2 January, German guitarist and composer Christoph Karrer died after a COVID-19 infection age 76. He was a pioneer of krautrock, playing and recording with his band Amon Düül II from 1969 when they released their first album Phallus Dei. From the 1980s Karrer played as a soloist and with Embryo, a band that combined elements of rock and jazz with music from Africa and India. 4 January, American-British actor and singer David Soul died age 80. Soul was a three-pack-a-day cigarette smoker for 50 years and was seriously affected by COPD and had also had a lung removed due to cancer. He was known for his role as Detective Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson in the television series Starsky & Hutch from 1975 to 1979 and had the 1976 UK No.1 ‘Silver Lady’ and the 1977 UK & US No.1 single ‘Don’t Give Up On Us’. 5 January, Larry Collins died of natural causes in Santa Clarita, California at the age of 79. The American guitarist is best known for being a part of The Collins Kids duo with his sister Lorrie, being mentored by Joe Maphis, and for his fast and energetic playing. Collins went on to write and produce hits for many well known country music stars, and is most notable for co-writing the 1972 hit ‘Delta Dawn’ and the 1981 country hit ‘You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma’. 5 January, English musician and sound engineer Del Palmer died at the age of 71. He is best known for his work with Kate Bush, with whom he also had a long-term personal relationship from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Palmer was credited as an engineer on Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love (1985), The Sensual World (1989), The Red Shoes (1993) and Aerial (2005). He released his first solo studio album titled Leap of Faith in 2007. 7 January, English musician Tony Clarkin died age 77. He is best known as the guitarist of the rock band Magnum and was the sole songwriter throughout Magnum’s history, writing all of the material on their 23 studio albums as well as on two studio albums by Magnum spin-off group Hard Rain. 9 January, American drummer James Kottak was found dead in his bathroom at his home in Louisville, Kentucky, age 61. He is best known for his work with the German hard rock band Scorpions, which he joined in 1996. At the time of his firing from the band in 2016, he was their longest-serving drummer. Kottak was also an original member of Kingdom Come, and he had his own band Kottak, formerly known as KrunK. Other bands Kottak played for were Montrose, Warrant, Wild Horses, the McAuley Schenker Group, and Buster Brown. 11 January, English radio and television broadcaster Annie Nightingale died age 83. She was the first female presenter on BBC Radio 1 in 1970 and the first female presenter for BBC Television’s The Old Grey Whistle Test where she stayed for eleven years. Nightingale specialised in championing new and underground music, she also led the movement and encouraged other women to become DJs and broadcasters. 12 January, American actor and recording artist Bill Hayes died age 98. He had the US No.1 single ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett’. During the Davy Crockett craze in 1955, three recorded versions were of ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett’ were in the top 30. Hayes’ version was the most popular: It was No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks and sold over two million copies. 13 January, American singer-songwriter and accordionist Jo-El Sonnier died of a heart attack age 77. Sonnier charted several minor singles on the Billboard country charts in the late 1970s. By the late 1980s, he had signed to RCA Records, breaking through with the Top Ten hits ‘No More One More Time’ and a cover of Richard Thompson’s ‘Tear-Stained Letter’. In 2015 Sonnier won a Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album. 19 January, American singer Mary Weiss died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at her home in Palm Springs, California, at the age of 75. With the American girl group, The Shangri-Las Weiss had the 1964 US No.1 & UK No.11 single ‘Leader Of The Pack’ and the hits ‘Remember (Walking in the Sand)’ and ‘Give Him a Great Big Kiss’. 23 January, German record producer and singer Frank Farian died age 82. He founded the 1970s disco-pop group Boney M., the Latin pop band No Mercy, and the pop band Milli Vanilli. Over the course of his career, Farian sold over 850 million records. In 1990, Farian confessed to orchestrating the events leading to the Milli Vanilli scandal. As a producer, he assembled a group of session musicians and fronted it with physically attractive dancers Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan. Following a 1989 performance where a backing track error first revealed the singers had been lip-syncing, Farian later confirmed to the press that others had sung on the albums. Milli Vanilli’s 1990 Grammy Award for Best New Artist was revoked, and at least 26 lawsuits were filed in the United States under US consumer fraud protection laws. 23 January, Swedish vocalist Anders Sandberg died age 55. He was a member of the band Rednex and enjoyed success throughout the 1990s with novelty hits such as ‘Cotton Eye Joe’, ‘Old Pop in an Oak’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’, which topped the charts in several European countries. 23 January, County music singer Margo Smith died age 84 from complications of a stroke she suffered two days earlier. The singer scored two US No.1 Country hits in the 1970s, ‘Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You’ and ‘It Only Hurts for a Little While’. She was also considered a “world class yodeler”. 31 January, English classic rock guitarist Paul Brett died of heart failure. He played lead guitar with The Strawbs, The Overlanders, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Roy Harper, Al Stewart, and Lonnie Donegan. 31 January, American recording engineer Henry “Hank” Cicalo died age 91. With a career spanning over fifty years, among the artists recorded by Cicalo were The Monkees, (3 No.1 albums), Carole King, (Tapestry ), Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and George Harrison (Thirty Three & 1/3). 2 February, Wayne Kramer, guitarist, singer, and songwriter from the American rock band MC5 (Motor City 5) died from pancreatic cancer at a hospital in Los Angeles at the age of 75. The band who formed in 1963 are best known for their energetic live performances, one of which was recorded as their 1969 debut album Kick Out the Jams. Kramer also founded the independent initiative Jail Guitar Doors, USA with Billy Bragg in 2009. The project was named after a song by The Clash, which the band had written as the ‘B’ side of Clash City Rockers in dedication to Kramer and to raise awareness of his term in prison. 2 February, Bassist Derrick McIntyre, who was part of the band Jamiroquai and lent his strings to songs by Emeli Sandé, Will Young and Beverly Knight died in a car crash aged 66. Hertfordshire police in England confirmed that McIntyre died in a collision involving five cars stating that McIntyre died at the scene. Jamiroquai’s third album, Travelling Without Moving (1996), received a Guinness World Record as the best-selling funk album in history. The music video for its second single, ‘Virtual Insanity’, was named Video of the Year at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards and earned the band a Grammy Award in 1998. 3 February, Jamaican musician Aston “Family Man” Barrett died of heart failure after a series of strokes in Miami, Florida, at the age of 77. He was best known as the bandleader of Bob Marley‘s backing band, as well as co-producer of the albums, and the man in charge of the overall song arrangements. He also worked with The Hippy Boys, King Tubby, Peter Tosh and Lee Perry’s The Upsetters. 