MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN MAY 2022
MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN MAY 2022
MAY 1
RIC PARNELL (70) / ENGLISH MUSICIAN, ROCK AND PROG-ROCK AND HEAVY METAL DRUMMER, SON OF A JAZZ DRUMMER AND BROTHER OF TWO DRUMMERS. PLAYED WITH ATOMIC ROOSTER. RECORDED WITH PROTO-PUNK THE DEVIANTS, JON ANDERSON, DENIZ TEK (RADIO BIRDMAN), SPINAL TAP AND OTHERS. ACTED IN THE MOCKUMENTARY FILM THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984).
MAY 4
HOWIE PYRO (61) / BORN HOWARD KUSTEN, AMERICAN PUNK ROCK BASS PLAYER, GUITARIST AND DJ. FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE BLESSED (1977), IN THE 1980s THE FREAKS (WITH FUTURE WIFE ANDREA MATTHEWS), PCP HIGHWAY AND THE NYC GLAM PUNK BAND D GENERATION (AKA DGen, 1991-1999, 2011-2022). D GENERATION SUPPORTED SOCIAL DISTORTION, RAMONES, KISS AND TOURED EUROPE WITH GREEN DAY (1998). HOWIE PYRO HAD HIS OWN WEEKLY INTERNET RADIO SHOW INTOXICA RADIO WITH HOWIE PYRO. COLLABORATED WITH JOHNNY THUNDERS, RONNIE SPECTOR, THE MISFITS, DEBBIE HARRY, ALAN VEGA, KID CONGO POWERS, RANCID. SEX PISTOLS' SID VICIOUS WAS HIS FRIEND TILL HIS LAST DAYS. PYRO ALSO WORKED AND RECORDED WITH JOEY RAMONE, GENESIS P. ORRIDGE, DANZIG. KILLED BY COVID-19.
MAY 10
SHIVKUMAR SHARMA (84) / INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSICIAN, SANTOOR PLAYER AND COMPOSER. HIS VOCALIST AND TABLA PLAYER FATHER TAUGHT HIM TO SING AND PLAY TABLA WHEN HE WAS 5. AT 13 STARTED PLAYING PERSIAN SANTOOR. WORKED WITH INDIAN FLUTIST HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA AND UNDER THE NAME SHIV-HARI AND MADE MUSIC FOR 8 HINDI-LANGUAGE FILMS. SHARMA PLAYED ALSO WITH TABLA PLAYER ZAKIR HUSSEIN WITH WHOM HE MADE 6 ALBUMS AND ALSO APPEARED ON JOHN McLAUGHLIN'S REMEMBER SHAKTI - SATURDAY NIGHT IN BOMBAY ALBUM WHICH LONGEST TRACK WAS HIS COMPOSITION "SHRINGAR".
MAY 11
NORMAN DOLPH (83) / AMERICAN SONGWRITER AND RECORD PRODUCER, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND'S FIRST PRODUCER. HE MET THEM THROUGH ANDY WARHOL, WHEN NOBODY KNEW THEM. PRODUCED "ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES", "I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR", "FEMME FATALE", "EUROPEAN SON" AND OTHERS AND OFFERED THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO TO COLUMBIA RECORDS BUT THE ALBUM WAS REJECTED BY THEIR GENIUSES AND HE WAS TOLD : "YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND WITH THIS". WARNER BROS. AND ELEKTRA EXECUTIVES WERE EQUALLY SMART AND THE ALBUM WAS FINALLY RELEASED ON THE VERVE JAZZ LABEL. THE ALBUM'S ACETATE NORMAN DOLPH OFFERED THEM WAS LATER SOLD ON eBAY FOR $25,000, ONE OF THE COSTLIEST ITEMS EVER.
