In Memoriam 2016: The Great Gig in the Sky

I'm sure you've seen the posts, news segments, videos of icons we lost in 2016. There seemed to be an abnormal body count this past year, with public figures such as Muhammad Ali, John Glenn, Andy Grove and Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, the list of notables is way too long. I would like to focus on a few of the musicians that meant something special to me.


David Bowie and Prince: honestly, I was not a huge fan of either, but certainly loved the more popular songs and the diversity and re-inventing of each of these icons is incredible. They never stood still, never fit into a mold, they were unique.

The influence and legacy of The Fifth Beatle, George Martin, cannot be overstated. He had such a creative style with The Beatles and the early rock era.

It's beyond tragic that we lost both Keith Emerson and Greg Lake. The power trio ELP, including Carl Palmer, were masterful creators of electronic rock.

While classic artists such as Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane and Glenn Frey of the Eagles left us with songs we sing in the shower and on the highway for years to come.

Scotty Moore was the guitar behind Elvis for most of the early years and the first "That's All Right". Scotty also played with others including Ricky Nelson and Roy Orbison.

There are so many more, Maurice White, Merle Haggard, Leon Russell, Mose Allison and Gato Barbieri cover mixed genres of funk, country, blues, and jazz.

Thank you all, and all the others, so much for the gift of music. RIP.

 ELP : Knife Edge I was lucky to be able to witness the spectacle of  ELP a couple of times.