5 February, American country music singer, songwriter, record producer and actor Toby Keith died in his sleep in Oklahoma, at the age of 62. His chart-topping debut ‘Should’ve Been a Cowboy’, topped the US country charts and was the most-played country song of the 1990s. The song has received three million spins since then, according to Broadcast Music Incorporated. Keith released 19 studio albums and charted 61 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including 20 No.1 hits. In June 2022, Keith announced that he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. 6 February, American guitarist and singer Donald Kinsey died at the age of 70. He is best known as a member of the Word Sound and Power Band, the reggae backing group for Peter Tosh. He also toured and recorded with Albert King, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and the Wailers, and Roy Buchanan. 7 February, Henry Fambrough, from American rhythm and blues vocal group The Spinners died in Sterling, Virginia, at the age of 85. The Spinners (also called The Detroit Spinners and The Motown Spinners) had the 1980 UK No.1 & US No.2 single ‘Working My Way Back To You’. The Spinners signed to Motown Records in the early 60s but didn’t have any big hits for the next six years, and Fambrough ended up working as a chauffeur for the mother of Motown Records label boss Berry Gordy Jr. 7 February, American musician and actor Mojo Nixon died from a cardiac event while aboard the Outlaw Country Cruise (docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico), which he attended as a performer and host; he was 66 years old. He was best known for his novelty song ‘Elvis Is Everywhere’, and the song ‘Don Henley Must Die’, which caused controversy. Don Henleyhimself was unfazed and on July 31, 1992, at The Hole in the Wall in Austin, Texas, the former Eagle jumped onstage and performed the song with Nixon, causing Nixon to praise Henley as having “balls as big as church bells”. 9 February, Japanese musician Damo Suzuki died at the age of 74. He is best known as the vocalist for the German Krautrock group Can between 1970 and 1973. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2014 and given a 10% chance of survival. 9 February, American rock and roll drummer, singer and record producer Jimmy Van Eaton died in Alabama at the age of 86. He is best known for his recordings as the drummer in sessions with Jerry Lee Lewis (such as ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’), and others, including Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Charlie Rich at Sun Records in the 1950s. 11 February, American musician, and singer-songwriter Randy Sparks died in San Diego at the age of 90. He was the founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. The New Christy Minstrels 1962 debut album, Presenting the New Christy Minstrels, won a Grammy Award and remained on the Billboard 200 albums chart for two years. Sparks also wrote ‘Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio’, which was recorded and made famous by John Denver. 14 February, Guitarist Ian Amey, (Tich), from the British pop/rock group, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, died at his home in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England at the age of 79. They scored the 1968 UK No.1 single ‘Legend Of Xanadu’ and hits by songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley including ‘Hold Tight!’, ‘Bend It!’ and ‘Zabadak!’. Amey was a member of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich from 1964 until his retirement in 2014. 16 February, American gospel singer and songwriter Etterlene DeBarge from R&B/soul vocal group DeBarge died at the age of 88. Their 1985 single ‘Rhythm of the Night’, hit No.3 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it their highest-charting single in America. 22 February, English pianist John Lowe died age 81. In the late 1950s, he played piano for The Quarrymen, the group who would evolve into The Beatles. Known to his friends as “Duff”, Lowe had known Paul McCartney since 1953, and was invited to play piano with The Quarrymen by McCartney in February 1958. He was there when the band recorded two songs for a vanity disc at Percy Phillips’ home studio in Liverpool. The two tracks cut that day were ‘That’ll Be the Day‘ and ‘In Spite of All the Danger’. 22 February, American bluegrass banjo player and comedian Roni Stoneman died age 85. She was widely known as a cast member on the country music show Hee Haw. She was the youngest daughter of Ernest V. “Pop” Stoneman, patriarch of the Stoneman Family, one of the most famous family groups in early country music. As a member of the Stoneman Family, she won the Country Music Association Award for Vocal Group of the Year in 1967. She was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2021 with the rest of her family. 28 February, American sound and radio engineer Bob Heil died age 83. He founded the company Heil Sound in 1966 and built touring sound systems for bands such as The Grateful Dead and The Who. In 1973 he invented the Heil Talk Box, which blended the sound of voice and guitar which was used by musicians such as Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh and Richie Sambora. 2 March, American jazz pianist and keyboardist, composer, arranger and producer Jim Beard died age 63. He worked with many artists including Steely Dan, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin and Pat Metheny. 2 March, American blues musician. W.C. Clark died age 84. He is known as the “Godfather of Austin Blues” for his influence on the Austin, Texas blues scene since the late 1960s. He worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan and Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds. 10 March, American, Grammy Award-winning blues and rock guitarist Paul Nelson died age 63. He played and or recorded alongside artists such as Eric Clapton, Johnny Winter, Mark Knopfler, Joe Walsh, and members of the Allman Brothers Band. 10 March, American session bass guitarist T. M. Stevens died from advanced dementia at the age of 72. He recorded and toured with an array of rock, R&B, and pop acts including James Brown, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Little Steven, The Pretenders, Tina Turner and Billy Joel. 10 March, Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer Karl Wallinger died age 66. He was a member of The Waterboys, (1985 album ‘This Is The Sea’). Wallinger quit the band in 1986 and formed World Party, the song ‘Ship of Fools’, was a Top 40 hit in the United States in 1987, ‘Way Down Now’, (1990) reached No.1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. The 1990 World Party album Goodbye Jumbo was voted “album of the year” by Q magazine and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The Wallinger-penned ‘She’s the One’ from World Party’s fourth studio album, Egyptology (1997) was later covered by Robbie Williams and became a UK No.1 hit single. 11 March, American rapper Lichelle Marie Laws better known by her stage name Boss (stylized as Bo$$) died of kidney failure in Southfield, Michigan at the age of 54. Her debut album, Born Gangstaz, reached No.3 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in 1993. 11 March, Eric Carmen died age 74. The American singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist with The Raspberries had the 1972 US No.5 single ‘Go All The Way’ (which was banned by the BBC in the UK for sexually suggestive lyrics) and the 1976 solo US No.2 single, ‘All By Myself’, plus other hits with ‘She Did It’, ‘Hungry Eyes’ and ‘Make Me Lose Control. In later years, he toured with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band before reforming the Raspberries in 2004. 