A Phil Brodie Band Muso Page
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OBITUARIES: 2008 . 2007 . 2006 . 2005 . 2004 . REQUESTS
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2007
MEMORIALS
" Let us remember the great talent each possessed "


Oscar Emmanuel Peterson
August 15th 1925 ~ December 23rd 2007
The world's greatest jazz pianist Oscar Peterson died Sunday night at his home in Mississauga, Ont., from kidney failure. Duke Ellington referred to him as the 'Maharajah of the keyboard,' while Count Basie once said 'Oscar Peterson plays the best ivory box I've ever heard.', this 82 year old legend leaves behind six children from his first and third marriages Lyn, Sharon, Gay, Oscar Jr., Norman and Joel; and one daughter, Celine, with his fourth wife, Kelly.

Renowned for his speed and virtuosity as a pianist, Oscar Peterson was born in a poor area of Montreal. Influenced by his father and sister Daisy, Oscar was playing the trumpet and piano by the time he was 5 years old, but after surviving tuberculosis, (sadly his also infecteed brother died) he chose to concentrate on the piano and strive to become a good as his idol, Art Tatum. During his high school years, he studied with an accomplished Hungarian-born classical pianist, Paul de Marky, who helped develop his technique and 'speedy fingers'. At 15 years old Oscar won first prize in a CBC radio talent show and was invited to play weekly on the Montreal station CKAC. He became a teen sensation playing the dance halls with bands like Johnny Holmes' Orchestra. and by his mid 20's he was in New York playing at Carnegie Hall. Oscar soon made a name for himself as a jazz virtuoso and in the latter half of the 40's he recorded 32 selections for Victor in Montreal. 1953 saw the beginning of lengendary Oscar Peterson Trio with upright bassist Ray Brown, and guitar player Herb Ellis. He spent the next 40 years performing, touring, recording, making TV and film appearances and collecting honors and awards. Then in 1993 Oscar suffered a stroke that affected his left hand, but after a two-year health rest, he gradually resumed performances, his touring and made a series of recording, and dispite his disabled hand he was still way ahead of any other jazz pianist. Among the dozens of awards and acknowledgments over six decades, Oscar won seven Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement award in 1997, he received an International Jazz Hall of Fame Award and was named a Companion of the Order of Canada, its highest level. He has had, squares, streets, schools, concert halls, all sorts named after him, but in 2005 he became the first living person other than a reigning monarch to be honored with a commemorative stamp in Canada. Oscar with his trio has recorded over 200 records, he has played and recorded countless records with most of the giants and royalty of the jazz world, including Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and played every corner of the world, including Russia. Fans around globe the will miss and mourn the passing of this, one of the last giants of jazz.

Daniel Grayling Fogelberg
August 13th 1951 ~ December 16th 2007
Singer, songwriter, composer and multi-musician, Dan Fogelberg has sadly lost his 3 year battle with cancer. He died peacefully at his home in Maine, New England. He was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2004 and underwent hormonal therapy, achieving a partial remission but it failed to completely eliminate the disease. The 56 year old multi-talented musician leaves behind his loving wife Jean, who was beside him till the end.

Dan Fogelberg was born in Peoria, Illinois, into a musical family; his father being a high school band director and his mother a classically trained pianist. So it comes as no surprise Dan's first instrument, at a very early age, was the piano but he soon took an interest in the Hawiian slide guitar and when his grandfather presented him with one, he spent hour after hour teaching himself the skills. This, combined with his admiration of The Beatles, he then taught himself electric guitar and by the age of 13 he had joined his first band, a Beatles cover band, The Clan. This was followed by a band The Coachmen, which in 1967 released two singles "Maybe Time Will Let Me Forget" and "Don't Want To Lose Her". With his third band he expended touring with Frankie and the Aliens covering the blues masters .. such as Muddy Waters and the rock of Cream. After graduating from from Woodruff High School in 1969, he attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to study Painting and Drama, it was at this time, while soloing in coffee houses and bars he was discovered by a young Irving Azoff, who at that time was promoting local bands. After much thought the two musical minds left Illinois to follow their dreams in Los Angeles. Dan began in the studios doing sessions, where he soon got noticed, he went on a part tour as support to Van Morrison, and his demo lead to a contract with Clive Davis at Columbia Records. Dan released his debut album 'Home Free' in 1972, although critically acclaimed, Dan had no single for promotion. After many more studio sessions , he recorded his second album, 'Souvenirs' under the direction of his new friend, Eagles' Joe Walsh. He released it's single "Part of the Plan" which jumped into the charts, sending the album double platinum. The next 2 years were filled with continual hard touring with a young band from Illinois, Fool's Gold. His third album, 'Captured Angel' he wrote, recorded and produced himself originally as a demo disc while back at home with his family in Peoria, when his father was ill in hospital. It was ambitious and strong. Dan sang and played all guitars, keyboards, bass, percussion, banjo and arp on all the tracks. The demo was made the album, as that raw emotion could never have been recaptured. Dan then moved to Colorado and went on to record a further 17 solo albums, experimenting with different sounds and moods on each, the last being "Full Circle" in 2003. Over his long career his music was inspired by genre as diverse as folk, pop, rock, classical, jazz, and bluegrass and at times he has used his music to address social issues, including .. Native American concerns, peace and alternatives to nuclear power, e.g.."Face the Fire" on his sixth album "Phoenix". He also performed at a number of the Musicians United for Safe Energy "No Nukes" concerts in 1979 and 1980. In 2001 a Dan Fogelberg signature edition Martin D41-DF guitar was issued and 2002 sees him honored as one of the first 10 inductees into the Performers Hall of Fame at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison. But in 2004, just months after his last album 'Full Circle", Dan was sadly diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. He spent the last few years of his life together with his wife, Jean, on their ranch in Colorado, and later their home in Maine bravely fighting a battle with this daunting disease. "So wealthy the spirit that knows its own flight, Stealthy the hunter who slays his own fright, Blessed the trailer who journeys the length of the light" ~ The Innocent Age: Nexus

Ike Wister Turner
November 5th 1931 ~ December 12th 2007
Rock 'n' roll pioneer, singer, guitarist, bandleader, talent scout, record producer, Ike Turner "The Grandaddy of Rock n Roll" sadly died of a cocaine overdose on Wednesday at his home in San Marcos, nr San Diego, California. The 76 year old legend is also famed for 16 yrs in the powerful duo Ike and Tina Turner.

Ike was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the time he was 8 years old he was working at the local Clarksdale radio station, WROX, as an elevator boy, soon he was helping the visiting musicians and doing all sorts around the radio stations. He met many musicians Robert Nighthawk, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Little Walter and his idol Pinetop Perkins helped teach the young Ike to play boogie-woogie on the piano. In the late 1940s Ike, playing guitar, helped form a group with sax player Jackie Brenston, 'The Kings of Rhythm', and in 1951, they recorded a song penned by Ike, what historians have debated as "the first rock and roll record" with "Rocket 88", listed on the charts as Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats. The song was one of the first examples of guitar distortion, which happened by accident, Ike had dropped his amplifier before the recording. He soon became known for his hard-hitting guitar style. He also became a recording scout and A&R man for independent record companies including Sun Records, he helped many of his radio friends get signed. Life changed when a young girl grabbed a microphone during a Kings of Rhythm gig at one of St. Louis' nightspots and sung a BB King song. Ike was so impressed with Miss Anna Mae Bullock he asked her to join the band. A year later in 1960, he changed Anna's name to Tina Turner and the name of the band to the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. For the next 16 years they were one the most powerful and explosive duos in the history of rock n roll, with hits such as "Nutbush City Limits", "River Deep - Mountain High", "I Want To Take You Higher" and "Proud Mary". Tina left Ike in 1976 after alligations of violance. Ike struggled through the 80's releasing only two albums and found himself facing drug and weapons charges. Alongside,Tina, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, unfortunately he was jailed at the time, but 1993 see's him back on the road with The Kings of Rhythm, and back recording music, which he continued till his death. In 2001, Ike released the Grammy-nominated Here & Now album, 2004 he was awarded with an "Heroes Award" from the Memphis charter of NARAS, and in 2005, he appeared on the Gorillaz' album, Demon Days, playing piano on the track, "Every Planet We Reach Is Dead". He played live with the band on the band's world tour to that particular song. In 2007, Ike won his first solo Grammy in the Best Traditional Blues Album category for the album, Risin' With the Blues. A collaboration between Ike and the rock band, The Black Keys, by Gorillaz' producer Danger Mouse, is expected for a release in 2008. It is said that Ike has been married 14 times although he has only been known to have married four times publicly, but then in a radio interview this year (2007) Ike claimed he and Tina Turner were never actually married. In 54 years of pure rocking and rolling with his temper tantrums, drug abuse, prison, the car crashes, gambling, singing to royalty, winning awards, topping the world charts, this powerful singer, awesome guitarist and colourful character who has helped so many musicians along his journey will be sadly missed by many.

