his friends Delaney & Bonnie. His solo debut album, Alone Together, went gold.
Mason’s biggest hit as a solo artist would come in 1977, with the great break-up song We Just Disagree (featured on Not Feeling Guilty Vol. 6), which reached #12 in the US. 1978 saw two more hits, Let It Go Let It Flow (featured on Not Feeling Guilty Vol. 10) and a cover of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow. In 1980, he had a minor hit with Save Me, which featured Michael Jackson on prominent backing vocals (it features on the Michael Jackson Backing Vocals Collection).
A part of the Laurel Canyon scene (he featured on Any Major Laurel Canyon with the wonderful Just A Song), Mason briefly joined up with Traffic alumnus Eric Clapton in Derek & The Dominoes in 1970 (he played only on one released track, Roll It Over), played on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, and later on Paul McCartney’s 1975 hit Listen To What The Man Said.
In the 1990s, Mason joined Fleetwood Mac to replace Lindsey Buckingham. In 2018 he toured with the recently late Steve Cropper.
Mason joined up with his old Traffic colleagues when the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. His final album, A Shade Of Blue, was released in 2023.
The Hip Hop Pioneer
One of the chief pioneers of hip hop, Afrika Bambaataa was not just a rapper and DJ but also an organiser, ideologue and ambassador for what the movement would become. Emerging from the Bronx in the 1970s, he helped shift hip hop from a loose collection of neighbourhood parties into a self-conscious cultural force and identity.
Known to his mother as Lance Taylor, Bambaataa was the founder of the Universal Zulu Nation, a collective that channelled the energy of street culture away from gang violence — he co-opted his own street gang, the Black Spades into the Zulu Nation — and into music, dance and creative expression. Drawing on his own gangster past, he advocated unity, knowledge and respect as core principles.
Lance renamed himself after the early 20th-century Zulu chief Bhambatha. The name symbolised strength and leadership — you’d be less likely to pick a fight with Bambaataa than with a guy called Lance — but also reflected a deliberate black consciousness and alignment with Afrocentric currents in early hip hop culture.
Bambaataa was among the first to incorporate electronic music and European influences into hip hop. For example, his 1982 track Planet Rock fused hip hop with the electronic sounds of Kraftwerk and the Japanese electropop group Yellow Magic Orchestra. He was a keen collaborator with other artists.
Afrika Bambaataa’s legacy has been clouded by accusations of long-term sexual abuse of teenage boys. Bambaataa denied the allegations, but they led to a reassessment of his reputation within the hip hop community, within which many voices acknowledged that the abuse was widely known. In May 2016, he yielkded to pressure and quit as head of the Universal Zulu Nation, which soon distanced itself from its founder.
The Outlaw’s Outlaw
He was one of the most controversial figures in outlaw country, a genre associated with defiance of the Nashville mainstream. Born in 1939 in Akron, Ohio, the self-described “longhaired redneck” David Allan Coe cultivated a larger-than-life persona built on stories of prison time (for burglary, not murder, as he once claimed), hard living, drug use, and a ferociously independent streak.
Musically, Coe was a fine songwriter and performer who got into country by detour. “I didn’t really care for some of the country music until people like Kris Kristofferson and some of those people started writing songs,” he once said. “Once I got into country music, I went back and researched it, and learned everything there was to know about it.” He went on to find his niche.
His compositions were recorded by major country artists — most famously Johnny Paycheck’s Take This Job And Shove It — and his own hits balanced humour with the deep empathy of the country tradition. He was associated with leading outlaw figures such as Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, though he never quite achieved their level of mainstream acceptance.
Part of the reason lies in Coe’s habit of courting controversy. His “Underground Albums” in the 1970s (collated on 1990’s bootleg X-rated album) featured sexually explicit material that placed him well outside the boundaries of commercial country music. The recordings circulated largely as bootlegs and were never part of his official mainstream catalogue, but they nevertheless became central to his reputation.
To some the material was gratuitous and damaging, while others claimed it was intended as shock-humour or satire — and both claims have merit. Certainly the use of the N-word, whatever its purpose, is deeply troubling. Other tracks are genuinely clever, if one gets past the explicit imagery.
While Coe denied being racist, the presence of racially offensive language in underground material and his use of the Confederate flag on an album cover has complicated any attempt to assess his legacy. Conversely — a word that does hard work in any assessment of Coe — he also slammed the Klan and condemned the US government’s treatment of Native Americans. He also stood up for LGBT rights.
