Bobby Robinson ~ 94 ~ Record producer and owner of the first black owned rock and roll labels Fire, Red Robin, Enjoy and Fury Records. Produced Elmore James, Big Boy Crudup, Gladys Knight, Buster Brown, Tarheel Slim, Lee Dorsey, The Shirelles unlike many figures from the early years of Rock and R & B such as Barry Gordy, Sam Phillips or the Chess Brothers Robinson kept touch with changing trends and later produced Kool Mo Dee and Grandmaster Flash.
Randy Wood ~ Founder of Dot Records; 1950's & 60's label for rock, pop, jazz and country artists like Roy Head, Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs, Tiny Hill & The Hilltoppers, Jimmy Rodgers, Louis Prima, Pat Boone, The Surfaris, The Chantays, Gary Usher, Mac Wiseman, Nervous Norvus, Roy Clark, Sanford Clark, Mac Curtis, Lonnie Donnegan, Jimmy Dorsey, Jack Kerouac, Count Basie, The Mills Bros, Robin Luke, The Four Lads ~94
Bobby Poe ~ 77 ~ A 1950's rockabilly singer who had a couple of minor hits like "Rock and Roll record girl" and an early version of "The Fool" which are much sought after by collectors. However he had a bigger impact when he discovered a talented black singer and pianist named Big Al Dowling to his band the Poe Kats making them one of the first bi-racial bands. Poe encouraged Dowling's obvious talents even sharing singing duties, a remarkably generous gesture for a band leader. Dowling would go on to a respected solo career with Stax Records. The Poe Kats would then go on to back up Wanda Jackson on some of her early singles. As tastes changed Poe would go on to a successful career as a music publisher and record label scout in Nashville.
Bobby Poe & The PoeCats (with Big Al Dowling) ~ :Rock and Roll record girl";
Jet Harris ~ 71 ~ Bassist with The Shadows. Easily the most important British group in the late 1950's and early 60's both as an instrumental group with numerous hit singles such as "Apache" and as backing band for the equally successful singer Cliff Richard. The Shadows have been cited as a major influence on literally every figure in British rock and roll from the Beatles and Stones to Dr.Feelgood and the Jam and their importance simply can not be over estimated. They would also be a major influence internationally on the surf and instrumental scene through such groups as The Ventures.
The Shadows ~ "Apache";
George Louvin ~ 83 ~ Along with his brother Ira, one half The Louvin Brothers, a popular country singing duo of the 1950's and early 60's. George was the shorter guitar playing one while Ira was taller mandolin playing tenor. One of such singing brother duos such as the Delmore Brothers, Stanley Brothers, Lilly Brothers, Whitstine Brothers and Bailey Brothers who provided a link between the older sounds of bluegrass and the newer more modern honky tonk and rockabilly and would reach it's peak with the Everly Brothers. The Louvins would score several hits into the the 60's ranging from secular and gospel and including the concept album "Satan is real" which is now a valuable collector's item. Changing tastes and the drinking problems of brother Ira and his combative personality led to The Louvin's breakup followed by Ira's death in a car crash in 1965. The quieter George kept a lower profile after that but would still occasionally record and appear at the Opry ell into his 70's.
The Louvin Brothers ~ "I don't believe you've met my baby";
Johnny Preston ~ 77 ~ A country and rockabilly singer who was discovered by J.P. Richardson (AKA The Big Bopper) who wrote and produced the song "Running Bear" which would become a massive hit in 1959, almost surpassing The Bopper's own hit "Chantilly Lace". The Bopper and his friend George Jones also provided the back up war whoops on the single. Unfortunately The Bopper then died in the same plane crash as Buddy Holly and Richie Valens and while Preston would go on to have more hits none would come close to the same success.
Johnny Preston ~ "Billy Boy";
Mack Self ~ 81 ~ 1950's rockabilly singer who recorded for Sun Records without scoring any real hits although is records would later become popular with rockabilly collectors and he had a career after the rockabilly revival in the 1970's. He also recorded a number of country records.
Ferlin Husky ~ 85 ~ A country singer from the 1960's who had a huge crossover hit in the mid 1950's with "The wings of a dove" a rousing gospel ballad with a catchy finger snapping chorus. Husky would score country hits into the 1960's but his rather older straight laced image, sporting conservative string ties and jackets with short hair and pencil mustache were dangerously out of step with the changing tastes of rock and roll and he retreated back to Nashville and the Opry where he continued to perform into his 70's.
Ferlin Husky ~ "The wings of a dove";
Billy Grammer ~ Honky Tonk singer who recorded the original versions of "Detroit City" (by Mel Tillis) and "Gotta travel on" which became a crossover hit in 1959, later covered by Buddy Holly, Boxcar Willie, Kingston Trio, Chet Atkins, Seekers, Skeets MacDonald, Jerry Lee Lewis and The Lennon Sisters among others. ~ 85
Billy Grammer ~ "Gotta travel on";
Jerry Mayo ~ Trumpet player for Freddie and the Bellboys, one of the earliest non rockabilly white rock groups from the 1950's. Had a hit with a version of "Hound dog" and "Giddy up a Ding Dong", appeared in Alan Freed tours and movies. Freddie Bell died in 2008 ~ 76
Freddie Bell and the Bellboys ~ "We're gonna teach you to rock";
Carl Gardner ~ Vocalist w/ The Coasters, the greatest of all R&B vocal groups between the Doo Wop and Motowm eras with hits like "Charlie Brown", "Yakkety Yak", "Poison Ivy", "Along came Jones", "Searchin'", "I'm a hog for you" later covered by the likes of The Hollies, Monkees, Dr. Feelgood, Deja Voodoo, The Sadies, Leon Russell, Bad Company, Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Commander Cody, The Count Bishops and more ~ 83
The Coasters and Del Shannon ~ Searchin';
Gladys Horton ~ 65 ~ Lead singer with the Marvelettes, one of the early Motown girl groups who had a number of hits in the 1960's starting with "Please Mr. Postman" and following it up with a string of others including the much covered "I'll keep on holding on". Unfortunately for them while Horton was a better singer than Diana Ross she lacked Ross' sense of style, not to mention her all consuming ambition and when Motown boss Barry Gordy decided to focus all his efforts on promoting Ross and the Supremes the Marvelettes were pushed aside and faded away eventually breaking up.
The Marvelettes ~ "Don't mess with Bill";
Nicholas Ashford ~ R&B singer and songwiter with his wife Valerie Simpson for Motown in the 1960's to the 1980's with hits for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Marvelettes, Fifth Dimension, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Shirelles, Rufus, Chaka Kahn, Brothers Johnson, Teddy Pendergrass and even Ronnie Milsap as well as scoring hits as a singing duo ~ 70
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell ~ "Ain't no mountain high enough";
Kathy Kirby ~ British 1960's pop singer and blonde sex symbol with hit version of "Secret Love" (real name Kathleen O'Rourke) ~ 72
Kathy Kirby ~ "Secret Love";
John Walker ~ Bassist and singer with 1960's melodramatic pop group The Walker Brothers, who were not actually brothers and none of whom, were actually named Walker. Originally from the Los Angeles rock scene, they moved to London and recorded a series of increasingly melodramatic singles the biggest of which was "The sun ain't gonna shine anymore". B that time John had been largely supplanted as lead singer by the deeper voiced crooner Scott Walker.
The Walker Brothers ~ "The sun ain't gonna shine anymore";
Jerry Ragovoy ~ 80 ~ R&B Songwriter under the name Norman Meade; "Time is on my side" (by the Rolling Stones), "Take another piece of my heart","Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" and "Cry Baby" (all by Janis Joplin)
The Rolling Stones ~ "Time is on my side";
Hume Paton ~ Lead guitar for the underrated 1960's Scottish Mod group The Poets. No big hits but "That's the way it's gonna be" has turned up on many Nuggets comps and in the film "Factory Girl". Drummer Alan Weir died in 2010.
The Poets ~ "That's the way it's gonna be";
Mark Tulin ~ 62 ~ Bassist with the 1960's psychedelic garage band The Electric Prunes whose double shot 1967 hits "I had too much to dream last night" and "Get me to the world on time" became acknowledged classics of the era when they were included in the "Nuggets" collection and covered by Stiv Bators on his solo album. However the Prunes had trouble adjusting to changing tastes in rock like Folk Rock, Prog Rock, Southern Rock, Power Trios and their attempt at an early rock opera with a strange album of classical/rock fusion was a disaster. The band broke up thereafter but a generation later Tulin would get a second career when Prunes fan Billy Corrigan would invite him join a later version of The Smashing Pumpkins.
The Electric Prunes ~ "I Had too much to dream last night";
Robert Rozelle ~ Bassist with the Classic Los Angeles 1960's garage psychedelic garage band Love who had a few classic singles with "My little red book" and "7 and 7 is" and an album considered one of the all time greats in "Forever changes". Unfortunately the usual problems got in the way; drugs, conflicts, mental instability and the refusal of band leader Arthur Lee to tour led to the band's lost momentum and inevitable breakup.
Love ~ "My little red book";
Steve Serrato ~ 65 ~Drummer with Question mark and the Mysterions, the all Hispanic group from Michigan who's hit "96 Tears" became one of the instantly recognized classics of the era, later covered by The Music Machine and The Stranglers among many others.
Question Mark & The Mysterions ~ "96 Tears";
Rob Grill and Rick Coonce ~ Singer (Grill) and Drummer w/ 1960's garage band The Grass Roots who did the classic hit "Let's live for today". There were a few minor followups as well. Grill died in July at 67, Coonce died months earlier.
The Grass Roots ~ "Let's live for today";
Pinetop Perkins ~ Blues pianist and one of the last of the great Chicago bluesmen of the classic postwar era. Besides recording solo for Chess and Cobra Records he also played with the likes of Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonnyboy Williamson and BB King. He was still active at the time of his death and in fact in 2010 he became the oldest person to win a Grammy award.
Muddy Waters with Pinetop Perkins ~ Long distance phone call;
Eddie Kirkland ~ 88 ~ Blues and R & B guitarist who started out playing with Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker before going on a solo career and playing with Foghat which would not slow down until he died this year at the age of 88 on the road while on his way home from yet another gig. Known as the "Gypsy of the Blues" for his non stop touring.
Eddie Kirkland with Foghat;
Cato Walker ~ 61 ~ Saxophonist with Lou Rawls, The Bar-Kays and B.B. King. Later ran the record label, Strick 9.
Lloyd Knibb ~ Drummer with The Skatalites, widely noted as the founders of Jamaican Ska in the 1960's ~ 80
The Skatalites ~ "Ringo";
Don Kirshner ~ 75 ~ Although not a musician The Man With the Golden Ear was a Songwriter, Producer and promoter who wrote jingles for and with Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond and Connie Francis and Co-founded the Aldon music publishing company. In gthe 60's he branched out into television where he created The Monkees and after being fired in a dispute with his Frankenstein monster he then came up with the Archies. In the 70's he produced and hosted TV's, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert.
Huey P. Meaux ~ AKA "The Crazy Cajun", 1960's Louisiana record producer for Freddy Fender (Til the last teardrop falls"), The Sir Douglass Quintet (She's about a mover", Gene Summers ~ 82
David Honeyboy Edwards ~ Last of the old delta blues singers from the 1930's. Played with Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Son House, Tommy Johnson, Big Joe Williams, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Otis Spann, Walter Shakey Horton, also recorded two albums with the original Peter Green version of Fleetwood Mac through the folk blues revival of the 1960's until this year. He was just in town last year in fact. ~ 96
Honeyboy Edwards ~ "Lay my burden down";
Charles Kaman ~ Inventor who founded Ovation Instruments that became the Ovation Guitar Company which introduced one of the first production solid body electric guitars. He later founded Kaman Aircraft Company ~ 92
DeLois Barrett Campbell ~ American gospel singer w/The Barrett Sisters starting in the 1930's but did not start recording until the 1960's. Did versions of Sam Cooke's "Wonderful", "I'll Fly Away" and sang with Roberta Martin on "I Hear God", later appeared in the documentary "Say Amen somebody ~ 85
The Barrett Sisters (w/Roberta Marin on piano) ~ "From out of nowhere";
Gene McDaniels ~ American 1960's R&B singer and songwriter w/hits "Tower of Strength", "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" by himself and "Feel Like Makin' Love" by Roberta Flack ~ 76
Jean Dinning ~ 86 ~ Singer with 1950's pop vocal group The Dinning Sisters, a typical Andrews Sisters type pre-rock and roll schmaltz group. Her biggest hit however would come when she co-wrote her younger brother Mark Dinning's, hit "Teen Angel" a classic example of early rock and roll schmaltz and a massive hit. The song's ultra morbid theme about a guy dragging his love from a fiery car wreck was one of a trend that would include the likes of "The leader of the pack" and "DOA" from Bloodrock..