TREVOR STRNAD (41) / AMERICAN MUSICIAN, LEAD SINGER AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE MELODIC DEATH METAL / METALCORE BAND THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER. THE BAND WAS FORMED IN 2001. THEY HAVE MADE 9 STUDIO ALBUMS, HAD MANY LINEUPS. THE ONLY PERMANENT MEMBERS WERE TWO FOUNDERS: STRNAD AND RHYTHM GUITARIST BRIAN ESCHBACH, WHO WAS THE MAIN SONGWRITER AND ALSO SANG BACKING VOCALS. ABOUT HIS MUSIC TREVOR STRNAD SAID: "Metal is what I grew up with, and then I learned about punk and hardcore. But a lot of our ethics, the way we carry ourselves, is more punk... I like that hardcore has a sense of community without the competition you see in metal."
MAY 13
RICKY GARDINER (73) / SCOTTISH PUNK ROCK, PROTO-PUNK AND GARAGE ROCK MUSICIAN, RHYTHM AND LEAD GUITARIST, VOCALIST, COMPOSER. FIRST BAND THE VOSTOKS, AT 14 IN 1962. THEN THE KINGBEES AND THE SYSTEM AND IN 1969 HE FORMED BEGGARS OPERA (1969-1976). WORKED WITH DAVID BOWIE ON HIS 1977 LOW ALBUM (WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM IGGY POP) AND WITH IGGY POP ON HIS 1976 IDIOT TOUR, 1977 LUST FOR LIFE ALBUM (WITH LOTS OF HELP FROM DAVID BOWIE). RICKY GARDINER COMPOSED HIS CLASSIC "THE PASSENGER" (IGGY WROTE THE LYRICS).
MAY 17
VANGELIS (79) / BORN EVÁNGELOS ODYSSÉAS PAPATHANASSIOU (Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου) GREEK MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER OF ELECTRONIC, PROGRESSIVE ROCK, JAZZ, AMBIENT, FILM AND ORCHESTRAL MUSIC. COMPOSED SOUNDTRACK MUSIC FOR THE ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING FILM CHARIOTS OF FIRE, ITS THEME BEING ALSO ON 100 #1 HITS OF 1982 IN THE USA LIST. BORN IN GREECE, SELF-TAUGHT, STARTED IMPROVISING VERY EARLY, AT 4. INTERESTED IN JAZZ AND ROCK BOUGHT A HAMMOND ORGAN. FOUNDED THE FORMINX (1963-1966). WROTE SCORES FOR GREEK FILMS. AFTER THE RIGHT-WING MILITARY JUNTA COUP, LEFT FOR PARIS FOR 6 YEARS. IN 1968, WITH OTHER GREEK EXPATS, INCLUDING DEMIS ROUSSOS, FORMED THE PROGRESSIVE ROCK BAND APHRODITE'S CHILD. IN 1974 TO LONDON. WITH JON ANDERSON, THE LEAD SINGER OF THE PROGRESSIVE ROCK BAND YES, FORMED GROUP JON AND VANGELIS, WHICH MADE 4 ALBUMS, INCLUDING SHORT STORIES AND THE FRIENDS OF MR CAIRO. SOME OF HIS WELL-KNOWN FILM SCORES WERE L'APOCALYPSE DES ANIMAUX (1970), BLADE RUNNER (1982), 1492: CONQUEST OF PRADISE (1992) AND BITTER MOON (1992) DIRECTED BY ROMAN POLAŃSKI FOR WHICH POLAŃSKI ALSO RECORDED A POEM BY K.I.GAŁCZYŃSKI.
RICK PRICE (77) / ENGLISH BASSIST FROM BIRMINGHAM, WHO ALSO SANG AND PLAYED PEDAL STEEL GUITAR. PLAYED IN SOME EARLY BANDS, INCLUDING SIGHT AND SOUND, THEN JOINED THE MOVE (1969-1971), WIZZARD (1972-1975). WORKED WITH ELO ON THEIR DEBUT ALBUM. IN 1975 JOINED ROY WOOD'S JAZZ-ROCK GROUP WIZZO BAND, PLAYING PEDAL STEEL GUITAR.
