In March I made a special note of not including J.J. Barrie’s chart-topping song No Charge on the Any Major Hits from 1976 Vol. 1 mix. This month the Canadian singer forced me to feature his song…
May was a particularly nasty month for soul musicians, including two singers who released the originals of songs that would become huge hits for UK-based acts (well, one died on April 29, but you get the drift).
A quick reminder that all In Memoriams going back to January 2017 are back up. You can find them HERE!
The Legend
With the death at 95 of the great tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, the last surviving musician from one of the most famous photographs in jazz history has taken his final bow.
Taken by Esquire photographer Art Kane in Harlem on 12 August 1958, the image known as “A Great Day in Harlem” brought together 57 jazz musicians for what became (to resort to an overused but here appropriate term), iconic group portrait. Among them were giants such as Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, Mary Lou Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. Rollins, then just 27, stood among the masters. Read more about that great photo.
Born Walter Theodore Rollins in New York City in 1930 to parents of Caribbean extraction, Sonny grew up in Harlem at a time when jazz was renewing its pivotal place in American music. Inspired by saxophonists such as Louis Jordan, Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, and mentored by Theolonious Monk, Rollins began playing as a teenager and soon found himself performing alongside some of the leading figures of jazz.
He made his first recordings in 1949 as a sideman for bebop singer Babs Gonzales. But Rollins sabotaged his budding career by engaging in criminal activity. In early 1950 he was jailed on Rikers Island for armed robbery before being released on parole after ten months. In 1952, Rollins was re-arrested for violating the terms of his parole by using heroin.
The breakthrough came in 1954 as part of Miles Davis’ quintet, which also included Horace Silver, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke. In one session, they recorded three Rollins compositions which would become jazz classics: Doxy, Oleo, and Airegin. Rollins was such a standout talent that he received billing alongside Davis.
All the while he was addicted to heroin, a drug he believed aided his creative output — until he discovered that his art didn’t depend on being high. Off heroin, Rollins established himself as one of jazz’s most inventive improvisers, releasing landmark albums such as Saxophone Colossus and Way Out West.
Rollins was known for his relentless self-criticism. At the height of his success, in 1959 he famously retired from public performance, spending months practising alone on New York’s Williamsburg Bridge. The sabbatical became the stuff of jazz legend. When he returned in 1962, with an album titled The Bridge, his playing had become even more adventurous and confident.
Throughout a career spanning more than six decades, Rollins continued to record, perform and challenge himself artistically, often drawing from his own Caribbean heritage (most famously with his composition St Thomas), and even veering into funk in the late 1970s. He received many honours, including several Grammy awards and a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors, and at least ten honorary doctorates, including from the Juilliard School in New York City and the Berklee College of Music.
The Soul Man
With the passing of Clarence Carter, how many giants of 1960/70s Southern soul are still around? I count Al Green, Candi Staton, William Bell, Ann Peebles and Bobby Rush… Of course, there are many other soul singers of the era still around.
Born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1936, Carter was blind from infancy. Academically-minded, he earned a science degree in music from Alabama State College in 1960. A self-taught guitarist — it all began when he received a guitar as a Christmas gift — he teamed up with another blind student, Calvin Scott, to form the duo Clarence & Calvin. In 1965, they cut several songs at Rick Hall’s FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals. As a solo act, Carter also recorded at the legendary studios.
Carter was a constant presence on the R&B charts during the late 1960s and early 1970s, but crossed over into the pop Top 10 only twice, both with covers: 1968’s Slip Away and 1970’s Patches (on Any Major Fathers Vol. 1). The latter, originally recorded by The Chairmen of the Board, won the Grammy for Best R&B Song.
Patches has a country influence, and Carter occasionally flirted with the genre, such as when he covered Harper Valley P.T.A. (still, in his soulified version, the heroine “boogalooed to the blackboard”). Get it on In Memoriam – August 2021.