Dinning Sisters ~ "Clancy";
Mark Dinning ~ "Teen Angel";
Carl Bunch ~ Drummer with Buddy Holly & The Cricketts and later for Hank Williams jr and Roy Orbison ~ 71
John Pickett ~ Singer with vocal group The Picks who sang backups with Buddy Holly on most of his hits like "Oh Boy" ~ 77
Terry Clements ~ Drummer w/ Gordon Lightfoot on many of his hits including "The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" ~ 64
Loy Clingman ~ Arizona Rockabilly Singer later ran VIV Records ~ 88
Suze Rotolo ~ 67 ~ 1960's political activist and author, girlfriend of Bob Dylan, became famous as the cover model on "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" walking arm in arm with Dylan. Later became a writer
A few country music pickers from the 50's and earlier;
Buddy Charleton ~ Bassist and pedal steel player w/ Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn ~ 82
Buddy Jones ~ Drummer w/Patsy Cline, Faron Young, Leon Young, Red Sovine ~ 83
Buster Magness ~ Steel guitar player w/ western swing band of Johnny Lee Wills ~ 87
Doc Williams ~ 1930's and 40's Old time country singer who scored hits in the 1940's with Chickie Williams, founder of Wheeling Records ~ 94
Hazel Dickens ~ 1960's folk and bluegrass singer/guitarist/bassist with Alice Gerrard (nee Foster). Recorded for Folkways Records as one of the first female duos. Union activist and IWW supporter who later appeared in pro-union films like "Harlan County USA" and "Matewan" ~ 75
Hazel Dickens ~ (bio pic);
A few Doo Wop singers;
Grady Chapman ~ 81 ~ Singer with 1950's Doo Wop group The Robins who would later evolve into The Coasters albeit without Chapman.
Carl Rainge ~ 74 ~ Singer with The Spaniels who's classic "Goodnight sweetheart goodnight" would later be used as a closing theme by Sha Na Na on their 1970's TV show.
The Spaniels ~ "Good night Sweetheart";
Bobby Phillips ~ Singer with Doo Wop group The Cadillacs who's classic hit was "Speedo"
The Cadillacs ~ "Speedo";
Monte Owens ~ Singer with Doo Wop groups The Mello Moods and The Solitaires
The Mello Moods ~ "Tonight tonight";
Oscar Lawson ~ Singer with Texas Chicano Doo Wop group The Royal Jesters, known for their smooth sound. Their hit "Lonely Guy" was later covered by Big Sandy on his Doo Wop album ~ 74
The Royal Jesters ~ "Love me";
A few jazzbos and avant garde figures from the 50's, 60's and earlier;
Bob Flanigan ~ American singer and bassist/trombonist with 1950's pre-rock pop and jazz vocal group The Four Freshmen with numerous hits like in the mid 1950's and highly influential on later white doo-wop groups like The Crewcuts, The Diamonds and the Four Seasons as well as Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys and the Byrds. Unlike most other vocal groups the Freshmen were also excellent musicians. ~ 84
Ross Barbour ~ Singer with The Four Freshmen ~ 82
The Four Freshmen ~ "Ain't seen nothing like you";
Margaret Whiting ~ Big Band jazz and pop singer from the 1940's and 50's both solo and with her sister Barbara with hits like "One for my baby", "Ain't we got fun", "It might as well be spring". As rock and roll took over she became co-host of a TV sitcom with her sister.
Margaret Whiting ~ "It's just the gypsy in my soul";
Joe Morello ~ Jazz drummer w/Dave Brubeck, Stan Kenton, Art Pepper, Hank Garland ~ 82
Allen Smith ~ Big Band jazz trumpet player w/The Hellcats Navy Band in World War 2, also later with Benny Goodman, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. ~ 85
Frank Foster ~ American jazz saxophonist and flautist with Count Basie ~ 82
Jiri Traxer ~ Czech/Canadian jazz pianist and composers from the 1930's on, considered one of the founders of jazz and swing in eastern Europe. Stayed in Czechoslovakia during the war but fled to the west in 1951 and moved to Canada. ~ 99
Jiri Traxler ~ Various piano pieces;
Sir George Shearing ~ The great blind British jazz pianist and band leader who had a number of hit albums in the UK and USA from the 1950's on. Ranging from solo work to quintets and as a duo, also recorded with Steffane Grapelli and Mel Torme. Retired in 2004 after a fall in his home, Knighted in 2007 ~ 91
Eric Delaney ~ British jazz drummer w/ Sir George Shearing ~ 87
Sir George Shearing ~ "Move";
Conrad Schnitzler ~ Keyboard player with highly influential German electronic pioneers Tangerine Dream starting in 1969. Later w/Kluster, Eruption, Berlin Express ~ 74
Tangerine Dream ~ "Cyclone";
Milton Babbit ~ 96 ~ While not normally thought of as a rock and roll figure Babbitt was trail blazer in the development of the Moog. Milton Babbit was a avant garde composer of piano and electronic works starting in the late 1940's. His piano works were considered so advanced and difficult that it would take over 40 years before they would be recognized and awarded. However it is his electronic work that would have the most impact as he was one of the designers of the original Moog Synthesizer and among the first to treat it as a serious instrument, composing works for it. At the time the Moog was a massive computer that took up an entire room and required a bewildering array of vacuum tubes, patch cords, tape reels and punch cards, but twenty years later the Moog would be discovered by progressive rock groups like Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd, Yes and even the Monkees. Much later smaller and more compact and practical synths would evolve.
Milton Babbit ~ "Occasional variations";
Reinhold Marxhausen ~ American sound artist and sculpter inventor, teacher, author and painter from the 1960's on ~ 89
Reinhold Marxhausen ~ "Throne Dome" sound sculpture ;
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Professor Kitzel's Time Machine Profile; Ma Rainey
~Ma Rainey 1886~1939 was not the first black woman to record the blues (Mamie Smith did that in 1920) but Ma Rainey was the first big star. By the time Mamie Smith recorded "Crazy Blues" Ma Rainey was already the best known blues singer by far. She would remain a major figure for the rest of the era discovering and becoming an inspiration for future generations af blues, jazz and soul singers from Bessie Smith to Janis Joplin. ..
MA RAINEY ~ "PROVE IT ON ME BLUES"
~Early Years~
Born Gertrude Pridgett in 1886 (according to her) or 1882 (according to a census report) in either Alabama or Georgia into a family of minstrel show performers, she was already onstage herself by at least age 14 according to surviving records. Pridgett joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, a popular traveling minstrel troop in the 1890's marrying William "Pa" Rainey an older song and dance comedian in 1904, they thereafter billed themselves as Ma and Pa Rainey. According to Ma she heard a young black girl singing a blues type song in 1904 inspiring her to adopt the style which she claimed she also named "The Blues" however every other source disputes this (including W.C. Handy, Jellyroll Morton, Bunk Johnson, Gus Cannon and Leadbelly) saying the blues had existed since the 1880's. At this point the Raineys began billing themselves as "The Assassinaters of the Blues" and touring heavily especially throughout the south. The Raineys became one of the most popular acts of the era. Ma was a flamboyant, larger than life character; a large woman with multiple chins and gold teeth she developed costumes with flowing gowns, feathered tiaras, boas, huge glittering rings, ropes of pearls, dangling earnings, bejeweled fans and long necklaces made from gold pieces. She entered the stage from inside a giant prop gramophone horn scarlet drapes, gold ropes, leopard skin furniture and fake tropical plants. Pa Rainey acted as emcee, telling jokes, singing a few nonsense songs, doing a few dance steps as well as his specialty, placing large objects in his mouth. Obviously the main attraction was Ma with sang with a powerful voice did dance steps and told ribald jokes. There was also a chorus line one of whom was the young Bessie Smith who Ma discovered in 1912 and trained as a singer and performer until Bessie went solo around 1915. ..
MA RAINEY ~"OH BLUES OH BLUES";
~Recordings~ ..
After Mamie Smith's highly successful 1920 recordings record companies started looking for more blues women to record but in spite of her fame Ma did not actually record until 1923 when she signed with Paramount Records. Her records were an immediate success and of a high quality using a wide variety of bands from top-notch New Orleans style Hot Jazz bands to Memphis style Jug Bands to duets with blues singer Papa Charlie Jackson. Her records were rife with double and sometimes triple entendres and frequent references to her bi-sexuality as well as infidelity, boozing and jail. However unlike some other blues women her songs were mostly upbeat and shamelessly defiant rather than mournful. She continued to record and tour successfully throughout the 1920's but the coming of the great depression and changing tastes brought an end to her recordings after 1929. She continued to perform until 1935 when she retired to Columbus, Georgia. Unlike most of her fellow blues and jazz artists Ma was a good business-woman who made and saved enough money to buy her own home and invest in two theaters in Columbus. She devoted the rest of her time to the baptist church until she died of a heart attack in 1939. ..
MA RAINEY ~ "SEE SEE RIDER";
~Legacy~ ..
Ma Rainey's influence is deep and wide, covering virtually every female blues, jazz, gospel, soul and rock and roll singer from the 1920's to the 1970's starting obviously with Bessie Smith down through Billie Holliday to Mahalia Jackson to Dinah Washington to Aretha Franklin to Janis Joplin to Queen Latifa. Her sense of style is still the archetype for the blues or soul woman. Her records have been reissued on cd and her old records are highly collectable. A play "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" loosely based on her was written in 1982 by August Wilson. Ma Rainey was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and honored with a U.S. postage stamp in 1994. Another younger and unrelated singer billed herself as Memphis Ma Rainey in the 1950's and Ma's grand-daughter Rosemary is also a singer who sings in Ma's style.
MA RAINEY ~ "DEEP MOANING BLUES";
Members;
Ma Rainey~vocals w/ various members including; Louis Armstrong ~ trumpet, Kid Ory ~ trombone, Coleman Hawkins ~ sax, Tampa Red~guitar, Georgia Tom Dorsey ~ piano, Fletcher Henderson ~ piano, Tiny Parham ~ piano, Jimmy Blythe ~ piano, Doc Cheatham ~ sax, Papa Charlie Jackson ~ banjo
MA RAINEY ~ "MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM"
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Erzra Levant tries to save CKLN? WTF?
Most of the predictable hand-wringing, teeth-gnashing, and nut job conspiracy theory rants that followed the loss of CKLN's license were from the usual suspects. The far wack-job left and the NDP activists who enable them. With the usual accusations of racism, "corporate agendas", fascism, white supremacy, sexism, homophobia, censorship and the various other foul deeds our ruling masters have in store for "the voiceless". Ho Hum.
And then there's Ezra Levant. For those who don't know he is the resident Glen Beck wannabe over at Canada's very own Fox News wannabe, the Sun News Network. There he is every damn day with that supercilious smirk and his snide "aren't I outrageous and clever" blanket attacks on Liberals, Unions, Muslims, the media "chattering class" (which he totally isn't a part of really), "elitists" (ditto), "social engineering" (double ditto), Greens, artists, teachers, feminists, the Europeans and basically anybody who doesn't think that Ayn Rand was a brilliant philosopher rather than a spoiled narcissistic hag with verbal diarrhea and an ego only slightly more ludicrously inflated than Ezra Levant's.
Actually you not recall that he once had delusions of getting Harper's job back when Harper was just getting settled in as Tory leader. Levant announced his intention of running as a candidate for the very riding that Harper himself wanted. So Harper told him to get lost, then Levant, with a laughably deluded sense of his own power actually refused, publicly daring the new leader of his own party to take him on. Later after having a temporary moment of clarity Levant grudgingly stepped aside "for the good of the party". Needless to say Harper was rather unamused and Levant's political career was even shorter than Harper's temper.
So our hero went back to being a carnival barker looking for a soapbox, oh and a lobbyist for the oil and tobacco industries, until he got a home at Fox North which went on the air on this April. He used his first show to attack the CRTC which had offended Fox North (and South for that matter) by not giving them the preferential treatment to which they are entitled, although he didn't mention that part of course. Preferring to instead rally support from the left for attack on the CRTC by coming to the defense of the recently shut down CKLN.
His full rant is below;
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// http://www.torontosun.com/2011/04/19/crtcs-a-dinosaur-2
CRTC's a dinosaur
The last thing Canadians need is this group regulating the web
By Ezra Levant ,QMI Agency
First posted: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 10:15:01 EDT AM
A group of Canadian TV companies has banded together to ask the CRTC to regulate the Internet, and crack down on a U.S. based website called Netflix.
They're worried that, if left to themselves, Canadians will start getting their favourite movies and TV shows from Netflix over their computer, or even their cellphone, instead of from cable TV. And they want the government to stop that threat.
So it would be like the candle-making tycoons of the 19th century writing a letter to John A. Macdonald asking him to shut down that troublesome Thomas Edison fellow, and his dangerous electric light.
There's something pitiful here, almost sad. Instead of trying to compete with Netflix, Canadian big businesses are trying to rig the rules, forcing Netflix to submit to all of the red tape, taxes and government meddling they have to obey.
Regulating the Internet is an audacious proposal. The CRTC would have to build something like the Chinese dictatorship has done — the Great Firewall of China — to censor content the CRTC doesn't approve of.
Could you imagine if they were successful? How many bureaucrats would be needed to monitor the Internet, full time? They'd even need to get into your Facebook page, and your e-mails, to make sure you weren’t getting your videoclips from an illegal source.
Who is this CRTC? It stands for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. So it's about as fresh and current as the vacuum tube. They're a government agency created decades ago, back when people didn't know any better about letting the government control TV and radio.
Today, the CRTC's chief reason to exist is to perpetuate itself — to keep expanding its bureaucratic empire. It's called mission creep. If it was a private company, it would have gone out of business around the time Betamax did. When was the last time a government bureaucracy stopped, just because it became useless?
Pulled the plug
The CRTC is worse than useless, though. It’s dangerous to freedom. Take this shocking example from just last week.
