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Any Major Soul 1986

August 25th, 2026 4 comments

 

I was not going to do an Any Major Soul 1986, given the absence of comments over the past few years. But at the end of the year, a reader asked that I continue the series. I’m glad he did, and I loved putting this mix together. 1986 was not a year of transition and innovation, but it was a fine vintage for soul music.

Maze, led by the late, great Frankie Beverley, released their second live double-album, Live In LA. It was every bit the equal of their classic Live In New Orleans set from 1981. The Manhattans, (featuring here in a duet with Regina Belle), The Temptations and George Benson were still around, as were Beau Williams (whose Elvina was a big soul hit in 1982), and the Crown Heights Affair, whose recording career was nearing its end.

Luther Vandross finally hit the big time with his glossily-produced Give Me The Reason album. Much of it was likable soul-pop and superb soul balladry; the featured track, See Me was a true soul groove number.

Freddie Jackson consolidated his success in 1985 with five consecutive US R&B #1 hits from his Just Like The First Time album, including his lovely duet with Melba Moore, A Little Bit More, which features here. In the UK, he had a breakthrough in 1986 with Rock Me Tonight, a US Top 20 hit the previous year.

The breakout star of 1986 was Anita Baker. Her sophomore album, Rapture, was flawless, with Baker fusing her naturally jazzy vocals with a soul sensibility. The other soul singer making it big in 1986 was Alexander O’Neal, but since his debut album was issued in 1985, as was his hit with Cherelle, Saturday Love, he doesn’t feature here (of course, he was on Any Major Soul 1985 as well as on Any Major Albums 1985). Well, he actually does feature here — unmistakably as a backing vocalist on The S.O.S. Band’s The Finest, produced by Jam & Lewis, who also produced O’Neal.

Other soul acts broke big in 1986, but few followed on from that success. Oran Jones, inevitably nicknamed “Juice”, turned out to be a one-hit wonder with his spectacularly misogynistic The Rain, which one must hope is a parody rather than an expression of Mr Jones’ character. Either way, it has a great groove, and some fabulous one-liners (“you without me is like corn flakes without the milk!”), delivered with relish (“You gotta get on outta here with that alley-cat-coat wearin’ Hush-Puppy-shoe-wearing crumb cake I saw you with”). Don’t touch that coat!

Gregory Abbot, ex-husband of soul legend Freda Payne, gave up a career as a professor in English at the University of Berkeley to pursue his vocation as a soul singer-songwriter. He had a huge hit in 1986 with Shake You Down, and his debut album of the same name was a best-seller. But after that, Abbot largely disappeared from the charts. Abbot’s last album, his fifth, came out in 2011.

Another soul act that broke through in 1986 was the trio Surface. Happy was their first pop hit, reaching #20 in the US (written by the members of Surface, it had first been recorded by UK funk group Hi-Tension in 1984). They went on to have more success, especially with the US #1 hit The First Time in 1990, and a #5 the previous year with Shower Me With Your Love, both sweetly-soppy ballads.

Two acts here represent UK soul. The wonderful Ruby Turner features with her magnificent cover of I’d Rather Go Blind, apparently issued on single “by popular demand”. Jaki Graham duets with Derek Bramble. Her partner was no lucky hanger-on. Bramble wrote all but one of the tracks on Jaki’s Breaking Free album, produced it, arranged it, co-engineered it, played bass on all tracks, and keyboards and guitar on some, and contributed vocals on two duets and backing vocals on most. Previously he had co-produced David Bowie’s Tonight album.

As always, this mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R and includes home-raptured covers and the above text in PDF format. PW in Comments.

1. Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly – Happy Feelings (live)
2. Luther Vandross – See Me
3. Anita Baker – Same Ole Love
4. Freddie Jackson & Melba Moore – Just A Little Bit More
5. Gregory Abbot – I Got The Feelin’ (It’s Over)
6. The Manhattans feat. Regina Belle – Where Did We Go Wrong
7. The Temptations – Lady Soul
8. Surface – Happy
9. Oran ‘Juice’ Jones – The Rain
10. Epicenter feat. Sandra Feva – You Can’t Come Up In Here No More
11. Beau Williams – All Because You
12. Gwen Guthrie – You Touched My Life
13. Jaki Graham & Derek Bramble – Let’s Get Blue
14. Ruby Turner – I’d Rather Go Blind
15. George Benson – Kisses In The Moonlight
16. Crown Heights Affair – Make Me The One
17. S.O.S. Band – The Finest

