MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN DECEMBER 2018
MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN DECEMBER 2018
DECEMBER 1
SHAN GOSHORN (61) / EASTERN BAND CHEROKEE ARTIST WORKING WITH MULTI-MEDIA TO DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON NATIVE AMERICANS. SHAN USED SILVERSMITHING, PAINTING, PHOTOGRAPHY AND CREATED INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL, COLORFUL, INTRIGUING WOVEN PAPER BASKETS WITH CHEROKEE DESIGNS COMBINED WITH IMAGES, DOCUMENTS, MAPS ETC. DEALING WITH THE HISTORY AND TODAY'S LIFE OF NATIVE AMERICANS. ONE OF THEM, TITLED TEN LITTLE INDIANS, IS ESPECIALLY MOVING. IT HAS TWO PHOTOGRAPHS OF TEN INDIAN BOYS: ONE SHOWING THEM FREE WITH TRADITIONAL HAIR STYLES AND THE OTHER IN STANDARD MILITARY UNIFORMS AND CROPPED HAIR AND BEING "CIVILIZED". THE PICS ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THE SHOCKING LYRICS OF THE WHITE INVADERS' CHILDREN'S SONG "10 LITTLE INDIANS" FROM 1868. SOME EXCERPTS: "one got executed and then there were nine, one got syphilis and then there were eight, one shot the other and then there was one, one broke his neck and then there were six, one chopped himself in half and then there were six, one dead drunk and then there were three, one passed out drunk and then there were two, one shot himself and then there was one, he went and hanged himself and then there were none.”
CALVIN NEWBORN (85) / AMERICAN JAZZ GUITARIST, THE YOUNGER BROTHER OF JAZZPIANIST PHINEAS NEWBORN JR. THEY RECORDED TOGETHER 1953-1958 AND HAD AN R&B BAND WITH THEIR FATHER PHINEAS NEWBORN SR. (1947-1951) WHICH RECORDED WITH B.B. KING ON HIS FIRST DATE IN 1949. NEWBORN TAUGHT HOWLIN' WOLF PLAY AND WAS FRIENDS WITH YOUNG ELVIS PRESLEY. LATER CALVIN NEWBORN PLAYED WITH EARL HINES, LIONEL HAMPTON, JIMMY FOREST, WILD BILL DAVIS, FREDDIE ROACH, THEN WITH MODERN PLAYERS LIKE BOOKER LITTLE, GEORGE COLEMAN. RECORDED WITH SOME OF THEM AND WITH SUN RA, BOBBY HUTCHERSON, SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON II.
JODY WILLIAMS (83) / AMERICAN BLUES GUITARIST AND SINGER. INNOVATIVE AND HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER. INITIALLY A HARMONICA PLAYER, HE SWITCHED TO GUITAR AFTER HEARING BO DIDDLEY, WHO BECAME HIS FIRST TEACHER. BY 1951 THEY PLAYED TOGETHER ON THE STREET. WILLIAMS GOT EVEN MORE EXPERIENCE PLAYING WITH MANY BLUES GREATS LIKE MEMPHIS MINNIE, ELMORE JAMES, OTIS SPANN. AT CHESS RECORDS WHERE HE WORKED AS A SESSION MUSICIAN, WILLIAMS MET HOWLIN' WOLF AND IN HIS BAND WORKED WITH HUBERT SUMLIN. BEGAN SOLO CAREER IN 1955 WITH "LOOKIN' FOR MY BABY". HIS LEAD GUITAR SOLOING ON BO DIDDLEY'S "WHO DO YOU LOVE?" BECAME A LEGEND. IN THE 1950's PLAYED FAMOUS LEADS FOR BILLY BOY ARNOLD, JIMMY ROGERS, JIMMY WITHERSPOON, OTIS RUSH, SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON II. SOME OF HIS INVENTIVE RIFFS WERE COPIED (OTIS RUSH) SOME STOLEN (MICKEY BAKER) A TYPICAL SHOW BIZ THEFT THAT LATER WAS ADOPTED EVEN BY SOME SO-CALLED INDEPENDENT PUNK LABELS. APPARENTLY DISAPPOINTED, BY THE END OF THE 1960's, HE RETIRED FROM MUSIC, STUDIED ELECTRONICS AND BECAME AN ENGINEER FOR OVER 25 YEARS. ALREADY A PENSIONER, JODY WILLIAMS RETURNED TO PLAYING GIGS AT THE 2000 CHICAGO BLUES FESTIVAL, MOVED BY HIS FRIEND ROBERT LOCKWOOD'S GIG EARLIER THAT YEAR. IN 2002 MADE A COMEBACK ALBUM RETURN OF THE LEGEND.
DECEMBER 2
PERRY ROBINSON (80) / AMERICAN JAZZ CLARINETIST AND COMPOSER, THE SON OF THE COMPOSER EARL ROBINSON WHO WROTE BALLAD FOR AMERICANS WHICH INCLUDED LEGENDARY SONG JOE HILL. PERRY'S FIRST ALBUM WAS FUNK DUMPLING ON SAVOY IN 1962 WITH KENNY BARRON, HENRY GRIMES, PAUL MOTIAN. HE LATER MADE TEN MORE AND ABOUT SEVENTY AS A SIDEMAN. PERRY ROBINSON RECORDED WITH ALLEN GINSBERG, ARCHIE SHEPP, THE FUGS, DAVE BRUBECK AND HIS SONS, CARLA BLEY, CHARLIE HADEN, DON CHERRY, JACK BRUCE, JEANNE LEE, GUNTER HAMPEL, ANETTE PEACOCK, BADAL ROY, STANLEY CLARKE, ROSWELL RUDD, RAY ANDERSON, LESTER BOWIE, CHARLES TYLER, MARION BROWN, PHILLIP WILSON, ARTHUR BLYTHE, JOHN CARTER, JOHN TCHICAI, WILLIAM PARKER, BURTON GREENE, LIBERATION MUSIC ORCHESTRA, JAZZ COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA.
DECEMBER 6
PETE SHELLEY (63) / ENGLISH SINGER, SONGWRITER AND GUITARIST. IN LATE 1975, WITH HOWARD DEVOTO STARTED A PUNK BAND CALLED BUZZCOCKS. STEVE DIGGLE WAS THE GUITARIST AND JOHN MAHER THE DRUMMER. THEIR DEBUT WAS IN JULY 1976 WHEN THEY SUPPORTED THE SEX PISTOLS IN MANCHESTER. DEVOTO LEFT IN 1977 AND SHELLEY WAS THE MAIN SINGER SONGWRITER. IN SEPTEMBER 1976 THEY PLAYED AT THE TWO-DAY 100 CLUB PUNK FESTIVAL IN LONDON WITH THE CLASH, THE DAMNED, THE VIBRATORS, THE SEX PISTOLS, SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES, SUBWAY SECT AND STINKY TOYS FROM PARIS. IN THE 70's RECORDED THREE IMPORTANT ALBUMS: ANOTHER MUSIC IN A DIFFERENT KITCHEN (1978), LOVE BITES (1978) AND A DIFFERENT KIND OF TENSION (1979). THEN BUZZCOCKS HAD AN EIGHT-YEAR BREAK. IN 1980 PETE SHELLEY RELEASED HIS SOLO DEBUT ALBUM SKY YEN, (RECORDED AS EARLY AS 1974) AND THEN NEXT FIVE ALBUMS. WORKED WITH MANY MUSICIANS AND BANDS INCLUDING THE EXPERIMENTAL TRIO THE TILLER BOYS AND THE POST-PUNK STUDIO BAND THE INVISIBLE GIRLS (TO BACKUP PUNK POET JOHN COOPER CLARKE) WITH JOY DIVISION'S PRODUCER MARTIN HANNETT AND BILL NELSON OF BE-BOP DELUXE. IN 2002 SHELLEY AND DEVOTO RECORDED BUZZKUNST, AN ALBUM COMBINING ELECTRONIC MUSIC AND PUNK. AFTER 1989 BUZZCOCKS REFORMED A COUPLE OF TIMES. IN 2005 PETE SHELLEY RE-RECORDED EVER FALLEN IN LOVE AS A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE DJ LEGEND JOHN PEEL WITH ROGER DALTREY, DAVE GILMOUR, PETER HOOK, ELTON JOHN, ROBERT PLANT WITH ALL THE PROFITS GOING TO THE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL.
