MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN MAY 2023
MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN MAY 2023
MAY 19
PETE BROWN (82) / ENGLISH PERFORMANCE POET, LYRICIST, SINGER, FOUNDER OF HIS BANDS PETE BROWN & HIS BATTERED ORNAMENTS AND PETE BROWN & PIBLOKTO!, BUT ESPECIALLY REMEMBERED FOR HIS WORK WITH CREAM AND JACK BRUCE AND ALSO WITH GRAHAM BOND, PHIL RYAN, DAVEY GRAHAM, MICK TAYLOR, MAGGIE BELL, ARTHUR BROWN. WROTE SCRIPTS AND OWNED A FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY. IN THE 1960s PETE BROWN WAS A PART OF THE LIVERPOOL POETRY SCENE. ON 16 JUNE 1964 PETE BROWN WAS THE FIRST POET TO PERFORM AT THE MORDEN TOWER IN NEWCASTLE, BEGINNING THE NEWCASTLE POETRY REVIVAL. SUPPORTED BRITISH BEAT POETRY WORKING WITH MICHAEL HOROVITZ (NEW DEPARTURES) AND THEY BOTH TOOK PART IN THE NOW LEGENDARY INTERNATIONAL POETRY INCARNATION AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL ON 11 JUNE 1965 ALONG WITH ALLEN GINSBERG, ANDREI VOZNESENSKY, WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS, GREGORY CORSO, ALEXANDER TROCCHI, TOM McGRATH, ERNST JANDL, GEORGE MacBETH AND OTHERS. AMONG 7,000 LISTENERS WAS INDIRA GANDHI AND THE EVENT WAS DOCUMENTED BY THE UNDERGROUND ROCK / COUNTERCULTURE FILMMAKER PETER WHITEHEAD (WHOLLY COMMUNION). IN THE LATE 1960s PETE BROWN FORMED THE FIRST REAL POETRY BAND WITH JOHN McLAUGHLIN, BINKY McKENZIE, LAURIE ALLAN. FOR CREAM HE WROTE LYRICS FOR SUCH FAMOUS SONGS AS "SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE", "WHITE ROOM", "I FEEL FREE", "SWLABR". IN 2007 WROTE LYRICS FOR GARY BROOKER AND PROCOL HARUM. JOHN McLAUGHLIN AND POST-PUNK BLURT WROTE SONGS ABOUT PETE BROWN.
ANDY ROURKE (59) / ENGLISH INDIE ROCK BASS GUITARIST. PLAYED ALSO GUITAR AND CELLO. BEST KNOWN AS A MEMBER OF THE SMITHS WHOM HE JOINED AFTER THEIR FIRST GIG IN 1982. PLAYED ON THE SMITHS' ALL FOUR STUDIO ALBUMS. IN 1986 ROURKE WAS FIRED FROM THE SMITHS BECAUSE OF HIS HEROIN ADDICTION. HE WAS ARRESTED FOR SUBSTANCE POSSESSION. THE BAND WENT TO COURT WITH THE ROYALTIES DISPUTE. LATER, IN 1999 ROURKE WAS DECLARED BANKRUPT. AFTER THE BAND SPLIT ROURKE AND THE SMITHS' DRUMMER MIKE JOYCE WORKED WITH SINÉAD O'CONNOR, BRIX SMITH OF THE FALL, MUSICIANS FROM THE STONE ROSES, OASIS, HAPPY MONDAYS. ROURKE HIMSELF WORKED WITH THE PRETENDERS, IAN BROWN, BADLY DRAWN BOY. IN 2007 FORMED SUPERGROUP FREEBASS WITH PETER HOOK (JOY DIVISION, NEW ORDER) AND MANI (PRIMAL SCREAM, THE STONE ROSES). IN 2009 MOVED TO NYC AND FORMED POST-PUNK D.A.R.K. WITH DOLORES O'RIORDAN. 2006-2009 ORGANISED VERSUS CANCER CONCERTS. ANDY ROURKE WAS ACCLAIMED FOR HIS MELODIC BASS PLAYING (E.G. ON "BARBARISM BEGINS AT HOME" FROM MEAT IS MURDER).
MAY 22
KIRK ARRINGTON (61) / AMERICAN ROCK DRUMMER, A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN HEAVY METAL BAND METAL CHURCH FORMED IN SAN FRANCISCO IN 1980 AND FIRST CALLED SCHRAPNEL. METAL CHURCH PLAYED THRASH / SPEED METAL. ARRINGTON WAS A PART OF THE BAND'S CLASSIC LINEUP WHO MADE THE FIRST TWO ALBUMS METAL CHURCH (1984) AND THE DARK (1986). LARS ULRICH WHO WAS AUDITIONED BY THE CHURCH LEADER KURDT VANDERHOOF BEFORE METALLICA, LATER RECOMMENDED THEM TO ELEKTRA AND SO THEY WERE SIGNED. ARRINGTON MADE SEVEN ALBUMS WITH METAL CHURCH AND TWO WITH VANDERHOOF AND LEFT THE BAND IN 2006 DUE TO PROBLEMS WITH DIABETES.