In the 1970s Carter’s career gradually diminished, and his output became increasingly libidinous. His 1986 track Strokin’ has become something of a cult classic, but Carter’s highpoint in that subgenre came earlier, in 1968, with Backdoor Santa (and, no, it’s not about backdoor sex). Find it on Any Major Soul Christmas Vol. 3.
Carter released his final album, Mr. Old School, in January 2020, and put out a new single in 2024 at the age of 88!
The Doctor
As the co-lead singer and a co-founder of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show, Dennis Locorriere helped turn what began as a scruffy, humorous country-rock outfit into one of the 1970’s most commercially successful and beloved bands.
When Dr. Hook emerged in the early 1970s, initially under the guidance of the humorous songwriter Shel Silverstein, they stood apart from the polished pop acts of the era. Their image was shaggy and irreverent, but beneath the comedy songs and Ray Sawyer’s eye patch there was a very good band.
The group first became famous through novelty-tinged hits such as The Cover Of Rolling Stone and the intentionally overwrought Sylvia’s Mother, the latter with Locorriere on tear-jerking vocals. In 1975, the band shortened their name to Dr. Hook and found much success with a smooth sound that drew from soft-rock, country, soul and pop.
Locorriere sang lead on ballads and mid-tempo hits such as Sharing The Night Together, Better Love Next Time, Sexy Eyes, and When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman (the observation that “it’s hard” surely was a callback to the humour of the early days).
After Dr. Hook split in the mid-1980s, Locorriere continued performing and recording as a solo artist, particularly in the UK and Europe. He provided backing vocals for acts like Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, John Hiatt, Misato Watanabe, and others.
Locorriere wrote songs that were recorded by the likes of Bob Dylan, Crystal Gayle, BJ Thomas, Helen Reddy, Willie Nelson, Southside Johnny, Olivia Newton-John, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Lou Rawls and others. He also continued to collaborate with Silverstein on various projects.
The Shooting Star
French-born singer, actress and model Claudine Longet glamorous image and marriage to Andy Williams made her one of the most recognisable celebrities of the late 1960s and early 1970s — until her public image collapsed dramatically in 1976 following a shooting death.
Born in Paris in 1942, she first came to public attention after marrying Williams in 1961. Their marriage was widely covered in magazines and television appearances. Longet began recording in the mid-1960s and achieved modest chart success with adult contemporary interpretations of pop songs. Her whispery style seemed to suit 1960s easy-listening.
She also acted in TV programmes such as McHale’s Navy, Combat!, The Name of the Game, Hogan’s Heroes and Alias Smith and Jones, and frequently appeared on The Andy Williams Show.
All that came to an end following the death of Olympic skier Spider Sabich, with whom she had been in a relationship after separating from Williams. Sabich was killed on March 21, 1976 when a gun held by Longet discharged, in the bathroom of his house. Longet claimed that Sabich had been showing her how a gun works when it went off.
Longet claimed the shooting was accidental, saying she did not understand how the firearm worked. In 1977 she was convicted of misdemeanour criminal negligence and fined a small amount and 30 days in prison, served at her convenience. The verdict was controversial, with many believing she had received lenient treatment because of her celebrity, and because of police procedural errors.
After that Longet withdrew almost entirely from public life.
The Philly Soul Man
As a composer, arranger, producer and keyboard player, Dexter Wansel helped define the lush sound of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s while also working in jazz-funk and cosmic experimentation.
Born in Philadelphia in 1950, Wansel studied music from an early age and became proficient on several instruments, though keyboards would become his principal tool. His talents soon brought him to the attention of the Philadelphia International Records team of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff.
Wansel went in to become one of the label’s most important behind-the-scenes figures, contributing arrangements, compositions and production work for artists such as Teddy Pendergrass, Lou Rawls, Billy Paul, The Jones Girls, The O’Jays, Jean Carn, The Jacksons, Bunny Sigler, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Melba King, Phyllis Hyman, Grover Washington Jr, Patti LaBelle, and many others.