"Philadelphia" Jerry Ricks
May 22nd 1940 ~ December 10th 2007
World renowned Philadelphian blues guitarist Jerry Ricks has sadly died from complications of a brain tumor. The 67 year old musician who had been based in Europe for his last 3 years was diagnosed with having a tumor late this summer. He leaves a loving family and many friends

Jerry started playing trumpet as a boy changing to guitar after watching street musicians around Philadelphia. After playing in local bands gaining experience he joined Buddy Guy Blues Band and in 1969 he traveled with them to perform in East Africa, after which in 1970 he moved to to Europe. Over the next 20 years he gave well over 2,000 performances on radio, television, at festivals, in concert halls, for seminars, performing extensively in Eastern Europe, and he recorded over a dozen albums in six countries. He went back to America in 1990, but frequently returned to his big fan base in Europe, both east and west, on tours. Gerry also held the position of Special Instructor for the University of Colorado, Folklore Division to teach Traditional American Guitar Styles of the Southern United States and did much research into the complete history of blues music.In 1998 he was nominated for three W.C. Handy Awards: Acoustic Blues Artist of the Year, Acoustic Blues Album of the Year, and Comeback Blues Album of the Year for "Deep In The Well" and again in 2001, he was nominated for two W.C. Handy Awards: Acoustic Blues Artist of the Year, Acoustic Blues Album of the Year for "Many Miles Of Blues". He returned to live in Europe in 2004. Over the years Jerry has performed with most top country blues musicians including Brownie McGhee, Guitar Wilson, , Jesse Fuller, Sleepy John Estes, Sammy Price, Skip James, Rev. Gary Davis, Buddy Moss, Champion Jack Dupree, Sonny Terry, Memphis Slim, Mickey Baker, Blind John Davis, Willie Mabon, Washboard Slim, Furry Lewis, Big Joe Williams, Son House, Lonnie Johnson, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Mississippi John Hurt, and too many more to mention.

Ernest "Doc" Paulin
June 22nd 1907 ~ November 20th 2007
New Orleans' oldest traditional jazz musician, trumpeter Ernest "Doc" Paulin, sadly died Tuesday morning at the home of his daughter Elizabeth Powell in Marrero at the ripe old age of 100. His survivors include his loving wife, Betty, of Marrero; 10 sons, Ernest Jr., Lawrence, Aaron, Dwayne and Phillip, all of New Orleans, Bryant of Arkansas, Rickey, Roderick of Denham Springs, Scott and Dirk of Baton Rouge; and three daughters, Joyce Dupclay and Elizabeth Powell of Marerro and Kim Paulin of New Orleans.

Doc Paulin was born in Wallace, Louisiana into a musical Creole-French speaking family, were his father was an accordionist. Doc himself began playing music when he was only seven years old in his trombonist uncle, Edgar Peters' band at dances, balls and other events. In the early 1920s, Doc founded his own band, The “Doc” Paulin Dixieland Jazz Band. For seven decades, Doc has performed New Orleans Traditional Jazz with vibrant energy, style and musicianship, and has played with many greats. His band was featured in the award-winning film "Always for Pleasure," a film about New Orleans culture. He became a huge mentor to many generations of musicians, one of his greatest contributions to New Orleans' music was his drafting of young musicians into his band. These young musicians experienced the true meaning of professionalism and respect for the music and culture under his guidance. "He embodied the spirit of the New Orleans jazz tradition in his manners and his trumpet playing and leadership. And for many decades, especially the 1950s through the 1980s, he trained dozens of musicians in his band," recalled Dr. Michael White, a clarinetist who started his musical career with Mr. Paulin's band in 1975. Doc passed his love for music on to his children, 10 sons and three daughters, at least six performed in his band. "He understood life; he knew how to make a way of no way," his son Ricky said. "I'm going to miss his sense of humor. He had a sense of humor about everything."

John Hughey
December 27th 1933 ~ November 18th 2007
Pioneering guitarist and one of the greatest country pedal steel guitarists, John Hughey has sadly died of heart complications while at the Hendersonville Medical Centre. He was aged 73, and is survived by his wife of 45 years, Jean; a daughter, Cheryl; four grandchildren, Katherine Carter, Gracie Carter, Reed Carter and Kirby Carter; four brothers and four sisters.

Born in Elaine, Arkansas, John Robert Hughey was 12 years old when he was inspired to play steel guitar by "Little" Roy Wiggins while seeing and hearing him play steel with the Arkansas Cotton Choppers. After which John would put a pencil under the strings up by the nut on his old Gene Autry guitar and using a glass doorknob for a bar, tuned it up to "E", and tried to play like "Little" Roy. Later on in life, after years of practice, John would be credited with developing a unique style of steel playing that focused on the instrument's high tones, resulting in a distinctive "crying sound". John started playing professionally in the early 1950s with a Memphis-based band, Slim Rhodes and The Mother's Best Mountaineers. He spent a number of years, alternating between playing in Rhodes's band and performing in nightclubs before becoming Conway Twitty's valuable sideman of 20 years, from 1968 to 1988. Next he joined up with Loretta Lynn, it was at this time Vince Gill was putting a band together and asked John to become a member. For the next 12 years he played, toured and recorded with Vince, which he says were the greatest.Apart from his busy career in different bands, John has been a very much in-demand guest and top session player and has over the years recorded songs with Elvis Presley, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shania Twain, Marty Stuart, Alison Krauss, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers and around 130 others, has been presented with numerous awards, appeared on countless TV shows, and was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1996. He still played live regularly until recently with The Time Jumpers, a Western swing band composed of top Nashville session players. Marty Stewart says of John ~ "John was a top-drawer statesmen who helped define the whole 20th century sound of country music. The work he leaves behind is timeless."

Lucky Philip Dube
August 3rd 1964 ~ October 18th 2007
Lucky Philip Dube, South Africa's greatest ever reggae artist has been cruely murdered. At approximately 8pm he was shot dead in the presence of his son and daughter, by several apparent carjackers in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville while dropping two of his children at a family members house. The 43 year old legend leaves behind his wife, Zanele, and his seven children, Bongi, Nonkululeko, Thokozani, Laura, Siyanda, Philani and his new born three-month old baby Melokuhle.

Lucky Dube was born in Ermelo, then in the Eastern Transvaal, now Mpumalanga, named Lucky as his mother Sarah considered his birth lucky after a number miscarriages. Sarah was separated from her husband by the time of his birth and left to bring her children up alone, Lucky spent much time with his grandmother, when his mother had to relocate to find work. Before he decided to go to school, Lucky worked as a gardener to try and help pay the family bills, but eventually he started school, where he joined the chior and with friends formed his first group "The Skyway Band". It was at school too, he first learnt of the Rastafari movement. By the age of 18 years , and still attending school, he had joined his cousin's band, The Love Brothers, they played Zulu pop music known as 'mbaqanga'. The band was soon signed by Teal Record Company, later incorporated into Gallo Record Company. They recorded their first album 'Kudala Ngikuncenga' in Johannesburg during the school holidays, under the name of Lucky Dube & the Supersoul. At this time, Lucky, with insight decided to learn English for a wider future audience and their second album included some of his own writings as well as him taking on more of the singing. He recorded 5 mbaqanga albums in all, before changing genre to his reggae recordings and dropping the 'Supersoul' from the name. Lucky saw that his fans were responding very positively to some reggae songs he played during live concerts. He was inspired by Peter Tosh and Jimmy Cliff, feeling the socio-political messages associated with Jamaican reggae were relevant to a South African audience in a institutionally racist society, and in 1984, he released the mini album 'Rastas Never Die', but due to the suppressing of anti-apartheid activism, the regime banned the album in 1985. Undaunted by this he continued to perform the reggae tracks live and wrote and produced a second reggae album 'Think About The Children', which achieved platinum sales status and established him truly as a popular reggae artist in South Africa and it also attracted attention in the world press. With his long-time sound engineer and best friend Dave Segal, he went on to create some of the most legendary pieces of reggae music in modern music history, including the tracks Victims, Prisoner, Together As One Taxman, Slave, and Respect, all social anthems that gained him the admiration of not only the people of his country, but the people across the world. Lucky recorded 22 albums in Zulu, English and Afrikaans, appeared in three feature films: 'Voice In The Dark', 'Getting Lucky' and 'Lucky Strikes Back', and won more 20 awards for his music contribution both locally and internationally. His tragically cruel and untimely dead is a huge loss to his loving family, fans, and to the world of music everywhere.