Unambiguously, David Allan Coe was his own man who saw little reason to justify himself to the public or the country music community — and if that isn’t truly outlaw, what is?
The Osmond Leader
While the girls screamed at Donny and the others, oldest brother Alan Osmond held the family enterprise together — organising, writing (mostly with brother Merrill), producing, choreographing, playing piano and guitar. But he never sang more than backing vocals, and kept out of the spotlight.
Born in 1949, Alan was the third-oldest of the seven Osmond siblings who could sing — elder brothers Virl and Tom were hearing impaired. To raise money for hearing aids for those brothers, Alan and his younger siblings Wayne (who died in January 2025), Merrill and Jay began singing at various events. They were discovered at Disneyland by Jay Emerson Williams, father of Andy Williams, which led to a seven-year stint as performers on The Andy Williams Show. By the late 1960s, the boys sought to shed their variety show image and become pop stars.
The run of hits and ascent to teen idoldom came in the early- and mod-1970s with hits like One Bad Apple, Yo Yo, and the Alan & Merrill-written Down By The Lazy River and Crazy Horses (with Wayne joining the writing team), Love Me For A Reason and Let Me In.
Alan was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1987, and became a motivational speaker, founded the OneHeart Foundation with his wife Suzanne, and adopted the motto “I may have MS, but MS does not have me”. He and Merrill also co-founded Stadium of Fire, now one of the largest Independence Day celebrations in the United States.
The Hot Chocolateer
In 1968, Trinidad-born musician Tony Wilson and his neighbour in London, Errol Brown, decided to join forces and formed the soul-funk band Hot Chocolate.
By then, 21-year-old Wilson had already had a few single releases under his belt, as part of the group Soul Brothers. Considered the better singer, Wilson’s expectation was that he’d front the band. But producer Mickey Most pushed for the more charismatic Brown to be the lead singer. On some records, Wilson and Brown shared lead vocals.
Wilson encouraged Brown to write lyrics, and together they wrote most of Hot Chocolate’s early hits, such as You Sexy Thing, Brother Louie, Emma, and Love Is Life. Brother Louie became a chart-topper in the US in a cover by the band Stories (which was also used as the theme of Louis C.K.’s TV sitcom Louie).
Wilson and Brown also wrote the 1970 Herman’s Hermits single Bet Yer Life I Do and the Mary Hopkin hit Think About Your Children. Hot Chocolate’s 1970 song You Could’ve Been A Lady later became April Wine’s first hit.
But just as Hit Chocolate was breaking big in 1975 with You Sexy Thing, Wilson left the band, frustrated by Brown’s dominance. Alas, his solo career never took off, and Wilson retired to his native Trinidad, where died at the age of 78. He and Brown, who died in 2015, never reconciled.
The Great Drummer
A few days after his death, I posted a mix of great tracks on which legendary session drummer James Gadson played. Look at that list, add the four tracks here, and know that there were many more songs you know to which Gadson.
Some of the artists he backed were — big breath now — The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band (as member), Bill Withers, Mike James Kirkland, The Temptations, Jerry Butler, Tavares, Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, The Undisputed Truth, Quincy Jones, Martha Reeves, Boz Scaggs, The Miracles, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Rankin, Bobby Womack, Marvin Gaye, Jimmy Cliff, The Supremes, Phoebe Snow, Johnny Bristol, Bloodstone, Letta Mbulu, Blue Mitchell, Randy Crawford, Lamont Dozier, Albert King, Leon Ware, The Impressions, Leon Haywood, Margie Joseph, Patrick Juvet, The Emotions, Aretha Franklin, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr, Pointer Sisters, Syreeta, Donny Osmond, Yvonne Elliman, Marlena Shaw, Four Tops, Natalie Cole, Rose Royce, Lenny Williams, Patrice Rushen, Norman Connors, Minnie Riperton, The Memphis Horns, Willie Bobo, The Whispers, Patti Labelle, Maxine Nightingale, Edwin Starr, G.C. Cameron, Benny Golson, Herb Alpert & Hugh Masekela, Tata Vega, Nancy Wilson, Cheryl Lynn, Peaches & Herb, Melissa Manchester, Sylvester, Roy Ayers & Wayne Henderson, Smokey Robinson, Demis Roussos, BB King, Wilton Felder, Terry Callier, Wilton Felder, Ben E. King, The Originals, Cuba Gooding, Prince Phillip Mitchell, Natalie Cole & Peabo Bryson, Tom Jones, Elkie Brooks, Billy Preston & Syreeta, High Inergy, Gloria Gaynor, Paulinho Da Costa, Ramsey Lewis, Freda Payne, Stanley Turrentine, Les McCann, Addrisi Brothers, Alessi Brothers, Mighty Clouds Of Joy, Webster Lewis, Helen Reddy, The Gap Band, Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer….