The CRTC ordered a little community radio station in Toronto, called CKLN, off the airways last Friday. They just issued the command — and CKLN went silent, after 28 years of serving the community.
Why? According to the CRTC, there was “infighting” in the business. So what? What organization doesn’t have infighting? The CRTC does.
The CRTC says CKLN radio didn’t have enough musical diversity. That’s absurd — it was the first hip-hop radio station in Canada, that launched rap careers like Maestro Fresh Wes, a pioneering Canadian musician. So a radio station that featured black music and gay dance music was shut down for being too straight and narrow by a bunch of old white guys in Ottawa.
Maybe they’ll tell country music stations to have more opera for diversity, too.
But the real beef the CRTC had with CKLN radio was the little station didn’t fill out all of its paperwork properly. CKLN radio is a community station, run by volunteers on a shoestring budget. It’s affiliated with Ryerson University — many of the people running it are just students. But because they couldn’t keep up with the avalanche of paperwork and forms sent over by the CRTC, they’re put out of business.
This is the bright future the CRTC would bring to regulating the Internet.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
As might be expected Fat Bastard Lehrer and the CKLN "community" wasted no time in embracing one of their right wing bogeymen and pasted links to this rant everywhere that would allow then, including a place of honour on the CKLN Wikipedia entry; Fat Bastard boasts that he has enough Wikipedia clout to shut down anything or anyone he doesn't like and a glance at the history of the Wikipedia article does seem to show that "someone" quickly deletes any attempt to make the article more balanced.
Setting aside the complete cynicism of Levant using these far left wackjobs to further his own (and his employer's) agenda of destroying the CRTC, you can certainly why Fat Bastard would feel right at home with Levant at Fox North. They both have the same total disregard for allowing a little thing like "facts" to get in the way of ideological propaganda.
Firstly CKLN was not shut down for being "too black or gay", nor for "not having enough diversity", nor for "not filling a little paperwork", nor is CKLN run "mostly by students". That hasn't been true since Adam Vaughn, David Barnard and Denise Benson took over in the early 1980's and edged out most of the students in favour of political activists and professional DJ's. CKLN was shut down for massive and ongoing incompetence and complete disregard for basic rules of compliance as the CRTC's ruling (which he did not quote from) shows.
Also he uses the usual lame "thin edge of the wedge argument" to suggest that the CRTC is looking to hack into your "facebook page and read your emails" which besides being bullshit neglects to mention that the govt. and courts can easily get a warrant to do that anyway and law and order right wingers never have any problems with that. Also I notice he has no problems with the fact that Harper is already monitoring our facebook pages anyway looking for people to ban from his rallies.
On a historical note I see he uses this Thomas Edison analogy about candle makers using the CRTC to ban light bulbs. Well Thomas Edison himself actually used lawyers and patent law to shut down competitors who had better versions of many of his "inventions".
Actually many of Edison's most famous inventions weren't even his. He bought most of his patents from others including the light bulb itself, the patent for which he bought from two Canadian inventors in 1879 when they were unable to raise enough capital to compete. That's right two Canadians, Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans actually invented the light bulb which Edison got all the credit and wealth for. I expect Americans to be this ignorant but seeing as how one of the slogans of Fox North AKA Sun News is "Unapologetically Patriotic" you would think they might want to show a little hometown pride. But then that would interfere with the point that Levant is trying to make here which is that Robber Barons like Edison must be free from government intrusion so they can create the products that make our lowly lives easier. Right?
Well maybe that whole light bulb affair was an anomaly. Edison invented other stuff right? Like the movies for example. Well no he didn't, but he did buy a lot of patents and became the major film maker in North America at the turn of the 20th century and he used his control of those patents to shut down competition thus retarding the development of the motion picture and record industries for decades while he protected his monopolies. He eventually lost in court, but it cost his competitors a fortune to do it. In the meantime the Europeans (who ignored his patents) were able to develop there own film industries to the point where those in France, Germany, Scandinavia and Italy were actually making more, and much better movies than those in cartel controlled America. It wasn't in fact until after World War 1 wiped out the Europeans and Edison was forced by the courts to give up his patent controls that the Hollywood industry finally took hold. Edison's own film studios didn't survive long, turned out that he had no talent as a film maker, and once there was competition he was finished.
Ditto for later developments in radio when David Sarnoff was able to use his superior resources and ownership of patents (none of which he invented) to keep FM off the dial for decades to protect his AM empire intact. FM was actually discovered by one of his employees, Edwin Armstrong. However Sarnoff decided that FM would make his AM empire somewhat moot, so he had the prototype destroyed and forced Armstrong out. Armstrong fought back by going independent but Sarnoff tired him up with litigation for years until a distraught Armstrong finally killed himself. His widow finally beat Sarnoff in court, but it took years, meanwhile FM was kept off the air for over a decade to the benefit of nobody but Sarnoff and his empire.
Then there's the electric car. There's a whole movie about that. And speaking of movies and cars you might want to check out "Tucker; The man and his dream". And so on. And there was no CRTC or FCC to blame for any of this. Just corporate greed. That's the "bright future" that Levant had in mind. And CKLN's "anti-capitalists" were perfectly happy to endorse this as long as their own pathetic and seedy monopoly is preserved.
Of course since this was written the Tory Government that Ezra Levant carries water for came out for a the most highly restrictive and highly intrusive proposed law to allow police to hack into your emails, with no warrant or probable cause whenever they decide that you, yes you may be a terrorist. Or a child molester. Or a drug lord. Or whatever. I'm sure we can count on Ezra Levant to defend us from this right? Hello? Is this thing on?
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Memorials for two 1980's Toronto music figures
Mean Steve Piano was a figure in the Toronto Rockabilly scene in the 1980's playing with The Paladins (not the L.A. band of the same name),The Razorbacks, Handsome Ned, Jack DeKeyser, Johnny Dee Fury, The Randy Peters as well as solo. He can be heard and seen playing and singing on the Razorbacks Christmas Special circa 1990 which is unfortunately only available in a very limited edition cassette (yes I have one and no you can't borrow it) however the best of it is on youtube ;
He also inherited Handsome Ned's radio show on CKLN after Ned died in 1987. Later he travelled to Memphis and lived in Europe where he recorded a couple of solo cds in the 1990's.
There's going be a memorial/grogfest Thursday March 10 at The Dominion on Queen;
This is a free and non-profit event for family, friends, fans & musical peers to gather and participate in a musical remembrance and tribute to Mean Steve Piano.
Many of Steve's friends and peers will be performing, including:
Danny Marks, Terry Wilkins, Victor Bateman, Big Rude Jake, Teddy Fury, Paul Brennan, Michael Danckert, Matt Allen, Glenn Kimberley, Ronnie Hayward, Steve Koch, Lori Yates... more to come!
Check back to this event listing as we get closer to March 10th to see the final list of performers. This Tuesday I'll be having some of the performers on my radio show playing live-to-air.
Video footage of The Mean Steve Rock'n Roll Spectaculars will also be screened.
There will be a cash bar and menu available.
Greg Morris was the singer for Johnny Onslaught a Toronto punk band circa late 1980's early 1990's. They only recorded a cassette as well. Onslaught bassist Pete Jones would later go on to the Tijuana Bibles and the Blue Demons. The Demon would also host a show on CKLN.
There is going to be a less formal memorial/grogfest for Greg Morris Monday March 11
at Dimitra's Bistro (Greek Restaurant)
782 St. Clair St. W. Toronto, ON M6C 1B6 (between Atlas & Arlington)
He also inherited Handsome Ned's radio show on CKLN after Ned died in 1987. Later he travelled to Memphis and lived in Europe where he recorded a couple of solo cds in the 1990's.
There's going be a memorial/grogfest Thursday March 10 at The Dominion on Queen;
This is a free and non-profit event for family, friends, fans & musical peers to gather and participate in a musical remembrance and tribute to Mean Steve Piano.
Many of Steve's friends and peers will be performing, including:
Danny Marks, Terry Wilkins, Victor Bateman, Big Rude Jake, Teddy Fury, Paul Brennan, Michael Danckert, Matt Allen, Glenn Kimberley, Ronnie Hayward, Steve Koch, Lori Yates... more to come!
Check back to this event listing as we get closer to March 10th to see the final list of performers. This Tuesday I'll be having some of the performers on my radio show playing live-to-air.
Video footage of The Mean Steve Rock'n Roll Spectaculars will also be screened.
There will be a cash bar and menu available.
Greg Morris was the singer for Johnny Onslaught a Toronto punk band circa late 1980's early 1990's. They only recorded a cassette as well. Onslaught bassist Pete Jones would later go on to the Tijuana Bibles and the Blue Demons. The Demon would also host a show on CKLN.
There is going to be a less formal memorial/grogfest for Greg Morris Monday March 11
at Dimitra's Bistro (Greek Restaurant)
782 St. Clair St. W. Toronto, ON M6C 1B6 (between Atlas & Arlington)
Friday, 11 February 2011
Prof Kitzel's Time Machine Profile; Eck Robertson
~ Eck Robertson (Nov.20 1886 - Feb.17 1975) was a champion fiddler of the early twentieth century and the first known country musician to record.
~ Early years ~
Born in Arkansas as A.C. (Eck) Robertson and raised in Amarillo Texas, Eck learned to play a number of stringed instruments as well as the piano and was a professional musician by 1910. A skilled fiddler he began entering and winning fiddling contests throughout the south and southwest allowing him to bill himself as "The fiddling champion". Eck appears to have had some formal training but he was primarily a folk musician who learned how to improvise and extend songs in a way that is commonly thought of as being an invention of later jazz musicians. By the start of the roaring twenties Eck was already a well established performer throughout the region known for his showmanship as well as his playing. Eck was an outgoing and cocky entertainer who put on a full show, tossing his fiddle up in the air and catching it without missing a beat, playing behind his back, doing somersaults while playing and telling jokes as well as making his fiddle "talk".
ECK ROBERTSON ~ "SALLY GOODEN";
~ Recording years ~ ..
On June 30 1922 Eck became the first authentic country musician when he traveled north to New York with another fiddling champ Henry Gilliard, an octogenarian civil war veteran, to record an legendary session for the Victor Talking Machine Company. In later years many myths have been written about this session describing how Eck dressed in full cowboy regalia with satin cowboy shirt with pearl buttons and leather cuffs, ten gallon hat, pearl belt buckle, embroidered cowboy boots with spurs and with Gilliard dressed in full Confederate dress uniform, simply showed up at Victor's offices and demanded to be recorded "pronto". In actuality the session had been arranged in advance by a Martin Littleton a lawyer acquaintance of Eck's (Eck was also a justice of the peace in Texas) who did work for Victor and thought there might be a market for traditional music. The duo recorded a single of "Arkansas Traveller" and "Turkey in the straw" with Eck later recording two more singles, one solo and another with an unknown pianist. Contrary to myth these singles were not hugely successful but did well enough to encourage other record companies to also record early country musicians such as Vernon Dalhart, and Fiddin' John Carson who quickly became best sellers and established country music as big business. Eck himself would record only fourteen sides for Victor before the great depression hit in 1929 dropping the bottom out of the recording industry. ..
ECK ROBERTSON ~ "TURKEY IN THE STRAW";
~ Later years ~ ..
The depression years were hard on all rural performers Eck included, musical tastes also changed as country music became more song oriented and developed into honky-tonk, bluegrass, hillbilly boogie and western swing. Eck continued to play at fiddling conventions and medicine tent shows in the southwest, making much of his income from being a Justice of the peace as well as piano tuning, repairing fiddles and other stringed instruments and giving lessons. The folk revival of the late fifties and early sixties brought him some notice from a new generation of fans like the Seegers and he appeared at various folk festivals and made a few live recordings. In the early seventies his home and workshop burned down and he moved into a rest home where his prize fiddle was stolen. He died at the age of 88 in 1975.
ECK ROBERTSON IN LATER YEARS;
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
A Dire ruling
The recent ruling by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) banning the 1985 Dire Straits song "Money for nothing" from the airwaves of Canada has brought on reactions ranging from furious to laughingly dismissive. Many however do not really deal with the issue of how to judge the song, any song, in the first place. In the aftermath of the ruling a number of radio stations reacted by immediately and ostentatiously defying the ban by playing the song over and over for a hour, which is all very amusing, but not very enlightening. It misses an opportunity to have a discussion, or even debate about the issue of how to judge a song at all in the context in which it was written.
First a reminder of the lyrics in question from the song "Money for nothing";
"That little faggot with the earing and the makeup,
Yeah Buddy, that's his own hair.
That little faggot got his own jet airplane.
That little faggot, he's a millionaire."
Dire Straits ~ Money for nothing;
A single listener in Newfoundland, who is herself gay, made a complaint to the CBSC who eventually ruled that because of the use of the word "faggot" the song was offensive and could not be played on the air in Canada in that version, however an edited version could be played. In fact it turns out Dire Straits (or their record company) had already anticipated this reaction when the song first came out twenty five years earlier and in fact an edited version had long been made available to radio stations and even the version on the greatest hits album is different from the original and does not contain the offending lyrics. The band had even played the song live with the offending word changed to "That little queenie". Why that would be less offensive I'm sure I don't know. Clearly the song had generated some criticism in the past, those complaints were not in Canada however, and were not made official so all this escaped most public notice till now. The CBSC ruled the song offensive solely due to the use of the word "faggot" and banned it from the airwaves of it's member stations.