14 March, British drummer Dick Allix died at the age of 78. He was a member of Vanity Fare who formed in 1966. They released the million-selling song ‘Hitchin’ a Ride’, which became a worldwide hit in 1970. 17 March, English singer and songwriter Steve Harley died aged 73. In December 2023, Harley announced on his website that he was battling cancer. He was best known as the frontman with Cockney Rebel who had the 1975 UK No.1 single ‘Make Me Smile, (Come Up And See Me’) as well as hits with ‘Mr Soft’ and ‘Judy Teen’. Harley released over five solo albums and also worked as a radio presenter. 18 March, American jazz pianist and composer Kevin Toney died from cancer at the age of 70. He was a member of The Blackbyrds and also worked with many other artists including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes, Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston and Shania Twain. 25 March, English musician Chris Cross died at the age of 71. He is best known as the bass guitarist in the new wave band Ultravox who had the 1981 UK No.2 single ‘Vienna’, plus 15 other UK Top 40 singles. 29 March, English folk and rock drummer and percussionist Gerry Conway died at the age of 76, having been diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2022. He performed with the backing band for Cat Stevens in the 1970s, with Jethro Tull during the 1980s, and was a member of Fairport Convention from 1998 to 2022. 1 April, Michael Ward died at the age of 57 due to complications from diabetes. He was the guitarist with American rock band The Wallflowers who had the 1997 US No.3 album Bringing Down The Horse. 2 April, American country music songwriter and record producer Jerry Bob Abbott died age 81. He was the father of heavy metal musicians Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell, both formerly of Pantera and Damageplan. 5 April, American singer C.J. Snare died age 64. He is best known for being the frontman and founding member of the hard rock/glam metal band FireHouse. The band reached stardom during the early 1990s with charting singles like ‘Don’t Treat Me Bad,’ ‘All She Wrote,’ and ‘Reach for the Sky.’ 7 April American rhythm and blues singer and pianist Clarence “Frogman” Henry died at the age of 87. He is best known for his hits ‘Ain’t Got No Home’ (1956) and ‘(I Don’t Know Why) But I Do’ (1961). Henry was married seven times, with all his marriages ending in divorce and had ten children. He opened 18 concerts for The Beatles across the US and Canada in 1964. 10 April, American DJ, broadcaster, record executive, and radio personality Calvin LeBrun, known professionally as Mister Cee or DJ Mister Cee, died at the age of 57 due to diabetes-related coronary artery/kidney disease. He served as associate executive producer for the Notorious B.I.G.’s 1994 debut album, Ready to Die. Mister Cee is widely considered to be a pioneering figure in East Coast hip-hop. 15 April, Arthur Tavares from American R&B, funk, and soul group Tavares died. Tavares had their first No.1 R&B hit with Hall & Oates‘s ‘She’s Gone’ and later had the 1976 UK No.4 and US No.15 single ‘Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel’. 18 April, Dickey Betts, American guitarist, singer, and songwriter with The Allman Brothers Band died of cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his home in Osprey, Florida at the age of 80. The Allman Brothers Band had the 1973 US No.12 single ‘Ramblin Man’. Betts is recognised as one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time, with one of rock’s finest guitar partnerships with Duane Allman, introducing melodic twin guitar harmony which “rewrote the rules for how two rock guitarists can work together”. 18 April Scottish musician and songwriter Jack Green died of cancer at the age of 73. He played with T. Rex between 1973 and 1974, and then with The Pretty Things between 1974 and 1976. 24 April, Mike Pinder died at his home in northern California at the age of 82. He was a founding member and the original keyboard player of the rock group the Moody Blues who had the 1965 UK No.1 & US No.10 single ‘Go Now’ and the hit singles ‘Nights in White Satin’ and ‘Question’. He left the group following the recording of the band’s ninth album Octave in 1978. Pinder was renowned for his technological contributions to rock music, most notably in the development and emergence of the Mellotron in 1960s rock music. 30 April, American guitarist Duane Eddy died of cancer in Franklin, Tennessee, four days after his 86th birthday. He had a string of hit records in the late 1950s and early 1960s, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically “twangy” sound, including ‘Rebel Rouser’, ‘Peter Gunn’, and ‘Because They’re Young’. Eddy became the first rock and roll guitarist to have a signature guitar when, in 1961, the Guild Guitar Company introduced the Duane Eddy signature models DE-400 and the deluxe DE-500. 7 May, American musician and record producer Steve Albini died from a heart attack age 61. He was the founder, owner and principal engineer at Electrical Audio, a recording studio complex in Chicago. It has been estimated that he worked on several thousand records over his career. He worked with acts such as Nirvana, Pixies, Bush, the Breeders, PJ Harvey, the Jesus Lizard, and former Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. 7 May, Ignatius Jones died after a short illness aged 67. He fronted the shock rock band Jimmy and the Boys who pioneered the use of shock theatrics in Australia. By the end of the 1970s they were “one of the most popular live acts on the Australian scene”. In 1981, they scored their only top 10 single with ‘They Won’t Let My Girlfriend Talk to Me’, which was written by Split Enz leader Tim Finn. 8 May, American drummer John Barbata died of heart complications at the age of 79. He was a member of the American rock group The Turtles who had the US No.1 single ‘Happy Together’, and Jefferson Starship who had the 1987 UK & US No.1 single ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us’. In 1970, Barbata was invited to join Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young after Neil Young fired their previous drummer, Dallas Taylor. They soon after recorded the live album 4 Way Street, which went to No.1 on the Billboard 200. Included on the album was the protest song ‘Ohio’, about the Kent State shootings. Barbata continued to play on eight albums with CSNY and the individual members of the quartet. 9 May, American drummer Dennis Thompson died in Taylor, Michigan, at the age of 75. He was the final surviving member of the MC5 who formed in 1964. Best known for their energetic live performances, one of which was recorded as their 1969 debut album Kick Out the Jams. Thompson was given the nickname “Machine Gun” because of his “assault” style of fast, hard-hitting drumming. 12 May American alto saxophonist David Sanborn died of complications from prostate cancer at the age of 78. He was a member of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and worked with many artists including Stevie Wonder, (Talking Book), James Taylor, (‘How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)’, David Bowie, (Young Americans and David Live), Bruce Springsteen, (Born To Run), Aretha Franklin, Sting, Linda Ronstadt, Eric Clapton, The Eagles, Elton John and Rolling Stones. He released more than 20 albums and won six Grammy awards. 14 May, Jamaican-British soul singer Jimmy James died at the age of 83. Known for songs like ‘Come to Me Softly’, ‘Now Is the Time’ and ‘I’ll Go Where Your Music Takes Me’ he performed as the lead singer of Jimmy James and the Vagabonds from the mid-1960s. During the 60s Jimmy James and the Vagabonds supported The Who, Rod Stewart, Jimi Hendrix, Sonny and Cher and recorded at Abbey Road Studios being there at the same time The Beatles were recording. 