And that is just the 1970s!! By the 2010s, he was backing Beck, Lana Del Rey, Kelly Clarkson and Damien Rice.
More about him in the linernotes for The James Gadson Collection.
The Last Ronette
With the death at 80 of Nedra Talley, all three Ronettes are now gone. Her cousins Ronnie and Estelle Bennett left us in 2022 and 2009 respectively (Ronnie Spector’s In Memoriam entry is here)
Nedra and the Bennett sisters began singing together at Sunday family dinners at their grandmother’s. That developed into stage gigs after Ronnie formed the trio, named after herself, in 1957. By 1961, the trio had a recording contract.
The breakthrough came when they signed with Phil Spector, Ronnie’s future husband. Be My Baby hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963. Further hits followed, such as Baby I Love You; (The Best Part Of) Breakin’ Up; Do I Love You?; and Walking In The Rain. In the meantime, they also did backing vocals for the still-unknown Jimi Hendrix. In 1966, The Ronettes supported the Beatles on their US tour (without Ronnie; Spector had forbidden her participation).
By 1965, the hits were drying up. In 1967, Nedra left the group, in part because of Spector’s interference, and in part because she wanted to sing Christian material. She went on to release two Christian music albums in the 1970s, under her married name, Nedra Ross.
The Ronettes’ entry into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was long blocked by the vengeful Spector, following the trio’s lawsuit against him and his bitter divorce from Ronnie. They were finally inducted in 2007, while Spector was otherwise occupied with his murder trial.
The Irish Voice
Irish folk group Clannad achieved something singular in 1982: taking a song sung entirely in Gaelic to #5 in the UK charts. It had not been done before, and it hasn’t been done since. The distinctive, haunting voice of the Theme From Harry’s Game belonged to lead singer Moya Brennan (or Máire Brennan, as she was known then), who has died at the age of 72.
U2 used to play a recording of Harry’s Theme at the end of their concerts in the 1980s. In 1986, Clannad returned to the higher reaches of the UK charts with In A Lifetime, on which Moya duetted with Bono.
Born as Máire Ní Bhraonáin in County Donegal, Moya grew up in a deeply musical family rooted in the Irish tradition. As a founding member of Clannad in the early 1970s, Brennan and siblings Ciarán and Pól created a sound that blended traditional Irish music and Gregorian chant with contemporary elements, including electronic keyboards, rock, new age music and jazz. In front of the ancient but modern sound were Moya’s ethereal vocals.
Her harp playing also played a central role in the group’s sound. Rather than treating the instrument as purely traditional, she integrated it into layered arrangements, alongside synths and other modern production techniques. This fusion helped pave the way for later Celtic and new-age artists, including Moya’s sister Enya, who began her career with a brief stint with Clannad.
Moya also pursued a successful solo career, which often reflected her Christian faith. In 2000 she performed her song Perfect Time at the Catholic World Youth Day in Rome, in front of Pope John Paul II and a crowd of 2,1 million people. Her 1999 album Whisper To The Wild Water was nominated for a Best New Age Album Grammy — a category she was uncomfortable with due to her Christian beliefs.
She recorded with many singers, including Shane McGowan, Paul Young, Robert Plant, Van Morrison, Michael McDonald, Hazel O’Connor, Bruce Hornsby, Joe Jackson, and others.
The Country Hit Writer
Two of my favourite country songs of the 1980s were co-written by Don Schlitz: When You Say Nothing At All by Keith Whitley (covered to superb effect by Alison Krauss and less good effect by Ronan Keating) and Randy Travis’ Forever And Ever Amen.