MAY 18
BOB NEUWIRTH (82) / AMERICAN MUSICIAN, FOLK SINGER, SONGWRITER, RECORD PRODUCER, VISUAL ARTIST. SANG, PLAYED GUITAR AND BANJO. PART OF THE EARLY 1960s FOLK SCENE, BEFRIENDED BOB DYLAN, APPEARED IN HIS RENALDO AND CLARA (1978) AND D.A. PENNEBAKER'S DOC DON'T LOOK BACK (1967). NEUWIRTH FORMED THE BACKING BAND FOR BOB DYLAN'S 1975 ROLLING THUNDER REVUE. INTRODUCED KRIS KRISTOFFERSON TO JANIS JOPLIN, WHO THEN RECORDED HIS HIT "ME AND BOBBY McGEE" SUGGESTED BY NEUWIRTH. HE ALSO CO-WROTE THE SONG "MERCEDES BENZ" WITH JANIS JOPLIN AND POET MICHAEL McCLURE IN 1970 (FOR 1971 ALBUM PEARL). IT CRITICIZED CONSUMERISM AND WAS THE LAST SONG JANIS JOPLIN RECORDED (3 DAYS BEFORE HER DEATH).
PAUL PLIMLEY (69) / CANADIAN FREE JAZZ MUSICIAN, PIANIST AND VIBRAPHONIST, FROM VANCOUVER. STUDIED CLASSICAL PIANO (1971-1973). 1978-1979 STUDIED WITH CECIL TAYLOR AND KARL BERGER AT THE CREATIVE MUSIC STUDIO IN WOODSTOCK, NY. IN 1977 FOUNDED NEW ORCHESTRA WORKSHOP (NOW). INTERPRETED MUSIC BY ORNETTE COLEMAN AND MAX ROACH (FREEDOM NOW SUITE). PLIMLEY RECORDED WITH CECIL TAYLOR, MARYLIN CRISPELL, ANDREW CYRILLE, HENRY KAISER, WEASEL WALTER, ANTHONY DAVIS, JOHN OSWALD, JOE McPHEE, LISLE ELLIS, BARRY GUY, SCOTT AMENDOLA AND OTHERS.
CATHAL COUGHLAN (61) / IRISH POST-PUNK SINGER SONGWRITER, KEYBOARDIST, FRONTMAN OF MICRODISNEY FORMED IN 1980 IN CORK. TO LONDON IN 1983, SIGNED TO ROUGH TRADE. SIX BBC PEEL SESSIONS (1983-1986). JOHN PEEL WAS A BIG CATHAL COUGHLAN FAN. THEIR 1985 ALBUM THE CLOCK COMES DOWN THE STAIRS GOT TO #1 IN THE UK INDIE CHART. IN 1988 MICRODISNEY SPLIT AND COUGHLAN STARTED THE FATIMA MANSIONS (1988-1995). A GREAT LYRICIST, FOR SOME HE WAS CONTROVERSIAL, ATTACKING RELIGION, AUTHORITIES, DICTATORS OR THE POPE. THE FATIMA MANSIONS MADE FIVE ALBUMS AND PLAYED AGGRESSIVE GIGS. IN 2018 AFTER 30 YEARS MICRODISNEY REUNITED SHORTLY.
MAY 22
HAKIM BEY (76) / AKA PETER LAMBORN WILSON, AMERICAN ANARCHIST WRITER AND POET. REPRESENTED POST-ANARCHISM AND INDIVIDUAL ANARCHISM. CREATED HIS OWN CONCEPT OF ONTOLOGICAL ANARCHY, TEMPORARY AUTONOMOUS ZONES (TAZ), ALSO IMMEDIATISM (THEORY OF LIBERATION).