A few words here about the CBSC. The Standards Council is not, as many assume, a government regulator unlike the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), though many confuse the two. The CBSC is a body set up by private broadcast networks (both radio and television) to self regulate the industry and respond to listener complaints so the CRTC doesn't have to. Unlike the CRTC, the CBSC has no actual enforcement powers, although in theory a station which racked up a large number of complaints and refused to adhere to industry standards could find itself in front of the CRTC to answer complaints and risk losing their license. I know of only one station that has actually pushed things that far however, and that was Quebec station CHOI in 2004 who did end up losing their license but then the owners sold it anyway while they were appealing the ruling. The only power the CBSC has is to order the offending station to air their ruling as an ad. It should also be pointed out that the CBSC rulings only apply to it's own members, which include all the major networks and stations but which do not include public broadcasters like the CBC and TVO, nor does it apply to campus and community stations. Most religious stations are also not members.
The questions raised by the ruling are many; the CBSC ruled that the word "faggot" was now so offensive that it could not be aired, although they conceded that the song had already been heavily aired for over twenty years and was a huge chart topping hit off one of the biggest selling albums of all time without generating any controversy the whole time. The CBSC decided that now however the word was no longer acceptable. But at what point did this shift happen? And why based on a single complaint? Is that really enough to assume a broadly based public consensus on the issue? Those few who supported the ban would inevitably point to the use of the "n-word" as a comparison. However few would deny that there is, and has been a longstanding consensus around the offensiveness of the "n-word". In contrary to popular belief fact that term has actually been offensive for at least a century. Even a look back at stereotype racist entertainment of decades ago such as "Amos and Andy" and minstrel songs do not show the use of the "N-Word". Outside of a few very rural country records from the 1920's it seems that nobody was prepared to use the word in polite or even semi-respectable society. The use of the "N-word" has always been seen as an especially cruel insult and nothing but and use of it would identify the user as not only a bigot but an uneducated one at that. I see no longstanding consensus here. Instead what we have here is an attempt to enforce such a consensus from above, and given the almost universal outcry it has clearly failed.
The argument has been made that standards change, and that a word that was once considered inoffensive can be considered on longer acceptable years later. The example of the "n-word" may be overblown but there are plenty of other only slightly less racist terms that used to be used on radio and t.v. as late as the 1960's that would not be allowed now. But this process came from below, after a public consensus was formed, it was not enforced from above on the unwilling.
There is another issue as well over the matter of context. Any reading of the song lyrics as a whole make it clear that Dire Straits singer/songwriter Mark Knopfler was using a common device of placing the song in the third person and putting himself in the role of the character narrating the song in that character's point of view. This a songwriting device he has used before and since. There is no question that he is not advocating or presenting his own views. The ground breaking video makes this even more clear.
In his rare interviews Knopfler has said that the song is based on a long rant he overheard at an appliance store in which one of the resentful blue collar workers was complaining about the easy life rock stars have compared to his own. The song also portrays not only the character's bitterness over the easy life of rockstars (like Knopfler) but also his envy;
"Now that ain't working, that's the way you do it
Let me tell you them guys ain't dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Baby get a blister on your thumb"
and the character makes it clear he would gladly change places;
"I should have learned to play the guitar
I should have learned to play them drums
Look at that mama, she got it sticking in the camera
Man we could have some."
Thus the song shows quite effectively one of the dirty secrets of dead end working class resentments that have been exploited by those with real money and power to keep them distracted and divided. This has been seen in the racism of the Jim Crow era (and beyond) to the the hate campaigns waged against immigrants, "welfare queens" and teachers ever since. And does so in a manner that is so blatant in it's resentment vs. envy juxtaposition that it's actually amusing rather than simply preachy, which is not that easy to do. It's also more effective. Not mention clearly more popular.
Oddly the inconsistent and arbitrary nature of such censorship meant that while the word "faggot" was deemed too offensive to live, other veiled racist insults were not;
"And he's up there, what's that? Hawaiian noises?
Banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee"
Anyone with any sense of rock and roll history would recognize that Knopfler was both using and mocking the "rock and roll" is "jungle music" insult that has been aimed at rock by racists since the 1950's here but for some reason this isn't offensive even though it's being said by the same character in the same song.
The issue of context and songwriting reminded me of a controversy over another song of the same era from a very different group, Guns n' Roses and the song "One in a million". This song was never going to be a single and there is no video for it, which is not surprising since it is clearly offensive. The lines that caused immediate controversy were;
"Only some niggers, that's right
Get out of my way
Don't need to buy any of your gold chains today"
"Immigrants and faggots
They make no sense to me
Think they come to our country
And think they'll do as they please.
Like start some kinda mini Iran
Or spread some fucking disease.
They talk so many God Damn ways
it's all Greek to me."
Guns n'Roses ~ One in a million;
There should have no surprise that radio wouldn't touch the song or that protests ensued but oddly enough singer/songwriter Axel Rose seemed genuinely surprised and offended that anyone would question his motives. His reactions in the media ranged from the dismissive "can't everybody take a joke?" to the defensive "you haven't walked in my shoes" variety to a convoluted explanation claiming that he wasn't writing from his own point of view after all. He also pointed to a line further on in the song which he claimed distanced himself from politics at all and was simply displaying another strain of the working class white guy portrayed in the Dire Straits song, or for that matter any number of Merle Haggard songs;
"Radicals and racists? Don't point you finger at me.
I'm just a small town white boy trying to make ends meet.
Don't need your religion, don't watch that much TV.
Just making my living Baby
Well that enough for me."
I think there differences here between the Dire Straits and Guns n'Roses songs however;
a) The Dire Straits song is consistent in it's theme;
"Money for nothing" establishes it's simple theme from the start and sticks to it throughout. While "One in a million" is all over the map, at times it is a typical heavy metal power ballad love song and the next line it's a racist rant. The two parts seem to have nothing to do with each other.
b) The use of humour and the vocal delivery;
Knopfler makes it clear that he is paying a role by adopting a somewhat exaggerated yobbish voice while in character, another device he has used elsewhere, such is in the song "Industrial Disease". The character's often incoherent ranting is so nonsensical and ill informed that there is no doubt that the character is not Knopfler himself, quite apart from the subject matter which makes it unlikely that Knopfler, a famous rock star would be complaining about how he has to install appliances while rock stars like Mark Knopfler get all the chicks on their private jets.
Rose on the other hand delivers the lines in his usual singing voice and in fact does so with with such venom that there is no distance and no way it can be seen as a joke. It just plain sounds like something Rose would say. It is hard to see references to "Immigrants" who "talk so many Goddamn ways" and "think they can come to our country and think they'll do as they please" or "faggots" "spreading some fucking disease" as being humorous to anyone who isn't a hateful bigot, they are simply hate filled rants. You will notice that there is in fact some laughter in the above live video when he says the word "faggot", but this seems to be of the "wasn't it cool he said faggot" variety and it is hard not to think that was not his real intent. This at least gives Rose the benefit of the doubt in assuming that he is not really a vile homophobic racist but was merely engaged in adolescent "Hey look how offensive I can be" posing. But after having struck that pose he can't very well be offended that people were offended.
c) Songwriting styles;
As stated Mark Knopfler has often used the "third person" device in his songwriting, in fact it is his usual device. When Axel Rose tried to make the same claim however that claim was undermined by his usual insistence that his songs were real and always came from his own hard life experiences (broken home, drugs etc) and were therefore authentic and "real". To make a claim for gritty rock and roll authenticity only to back away and claim "I was only joking this time" is such a transparent attempt to have it both ways that it was dismissed.
Taking all this into account I would have no problem supporting a radio ban on "One in a million", and there was no real controversy about doing so at the time or since, even from those who actually like the song on musical grounds, as do I actually.
Another example from the same era was the comic Andrew Dice Clay who you may recall was very big for a few years with his standup routine in which he posed as a chain smoking Gino and spewed racist, sexist and homophobic insults. This caught on and led to a couple of best selling albums and sell out tours and even a few movies before people got tired of his act. He also got a lot of flack for his rants of course and was also banned from MTV and Letterman. He eventually defended himself by pointing out that he was just playing a character, like Pee Wee Herman, that he was actually a struggling Jewish (not Italian) actor named Andrew Silverstein who had appeared in a Woody Allen movie before stumbling on to the Diceman character. He didn't really mean any of the stuff he said really, it was all just an act. This as no doubt true but he kept up the act for so long as it made money and made no attempt provide any sort of context either in the act or outside of it, he simply insulted and offended entire groups for the amusement for his audience of mostly adolescent males that as he the media tired of his act he would get little sympathy. His career petered out on it's own without any need to ban him.
When the Dire Straits ruling came down an incident occurred which showed the implication of using censorship to bring about social change. CBC did a feature (I think hosted by Evan Soloman) to discuss the issue. It the interest of balance he had to find someone who actually supported censorship. After no doubt much searching he managed to find a pro-censorship voice in the person of...wait for it..."Now Magazine" editor Susan G Cole. Excuse me the editor of the nation's largest "progressive arts and entertainment weekly" is suddenly in favour of censorship? WTF? Hasn't "Now" always prided itself on been in the forefront against censorship? Think the "Little Sisters Bookstore" case. Think their support of the "Anti-Isreali Apartheid" movement and campus freedom of speech. Think about the classified sex ads and sex advice columns in now itself. Well it turns out that this is totally different because Susan G. Cole was offended over the use of the word "faggot" so naturally it has to be banned. That seems totally fair and not even a little hypocritical. Naturally I expect that "Now" will now ban all the sex ads they make their living from since these clearly offend far more people than Dire Straits does. And the same for the use of the word "apartheid" which deeply offends many people. No? Hmmm.
Cole also had a another argument to back that up of course. When the other guest (whose name I can't recall) pointed out the rather obvious fact that the intent and context of the song were not in fact homophobic or racist nor were any of Knopfler's other songs, Cole conceded the point but then actually went on the say that of course she was capable of getting the song's context but most Rock and Roll fans were not capable of such nuance. Gee thanks Susan, glad we have you here to do our thinking for us. As insulting as Cole's almost ludicrous impression of every patronizing "elitist liberal" that right wingers rail against, she accidentally illustrates a point here. Censorship from above, no matter how noble the stated aims, is always elitist and hypocritical.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" lyrics;
"I want my, I want my M.T.V.
Now look at them yo-yo's, that's the way you do it
You play the guitar on the M.T.V.
That ain't working, that's the way you do it
Money for nothing and your chicks for free
Now that ain't working, that's the way you do it
Let me tell you them guys ain't dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Baby get a blister on your thumb
(chorus)
We got to install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We got to move these refrigerators
We got to move these colour T.V.'s
The little faggot with the earring and the makeup
Yeah buddy, that's his own hair
That little faggot got his own jet airplane
That little faggot he's a millionaire
(chorus)
Look at that, look at that
I should have learned to play the guitar
I should have learned to play them drums
Look at that mama, she got it sticking in the camera
Man we can have some
And he's up there, what's that? Hawaiian noises?
Banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee
Oh, that ain't working, that's the way you do it
Get your money for nothing get your chicks for free
(chorus)
Listen here
Now that ain't working, that's the way you do it
You play the guitar on the M.T.V.
That ain't working, that's the way you do it
Money for nothing and your chicks for free
Money for nothing and chicks for free
Get your money for nothing, get your chicks for free
Money for nothing, chicks for free
Look at that, look at that
Get your money for nothing, get your chicks for free (I want my, I want my, I want my M.T.V.)
Money for nothing and chicks for free
Easy, easy
That ain't working
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Guns n' Roses "One in a million" lyrics;
"Guess I needed sometime to get away
I needed some piece of mind
Some piece of mind that'll stay
So I thumbed it down to Sixth and L.A.
Maybe a Greyhound could be my way
Police and Niggers, that's right
Get out of my way
Don't need to buy none of your
Gold chains today
I don't need no bracelets
Clamped in front of my back
Just need my ticket; 'til then
Won't you cut me some slack?
(chorus)
You're one in a million
Yeah, that's what you are
You're one in a million, babe
You're a shooting star
Maybe someday we'll see you
Before you make us cry
You know we tried to reach you
But you were much too high.
Immigrants and faggots
They make no sense to me
They come to our country
And think they'll do as they please
Like start some mini Iran,
Or spread some fuckin' disease
They talk so many goddamn ways
It's all Greek to me
Well some say I'm lazy
And others say that's just me
Some say I'm crazy
I guess I'll always be
But it's been such a long time
Since I knew right from wrong
It's all the means to an end, I
I keep it movin' along
(chorus)
Radicals and Racists
Don't point your finger at me
I'm a small town white boy
Just tryin' to make ends meet
Don't need your religion
Don't watch that much T.V.
Just makin' my livin', baby
Well that's enough for me
(chorus)"
First a reminder of the lyrics in question from the song "Money for nothing";
"That little faggot with the earing and the makeup,
Yeah Buddy, that's his own hair.
That little faggot got his own jet airplane.
That little faggot, he's a millionaire."