15 May, English keyboard player John Hawken died from melanoma age 84. He is best known as a member of The Nashville Teens (1964 hit ‘Tobacco Road’), Renaissance, and the Strawbs. He also played in Spooky Tooth, Third World War, Vinegar Joe and Illusion, as well as being a session musician. 16 May, American rock singer, songwriter and bass player Randall Fuller died. He is best known for his work in the 1960s rock group the Bobby Fuller Four with his older brother, Bobby Fuller who had the 1966 hit ‘I Fought the Law’. 17 May, American musician Charlie Colin was found dead in a friend’s home in Brussels, having fallen in a shower. He was the bassist for the rock band Train, of which he was a founding member. Train had the 2001 hit single and album ‘Drops of Jupiter’ which won two Grammy Awards in 2002. Their 2009 single ‘Hey, Soul Sister’ reached No.3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 18 May, British-born Australian country music singer and guitarist Frank Ifield died from pneumonia at the age of 86. He had four No.1 hits on the UK Singles Chart in the early 1960s with his cover versions of ‘I Remember You’, ‘Lovesick Blues’, ‘The Wayward Wind’ and ‘Confessin’ That I Love You’. Ifield would often incorporate yodelling into his music. In 1991, Ifield returned to the UK chart when a dance remix of ‘She Taught Me How to Yodel’, renamed “The Yodeling Song”, which became his 16th appearance on the chart. The song was mentioned by Victor Meldrew in the One Foot in the Grave episode, Love and Death. 18 May, Jon Wysocki, drummer with American rock band Staind died at the age of 53, due to “issues with his liver that required him to be under the care of medical professionals”. The band was most successful in the early 2000s, with their album Break the Cycle going five times platinum in the United States and producing a top-five Billboard Hot 100 hit with its lead single ‘It’s Been Awhile’. 24 May, Doug Ingle, the lead singer and organist with American rock band Iron Butterfly died at the age of 78. Their second studio album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is most known for its title track, a 17-minute magnum opus that propelled acid-rock into the outer reaches of excess in the late 1960s. The album stayed on the Billboard charts for 140 weeks and sold over 30 million copies. 30 May, American vocalist Doug Dagger died from cancer n at the age of 56. He was the lead singer for the Los Angeles punk rock band The Generators, which formed in 1997, and was lead singer for Schleprock and other punk bands. 31 May, American musician Ed Mann died at the age of 69. He was known for his mallet percussion performances onstage with Frank Zappa‘s ensemble from 1977 to 1988, and his appearances on over 30 of Zappa’s albums. 2 June, British musician Colin Gibb died age 70. He was a member of Black Lace who had the 1984 UK No.2 single ‘Agadoo’ and hits with ‘Do the Conga’, ‘Superman’, ‘Hokey Cokey’, ‘Wig-Wam Bam’ and ‘I Am the Music Man’. 3 June, American rapper and Miami bass pioneer Brother Marquis, (Mark D. Ross) died from a heart attack at the age of 58. He was part of the group 2 Live Crew, who were considerably controversial in the US due to the sexually explicit content in their songs, particularly on their 1989 album As Nasty as They Wanna Be. 11 June, French singer-songwriter and actress Françoise Hardy died age 80. Hardy remains one of the best-selling singers in French history known for singing melancholic, sentimental ballads. She rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure in French yé-yé music and became a cultural icon in France and internationally. Bob Dylan was infatuated by Hardy and included a beat poem dedicated to her on the back cover of his 1964 album Another Side of Bob Dylan. 11 June, Singer Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson died from cancer age 73. He was a member of The Selecter the English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England in 1979. The band’s debut album Too Much Pressure was released a year later before they went on to release five top 40 singles in the UK. 16 June, American singer, songwriter and record producer Buzz Cason died in Franklin, Tennessee at the age of 84. He was a founding member of The Casuals, Nashville’s first rock and roll band and worked with Leon Russell as a session musician producing The Crickets version of the song ‘La Bamba’. Cason was also a backing singer for Elvis Presley and Kenny Rogers. 17 June, Paul Spencer from the English dance music trio Dario G died from rectal cancer at the age of 53. The trio rose to prominence in the late 1990s following the release of their debut single ‘Sunchyme’, which reached No.2 in the UK. 24 June, American rapper and singer-songwriter Shifty Shellshock (real name Seth Brooks Binzer) was found dead at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 49, from an accidental drug overdose. With Crazy Town he had the 2001 US No.1 single ‘Butterfly’. Binzer struggled with addiction throughout his career and appeared on the reality television series Celebrity Rehab and Sober House. 27 June, Kinky Friedman the American singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician, and columnist for Texas Monthly, died at his home at Echo Hill Ranch, Medina, Bandera County, Texas from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 79. 28 June, Betty Veldpaus, singer with the Dutch pop group Pussycat died at the age of 72. In 1975 they scored a big European hit with the song ‘Mississippi’. However they had to wait a further year for the single to make the British charts when it climbed to No.1 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1976. Penned by Werner Theunissen, who had been the sisters’ guitar teacher, it is estimated that ‘Mississippi’ sold over five million copies worldwide. 2 July, American bass guitarist Tom Fowler died following complications from an aneurysm at the age of 73. He played with It’s a Beautiful Day, Frank Zappa, The Mothers of Invention, Jean-Luc Ponty, Ray Charles, Steve Hackett, and many others. He had four brothers, including trombonist Bruce and trumpeter Walt Fowler. 6 July, Scottish singer-songwriter Joe Egan died from a heart attack at a hotel in Melbourne, Australia, at the age of 77. Along with Gerry Rafferty, Egan was one of the two main members of the folk rock band Stealers Wheel, and co-writer of their hit song ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’. The song was used in Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 movie Reservoir Dogs, during the famous “ear” scene. 9 July American singer Joe Bonsall Jr. died due to complications of ALS at the age of 76. He was the tenor vocalist of the country and gospel vocal quartet the Oak Ridge Boys from 1973 to 2023. The Oak Ridge Boys switched their focus to secular country music in the mid-70s, releasing a string of hit albums and singles that lasted into the early 1990s. Their discography comprises thirty-one studio albums and fifty-six singles. 10 July, American singer, songwriter, and musician Dave Loggins died age 76. He is best known for his 1974 hit single ‘Please Come to Boston’ as well as his 1984 duet with Anne Murray, ‘Nobody Loves Me Like You Do’. His second cousin is singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins. 20 July, American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Jerry Miller died in Tacoma at the age of 81. He is best known as a member of the psychedelic rock group Moby Grape, known for their debut album Moby Grape (1967). He contributed guitar work to an early version of the hit record ‘I Fought the Law’ by The Bobby Fuller Four. Eric Clapton called Jerry Miller the “best guitar player in the world” when he first came to the US. Robert Plant cites Miller as a major influence on Led Zeppelin – the band even played Moby Grape songs at its first rehearsal. 