MAY 23
REDD HOLT (91) / AMERICAN JAZZ AND SOUL DRUMMER. STARTED PLAYING WITH HIS HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS RAMSEY LEWIS AND ELDEE YOUNG. STILL AT HIGH SCHOOL PLAYED WITH LESTER YOUNG. IN THE 1950s RECORDED WITH JAMES MOODY AND EARL BOSTIC. MADE 13 ALBUMS WITH ELDEE YOUNG (YOUNG-HOLT UNLIMITED) AND 25 WITH THE RAMSEY LEWIS TRIO. ONE OF THEM, THE IN CROWD BECAME THEIR BIGGEST HIT (#1 ON THE BILLBOARD R&B CHART AND #2 ON THE TOP 200) AND GOT GRAMMY IN 1966 AND THE TITLE TRACK SINGLE WAS INDUCTED INTO THE GRAMMY HALL OF FAME IN 2009. SAMPLED OVER 200 TIMES BY HIP HOP ARTISTS LIKE DE LA SOUL OR KENDRICK LAMAR.
MAY 24
TINA TURNER (83) / BORN ANNA MAE BULLOCK, AMERICAN-BORN SWISS SINGER, DANCER, ACTRESS, AUTHOR. SHE STARTED HER CAREER IN 1957 WITH HER FUTURE HUSBAND AND HIS BAND IKE TURNER'S KINGS OF RHYTHM. WITH HIM SHE RECORDED SUCH GREAT HITS AS "RIVER DEEP - MOUNTAIN HIGH", "PROUD MARY", "NUTBUSH CITY LIMITS". THEY SPLIT IN 1976 AND TWO YEARS LATER THEY DIVORCED. IKE TURNER WAS SUCH A VIOLENT, ABUSIVE AND UNFAITHFUL HUSBAND THAT TINA ATTEMPTED SUICIDE IN 1968. AFTER HER CAREER BREAKDOWN, TINA TURNER EXPERIENCED AN AMAZING COMEBACK IN THE EARLY 1980s WITH HITS LIKE "WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT" (GRAMMY FOR THR RECORD OF THE YEAR), "PRIVATE DANCER", "WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER HERO", "THE BEST", "TYPICAL MALE", "I DON'T WANNA FIGHT", "BETTER BE GOOD TO ME", "GOLDEN EYE" BECOMING ONE OF THE BEST-SELLING ARTISTS OF ALL TIME. TINA GOT 12 GRAMMY AWARDS AND ACTED IN FILMS TOMMY (1975), MAD MAX (1985). SHE WAS A BUDDHIST.
BILL LEE (94) / AMERICAN JAZZ MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, CONDUCTOR, ACTOR. PLAYED DOUBLE BASS AND BASS GUITAR. FATHER OF FILM DIRECTOR SPIKE LEE. WROTE MUSIC FOR SPIKE LEE'S FILMS LIKE SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT (1986), SCHOOL DAZE (1988), DO THE RIGHT THING (1989), MO' BETTER BLUES (1990). BILL LEE RECORDED WITH DUKE ELLINGTON, JOHNNY GRIFFIN, BOB DYLAN, ARETHA FRANKLIN, ODETTA, JOSH WHITE, JOHN LEE HOOKER, HARRY BELAFONTE, BURT BACHARACH, CAT STEVENS, SIMON AND GARFUNKEL, CLIFFORD JORDAN, PAT MARTINO, JOHN HANDY, RICHARD DAVIS, STANLEY COWELL, RAY BRYANT, HAROLD MABERN, CHUCK LOEB AND ANDY LaVERNE, MIKE BLOOMIELD, PETER, PAUL AND MARY, JUDY COLLINS, GORDON LIGHTFOOT, TOM PAXTON, ARLO GUTHRIE, ERIC BIBB. BILL LEE IS THE ONLY MUSICIAN PLAYING ON THE FAMOUS BOB DYLAN SONG "IT'S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE".
MAY 31 (THE ACTUAL DATE UNKNOWN)
DICKIE HARRELL (82) / AMERICAN ROCK AND ROLL DRUMMER, KNOWN FOR HIS WORK WITH THE BLUE CAPS, GENE VINCENT'S BACKING GROUP (HE WAS THE YOUNGEST MEMBER). IN 1956 GENE VINCENT AND THE BLUE CAPS MADE THE TOP TEN HIT "BE-BOP-a-LULA", AN IMPORTANT EARLY ROCKABILLY SONG. IN 2012 DICKIE HARRELL WAS INDUCTED INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME AS A MEMBER OF THE BLUE CAPS.
Previous page: MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN APRIL 2023
Next page: MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN JUNE 2023