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More Any Major Soul

Categories: 80s soul, Any Major Soul Tags:

Blonde On Blonde Recovered

August 13th, 2026 7 comments

The 60th anniversary on June 20 passed me by, but it’s never too late to pay tribute to Bob Dylan’s epochal Blonde On Blonde double album. This Recovered set slides in nicely with the five-part Bob Dylan Songbooks. In my song selection for this Blonde On Blonde Recovered set, I’ve tried not to duplicate any of the Songbook tracks, other than one for which there were no alternatives.

Blonde On Blonde was recorded in Nashville in February and March 1966. By then, Dylan was already one of the most influential songwriters of his generation. Within four years he had evolved from the earnest folk singer of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan into the gone-electric provocateur whose performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival had, charitably put, split opinion.

Highway 61 Revisited had yielded the folk-and-rock fusion of Like A Rolling Stone — “Judas!” — so expectations for what would come next were immense.

Dylan delivered an album quite unlike anything before it. Blonde On Blonde was the first widely recognised double album in rock consisting entirely of new material. At the time, double LPs were generally live recordings or collections of jazz or classical music. Dylan wasn’t the first artist to demonstrate that rock, like jazz, could use the long-playing record as an artistic canvas rather than just a collection of songs, but he nevertheless broke new ground by doing so on a double album — and one on which a single song, Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands, filled an entire side (after an hour and 13 minutes of music, you wouldn’t quibble that he might have fit another track to Side 4).

It took a lot of self-confidence to omit both artist’s name and album title from the front cover, and even the back, which also features no track-listing, nor did the inside gatefold. If you wanted to know the title playing, you had to be able to read a label at 33 rotations per minute.

Dylan didn’t just go electric, but also eclectic, drawing on folk, rock, blues, country and pop. On Fourth Time Around he openly copies The Beatles’ Norwegian Wood — whether as a droll dig at a band that had been inspired by him or as an affectionate homage is unclear, but it reportedly freaked out John Lennon when he first heard the song, seeing it as a dig.

Dylan’s lyrics became increasingly stream-of-consciousness, making songs such as Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again and Visions Of Johanna difficult to interpret. But when it came to love, Dylan could also be direct, as he was on I Want You, reportedly written for his wife Sara. The eleven-minute Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands was a meditation on his relationship with Sara, with the title playing on her maiden name, Lownds.

Bob and Sara in 1965.

Initial reviews of the album reflected both admiration and bafflement. It was not long before it came to be regarded as a masterpiece. Whether it is Dylan’s greatest album is a matter of personal preference (though perhaps less so if you reduce Blonde On Blonde to a single LP!), but it is undeniably one of the defining albums in the history of popular music.

When it comes to covers of Dylan songs, it is usually pointless to argue whether they are better or worse than the originals. Of course, some are really bad (none here, of course), but much depends on how one can bear Dylan’s voice and delivery. Some people can’t abide by it; for others, the voice is an inseparable part of the package. And others still — I hope including the readers of this blog — can delight in both.

The Recovered set kicks off with perhaps the least unexpected cover: bluegrass legends Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs doing Rainy Day Women #12 & #35, with its chant, “Everybody must get stoned”, a double entendre referring both to public stoning and getting high. It must have been quite a thing for the conservative Lester Flatt to be involved in. Yet on the duo’s 1968 album Nashville Airplane, four of the 11 tracks are Dylan songs, alongside the Dylan-inspired protest songs Universal Soldier and Catch The Wind.

Three covers here stand out in particular. Richie Havens, that superb interpreter of songs, gives Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands a lovely 1970s pop sensibility. I’d play this ahead of Dylan’s version any time. Nina Simone brings Just Like A Woman a raw emotional vulnerability, and a quite wonderful arrangement. And Australian singer-songwriter Emma Swift (no relation to the other Swift) turns the rather overlooked One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) into one of the highlights of this set. It comes from her superbly titled 2020 Dylan tribute album Blonde On The Tracks.

As always, the mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R and includes home-leopardskinned covers as well as the text above in an illustrated PDF. PW in comments.

1. Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs – Rainy Day Women #12 & #35 (1968)
2. Luther Johnson – Pledging My Time (1995)
3. Marianne Faithfull – Visions Of Johanna (1985)
4. Emma Swift – One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) (2020)
5. Cher – I Want You (1966)
6. Grateful Dead – Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again (live) (1988)
7. Beck – Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (2009)
8. Nina Simone – Just Like A Woman (1971)
9. Rita Coolidge – Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine) (1971)
10. Deborah Coleman – Temporary Like Achilles (2003)
11. The Flamin’ Groovies – Absolutely Sweet Marie (1979)
12. The Sports – Fourth Time Around (1981)
13. Toni Price – Obviously 5 Believers (1995)
14. Richie Havens – Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands (1974)

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More Recovered albums:
What’s Going On (Marvin Gaye)
Tapestry (Carole King)
Blue (Joni Mitchell)
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John)
Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Bruce Springsteen)
Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (David Bowie)
Purple Rain (Prince)
Every Beatles album

More Cover Mixes
Previous Albums Recovered
More CD-R Mixes

Categories: Albums Recovered, Covers Mixes Tags:

In Memoriam – July 2026

August 3rd, 2026 11 comments

Many tracks featured in this series made a great impact, but rarely do they qualify as being the first to do something. This month, one track did: English power-pop band Koopa’s 2007 song Blag Steal & Borrow was the first to make the UK top 40 on strength of digital downloads alone in January 2007, following a change in rules the week before that made all legally downloaded singles chart-eligible. They did so without a record label, also a first (that is, even without a self-release label). So one could add this to the Any Major Firsts mix.

A quick reminder that all In Memoriams going back to January 2017 are back up. You can find them HERE!

The Rasper
She had one of the most instantly recognisable voices in pop music — thanks to a surgery and disobeying her doctor. Bonnie Tyler, born as Gaynor Hopkins in Wales, was singing in local clubs before she won a talent contest in 1969. She adopted the stage name Bonnie Tyler soon afterwards.

After surgery on her vocal chords, Tyler ignored doctor’s orders not to speak for several weeks — and thus she was left her with her trademark gravelly voice.

Tyler’s breakthrough came in late 1976 with Lost in France. In early 1978 she had a huge hit with It’s A Heartache, which topped the charts in several countries and reached the top 5 in both the UK and the United States.

For a few years after that, things became quiet until she teamed up with producer Jim Steinman. Their first collaboration, the wonderfully overblown Total Eclipse Of The Heart, became a worldwide mega hit 1983, helped along by the most inexplicable video (which inspired this “literal video” masterpiece).

In 1984 she had a hit with a duet with Shakin’ Stevens, the amiable but inessential A Rockin’ Good Way. The same year she reunited with Steinman for Holding Out For A Hero, featured in the 1984 film Footloose, another 1980s pop classic. The Steinman-produced follow-up Loving You’s A Dirty Job But Somebody’s Gotta Do It, with Todd Rundgren on guest vocals, deserved a little better than flopping badly. Steinman also produced her on 1986’s If You Were A Woman (And I Was A Man), a terrible 1980s production that was a hit in Europe but flopped in the UK and the US. It was later repurposed as You Give Love A Bad Name by Bon Jovi.

Tyler continued recording and touring, but never resumed chart success. She represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 with Believe In Me. She was awarded an MBE in 2022 for services to music. By all accounts, she was a most lovely, grounded person.

The Sax Legend
Chances are that at some point in your life, you have whistled the saxophone lines of Plas Johnson, who has died at the age of 94. When Henry Mancini wrote The Theme Of The Pink Panther, he had his long-time collaborator Johnson in mind for that instantly recognisable tenor sax lead. It has become one of the best-known saxophone recordings ever made.

Born Eugene Johnson in 1931 in Louisiana, he was nicknamed Plas as a child. Raised in a musical family, he moved with them to Los Angeles, where his older brother, Ray Johnson, was a saxophonist piano player.

Starting out as a jazz musician, Johnson released several records under his own name in the late 1950s and early 1960s, while also backing the likes of Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald (on several of her “Songbook” albums), Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin, as well as acts like The Coasters, Sam Cooke and The Drifters.