Bobby Byrd
August 15th 1934 ~ September 12th 2007
Powerful classic soul singer and pianist, Bobby Byrd, founder and leader of the Famous Flames, the man who rescued a troubled James Brown and took him to fame, has died at his family home in Loganville, sadly succumbing to his battle with cancer. The 73 year old legend is survived by his wife Vicki Anderson; three children from his first marriage; a daughter from his second marriage; at least three children from other relationships; two sisters; and a brother.

Bobby Byrd grew up in Georgia, singing in the church and with gospel groups, he also played baseball for his local team. Soon he formed and lead his own vocal group called The Avons. In 1951 he changed his group's name to The Flames. The baseball team and The Avons/Flames used to visit a Georgia Youth Detention Centre to either play against the prison baseball team or sing for the prisoners on special nights. James Brown was a prisoner here; James played baseball for the prison team and was also in the prison singing group, this is were and how the two young artists met. Sensing a huge talent, Bobby alone persuaded his family to sponsor James's parole from the Georgia penal system in 1952, rescuing the troubled singer from a probable life of crime by launching his music career as a singer in Bobby's now well established vocal group, the Flames. Like a big brother, Bobby guided and helped James to change his criminal ways and put all his energy into his singing and wild stage perfomances, it worked. James soon took over lead vocals and later the group was rename the band James Brown & The Famous Flames. The group quickly became known across the United States for their powerful on stage performances, the hits started coming in and the sound and fame spread world wide. From 1953 through to mid 1973, Bobby's powerful baritone vocals can be heard on around 55 albums with James Brown. Very wrongly and sadly his name isn't listed on many of the credits, although he wrote/co-wrote many. These powerful tracks have gone down in musical history, they changed the face of popular music, but, it seems history has forgotten The Flames and The Famous Flames was a vocal group with James Brown lead vocals; Johnny Terry 1st tenor, later replaced by Lloyd Stallworth; Bobby Bennett, 2nd tenor; and the great Bobby Byrd baritone/bass ~ they were as one. Bobby wrote or co-wrote many of the songs including the worldwide hit "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", on which he also sang, as well as " Lost Someone", "Licking Stick – Licking Stick", " Talkin' Loud & Sayin' Nothin'" and "Get Up, Get Into It and Get Involved". and listen to him trading vocal lines with James on " Make It Funky" in 1971. In 1970 Bobby released a solo album "I Need Help" and then in 1973, he split from James Brown; the original leader and founder of the Flames left to pursue a career, after 20 years on his own again. He performed regularly throughout the world, often with his wife soul singer Vicki Anderson and the Soulpower Allstars. In the 80's he had a big following in the UK where the rare-groove scene had rediscovered tracks such as "If You Got a Love You Better Hold On To It". In 1994, he issued On The Move, his first solo, recorded with Vicki Anderson, her daughter Carleen, her son Barlett, and his own brother Tony. Until the release of "Bobby Byrd Got Soul: The Best of Bobby Byrd" in 1995, his entire '60s and '70s recorded output remained out-of-print and impossible to find; this album is sentational. He toured Europe regularly with the Soulpower Allstars until 2005. Bobby performed his final show with the Soulpower Allstars in July 2005 at the Supernatural Festival in Holland. He and his wife also sang at James Brown’s funeral in 2006. Unfortunely Bobby never did receive the proper recognition he was due and still is due.

Josef Erich Zawinul
July 7th 1932 ~ September 11th 2007
Austrian jazz fusion pioneer, co-founder and co-leader of Weather Report, Josef Zawinul, has died after a brave battle with merkel cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. He was hospitalised Aug 7th 2007, in his native Vienna just a week after finishing a Euroean tour. The 75 year old keyboardist, who's wife Maxine sadly died earlier this year, leaves behind his three sons, Erich, Ivan and Anthony.

Josef Erich Zawinul was born in Vienna, where at the age of six began playing the accordion, but by the time he was a teenager , he was studying classical piano at the Vienna Music Conservatory. But being a total jazz fanatic, in his spare time and at night he played in local jazz and dance bands and did studio work, becoming the house pianist for Polydor records for a time. A life changing break came Josef's way when in 1959 he won a won a scholarship to the Berklee School of Music, Boston in the USA. Once in America, the teachers at Berklee soon reolized they could not teach this 'already master' much, and he was soon noticed by the music fraternity and was asked to join trumpeter Maynard Ferguson's band, where he first met Wayne Shorter, after which he became Dinah Washington sideman, recording two albums with her. In 1961 he joined saxophonist Cannonball Adderley's Quintet in 1961. As a member of Cannonball Adderley’s band Josef composed several of their numbers including "Walk Tall" and "Country Preacher," and their best-known track, the Grammy-winning "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy". Over the next 9 years he recorded 16 Albums with them. In 1969 Josep had started working with Miles Davis too, as a studio musician only, working on six of their albums. He was one of the first musicians to use electric pianos and early synthesizers like the ARP 2600 in 1973's Sweetnighter. 1970 see's Josep and Wayne Shorter meeting up again and together the founded the now legendary band "Weather Report". Their beginnings were a jazz-rock type band but over the years and many changes they became one of the greatest innovators of the jazz fusion genre at that time, with Josep always at the core with his genius composing and experimental work always pushing and hungry for new sounds. The band had many members over the years, Josef was noted for taking in and training up young musicians including the pioneering fretless bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius. He and Weather Report went on to produce 18 Albums. In 1998 he formed yet another band Zawinul Syndicate, a band in which he fused elements of world music into jazz, using keyboard samples and a range of Native North American, African, Asian and Latin American musicians. Josef recorded five albums with this his last band. As well as his busy life with different bands, periodically Josep, as Joe Zawinul has brought out 9 solo albums between 1965 and 2006. Josef also wrote, Stories of the Danube, a Symphony which was commissioned by the Brucknerhaus, at Linz and was first performed as part of the Linzer Donauklangwolke, for the opening of the 1993 Bruckner Festival. The symphony of seven movements, traces the course of the Danube from Donaueschingen through various countries ending at the Black Sea. It was recorded in 1995 by the Czech State Philharmonic Orchestra, Brno, conducted by Caspar Richter. Among his many awards, he has won the "Best Keyboardist" award a staggering 30 times from American jazz magazine Down Beat's critics' poll. Josef was proberbly the leading jazz synthesizer player in the whole history of jazz, influencing an entire generation and more of musicians. As well as the music world loosing a genius, he will be sadly missed by fans all over the globe with his colourful hats and ever creating mind, but his music will continue to inspire many generations to come.

Luciano Pavarotti
October 12th 1935 ~ September 6th 2007
Beloved opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, died in the early hours of the morning at his home in Modena, Italy, after a year-plus battle with pancreatic cancer. 71 year old Pavarotti is survived by four daughters: three with first wife Adua - Lorenza, Cristina and Giuliana; one with second wife Nicoletta Mantovani, who gave birth to Alice in January 2003, and one granddaughter.

Luciano Pavarotti was born on the outskirts of Modena in north-central Italy, because of the war they had to move out to a single room at a farm in the countryside. Pavarotti's earliest musical influences were his father's recordings, Gigli, Martinelli, Schipa, and Caruso. At around the age of nine he began singing with his father in a small local church choir, also in his youth he had a few voice lessons with a Professor Dondi and his wife. He was interested in pursuing a career as a professional soccer player, but his mother convinced him to train as a teacher. At the age of 19 in 1954 he began serious voice study with Arrigo Pola, taking teaching jobs as he could. The first six years of study resulted in nothing more tangible than a few recitals, all in small towns and all without pay. In 1961 Luciano won the Achille Peri Competition, the first prize was the role of Rodolfo in a production of Puccini's La Bohème to be given in Reggio Emilia on April 28 of that year. Agent, Alesandro Ziliani, heard his performance offering to represent him. His next performance was La Bohème produced in Lucca. Later Ziliani recommended him to conductor Tullio Serafin, who engaged him in the role of the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto. He made his debut at Covent Gardens in 1963 as Rodolfo and premired in America in a 1965 performance of Lucia di Lammermoor. His big brake came after a performance with well-established soprano Joan Sutherland, who invited the young tenor to join her in touring internationally. Pavarotti's repertoire comprised mostly of nineteenth century Italian opera, particularly Puccini, Verdi, and Donizetti, who he found the most comfortable to sing. While opera fans remember the 1972 performance of Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment during which the tenor tossed off nine high C's, for sports fans around the world his signature aria, "Nessun dorma", from Puccini's opera Tosca, is now forever associated with soccer's World Cup, thanks to Pavarotti's appearance at the 1990 Games. His rise to stardom was not without occasional difficulties, he earned a reputation as "The King of Cancellations" by frequently backing out of performances, and his unreliable nature led to poor relationships with some opera houses. As a recording artist, he had stunning success. Over the course of his career, he was featured on over 110 releases, including 18 albums that reached No.1 on the Classical Charts.He shared a particular triumph with Carreras and Domingo in a 1990 performance in Rome that gave birth to the Three Tenors concept, in which opera selections were alternated with more light-hearted fare. On December 12, 1998 he became the first and, so far, only opera singer to perform on Saturday Night Live, singing alongside Vanessa L. Williams. Also in 1998, he was presented with the Grammy Legend Award.)Pavarotti gave his last opera performance on March 13, 2004, at the New York Metropolitan Opera. He sang the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca, after which he received a 12 minute standing ovation. In December 2004, he began a farewell tour, but many dates were cancelled due to his failing health. His last appearance was at at the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Turin, Italy. He was probably the most successful post-war classical performer bridging the worlds of opera and pop culture, through his association with fellow singers Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras as the Three Tenors, as well as charity work with such pop icons as U2 .

Lee Hazlewood
July 9th 1929 ~ August 4th 2007
Songwriter, producer, singer, talent spotter Lee Hazlewood sadly died Saturday, at his home in Henderson, Nevada, after a three-year battle with terminal renal cancer. He was 78 and is survived by his wife, Jeane; his son, Mark; his daughters, Debbie and Samantha; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Barton Lee Hazlewood was born in Oklahoma and spent his childhood around the Great Plains and the Gulf Coast with his on the move oilman father. He was exposed to a rich Gulf Coast music and began writing songs when he was 14, watching blues singers at the local bars. He enrolled to study medicine at Southern Methodist University, but dropped out to serve in the Army during the Korean War, deejaying for Armed Services Radio in Japan, a profession he continued after he was discharged; he went to Los Angeles to study broadcasting, getting his first job in 1953 as a radio DJ at Coolidge, Arizona, In 1954 he began taking local acts and producing singles for them with his songs. He began experimenting in recording techniques with the session guitarist Al Casey, creating a primitive echo chamber out of a grain elevator fitted with a speaker and mike. The third record he made was his song 'The Fool', with singer Sandford Clark, later covered by Elvis Presley. At this time Duane Eddy, then 16 years old, struck up a freindship with Lee, who helped him develope his famous guitar twang and arranged gigs for the young artist. He wrote many hits for Duane, but Lee's solo attempts weren't so lucky. His the echo chamber idea and other innovative recording techniques inspired both Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and Phil Spector. By the early '60s, Lee was in Los Angeles, writing and producing for Dean Martin, Petula Clark and Dusty Springfield, among others and because he published his own compositions, he collected the royalties that would otherwise have gone to a publishing company. In 1965 Frank Sinatra approached Lee to take on his daughter Nancy on board. Between 1966 and 1969 Hazlewood wrote and produced the better part of nine albums for Nancy Sinatra, including a number of hit singles, most famous "These Boots Were Meant for Walking" where Lee dueted with Nancy. Some say Frank didn't like how close the two were working. For what ever reason in 1970 Lee moved to Stockholm, Sweden where he stayed for over 20 years. He built a career in television, working with the Swedish director Torbjörn Axelmann. The two won the Golden Rose at Montreux one year. He wrote and produced the one hour television show Cowboy, which was later released as an album. He produced his best solo work in Sweden, including Requiem for an "Almost Lady" and a series of duets with Nina Lizell. In 1993, Tindersticks, a British pop group issued 'A Marriage Made in Heaven', a single based on Lee's composition Sand, using a portrait of him on the cover. This led to a 1995 tour with Nancy Sinatra to a new audience and in 1999 he performed at the Royal Festival Hall. Lee also released his first album for 20 years in 1999. But in 2005, he was diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer and set about writing and recording an album, Lee undertook an extensive round of interviews and promotional work in support of his last album, "Cake or Death" which was released earlier this year.

"Uncle John" Turner
August 20th 1944 ~ July 26th 2007
"Uncle John" Turner, legendary Texas blues drummer, pioneer of the blues-rock, power-blues style of drumming, sadly died Thursday, in Austin, Texas from complications related to hepatitis C.
He was 62 years old. and was married to Morgan Goldbarth.

Born Johnnie Max Turner, Uncle John was raised in Port Arthur, Texas; he start his musical journey in 1957 on guitar, next he switched to bass guitar, but he joined the Nightlights band as their drummer. It was with this band he met Johnny Winter in 1960, when both of their bands were playing at an Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers union children's Christmas party. It wasn't till 1968 they gigged together again when he replaced drummer Jimmy Gillan in Johnny Winter's band. He pursuaded Johnny Winter to try a full-on power blues band format and sent for his friend Tommy Shannon to play bass with them. The band went on to record three of Johnny Winter's albums: "The Progressive Blues Experiment," "Johnny Winter," and "Second Winter." and they played at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. After splitting with Johnny Winter in 1970, Uncle John moved to Austin, where he and Tommy Shannon formed Krackerjack, a band that featured a 16 year old Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar. Through the 80's and 90's Uncle John created a power rhythm section with veteran bassist Appa Perry, they named Blues Power, this band heavily affected Austin’s blues scene. Blues Power rotated noted musicians such as George Rarey, Matthew Robinson, Hector Watt, Alan Haynes, and Mark Goodwin as well as bringing up the next generation of Austin’s blues talent including Gary Clark, Jr., Matt Farrell, Mike Keller, Eve Monsees and Erin Jaimes, to name a few. Adding to the already mentioned artists, through his long career Uncle John played and/or recorded with countless more, including B. B. King, Jimi Hendrix, Freddie King, Muddy Waters, Lazy Lester, Junior Wells, Lightnin' Hopkins, Johnny Copeland, Benoît Blue Boy, Walter 'Shakey'Horton, James Montgomery, Albert Collins, Willie Dixon, Paul Nelson, Nuno Mindelis and many more. 2006 saw a wonderful night in November when Uncle John was reunited with his old pals Johnny Winter and Tommy Shannon at Austin's La Zona Rosa nightclub. It was the trio's first live performance together in more than 20 years. Sadly Uncle John contracted hepatitis C, on July 22, Houston held a benefit night featuring Texas blues legends Sonny Boy Terry and Texas Johnny Brown to raise funds for a liver transplant, but tragically just 4 days later., his body so weakened, one of the world's first and finest power blues drummers passed away.

Robert Solli Buras
August 12th 1975 ~ July 12th 2007
Norwegian guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Madrugada, also a founding member of the band My Midnight Creeps has unexpectedly died. The 31 year old musician was found dead in his Oslo apartment by a friend, with his guitar in his hand.