He also co-wrote tracks like Nights Over Egypt for The Jones Girls, Patti Labelle’s If Only You Knew, and The Best Is Yet To Come for Grover Washington Jr
At the same time, he pursued an extensive solo career. Albums such as Life On Mars (1976), What The World Is Coming To (1977) and Voyager (1978) blended soul, jazz, funk and cosmic vibes. These records were respected in their own time, but later hip-hop producers discovered them, and Wansel’s music became widely sampled.
Derxter’s son Pop followed in his dad’s footsteps and has had a distinguished career himself as a producer.
The Commodore
The bass on the Commodores’ great funk records such as Machine Gun and Brick House was born in New Zealand, and also died there. Ronald LaPread, who was born in 1946, moved to the US where he ended up studying at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. There he met a group of fellow students who shared his passion for music. Together they formed a band that would eventually become the Commodores.
The group achieved widespread success during the 1970s and 1980s, blending funk, soul, pop and even a touch of country into a commercially successful formula. Aside from laying down basslines, LaPread also contributed his songwriting skills and backing vocals.
Lionel Richie slowly became the frontman, and when he left the group in 1982 to go solo, many expected the Commodores to fade. Instead, the remaining members continued recording and touring successfully, scoring a mega hit in 1985 with Nightshift.
LaPread remained with the Commodores until 1986, and largely stepped away from the spotlight.
The Exciter
The biggest hit that Brenda Reid had was a cover, and a year later, she would sing lead on a song that would become a massive hit for another act.
Reid’s biggest hit was Tell Him, as lead singer of the soul group The Exciters. Released in 1962, it has become a 1960s classic. It was a gender-switched cover of Gil Hamilton’s Tell Her. The following year, The Exciters released Do-Wah-Diddy, which stalled at #78 in the US but later became a massive hit for Manfred Mann. Hear the original on The Orginals: 1960s Vol. 1.
The Exciters never repeated the success of Tell Him. Much later, in 1975, they had a Top 40 hit in the UK with Reaching For The Best, which had been aimed at the Northern Soul scene but managed to cross over. Peaking at #31, it did 15 places better in the UK charts than Tell Him had 12 years earlier.
In 1978, Reid and fellow Exciter (and husband) Herb Rooney formed a duo called, quite logically, Brenda & Herb. They released a solitary album in 1979.
Brenda and Herb divorced in the mind-1980s; Herb died in 1991. Their son, Cory Rooney, has had a successful career as an R&B producer and songwriter.
The Final Cookie
In January, I marked the death the death of Margaret Ross with the claim that all members of the soul-pop group The Cookies were gone. In doing so, I killed off lead singer Earl-Jean McCrea prematurely. Now she has died at 83, and the Cookies are now all gone.
The Cookies first appeared on the scene in 1954 as a trio that included Ethel Darlene McCrea, Earl-Jean’s sister. Ethel left in 1958, and Earl-Jean didn’t join until 1961. And when Earl-Jean left in 1964, she was replaced by Ethel.
As a Cookie, Earl-Jean sang lead on the Gerry Goffin/Carole King song Chains in 1962, the first Cookie hit since 1956. It was soon covered by The Beatles on their debut album. As a solo act, Earl-Jean also released a single titled I’m Into Something Good. It became a hit in the cover by Herman’s Hermits. On The Orginals: 1960s Vol. 1, it’s the track before Do-Wah-Diddy.
The Cookie’s biggest success was Don’t Say Nothin’ Bad (About My Baby), a #7 pop hit in 1963. But The Cookies also played a part in other people’s hits as backing singers, featured on hits like Little Eva’s The Loco-motion, Neil Sedaka’s Breaking Up Is Hard To Do and Next Door To An Angel, and Blame It On The Bossa Nova by Eydie Gorme.
After her career as a pop singer, McCrae — known later as Mother Reavis, after her married surname — sang gospel, worked in the community, founded a foundation to support students pursuing higher education, became an early childhood specialist and opened a day care centre near Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Rapper
With their 1988 hit It Takes Two, Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock helped bring rap music into the mainstream in the late 1980s. Now both are gone: Rob Base died in May of cancer at the age of 59; E-Z went in 2014 (diabetes claimed him).