By the early 1960s he was in the circle of session musicians who would become known as The Wrecking Crew, though he stood out among them as his name was already fairly well-known. Johnson played on many of the Phil Spector productions and some other Wrecking Crew sessions — record-keeping of who played on what were poor — and also played on countless film and TV scores.

The list of artists he backed over a 40-year career is endless. He played on The Beach Boys’ Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made For Walking, and, it seems, on Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On. He also played the gorgeous flute on Nicolette Larson’s Lotta Time.

Johnson appeared on Steely Dan’s Pretzel Logic, The Royal Scam and Aja albums, but rather as part of horn sections than as a soloist.

Johnson died a couple of days after I finalised the Any Major Albums Of 1976. He played on four of the featured albums: by Steely Dan, Boz Scaggs (on the featured track, What Can I Say), Rod Stewart, and Deniece Williams.

The Girl Power Pioneer
The Chantels were a pioneering group of the golden age of girl groups, paving the way for acts like The Shirelles, The Cookies, The Ronettes, The Crystals and many others, and by extension of Motown girl groups such as the Marvelettes, Velvelettes, Vandellas and ultimately Supremes. The leader of The Chantels was Arlene Smith, their lead singer and principal songwriter.

Born in 1941 in New York City, Smith grew up in the Bronx, where she and classmates — Sonia Goring, Jackie Landry, Rene Minus and Lois Harris — sang in the choir of St Anthony of Padua School, where they were also taught he intricate harmonies of Gregorian Chant. Formed in the mid-1950s, The Chantels — the moniker was inspired by a rival school named after the Catholic saint Frances de Chantal — soon became one of the first successful black female vocal groups of the rock & roll era.

Their breakthrough came in 1957 with Maybe, a ballad written (probably with the help of mentor and producer Richard Barrett) and sung by the teenage Smith. It became one of the defining recordings of 1950s doo-wop. The group followed up with hits such as Every Night (I Pray), I Love You So and Look In My Eyes. In 2002, Rolling Stone ranked Maybe at #199 in their Top 500 pop sings of all time.

Unusually for their time, Smith wrote much of the group’s early material, although she did not always receive the songwriting credit or royalties she deserved — sadly, a common story in the 1950s. On some records, label boss George Goldner (an associate of the notorious Morris Levy) claimed the credit. More recently, Smith’s role as the creative force behind The Chantels’ classics has become increasingly recognised.

After leaving The Chantels in 1959, the same time Goldner’s label went bust, Smith pursued a solo career, recording for several labels, with the young Phil Spector among her producers, but she never repeated the commercial success of The Chantels. She later reunited with various line-ups of The Chantels for concerts and released one further single in 1970.

The Hit Busker
One of the remarkable things about the wonderful 1991 film The Commitments is that the actors were chosen largely because they could sing or play their instruments, rather than as established actors. One of them was guitarist Glen Hansard, who has died at 56 in a motorbike accident.

Hansard played Outspan Foster, the quiet guitarist in Alan Parker’s acclaimed adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s novel. Already fronting his band The Frames, Hansard would become one of Ireland’s most respected singer-songwriters.

Born in Dublin in 1970, Hansard left school at 13 and began busking on the city’s streets. After meeting fellow buskers who were Hare Krishnas, he joined their religion. It is as a busker that we meet his character Outspan as he is recruited into The Commitments.

In 1990 Hansard formed the rock band The Frames, which went on to become one of Ireland’s most influential rock bands. They had their biggest commercial success in the 2000s.

Hansard achieved worldwide recognition in 2007 with the independent film Once, in which he starred opposite Czech-Icelandic musician Markéta Irglová. Made on a modest budget, the film became an international hit, and they won an Oscar for Best Original Song for Falling Slowly. The film later inspired the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Once.

His partnership with Irglová — including a slightly controversial two-year romantic relationship that begun when he was 35 and she 17 — continued as the folk duo The Swell Season, while Hansard also established a successful solo career. He also collaborated with people like Bono and Bruce Springsteen, both of whom paid tribute to Hansard after his death.

Hansard was socially engaged. For many years he organised Dublin’s annual Christmas Eve busk on Grafton Street, raising substantial funds for charities serving homeless people. He also supported other social and humanitarian causes.

At Shane MacGowan’s funeral service in December 2023, Hansard sang Fairytale Of New York with Lisa O’Neill, backed by The Pogues.