20 July, Country pop singer Sandy Posey died from complications of dementia at her home in Lebanon, Tennessee, at the age of 80. She had her first hit with ‘Born a Woman’, which reached No.12 on the Hot 100 in August 1966. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. Working as a receptionist at a studio in Memphis, she took part in recording sessions across the Deep South, including sessions produced by Lincoln “Chips” Moman for Elvis Presley and on Percy Sledge’s ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’. 21 July, American singer Evelyn Thomas died at the age of 70. She is best known for the 80s hi-NRG dance hits ‘High Energy’, ‘Masquerade’, ‘Standing at the Crossroads’, ‘Reflections’, and ‘Weak Spot’. 22 July, American singer Abdul Kareem “Duke” Fakir died of heart failure at his Detroit home at the age of 88. He was a founding member of the Motown quartet the Four Tops, from 1953 until shortly before his death in 2024. The Four Tops were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel the Motown label to international fame. They crafted a stream of hit singles for Motown including two Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hits for the Tops: ‘I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)’ in 1965 and ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There’ in 1966. 22 July, English blues and rock musician, songwriter and producer John Mayall died at his home in California, at the age of 90. Known the ‘father of the UK blues movement’, his Bluesbreakers Band has featured Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Jack Bruce, Peter Green and Jimmy McCulloch. He had a career that spanned nearly seven decades, remaining an active musician until his death. 26 July, Kelly Nelon Clark, Jason Clark, and Amber Nelon Kistler from American southern gospel group The Nelons all died in a plane crash in a remote part of Campbell County, Wyoming, just north of Gillette. The Nelons had been nominated for many awards in the southern gospel music industry including Grammys, Dove Awards and Singing News Awards. 27 July, Pat Collier from the British punk band The Vibrators died at the age of 72. Formed in 1976 The Vibrators’ single ‘Judy Says (Knock You in the Head)’, was released in June 1978 and reached No. 70 on the UK singles chart. Years later it was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time. 28 July, New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician Martin Phillipps was found dead at his home in Tainui, South Dunedin. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for The Chills. As part of the Dunedin sound, Phillipps and the Chills helped lay the groundwork for modern indie rock, and the band’s innovative approach to alternative rock and lo-fi formed his legacy. After his death, Split Enz and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn said Phillipps was a “true original, fascinated by and devoted to the magic and mystery of music”. 28 July, English drummer Mick Underwood died at the age of 78. Notable musicians and groups he played with include Jet Harris, The Outlaws (with Ritchie Blackmore), The Herd (with Peter Frampton), Episode Six (with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover), and Gillan (again with Gillan). He also worked on many of record producer Joe Meek’s recordings. 29 July, American electric blues and soul blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist Joey Gilmore died in Florida at the age of 80. He shared the stage with James Brown, Etta James, Bobby Bland, Little Milton, and Little Johnny Taylor among others. Gilmore’s best known tracks include ‘Blues All Over You’. 5 August, Maurice Williams from the American doo-wop group The Zodiacs died age 86. The Zodiacs had the 1960 US No.1 & 1961 UK No.14 single ‘Stay’. At 1:36, ‘Stay’ is the shortest recording ever to reach No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. The song was also a hit for Jackson Browne, The Four Seasons and The Hollies. The inclusion of ‘Stay’ on the soundtrack to the film Dirty Dancing in 1987 led to the song selling more records than it had during its original release. 7 August, American rock vocalist Jack Russell died at the age of 63. He was a founding member of the hard rock band Great White who had the 1989 hit with a cover of Ian Hunter’s ‘Once Bitten Twice Shy’. Great White made headlines when, in 2003, their show pyrotechnics set a Rhode Island nightclub on fire, leading to the deaths of 100 people, including band member Ty Longley. 9 August, Carl Bevan drummer from Welsh rock trio 60 Ft. Dolls died age 51. The band active in the 1990s broke into the UK Top 40 with their fourth single ‘Talk to Me’ in 1996. 9 August, American electric blues vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Carl Weathersby died at the age of 71. He worked with Albert King and Billy Branch, among others, and had a career as a solo artist. He was nominated for the W. C. Handy Award for Best New Blues Artist in 1997. 13 August, American singer Greg Kihn died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 75. He is best known for the hits ‘The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em)’ in 1981 and ‘Jeopardy’ in 1983. 21 August, British singer Russell Stone died at the age of 77. He joined Brotherhood of Man for a year in 1971 and with his American wife, Joanne Ruby Stone, he formed the pop duo, R&J Stone. The duo had a hit with ‘We Do It’ in 1976. He also sang with many artists including Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Adam Ant, Tony Bennett, Twisted Sister, Cliff Richard and Right Said Fred. 27 August, American guitarist Pete Wade died of complications from hip surgery at the age of 89. Wade worked as a session musician in Nashville, playing on numerous hits including ‘Crazy Arms’ by Ray Price, ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ by George Jones, and ‘Fist City’ by Loretta Lynn. He was considered to be part of the Nashville A-Team and also played on hits such as ‘Harper Valley P.T.A.’ by Jeannie C. Riley and ‘Delta Dawn’ by Tanya Tucker. 31 August, American hip-hop artist Fatman Scoop died age 56. He had collapsed the previous day during a performance in Hamden, Connecticut and was rushed to a nearby hospital. He was best known for his guest performances on the 2005 singles ‘Lose Control’ by Missy Elliott and ‘It’s Like That’ by Mariah Carey, as well as his 1999 sleeper hit single, ‘Be Faithful’ (featuring the Crooklyn Clan), which topped the UK Singles Chart in 2003. 5 September, English musician Herbie Flowers died age 86. He was a member of groups including Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky and was also a prolific session musician. Flowers’ most famous bass line is the one he created for Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ from the 1972 album Transformer. He also worked with Elton John (Tumbleweed Connection, Madman Across the Water), David Bowie (Space Oddity, Diamond Dogs) and played bass on an estimated 500 hit recordings. Flowers is also known for having composed the novelty No.1 hit ‘Grandad’ for Clive Dunn in 1970. 5 September, Brazilian musician Sérgio Mendes died from complications of long COVID in Los Angeles at the age of 83. His career took off with worldwide hits by his band Brasil ’66. He released 35 albums and was known for playing bossa nova, often mixed with funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as a co-writer of ‘Real in Rio’ from the animated film Rio. 5 September, American pianist Screamin’ Scott Simon died of sinus cancer in Ojai, California, at the age of 75. Simon joined Sha Na Na in April 1970, the Rock and Roll and doo-wop revival group appeared as a 1950s version of themselves in the 1978 film version of Grease. In the film, he and Louis St. Louis collaborated on the song ‘Sandy’, performed by John Travolta. Sha Na Na also hosted the Sha Na Na syndicated variety TV series in the US that ran from 1977 to 1981. 