Robert was born in Bjerkvik, a small village in the Nordland area of northern Norway. He was influenced at an early age by Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, the Stooges, and the Jesus & Mary Chain, and formed his first band when he was only 12 years old. In 1995 he met Sivert Høyem and Frode Jacobsen, from near by villages, and the trio formed Madrugada, bringing Lauvland Pettersen in on the drums, he left in 2005, replaced by Simen Vangen. Robert played on all Madrugada's 5 albums, 7 EP's and 4 singles. They band toured Europe and their fame took them to America where they worked in Sound City in Los Angeles with the producer George Drakoulias and the mixer/engineer David Bianco on The Deep End, their fourth album, which featured a collaboration with the film composer Angelo Badalamenti on the ominously beautiful "Hold On To You". .....Quote from Madrugada website: "Robert dedicated his life to music. He was a vital part of Madrugada as a guitar player and songwriter for 12 years. This last year was spent working with his side project My Midnight Creeps, as well as recording a new album for Madrugada. Robert died at a time when he was at his most creative. His recorded work as well as live appearances in Norway and abroad comprise an everlasting contribution to the legacy of Norwegian rock. All who knew Robert and who worked with him will remember him as a genuinely warm and generous person who lived for music. We are many who love him. Today is a terrible day for all of us. Robert will always be a part of us, and he will always be deeply missed. Our thoughts now go to his closest family". Robert was just coming into his own and gaining fans daily, he wrote some wonderful lyrics and was being noted as one the best guitar player of Norway, this creative man will be missed many thousands fans all over the world.

George Melly
August 17th 1926 ~ July 5th 2007
Lecturer, critic, writer, jazz and blues singer George Melly lost his struggle with cancer. After a colourful and full life 80 year old George died at his London home on Thursday. He leaves a wife Diana and son Tom.

Born Alan George Heywood Melly in Liverpool and was educated at Stowe School, where he discovered his interest in modern art, jazz and blues. He joined the Royal Navy new to the end of the Second World War where he was almost court-martialled for distributing anarchist literature. After the war while working in an Surrealism art gallery he was offered the job as singer with the Mick Mulligan's Magnolia Jazz Band. The 60s saw George a film critic for The Observer, the writer on the Daily Mail's satirical newspaper strip Flook, illustrated by Trog, and scriptwriter on the 1967 satirical film Smashing Time. The 70's, it's back to jazz with John Chilton's Feetwarmers, a partnership which continued till 2003. He later sang with Digby Fairweather's band. He released three albums in the 1970s including Nuts in 1972 and Son of Nuts the next year and wrote a light column "Mellymobile" in Punch magazine describing their tours. George was influenced by his idol, the American Blues singer Bessie Smith, and he enjoyed the more bawdy side of jazz-blues, and this was reflected exuberant stage performances. In 1978 he recorded a track called 'Old Codger' with The Stranglers especially written for him by the band. He was very active in music, journalism, and lecturing on Surrealism and other aspects of modern art until his death, despite worsening health problems such as vascular dementia, incipient emphysema and lung cancer. On Sunday 10 June 2007, George made an appearance at the 100 Club in London, and announced it would be his lastl ever performance, he sadly died less than a month later.

Bill Pinkney
August 15th 1925 ~ July 4th 2007
81 year old rhythm and blues singer Bill Pinkney, the last surviving member of the original line-up of The Drifters, and brought Carolina "beach music" to the world, died of a probable heart attack in his hotel room at the Daytona Beach Hilton only hours before he was due to perform at the annual Daytona Beach 4th of July celebration, "Red, White & Boom".

William Pinkney, born in Dalzell, S.C., was a World War II veteran where he earned a Presidential Citation with four Bronze Stars, for battles including Normandy and Bastogne under General Patton and in the late 1940s and early '50s he pitched for the New York Blue Sox of the Negro Baseball League. He grew up in South Carolina singing his favorite music, gospel, in his church choir and with his group Bill Pinkney and the Thrasher Brothers, Gerhart and Andrew. The Drifters formed in 1953 by Bill and his gospel singing friends. Bill was a member of the R&B group from 1953 to 1958, during which time his rich voice, first baritone, then bass and sometimes lead can be heard when the Drifters first dominated the charts with hits like “Such a Night”, "I Should Have Done Right", "Ruby Baby", "Steamboat", “Adorable” and “White Christmas”. In a 1958 their manager sacked the whole group after arguments about money, but Bill, with most of the band members formed 'The Original Drifters', he fought and won for their group name, bringing laws allowing performers or bands to claim an affiliation with a classic group like the Drifters or the Coasters only if at least one member recorded with the original group. Over his long career he has been recognized for his contributions by leaders such as President Bill Clinton and President Nelson Mandela of South Africa. He has recieved many musical awards, including the R & B Foundation Pioneer Award, as well as induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, United Group Harmony Association, and the Beach Music Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame and holds the key to the state of South Carolina.
Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III
June 3, 1927 – July 3, 2007
Saxophone player Boots Randolph, to some best known for his 1963 hit "Yakety Sax," has sadly died in Skyline Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee after being taken off a respirator. 80 year old Randolph suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on June 25 and fell into a in coma from which he never regained consciousness. He is survived by his wife, a son, a daughter and four grandchildren

Boots Randolph was born in Paducah, Kentucky and raised in Cadiz, Kentucky, and attended high school in Evansville, Indiana. He played sax, trombone and vibraphone in the United States Army Band. Then from 1948-1954 he played with Dink Welch's Kopy Kats, after which he started his own band. He played mainly jazz at nightclubs and finally in 1958 he landed a recording contract with RCA in Nashville and was also hired as a studio session musician. Randolph played regularly in Nashville nightclubs for 30 years, becoming a huge tourist draw. He had his biggest solo hit with "Yakety Sax," which also he wrote. This song was used on the British TV program "The Benny Hill Show". He recorded more than 40 albums and spent 15 years touring with the Festival of Music, teaming with fellow instrumentalists Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer. During his very busy fifty year plus career, he was also an in-demand session musician, he played on Roy Orbison's "Mean Woman Blues" and "Oh, Pretty Woman"; Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Round the Christmas Tree" and "I'm Sorry,"; REO Speedwagon's "Little Queenie"; "Java" by Al Hirt; "Turn On Your Lovelight" by Jerry Lee Lewis and many other songs including ones by Buddy Holly and Johnny Cash. He played on several albums with Elvis Presley and performed on soundtracks for a number of Elvis's motion pictures. In the late 70's he opened his own successful club in Nashville "Printers Alley." which he ran for 17 years. He performed in hundreds of venues alongside many artists in pop, rock, jazz, and country music and made regular appearances on the television program "Hee Haw". Boots' final solo studio album "A Whole New Ballgame" was released June 12, 2007. This fine musician will be greatly missed.

Bobby "Boris" Pickett
February 11th 1938 ~ April 25th 2007
69 year old Bobby "Boris" Pickett, who sang and co-wrote the Halloween anthem "Monster Mash" which has made him pop music's most enduring one-hit wonder ever, has sadly died at the West Los Angeles Veterans Hospital after a long battle with leukemia. He is survived by his daughter Nancy, sister Lynda and two grandchildren.

Robert George Pickett was born in Somerville, Mass. His father managed a movie theatre, so he grew up watching the old horror films about Dracula, Frankenstein and the such, this is where he developed the Boris Karloff impression that earned him his nickname. In the 1950s, after serving in Korea with United States Army, Bobby went to Los Angeles in pursuit of an acting career. He did television commercials, got bit parts and did horror film impersonations as part of his Hollywood nightclub act in 1959. Next he joined the Cordials, a doo-wop group led by Leonard Capizzi. When the group sang the 1950s hit "Little Darling" by the Diamonds, Bobby would slip in a comic impersonation of Karloff, which inspired them to write "Monster Mash.". The backing band went under the name of The Crypt-Kickers when recording Monster Mash, incidentally on which a young and unknown Leon Russell is playing piano, it reached No.1 on October 20, 1962 in the US charts, re-entered the Hot 100 eight years later on August 29, 1970; then almost three years later, on May 5, 1973, it made a third re-entry reaching number 10. Bobby did have minor follow-up hits with Monster's Holiday and Graduation Day. Monster Mash didn't reach the UK shores till 1973 when it reached No.3 and it has remained the all time Halloween favourite ever since. In October 2005, he protested inaction on global warming by releasing "Climate Mash," a new version of his hit single. He toured thoughout his musical life until his final gig in November 2006. Bobby has a great book, just released called, "Monster Mash, half dead in Hollywood" and it is full of the best stories from a life-loving maverick in the biz when it was young.
His fans include Bob Dylan, who played the single on his XM Satellite Radio program last October. Dylan noted, "Our next artist is considered a one-hit wonder, but his one hit comes back year after year."

Donald Tai Loy "Don" Ho
August 13th 1930 – April 14th 2007
Legendary crooner Don Ho, the Sinatra of Hawaii, who entertained tourists for decades wearing raspberry-tinted sunglasses and singing the catchy signature tune "Tiny Bubbles," has died of a heart attack . The 76 year old entertainer is survived by his wife, Haumea, and 10 children.