The Beaky
There is now only one survivor of 1960s hitmakers Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich — drummer Mick. Dave Dee left us in 2009, Dozy in 2015, and Tich in 2024. Now Beaky has died.

Born in 1944 in Salisbury, England, as John Dymond, he was nicknamed Beaky because of his prominent nose, which was probably funnier in the 1960s than it is now.

Formed in Salisbury in the early 1960s, Dave Dee, Dozy et al broke through internationally in 1966 with their theatrical performances, colourful costumes and adventurous productions, including cracking whips in the glorious The Legend of Xanadu. Beaky was the band’s rhythm guitarist (it featured on Any Major Teen Dreams).

The band enjoyed a remarkable run of hit singles, including Hold Tight, Bend It, Hideaway, Save Me, Zabadak, Last Night in Soho, The Legend of Xanadu, and Don Juan, becoming one of the UK’s biggest-selling singles acts of the 1960s.

Following the group’s original break-up in 1969, Beaky remained active in music, performing in later reunions and touring versions of the band. At the time of his death, he was the last original member still performing with an iteration of the band whose line-up includes successors to Dave Dee, Dozy, Mick & Tich, going by those stage names.

The Hit Backing Singer
One of the oddest things in pop music history must be that Stevie Wonder let two session singers sing the first lines of You Are The Sunshine Of My Life, an instant classic. The male voice we hear first is that of Jim Gilstrap, who has died at the age of 79.

Gilstrap is no stranger to this little corner of the Internet. Mostly recently, he featured on Any Major Hits From 1975 Vol. 2 with his hit Swing Your Daddy. He was on Any Major Soul 1975 Vol. 1 (with the superb House Of Strangers), and on Covered With Soul Vol. 9 and Vol. 19 (the Motown edition), while his Put Out The Fire appeared in Any Major Flute Vol. 5.

The Texan began his music career after returning from action in the Vietnam War. He first sang with an easy-listening group called the Doodletown Pipers before joining the soul vocal group The Cultures, whose work backing established artists led him into the world of session work.

Gilstrap’s big break came when he became a member of Stevie Wonder’s backing vocal group, Wonderlove, contributing to the albums Talking Book, Innervisions and Fulfillingness’ First Finale. He also backed acts like at the time.

In 1974 he recorded the theme to the sitcom Good Times, a duet with Blinky Williams. His solo career kicked off with Swing Your Daddy, a UK top 10 hit written by Kenny Nolan. Follow-up singles such as House of Strangers and Put Out the Fire had modest success, and Gilstrap’s solo career fizzled out after just two albums.

But he made a good career as a backing singer. Gilstrap sang on many hits. Among them were Quincy Jones’ Ai No Corrida (among many other Quincy tracks), Boz Scaggs’ Lowdown, Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, George Benson’s Give Me The Night  and Love X Love, The Jacksons’ Can You Feel It), Anita Baker’s Sweet Love, Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody and Where Do Broken Hearts Go, Peabo Bryson & Kenny G’s By The Time This Night Is Over (which featured last month in In Memoriam – June 2026), Luther Vandross’ Love The One You’re With, Aretha Franklin’s Freeway Of Love and I Knew You Were Waiting (with George Michael), Jermaine Stewart’s We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off, Stacy Lattisaw’s Jump To The Beat, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway’s The Closer I Get To You… and those are the hits I could find a credit for!

Gilstrap also backed the likes of Syreeta, Martha Reeves, Peggy Lee, Elkie Brook, Ringo Starr, Neil Diamond, Bill Withers, Jose Feliciano, Brothers Johnson, Boz Scaggs, Roberta Flack, Barbra Streisand, Minnie Riperton, Candi Staton, Olivia Newton-John, Patrice Rushen, Leonard Cohen, Dolly Parton, Elton John, Kenny Loggins, Narada Michael Walden, James Ingram, DeBarge, Crowded House, Patti LaBelle, Santana, Teddy Pendergrass, Gladys Knight, Aaron Neville, Celine Dion, George Duke, Joe Cocker, Natalie Cole, and many others.

He also backed Rodney Franklin, who died this month (see below), and the Boz Scaggs tracks he appeared on include What Can I Say, on which the above-mentioned Plas Johnson played sax.