6 September, American lyricist Will Jennings died at the age of 80. He was known for writing the lyrics for the songs ‘Up Where We Belong’, ‘Higher Love’, ‘Tears in Heaven’ and ‘My Heart Will Go On‘. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and won several awards including three Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards. With Joe Sample Jennings also wrote ‘Street Life’ (a world-wide hit for the Crusaders with singer Randy Crawford). 8 September, English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader Zoot Money died at the age of 82. He was best known for playing the Hammond organ and for his leadership of the Big Roll Band. He worked with many British artists including Alan Price, Alexis Korner, Humble Pie and The Animals. Guitarist Andy Summers (who later became a member of the Police) was a member of his band. In the late 1970s Money developed an acting career and had bit-parts in TV shows which included Bergerac, The Bill and EastEnders. 10 September, American singer, songwriter Frankie Beverly died at the age of 77. He was known primarily for his recordings with the soul and funk band Maze. In 1967, he cut ‘If That’s What You Wanted’, which became a Northern soul standard. In 2019, Beverly’s hit single with Maze, ‘Before I Let Go’ was covered by American singer Beyoncé as a bonus track on her fifth live album Homecoming: The Live Album. 13 September, American country musician Tommy Cash died at the age of 84, (the younger brother of Johnny Cash), In late 1969, he delivered his biggest hit, a tune dedicated to John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., titled ‘Six White Horses’. Cash also played with Hank Williams Jr., and had otyher US Country hits including ‘One Song Away’ and ‘Rise and Shine’, written by Carl Perkins. 13 September, Chalmers Davis the former keyboardist for Little Richard died, age 73. Davis recorded and toured with Little Richard for 24 years until he announced his retirement in September 2013. In his lifetime, he toured with dozens of popular artists including Johnny Cash and Bobby Rush. 15 September, American bluegrass mandolinist and singer David Davis died from injuries caused by an automobile accident in Snead, Alabama, he was 63. In 2014, Davis was inducted into America’s Old-Time Country Music Hall Of Fame. 15 September, Scottish drummer Kenny Hyslop died from prostate cancer at the age of 73. As a member of Scottish glam rock group Slik (with singer and guitarist Midge Ure), he had the 1976 UK No.1 single ‘Forever And Ever’. Also a member of Skids who had the 1979 UK No.10 single ‘Into The Valley’. He later joined Simple Minds and contributed to the recording of ‘Promised You a Miracle’. 15 September, Tito Jackson, from the American family music group The Jackson 5 died of a heart attack in Gallup, New Mexico at the age of 70. The Jackson 5 were the first group to debut with four consecutive No.1 hits on the Hot 100 with the songs ‘I Want You Back’, ‘ABC’, ‘The Love You Save’, and ‘I’ll Be There’. And with The Jacksons, had the 1979 hit ‘Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)’. Jackson was on a road trip with his business partner Terry Harvey to transport Jackson’s antique cars from California to his new residence in Claremore, Oklahoma when he began sweating and complaining of chest pains. 16 September, American singer and songwriter, Billy Edd Wheeler died at his home in Swannanoa, North Carolina at the age of 91. Wheeler who was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001 wrote ‘Jackson’ (Grammy award winner for Johnny Cash and June Carter) and ‘Coward of the County’ (a hit for Kenny Rogers). 17 September, American singer, songwriter JD Souther died at the age of 78. He wrote and co-wrote songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt (Souther helped The Eagles to form as a backing band for Ronstadt) and some of the Eagles biggest hits, including ‘Best of My Love’, ‘Victim of Love’, ‘Heartache Tonight’ and ‘New Kid in Town’. He recorded two hit songs in his solo career: ‘You’re Only Lonely’ (1979) and ‘Her Town Too’ (1981), a duet with James Taylor. In 1972 he formed the Souther–Hillman–Furay Band with Chris Hillman of The Byrds and Richie Furay of Buffalo Springfield. He dated Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Nicks in the 1970s. 18 September, Australian bass guitarist Dick Diamonde died at the age of 76. He was a member of The Easybeats who are widely regarded as Australia’s greatest pop group of the mid-1960s. They scored the 1966 Australian No.1, UK No.6 and 1967 US No. 16 single ‘Friday On My Mind’, which was the first Australian rock song to achieve international success. Their concerts and public appearances were regularly marked by intense fan hysteria similar to “Beatlemania“, soon dubbed “Easyfever” by the Australian press. 18 September, American blues, rock and folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist Nick Gravenites died at the age of 85. He is best known for his work with Electric Flag (as their lead singer), Janis Joplin and Mike Bloomfield. He wrote several songs for Joplin, including ‘Work Me, Lord’ produced the pop hit ‘One Toke Over the Line’ for Brewer & Shipley and the album Right Place, Wrong Time for Otis Rush, for which he was nominated for a Grammy Award. 21 September, Swedish drummer Roger Palm died at the age of 75. Working as a session musician he appeared on such noteworthy ABBA songs as ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Thank You For The Music’ and ‘Take A Chance On Me’. During the 70s he was a member of Swedish bands the Gimmicks and then the Beatmakers, and started working on the session circuit in 1970. 24 September, American choreographer, dancer, singer, and rapper Cat Glover died at the age of 62. Glover is best known for her work with Prince in the late 1980s. She choreographed and appeared in several of his videos and his concert film Sign o’ the Times, and as a backing vocalist and dancer on the Sign o’ the Times Tour and Lovesexy Tour, and rapped on both The Black Album track ‘Cindy C.’ and the Lovesexy song ‘Alphabet St.’ 24 September, English songwriter Ken Howard died at the age of 84. In the 1960s and 1970s, in collaboration with Alan Blaikley, Howard composed the music and words for many international top 10 hits, including two UK No.1s, ‘Have I the Right? (The Honeycombs) and ‘The Legend of Xanadu (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich). Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley were the first British composers to write for Elvis Presley including the hit ‘I’ve Lost You’ (1970). 28 September, Kris Kristofferson died at his home in Maui at the age of 88. The musician, actor, and writer, was known for such hits as ‘Me and Bobby McGee’, ‘For the Good Times’, ‘Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’, and ‘Help Me Make It Through the Night’. In 1985, Kristofferson joined fellow country artists Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash in forming the country music supergroup The Highwaymen. As an actor, Kristofferson was known for his roles in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) and A Star Is Born (1976) (which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor). 