Don Ho was born in the small Honolulu neighborhood of Kaka'ako, but he grew up in Kane'ohe on the windward side of the island of O'ahu. He was one of nine children with a mixed ethnic make-up including Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and German. A high school football star, he attended Springfield College in Massachusetts for a year, but earnt his bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Hawaii in 1954, after which he joined the US Air Force making fighter pilot. Don left the Air Force in 1959 due to his mother's illness and began singing at his mother's club, Honey's. 1963, see's him in Waikiki, Honolulu playing at a night club called Duke's owned by Duke Kahanamoku, it was here where he caught the attention of record company officials. In 1966 Don moved to the US for one year and the releasd "Tiny Bubbles" which gave him his greatest recording success, charting on both the pop and easy listening charts and caused the subsequent Tiny Bubbles LP to remain in the album Top 20 for almost a year. He was soon packing places such as the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. Guest appearances on television shows such as I Dream of Jeannie, The Brady Bunch, Sanford and Son, Charlie's Angels, and Fantasy Island soon followed, after which he hosted the "The Don Ho Show" on ABC from 1976-77. Don entertained Hollywood's biggest stars and thousands of tourists for four decades. For many, no trip to Hawaii was complete without seeing his Waikiki show.

Phil Cordell
July 17th 1947 ~ March 31st 2007
The multi-musician, folkist, popstar, composer/songwriter Phil Cordell of "Springwater" fame, has sadly died at the age of 59. He leaves a daughter Kaz by his first wife; daughter Claire and son Charlie from his second wife Christine who sadly died four years ago.

When Phil Cordell left school in 1963, he joined up with a local Enfield professional band, Steve Douglas and the Challengers. This consisted of Steve Douglas - vocals; Phil Cordell on guitar, rhythm guitarist Mick Ware, bassist Geoff Hawkins and Derek Gough on drums. They were a hardworking band and did a few months in Germany. Soon after bassist Geoff Hawkins was replaced Freddie Fields, the band changed their name to "The Prophets", they made some recordings at Joe Meek's studio but none were ever released. In 1965, both Steve Douglas and Freddie Fields left the band. Phil brought in bassist Paul Kendrick and formed the band Tuesdays Children. The band worked all the popular rock clubs including the Marquee. They recorded 'When You Walk In The Sand', also 'High On A Hill' and 'Strange Light From The East' at Maxium Sound, Old Kent Road with Vic Keary. They featured on the front cover of Fab208 wearing Chinese gear to publicise the 'Strange Light From the East'. Phil left the band in 1967 to go solo, and in 1969 he recorded 'Red Lady', sung with all the veiled drug references and psychedelic mysticism of the era. Phil being a multi-instrumentalist, played all the instruments himself from slide guitar to harp. “Red Lady” was originally released on the Warner Brothers UK label, was released stateside on the Janus label. 1971 sees Phil with the pseudonym of "Springwater", under this name he had a huge hit with the instrumental "I Will Return". Again Phil playered all the instrumentals. Leaving Springwater behind, in 1974, he takes on another pseudonym, "Dan The Banjo Man". He recorded a self titled album, and the single “Dan The Banjo Man” was a mega hit, reaching Number 1 in the German charts twice! It was used originally for an orange juice advert on German Television. After these successes, Phil reverted back to his own name and continued recording tracks such as: Back In Your Arms, One Man Show, Doin' The Best I Can, Cheatin' In The Dark, Close To You, Londonderry, Roadie For The Band, Twistin And Jivin, Cool Clear Water and Everywhere I Go, on the labels Prodical Records and Mowest Records, both being Motown UK linked labels. Phil continued to have a large following in Europe and Japan. In 2005 "Dan the Banjo Man." was reissue CD, the album has added eight bonus tracks, most of them written and recorded by Phil and his son Charlie, also including a 2005 remake of "Dan the Banjo Man". This talented composer/songwriter and multi-musician will be sadly missed.

Bradley E. Delp
June 12th 1951 ~ March 9th 2007
Brad Delp, lead singer, frontman of the rock band Boston, and vocalist with his own band BeatleJuice, has unexpectedly died at his home in New Hampshire. 55 year old Brad was home alone at the time. According to police reports , he had died in his bathroom, toxicology tests showed he died of carbon monoxide poisoning. He had left a note that read "Mr. Brad Delp. J'ai une ame solitaire. I am a lonely soul."

Brad Delp who was born in Danvers, Massachusetts, was a big Beatle fan, which led him at the age of 13 he get his first guitar. He started singing in various local bands as a teenager, but it wasn't till he had left school and working, in the 1960s, when he auditioned for the vocalist position with the rock band Boston. With his rich, powerful vocals they had no hesitation and hired him on the spot. He also contributed back-up vocals, guitar, harmonica and keyboards on the Boston albums. Brads voice was a huge imput which helped propel the band to the top. His partnership with guitarist Tom Scholz led to a string of hit songs. The band's self-titled 1976 album is often credited as the top selling debut in American history with massive 17 million copies and nearly every single track on the album has subsequently become a rock radio standard. When recording, Brad could cleverly stack vocal tracks, from earnest tenor to wailing falsetto, which was so central to the music of Boston. Tom Scholz said in a 1986 interview with the Musician magazine, “The nice thing about Brad, was his incredible ability in the studio. He was a master at controlling his voice, he could do things over and over, changing one note and doing everything else the same. He’s a natural overdubber, he can perfectly match what’s on tape, he can sing harmonies with himself and keep dozens of parts in his mind.” Unfortunaely Boston had trouble with their record company, and the band was put on hold for a few years. In this time Brad worked on other projects led by Goudreau during the early '80s, including the guitarist's 1980 self-titled solo debut and Orion the Hunter's 1984 self-titled debut. 1986 saw Delp guest on Keith Emerson's solo outing, Best Revenge. Mid/late 80's saw the return of Boston and a third top selling album, but Brad left the band in 1990 form a band RTZ with guitarist Barry Goudreau, only to return to Boston in 1994. He also formed his own local band, remembering his roots, he formed a Beatles tribute band he called BeatleJuice. The band Boston, was due to tour in the summer of this year. He was much loved and admired by all he worked with and he touched all he met, his experience and imput will be missed in the industry of music.

Billy Thorpe
March 29th 1946 ~ February 28th 2007
Billy Thorpe, Australian rock icon, lead singer and guitarist of Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, has sadly and very unexpectedly died. He was taken by ambulance after a suspected heart attack, to Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital about 2am (AEDT) with severe chest pains, where he stayed in emergency in a serious condition but went into cardiac arrest around 2.30am (AEDT) and hospital staff tragically were unable to revive him. He died a month before his 61st birthday, leaving behind him a loving family, including his wife Lynne, and two daughters, Rusty and Lauren.

William Thorpe was born in Manchester, England, emigrating to Brisbane, Australia at a young age, with his parents in the middle '50s. Billy had a huge love of singing, with an endearing voice and was cute, by the time he was 10 he was regulary seen on Queensland TV, after being spotted by a talent scout while singing in his parents shop. At the age of 12 he formed his first band, The Planets, they played C & W at local variety gigs. At 17 he moved to the bright lights of Sydney where he befriended The Aztecs, an instrumental band, together with his amazing singing voice, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs was born, they were an immediate hit band on the 60's music scene. They shot to fame in 1964 with a rendition of "Poison Ivy", which was a massive hit, followed by 2 more major hits, "Over The Rainbow" and "Twilight Time". This gave Billy a further break, his own national TV show 'It's All Happening', which lead to nine hit records for him. When the show finished in 1968, it left Billy on the caberet curciut and a little disillusioned. Not for long though, he was drawn to by the lure of the brake out of rock blues down in Melbourne. Here, Billy found himself totally emmersed in the music, his band was loud, very loud, his voice was strong, no holes barred with his guitar, and with long powerful guitar solos, he became a true pioneer of rock. Billy and the Aztecs did it again, but this time on the 70's rock scene with their massive hit "Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy)", they were the first ever rock band to appear at the Sydney Opera House, and in 1972, they drew 200,000 to the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. America bound, by the end of the 70's Billy had signed a deal with American producer Spencer Proffer and recorded the science fiction/rock opera concept album "Children Of The Future", which achieved Top 20 status in America, selling over 500,000 copies. The follow-up album 21st Century Man also gained a US gold record. After which Billy left the music business for a while, he founded a business that developed electronics for companies such as Disney, Mattel and Universal, and scored music for TV shows as "Columbo", "Star Trek" and "War Of The Worlds". 1990 see's Billy with Mick Fleetwood in the band Zoo and in 1996 he returned to Australia, to a very big and warm welcome from all his fans, reformed the Aztecs for many mor tours and festivals. He wrote two great best selling books which only begin to tell of his life and career, "Sex Thugs And Rock'n'Roll" and "Most People I Know". His last recorded project was an unplugged set for Melbourne label Liberation Music, at The Basement club in Sydney in December 2006. He was also putting the finishing touches on a multimedia project "Tangier" recorded with musicians in Morocco. Billy entertained his fans for 5 decades, right up until his untimely death. Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were the most important band in the history of Australian rock, influencing all rock bands who followed. ~ RIP