The Writing Producer
One of those behind-the-scenes names that only the keen students of production credits notice was that of British-born songwriter and producer Brian Potter, who co-produced such hits as Glen Campbell’s Rhinestone Cowboy, Players’ Baby Come Back, and Don’t Pull Your Love by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds

Born in England, Potter wrote the Small Faces’ debut single, Whatcha Gonna Do About It. He then found global success after teaming up with US-born Dennis Lambert. Among their best-known compositions are Don’t Pull Your Love, the Four Tops’ Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got), Keeper Of The Castle and Are You Man Enough, Tavares’ It Only Takes A Minute (later a big hit for Take That), One Tin Soldier by Coven, Ashes To Ashes by The 5th Dimension, Rock And Roll Heaven by the Righteous Brothers, and Campbell’s Country Boy

Potter and Lambert co-produced these, as well as the likes of The Grass Roots, Dusty Springfield, Santana, Cuba Gooding, Evie Sands and Player.

The Mini-drama Writer
Although he never achieved the fame of the artists who recorded his songs, singer and songwriter Joe Melson helped create some of the defining hits of the early 1960s, most notably through his long partnership with Roy Orbison.

Born in 1935 into a family of sharecroppers in Texas, Melson grew up with country, gospel and R&B. After serving in the US Navy, he moved to Nashville and into songwriting at a time when rock & roll was transforming into popular music.

One day he spotted Roy Orbison sitting in a car, trying to write a song. Melson tapped on the window — and a fertile songwriting team was born. With Orbison he wrote mini-dramas that showcased Roy’s soaring voice and emotional intensity such as Only The Lonely, Crying, Blue Bayou, Running Scared, Blue Angel, I’m Hurtin’, and Blue Bird.

Only The Lonely was rejected by both Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers, and so became Orbison’s breakthrough hit. Crying later became a hit for both Don McLean, and Blue Bayou for Linda Ronstadt.

Melson also enjoyed modest success as a recording artist in his own right. His biggest hit was Hey Mr Cupid (written by Boudleaux Bryant), and he continued writing and producing for other performers throughout the 1960s and beyond.

The Groover
One of those instantly uplifting jazz fusion numbers is the appropriately-titled The Groove from 1980, whose creator, the jazz pianist Rodney Franklin, has died at age 68.

As a teenager, Franklin attended the prestigious Berkeley High School, whose music programme has produced many distinguished jazz musicians. At the age of 14, he led his own band, In One Piece, and he was only 20 when he released his debut album in 1978.

Franklin was only 21 or 22 when he wrote and recorded that The Groove, a true fusion classic and a Top 10 hit in the UK which started a dance craze there called “The Freeze”.

Franklin had a solid fan base, but further crossover success eluded him. He also backed several acts, including the Isley Brothers on their 1993 live album.

The Guitar Virtuoso
One of the most respected guitarists in the jazz-rock fusion movement of the 1970s, Ray Gómez had a dazzling technique and an ability to move effortlessly between jazz, rock, blues and Latin music. Yet, his best-known contribution is as member of the Spanish group Pop-Tops, who recorded the first version of the global hit Mamy Blue.

Born in Casablanca, Morocco, in 1953, Gómez’s family moved to Spain in 1965. A guitar prodigy, he soon became one of the country’s leading young musicians, performing with pop and rock groups including Los Pekenikes and the Pop-Tops before relocating first to the UK, where he met George Harrison, and then to the United States in the mid-1970s, where he became friends with John Lennon.

There Gómez’s big breakthrough came when he joined bassist Stanley Clarke’s band, playing on the seminal School Days (including superb guitar work on the title track) and other Clarke albums. He also worked with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, Cat Stevens, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Jack DeJohnette, Narada Michael Walden, Alphonso Johnson, Billy Cobham, Hall & Oates, Melba Moore, Deodato, and many others. And, a recurring theme this month, he also played with the aforementioned Rodney Franklin.

As a bandleader, Gómez also released several solo albums.

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.