Dire Straits ~ Money for nothing;
A single listener in Newfoundland, who is herself gay, made a complaint to the CBSC who eventually ruled that because of the use of the word "faggot" the song was offensive and could not be played on the air in Canada in that version, however an edited version could be played. In fact it turns out Dire Straits (or their record company) had already anticipated this reaction when the song first came out twenty five years earlier and in fact an edited version had long been made available to radio stations and even the version on the greatest hits album is different from the original and does not contain the offending lyrics. The band had even played the song live with the offending word changed to "That little queenie". Why that would be less offensive I'm sure I don't know. Clearly the song had generated some criticism in the past, those complaints were not in Canada however, and were not made official so all this escaped most public notice till now. The CBSC ruled the song offensive solely due to the use of the word "faggot" and banned it from the airwaves of it's member stations.
A few words here about the CBSC. The Standards Council is not, as many assume, a government regulator unlike the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), though many confuse the two. The CBSC is a body set up by private broadcast networks (both radio and television) to self regulate the industry and respond to listener complaints so the CRTC doesn't have to. Unlike the CRTC, the CBSC has no actual enforcement powers, although in theory a station which racked up a large number of complaints and refused to adhere to industry standards could find itself in front of the CRTC to answer complaints and risk losing their license. I know of only one station that has actually pushed things that far however, and that was Quebec station CHOI in 2004 who did end up losing their license but then the owners sold it anyway while they were appealing the ruling. The only power the CBSC has is to order the offending station to air their ruling as an ad. It should also be pointed out that the CBSC rulings only apply to it's own members, which include all the major networks and stations but which do not include public broadcasters like the CBC and TVO, nor does it apply to campus and community stations. Most religious stations are also not members.
The questions raised by the ruling are many; the CBSC ruled that the word "faggot" was now so offensive that it could not be aired, although they conceded that the song had already been heavily aired for over twenty years and was a huge chart topping hit off one of the biggest selling albums of all time without generating any controversy the whole time. The CBSC decided that now however the word was no longer acceptable. But at what point did this shift happen? And why based on a single complaint? Is that really enough to assume a broadly based public consensus on the issue? Those few who supported the ban would inevitably point to the use of the "n-word" as a comparison. However few would deny that there is, and has been a longstanding consensus around the offensiveness of the "n-word". In contrary to popular belief fact that term has actually been offensive for at least a century. Even a look back at stereotype racist entertainment of decades ago such as "Amos and Andy" and minstrel songs do not show the use of the "N-Word". Outside of a few very rural country records from the 1920's it seems that nobody was prepared to use the word in polite or even semi-respectable society. The use of the "N-word" has always been seen as an especially cruel insult and nothing but and use of it would identify the user as not only a bigot but an uneducated one at that. I see no longstanding consensus here. Instead what we have here is an attempt to enforce such a consensus from above, and given the almost universal outcry it has clearly failed.
The argument has been made that standards change, and that a word that was once considered inoffensive can be considered on longer acceptable years later. The example of the "n-word" may be overblown but there are plenty of other only slightly less racist terms that used to be used on radio and t.v. as late as the 1960's that would not be allowed now. But this process came from below, after a public consensus was formed, it was not enforced from above on the unwilling.
There is another issue as well over the matter of context. Any reading of the song lyrics as a whole make it clear that Dire Straits singer/songwriter Mark Knopfler was using a common device of placing the song in the third person and putting himself in the role of the character narrating the song in that character's point of view. This a songwriting device he has used before and since. There is no question that he is not advocating or presenting his own views. The ground breaking video makes this even more clear.
In his rare interviews Knopfler has said that the song is based on a long rant he overheard at an appliance store in which one of the resentful blue collar workers was complaining about the easy life rock stars have compared to his own. The song also portrays not only the character's bitterness over the easy life of rockstars (like Knopfler) but also his envy;
"Now that ain't working, that's the way you do it
Let me tell you them guys ain't dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Baby get a blister on your thumb"
and the character makes it clear he would gladly change places;
"I should have learned to play the guitar
I should have learned to play them drums
Look at that mama, she got it sticking in the camera
Man we could have some."
Thus the song shows quite effectively one of the dirty secrets of dead end working class resentments that have been exploited by those with real money and power to keep them distracted and divided. This has been seen in the racism of the Jim Crow era (and beyond) to the the hate campaigns waged against immigrants, "welfare queens" and teachers ever since. And does so in a manner that is so blatant in it's resentment vs. envy juxtaposition that it's actually amusing rather than simply preachy, which is not that easy to do. It's also more effective. Not mention clearly more popular.
Oddly the inconsistent and arbitrary nature of such censorship meant that while the word "faggot" was deemed too offensive to live, other veiled racist insults were not;
"And he's up there, what's that? Hawaiian noises?
Banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee"
Anyone with any sense of rock and roll history would recognize that Knopfler was both using and mocking the "rock and roll" is "jungle music" insult that has been aimed at rock by racists since the 1950's here but for some reason this isn't offensive even though it's being said by the same character in the same song.
The issue of context and songwriting reminded me of a controversy over another song of the same era from a very different group, Guns n' Roses and the song "One in a million". This song was never going to be a single and there is no video for it, which is not surprising since it is clearly offensive. The lines that caused immediate controversy were;
"Only some niggers, that's right
Get out of my way
Don't need to buy any of your gold chains today"
"Immigrants and faggots
They make no sense to me
Think they come to our country
And think they'll do as they please.
Like start some kinda mini Iran
Or spread some fucking disease.
They talk so many God Damn ways
it's all Greek to me."
Guns n'Roses ~ One in a million;
There should have no surprise that radio wouldn't touch the song or that protests ensued but oddly enough singer/songwriter Axel Rose seemed genuinely surprised and offended that anyone would question his motives. His reactions in the media ranged from the dismissive "can't everybody take a joke?" to the defensive "you haven't walked in my shoes" variety to a convoluted explanation claiming that he wasn't writing from his own point of view after all. He also pointed to a line further on in the song which he claimed distanced himself from politics at all and was simply displaying another strain of the working class white guy portrayed in the Dire Straits song, or for that matter any number of Merle Haggard songs;
"Radicals and racists? Don't point you finger at me.
I'm just a small town white boy trying to make ends meet.
Don't need your religion, don't watch that much TV.
Just making my living Baby
Well that enough for me."
I think there differences here between the Dire Straits and Guns n'Roses songs however;
a) The Dire Straits song is consistent in it's theme;
"Money for nothing" establishes it's simple theme from the start and sticks to it throughout. While "One in a million" is all over the map, at times it is a typical heavy metal power ballad love song and the next line it's a racist rant. The two parts seem to have nothing to do with each other.
b) The use of humour and the vocal delivery;
Knopfler makes it clear that he is paying a role by adopting a somewhat exaggerated yobbish voice while in character, another device he has used elsewhere, such is in the song "Industrial Disease". The character's often incoherent ranting is so nonsensical and ill informed that there is no doubt that the character is not Knopfler himself, quite apart from the subject matter which makes it unlikely that Knopfler, a famous rock star would be complaining about how he has to install appliances while rock stars like Mark Knopfler get all the chicks on their private jets.
Rose on the other hand delivers the lines in his usual singing voice and in fact does so with with such venom that there is no distance and no way it can be seen as a joke. It just plain sounds like something Rose would say. It is hard to see references to "Immigrants" who "talk so many Goddamn ways" and "think they can come to our country and think they'll do as they please" or "faggots" "spreading some fucking disease" as being humorous to anyone who isn't a hateful bigot, they are simply hate filled rants. You will notice that there is in fact some laughter in the above live video when he says the word "faggot", but this seems to be of the "wasn't it cool he said faggot" variety and it is hard not to think that was not his real intent. This at least gives Rose the benefit of the doubt in assuming that he is not really a vile homophobic racist but was merely engaged in adolescent "Hey look how offensive I can be" posing. But after having struck that pose he can't very well be offended that people were offended.
c) Songwriting styles;
As stated Mark Knopfler has often used the "third person" device in his songwriting, in fact it is his usual device. When Axel Rose tried to make the same claim however that claim was undermined by his usual insistence that his songs were real and always came from his own hard life experiences (broken home, drugs etc) and were therefore authentic and "real". To make a claim for gritty rock and roll authenticity only to back away and claim "I was only joking this time" is such a transparent attempt to have it both ways that it was dismissed.
Taking all this into account I would have no problem supporting a radio ban on "One in a million", and there was no real controversy about doing so at the time or since, even from those who actually like the song on musical grounds, as do I actually.
Another example from the same era was the comic Andrew Dice Clay who you may recall was very big for a few years with his standup routine in which he posed as a chain smoking Gino and spewed racist, sexist and homophobic insults. This caught on and led to a couple of best selling albums and sell out tours and even a few movies before people got tired of his act. He also got a lot of flack for his rants of course and was also banned from MTV and Letterman. He eventually defended himself by pointing out that he was just playing a character, like Pee Wee Herman, that he was actually a struggling Jewish (not Italian) actor named Andrew Silverstein who had appeared in a Woody Allen movie before stumbling on to the Diceman character. He didn't really mean any of the stuff he said really, it was all just an act. This as no doubt true but he kept up the act for so long as it made money and made no attempt provide any sort of context either in the act or outside of it, he simply insulted and offended entire groups for the amusement for his audience of mostly adolescent males that as he the media tired of his act he would get little sympathy. His career petered out on it's own without any need to ban him.
When the Dire Straits ruling came down an incident occurred which showed the implication of using censorship to bring about social change. CBC did a feature (I think hosted by Evan Soloman) to discuss the issue. It the interest of balance he had to find someone who actually supported censorship. After no doubt much searching he managed to find a pro-censorship voice in the person of...wait for it..."Now Magazine" editor Susan G Cole. Excuse me the editor of the nation's largest "progressive arts and entertainment weekly" is suddenly in favour of censorship? WTF? Hasn't "Now" always prided itself on been in the forefront against censorship? Think the "Little Sisters Bookstore" case. Think their support of the "Anti-Isreali Apartheid" movement and campus freedom of speech. Think about the classified sex ads and sex advice columns in now itself. Well it turns out that this is totally different because Susan G. Cole was offended over the use of the word "faggot" so naturally it has to be banned. That seems totally fair and not even a little hypocritical. Naturally I expect that "Now" will now ban all the sex ads they make their living from since these clearly offend far more people than Dire Straits does. And the same for the use of the word "apartheid" which deeply offends many people. No? Hmmm.
Cole also had a another argument to back that up of course. When the other guest (whose name I can't recall) pointed out the rather obvious fact that the intent and context of the song were not in fact homophobic or racist nor were any of Knopfler's other songs, Cole conceded the point but then actually went on the say that of course she was capable of getting the song's context but most Rock and Roll fans were not capable of such nuance. Gee thanks Susan, glad we have you here to do our thinking for us. As insulting as Cole's almost ludicrous impression of every patronizing "elitist liberal" that right wingers rail against, she accidentally illustrates a point here. Censorship from above, no matter how noble the stated aims, is always elitist and hypocritical.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" lyrics;
"I want my, I want my M.T.V.
Now look at them yo-yo's, that's the way you do it
You play the guitar on the M.T.V.
That ain't working, that's the way you do it
Money for nothing and your chicks for free
Now that ain't working, that's the way you do it
Let me tell you them guys ain't dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Baby get a blister on your thumb
(chorus)
We got to install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We got to move these refrigerators
We got to move these colour T.V.'s
The little faggot with the earring and the makeup
Yeah buddy, that's his own hair
That little faggot got his own jet airplane
That little faggot he's a millionaire
(chorus)
Look at that, look at that
I should have learned to play the guitar
I should have learned to play them drums
Look at that mama, she got it sticking in the camera
Man we can have some
And he's up there, what's that? Hawaiian noises?
Banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee
Oh, that ain't working, that's the way you do it
Get your money for nothing get your chicks for free
(chorus)
Listen here
Now that ain't working, that's the way you do it
You play the guitar on the M.T.V.
That ain't working, that's the way you do it
Money for nothing and your chicks for free
Money for nothing and chicks for free
Get your money for nothing, get your chicks for free
Money for nothing, chicks for free
Look at that, look at that
Get your money for nothing, get your chicks for free (I want my, I want my, I want my M.T.V.)
Money for nothing and chicks for free
Easy, easy
That ain't working
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Guns n' Roses "One in a million" lyrics;
"Guess I needed sometime to get away
I needed some piece of mind
Some piece of mind that'll stay
So I thumbed it down to Sixth and L.A.
Maybe a Greyhound could be my way
Police and Niggers, that's right
Get out of my way
Don't need to buy none of your
Gold chains today
I don't need no bracelets
Clamped in front of my back
Just need my ticket; 'til then
Won't you cut me some slack?
(chorus)
You're one in a million
Yeah, that's what you are
You're one in a million, babe
You're a shooting star
Maybe someday we'll see you
Before you make us cry
You know we tried to reach you
But you were much too high.
Immigrants and faggots
They make no sense to me
They come to our country
And think they'll do as they please
Like start some mini Iran,
Or spread some fuckin' disease
They talk so many goddamn ways
It's all Greek to me
Well some say I'm lazy
And others say that's just me
Some say I'm crazy
I guess I'll always be
But it's been such a long time
Since I knew right from wrong
It's all the means to an end, I
I keep it movin' along
(chorus)
Radicals and Racists
Don't point your finger at me
I'm a small town white boy
Just tryin' to make ends meet
Don't need your religion
Don't watch that much T.V.