Frankie Laine
March 30th 1913 ~ February 6th 2007
Mr. Rhythm, Old Leather Lungs, Old Man Jazz. ~ Frankie Laine, America's Number One Song Stylist has sadly died of heart failure after hip replacemnt surgery, at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego. 93 years old Frankie, was married to Hollywood leading lady Nan Grey, who died in 1993. Survivors include his second wife, Marcia; a brother; and two daughters.

Frankie Laine was born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio in Chicago's "Little Italy" district, where his Sicilian father worked at one time as the personal barber for gangster Al Capone. Frankie was a member of the choir in the church of the Immaculate Conception's elementary school. He realized he wanted to be a singer when he wagged high school to see Al Jolson's talkie picture, "The Singing Fool." His early influences included Enrico Caruso, Carlo Buti, and Bessie Smith. At 17 he signed as a member of The Merry Garden company, he sang infront of a crowd of 5,000 at The Merry Garden Ballroom, where on the first night he ended up performing five encores. Frankie toured with them, working dance marathons, and in 1932 he set the world record of 3,501 hours with partner Ruthie Smith at Atlantic City's Million Dollar Pier.His next break came when he replaced Perry Como in the Freddy Carlone band in Cleveland in 1937. The next 10 years sees Frankie alternating between singing at small jazz clubs on both coasts, and working a bouncer, a dance instructor, a used car salesman, an agent, a synthetic leather factory worker, a machinist at a defense plant, and sometimes sleeping on a bench in Central Park. These low times in his life did not deture his ambition, and in 1943 he moved to California. He got work at the film studios as a background singer, he also dubbed the singing voice for an actor the Danny Kaye comedy The Kid From Brooklyn. In 1944 he met Carl Fischer who became his musical director, songwriting partner, and piano accompanist until his death in 1954. They wrote "I'd Give My Life," "Baby, Just For Me," "What Could Be Sweeter?," "Forever More," and the jazz standard "We'll Be Together Again." Frankies big break came at last, in 1946 when Hoagy Carmichael heard him singing at Billy Berg's club in Los Angeles which led to a contract with the newly established Mercury records. This led to many hit singles and dozens LP throughout the 50's & 60's ~ including "That Lucky Old Sun", "Mule Train." and "The Cry of the Wild Goose," was his last for Mercury, and he signed with Columbia just one year later. "Hey, Good Lookin'," "Rawhide," "Jealousy (Jalousie)," "High Noon," "I Believe" and "Tell Me a Story.". He next turned to lavish cabaret tours travelling the world and time found him turning to increasingly inspirational and religious material, semi retiring in the mid eighties. Frankie starred in over a half dozen backstage musicals, often playing himself; several of these were written and directed by a young Blake Edwards. He also hosted three variety shows, and appeared at a London Royal Command Performance in the UK. 2005 saw his last performance in the PBS My Music special despite a recent stroke.

Joe Hunter
Nov 19th 1927 ~ February 2nd 2007
Motown's first Funk Brother, first pianist and first leader, three-time Grammy winner, Joe Hunter has sadly died at his Detroit apartment. Although the cause of death is not yet known, it is thought to be related to longtime diabetes, it appeared he was trying to take some medicine when he died. He was 79. Joe is survived by his son, Joe Hunter Jr.; his daughter, Michelle, and three grandchildren.

Born in Jackson, Tenn., but at 11 years old, Joe moved with his parents to Detroit, although he never lost his Southern accent or charm. He was a raw, rootsy pianist and started out in the 1950s backing up acts such as Jackie Wilson and Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, but he also played the jazz of Professor Longhair and Fats Domino-style New Orleans piano easily. In the late 1950s, Berry Gordy Jr was looking for top musicians to back his singers, Joe was the first of these musisians and he lead the motown band. He helped assemble what would become known as the Funk Brothers; the musicians who performed behind Motown's stars during the label's Detroit reign. Like his all his fellow Funks, he was already a veteran of the city's blues and jazz clubs. Joe's piano work and terrific riffs can be heard on most of the early Motown songs by Martha & the Vandellas, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye etc, etc, you can't miss Joe's piano on those great early hits and his stellar leadership helped birth the 'Motown Sound. Joe left Motown in 1964 and for a while maintained a busy career at other Detroit studios such as Golden World and United Sound, but gradually he slipped into obscurity, until discovered by film-maker Allan Slutsky playing piano in at the Troy MarriottHotel for tips, where the guests had no idea how he was. "Joe was kind of a throwback character, an English country gentleman in an R&B blues body," said Allan Slutsky, whose documentary, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, was released in 2002. Joe was a key figure in this film documentary which chronicled the Funk Brothers saga. From this the Funk Brothers at last recieved their long awaited and well deserved recognition. The Funk Brother's soundtrack album for the film won two Grammys in 2003 and in 2004, the Funk Brothers were bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys. Joe had also been a longtime supporter of the late Mother Waddles and was on-call to go anywhere to play for the Mother Waddles mission. For the last few years The Funks have been touring worldwide. Joe had just returned a week pior to his death from a European tour with fellow band member Jack Ashford. "As far as keyboards go, he was probably the one that really developed that style & made it popular," said former Motown bassist Bob Babbitt. "He was the original guy, he will be welcomed in heaven" Joe was a pianist, a pioneer, who's public fame came late in life.

Dennis Doherty
November 29th 1940 ~ January 19th 2007
Denny Doherty, of the 1960s folk-rock group the Mamas and the Papas, known for their soaring harmonies sadly died at his home in Mississauga, a city just west of Toronto, of kidney failure following surgery on a abdominal aneurysm at 66. Denny had three children, a daughter, Jessica Woods from his first marriage, and a daughter Emberly and son John by his 20-year marriage to his second wife, Jeannette, who died in 1998.

Denny was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1960, aged 19, Denny cofounded a folk group called The Colonials in Montreal, Quebec. When they got a record deal with Columbia Records, they changed their name to The Halifax Three, and had a minor hit, "The Man Who Wouldn't Sing Along With Mitch" In 1963, Doherty struck up a friendship with Cass Elliot when she was with a band called "The Big Three". Shortly after a tour together, Denny's band split up, eventually he and Zal Yanovsky joined 'The Big Three' band. They changed their name to "The Mugwumps." but this band failed. Doherty then joined John Phillips' new band, "The New Journeymen," After the New Journeymen called it quits as a band in early 1965, Cass Elliot was invited into the formation of a new band, which became "The Magic Cyrcle". Six months later in September 1965, the group signed a recording contract with Dunhill Records. Changing their name to The Mamas & the Papas, the band soon began to record their debut album, "If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears". The group burst on the national scene in 1966 with the top 10 smash "California Dreamin'." The Mamas and the Papas broke new ground by having women and men in one group at a time when most singing groups were unisex. "Monday, Monday" won the band a Grammy for best contemporary group performance. Cass Elliot left the band in 1968 for a solo career, which brought an end to this amazing band. Denny was devistated when she later died in 1974. The group was a 1998 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1982, Denny joined a reconstitution of the Mamas and the Papas consisting of John Phillips, his daughter Mackenzie Phillips and Elaine Spanky McFarlane, which toured and performed old standards and new tunes written by John Phillips. In 1993 he achieved immortality again by both playing the Harbormaster and voicing a lot the characters for the children's TV series "Theodore Tugboat." This programme is based an the villages & coves around were Denny was born; the big harbour itself is modeled after Halifax Harbour, in Nova Scotia, Canada. In 2003, Doherty was co-author and performer in the well recieved Broadway show called "Dream a Little Dream: The Mamas and the Papas Musical," which traced the band's early years, its dizzying fame and breakup.