 

Barry Dransfield, c.78, English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, on June 14
Barry Dransfield – Be My Friend (1972, also on guitar and violin)

Brian Potter, c.86, UK-born songwriter and producer, on June 30
Four Tops – Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got) (1973, as co-writer and co-producer)
Tavares – It Only Takes A Minute ) (1973, as co-writer and co-producer)
Player – Baby Come Back (1977, as co-producer)

Joe Melson, 91, singer and songwriter, on July 1
Roy Orbison – Only The Lonely (1960, as co-writer)
Joe Melson – Hey, Mister Cupid (1961)
Linda Ronstadt – Blue Bayou (1978, as co-writer)
Roy Orbison & kd lang – Crying (1992, as co-writer)

Shaun Glass, 57, heavy metal guitarist and bassist, on July 1

Tommy Hunter, 89, Canadian country singer, on July 2

Bill Vanhoy, 89, bluegrass singer and guitarist, on July 3

Sparky D, 61, rapper, on July 4
Sparky D – Sparky’s Turn (Roxanne You’re Through) (1985)

Roger ‘B. War’ Svensson, 60, bassist of Swedish metal group Marduk, on July 4

Beaky (John Dymond), 81, English member of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, on July 5
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich – You Make It Move (1965)
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich – Save Me (1966)

Christian Moran, 42, English-Korean drummer, on July 5

Rahel Yohannes, 79, Ethiopian singer and musician, on July 5

Paul Wheatbread, 80, drummer of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, on July 6
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap – Woman, Woman (1967)

Earle Dumler, woodwind player (mostly oboe), on July 6
Carpenters – For All We Know (1971, on oboe)

Lauren Bennett, 36, singer with UK girl group G.R.L., announced July 6
LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock – Party Rock Anthem (2011)

Kevin Chown, 56, bass guitarist, on July 6

Joe Murphy, 46, bassist of UK rock band Koopa, announced July 7
Koopa – Blag, Steal & Borrow (2006, also as co-writer and co-producer)

Megas, 81, Icelandic rock singer and songwriter, announced July 7
Megas – Við sem heima sitjum (1977, also as writer)

Football World Cup, 96, sporting event, of terminal corruption, on July 7

Bonnie Tyler, 75, Welsh pop and rock singer, on July 8
Bonnie Tyler – It’s A Heartache (1977)
Bonnie Tyler – If You Were A Woman (And I Was A Man) (1986)
Bonnie Tyler – Believe In Me (2013)

Ella Laboriel, 81, Mexican singer and actress, on July 8

Rodney Franklin, 67, jazz fusion pianist and composer, on July 8
Rodney Franklin – I Like The Music Make It Hot (1978)
Rodney Franklin – The Groove (1980, also as writer)

Sylvie Grare, French heavy metal singer, on July 8

Anette McLennan, 63, drummer of South African rock band No Friends of Harry, on July 9
No Friends Of Harry – On The Beach (1987)

Calvin Hayes, 63, member of UK band Johnny Hates Jazz, producer, on July 9
Johnny Hates Jazz – Shattered Dreams (1986, also as co-producer)

John Defferary, 86, British jazz musician, on July 10

Andrew Bickers, Australian saxophonist (Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil), on July 10
Midnight Oil – Say Your Prayers (2000)

Jimmy Nichols, 64, country pianist and musical director (Nichols Brothers), on July 11
Faith Hill – Fireflies (2005, on accordion)

Rodney Holmes, 59, jazz and rock drummer, on July 11
Santana feat. Rob Thomas – Smooth (1999, on drums)

Bob Farrell, 77, Christian musician and songwriter, on July 11

Dave Redmonds, 66, trombonist with punk band UK Snuff, on July 11
Snuff – Caught In Session (1996)

Lenzman, 47, Dutch drum and bass producer, on July 11

Peppino di Capri, 86, Italian singer, on July 11
Peppino di Capri – Champagne (1973)

Vernon Taylor, 88, rockabilly singer, on July 12
Vernon Taylor – Sweet And Easy To Love (1959)

Mike Browning, 62, heavy metal drummer (Morbid Angel, Nocturnus), on July 13

Melaine Favennec, 75, French singer, on July 13

Little Gerhard, 92, Swedish rock & roll singer and songwriter, on July 14
Little Gerhard – What You’ve Done To Me (1958)

Fantan Mojah, 49, Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter, on July 14
Fantan Mojah – Rasta Got Soul (2016)

