Hail and Farewell 2018

Clockwise from upper left: Hugh McDowell of ELO, Dave Holland of Judas Priest, Ed King of the Strawberry Alarm Clock and Lynyrd Skynyrd, Danny Kirwan of Fleetwood Mac, Mac Miller, Ray Sawyer of Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries, Matt "Guitar" Murphy and the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin in the center.

Note: It’s not surprising that a few of omissions have been brought to my attention.  I have added them below in red and they will be a part of the show on Tuesday night. (I added the last this morning as we lost Ray Sawyer of Dr, Hook and the Medicine Show on December 28th. He was added to to the collage above too.)

It is that time of the year again, time to look back and remember those that we have lost this year in music.  We lost 38 this year, which is less than last year when we lost 44.  So, what are the criteria for getting on the list?  I can start that answer with this; these are the ones that I know about.  I may very well have missed someone.  The second factor is that I must know about them musically.  I either know the person, their song(s) or their band.  They are not listed here unless I am familiar with at least one of those three things.

Here are some highlights from the list…

The Reaper struck early this year and claimed Ray Thomas, flutist of the Moody Blues on January 4^th.  I have been a fan since the ’60s, and I have seen the Moodies in concert, with Ray Thomas, more than any other band.  One of my favorite MB songs is one that Ray sang instead of Justin Hayward, their normal lead singer.  It was written by Thomas and called “Legend of a Mind,” though most people improperly call it, “Timothy Leary’s Dead.”  When they’d did it live, the rest of the band would fade to the back and Ray would take the spotlight, not only singing but also playing magnificent flute solos.  I saw him do it live several times, and I was in the audience one of the last times he ever did it live in 1999, in Holmdel, NJ.  I will open the show this year with a live recording similar to his performance that night.

On January 15^th, we lost Dolores O’Riordan, lead singer for the Cranberries.  This one hurt because she was just too young, only 46 years old.  She drowned in her hotel room bathtub with a 0.33% blood alcohol level.  I had the privilege of seeing her perform live too.

On the same day, we also lost Edwin Hawkins, leader of the Edwin Hawkins Singers. While they were best known for their Gospel music, they had some crossover hits on the pop charts.  They had a number 6 hit doing the backing vocals for Melanie’s Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) in 1970.

We lost Jim Rodford on January 20^th.  Jim was instrumental in helping his cousin, Rod Argent, in setting up his band, the Zombies, in 1964.  He finally joined his cousin, playing bass, when he formed his next group, Argent, in 1969.  He would go on to play with the Kinks and appeared on many of their albums from the late 70s and 80s.  Rodford played with many other bands including a later reformation of the Zombies, the Swinging Blue Jeans, and many more.

Micky Jones died on February 7^th.  He is best known as the drummer of Kenny Rogers’s first band, the First Edition, where he had a #5 hit with Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In). He would be the drummer for a number of bands and artists including Bob Dylan, Trini Lopez, and Johnny Rivers, drumming on his #3 hit, Secret Agent Man. In all, as a drummer, he earned 17 gold records.  He also had a successful acting career with numerous film and television credits to his name.

The Reaper struck again on March 12^th when he took Nokie Edwards, guitarist for the Ventures.  As such, he was so instrumental in defining the surf guitar sound that he was known as the “King of Guitars” in Japan.  He was also an actor, appearing in the TV series, Deadwood.

On April 27^th, Roy Young passed away.  He was a keyboardist who played and recorded with many greats including Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers, David Bowie and Chuck Berry to name a few.  He even played with the Beatles on stage during their Hamburg, Germany days.

D.J. Fontana died on June 13^th from complications of a broken hip.  He was Elvis Presley’s drummer for 14 years, playing on most of his big hits.

Matt "Guitar" Murphy, best known as a guitarist for the Blues Brothers, departed this life on June 15^th.  While known as a Blues guitarist, he recorded two albums with Chuck Berry.  He also played with Howlin’ Wolf and Memphis Slim before pursuing a solo career.  He appeared in the movie, the Blues Brothers, playing Aretha Franklin’s husband.

This brings us to Aretha Franklin who died August 16^th. This one hurt a lot.  On my blog, I simply posted a memorial with her picture.  The Queen of Soul was a great loss this year, indeed.

Ed King passed away on August 22^nd.  He was a guitarist for the Strawberry Alarm Clock in the late 60s and their big hit, Incense and Peppermints, was based on one of his ideas.  This alone would have earned him a place on this list, but he went on to bigger and better things.  He would become a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd and co-writer of one of their greatest songs, Sweet Home Alabama.

Again, the criterion for making the list is that I must know the musician and/or his music.  Mac Miller did not make the list initially but fate has a strange way of working.  Since I published this post, I received a request for a Mac Miller song, Donald Trump.  I didn’t have it but like I do with all unfulfilled requests, I looked him up and became familiar with him.  I also learned that he had died this past year, thus completing the criteria for making the list, just in time.  He also has the distinction of being the youngest to make it by far at age 26.  If I had known of him when I made my collage at the top, I undoubtedly would have included him, so I put his picture by itself at the bottom.  A note on his song, Donald Trump, it was released five years before he ran for President and has no political meaning.  He simply refers to him as a filthy rich real estate mogul and makes him representative of that lifestyle that he wishes to attain.

We lost Marty Balin on September 22^nd.  Marty was the lead singer of the Jefferson Airplane, alongside Grace Slick.  He continued on to front the next generation of the group, the Jefferson Starship and left the group shortly after co-singer, Grace Slick, did in 1978.

Joe Osborn died on December 14^th.  I’m sure none of you have heard of him before his death, but you know his music very well.  He was a studio bassist who played on so many hit records.  He recorded with the Grass Roots, Simon & Garfunkel, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Rivers, America, the Mamas and the Papas, the Association, and so many more.  His bass was always up front and driving like it was in the 5^th Dimension’s Aquarius where it thumps in as the opening notes and never leaves the foreground.  He also worked the Country Music scene in Nashville where he played bass on 197 top 40 Country hits, including 53 number 1 hits.  Joe was one of the greatest talents you never heard of.

I awoke New Year's morning to an email alerting to the death of Ray Sawyer of Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show.  He was not their main lead singer but he stepped to the forefront and sang their biggest hit, On the Cover of the Rolling Stone.  His unique look, with hat and eye patch, lead to his becoming the face of the band; he became Dr. Hook.  He lost an eye in a car accident in 1967, after quitting the music industry.  The incident drove him back to music and the success of Dr. Hook. They had a fair number of hits including On Cover of the Rolling Stone, which reached #3 in the United States in 1973.

Most of the people we lost this year were not household names, yet they were the soundtrack to our lives.  I will play a song by each of them Tuesday night, and for most of them, you will say, “Oh my God!  I know that song. They did that?”

Here is the complete list for 2018…

Ray Thomas, (died Jan. 4) singer, songwriter, flutist for the Moody Blues (1941-2018)

Denise LaSalle, (died Jan. 8) Soul, R&B and Blues singer (1939-2018)

“Fast” Eddie Clarke, (died Jan. 10) guitarist for Motorhead (1950-2018)

Edwin Hawkins, (died Jan. 15) gospel musician, pianist, choir master, composer, and head of the Edwin Hawkins Singers (1943-2018)

Dolores O'Riordan, (died Jan. 15) singer and guitarist for the Cranberries (1971-2018)

Dave Holland, (died Jan. 16) drummer for Judas Priest (1948-2018)

Terry Evans, (died Jan. 20) Blues and Soul guitarist, singer (1937-2018)

Jim Rodford, (died Jan. 20) bassist for the Kinks, Argent and the Zombies (1941-2018)

Buzz Clifford, (died Jan. 26) his Baby Sittin’ Boogie went to #6 in 1961 (1941-2018)

Dennis Edwards, (died Feb. 1) front man for the Temptations (1943-2018)

Micky Jones, (died Feb. 7) drummer for the First Edition (1941-2018)

Pat Torpey, (died Feb. 7) drummer for Mr. Big; #1 single, To Be with You (1953-2018)

Craig MacGregor, (died Feb. 9) bassist for Foghat (1949-2018)

Vic Damone, (died Feb. 11) Big Band singer (1928-2018)

Nokie Edwards, (died Mar. 12) guitarist for the Ventures (1935-2018)

Charlie Quintana, (died Mar. 12) drummer for Social Distortion (1962-2018)

Peter "Mars" Cowling, (died Mar. 20) bassist for Pat Travers (1946-2018)

Mike Harrison, (died Mar. 25) singer for Spooky Tooth (1945-2018)

Charles Neville, (died Apr. 26) saxophonist for the Neville Brothers (1938-2018)

Roy Young, (died Apr. 27) pianist/keyboardist for Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers, solo and more (1934-2018)

Tim Calvert, (died Apr. 30) guitarist for Forbidden and Nevermore (1965-2018)

John "Jabo" Starks, (died May 1) drummer for James Brown (1937-2018)

Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, (died Jun. 1) Blues musician (1935-2018)

Danny Kirwan, (died Jun. 8) guitarist for Fleetwood Mac (1968-1972), solo artist (1950-2018)

D. J. Fontana, (died Jun. 13) drummer for Elvis Presley on many of his greatest hits (1931-2018)

Matt "Guitar" Murphy, (died Jun. 15) guitarist for the Blues Brothers (1929-2018)

Lowrell Simon, (died Jun. 19) lead singer for the Soul group, the Lost Generation (1943-2018)

Vinnie Paul, (died Jun. 22) drummer for Pantera (1964-2018)

Steve Soto, (died Jun. 27) bassist for Punk Rock bands, Agent Orange, Adolescents and others (1963-2018)

Eugene Pitt, (died Jun. 29) singer with the Jive Five; number 3 hit (1961) with My True Story (1937-2018)

Alan Longmuir, (Jul. 2) bassist for the Bay City Rollers (1948-2018)

Tab Hunter, (Jul. 8) had a #1 hit in 1957 with Young Love (1931-2018)

Jill Janus, (died Aug. 14) lead singer of Huntress (1975-2018)

Aretha Franklin, (died Aug. 16) the Queen of Soul (1942-2018)

Ed King, (died Aug. 22) guitarist for the Strawberry Alarm Clock and Lynyrd Skynyrd (1949-2018)

Mac Miller, (died Sep. 7) rapper and record producer, had a Top 100 hit with Donald Trump (1992-2018)

Marty Balin, (died Sep. 27) singer and frontman for Jefferson Airplane/Starship (1942-2018)

Tony Joe White, (died Oct. 24) singer, songwriter, top ten hit Polk Salad Annie (1943-2018)

Glenn Schwartz, (died Nov. 2) guitarist for Pacific Gas & Electric and the James Gang (1940-2018)

Hugh McDowell, (died Nov. 6) cellist for the Electric Light Orchestra (1953-2018)

Roy Clark, (died Nov. 18) Country music star and host of the TV show, Hee Haw (1933-2018)

Joe Osborn, (died Dec. 14), studio bassist with the Wrecking Crew (1937-2018)

Ray Sawyer, (died Dec. 28) singer for Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show (1937-2018)

Please join me on Tuesday, January 1^st, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM (starting one hour early) at a Woman’s Touch as we pay a final tribute to those we lost in 2018, and wish them a fond, Hail and Farewell.  I expect the "Hail and Farewell" portion to start sometime between 6:15 and 6:20.  I will start out by playing the top six hits of 2018 as per Billboard.

"If there's a rock and roll heaven, well you know they've got a hell of a band."

 The Righteous Brothers, 1973

A Vampire Christmas

On December 25^th, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, we will be having a Vampire Christmas at AWT.  Many of you don’t believe that there is a connection between Christmas and vampires.  What if I were to tell you that Santa Claus is a vampire?  Think about it, he has been around for hundreds of years and is basically immortal.

Have you ever notice that he only travels the world at night, one night a year to be precise, and he is always home before dawn?  It is well known that vampires can only enter homes that they have been invited into.  Have you noticed all the letters that Santa gets from children around the world?  He visits those homes and only those homes.  No letter inviting Santa to come, along with a list of gifts, no visit from Santa.

At our show, Christmas Night, We will celebrate a Dark Christmas together.  Remember that “dark” does not mean “evil.”  We even have Santa’s coffin, and you may say hello to him while he rests after his extensive journey the night before.  So come on by for a Gothic Christmas at a Woman’s Touch on Christmas Night.

A Visit from Vampire Santa (from 2013)

(With apologies to Clement Clark Moore)

T’was the night before Christmas, when all cross the sim

Not an avatar was stirring, not even a prim;

The missiles were armed with the greatest of care,

In hopes that Vampire Santa soon would be there;

The mortals were nestled all snug in their beds,

While nightmares of Santa danced in their heads;

And Des with her mallet, and me with my stake,

Begun our long winter vigil and must stay awake,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the luster of mid-day to Park Place below,

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight undead reindeer,

With a little old driver, so preternatural and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be Vamp Nick.

More rapid than hellhounds his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

“Now, Tepis! Now, Soulbane! Now, Dracul and Chillstone!

On, Demon! On, Reaper! On, Charon and Deathmoan!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;

So up to the house-top the hell beasts they flew,

With the sleigh full of death, and Vamp Kringle too.

And then, with a thundering, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each cloven hoof.

As I drew in my head and was turning around,

Down the chimney, Vamp Santa came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with grave dirt and soot;

With an unnatural pallor and death searing eyes,

He looked like the Reaper in a jolly disguise.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke encircled his head like a mist on the heath;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And drained all his victims; then turned with a jerk,

And taking his hand and thumbing his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a yell,

And away they all flew like bats outta Hell,

Away I ran quickly, down the stairs in a flash,

Stumbled out the door into the yard with a crash.

To the missile launcher I headed without missing a beat,

Armed them; took aim at the sleigh in retreat.

Away they all flew to their target with speed,

Streaking the sky like a flaming winged steed.

It lit the night sky as the sleigh burst into flame,

And crashed onto the club from whence the smoke came.

Never again shall he slander my name,

And say I’ve been naughty and assign me false blame

I sat and watched as the flames burned out beyond sight;

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.