Born as Robert Ginyard in in 1967, Harlem-based Rob Base and his childhood friend Rodney Bryce (or, as we know him, DJ E-Z Rock) developed a style that appealed to club audiences, radio listeners and hip-hop fans.
Their big hit came in 1988 with It Takes Two, produced by Teddy Riley and built around the heavily sampled “Woo! Yeah!” vocal from Lyn Collins’ 1972 song Think (About It), with James Brown on “yeah” duties. It became an international hit, and Spin magazine in 1989 had it top its “100 Greatest Singles of All Time” in 1989. A little more soberly, Rolling Stone listed it at number 116 “Top 500 Best Songs of All Time”.
The pair followed It Takes Two with other hits, including Joy And Pain, and Base issued a few singles in his own right, but all to diminishing returns as more politically oriented rap and the New Jack Swing scene emerged around the same time.
The Guitarist
His name might not be widely known, but you probably have heard Swedish guitarist Georg Wadenius — as lead guitarist of Blood, Sweat & Tears from 1972-75, on countless Luther Vandross records including Never Too Much, or as a member of the Saturday Night Live houseband from 1979-85.
Among others, he backed as a session musician the likes of Steely Dan (on their 1995 Alive In America album), Donald Fagen (on Kamakiriad), Aretha Franklin, Peaches & Herb, Diana Ross, Dr John, David Sanborn, James Brown, Marianne Faithfull, George Benson, Paul Simon, Dionne Warwick, Anni-Frid from ABBA, Roberta Flack, Michael Franks, Anita Baker, Freddie Jackson, Jeffrey Osborne, Will Downing, Kenny Lattimore, Backstreet Boys (on Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely), and a whole lot of Swedish artists, some of whom he also produced.
Launching his career in 1968, “Jojie” Wadenius first had success in his homeland as a member of the jazz-rock band Made In Sweden, and for his children’s songs. His fluid guitar style and versatility attracted attention, and in the early 1970s he moved to the United States. His first big session gig was to back BJ Thomas, before in 1972 joining Blood, Sweat & Tears in one of the group’s line-up reshuffles.
In the mid-1990s, Wadenius moved back to Europe, living in Oslo. As a solo artist, Wadenius released many albums in his own right and in collaboration with others.
The Producer
On December 8, 1980, Jack Douglas was producing the song Walking On Thin Ice with Yoko Ono and John Lennon at the Record Plant studio in New York. Often Douglas went home with John and Yoko but that night he didn’t as he had another session on, a circumstance that caused him long-lasting guilt.
Douglas, who has died at 80, had struck up a friendship with John and Yoko when he engineered the Record Plant-based recordings and finishes on 1971’s Imagine album, including the title track. He also engineered on their Sometime In New York album the following year. In 1980, he produced their Double Fantasy sessions.
The friendship with Yoko soured soon after John’s death. In 1984, Douglas sued Ono over unpaid royalties connected to Double Fantasy. A jury found that Ono had improperly withheld royalty payments and ruled that Douglas was entitled to $2,5 million from the album’s revenues.
Douglas’ greater achievement as a producer at the Record Plant — where he had started out as a janitor, albeit one who graduated from the Institute of Audio Research — was to mould the sound of Aerosmith between 1974-77, including the band’s most acclaimed albums, 1975’s Toys In The Attic and 1975’s Rocks. Among the classic songs he produced was Walk This Way.
His graduation from engineering to producing owed to his recording work for the New York Dolls’ 1973 debut album, encouraged by producer Bob Ezrin. Among others, he went on to produce acts such as Alice Cooper, Sha Na Na, Patti Smith, Crowbar, Artful Dodger, Starz, Cheap Trick (on their Live At The Budokan album), Frankie Miller, Graham Parker, Supertramp and more.
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.