And Schlitz also wrote the Kenny Rogers hit The Gambler. It was first recorded by Bobby Bare and first released by Charlie Tango, then by Schlitz himself who had a minor hit with it in 1978 before Rogers took it into the stratosphere. It earned Schlitz a Grammy for Best Country Song. Altogether he scored 24 Country #1 hits.
Schlitz has also contributed to musical theatre, notably co-writing the score for the musical The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame, and as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Schlitz also released three albums as a performer, in 1980, 2010 and 2011.
The Sessions Man
Operating behind the scenes in Nashville, guitarist Wayne Moss played on hits like Tommy Roe’s Sheila, Roy Orbison’s Oh Pretty Woman and Dolly Parton’s Jolene (the steel guitar part that comes in at the second refrain), and on Bob Dylan’s 1966 Blonde On Blonde album, on tracks such as Just Like A Woman, I Want You, Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again, Visions Of Johanna, Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands, and Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (on bass).
Born in 1938 in West Virginia, Moss moved to Nashville in 1959 at the age of 21 and became a founding member of two of Nashville’s earliest rock & roll bands, The Casuals and The Escorts. With band mate Charlie McCoy, he owned a nightclub in the city. When that went out of business in 1961, they used the equipment to build a recording studio in Moss’ garage and named it Cinderella Sounds.
Moss worked as a session musician for many acts on the country scene and beyond, including Nancy Sinatra (also on her version of Jackson), Joan Baez, Jerry Reed, Charley Pride, Al Kooper, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Jerry Jeff Walker, Steve Miller Band, The Monkees, Leo Kottke, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Simon, Waylon Jennings, Alex Harvey, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, The Oak Rudge Boys, and his old friend Charlie McCoy. For some of them he also did engineering and production work.
He also co-founded two bands with fellow Nashville session players, Area Code 615 and southern rock band Barefoot Jerry.
The Sugar Hill Rapper
Bambaataa wasn’t the only hip hop pioneer we lost in April. Blondy of rapping trio The Sequence dropped the mic at the age of 66. The Sequence’s Funk It Up was the second record to be released by Sugar Hill Records (after Rapper’s Delight) in December 1979, and the first rap record by a female group. Funk You Up was a mid-size hit.
Ironically, one of the first hip hop records not to feature any samples has been widely sampled, including on the mega hit Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars. In 2016, The Sequence sued them for plagiarism; I couldn’t find any outcome.
The Sequence released several records and toured (mostly with The Sugar Hill Gang) until their split in 1985. Blondy, real name Gwendolyn Chisolm, worked at a telemarketing firm and with Sugar Hill Records co-founder Joe Robinson, until she left that scene after witnessing Robinson getting pistol-whipped during a meeting.
The most famous Sequence member was Angie B., who as Angie Stone would become a soul star. She died on March 1 last year (the 1979 version of Funk You Up featured in that In Memoriam), leaving Cheryl the Pearl as the sole surviving member.
The Hit Engineer
As a producer, Don Landee’s main credits included Van Halen as of their 1986 album 5150, which was named after the studio which Landee helped Eddie van Halen build. Before that Landee had served the band as engineer and mixer, starting in the 1970s, with Ted Templeman as producer. His other main clients as engineer were The Doobie Brothers, for whom he recorded hits like Long Train Runnin’, Listen To The Music, Black Water, Rockin’ Down The Highway, Takin’ It To The Streets, What A Fool Believes, and Minute By Minute, also with Templeman.
Landee also engineered on records by the likes of Neil Young, Phil Ochs, Jackie DeShannon (including Put A Little Love In Your Heart), Larry Carlton, Eric Burdon & The Animals (including Sky Pilot), Van Morrison, Arlo Guthrie (The City Of New Orleans), Randy Newman, Captain Beefheart, Van Dyke Parks, Claudia Lennear, Little Feat (Willin’; Sailing Shoes version), Maria Muldaur (Midnight At The Oasis), James Taylor (How Sweet It Is), Carly Simon, Nicolette Larson (It’s Gonna Take A Lotta Love), Lowell George, Michael McDonald (I Keep Forgetting), Michael Jackson (Beat It was recorded by Landee), and others.
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.
