We have lost more strong influences of music this past year. I focus mainly on Rock and Roll and directly related genres. Early bands like The Kingsmen, The Electric Prunes and Big Brother broke the ground for REO Speedwagon, and Yes. Blues and R&B lost giants this year.
- Gary Richrath, lead guitarist and songwriter for REO Speedwagon (September 13). Richrath wrote many of the REO's songs including "Ridin' the Storm Out". In 1977, he and other members of the band took over production, which resulted in the band's first platinum album.
- Country singer Lynn Anderson passed away from pneumonia at the age of 67. An iconic voice in the 1970s, Anderson's hits like "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden"
- Rock bassist Chris Squire passed away from a rare form of leukemia at the age of 67. Squire, who was co-founder of the iconic band Yes, was the only member of the band to play on every one of their studio albums. In addition to being a self-taught bassist, he also co-wrote many of the bands biggest hits, including "I've Seen All Good People," "Starship Trooper," and "Owner of a Lonely Heart."
- Blues legend B.B. King passed away at the age of 89. Known for bringing the blues into the mainstream, the expert guitarist got his start in music after hitchhiking to Memphis in 1947. He landed a job as a disc jockey for radio station WDIA-AM, where he settled on his nickname, "Beale Street Blues Boy," which was eventually shortened to "B.B."
- "Stand by Me" and "Spanish Harlem" singer Ben E. King died at the age of 76. The R&B legend got his start in the 1950s with the band The Drifters, with whom he sang lead vocals on iconic classics like "Save the Last Dance for Me," "There Goes My Baby," and "This Magic Moment."
- "Louie Louie" singer Jack Ely passed away at the age of 71 after a long illness. The Kingman singer's hit reached the top of the charts in 1963 and even sparked an FBI investigation into whether or not its lyrics were obscene. Ely and his band broke up soon after the song was recorded, and he spend much of the remainder of his life training horses in Oregon.
- "When a Man Loves a Woman" singer Percy Sledge died at the age of 74 after a battle with liver cancer. The soul singer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 thanks largely in part to his 1966 hit, which topped the US and UK charts for two weeks.
- Keyboardist Jimmy Greenspoon lost his battle with cancer at the age of 67. The Three Dog Knight musician, known for playing on songs like "Easy to be Hard" and "Joy to the World" died of metastatic melanoma in Gaithersberg, Maryland, five months after announcing that he was struggling with the disease. During the course of their career, Three Dog Knight had 21 top 40 hits, including three number one singles.
- Best known for her iconic hit "It's My Party," singer/songwriter Lesley Gore passed away at the age of 68. According to her longtime partner, Lois Sasson, Gore had been struggling with cancer. "It's My Party" was released in 1963, followed by "Judy's Turn to Cry" and "You Don't Own Me."
- Sam Andrew, the founding Big Brother and the Holding Company guitarist who powered many of Janis Joplin’s biggest hits, died in February after a heart attack. He was 73.
- Allen Toussaint was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. Artists in nearly every major genre recorded Toussaint's songs or collaborated with him, including the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, Herb Alpert, Glenn Campbell, Robert Palmer and Alison Kraus and Elvis Costello.
- Preston Ritter, who drummed on the Electric Prunes' hits "I Had to Much to Dream (Last Night)" and "Get Me to the World on Time," died on March 30. He was 65. Ritter had a history of kidney problems. After he left the garage-rock band, he played with Linda Ronstadt, the Beach Boys and Dobie Gray.
Santa brought these CD's (yes, we still buy actual CD's) for our stocking stuffers. We've had a chance to listen a couple of times and here's my observations.
