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"The history of a people is found in it's songs" ~ George Jellinek
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Our Thoughts Go Out To Etta James' Family
May She Rest In Peace

Etta James
January 25th 1938 – January 20th 2012
Etta James, whose rich voice breathed life into many musical genres, from soul to blues to R&B to jazz to pop, has sadly died at the age of 73. Etta died of while fighting Alzheimer's disease and leukemia and leaves behind a husband and her two sons Donto and Sametto.

Singer Etta, was born Jamesetta Hawkins, in Los Angeles, Californiam, but due to her 14 year old mother being often absent, Etta lived with a series of caregivers, most notably "Sarge" and "Mama" Lu. She sang at the church from the age of 5 and at home was beaten and forced by Sarge to sing in the early hours at drunken poker games. In 1950 Mama Lu died, and Etta's real mother took her to the Fillmore, in San Francisco. Within a couple of years, Etta inspired by doo-wop, formed a girl group, called the Creolettes. Johnny Otis took the group under his wing, helping them sign to Modern Records and changing their name from the Creolettes to the Peaches and gave Etta her stage name, reversing Jamesetta into Etta James. Through her career Etta's style spanned a variety of music genres including blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, gospel and jazz. Her solo debut album, At Last!, was released in late 1960 and was noted for its varied choice in music. She gained fame with hits such as "Dance With Me, Henry", "At Last", "Tell Mama", and "I'd Rather Go Blind" for which she claimed she wrote the lyrics. She has performed at the top world jazz festivals in the world, such as the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1977, 1989, 1990 and 1993, performed nine times at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival, and the San Francisco Jazz Festival five times. Etta faced a number of personal problems, including drug addiction, before making a musical resurgence in the late 1980s with the album The Seven Year Itch. Etta is regarded as having bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and is the winner of six Grammys and 17 Blues Music Awards. In 1994 the music industry awarded her her first Grammy for a collection of Billie Holliday songs, Mystery Lady. Her warts and all autobiography, A Rage to Survive, was published in 1998. 2001's Matriarch of the Blues, was critically acclaimed, with Rolling Stone magazine's reviewer saying that she had reclaimed her throne. Etta continued to perform in later years, despite health problems, still the awards came. A Grammy Lifetime Achievement award in 2003, was followed by another Grammy in 2004 for the album, Let's Roll and yet another in 2005, for Blues to the Bone. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008. Rolling Stone ranked her No 22 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and number 62 on the list of the 100 Greatest Artists. In November 2011, Etta released her final album, The Dreamer, which was critically acclaimed upon its release. Over the years she has influenced a wide variety of American musicians including Diana Ross, Christina Aguilera, Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, and Hayley Williams of Paramore as well as British artists The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Elkie Brooks, Amy Winehouse, Paloma Faith, Joss Stone and Adele
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Our Thoughts Go Out To Johnny Otis' Family
May He Rest In Peace

Johnny Otis
December 28th 1921 ~ January 17th 2012
Rhythm and Blues pioneer, the Godfather of Rhythm and Blues, Johnny Otis has sadly died at his home in Altadena, California at the age of 90. He is survived by his wife of 60 years Phyllis and their children, two of whom, Nick and Shuggie, played in his band.

Pioneering rhythm and blues singer, talent scout, disc jockey, composer, arranger, author, record producer, vibraphonist, drummer, bandleader, pastor and is commonly referred to as the "Godfather of Rhythm and Blues", was born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes in Vallejo, a predominantly black neighborhood in California, where he started out playing drums in a variety of swing orchestras, including Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders, and Harlan Leonard's Rockets, after which he founded his own band in 1945 and had one of the most enduring hits of the big band era, "Harlem Nocturne". Other of his many hits included "Double Crossing Blues," "Mistrustin' Blues", "Cupid's Boogie", "Gee Baby", "All Nite Long" "Mambo Boogie", "Sunset to Dawn" and "Ma He's Making Eyes At Me". In the late 1940s, he discovered Big Jay McNeely, then in the mid 50s he discovered Etta James, for whom he produced her first hit, "Roll With Me, Henry" aka "The Wallflower". Among his other discoveries were Little Richard, Little Esther Phillips, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John and Hank Ballard. He produced the original recording of Leiber and Stoller’s "Hound Dog" with vocals by Big Mama Thornton, and was given a writing credit on all six of the 1953 releases of the song. He was a successful songwriter; one of his most famous compositions is "Every Beat of My Heart", first recorded by The Royals in the 1952. He wrote other R&B hits, including "So Fine", "Double Crossing Blues" and "All Nite Long". In April 1958, he recorded his best-known recording, "Willie and the Hand Jive". In 1970 Johnny played at the Monterey Jazz Festival with Little Esther Phillips and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. In the 1980s he had a weekly radio show in Los Angeles, playing R&B music, and also recorded with his son Shuggie Otis, releasing the 1982 album The New Johnny Otis Show. Johnny continued performing through the 1990s and headlined the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1990 and 2000, although because of his many other interests he went through long periods where he did not perform. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a nonperformer for his work as a songwriter and producer. As an author, Johnny published the book "Listen to the Lambs" in 1968, in the wake of the Watts riots and he chronicled the music scene "Upside Your Head! Rhythm and Blues on Central Avenue" in his 1994 book. In the 1990s, Otis bought a farm near Sebastopol, California, for a time he ran a coffee shop/grocery store/blues club, where one of the featured singers was the Georgia-born singer Jackie Payne. Around this time Otis also founded and pastored a new church, Landmark Community Gospel Church, which held weekly rehearsals in the tiny town of Forestville, California, and Sunday services in Santa Rosa, California. Later he hosted a radio show on KPFA, The Johnny Otis Show, aired every Saturday morning, his last show aired on August 19th 2006.
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Our Thoughts Go Out To Robbie France's Family
May He Rest In Peace

