Jonathan Bogart
01-01-2008, 03:56 AM
As the year drew to a close, I've been looking at Wikipedia's death lists (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2007) for the year, hunting out the musicians who have died this year, and looking up their work, with the idea of making a playlist of their work.
It hasn't been a notable year for deaths, at least compared to recent years when we've lost iconic, universally-beloved figures like James Brown, Ray Charles, and Johnny Cash.
The losses this year have been more low-key, and hit hardest in jazz: Alice Coltrane, Max Roach, Joe Zawinul, and Oscar Peterson were only the most famous of the jazz legends who fell this year. Classical music was represented in its most traditional form (Luciano Pavarotti) and at its most extremely experimental (Karlheinz Stockhausen). A pair of lounge icons as famous today for being made fun of as for their actual music, Don Ho and Robert Goulet, also left the building. And then there was the man who, love him or hate him, undeniably shaped the course of funk, soul, and even rock & roll, Ike Turner.
Here is my playlist, whittled down to fit (roughly) on a 2-disc set. A lot was left off, and I'll mention them in a bit. This is in order of decease, which is as good an order as any, and actually makes for quite a ride:
1. Alice Coltrane, "Universal Consciousness" (1971)
Wife of John Coltrane, harpist, pianist, organist, and free-jazz composer.
2. The Spaniels [vocalist Thornton "Pookie" Hudson], "Goodnight, Sweeheart, Goodnight" (1954)
Popular doo-wop group.
3. Denny Doherty, "Gathering The Words" (1971)
Ex-member of the Mamas & the Papas.
4. Eric von Schmidt, "Joshua Gone Barbados" (1995)
Member of the Greenwich Village folk scene that launched Bob Dylan. This is a re-recording of his signature song, which Dylan recorded with the Band in Big Pink.
5. Frankie Laine, "Lucky Old Sun" (1949)
Pop vocalist who ruled the charts in the 1940s.
6. Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, "Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy)" (1972)
Australian garage-rocker turned classic-rocker.
7. Boston, [vocalist Brad Delp], "Smokin'" (1976)
Popular studio-rock band.
8. Betty Hutton, "Blow A Fuse" (1948)
Comic actress and vocalist popular during and immediately after World War II. Björk covered this song.
9. Luther Ingram, "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right" (1972)
Classic soul singer.
10. Dakota Staton, "The Late, Late Show" (1962)
Pop-jazz vocalist.
11. Don Ho, "Tiny Bubbles" (1966)
Hawaiian easy-listening champ.
12. Andrew Hill, "McNeil Island" (1963)
Jazz pianist and composer in a post-bop vein. His songs usually run quite a bit longer.
13. Mstislav Rostropovich, The "Prologue" movement of Debussy's Sonata for Cello And Piano with Benjamin Britten (1961)
Great Russian cellist, for whom Shostakovitch, Britten, and others composed great work. He played at the fall of the Berlin Wall.
14. Carey Bell, "Carey Bell's Blues Harp" (1969)
Great blues harmonica player.
15. Nellie Lutcher & Her Rhythm, "Hurry On Down" (1947)
Rhythm & blues singer and bandleader, one of the many predecessors of rock & roll.
16. Enur feat. Natasja [rapper Natasja Saad], "Calabria" (2006)
Danish female rapper, killed at 32 in a car accident in Jamaica.
17. Beverly Sills, "Gold Is A Fine Thing" from The Ballad Of Baby Doe (1959)
One of the classic midcentury light-opera singers.
18. Tommy Makem, "Four Green Fields" (1968)
Irish folk singer who worked with the Clancy Brothers.
19. Lee Hazlewood, "My Autumn's Done Come" (1966)
Inventive country-pop songwriter, singer, arranger, and producer, best known for his collaborations with Nancy Sinatra in the 60s.
20. Max Roach, "The Drum Also Waltzes" (1965)
The definitive bop drummer.
21. Jon Lucien, "Rashida" (1973)
Mystical jazz-soul singer.
22. Janis Martin, "My Boy Elvis" (1956)
Early rockabilly queen.
23. Luciano Pavarotti, "Che Gelida Manina" from La Bohème (1990)
The biggest opera star in the world for the past thirty years.
24. Weather Report [keyboardist Joe Zawinul], "Birdland" (1977)
Austrian jazz keyboardist and composer who played with Cannonball Adderly and Miles Davis, then formed Weather Report, the classic fusion band.
25. Bobby Byrd, "I Know You Got Soul" (1971)
One of James Brown's associates and funk star in his own right.
26. Aldemaro Romero, "Tema De La Onda" (1972)
Venezuelan composer, bandleader, and pop arranger, like a psychedelic Sergio Mendes.
27. Dale & Grace [vocalist Dale Houston], "I'm Leaving It All Up To You" (1963)
Hitmaking swamp-pop duo.
28. Big Moe, "Purple Stuff" (2002)
Houston rapper.
29. Lucky Dube, "Slave" (1988)
South African reggae singer best known for protesting apartheid.