29 September, English singer and songwriter Martin Lee, a member of pop group Brotherhood of Man died aged 77. They had the 1976 hit ‘Save Your Kisses for Me’ which represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976. The song became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in many countries, including the UK, where it became the biggest-selling song of the year. 5 October, Musician Nell Smith was killed in a car accident at the age of 17. Smith first struck up a relationship with The Flaming Lips in 2019 after the band had noticed the then-12-year-old dressed as a parrot in the front row at several of their concerts. They later met and kept in contact before Smith began laying down the foundation for a Nick Caves cover album in 2021. Smith – aged 14 at the time – sent the album to The Flaming Lips, who provided further instrumentation on the record. The album, titled Where The Viaduct Looms, was released in November 2021. 6 October, American vocalist, and songwriter Johnny Neel died of heart failure at the age of 70. Neel worked with The Allman Brothers Band, Gov’t Mule, Michael McDonald and Dickey Betts. 7 October, American soul and gospel singer Cissy Houston died age 91, (she was the mother of Whitney Houston). She was a member of Sweet Inspirations, The Drinkard Singers, (with Dionne Warwick), and as a back-up singer worked with Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross, David Bowie (Young Americans), Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison, (Moondance), Beyoncé, (Dangerously In Love) and many others. 13 October, American singer and songwriter Libby Titus died at the age of 77. Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon and Dr John all recorded her songs and she collaborated with Burt Bacharach. Titus married Donald Fagen from Steely Dan in 1993. 16 October, Australian multi-instrumentalist and composer Ollie Olsen died at the age of 66. From the mid-1970s until his later years, he performed, recorded and produced rock, electronic and experimental music. Olsen joined with Michael Hutchence (of INXS) to form a short-term band, Max Q, which issued an album in 1989. 16 October, Liam Payne, the former One Direction star died aged 31 in Argentina after falling from the third floor at the CasaSur hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood in Buenos Aires. Police were called to the hotel following an emergency call from the hotel manager, who reported “an aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol”. The manager indicated in the call that the man’s life was at risk due to the room having a balcony. Payne fell from the balcony shortly after emergency services arrived. 21 October Paul Di’Anno, Iron Maiden‘s lead singer from 1978-1981, died age 66. He sang on their first two albums before a cocaine addiction led to his departure and Bruce Dickinson took over. In his post-Maiden career, Di’Anno issued numerous albums over the years, as both a solo artist and as a member of such bands as Gogmagog, Di’Anno’s Battlezone, Rockfellas, and more recently, Warhorse. 24 October, American hip hop DJ and record producer DJ Clark Kent died from colon cancer at the age of 58. He produced ‘Loverboy’ by Mariah Carey, which peaked at No.2 in the US on Billboard’s chart and also worked with Lil’ Kim, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z and 50 Cent. 25 October, Phil Lesh, bassist and co-founder of the US rock group Grateful Dead, died aged 84. The psychedelic band, which formed in California in 1965, split 30 years later following the death of frontman Jerry Garcia. He was best known for the song ‘Unbroken Chain’, about the band’s connection with its audience. Lesh also sang the wistful Box Of Rain, which he wrote while his father was dying. 3 November, American record producer, composer and musician Quincy Jones died from pancreatic cancer aged 91. He was known for his 1962 tune ‘Soul Bossa Nova’ and later scored the 1978 US No.1 single ‘Stuff Like That’. Jones has a record 79 Grammy Award nominations and was the producer of three albums by Michael Jackson, Off The Wall, Bad and Thriller which has now sold more than 65 million copies worldwide. 3 November, English singer, and songwriter, Andy Leek died following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 66. He is known for his work with Dexys Midnight Runners and played on the No.1 single ‘Geno’. George Martin produced Leek’s 1988 album, Say Something. 13 November, American record producer, songwriter, and arranger Shel Talmy died from complications of a stroke at the age of 87. He arranged and produced hits such as ‘You Really Got Me’ by The Kinks, (and many more hits with the group up to 19670, ‘My Generation‘ by The Who, and ‘Friday on My Mind’ by the Easybeats. Talmy produced two singles in 1965 by two groups featuring David Bowie, ‘I Pity The Fool’ by The Manish Boys and ‘You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving’, where the singer was accompanied by The Lower Third. 14 November, Welsh drummer Dennis Bryon died in Nashville at the age of 75. With Amen Corner he had the 1969 UK No.1 single ‘If Paradise Is Half As Nice’, plus five other UK Top 40 hits. He also worked with The Bee Gees, playing drums on all recordings, television, and tours from 1973 to 1980, including nine No.1 singles. 14 November, English studio guitarist Vic Flick died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at a care facility in Los Angeles at the age of 87. He is best known for playing the guitar riff in the ‘James Bond Theme’. Flick played the riff on a 1939 English Clifford Essex Paragon Deluxe guitar plugged into a Fender Vibrolux amplifier and was paid a one-off fee of £6 for the recording. He also played a pastiche of the “James Bond” guitar part for The Beatles‘ film A Hard Days Night – Ringos Theme (1964). 14 November, English poet and songwriter Pete Sinfield died at the age of 80. He was best known as a co-founder and lyricist of King Crimson. Their debut album In the Court of the Crimson King is considered one of the first and most influential progressive rock albums ever released. He later wrote a number of successful songs for artists such as Celine Dion, Cher, Cliff Richard, Leo Sayer, Five Star, and Bucks Fizz. 20 November, American guitarist, singer, and songwriter Mike Pinera died of liver failure at the age of 76. With Blues Image he had the 1970 US No.4 single, ‘Ride Captain Ride’. In 1972, Pinera and Jimi Hendrix‘s drummer Mitch Mitchell formed the band Ramatam. He was also the lead guitarist for Alice Cooper from 1980 to 1982. 24 November, Bob Bryar, drummer, with American rock band My Chemical Romance was found dead in his Tennessee home. My Chemical Romance had the 2006 UK No.1 single ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’, and the 2006 US No.2 album The Black Parade. 26 Nov, Leah Kunkel the younger sister of Cass Elliot, died at the age of 76, of heart cancer. As a session singer she worked with Jackson Browne, Stephen Bishop, Carly Simon, Guthrie, James Taylor and Art Garfunkel. Following her sister Cass’s death in 1974, Kunkel was given custody of Cass’s daughter, Owen. 13 December, Bassist Jon Camp from English progressive rock band Renaissance died at the age of 75. Renaissance are best known for their 1978 UK top 10 hit ‘Northern Lights’ and progressive rock classics like ‘Carpet of the Sun’and ‘Mother Russia’. Camp had also worked with Roy Wood and The Groundhogs. 16 December, Steve Lewinson the bass player for the band Simply Red died age 58 years of age. In October 2024 he was diagnosed with an aggressive and malignant brain tumour and had already undergone initial treatment. Lewinson had joined Simple Red in the mid 90s. 17 December, American singer Alfa Anderson died at the age of 78. She is best known as one of the lead vocalists of the 1970s band Chic who had the 1978 US No.1 & UK No.7 single ‘Le Freak’ and a hit with ‘Good Times’ (1979). Anderson recorded background vocals for Roy Buchanan, Dionne Warwick, Odyssey and many others. Her voice appears on the soundtrack to The Wiz (produced by Quincy Jones in 1978). 