Just makin' my livin', baby
Well that's enough for me
(chorus)"
Sunday, 2 January 2011
The people who died, 2010 edition
Debbie Abono ~ Manager for metal bands Sepultura, Exodus, Skinlab, Possessed ~ 80
Glen Adams ~ Jamaican Ska/Reggae organist w/ Lee Scratch Perry & The Upsetters ~ 65
Francisco Aguabella ~ Cuban-American jazz percussionist w/Dizzy Gillespie, Mongo Sanatmaria, Tito Puente, Frank Sinatra ~ 84
Ahmad Alaadeen ~ Kansas City jazz sax player w/ Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Jay McShann, Ella Fitzgerald, The Count Basie Orchestra, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Eddie Vinson, and Motown singers Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and Sam Cooke ~ 76
Fred Anderson ~ Chicago avant garde jazz sax player, founder of Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) ~ 81
Arrow ~ Montserratian soca musician ("Hot Hot Hot") ~ 60
Bill Aucoin ~ Manager for Kiss ~ 66
Danny Bank ~ Big band sax player w/ Benny Goodman, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, and Paul Whiteman ~ 87
Ron Banks ~ Singer w/ Soul group The Dramatics ~ 58
Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vleit) ~ 1960's & 70's avant garde rock/blues singer and painter ~ 69
Micheal Been ~ American singer/songwriter w/1980's power pop band The Call ~ 60
Jack Berntsen ~ Norwegian folk singer ~ 69
Jo Jo Billingsley ~ Lynyrd Skynyrd back up vocals ~ 58
Bus Boyk ~ Country fiddler w/ Ray Price ~ 92
Jack Brokensha ~ Australian born vibe player w/ Motown house band The Funk Brothers ~ 84
Ken Brown ~ English bassist w/ The Quarrymen ~ 70
Marion Brown ~ Jazz bassist w/ John Coltrane, Archie Shepp ~ 79
Slim Bryant ~ Country singer guitarist w/ Jimmy Rodgers ~ 101
Jon Bunch ~ Big band pianist w/ Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson ~ 88
Iain Burgess ~ English/American record producer and engineer w/Big Black, Naked Raygun, The Effigies, Ministry, Breaking Circus, The Didjits, Jawbox ~ 46
Solomon Burke ~ 1960's Soul singer ("Everybody needs somebody to love") ~ 70
Stuart Cable ~ Welsh drummer w/ Stereophonics ~ 40
Hadley Caliman ~ Bebop and fusion sax and flute player w/Dexter Gordon, Carlos Santana, Joe Henderson, Earl Hines, Freddie Hubbard, Art Farmer ~ 78
Fred Carter Jr. ~ Nashville producer/guitarist w/ Levon Helm, Charlie McCoy, Ronnie Hawkins, Dale Hawkins, Conway Twitty, Muddy Waters, The Band, Simon & Garfunkel, Robbie Robertson ~ 76
Larry Cassidy ~ Bassist w/ British Factory Records post punk band Section 25 ~ 56
Bobby Charles ~ 1950's New Orleans R&B singer w/ Chess Records, did the original version of "See ya later alligator" ~ 71
Vinnie Chas ~ Bassist w/ 1980's hair metal band Pretty Boy Floyd
Alex Chilton ~ Singer w/ The Box Tops and Big Star ~ 59
Ian Christie ~ English trad jazz clarinetist ~ 82
Peter Christopherson (A.K.A. Sleazy ~ Keyboardist and graphic artist w/ Throbbing Gristle, Coil and Chris & Cosey ~ 55
Tony Clarke ~ Guitarist, Bassist and Producer w/ The Moody Blues, Rick Wakeman & Clannad ~ 68
Jim Clench ~ Bassist w/ April Wine and B.T.O. ~ 61
Devon Clifford ~ Canadian drummer w/ You Say Party! We Say Die! ~ 30
Hank Cochran ~ 1950's and 60's country singer ~ 74
Herb Cohen ~ Manager for Frank Zappa ~ 77
King Coleman ~ 1950's r&b singer ("Mashed Patatos") and radio dj ~ 78
Addison Junior Collins ~ French horn player w/ Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan, Glen Miller ~ 82
Catfish Collins ~ Guitarist w/ James Brown Bootsy Collins, Parliament/Funkadelic ~ 66
Buddy Collette ~ Jazz sax player w/ Charles Mingus ~ 89
Rich Cronin ~ American pop singer w/ LFO ~ 36
Larry Dale ~ American 1950's blues guitarist w/ Mickey Baker and pianist Champion Jack Dupree ~ 87
Brian Damage ~ Drummer w/ Punk bands Verbal Abuse, Genocide, The Skulls, The Fuzztones, The Misfits ~ 46
Makh Daniels ~ American heavy metal singer w/Early Graves ~ 28
Sir John Dankworth ~ English jazz sax player husband of Cleo Lane ~ 82
Tomas Dask ~ Singer/guitarist/pianist w/ Slovak art rock band The Bridgeheads ~ 25
Jimmy Dean ~ Country singer ("Big Bad John") ~ 81
Cherie De Castro ~ Singer w/ The De Castro Singers ~ 82
Rick Delvy ~ Drummer w/ Surf band The Bel Airs (Mr. Moto") and The Challengers ~ 67
Bob Demmon ~ Guitarist for 1960's Colorado surf band The Astronauts ~
Chris Dedrick ~ American musician for jazz pop band The Free Design and composer for Ray Bradbury Theatre ~ 62
Ronnie James Dio ~ Metal singer w/ Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Dio ~ 67
Diz Disley ~ Canadian/British jazz/folk guitarist w/ violinist Stéphane Grappelli. and Nigel Kennedy ~ 78
Bill Dixon ~ Avant Garde Jazz trumpet and piano player w/ Cecil Taylor and Archie Shepp ~ 84
Martin Drew ~ English jazz drummer w/ Oscar Peterson and Ronnie Scott ~ 66
Mike Edwards ~ Sax player w/ ELO ~ 62
Kenny Edwards ~ Singer/guitarist w/ 1960's country rock band The Stone Poneys ~ 64
Herb Ellis ~ Jazz guitarist w/ Oscar Peterson, Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Sweets Edison, Buddy Rich, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, The Casa Loma Orchestra ~ 88
Norm Ezell ~ Guitarist for 1960's Oklahoma pop group The Five Americans ~ 68
Bobby Farrell ~ Boney M singer ~ 61
Doug Fieger ~ Singer/songwriter w/ The Knack ~ 57
Dave Fisher ~ American folk singer (The Highwaymen) ~ 69
Dannie Flesher ~ Co-Founder of Waxtrax Records
Mallia Franklan ~ Singer w/ P-Funk ~ 57
James Freud ~ Bass and vocals for 1980's Australian band The Models ~ 51
Pauly Fuemana ~ Singer w/ New Zealand pop duo OMC ~ 40
Harvey Fuqua ~ American r & b singer (The Moonglows), and record producer w/Marvin Gaye ~ 80
Hotep Idris Galeta ~ South Africa jazz pianist w/ Hugh Masekela and the Byrds ~ 69
Mondine Garcia ~ French Gypsy jazz guitarist ~ 75
Al Goodman ~ Soul singer w/ Ray, Goodman and Brown ~ 67
Whitey Grant ~ Guitarist w/ country duo Whitey and Hogan ~ 94
Paul Gray ~ American heavy metal bassist Slipknot ~ 38
Mick Greene ~ Guitarist w/ 1960's U.K. bands Johnny Kid & The Pirates, Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas ~ 65
Guru ~ American rapper w/Gang Starr ~ 48
Walter Hawkins ~ American gospel music singer ("Oh Happy Day") ~ 61
Bo Hansson ~ Swedish jazz organist ~ 67
Peter Herbolzheimer ~ Romanian/German jazz trombonist w/ Stan Getz, Nat Adderley, Gerry Mulligan, Toots Thielemans, Clark Terry, Dianne Reeves, Chaka Kahn ~ 74
Lena Horne ~ Jazz singer ~ 92
Jake Hanna ~ Jazz drummer w/ Woody Herman, Marian McPartland, Maynard Ferguson ~ 78
Dale Hawkins ~ 1950's rockabilly singer ("Susie Q") ~ 73
Noah Howard ~ Free jazz sax player ~ 67
Alistair Hulett ~ Scottish/Australian folk singer ~ 57
Andy Hummel ~ Bassist w/ Big Star ~ 59
Ruby Hunter ~ Australian aboriginal folk/rock singer ~ 54
Marvin Isley ~ American bassist The Isley Brothers ~ 56
Gregory Issacs ~ Jamaican reggae singer ~ 59
Robbie Jansen ~ South African jazz and pop sax palyer with Juluka ~ 60
Mitch Jayne ~ Bluegrass banjoist w/The Dillards ~ 82
Otto Joachim ~ German-Canadian violinist and electronic music composer ~ 99
Dick Johnson ~ Big Band clarinet player w/ Artie Shaw, Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett ~ 84
Eddie Johnson ~ Sax palyer w/ Louis Jordan, Cootie Williams, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald ~ 89
General Johnson ~ 1970's soul singer/songwriter and producer with The Chairmen of The Board ~ 69
Dorthy Jones ~ Singer w/ 1950's & 60's R&B vocal group The Cookies and Ray Charles' backup group The Raylets. Sang on "The Locomotion" ~ 76
Hank Jones ~ American jazz pianist w/Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Max Roach ~ 91
Micky Jones ~ Singer/guitarist w/ Welsh prog rock band Man ~ 63
Ben Keith ~ Lap steel player w/ Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon, Ian and Sylvia, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, The Band, Paul Butterfield, Crosby Stills and Nash, JJ Cale ~ 73
Gene Kelton ~ Texas Rockabilly & Blues singer/guitarist ~ 55
Reg King ~ Singer w/ English 1960's R&B band The Action ~ 65
Ted Kowalski ~ Canadian singer w/ Doo Wop band The Diamonds ~ 79
Fud LeClerc ~ Belgian 1950's & 60's pop singer/pianist, first singer to score nul points at Eurovision Contest in 1963~ 86
Georgia Lee ~ Jazz and blues singer ~ 89
Steve Lee ~ Singer w/ Swiss hard rock band Gotthard ~ 47
Gene Lees ~ Canadian jazz critic and historian, biographer of Oscar Peterson and Woody Herman ~ 82
Gery Lecker ~ Drummer with 1970's Montreal punk band The Chromosomes
Herman Leonard ~ American jazz photographer ~ 87
Big Tiny Little ~ Pianist w. Lawrence Welk and Dick Dale ~ 79
Abbey Lincoln ~ Jazz singer ~ 80
Mark Linkous ~ Singer/songwriter w/ Sparklehorse and The Dancing Hoods ~ 47
Les Lockridge ~ Singer/guitarist w/ Southern Rock band Buckacre ~ 62
Gene Ludwig ~ Jazz organist w/ Arthur Prysock, Sonny Stitt, Leslie West ~ 72
Judy Lynn Kelly ~ Grand Ole Opry ~ 74
Johnny Maestro ~ American Doo-Wop singer w/The Crests, The Brooklyn Bridge ~ 70
Dick Maloney ~ Ottawa big band singer and radio dj ~ 77
Teena Marie ~ Motown singer/guitarist ~ 55
Malcolm McLaren ~ British musician and band manager Sex Pistols, New York Dolls, Bow Wow Wow ~ 64
Rob McConnell ~ Canadian big band leader and trombonist w/ The Boss Brass ~ 75
Kate McGarrigle ~ Canadian folk singer w/ The McGarrigall Sisters mother of Rufus Wainright ~ 63
Carole McGoldrick ~ American singer w/ 1960's girl group The Secrets ~ 66
Busi Mhlongo ~ South African jazz singer ~ 62
Mitch Miller ~ 1950's pop producer record exec w/ Marty Robbins, Guy Mitchell, Rosemary Clooney ~ 99
Randy Miller ~ Drummer for Seattle band The The Myriad ~ 39
Sugar Minott ~ Jamaican reggae singer ~ 54
Willie Mitchell ~ 1960's R7B band leader and producer and founder of Hi Records w/ Al Greene ~ 81
Alexander Monin ~ Singer w/ Russian metal band Kruiz ~ 56
James Moody ~ Jazz sax and flute player ~ 85
Ian Morris ~ Guitarist and producer w/ 1980's New Zealand power pop band Th' Dudes ~ 53
Buddy Morrow ~ 1940's big band trombone player ~ 91
Paulo Moura ~ Brazilian saxophonist and clarinetist w/ Cannonball Adderley ~ 77
Sam Mtukudzi ~ Zimbabwean jazz sax and guitarist ~ 21
Martin Mulloy ~ Singer and banjoist w/ Irish folk band The Mulloy Brothers ~ 58
Jamil Nasser ~ Jazz bassist w/ Ahmad Jamal, Lester Young, Sonny Rollins ~ 77
Shirley Nelson ~ Country singer and ex-wife of Willie Nelson ~ 78
Steve New ~ (A.K.A. Stella Nova) Guitarist w/The Rich Kids, Sid Vicious, Iggy Pop, PIL ~ 50
George Newcom ~ American 1960's psyche drummer (The Loading Zone) ~ 63
Owsley ~ Guitarist w/Amy Grant, Shania Twain, Wynonna Judd ~ 44
Chick Parker ~ Bassist w/ Toronto 1970's punk bands the Ugly, ZRO4, Arson, Screamin' Sam, Dick Duck & The Dorks