Brenda Reid, 80, lead singer of soul group The Exciters, on April 29
The Exciters – Tell Him (1962)
The Exciters – Reaching For The Best (1975)
Brenda & Herb – Tonight I’m Gonna Make You A Star (1978)
Georg Wadenius, 80, Swedish guitarist (Blood, Sweat & Tears), on May 1
Made In Sweden – Lay Lady Lay (1969, as member on guitar)
Blood, Sweat & Tears – So Long Dixie (1972, as member on guitar)
Luther Vandross – Never Too Much (1981, on guitar)
Steely Dan – Kid Charlemagne (live) (1995, on guitar, incl. solo)
Michael Sollis, 40, Australian musician, on May 1
Danny Mixon, 76, jazz pianist and organist, on May 1
Kamal Abdul-Alim, 84, jazz musician, on May 2
Lee Allen Zeno, 71, bassist (Buckwheat Zydeco), on May 3
Buckwheat Zydeco – Lay Your Burden Down (2009, as member)
Hany Shaker, 73, Egyptian singer and actor, on May 3
Yūji Ōno, 84, Japanese jazz and funk pianist and film composer, on May 4
Yuji Ohno – Get Up All The People (1977, also as writer)
Evelyn Cox Hobbs, 66, member of bluegrass group The Cox Family, on May 5
Cox Family – I Am Weary (Let Me Rest)
Carlos Malcolm, 91, Jamaican ska trombonist and percussionist, on May 6
Carlos Malcolm & His Afro Jamaican Rythms – Jamaica Fiesta (1964)
Aimable Karasira, 48, Rwandan singer and political dissident, in jail on May 6
Jesse Hector, 78, frontman of English rock band The Gorillas, on May 6
The Gorillas – She’s My Gal (1976)
Earl-Jean McCrea, 83, singer of The Cookies, on May 7
The Cookies – Don’t Say Nothin’ Bad (About My Baby) (1963)
Little Eva – The Loco-Motion (1963, on backing vocals)
Earl-Jean – I’m Into Something Good (1964)
Ingo Koster, 76, (East) German schlager singer, writer and composer, on May 7
Luiz Sérgio Carlini, 73, songwriter, guitarist of Brazilian rock band Tutti Frutti, on May 7
Rita Lee & Tutti Frutti – Agora é Moda (1978)
Jo Ann Castle, 86, honky-tonk pianist on The Lawrence Welk Show, on May 8
Abdelwahab Doukkali, 85, Moroccan singer, musician and composer, on May 8
Abdelouahab Doukkali – Ma ana ila bachar
Warren Tipton, soul singer with The Chi-Lites (2018–23), on May 9
J.J. Barrie, 90, Canadian singer and songwriter, on May 10
J.J. Barrie – No Charge (1976)
Jack Douglas, 80, producer and engineer, on May 11
New York Dolls – Personality Crisis (1973, as engineer)
Aerosmith – Kings And Queens (1978, as co-producer and co-writer)
John Lennon – (Just Like) Starting Over (1980, as co-producer)
Peter Volkmann, 74, singer of German rock band Relax, announced May 11
Romuald Figuier, 88, French singer, on May 12
Romuald – Laisse-moi le temps (1973)
Clarence Carter, 90, soul singer-songwriter, on May 13
Clarence Carter – Funky Fever (1968, also as co-writer)
Clarence Carter – Say Man (1970, also as co-writer)
Clarence Carter – Strokin’ (1986, also as writer)
El Cabrero, 81, Spanish flamenco singer, on May 13
Claudine Longet, 84, French-American singer and actress, announced May 14
Claudine Longet – Small Talk (1967)
Claudine Longet – Who Broke Your Heart (And Made You Write That Song) (1974)
Peter Archer, 64, guitarist, singer and songwriter with Australian rock band Crow, on May 14
Crow – How And Why Wonder (1993)
Bengt Berger, 83, Swedish jazz drummer, composer and producer, on May 15
Dennis Locorriere, 76, co-lead singer and lead guitarist of Dr. Hook, songwriter, producer, on May 16
Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show – Sylvia’s Mother (1972, on lead vocals)
Dr. Hook – Better Love Next Time (1979, on lead vocals)
Dennis Locorriere – Underneath The Moon (2005, also as co-writer)
Ryan Porter, 46, jazz trombonist, on May 16