17 December, American musician Mike Brewer died at his home near Branson, Missouri at the age of 80. He and Tom Shipley were the music duo Brewer & Shipley. Their third album, 1970’s Tarkio, included the song ‘One Toke Over the Line,’ which became an unlikely pop hit in 1971, reaching No. 10 on the US Hot 100. The song stirred controversy with references to drugs and Jesus and Mary, which caused several radio stations to ban the song from the airwaves. 18 December, Slim Dunlap, from American rock band The Replacements died at his home in Minneapolis at the age of 73. Initially a punk rock band The Replacements became one of the main pioneers of alternative rock with their acclaimed albums Let It Be (1984) and Tim (1985). 24 December, American record producer Richard Perry died from cardiac arrest at the age of 82. Perry was launched on his career as a producer, with early projects including Captain Beefheart’s debut Safe as Milk and went on to produce many artists, including Harry Nilsson, The Pointer Sisters, Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, Art Garfunkel, Diana Ross, Martha Reeves and Manhattan Transfer. Among his projects was the 1973 album Ringo, by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. The album featured work by the other three Beatles and reached No. 2 on the Pop Albums chart. Another high point was his work with the girl rock group Fanny. Perry produced the group’s first three albums. 27 December, American musician, songwriter, and producer Don Nix died at his home in Germantown, Tennessee at the age of 83. He is best known for his song ‘Going Down,’ having been covered by Freddie King, the Jeff Beck Group, The Who, and the Rolling Stones. Nix made the acquaintance of George Harrison, leading to Nix organising the backup vocalists for the Concert for Bangladesh. 31 December, English radio disc jockey and broadcaster Johnnie Walker died at the age of 79. Walker had pulmonary fibrosis, which is scarring of the lungs, a condition which makes breathing difficult. He began his career in 1966 on pirate radio station Swinging Radio England before joining Radio Caroline. He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1969 and BBC Radio 2 in 1998. On his lunchtime Radio 1 show, which launched in 1971, he championed names like Steve Harley, Lou Reed, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles and Steely Dan. From 2009 to 2024, he presented Sounds of the 70s on Radio 2 on Sunday afternoons and The Radio 2 Rock Show on Friday nights from 2018 to 2024.

Объявлен благотворительный концерт для жертв лесных пожаров в Лос-Анджелесе. ЧИТАТЬ ДАЛЕЕ: Мир развлечений реагирует на «душераздирающие» лесные пожары в Лос-Анджелесе Шоу, получившее название FireAid, было описано как «вечер музыки и солидарности». Рекламный щити пройдет в Intuit Dome в Лос-Анджелесе 30 января. Доходы от концерта помогут восстановить общины, утраченные в результате лесных пожаров, начавшихся во вторник (7 января), поддержать перемещенные семьи и усовершенствовать технологии предотвращения пожаров, чтобы в будущем город был лучше подготовлен к пожарным чрезвычайным ситуациям. Мероприятие продюсируют Шелли, Ирвинг и семья Азофф совместно с Live Nation и AEG Presents, хотя состав участников на данный момент не объявлен. С момента начала пожаров в начале этой недели около 100 000 человек были эвакуированы, а более 9 000 построек разрушено. Это уже стало одним из самых дорогостоящих стихийных бедствий в истории страны, ущерб которого оценивается в 57 миллиардов долларов (46,6 миллиарда фунтов стерлингов), как сообщает Лос-Анджелес Таймс. Пожарные продолжают тушить пожар Palisades в Лос-Анджелесе. ИСТОРИЯ: Официальный аккаунт CAL FIRE на Flickr / Раздаточный материал / Anadolu через Getty Images. Среди домов, пострадавших от лесных пожаров, были дома комика и актера Билли Кристала, Кэри Элвиса, а также лауреата премии Оскар Джеймса Вудса и Марка Хэмилла. Дом Пэрис Хилтон также был разрушен в результате пожара, и с тех пор она начала сбор средств для помощи перемещенным семьям. Герои и Это мы Актер Майло Вентимилья недавно поперхнулся во время интервью в прямом эфире, обсуждая, как горит его дом. Тем временем был начат сбор средств для фронтмена DIIV Закари Коула Смита после того, как его дом сгорел в результате пожара. Согласно кампании GoFundMe, запущенной их подругой Линдси Хартман, Смит и его семья в безопасности, но, к сожалению, их дом сгорел и был уничтожен пожаром. Множество музыкантов и актеров выразили свою печаль по поводу лесных пожаров и предложили свою поддержку, в том числе Билли Айлиш и Ариана Гранде.

Нигерийский певец госпел Мозес Блисс и его жена Мари приветствовали сына через 11 месяцев после свадьбы. Босс звукозаписывающей компании Spotlight Nation и Мари, уроженка Ганы, юрист из Лондона, поженились на красивой церемонии в марте 2024 года. Пара общий трогательная новость на странице Мозеса Блисса в Instagram в пятницу, сопровождаемая видеоклипом с участием его жены и коллеги-исполнителя госпела Натаниэля Бэсси. В посте Моисей написал: «Это дело Господа. Мы трепещем перед Его милостью. Присоединяйтесь к нам и поблагодарите Бога за то, что он благословил нашу семью рождением мальчика. Эта песня — наше свидетельство». Это недавнее объявление было встречено с огромной радостью и поздравлениями со стороны фанатов и доброжелателей со всего мира. В отличие от многих, Мозес скрывал от общественности информацию о беременности Мари. Любовная история История любви и химия пары стали источником вдохновения. Их история любви началась в Instagram, когда Мари отметила Блисс в видео примерно за год до их помолвки. Дуэт объяснил свою встречу божественным вмешательством. Страница статьи с продвижением финансовой поддержки Нигерийцам нужна заслуживающая доверия журналистика. Помогите нам сообщить об этом. Поддержите журналистику, основанную на фактах, созданных нигерийцами для нигерийцев. Наши тщательные, тщательно продуманные репортажи опираются на поддержку таких читателей, как вы. Помогите нам поддерживать бесплатные и доступные новости для всех с помощью небольшого пожертвования. Каждый вклад гарантирует, что мы сможем продолжать рассказывать важные истории. — никакого платного доступа, только качественная журналистика. ПОДДЕРЖКА СЕЙЧАС х Сделай это позже ЧИТАЙТЕ ТАКЖЕ: ТЕНДЕНЦИЯ: Что сделала Фела в тот день, когда мой учитель избил меня — Сын Кути Во время предложения Моисей перед тем, как сделать предложение, исполнил серенаду Мари, а 29-летний адвокат назвал его «даром от Бога» и ответом на молитву. Их брак, который был в тренде в течение нескольких недель, праздновался по всей Нигерии и Гане, сочетая в себе богатое культурное наследие и заслужив восхищение многих. Моисей известен своими хитами, такими как «Too Faithful» и «Taking Care». Мари сделала успешную юридическую карьеру и является выпускницей Лондонского университета и выпускницей городской юридической школы. Несмотря на известность Моисея, она ведет простой образ жизни, что вызвало дискуссии в Интернете. Поддерживайте честность и достоверность журналистики PREMIUM TIMES. В Premium Times мы твердо верим в важность высококачественной журналистики. Понимая, что не каждый может позволить себе дорогостоящую подписку на новости, мы стремимся предоставлять тщательно исследованные и проверенные факты новости, которые остаются свободно доступными для всех. Независимо от того, обращаетесь ли вы к Premium Times за ежедневными обновлениями, углубленными исследованиями актуальных национальных проблем или интересными актуальными историями, мы ценим вашу читательскую аудиторию. Важно признать, что производство новостей требует затрат, и мы гордимся тем, что никогда не размещаем наши статьи за запретом платного доступа. Не могли бы вы рассмотреть возможность поддержать нас скромным пожертвованием ежемесячно, чтобы поддержать нашу приверженность бесплатным и доступным новостям? Внести вклад ТЕКСТОВОЕ ОБЪЯВЛЕНИЕ: Позвоните Вилли - +2348098788999.