Robbie France
December 5th 1959 ~ January 14th 2012
Rock drummer, co-founder of Skunk Anansie, Robbie France aged 52, has tragically and unezpectedly died in Spain due to a ruptured aorta and complications during surgery in hospital in Mazarron, the town where he had lived since 1998. The one time drummer with UFO; Ellis, Beggs, & Howard and many others, leaves behind a loving family and many friends and fans.

English drummer, producer, arranger, journalist, educator, and broadcaster. Born in Sheffield, he emigrated to Australia around 1970, where he studied at the National Academy of Rudimentary Drummers of Australia until 1974. He formed the jazz-fusion group, Carnival, performed at the Oz Jazz Festival, and supported John McLaughlin. He worked with Stevie Wright of the Easybeats, Marty Rhone, Ray Burgess, Tim Gaze, and most major Australian artists. He amassed over 1,000 television, radio, and advertising credits, including eight documentaries and four film scores, including Band on the Run, one of the most successful surfing films ever made. Robbie left Australia in 1982 to return to England, where he joined Diamond Head the following year. Part of the NWOBHM movement, they performed at Castle Donington Monsters of Rock, then went on to record their third album, Canterbury. In 1985 he toured and recorded with UFO, replacing Andy Parker. Leaving UFO in 1986, he formed One Nation with Kipper, now Sting's producer. By now Bobbie was also teaching in drum clinics all over the world and he set up a teaching studio in Kingston upon Thames, where he worked with Gary O'Toole, Hugo Degenhardt, Gary Wallis, Mike + The Mechanics, Power Station, 10 CC, Jean Michel Jarre, The Style Council, Gary Ferguson, Mark Price, Tim Burgess, who he toured with through Europe & the U.K. During 1987, he began his monthly column for the popular British drummer's magazine Rhythm. That same year he joined Ellis, Beggs, & Howard aka E.B.H., whose first single, "Big Bubbles No Troubles", won the Diamond Award for best new group. After E.B.H., in 1990 he did a short stint with Wishbone Ash, with whom he toured and recorded the album Strange Affair. Robbie returned to Australia to form a solo jazz project, 'The Gab'. Based loosely as a tribute to the jazz greats; Elvin Jones & John Coltrane, their first album was recorded at EMI Studio 301 on 28 July 1993. In 1994 he returned to London, to promote the solo project bbut he became a founder member of Skunk Anansie and recorded and co-produced their smash-hit debut album "Paranoid& Sunburnt". He co-wrote the hit track "Weak", which has since been covered by Rod Stewart. He also recorded the B-side, "Army of Me", with Björk. In 1995, he joined the German group Alphaville with whom he toured and recorded with until an accident in which he severed his Achilles tendon. He moved to in Poland for over two years, hosting his own radio programme, and appearing on numerous television shows. In 1998 he moved to Puerto de Mazarron, Spain, in order to concentrate on writing a novel. He also successfully ran Pulpo Negro Records, Pulpo Negro Publishing, Pulpo Negro Studios, GCBC Productions, with his partner, Tim Oldfield up until 2004. His most resent project was a return to Radio broadcasting for both Real Radio 95.6 FM in Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca and One Radio Spain on the Costa Calida, providing simulcasts between the two Costas. Robbie's novel 'Six Degrees South' was published on December 7th 2011.
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Remembrance Tributes
OBITUARIES: 2012 . 2011 . 2010 . 2009 . 2008 . 2007 . 2006 . 2005 . 2004 . REQUESTS
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BIRTHS & DEATHS + MORE TRIBUTES
JAN .FEB .MAR .APRIL .MAY .JUNE .JULY .AUG .SEPT .OCT .NOV .DEC
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CONTACT: Beverley
landline: 01246 418941
mobile: 07971081603
e-mail: philbrodieband@aol.com