Thornton James "Pookie" Hudson
June 11th 1934 ~ January 16th 2007
Pookie Hudson, lead singer and songwriter for the doo wop group the Spaniels, who lent his romantic tenor to hits like "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" and influenced generations of later artists, has sadly died. 72 year old Pookie died Tuesday of complications from cancer of the thymus at his home in Capitol Heights, Md. He is survived by his wife, Delores, nine children and 16 grandchildren.

Thornton James Hudson was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He was nicknamed "Pookie" by his aunt who baby sat him as a baby. The family moved to Gary, Indiana, were he attended Roosevelt School from first grade until he graduated in 1953. He loved listening to Josephine Baker and Fats Waller, and while in junior high school, he formed his first Doo Wop singing group, The Four Bees. He and his school friends formed The Spaniels in 1953, with Pookie as the lead singer, Ernest Warren as first tenor, second tenor was Willie C. Jackson, Opal Courtney Jr as baritone vocals and Gerald Gregory bass. They were the first artists to sign with Vee Jay Records. In the 1950s, The Spaniels were the top selling vocal group for Vee Jay records, with hits such as "Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight". When the label went bankrupt in 1966, Pookie Hudson started a solo career, recording for several labels. In 1969, the group reunited, touring playing their old tested hits and had a big hit with "Fairy Tales" in 1970. He told the Washington Post in 1983 that he continued to write new songs, but audiences "won't let us sing new stuff. That's not what they pay for." The Spaniels were honored in 1991 by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation with an award that carried a $20,000 grant. The group used the money to record their album "40th Anniversary,". In 1992, Pookie was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame. He continued to perform with two Spaniels groups, one in Washington, D.C. and the original group still based in Gary. He also raised money to open a Doo Wop museum in Washington, D.C. where he resided with his wife, Delores. Pookie continued performing until the Autumn of 2006, when he learned that his cancer had returned after a remission. His last recordings were done in October 2006 for an "Uncloudy Christmas" CD that will be released later this year.

Michael Brecker
March 29th 1949 – January 13th 2007
57 year old Michael Brecker, the influential and versatile tenor saxophonist who won 11 Grammys over a career that spanned more than three decades, has sadly lost his courageous battle with leukemia in a New York hospital. He is survivored by his wife, Susan; his children, Jessica and Sam; his brother, Randy; and his sister, Emily Brecker Greenberg.

Michael Brecker was born in Philadelphia to a music loving family, his father, an amateur jazz pianist, would take him and his brother to performances of jazz legends such as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. Michael first studied clarinet and alto saxophone, then decided to pursue the tenor saxophone while in high school after being inspired by the work of John Coltrane. He followed his brother, Randy, a trumpet player, to Indiana University, but left after a year for New York. Here, aged 21, he helped found the jazz-rock group Dreams, which included his older brother Randy, trombonist Barry Rogers, drummer Billy Cobham, Jeff Kent and Doug Lubahn. Dreams was short-lived, lasting only a year, but influential, Miles Davis was seen at some gigs prior to his recording "Jack Johnson". After Dreams, he worked with Horace Silver and then Billy Cobham before teaming up again with his Brother Randy to form the Brecker Brothers Band. The band stayed together from 1975–1982 with consistent success and musicality. At the same time, Brecker played on numerous pop and rock recordings including those with James Taylor, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Donald Fagen, Pat Metheny, Dire Straits and Joni Mitchell. During the early 80s he was also a member of NBC’s Saturday Night Live band. He also played sax briefly on Frank Zappa's live album Zappa in New York. He continued to record albums as a leader and freelance throughout the 1990s and 2000s, winning multiple Grammy Awards, 11 in all, and his solo and group tours consistently sold out top jazz venues in major cities world wide. His technique on the saxophone was widely emulated, and his style was much-studied in music schools throughout the world. Jazziz magazine recently called him "inarguably the most influential tenor stylist of the last 25 years," In recent years, Michael had struggled with myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer in which the bone marrow stops producing enough healthy blood cells. The disease, known as MDS, often progresses to leukemia. His struggle with the blood disease led him and his family to publicly encourage people to enroll in bone marrow donor programs. His own search for a donor led to an experimental blood stem cell transplant that sadly "did not work as hoped," according to a May 2006 entry on his Web site.Though very sick, Brecker managed to record a final album, as yet untitled, that was completed just two weeks ago. Michael is said to have been enthusiastic about the final work.

Alice Coltrane
August 27th 1937 ~ January 12th 2007
Jazz Pianist, harpist, composer Alice Coltrane, wife of the late saxophone legend John Coltrane, has sadly died at the age of 69. Alice died of respiratory failure at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center near L.A.

Alice Coltrane nee Alice McLeod was born in Detroit, where she began learning classical piano at age 7. She studied jazz piano briefly in Paris before moving to New York. Alice began playing jazz as a professional with her own trio and as a duo with vibist Terry Pollard. Alice met John Coltrane while playing with Terry Gibbs's quartet in 1961. She replaced McCoy Tyner as pianist with the John Coltrane group from 1965 until his death in 1967, marrying him in 1966. John became step-father to Alice's daughter Michelle, and the couple had three children: drummer John Jr., and saxophonists Oran and Ravi. Tragically John Jr. died in a car crash in 1982. After her husband John's death, for nearly 40 years, Alice managed the archive and estate of her husband, and she devoted herself to raising their children but continued to play with her own groups, moving into more and more meditative music, and later playing with her children. She was one of the few harpists in the history of jazz. Early albums under her name, including "A Monastic Trio" and "Ptah, the El Daoud," received critical praise. In the early 1970s, Alice took the name Swamini Turiyasangitananda, after being a devotee of the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba for a number of years. Heavily influenced by the teachings and the philosophies of Hinduism, Alice established the Vedantic Center near Malibu, California. However, she continued to perform under the name Alice Coltrane. Her last recording, "Translinear Light," was released in 2004. Then following a twenty-five-year break from big major public performances, she returned to the stage to be what would be her last performances in a short tour, three U.S. appearances in the Autumn of 2006, with her saxophonist son, Ravi. Coltrane, drummer Roy Haynes, and bassist Charlie Haden.

"Sneaky" Pete Kleinow
August 20th 1934 ~ January 6th 2007
Pedal steel guitarist "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow, who co-founded influential 1960s country rock group the Flying Burrito Brothers, has died from complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 72.

Before his musical career, Kleinow worked as a special effects artist and stop motion animator for movies and television, including the Gumby, and Outer Limits TV series, as well as classic cult movies such as 7 Faces of Dr. Lao and The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. By night he would he would sit in jamming with varies bands playing his pedal steele guitar. He met up with Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons of the Byrds, in 1968 they asked Pete to join their new band, the Flying Burrito Brothers. The band had a big cult following and influenced such acts as the Rolling Stones and the Eagles. They released two albums before the hard-living Parsons was fired in 1970. Pete quit soon after for lucrative session work on albums by the likes of John Lennon - "Mind Games", Fleetwood Mac - "Heroes are Hard To Find", and Joni Mitchell - "Blue". Over the next 13 years Pete Kleinow has appeared on 100's of rock and country-rock albums, including those by: Frank Zappa, Little Feat, Rita Coolidge, The Steve Miller Band, Stevie Wonder, The Golden Palominos, Yoko Ono, Dion and the Belmonts, Billy Joel, Robert Palmer, Joan Baez, the Bee Gees, Booker T. and the MG's, Gene Clark, Joe Cocker, The Rolling Stones, Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Sedaka, Jermaine Jackson, Gladys Knight, Ringo Starr, Linda Ronstadt, Dave Mason, John Cale, The Eagles and many more. He later returned to his original calling as a visual effects artist in film and television. His later credits included the first two "Terminator" films, and he shared an Emmy for his work on the TV miniseries "The Winds of War." In 2000, he founded the country-rock group Burrito Deluxe, named after the Flying Burrito Brothers' second album. His last public performance was in October 2005 at a Gram Parsons festival in Georgia.

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MUSO PAGE

I started these pages June of 2004. When the great Ray Charles died,
I wrote a tribute to him... and just carried it on from there.
Sorry I haven't the time to write past ones too.

But if you have a special request ~ please email me