Ike Willis, 70, guitarist and singer (Frank Zappa), on May 17
Frank Zappa – Joe’s Garage (1979, on lead vocals; as the titular Joe)
Totó la Momposina, 85, Colombian singer, on May 17
Totó la Momposina – La Sombra Negra (1993)
Abomé l’Éléphant, 33, Ivorian singer and rapper, on May 18
Stig Møller, 80, Danish folk-rick singer-songwriter, on May 18
Stig Møller – People They Don’t Know (1966)
Al Hurricane Jr., 66, New Mexico music singer-songwriter, on May 19
Jacqui Chan, 91, Trinidadian actress, dancer and singer, on May 19
Simon Dupree & The Big Sound – Kites (1967, spoken interlude)
Gunter Hampel, 88, German free jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer, on May 19
Jimmy Hughes, 88, soul singer and songwriter, on May 20
Jimmy Hughes – Steal Away (1964, also as writer)
Jimmy Hughes – I’m So Glad (1969)
Ron Eschete, 77, jazz guitarist, on May 20
Denyse LePage, singer and musician with Canadian disco band Lime, on May 20
Lime – Babe, We’re Gonna Love Tonight (1982)
DJ Congélateur, Ivorian singer and artist, on May 21
Stephen Whiting, 80, bassist of UK-based psychedelic band The Misunderstood, on May 21
The Misunderstood – I Can Take You To The Sun (1966)
Jerry Andrews, 70, singer, musician and songwriter of bluegrass band Crandall Creek, on May 21
Rob Base, 59, rapper and songwriter, on May 22
Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock – It Takes Two (1988, also as co-writer)
Rob Base – Get Up And Have A Good Time (1990, also as writer)
Dick Parry, 83, English saxophonist, on May 22
Pink Floyd – Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 4-5) (1975, on saxophone)
Jools Topp, 68, half of New Zealand folk, comedy and activism duo Topp Twins, on May 23
The Topp Twins – Untouchable Girls (2001)
Philip Aaberg, 77, jazz and classical pianist, on May 23
John Eaton, 91, jazz pianist, musicologist, humourist, on May 24
John Eaton And His Syn-Ket – Blues Machine (1967)
Betty Roe, 95, English composer and singer, on May 24
Sonny Rollins, 95, jazz saxophonist, on May 25
Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins – Doxy (1954, on tenor sax and as composer)
Sonny Rollins – Without A Song (1962)
Sonny Rollins – Don’t Stop The Carnival (Live) (1978)
Rolling Stones – Waiting On A Friend (1981, on tenor sax)
Bjørn Tidmand, 86, Danish schlager singer, on May 26
Lotte Rømer, 75, Danish rock singer, composer and author, on May 28
Geoff Keating, 88, member of UK comedy a cappella group Master Singers, announced May 29
The Master Singers – The Highway Code (1966, also as co-writer)
Doug Shaw, 42, UK-born guitarist of psychedelic band White Magic, announced May 29
Derek Ritchie, 66, drummer of punk band The Liars, announced May 29
Pedro Ortaça, 83, Brazilian musician, on July 29
Ronald LaPread, 75, bass player of the Commodores, songwriter, on May 30
Commodores – Machine Gun (1974)
Commodores – Brick House (1977, also as co-writer)
Foster Sylvers, 64, soul singer, songwriter, producer, on July 30
The Sylvers – Boogie Fever (1975, as member)
Joe Negri, 99, jazz guitarist, academic and actor on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, on May 30
Joe Negri And His Guitar – So Blue (Tanto Blu) (1961)
Dexter Wansel, 75, soul keyboardist, songwriter, producer, arranger, bandleader, on May 31
Dexter Wansel – Life On Mars (1976, also on keyboards and as writer and producer)
Teddy Pendergrass – Love TKO (1980, as co-producer and arranger)
The Jones Girls – Nights Over Egypt (1981, as producer, arranger and co-writer)
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