MAY 25
MACIEJ WACŁAW (51) / AKA SCHIZMACIEK, SCHIZMAX OR MAX, POLISH HARDCORE PUNK VOCALIST AND GUITARIST. ALSO ENGLISH PHILOLOGIST, TRANSLATOR (TRANSLATED A BOOK ABOUT DRUG AND ALCOHOL HARM REDUCTION), RECORD COLLECTOR. STARTED IN THE PUNK ROCK BAND KOMPANIA KARNA. SINCE 1990 PLAYED IN THE BYDGOSZCZ HARDCORE BAND SCHIZMA, WHICH HE LEFT IN 2008. ALSO IN 666 ANIOŁÓW, PUNK ROCK AND ROLL BAND THE CUFFS, IN SPITE OF, OLD FASHIONED AND METAL IN EXIT. AS SCHIZMACIEK AND FRIENDZ MADE SOLO ALBUM ŻYĆ I UMRZEĆ W BDG. IN 2014 MADE A SHORT DOCUMENTARY ABOUT SCHIZMA "THE EVOLUTION OF THE REBELS"
JEAN-LOUIS CHAUTEMPS (90) / FRENCH JAZZ SAXOPHONIST. BEGAN WITH JEF GILSON, THEN CLAUDE BOLLING ORCHESTRA. WORKED WITH ALBERT NICHOLAS AND HENRI RENAUD, PLAYING WITH SIDNEY BECHET, LESTER YOUNG, ALBERT AYLER, DJANGO REINHARDT, ZOOT SIMS, ROY ELDRIDGE, BOBBY JASPAR. TOURED WITH CHET BAKER IN 1956. LATER WORKED WITH KURT EDELHAGEN, PHILLY JOE JONES, LEE KONITZ, BERNARD LUBAT, ANDRÉ HODEIR, NATHAN DAVIS, MARTIAL SOLAL, MICHEL PORTAL.
MAY 26
ALAN WHITE (72) / ENGLISH ROCK MUSICIAN, DRUMMER AND SONGWRITER, BEST KNOWN AS A MEMBER OF PROGRESSIVE ROCK BAND YES WITH WHOM HE PLAYED FOR 50 YEARS MAKING OVER 40 ALBUMS, JOINING IN 1972 AFTER BILL BRUFORD LEFT FOR KING CRIMSON. IN 1969 JOINED JOHN LENNON AND YOKO ONO'S PLASTIC ONO BAND AND MADETHE LIVE PEACE IN TORONTO 1969 AND THE 1971 IMAGINE ALBUM WITH JOHN LENNON (ALSO SINGLES "INSTANT KARMA!" AND "IMAGINE"). WORKED AND RECORDED WITH BILLY FURY, THE ALAN PRICE SET, GEORGE HARRISON (ALL THINGS MUST PASS), GINGER BAKER'S AIR FORCE, EDDIE HARRIS, STEVE WINWOOD, TERRY REID, TONY LEVIN, PAUL KOSSOFF, RICK WAKEMAN, STEVE HOWE, DONOVAN, CHRIS SQUIRE.
ANDY FLETCHER (60) / AKA FLETCH, ENGLISH ROCK MUSICIAN, KEYBOARD PLAYER, BASSIST, DJ,MANAGER AND FOUNDING MEMBER OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC BAND DEPECHE MODE. FIRST INFLUENCED BY EARLY PUNK, POST-PUNK, NEW WAVE BANDS, STARTED A GROUP WITH SCHOOL FRIEND VINCE CLARKE. IN 1980 MARTIN GORE JOINED THEM TO FORM A SYNTHESIZER TRIO AND CLARKE WAS THE MAIN SONGWRITER. SOON SINGER DAVE GAHAN JOINED, SUGGESTING A NEW NAME DEPECHE MODE AND VINCE CLARKE LEFT THE GROUP AFTER THE DEBUT ALBUM SPEAK & SPELL (1981). ANDY FLETCHER WAS THE ONLY MEMBER WHO DID NOT SING OR CONTRIBUTE TO SONGWRITING. AFTER THE 1993 DEVOTIONAL TOUR, DESCRIBED AS "THE MOST DEBAUCHED ROCK TOUR EVER" WITH GAHAN AND GORE ABUSING SUBSTANCES TO THE MAX, FLETCH HAD A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN AND ALAN WILDER LEFT THE BAND DISGUSTED. IN 2002 FLETCHER FOUNDED HIS OWN LABEL TOAST HAWAII, SIGNING ITS ONLY GROUP AN ALL-GIRL ELECTRONIC CLIEͶT. WAS ALSO A DJ SUPPORTING CLIEͶT, WHO LEFT IN 2006, AND TOURING EUROPEAN CLUBS IN 2015. DEPECHE MODE ARE A STRANGE PHENOMENON, INITIALLY JUST A SYNTH-POP ACT INFLUENCED BY KRAFTWERK, OMD, THE CLASH, SUICIDE, DAVID BOWIE, VELVET UNDERGROUND, DM HAD MANY FACES, FINALLY INFLUENCING LOTS OF PERFORMERS AS DIVERSE AS FEAR FACTORY AND SHAKIRA, ALSO PET SHOP BOYS, GARY NUMAN, NINE INCH NAILS, NO DOUBT, A PERFECT CIRCLE, MUSE, THE SMASHING PUMPIKNS, ARCADE FIRE, THE KILLERS, COLDPLAY, RAMMSTEIN, LINKIN PARK ETC. IN 2020 ANDY FLETCHER AND DEPECHE MODE WERE INDUCTED INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME. SOLD OVER 100 MILLION RECORDS.
MAY 29
STEVE BROUGHTON (72) / BRITISH MUSICIAN, ROCK DRUMMER AND FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND, PLAYING PROTO-PUNK, BLUES ROCK, PSYCHEDELIC ROCK. THEY STARTED IN WARWICK, ENGLAND IN 1968 AS A BLUES BAND BUT SOON DISCOVERED PSYCHEDELIC ROCK AND MOVED TO LONDON.
RONNIE HAWKINS (87) / AMERICAN-CANADIAN ROCK AND ROLL SINGER-SONGWRITER, CLUB OWNER, TALENT SCOUT AND MENTOR, ACTIVE FOR 65 YEARS, TWO DAYS YOUNGER THAN ELVIS PRESLEY. PLAYED ROCK AND ROLL BUT ALSO ROCKABILLY. HIS FIRST BAND THE HAWKS GAVE US ROY BUCHANAN, STAN SZELEST, PAT TRAVERS, ALSO LEVON HELM, ROBBIE ROBERTSON, RICK DANKO, RICHARD MANUEL, GARTH HUDSON, WHO LATER FORMED THE BAND AND ALSO BACKED UP BOB DYLAN (THE 1965 TOUR AND THE BASEMENT TAPES ALBUM). WORKED WITH JOHN LENNON AND YOKO ONO, WHO IN DECEMBER 1969, STAYED AT HIS HOUSE DURING THEIR WORLD PEACE CAMPAIGN. IN 1975 RONNIE HAWKINS PLAYED THE ROLE OF BOB DYLAN IN DYLAN'S FILM RENALDO AND CLARA AND IN 1976 PERFORMED AT THE BAND'S FAREWELL CONCERT FILMED BY MARTIN SCORSESE AS THE LAST WALTZ.
MAY 31
INGRAM MARSHALL (80) / AMERICAN COMPOSER, STUDIED WITH MORTON SUBOTNICK AND VLADIMIR USSACHEVSKY. EARLY 1970s WAS MORTON SUBOTNICK'S ASSISTANT AT CAL ARTS. DESCRIBED AS "POST-MINIMNALIST", HE CALLED HIMSELF "EXPRESSIVIST". INTERESTED IN WORLD MUSIC, BALINESE GAMELAN, AMERICAN MINIMALISM (INFLUENCED BY STEVE REICH, TERRY RILEY, JOHN ADAMS). WROTE ELECTROACOUSTIC PIECES, OFTEN PLAYING THEM (SYNTHESIZER, TAPE LOOPS, GAMBUH, VOICE, TAPE OR DIGITAL DELAY). WORKED WITH THE NORWEGIAN PHOTOGRAPHER JAMES BENGSTON. WROTE PIECES FOR THE KRONOS QUARTET AND ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA.