MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN JANUARY 2022
MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN JANUARY 2022
JANUARY 4
ANDRZEJ NOWAK (62) / POLISH ROCK MUSICIAN, HEAVY METAL GUITARIST, COMPOSER, PRODUCER, FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE PIONEERING HEAVY METAL BAND TSA, FORMED IN OPOLE IN 1979.TSA HAD MANY LINEUP CHANGES, BREAKUPS AND REUNIONS. IN 1999 FORMED HIS OWN BAND ZŁE PSY AND MADE 3 ALBUMS WITH THEM. NOWAK ALSO WORKED WITH BLUES AND JAZZ MUSICIANS. COLLECTED MOTORCYCLES AND OLD CARS.
JANUARY 6
CALVIN SIMON (79) / AMERICAN SINGER, A MEMBER OF THE BANDS PARLIAMENT AND FUNKADELIC, A MEMBER OF ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME (1977). STARTED IN THE LATE 1950's AND LEFT GEORGE CLINTON AND PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC IN 1978 AND CONTINUED WITH TWO OTHER MEMBERS UNDER THE NAME FUNKADELIC, THEN IN 1998 WITH THREE OTHER EX-MEMBERS FOUNDED ORIGINAL P, WHICH HE LEFT IN 2007. LATER GOT INTO GOSPEL MUSIC.
BARRY BENEDETTA (62) / ROCK GUITARIST, PLAYED WITH CINDERELLA ON THEIR DEBUT ALBUM NIGHT SONGS, RECENTLY WORKED WITH HIS OWN DeBenedetta. KILLED BY COVID-19.
JANUARY 8
MICHAEL LANG (77) / AMERICAN MUSIC MANAGER, CONCERT ORGANIZER, PROMOTER, RECORD LABEL OWNER AND SCULPTOR. CO-ORGANIZED THE 1968 POP AND UNDERGROUND FESTIVAL WITH THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE, THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION, CHUCK BERRY, JOHN LEE HOOKER, BLUE CHEER, THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN AND OTHERS PLAYING FOR 25,000 PEOPLE. NEXT YEAR, AT 24, LANG CO-CREATED AND ORGANIZED THE LEGENDARY WOODSTOCK ROCK FESTIVAL AKA AN AQUARIAN EXPOSITION: 3 DAYS OF PEACE & MUSIC. THE AUDIENCE OF OVER 400,000 SAW 32 ACTS LIKE JIMI HENDRIX, JANIS JOPLIN, CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL, SANTANA, GRATEFUL DEAD, RAVI SHANKAR, JOAN BAEZ, CANNED HEAT, MOUNTAIN, SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE, THE WHO, TEN YEARS AFTER, THE BAND, BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS, CSN&Y, JOE COCKER, RICHIE HAVENS, MELANIE, JOHN SEBASTIAN, JOHNNY WINTER, PAUL BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND, KEEF HARTLEY BAND, COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH AND OTHERS. MICHAEL LANG APPEARS IN THE FAMOUS 1970 DOCUMENTARY WOODSTOCK DIRECTED BY MICHAEL WADLEIGH (ONE OF THE EDITORS WAS MARTIN SCORSESE). LANG LATER PRODUCED WOODSTOCK '94 AND WOODSTOCK '99 AND WAS PREPARING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY WOODSTOCK 2019, WHICH WAS FINALLY CANCELLED. IN 1969 HELPED THE ORGANIZERS OF THE INFAMOUS ALTAMONT FREE CONCERT.
JANUARY 9
MTUME (76) / AKA JAMES MTUME, BORN JAMES FORMAN AMERICAN JAZZ AND R&B MUSICIAN, SINGER, SONGWRITER, RECORD PRODUCER, BLACK EMPOWERMENT ACTIVIST, RADIO PERSONALITY, BACKSTROKE SWIMMING CHAMPION. PERCUSSIONIST, PIANIST, DRUMMER, GUITARIST, BASS GUITARIST. THE SON OF JAZZ SAXOPHONIST JIMMY HEATH. MTUME MADE HIS DEBUT ALBUM KAWAIDA IN 1969 WITH DON CHERRY, HERBIE HANCOCK, ALBERT HEATH. THEN WORKED WITH McCOY TYNER, FREDDIE HUBBARD, MILES DAVIS. PLAYED A FEW YEARS IN MILES DAVIS GROUP (IS ON 9 ALBUMS). WITH REGGIE LUCAS FROM THE DAVIS GROUP PLAYED IN ROBERTA FLACK'S BAND AND THEY COMPOSED HER (AND DONNY HATHAWAY'S) #1 HIT "THE CLOSER I GET TO YOU" (1978). MTUME RECORDED WITH MILES DAVIS, EDDIE HENDERSON, GATO BARBIERI, ART FARMER, McCOY TYNER, JIMMY HEATH, HAROLD LAND, LONNIE LISTON SMITH, JAMES SPAULDING, CARLOS GARNETT, AZAR LAWRENCE.
JANUARY 10
BURKE SHELLEY (71) / WELSH ROCK MUSICIAN, SINGER-SONGWRITER, BASSIST, KEYBOARDIST, GUITARIST AND LEAD VOCALIST OF BUDGIE, THE HARD ROCK / HEAVY METAL BAND HE CO-FOUNDED WITH GUITARIST TONY BOURGE AND DRUMMER RAY PHILLIPS IN CARDIFF IN 1967. THEY RELEASED THEIR DEBUT ALBUM BUDGIE IN 1971 AND THEN 10 STUDIO AND 5 LIVE RECORDS. BUDGIE PIONEERED HEAVY METAL AND INFLUENCED LOTS OF BANDS REPRESENTING NWOBHM, THRASH, GRUNGE (WERE COVERED BY VAN HALEN, SOUNDGARDEN, IRON MAIDEN, MEGADETH, METALLICA). BURKE SHELLEY WROTE LOTS OF GREAT SONGS WITH INTELLIGENT LYRICS AND OFTEN UNUSUAL TITLES LIKE "IN THE GRIP OF A TYREFITTER'S HAND", "YOU'RE THE BIGGEST THING SINCE POWDERED MILK", BOTH FROM THEIR GREAT THIRD ALBUM NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A FRIEND WHICH ALSO BROUGHT GEMS LIKE "PARENTS" OR "BREADFAN". SHELLEY WROTE "PARENTS" WHEN HE WAS 16. BUDGIE'S BIGGEST FANBASE WAS PROBABLY IN POLAND WHERE THEY WERE EXCEPTIONALLY POPULAR. THOUGH THEIR ALBUMS WERE UNAVAILABLE, THE POLISH STATE RADIO PLAYED THEM OFTEN AND NOT JUST A SINGLE OR TWO, BUT WHOLE ALBUMS. BUDGIE LATER FREQUENTLY VISITED POLAND PLAYING FOR ENTHUSIASTIC AUDIENCES. IN 2010 POLISH DOCTORS SAVED SHELLEY'S LIFE WHEN HE WAS HOSPITALISED WITH AN AORTIC ANEURYSM WHILE ON TOUR.
KHAN JAMAL (75) / BORN ROBERT WARREN CHEESEBORO, AMERICAN JAZZ MUSICIAN, VIBRAPHONE, MARIMBA AND PERCUSSION PLAYER. LATE 1960's JOINED COSMIC FORCES, THEN CO-FOUNDED SOUNDS OF LIBERATION WITH SAXOPHONIST BYARD LANCASTER (ONLY ONE ALBUM NEW HORIZONS, 1972), THEN IN SUNNY MURRAY'S UNTOUCHABLE FACTOR. WORKED WITH SUN RA, RONALD SHANNON JACKSON'S DECODING SOCIETY, JOHNNY DYANI, DAVID MURRAY, FRANK WRIGHT, CHARLES TYLER, BILLY BANG, JOE BONNER, BILLY HART, JAMAALADEEN TACUMA, GRACHAN MONCUR III, ODEAN POPE, WILLIAM PARKER, DAVE BURRELL, JEMEEL MOONDOC, ROY CAMPBELL. FIRST SOLO ALBUM WAS THE LIVE RECORDING DRUM DANCE TO THE MOTHERLAND BY THE KHAN JAMAL CREATIVE ART ENSEMBLE (1973). IN 1984 MADE "SPIRITUAL JAZZ" ALBUM INFINITY.
JANUARY 11
BRUCE ANDERSON ( ) / AMERICAN EXPERIMENTAL ROCK GUITARIST. IN 1974 FOUNDED MX-80 (AKA MX-80 SOUND) WHO PLAYED POST-PUNK, ACID PUNK, NOISE ROCK, HEAVY METAL. PLAYED SF PUNK CLUBS LIKE MABUHAY GARDENS, DEAF CLUB, SAVOY TIVOLI BUT WERE IGNORED AS GERMS, AVENGERS, DILS WERE IN THEN. IN 1979 THE RESIDENTS SIGNED MX-80 TO RALPH RECORDS RELEASING OUT OF THE TUNNELL (1980) AND CROWD CONTROL (1981).
JANUARY 12
RONNIE SPECTOR (78) / BORN VERONICA BENNETT, AMERICAN SINGER. "THE ORIGINAL BAD GIRL OF ROCK AND ROLL" IN 1957 FORMED THE GIRL GROUP THE RONNETTES, RECORDED A FEW SINGLES FOR COLPIX, RECORDED SOME HITS WITH PHIL SPECTOR: "BE MY BABY", "BABY I LOVE YOU". RONNIE BENNETT MARRIED PHIL SPECTOR IN 1968 AND SEPARATED IN 1972 AFTER HE HAD PULLED A GUN MANY TIMES THREATENING TO KILL HER. IN 1965 THE RONETTES WERE VOTED ONE OF THE THREE BEST SINGING GROUPS WITH THE BEATLES AND THE ROLLING STONES AND TOURED THE US WITH THE BEATLES IN 1966. AFTER 1980, DURING HER SOLO CAREER SHE MADE 5 STUDIO ALBUMS AND WORKED WITH GEORGE HARRISON, PUNK ROCKERS JOEY RAMONE AND THEN WITH THE MISFITS (PROJECT 1950 WITH JERRY ONLY, MARKY RAMONE OF THE RAMONES AND DEZ CADENA OF BLACK FLAG), WITH PATTI SMITH, KEITH RICHARDS, THE RACONTEURS, NICK ZINNER OF THE YEAH YEAH YEAHS. IN 1990 PUBLISHED A MEMOIR BE MY BABY: HOW I SURVIVED MASCARA, MINISKIRTS AND MADNESS, OR, MY LIFE AS A FABULOUS RONETTE. IN 2007 RONNIE SPECTOR WAS INDUCTED INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME AS A MEMBER OF THE RONETTES.
JANUARY 13
FRED VAN HOVE (84) / BELGIAN JAZZ PIANIST, CHURCH ORGANIST, ACCORDIONIST, CARILLONIST. IMPROVISER AND COMPOSER, PIONEER OF EUROPEAN FREE JAZZ. IN THE 1960's AND 1970's PLAYED WITH PETER BRÖTZMANN AND HAN BENNINK, ALSO AS A TRIO. WAS ON CLASSIC 1968 BRÖTZMANN'S ALBUM MACHINE GUN. OFTEN PLAYED SOLO AND DUOS WITH STEVE LACY, ALBERT MANGELSDORFF, LOL COXHILL, VINKO GLOBOKAR. WORKED WITH EVAN PARKER, WILLEM BREUKER, PETER KOWALD, MANFRED SCHOOF, PAUL LYTTON, PAUL LOVENS, JOËLLE LÉANDRE, PAUL RUTHERFORD, JOHANNES BAUER, RADU MALFATTI, KONRAD BAUER, BARRY GUY, LOU GRASSI AND OTHERS. APPEARED ON PENDERECKI - DON CHERRY - THE NEW ETERNAL RHYTHM ORCHESTRA - ACTIONS (1971). COMPOSED FILM AND THEATRE MUSIC, HELD WORKSHOPS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.
SONNY TURNER (82) / AMERICAN SINGER. IN 1959 JOINED THE PLATTERS (FORMED IN 1952) REPLACING TONY WILLIAMS. HE WAS CHOSEN OUT OF 100 CANDIDATES. SONNY TURNER'S MENTOR WAS JACKIE WILSON. TURNER SANG THE LEAD ON THREE HIT SINGLES "I LOVE YOU 1000 TIMES", "WITH THIS RING", "WASHED ASHORE" GETTING THE PLATTERS BACK TO THE CHARTS AND LEFT IN 1970.
TERRY TEACHOUT (65) / AMERICAN AUTHOR, CRITIC, BIOGRAPHER, PLAYWRIGHT, STAGE DIRECTOR, LIBRETTIST, BANK TELLER, JAZZ BASSIST. WROTE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, AMERICAN THEATRE, NATIONAL REVIEW. WROTE BOOKS ON CULTURE, LITERATURE, MUSIC INCLUDING POPS: A LIFE OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG (2009), DUKE: A LIFE OF DUKE ELLINGTON (2013).
JANUARY 15
RACHEL NAGY (37 ?) / AMERICAN ROCK VOCALIST, LEAD SINGER AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE GARAGE ROCK BAND THE DETROIT COBRAS SHE FORMED WITH GUITARIST MARY RAMIREZ IN MOTOR CITY IN 1994. RACHEL NAGY WAS HEAVILY INSPIRED BY IRMA THOMAS AND THE DETROIT COBRAS WERE A ROCK, SOUL AND R&B COVER BAND, BUT THEY WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR SPECIAL WAY OF REWORKING THEM. THEY ALSO HAD MANY LINEUP CHANGES WITH NAGY / RAMIREZ BEING THE CORE TILL THE END. THE DETROIT MADE 4 ALBUMS, 1 EP AND 9 SINGLES ON SYMPATHY FOR THE RECORD INDUSTRY, ROUGH TRADE, THIRD MAN RECORDS, BLOODSHOT.
JANUARY 17
ALEXANDER DUMBLE ( ) / LEGENDARY AMERICAN GUITAR AMP DESIGNER AND BUILDER. STARTED BUILDING AMPLIFIERS FOR THE VENTURES. THEN CREATED DUMBLE AMPLIFIERS, A ONE-MAN COMPANY TO CREATE CUSTOM MADE AMPS FOR GUITAR STARS, MAKING ONLY TWO TO THREE A YEAR. DUMBLE AMPS ARE PRECIOUS, USED ONES ARE USUALLY SOLD FOR $150,000 OR MORE. SOME OF THE FAMOUS DUMBLE PLAYERS ARE CARLOS SANTANA, ERIC CLAPTON, STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN, HENRY KAISER, LOWELL GEORGE, ROBBEN FORD, LARRY CARLTON, JOE BONAMASSA, SONNY LANDRETH, JOHN MAYER, KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD, JACKSON BROWNE, BEN HARPER, KIRK HAMMETT.