Johnny Parker ~ English Jazz pianist w/ Humphery Littleton ~ 80
Richard Edwin Parris jr. ~ Guitarist w/ Grunge band Animal Bag ~ 46
Don Partridge ~ English one man skiffle band ~ 68
Walter Payton ~ Jazz bassist w/ The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Harry Conick jr., Aaron Neville, Champion Jack Dupree, Lee Dorsey ~ 68
Tony Peluso ~ Pop record producer w/ The Carpenters ~ 60
Teddy Pendergrass ~ 1970's soul singer ~ 59
Mimi Perrin ~ French jazz singer & pianist w/ Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles ~ 84
Phillip Petty ~ American bassist w/ Southern Rock band Point Blank ~ 59
James Phelps ~ Gospel singer w/ The Soul Singers ~ 78
Bill Phillips ~ American 1960's country singer ~ 76
Greg Pianka ~ Bassist w/ Hair metal band Dirty Looks ~ 35
Trudy Pitts ~ Jazz organist w/ Sonny Stitt and Ben Webster ~ 76
Eddie Platt ~ 1950's & 60's R&B sax player ~ 88
Benny Powell ~ Jazz trombonist w/ Count Basie & Lionel Hampton ~ 80
Morris Pert ~ Scottish pianist and drummer w/Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Mike Oldfield, Peter Gabriel, Bryan Ferry, Phil Collins, Talk Talk ~ 62
Jim Pugliano ~ American drummer w/ The Jaggerz ~ 63
Pete Quaife ~ Kinks bassist ~ 66
Paul Quarrington ~ Canadian novelist, and songwriter ~ 56
Jay Reatard ~ (real name Jimmy Lindsay) Garage Punk singer/guitarist w/ The Reatards & Lost Sounds ~ 29
Susan Reed ~ American 1950's and 60's folk singer and harp and zither player ~ 84
George Richey ~ Nashville country songwriter and record producer, husband of Tammy Wynette ~ 74
Steve Reid ~ Jazz drummer w/ Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, James Brown, Fela Kuti, Sun Ra and session drummer w/ Motown ~ 66
Nick Santo ~ Singer with Doo-Wop band The Capris ("Morse code of love") ~ 69
Derf Scratch ~ Bassist w/ L.A. punk band Fear ~ 58
John Sekula ~ Guitarist for metal band Mushroomhead ~ 41
Lhasa De Sela ~ Mexican/American/French/Canadian singer songwriter ~ 37
William Shakespeare ~ Australian 1970's glam rock singer ~ 61
Eric Shark ~ Singer w/ U.K. pre punk band Deaf School (real name Thomas Davis) ~ 59
Gary Shider ~ Guitarist w/ Parliament Funkadelic ~ 56
Gregory Slay ~ Drummer w/ American band Remy Zero ~ 40
Mississippi Slim ~ American blues singer ~ 66
Carl Smith ~ 1960's Country singer ~ 82
Myrna Smith ~ Backup singer with Elvis Presley and co-writer w/ Brian Wilson ~ 69
Little Smokey Smothers ~ Blues singer/guitarist ~ 71
Peter Steele ~ Singer and bassist w/ Type O Negative and Carnivore ~ 48
Knut Stensholm ~ Norwegian drummer (w/ 1970's band Sambandet) ~ 56
Steve Strayhorn ~ American drummer w/ 1970's Prog Rock band A Full Moon Consort ~ 56
Monty Sunshine ~ English 1950's jazz clarinetist w/ Chris Barber ~ 82
Lynn Tait ~ Trinidadian/Canadian reggae guitarist w/ Derrick Morgan, Desmond Dekker, Lee Perry, Ken Boothe, Bob Marley, Johnny Nash ~ 75
Billy Taylor ~ American Jazz pianist/composer w/Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis. House pianist at Birdland. Won a Grammy, Emmy and Peabody Awards. ~ 89
Dennis Taylor ~ Nashville sax player w/ Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Delbert McClinton, Buckwheat Zydeco ~ 56
Tony Taylor ~ Singer for metal band Twisted Tower Dire ~ 42
Antoine "Tony" Thibodeaux ~ Cajun fiddle player 72
Ed Thigpen ~ Jazz drummer w/ Oscar Peterson, Cootie Williams. Ella Fitzgerald ~ 79
Judge Trevor Thoms ~ English prog rock guitarist w/ Hawkwind and The Pink Fairies, tour manager w/ Black Sabbath, Saxon, Manowar ~ 60
Ari Up ~ Singer w/ English punk band The Slits ~ 48
Malcolm Vaughn ~ English 1950's pop singer ~ 80
Lolly Vegas ~ Guitarist w/ 1970's rock group Redbone ~ 70
Ann Vervoort ~ Belgian singer w/ Milk Inc. ~ 33
Carlos Torres Vila ~ Agentine folk singer ~ 63
Luigi Waites ~ Jazz drummer and vibe player w/ James Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Jon Luc Ponty ~ 82
Albertina Walker ~ Gospel singer ~ 81
Phillip Walker ~ Blues singer/guitarist ~ 73
George Webb ~ English trad jazz pianist ~ 92
Fred Wedlock ~ English folk singer ~ 67
Alan Weir ~ Drummer for the underrated 1960's Scottish Mod group The Poets. No big hits but "That's the way it's gonna be" has turned up on many Nuggets comps and in the film "Factory Girl".
George David Weiss ~ American composer ("What a wonderful world", "Can't help falling in love" accused of falsely taking credit for "The Lion sleeps tonight") ~ 74
Ed Wiley jr. ~ 1950's r&b sax player w/Jackie Brenston ("Rocket 88"), Earl Hooker, Piney Brown, The Moonglows ~ 80
Harold "Ivory" Williams, Jr. ~ Keyboardist w/ Miles Davis and Rev. James Cleavland ~ 60
Robert Wilson ~ Singer/guitarist w/ 1970's funk band The Gap Band ~ 53
Gus Williams ~ Australian Aboriginal country singer ~ 73
Bernard Wilson ~ Singer w/Harold Melvin's Blue Notes ~ 64
Ed Wilson ~ Singer/songwriter w/ 1960's Brazilian rock band Renato e seus Blue Caps ~ 65
Tom Winslow ~ American folk blues guitarist/singer ~ 69
T Bone Wolk ~ Bassist w/ Hall & Oates, Carly Simon, Jellyfish, Squeeze, Elvis Costello, Shawn Colvin, Guy Davis, Billy Joel ~ 58
Wolly Wolstenholme ~ Keyboardist w/ English Prog Rock band Barclay James Harvest ~ 63
Marva Wright ~ American blues singer ~ 62
Sandra Wright ~ Blues and Gospel singer ~ 61
Rual Yarbourgh ~ Bluegrass banjoist ~ 80
Mike Zwerin ~ Cool jazz trumpet and tronbone player w/ Miles Davis "Birht of the cool" and Maynard Ferguson ~ 79
Glen Adams ~ Jamaican Ska/Reggae organist w/ Lee Scratch Perry & The Upsetters ~ 65
Francisco Aguabella ~ Cuban-American jazz percussionist w/Dizzy Gillespie, Mongo Sanatmaria, Tito Puente, Frank Sinatra ~ 84
Ahmad Alaadeen ~ Kansas City jazz sax player w/ Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Jay McShann, Ella Fitzgerald, The Count Basie Orchestra, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Eddie Vinson, and Motown singers Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and Sam Cooke ~ 76
Fred Anderson ~ Chicago avant garde jazz sax player, founder of Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) ~ 81
Arrow ~ Montserratian soca musician ("Hot Hot Hot") ~ 60
Bill Aucoin ~ Manager for Kiss ~ 66
Danny Bank ~ Big band sax player w/ Benny Goodman, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, and Paul Whiteman ~ 87
Ron Banks ~ Singer w/ Soul group The Dramatics ~ 58
Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vleit) ~ 1960's & 70's avant garde rock/blues singer and painter ~ 69
Micheal Been ~ American singer/songwriter w/1980's power pop band The Call ~ 60
Jack Berntsen ~ Norwegian folk singer ~ 69
Jo Jo Billingsley ~ Lynyrd Skynyrd back up vocals ~ 58
Bus Boyk ~ Country fiddler w/ Ray Price ~ 92
Jack Brokensha ~ Australian born vibe player w/ Motown house band The Funk Brothers ~ 84
Ken Brown ~ English bassist w/ The Quarrymen ~ 70
Marion Brown ~ Jazz bassist w/ John Coltrane, Archie Shepp ~ 79
Slim Bryant ~ Country singer guitarist w/ Jimmy Rodgers ~ 101
Jon Bunch ~ Big band pianist w/ Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson ~ 88
Iain Burgess ~ English/American record producer and engineer w/Big Black, Naked Raygun, The Effigies, Ministry, Breaking Circus, The Didjits, Jawbox ~ 46
Solomon Burke ~ 1960's Soul singer ("Everybody needs somebody to love") ~ 70
Stuart Cable ~ Welsh drummer w/ Stereophonics ~ 40
Hadley Caliman ~ Bebop and fusion sax and flute player w/Dexter Gordon, Carlos Santana, Joe Henderson, Earl Hines, Freddie Hubbard, Art Farmer ~ 78
Fred Carter Jr. ~ Nashville producer/guitarist w/ Levon Helm, Charlie McCoy, Ronnie Hawkins, Dale Hawkins, Conway Twitty, Muddy Waters, The Band, Simon & Garfunkel, Robbie Robertson ~ 76
Larry Cassidy ~ Bassist w/ British Factory Records post punk band Section 25 ~ 56
Bobby Charles ~ 1950's New Orleans R&B singer w/ Chess Records, did the original version of "See ya later alligator" ~ 71
Vinnie Chas ~ Bassist w/ 1980's hair metal band Pretty Boy Floyd
Alex Chilton ~ Singer w/ The Box Tops and Big Star ~ 59
Ian Christie ~ English trad jazz clarinetist ~ 82
Peter Christopherson (A.K.A. Sleazy ~ Keyboardist and graphic artist w/ Throbbing Gristle, Coil and Chris & Cosey ~ 55
Tony Clarke ~ Guitarist, Bassist and Producer w/ The Moody Blues, Rick Wakeman & Clannad ~ 68
Jim Clench ~ Bassist w/ April Wine and B.T.O. ~ 61
Devon Clifford ~ Canadian drummer w/ You Say Party! We Say Die! ~ 30
Hank Cochran ~ 1950's and 60's country singer ~ 74
Herb Cohen ~ Manager for Frank Zappa ~ 77
King Coleman ~ 1950's r&b singer ("Mashed Patatos") and radio dj ~ 78
Addison Junior Collins ~ French horn player w/ Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan, Glen Miller ~ 82
Catfish Collins ~ Guitarist w/ James Brown Bootsy Collins, Parliament/Funkadelic ~ 66
Buddy Collette ~ Jazz sax player w/ Charles Mingus ~ 89
Rich Cronin ~ American pop singer w/ LFO ~ 36
Larry Dale ~ American 1950's blues guitarist w/ Mickey Baker and pianist Champion Jack Dupree ~ 87
Brian Damage ~ Drummer w/ Punk bands Verbal Abuse, Genocide, The Skulls, The Fuzztones, The Misfits ~ 46
Makh Daniels ~ American heavy metal singer w/Early Graves ~ 28
Sir John Dankworth ~ English jazz sax player husband of Cleo Lane ~ 82
Tomas Dask ~ Singer/guitarist/pianist w/ Slovak art rock band The Bridgeheads ~ 25
Jimmy Dean ~ Country singer ("Big Bad John") ~ 81
Cherie De Castro ~ Singer w/ The De Castro Singers ~ 82
Rick Delvy ~ Drummer w/ Surf band The Bel Airs (Mr. Moto") and The Challengers ~ 67
Bob Demmon ~ Guitarist for 1960's Colorado surf band The Astronauts ~
Chris Dedrick ~ American musician for jazz pop band The Free Design and composer for Ray Bradbury Theatre ~ 62
Ronnie James Dio ~ Metal singer w/ Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Dio ~ 67
Diz Disley ~ Canadian/British jazz/folk guitarist w/ violinist Stéphane Grappelli. and Nigel Kennedy ~ 78
Bill Dixon ~ Avant Garde Jazz trumpet and piano player w/ Cecil Taylor and Archie Shepp ~ 84
Martin Drew ~ English jazz drummer w/ Oscar Peterson and Ronnie Scott ~ 66
Mike Edwards ~ Sax player w/ ELO ~ 62
Kenny Edwards ~ Singer/guitarist w/ 1960's country rock band The Stone Poneys ~ 64
Herb Ellis ~ Jazz guitarist w/ Oscar Peterson, Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Sweets Edison, Buddy Rich, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, The Casa Loma Orchestra ~ 88
Norm Ezell ~ Guitarist for 1960's Oklahoma pop group The Five Americans ~ 68
Bobby Farrell ~ Boney M singer ~ 61
Doug Fieger ~ Singer/songwriter w/ The Knack ~ 57
Dave Fisher ~ American folk singer (The Highwaymen) ~ 69
Dannie Flesher ~ Co-Founder of Waxtrax Records
Mallia Franklan ~ Singer w/ P-Funk ~ 57
James Freud ~ Bass and vocals for 1980's Australian band The Models ~ 51