Tony Rivers, 85, English pop singer-songwriter, on March 30
Harmony Grass – Move In A Little Closer (1968)
Bill Leader, 96, English producer and engineer, on March 31
Pentangle – When I Get Home (1971, as producer)
Suki Lahav, 74, Israeli violinist, singer and lyricist, on April 1
Bruce Springsteen – Jungleland (1975, on violin)
Bo Lueders, 39, guitarist of punk band Harm’s Way, announced April 2
James Gadson, 86, session drummer, singer and producer, on April 2
Bill Withers – Lean On Me (live) (1973, on drums and as co-producer)
Tavares – Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel (1976, on drums)
Gadson & Washington – Ain’t No Way To Live (1988)
Lana Del Rey – Ride (2012, on drums)
Conley ‘Coy’ Abrams, R&B and hip hop engineer, mixer, producer, songwriter, on April 2
Ithaka – Stay Strong Little Brother (1998, as writer and producer)
Wojciech Morawski, 76, drummer of Polish rock band Breakout, on March 3
Fred Simon, 74, singer with soul group The Lost Generation, on April 3
The Lost Generation – The Sly, Slick & The Wicked (1970)
Allan Dent, 91, British jazz musician, on April 3
Donn Landee, 79, producer and engineer, announced April 5
Claudia Lennear – Two Trains (1973, as engineer)
Doobie Brothers – What A Fool Believes (1978, as engineer)
Van Halen – Why Can’t This Be Love (1986, as co-producer)
Alvin L, 67, Brazilian singer-songwriter, on April 5
David Wiffen, 84, UK-born Canadian folk singer-songwriter, on April 5
David Wiffen – Lost My Driving Wheel (1971, also as writer)
Albert Mazibuko, 77, singer with South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, on April 5
Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Nansi Imali (1981)
Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Homeless (1992)
Blondy, 66, rapper and songwriter with Hip Hop pioneers The Sequence, on April 6
The Sequence – Funky Sound (Tear The Roof Off) (1981, also as co-writer)
The Sequence feat. Kory-O – Funk It Up ‘85 (1985, also as co-writer)
Mario Adorf, 95, German actor, writer and singer, on April 8
Mario Adorf – Was ich an dir mag (1994)
Afrika Bambaataa, 68, rapper, songwriter and DJ, on April 9
Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force – Planet Rock (1982)
Afrika Bambaataa & Family feat. UB40 – Reckless (1988, also as co-writer)
Ray Monette, 79, guitarist of soul band Rare Earth, on April 9
Rare Earth – I Just Want To Celebrate (live) (1971)
Björgvin Halldórsson, 74, Icelandic pop singer, on April 9
Harry Kim, 74, session trumpeter and flugelhornist (Phil Collins), on April 10
Phil Collins – Something Happened On The Way To Heaven (live) (1990, on trumpet)
Rowli, 23, German rapper and singer, on April 11
Mike Westbrook, 90, English jazz pianist and composer, on April 11
The Mike Westbrook Concert Band – Love Song No. 1 (1970)
Doug Winstead, 67, singer, trumpeter of beach music group Band of Oz, car crash on April 11
Asha Bhosle, 92, legendary Indian playback singer, on April 12
Asha Bhosle – Dum Maro Dum (1971)
Al Gunn, bassist of Canadian new save group Men Without Hats (1984-86), announced April 13
Patrick Campbell-Lyons, 82, Irish member of psych-rock duo Nirvana, announced April 13
Nirvana – Rainbow Chaser (1968, also as co-writer)
Felipe Staiti, 64, guitarist of Argentine rock band Los Enanitos Verdes, on April 13
Moya (Máire) Brennan, 73, Irish lead singer and harpist with Clannad, on April 13
Clannad – Theme From Harry’s Game (1982, on lead vocals)
Shane MacGowan & Máire Brennan – You’re The One (1995)
Donald K. Tarlton, 82, Canadian music producer and promoter, on April 13
Taylor Kirk, 44, singer and musician with Canadian blues-rock band Timber Timbre, on April 14
Timber Timbre – Magic Arrow (2009, also as writer)
Dan Wall, 72, jazz pianist and organist, on April 14
Barbara Carr, 85, blues singer, on April 15
Barbara Carr – Private Fishing Hole (2011)
Lucha Moreno, 86, Mexican singer and actress, on April 15
Lucha Moreno – Anoche estuve llorando (1957)
Don Schlitz, 73, country songwriter, on April 16