JANUARY 19
BADAL ROY (77) / বাদল রায় BORN AMARENDRA ROY CHOWDHURY, HINDU-BENGALI AMERICAN TABLA AND PERCUSSION PLAYER, RECORDING ARTIST. FAMOUS ESPECIALLY FOR HIS WORK WITH MILES DAVIS ON ALBUMS ON THE CORNER (1972), BIG FUN (1969-1972), GET UP WITH IT (1970-1974). STARTED PLAYING TABLA AT 10. WHEN YOUNG, LISTENED TO NAT KING COLE AND ELVIS PRESLEY. IN 1959 SAW DUKE ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA IN KARACHI, WEST PAKISTAN. IN 1968 MOVED TO NEW YORK. WORKED WITH ORNETTE COLEMAN AND HIS PRIME TIME (TONE DIALING, 1995, ONE TRACK WAS TITLED "BADAL"), YOKO ONO, PHAROAH SANDERS, HERBIE HANCOCK, JOHN McLAUGHLIN, CHARLIE HADEN, LESTER BOWIE, HERBIE MANN, DAVE LIEBMAN, PERRY ROBINSON, STEVE TURRE, LENI STERN, LONNIE LISTON SMITH, ROY AYERS, JON HASSELL, MIKE RICHMOND, STOMU TAKEISHI, THE NAILS. IN 2004 BADAL ROY RECORDED WITH RICHIE HAVENS (THE GRACE OF THE SUN).
JANUARY 20
EMIL MANGELSDORFF (96) / GERMAN JAZZ MUSICIAN AND EDUCATOR. PLAYED ALTO AND SOPRANO SAXOPHONES, CLARINET AND FLUTE. IMPRISONED BY THE GESTAPO FOR PLAYING JAZZ IN NAZI GERMANY. SENT TO THE OST FRONT, BECAME A RUSSIAN POW FOR FOUR YEARS. BACK IN FRANKFURT WORKED WITH GREAT MUSICIANS LIKE JUTTA HIPP (LATER A BLUE NOTE RECORDS ARTIST). IN 1966 FORMED SWINGING OIL DROPS WITH JOKI FREUND, VOLKER KRIEGEL, GÜNTER LENZ (WHO HAD JUST RECORDED WITH KRZYSZTOF KOMEDA HIS EUROPEAN JAZZ GEM ASTIGMATIC). IN NEW YORK WORKED WITH CHARLES MINGUS, BUT HE SPENT MOST OF HIS LIFE IN HIS HOMETOWN FRANKFURT OFTEN PLAYING IN JAZZKELLER, THE OLDEST EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB (SINCE 1952) ALSO WITH HIS BROTHER, JAZZ TROMBONE GIANT, ALBERT MANGELSDORFF. EMIL MANGELSDORFF SWINGTET WITH HIS BROTHER ALBERT AND JOKI FREUND VISITED POLAND TO PLAY AT THE 2ND SOPOT JAZZ FESTIVAL FOR 20,000 FANS IN 1957.
TOM SMITH (65) / AMERICAN MUSICIAN, AVANT-GARDE COMPOSER AND PRODUCER. INFLUENCED BY KING CRIMSON, MILES DAVIS, SUN RA. PLAYED IN THE GARAGE ROCK PUSSY GALORE. IN 1984 IN WASHINGTON, DC HE CO-FOUNDED THE INDUSTRIAL GROUP PEACH OF IMMORTALITY, WHO WERE ACTIVE TILL 2006. IN 1993 IN MIAMI, WITH FRANK "RAT BASTARD" FALESTRA FORMED THE EXPERIMENTAL, AVANT / NOISE ROCK BAND TO LIVE AND SHAVE IN L. A. (TLASILA). THE TWO GROUPS EVEN MADE A SPLIT ALBUM IN 1996. TLASILA HAD AN EVER CHANGING LINEUP WHICH AT DIFFERENT TIMES INCLUDED THURSTON MOORE, WEASEL WALTER, ANDREW W.K., DON FLEMING, MATT MITCHELL, BALÁZS PÁNDI.
JANUARY 21
TERRY TOLKIN (62) / AMERICAN MUSIC EXECUTIVE AND MUSIC JOURNALIST. OFTEN CREDITED WITH INVENTING THE TERM "ALTERNATIVE MUSIC" IN 1979, WHEN HE WAS 20 AND WRITING FOR THE ROCKPOOL MAGAZINE. WORKED FOR RECORD LABELS LIKE TOUCH & GO RECORDS, ROUGH TRADE RECORDS (LATE 1980s), 1992-1996 A&R FOR ELEKTRA RECORDS (SIGNING STEREOLAB, AFGHAN WHIGS, LUNA, NADA SURF). FOR TOUCH & GO SIGNED THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS AND THE VIRGIN PRUNES. TOLKIN DJ'ed AND BOOKED FOR NYC CLUBS CBGBs, DANCETERIA, LIMELIGHT. 1989-1999 RAN HIS OWN LABEL No.6 RECORDS RELEASING THE BRIDGE: A TRIBUTE TO NEIL YOUNG WITH PSYCHIC TV, PIXIES, SONIC YOUTH, DINOSAUR JR., SOUL ASYLUM, HENRY KAISER, VICTORIA WILLIAMS, NICK CAVE, NIKKI SUDDEN, THE FLAMING LIPS, LOOP THEN GUITARRORIST WITH MEMBERS OF DINOSAUR JR., BABES IN TOYLAND, BIG BLACK . No.6 RECORDS ALSO PUT OUT THE TINDERSTICKS, UNREST, CHARLES DOUGLAS, DEAN WAREHAM, VEGETARIAN MEAT. IN 2009 TEENBEAT RCORDS RELEASED A 2-CD COMPILATION OF 7" SINGLES SPEED DATING: THE No.6 RECORDS COMPENDIUM.
JANUARY 22
DON WILSON (88) / AMERICAN SURF ROCK RHYTHM AND LEAD GUITARIST, SONGWRITER. IN 1958 IN TACOMA, WITH LEAD GUITARIST / BASSIST BOB BOGLE, WILSON CO-FOUNDED THE INSTRUMENTAL ROCK GROUP, THE SURF ROCK LEGEND THE VENTURES. THEY HELPED TO MAKE THE ELECTRIC GUITAR POPULAR. IN 1960 THE VENTURES RECORDED BIG HIT "WALK, DON'T RUN", CHARTING AT #2 ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 100. ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE DESCRIBED IT AS ONE ON THE GREATEST GUITAR SONGS OF ALL TIME. DON WILSON WAS A PART OF THE VENTURES CLASSIC LINEUP AND HE PLAYED THE LONGEST, FOR 60 YEARS, THOUGH HE STOPPED TOURING AT THE END OF 2015. THE VENTURES INFLUENCED THE BEACH BOYS, GEORGE HARRISON, STEPHEN STILLS, JOE WALSH, JOHN FOGERTY, JEFF BAXTER, GENE SIMMONS AND MANY OTHERS. THEY MADE OVER 250 ALBUMS, SELLING OVER 110 MILLION COPIES.
JANUARY 23
BARBARA KRAFFTÓWNA (93) / POLISH FILM AND THEATRE ACTRESS, VOCALIST, CABARET ARTIST. STARTED CAREER IN KRAKOW IN 1945. ACTED AND SANG FOR 75 YEARS. APPEARED IN FILMS BY THE BEST POLISH DIRECTORS, ESPECIALLY BY WOJCIECH JERZY HAS: GOLD (1961), HOW TO BE LOVED (1962), THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (1965 - MUSIC BY KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI), THE CODES (1966), BY ANDRZEJ WAJDA: ASHES AND DIAMONDS (1958), BY KAZIMIERZ KUTZ: NIKT NIE WOŁA (NOBODY'S CALLING, 1960), HEAT (1964). KRAFFTÓWNA WAS ONE OF THE STARS OF THE LEGENDARY TV SHOW THE ELDERLY GENTLEMEN'S CABARET (1958-1966 WITH REMAKE 1978-1980). 1983-1998 IN THE US.