30. Porter Wagoner, "The Carroll County Accident" (1968)
Classic country singer best known for duetting with Dolly Parton for years.
31. Robert Goulet, "My Love, Forgive Me" (1965)
Stage singer who had a freak pop hit and an odd post-fame career.
32. Hank Thompson, "The Wild Side Of Life" (1953)
Country singer best known for inspiring Kitty Wells' answer song "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels."
33. Quiet Riot [vocalist Kevin Dubrow], "Mental Health" (1983)
Hair-metal band.
34. Karlheinz Stockhausen, "Gesang Der Jünglinge" (1956)
Pioneering composer whose massive output contains the seeds of nearly every experimental music of the past fifty years. This is an early electronics-and-tape-loops composition.
35. Ike Turner, "All The Blues, All The Time" (1956)
Pioneering guitarist, pianist, bandleader, and husband to Tina Turner. This is a long instrumental guitar piece which was only released in the 1960s.
36. Floyd Red Crow Westerman, "Wounded Knee" (1971)
Dakota musician, actor (Dances With Wolves), and native-rights activist. His best album is called Custer Died For Your Sins.
37. Dan Fogelberg, "Part Of The Plan" (1975)
Singer-songwriter who came along after the singer-songwriter movement had peaked.
38. Lydia Mendoza, "Mal Hombre" (1934)
Pioneering tejano singer and guitarist.
39. Oscar Peterson, "Wheatland" (1965)
One of the four or five greatest jazz pianists of the century. This is from his Canadiana Suite, a portrait of his home country.
Who I had to leave off because I didn't want to make it a box set:
Mary Kaye, Hawaiian guitarist and bandleader.
Leroy Jenkins, AACM member and amazing violinist.
Mark Spoelstra, folk revivalist.
Tony Scott, jazz clarinetist and world-music pioneer.
Izumi Sakai, J-Pop star with her band Zard.
Freddie Scott, r&b one-hit wonder.
Tito Gómez, salsa pioneer.
George Melly, British trad-jazz institution.
Jerry Hadley, rising young opera star.
Herb Pomeroy, pop-jazz bandleader.
Labah Sosseh, Senegalese salsa star.
St. Thomas, Finnish indie-rocker.
Casey Calvert, Hawthorne Heights guitarist.
Cecil Payne, jazz saxophonist.
Jim Nesbitt, country singer.
Harald Genzmer, German composer.
Ruth Wallis, party-record star.
Joe Dolan, Irish pop star.
And lots of others who were even less notable, though still, of course, worth remembering.
I may try streaming the playlist on my site later; right now I've got to get some sleep.
It hasn't been a notable year for deaths, at least compared to recent years when we've lost iconic, universally-beloved figures like James Brown, Ray Charles, and Johnny Cash.
The losses this year have been more low-key, and hit hardest in jazz: Alice Coltrane, Max Roach, Joe Zawinul, and Oscar Peterson were only the most famous of the jazz legends who fell this year. Classical music was represented in its most traditional form (Luciano Pavarotti) and at its most extremely experimental (Karlheinz Stockhausen). A pair of lounge icons as famous today for being made fun of as for their actual music, Don Ho and Robert Goulet, also left the building. And then there was the man who, love him or hate him, undeniably shaped the course of funk, soul, and even rock & roll, Ike Turner.
Here is my playlist, whittled down to fit (roughly) on a 2-disc set. A lot was left off, and I'll mention them in a bit. This is in order of decease, which is as good an order as any, and actually makes for quite a ride:
1. Alice Coltrane, "Universal Consciousness" (1971)
Wife of John Coltrane, harpist, pianist, organist, and free-jazz composer.
2. The Spaniels [vocalist Thornton "Pookie" Hudson], "Goodnight, Sweeheart, Goodnight" (1954)
Popular doo-wop group.
3. Denny Doherty, "Gathering The Words" (1971)
Ex-member of the Mamas & the Papas.
4. Eric von Schmidt, "Joshua Gone Barbados" (1995)
Member of the Greenwich Village folk scene that launched Bob Dylan. This is a re-recording of his signature song, which Dylan recorded with the Band in Big Pink.
5. Frankie Laine, "Lucky Old Sun" (1949)
Pop vocalist who ruled the charts in the 1940s.
6. Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, "Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy)" (1972)
Australian garage-rocker turned classic-rocker.
7. Boston, [vocalist Brad Delp], "Smokin'" (1976)
Popular studio-rock band.
8. Betty Hutton, "Blow A Fuse" (1948)
Comic actress and vocalist popular during and immediately after World War II. Björk covered this song.
9. Luther Ingram, "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right" (1972)
Classic soul singer.
10. Dakota Staton, "The Late, Late Show" (1962)
Pop-jazz vocalist.
11. Don Ho, "Tiny Bubbles" (1966)
Hawaiian easy-listening champ.
12. Andrew Hill, "McNeil Island" (1963)
Jazz pianist and composer in a post-bop vein. His songs usually run quite a bit longer.
13. Mstislav Rostropovich, The "Prologue" movement of Debussy's Sonata for Cello And Piano with Benjamin Britten (1961)
Great Russian cellist, for whom Shostakovitch, Britten, and others composed great work. He played at the fall of the Berlin Wall.
14. Carey Bell, "Carey Bell's Blues Harp" (1969)
Great blues harmonica player.
15. Nellie Lutcher & Her Rhythm, "Hurry On Down" (1947)
Rhythm & blues singer and bandleader, one of the many predecessors of rock & roll.
16. Enur feat. Natasja [rapper Natasja Saad], "Calabria" (2006)
Danish female rapper, killed at 32 in a car accident in Jamaica.
17. Beverly Sills, "Gold Is A Fine Thing" from The Ballad Of Baby Doe (1959)
One of the classic midcentury light-opera singers.
18. Tommy Makem, "Four Green Fields" (1968)
Irish folk singer who worked with the Clancy Brothers.
19. Lee Hazlewood, "My Autumn's Done Come" (1966)
Inventive country-pop songwriter, singer, arranger, and producer, best known for his collaborations with Nancy Sinatra in the 60s.
20. Max Roach, "The Drum Also Waltzes" (1965)
The definitive bop drummer.
21. Jon Lucien, "Rashida" (1973)
Mystical jazz-soul singer.
22. Janis Martin, "My Boy Elvis" (1956)
Early rockabilly queen.
23. Luciano Pavarotti, "Che Gelida Manina" from La Bohème (1990)
The biggest opera star in the world for the past thirty years.
24. Weather Report [keyboardist Joe Zawinul], "Birdland" (1977)
Austrian jazz keyboardist and composer who played with Cannonball Adderly and Miles Davis, then formed Weather Report, the classic fusion band.
25. Bobby Byrd, "I Know You Got Soul" (1971)
One of James Brown's associates and funk star in his own right.
26. Aldemaro Romero, "Tema De La Onda" (1972)
Venezuelan composer, bandleader, and pop arranger, like a psychedelic Sergio Mendes.
27. Dale & Grace [vocalist Dale Houston], "I'm Leaving It All Up To You" (1963)
Hitmaking swamp-pop duo.
28. Big Moe, "Purple Stuff" (2002)
Houston rapper.
29. Lucky Dube, "Slave" (1988)
South African reggae singer best known for protesting apartheid.
30. Porter Wagoner, "The Carroll County Accident" (1968)
Classic country singer best known for duetting with Dolly Parton for years.
31. Robert Goulet, "My Love, Forgive Me" (1965)
Stage singer who had a freak pop hit and an odd post-fame career.
32. Hank Thompson, "The Wild Side Of Life" (1953)
Country singer best known for inspiring Kitty Wells' answer song "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels."
33. Quiet Riot [vocalist Kevin Dubrow], "Mental Health" (1983)
Hair-metal band.
34. Karlheinz Stockhausen, "Gesang Der Jünglinge" (1956)
Pioneering composer whose massive output contains the seeds of nearly every experimental music of the past fifty years. This is an early electronics-and-tape-loops composition.
35. Ike Turner, "All The Blues, All The Time" (1956)
Pioneering guitarist, pianist, bandleader, and husband to Tina Turner. This is a long instrumental guitar piece which was only released in the 1960s.
36. Floyd Red Crow Westerman, "Wounded Knee" (1971)
Dakota musician, actor (Dances With Wolves), and native-rights activist. His best album is called Custer Died For Your Sins.
37. Dan Fogelberg, "Part Of The Plan" (1975)
Singer-songwriter who came along after the singer-songwriter movement had peaked.
38. Lydia Mendoza, "Mal Hombre" (1934)
Pioneering tejano singer and guitarist.
39. Oscar Peterson, "Wheatland" (1965)
One of the four or five greatest jazz pianists of the century. This is from his Canadiana Suite, a portrait of his home country.
Who I had to leave off because I didn't want to make it a box set:
Mary Kaye, Hawaiian guitarist and bandleader.
Leroy Jenkins, AACM member and amazing violinist.
Mark Spoelstra, folk revivalist.
Tony Scott, jazz clarinetist and world-music pioneer.
Izumi Sakai, J-Pop star with her band Zard.
Freddie Scott, r&b one-hit wonder.
Tito Gómez, salsa pioneer.
George Melly, British trad-jazz institution.
Jerry Hadley, rising young opera star.
Herb Pomeroy, pop-jazz bandleader.
Labah Sosseh, Senegalese salsa star.
St. Thomas, Finnish indie-rocker.
Casey Calvert, Hawthorne Heights guitarist.
Cecil Payne, jazz saxophonist.
Jim Nesbitt, country singer.
Harald Genzmer, German composer.
Ruth Wallis, party-record star.
Joe Dolan, Irish pop star.
And lots of others who were even less notable, though still, of course, worth remembering.
I may try streaming the playlist on my site later; right now I've got to get some sleep.