Don Schlitz – The Gambler (1978, also as writer)
Randy Travis – Forever And Ever, Amen (1987, as co-writer)
Alison Krauss & Union Station – When You Say Nothing At All (live) (1995, as co-writer)
Craig Krampf, 80, session drummer, songwriter and producer, on April 16
Kim Carnes – Bette Davis Eyes (1981, on drums, including the electronic snare)
Steve Perry – Oh Sherrie (1984, as co-writer)
Mike Emerson, keyboardist of blues-rock band Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, on April 16
Ernie Smith, 80, Jamaican singer-songwriter, on April 16
Ernie Smith – Life Is Just For Living (1972)
Shiran Kaïdine, 44, guitarist of French doom metal band Monarch, on June 17
Stanton Davis, 80, jazz trumpeter, composer, on April 18
Stanton Davis’ Ghetto Mysticism – Nida (1977, also as co-composer)
Dave Mason, 79, English singer, musician and songwriter (Traffic), on April 19
Traffic – Feelin’ Alright (1968, as writer and on lead vocals)
Dave Mason – Only You Know And I Know (1970)
Dave Mason – Mystic Traveler (1977)
Fleetwood Mac – Blow By Blow (1995, as member, co-writer and lead singer)
Billy Gault, 84, jazz pianist and composer, on April 19
Wayne Moss, 88, guitarist, songwriter, producer and engineer, on April 20
Bob Dylan – Just Like A Woman (1966, on guitar)
Dolly Parton – Jolene (1974, on steel-string guitar)
Barefoot Jerry – Smokies (1976, also as writer)
Alan Osmond, 76, leader of The Osmonds, songwriter and musician, on April 20
The Osmonds – Down By The Lazy River (1972, also as co-writer)
The Osmonds – Let Me In (1973, also as co-writer)
Moogie Canazio, 70, Brazilian engineer and producer, on April 21
Gregg Foreman, 53, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, DJ, on April 21
The Delta 72 – Rich Girls Like To Steal (1996, as member)
Evelyne Lenton, 80, lead singer with French disco group Belle Epoque, on April 22
Belle Epoque – Black Is Black (1977)
James Valentine, 64, saxophonist with Australian rock band Models, on April 22
Models – Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight (1985)
Kim ‘Wikky Malone’ Bowers, Australian musician, on April 24
Spdfgh – Wikky’s Ode. (1995, as member)
Keith Hale, 75, English rock keyboardist, songwriter and producer, on April 24
Tony Wilson, 78, Trinidadian bassist of Hot Chocolate, singer, songwriter, on April 24
The Soul Brothers – I Keep Ringing My Baby (1965, also as co-writer)
Hot Chocolate – Love Is Life (1970, also as co-writer)
Hot Chocolate – Emma (1974, also as co-writer)
Jesper Thilo, 84, Danish jazz saxophonist, on April 26
Daniel Huck, 78, French jazz musician and singer, on April 25
Nedra Talley, 80, singer with The Ronettes, on April 26
The Ronettes – I’m Gonna Quit While I’m Ahead (1962)
The Ronettes – Walking In The Rain (1964)
Nedra Ross – Full Circle (1978; Ross was her married name)
Jerry.K, 42, South Korean rapper and label owner, on April 27
Derwin Hinson, 67, bluegrass musician, on April 27
Beverley Martyn, 79, English folk singer, songwriter and guitarist, on April 27
John Martyn & Beverley Martyn – Sweet Honesty (1970, also as writer)
Cleetis Mack, rapper with hip hop group Digital Underground, on April 28
Paul McKee, c.66, jazz musician and academic, on April 28
David Allan Coe, 86, American country singer and songwriter, on April 29
David Allen Coe – Longhaired Redneck (1975, also as writer)
Johnny Paycheck – Take This Job And Shove It (1977, as writer)
David Allen Coe – Cum Stains On The Pillow (1978, also as writer)
David Allen Coe – Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile (1984, also as writer)
Donald MacRae, 84, Scottish folk singer, on April 29
Alexander Ligerton, 79, Scottish lead singer of Santana (1979-94), on April 30
Santana – Winning (1981, on lead vocals)
Brunky Music feat. Alex Ligertwood – Live It Up (2018)
Bobby Murray, 72, blues guitarist, songwriter and producer, on April 30
Bobby Murray – The Future Is Now (1996, also as co-writer, co-producer)
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