Plas Johnson, 94, soul and jazz saxophonist, flautist, on July 15
Plas Johnson – Too Close For Comfort (1959)
Henry Mancini – The Pink Panther Theme (1963, on tenor sax)
Rita Coolidge – Seven Bridges Road (1971, on alto sax)
Nicolette Larson – Lotta Love (1978, on flute)

Takeshi Shibuya, 86, Japanese jazz pianist, on July 16

René Urtreger, 92, French jazz pianist, on July 16

Cleveland Still, 91, first tenor of doo wop group The Dubs, on July 17
The Dubs – Chapel Of Dreams (1957)

Freddy Cannon, 89, rock & roll singer, on July 17
Freddy Cannon – Palisades Park (1962)

Tony Thorpe, 80, guitarist of English pop band The Rubettes, announced July 18
The Rubettes – Ooh La La (1977)

Jim Gilstrap, 79, soul singer, on July 18
Stevie Wonder – Too High (1973, on backing vocals)
Jim Gilstrap & Blinky Williams – Theme from ‘Good Times’ (1974)
James Gilstrap – One More Heartache (1974)
James Gilstrap – Move Me (1976)

Gianni Cazzola, 88, Italian jazz drummer, on July 18

Jennifer Finch, 59, bassist of punk band L7, songwriter, photographer, on July 18
L7 – Pretend We’re Dead (1992)

Patrick Gleeson, 91, jazz musician, producer, film composer, on July 19
Bennie Maupin – Water Torture (1977, on synthesizer)

Alley Boy, 42, rapper, announced July 20

Vibert Cornwall, 87, Vincentian jazz singer, on July 20

Kevin Keegan, 75, English football player and singer, on July 20
Kevin Keegan – Head Over Heels In Love (1979)

Claudio Strunz, 59, Argentine thrash metal drummer, on July 20

Brian Doerksen, 61, Canadian Christian music singer-songwriter, on July 21

Oliver Jones, 91, Canadian jazz pianist, on July 22
Oliver Jones Trio – Hymn To Freedom (1991)

Luís Represas, 69, Portuguese singer and composer, on July 22

Curtis Blackwell, 83, bluegrass guitarist and singer, on July 23

Bill Oddie, 85, English comedian, TV presenter, musician, on July 23
Bill Oddie – Ilkley Moor Baht At (1970)

Lou Koller, 59, singer of punk band Sick of It All, on July 24

Louie Romero, salsa percussionist, on July 24
Willie Colón & Héctor Lavoe – El Día De Mi Suerte (1975, on timbales)

Marie-Paule Belle, 80, French singer, pianist and songwriter, on July 25

Frank Tusa, 79, jazz double-bassist and composer, on July 26

Ray Gómez, 73, jazz-rock and pop guitarist and singer, announced July 28
Pop-Tops – Mamy Blue (1971, as member; original version of the global hit)
Stanley Clarke – School Days (1976, on guitar)
Ray Gomez – Make Your Move (1980, also on vocals)

Kavinsky, 50, French DJ, musician, film composer and actor, discovered on July 28
Kavinsky – Nightcall (2010, also as co-writer and co-producer)

Geraldine Bey, 91, American jazz singer, on July 28
Andy Bey & The Bey Sisters – Willow Weep For Me (1964)

Javier Martín del Campo, 75, Mexican musician (Revolución de Emiliano Zapata), ann. July 29
La Revolución de Emiliano Zapata – Nasty Sex (1971, also as co-writer and co-producer)

Arlene Smith, 84, singer and songwriter with girl group The Chantels, on July 29
The Chantels – He’s Gone (1957, also as co-writer and on lead vocals)
The Chantels – Maybe (1957, also as co-writer and on lead vocals)
Arlene Smith – Love Love Love (1961)

Glen Hansard, 56, Irish musician and actor, motorcycle accident on July 29
The Frames – Finally (2004, also as lead co-writer)
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova – Falling Slowly (2006, also as co-writer, producer)
The Frames – Revelate (2008, also as lead co-writer)

Gunnar Þórðarson, 81, Icelandic guitarist, producer and songwriter, announced July 30

Jeff Connolly, 69, frontman of garage rock group Lyres, on July 31

Vicki Wickham, 87, English manager (Dusty Springfield, LaBelle), on July 31
Dusty Springfield – You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me (1966, as co-lyricist)

Pepe Villalobos, 96, Peruvian musician and composer, on July 31

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