Pauly Fuemana ~ Singer w/ New Zealand pop duo OMC ~ 40
Harvey Fuqua ~ American r & b singer (The Moonglows), and record producer w/Marvin Gaye ~ 80
Hotep Idris Galeta ~ South Africa jazz pianist w/ Hugh Masekela and the Byrds ~ 69
Mondine Garcia ~ French Gypsy jazz guitarist ~ 75
Al Goodman ~ Soul singer w/ Ray, Goodman and Brown ~ 67
Whitey Grant ~ Guitarist w/ country duo Whitey and Hogan ~ 94
Paul Gray ~ American heavy metal bassist Slipknot ~ 38
Mick Greene ~ Guitarist w/ 1960's U.K. bands Johnny Kid & The Pirates, Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas ~ 65
Guru ~ American rapper w/Gang Starr ~ 48
Walter Hawkins ~ American gospel music singer ("Oh Happy Day") ~ 61
Bo Hansson ~ Swedish jazz organist ~ 67
Peter Herbolzheimer ~ Romanian/German jazz trombonist w/ Stan Getz, Nat Adderley, Gerry Mulligan, Toots Thielemans, Clark Terry, Dianne Reeves, Chaka Kahn ~ 74
Lena Horne ~ Jazz singer ~ 92
Jake Hanna ~ Jazz drummer w/ Woody Herman, Marian McPartland, Maynard Ferguson ~ 78
Dale Hawkins ~ 1950's rockabilly singer ("Susie Q") ~ 73
Noah Howard ~ Free jazz sax player ~ 67
Alistair Hulett ~ Scottish/Australian folk singer ~ 57
Andy Hummel ~ Bassist w/ Big Star ~ 59
Ruby Hunter ~ Australian aboriginal folk/rock singer ~ 54
Marvin Isley ~ American bassist The Isley Brothers ~ 56
Gregory Issacs ~ Jamaican reggae singer ~ 59
Robbie Jansen ~ South African jazz and pop sax palyer with Juluka ~ 60
Mitch Jayne ~ Bluegrass banjoist w/The Dillards ~ 82
Otto Joachim ~ German-Canadian violinist and electronic music composer ~ 99
Dick Johnson ~ Big Band clarinet player w/ Artie Shaw, Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett ~ 84
Eddie Johnson ~ Sax palyer w/ Louis Jordan, Cootie Williams, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald ~ 89
General Johnson ~ 1970's soul singer/songwriter and producer with The Chairmen of The Board ~ 69
Dorthy Jones ~ Singer w/ 1950's & 60's R&B vocal group The Cookies and Ray Charles' backup group The Raylets. Sang on "The Locomotion" ~ 76
Hank Jones ~ American jazz pianist w/Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Max Roach ~ 91
Micky Jones ~ Singer/guitarist w/ Welsh prog rock band Man ~ 63
Ben Keith ~ Lap steel player w/ Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon, Ian and Sylvia, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, The Band, Paul Butterfield, Crosby Stills and Nash, JJ Cale ~ 73
Gene Kelton ~ Texas Rockabilly & Blues singer/guitarist ~ 55
Reg King ~ Singer w/ English 1960's R&B band The Action ~ 65
Ted Kowalski ~ Canadian singer w/ Doo Wop band The Diamonds ~ 79
Fud LeClerc ~ Belgian 1950's & 60's pop singer/pianist, first singer to score nul points at Eurovision Contest in 1963~ 86
Georgia Lee ~ Jazz and blues singer ~ 89
Steve Lee ~ Singer w/ Swiss hard rock band Gotthard ~ 47
Gene Lees ~ Canadian jazz critic and historian, biographer of Oscar Peterson and Woody Herman ~ 82
Gery Lecker ~ Drummer with 1970's Montreal punk band The Chromosomes
Herman Leonard ~ American jazz photographer ~ 87
Big Tiny Little ~ Pianist w. Lawrence Welk and Dick Dale ~ 79
Abbey Lincoln ~ Jazz singer ~ 80
Mark Linkous ~ Singer/songwriter w/ Sparklehorse and The Dancing Hoods ~ 47
Les Lockridge ~ Singer/guitarist w/ Southern Rock band Buckacre ~ 62
Gene Ludwig ~ Jazz organist w/ Arthur Prysock, Sonny Stitt, Leslie West ~ 72
Judy Lynn Kelly ~ Grand Ole Opry ~ 74
Johnny Maestro ~ American Doo-Wop singer w/The Crests, The Brooklyn Bridge ~ 70
Dick Maloney ~ Ottawa big band singer and radio dj ~ 77
Teena Marie ~ Motown singer/guitarist ~ 55
Malcolm McLaren ~ British musician and band manager Sex Pistols, New York Dolls, Bow Wow Wow ~ 64
Rob McConnell ~ Canadian big band leader and trombonist w/ The Boss Brass ~ 75
Kate McGarrigle ~ Canadian folk singer w/ The McGarrigall Sisters mother of Rufus Wainright ~ 63
Carole McGoldrick ~ American singer w/ 1960's girl group The Secrets ~ 66
Busi Mhlongo ~ South African jazz singer ~ 62
Mitch Miller ~ 1950's pop producer record exec w/ Marty Robbins, Guy Mitchell, Rosemary Clooney ~ 99
Randy Miller ~ Drummer for Seattle band The The Myriad ~ 39
Sugar Minott ~ Jamaican reggae singer ~ 54
Willie Mitchell ~ 1960's R7B band leader and producer and founder of Hi Records w/ Al Greene ~ 81
Alexander Monin ~ Singer w/ Russian metal band Kruiz ~ 56
James Moody ~ Jazz sax and flute player ~ 85
Ian Morris ~ Guitarist and producer w/ 1980's New Zealand power pop band Th' Dudes ~ 53
Buddy Morrow ~ 1940's big band trombone player ~ 91
Paulo Moura ~ Brazilian saxophonist and clarinetist w/ Cannonball Adderley ~ 77
Sam Mtukudzi ~ Zimbabwean jazz sax and guitarist ~ 21
Martin Mulloy ~ Singer and banjoist w/ Irish folk band The Mulloy Brothers ~ 58
Jamil Nasser ~ Jazz bassist w/ Ahmad Jamal, Lester Young, Sonny Rollins ~ 77
Shirley Nelson ~ Country singer and ex-wife of Willie Nelson ~ 78
Steve New ~ (A.K.A. Stella Nova) Guitarist w/The Rich Kids, Sid Vicious, Iggy Pop, PIL ~ 50
George Newcom ~ American 1960's psyche drummer (The Loading Zone) ~ 63
Owsley ~ Guitarist w/Amy Grant, Shania Twain, Wynonna Judd ~ 44
Chick Parker ~ Bassist w/ Toronto 1970's punk bands the Ugly, ZRO4, Arson, Screamin' Sam, Dick Duck & The Dorks
Johnny Parker ~ English Jazz pianist w/ Humphery Littleton ~ 80
Richard Edwin Parris jr. ~ Guitarist w/ Grunge band Animal Bag ~ 46
Don Partridge ~ English one man skiffle band ~ 68
Walter Payton ~ Jazz bassist w/ The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Harry Conick jr., Aaron Neville, Champion Jack Dupree, Lee Dorsey ~ 68
Tony Peluso ~ Pop record producer w/ The Carpenters ~ 60
Teddy Pendergrass ~ 1970's soul singer ~ 59
Mimi Perrin ~ French jazz singer & pianist w/ Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles ~ 84
Phillip Petty ~ American bassist w/ Southern Rock band Point Blank ~ 59
James Phelps ~ Gospel singer w/ The Soul Singers ~ 78
Bill Phillips ~ American 1960's country singer ~ 76
Greg Pianka ~ Bassist w/ Hair metal band Dirty Looks ~ 35
Trudy Pitts ~ Jazz organist w/ Sonny Stitt and Ben Webster ~ 76
Eddie Platt ~ 1950's & 60's R&B sax player ~ 88
Benny Powell ~ Jazz trombonist w/ Count Basie & Lionel Hampton ~ 80
Morris Pert ~ Scottish pianist and drummer w/Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Mike Oldfield, Peter Gabriel, Bryan Ferry, Phil Collins, Talk Talk ~ 62
Jim Pugliano ~ American drummer w/ The Jaggerz ~ 63
Pete Quaife ~ Kinks bassist ~ 66
Paul Quarrington ~ Canadian novelist, and songwriter ~ 56
Jay Reatard ~ (real name Jimmy Lindsay) Garage Punk singer/guitarist w/ The Reatards & Lost Sounds ~ 29
Susan Reed ~ American 1950's and 60's folk singer and harp and zither player ~ 84
George Richey ~ Nashville country songwriter and record producer, husband of Tammy Wynette ~ 74
Steve Reid ~ Jazz drummer w/ Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, James Brown, Fela Kuti, Sun Ra and session drummer w/ Motown ~ 66
Nick Santo ~ Singer with Doo-Wop band The Capris ("Morse code of love") ~ 69
Derf Scratch ~ Bassist w/ L.A. punk band Fear ~ 58
John Sekula ~ Guitarist for metal band Mushroomhead ~ 41
Lhasa De Sela ~ Mexican/American/French/Canadian singer songwriter ~ 37
William Shakespeare ~ Australian 1970's glam rock singer ~ 61
Eric Shark ~ Singer w/ U.K. pre punk band Deaf School (real name Thomas Davis) ~ 59
Gary Shider ~ Guitarist w/ Parliament Funkadelic ~ 56
Gregory Slay ~ Drummer w/ American band Remy Zero ~ 40
Mississippi Slim ~ American blues singer ~ 66
Carl Smith ~ 1960's Country singer ~ 82
Myrna Smith ~ Backup singer with Elvis Presley and co-writer w/ Brian Wilson ~ 69
Little Smokey Smothers ~ Blues singer/guitarist ~ 71
Peter Steele ~ Singer and bassist w/ Type O Negative and Carnivore ~ 48
Knut Stensholm ~ Norwegian drummer (w/ 1970's band Sambandet) ~ 56
Steve Strayhorn ~ American drummer w/ 1970's Prog Rock band A Full Moon Consort ~ 56
Monty Sunshine ~ English 1950's jazz clarinetist w/ Chris Barber ~ 82
Lynn Tait ~ Trinidadian/Canadian reggae guitarist w/ Derrick Morgan, Desmond Dekker, Lee Perry, Ken Boothe, Bob Marley, Johnny Nash ~ 75
Billy Taylor ~ American Jazz pianist/composer w/Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis. House pianist at Birdland. Won a Grammy, Emmy and Peabody Awards. ~ 89
Dennis Taylor ~ Nashville sax player w/ Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Delbert McClinton, Buckwheat Zydeco ~ 56
Tony Taylor ~ Singer for metal band Twisted Tower Dire ~ 42
Antoine "Tony" Thibodeaux ~ Cajun fiddle player 72
Ed Thigpen ~ Jazz drummer w/ Oscar Peterson, Cootie Williams. Ella Fitzgerald ~ 79
Judge Trevor Thoms ~ English prog rock guitarist w/ Hawkwind and The Pink Fairies, tour manager w/ Black Sabbath, Saxon, Manowar ~ 60
Ari Up ~ Singer w/ English punk band The Slits ~ 48
Malcolm Vaughn ~ English 1950's pop singer ~ 80
Lolly Vegas ~ Guitarist w/ 1970's rock group Redbone ~ 70
Ann Vervoort ~ Belgian singer w/ Milk Inc. ~ 33
Carlos Torres Vila ~ Agentine folk singer ~ 63
Luigi Waites ~ Jazz drummer and vibe player w/ James Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Jon Luc Ponty ~ 82
Albertina Walker ~ Gospel singer ~ 81
Phillip Walker ~ Blues singer/guitarist ~ 73
George Webb ~ English trad jazz pianist ~ 92
Fred Wedlock ~ English folk singer ~ 67
Alan Weir ~ Drummer for the underrated 1960's Scottish Mod group The Poets. No big hits but "That's the way it's gonna be" has turned up on many Nuggets comps and in the film "Factory Girl".
George David Weiss ~ American composer ("What a wonderful world", "Can't help falling in love" accused of falsely taking credit for "The Lion sleeps tonight") ~ 74
Ed Wiley jr. ~ 1950's r&b sax player w/Jackie Brenston ("Rocket 88"), Earl Hooker, Piney Brown, The Moonglows ~ 80
Harold "Ivory" Williams, Jr. ~ Keyboardist w/ Miles Davis and Rev. James Cleavland ~ 60
Robert Wilson ~ Singer/guitarist w/ 1970's funk band The Gap Band ~ 53
Gus Williams ~ Australian Aboriginal country singer ~ 73
Bernard Wilson ~ Singer w/Harold Melvin's Blue Notes ~ 64
Ed Wilson ~ Singer/songwriter w/ 1960's Brazilian rock band Renato e seus Blue Caps ~ 65
Tom Winslow ~ American folk blues guitarist/singer ~ 69
T Bone Wolk ~ Bassist w/ Hall & Oates, Carly Simon, Jellyfish, Squeeze, Elvis Costello, Shawn Colvin, Guy Davis, Billy Joel ~ 58
Wolly Wolstenholme ~ Keyboardist w/ English Prog Rock band Barclay James Harvest ~ 63
Marva Wright ~ American blues singer ~ 62
Sandra Wright ~ Blues and Gospel singer ~ 61
Rual Yarbourgh ~ Bluegrass banjoist ~ 80
Mike Zwerin ~ Cool jazz trumpet and tronbone player w/ Miles Davis "Birht of the cool" and Maynard Ferguson ~ 79
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