| December 14th, 2005 09:44 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Remembering Those Who Rocked
artist: misc date: 12/14/2005 category: general music news
Ultimate Guitar.com
The year 2005 is passing away and the holidays are at hand -- but there're a lot of those who won't share our joy of celebrating New Year's Eve. Truly, a large number of great musicians have died in '05, leaving a remembrance of their enormous work that they had done in their life -- the work that has been exerting the influence on the music you listen to everyday. All we can do now is to express our respect to those who are no longer with us (at least to the ten of them).
Danny Sugerman (1955-2005)
Danny Sugerman, best known as the manager of the Doors and the co-author of the best-selling Jim Morrison biography "No One Here Gets Out Alive", passed away January 5 after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. He was 50.
Sugerman recieved a job answering the Doors' fan mail at thirteen, falling in love with the band's music for the rest of his life. From the early age, he developed a close friendship with Morrison and the rest of the quartet. "He was a fine, good and decent man. He was my great friend," said Ray Manzarek. "His heart was in the heavens and he is now in the light with the Buddha and Jim Morrison."
Sugerman also went on to manage Iggy Pop, but maintained his connection with the Doors, serving as a consultant on Oliver Stone's 1990 biopic The Doors.
Joe Carter (1927-2005)
Joe Carter, a member of the famous Carter Family of music, died of cancer March 2 at his home at the age of 78.
He was a cornerstone of the preservation of old-time mountain music and helped build the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Va., which presented shows of country and bluegrass music every weekend. "We had been anticipating and trying to get ourselves ready for this, but it still hurts to give him up," said Carter's niece, Rita Forrester. "They broke the mold when they made my Uncle Joe."
Carter was 5 months old when he presented with his parents, A.P. and Sara Carter, at a recording session that has been called "the big bang of country music." It launched the careers of A.P., Sara and her cousin Maybelle Carter as the Carter Family trio. Joe was the last direct connection to anyone who was at that original session.
Johnnie Johnson (1925-2005)
Johnnie Johnson, a rock 'n' roll pioneer who teamed with Chuck Berry for hits like "Roll Over Beethoven" and "No Particular Place To Go," died April 13. He was 80.
Though he was never a household name, Johnson and Berry's long collaboration helped define early rock 'n' roll. Johnson often composed the music on piano, then Berry converted it to guitar and wrote the lyrics. In fact, Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" was a tribute to Johnson.
After he and Berry parted ways, Johnson performed with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, John Lee Hooker and Bo Diddley, among others. He was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001 in the "sidemen" category.
Long John Baldry (1941-2005)
Long John Baldry, the British blues legend who helped launch the careers of Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones, died June 23 at the age of 64.
Baldry, nicknamed Long John because of his 6-foot-7 height, was credited as one of the main forces in British blues, rock and pop music in the 1960s. He first hit the top of the U.K. singles charts in 1967 with "Let The Heartaches Begin." Baldry was perhaps best known for nurturing the nascent talent of a host of musicians who are now worldwide superstars. His early 1960s stage act featured the likes of Stewart, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Jimmy Paige and Ginger Baker.
"The music world has lost an absolute legend," said close friend Anya Wilson, a Toronto music publicist who worked with Baldry in the 1970s. "They've lost one of the first and most powerful white blues singers -- an innovator, an entrepreneur of new music and one of the most wonderful people you could hope to meet."
"Little" Milton Campbell (1934-2005)
"Little" Milton Campbell, blues singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose gritty vocals and songwriting recalled B.B. King's rough-edged style, died on August 4 from a stroke. The Grammy-nominated musician was 71.
With his father, "Big" Milton Campbell, being a local blues musician -- "Little" Milton picked up a guitar at age 12 and recorded his first hit for Sam Phillips' Sun Records at age 18. It was the same year the Memphis label recorded Elvis Presley for the first time.
Discovered by blues-rock pioneer Ike Turner, Campbell went on to score dozens of rhythm and blues hits and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1988. Though acclaimed in blues circles, Campbell never achieved the fame of King and some other American bluesmen. Nevertheless, his nearly constant touring took him all over the world.
Denis "Piggy" D'Amour (1960-2005)
Denis "Piggy" D'Amour, guitarist for the band Voivod, passed away August 26 due to complications from advanced colon cancer -- so advanced that the disease had spread to his liver. He was only 45.
But two months before this, D'Amour was in the studio working on the 14th album from the Canadian thrash-metal pioneers Voivod -- the band, that showed that metal could be smart, unique, and mysterious. Early Voivod records such as "War and Pain" and "Killing Technology" have some of the most innovative guitar work of the era. They have influenced countless other bands.
Prior to his hospitalization, D'Amour laid down guitar tracks for a reunion CD from the legendary Aut'chose, a '70s band from Montreal. That album is expected to surface next summer.
R.L. Burnside (1927-2005)
R.L. Burnside, one of the last great Mississippi bluesmen, whose raw, country blues was discovered late in his life, died September 1. He was 78.
A sharecropper early in life, Burnside wasn't recorded until his 40s, and didn't become a professional musician until 1991, when he was signed by Fat Possum. Popular with younger acts like the Beastie Boys and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Burnside remained, as Johnson once said, "incorruptible because he just doesn't care."
After the 1992 live album "Bad Luck City," Fat Possum released "Too Bad Jim" in 1994. Burnside's raw, John Lee Hooker-style, one-chord progression blues on songs like "Death Bell Blues" and "Shake 'em On Down" received critical acclaim. He released over a dozen albums and toured worldwide, though he performed less after heart surgery in 1999. His last record was 2004's "A Bothered Mind."
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (1924-2005)
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, grammy-award winning guitarist and singer, died in Texas in September at the age of 81. Brown, a jazz and blues artist who made his name in the 1940s, had been suffering from lung cancer and heart disease.
Nicknamed "Gatemouth" for his deep voice, Brown had recorded with Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder and Frank Zappa during a 50-year career that spanned 50 years. He died in Orange, Texas, surrounded by family members.
Link Wray (1929-2005)
Guitar master Link Wray, the father of the power chord in rock 'n' roll who inspired such legends as Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Pete Townshend, died November 5 at his home in Copenhagen. He was 76.
Townshend of the Who, Springsteen, Bowie, Bob Dylan, Steve Van Zandt and many other rock musicians have been saying that Wray's 1958 instrumental "Rumble" inspired them to become musicians. Link, who played in his trademark leather jacket, created the fuzz tone by punching holes in his amplifiers to produce a dark, grumbling sound. Later the power chord became a favorite among rock players.
"God is playing my guitar, I am with God when I play," Wray often said while playing his guitar.
Tony Meehan (1943-2005)
Tony Meehan, former Shadows drummer, died aged 62 after sustaining head injuries from a fall.
Meehan was a founding member of the group and played on hits such as "Apache" between 1958 and 1961. The Shadows guitarist Bruce Welch told the BBC: "It is so tragic. Tony was a hugely influential drummer and a very clever arranger. Tony was only 15 when we first played together but he was already a really good drummer. Drummers wanted to be like Tony Meehan as he played in a style that no-one had done before."
Sir Cliff Richard said the following: "Affectionately known as The Baron because of his desire for the very best in all aspects of his life, Tony took his commitment to the band hugely seriously."
Rest In Peace, you won't be forgotten.
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| December 14th, 2005 09:48 PM |
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| gypsymofo60 |
Pity there are less fatalities in the ever so glorious world of rap hip-hop and fucking gangbanging. |
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