DECEMBER 7
THE MASCARA SNAKE (70) / (REAL NAME: VICTOR HAYDEN) AMERICAN PAINTER AND MUSICIAN, A COUSIN OF CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AKA DON VAN VLIET. MASCARA JOINED BEEFHEART'S MAGIC BAND IN 1969 AND PERFORMED ON HIS ALBUM TROUT MASK REPLICA (PRODUCED BY FRANK ZAPPA). HIS PAINTING WAS USED ON THE COVER OF BLUEJEANS & MOONBEAMS, THE 1974 BEEFHEART ALBUM.
DECEMBER 13
NANCY WILSON (81) / AMERICAN SINGER OF R&B, BLUES, JAZZ, SOUL, POP. IN 1959, ENCOURAGED BY JULIAN CANNONBALL ADDERLEY, MOVED fROM OHIO TO NYC TO START A SINGING CAREER. CAPITOL RECORDS SIGNED HER IN 1960 AND RELEASED A SUCCESSFUL DEBUT SINGLE "GUESS WHO I SAW TODAY". IN 1962 RECORDED ALBUM NANCY WILSON AND CANNONBALL ADDERLEY (WITH A NATIONAL R&B HIT SONG "SAVE YOUR LOVE FOR ME"). LATER WAS ALSO ON ADDERLEY'S ALBUM IN PERSON (1968). 1964-1965 WILSON HAD FOUR ALBUMS ON BILLBOARD'S TOP 10 AND HER SINGLE "(YOU DON'T KNOW) HOW GLAD I AM" PEAKING AT 11 ON BILLBOARD'S HOT 100. RECORDED WITH HANK JONES, RAMSEY LEWIS, GEORGE SHEARING, JOE HENDERSON, TEDDY EDWARDS, HAROLD LAND, JIMMY COBB, WILD BILL DAVIS, JOE PASS, EDDIE GOMEZ, STANLEY CLARKE, CHICK COREA. WON THREE GRAMMIES (1965, 2005, 2007).
DECEMBER 18
GALT MacDERMOT (89) / CANADIAN-AMERICAN COMPOSER, PIANIST, WRITING FOR MUSICAL THEATRE, FILM, INTERESTED IN JAZZ, FUNK AND CLASSICAL MUSIC. HIS FIRST GRAMMY AWARD WAS FOR HIS SONG "AFRICAN WALTZ" RECORDED BY JULIAN CANNONBALL ADDERLEY. HIS MUSICAL HAIR IS A CLASSIC AS ARE SOME SONGS FROM THE SHOW LIKE "AQUARIUS", "LET THE SUNSHINE IN", "GOOD MORNING STARSHINE". WORKED WITH JAZZ MUSICIANS LIKE BERNARD PRETTY PURDIE, IDRIS MUHAMMAD, JIMMY LEWIS (THE DRIFTERS). VERY POPULAR WITH HIP-HOP SAMPLING ARTISTS E.G. BUSTA RHYMES, RUN DMC.
DECEMBER 23
HONEY LANTREE (75) / (BORN ANNE LANTREE) ENGLISH MUSICIAN, PLAYED DRUMS WITH THE BEAT GROUP THE HONEYCOMBS. SHE ALSO PLAYED GUITAR AND SANG. SHE STARTED CAREER AS A HAIRDRESSER AND THE SALON OWNER, AN AMATEUR MUSICIAN HIMSELF, HAD INSTRUMENTS. SO SHE TRIED DRUMMING AND DISCOVERED SHE HAD NATURAL TALENT. THEY GOT HONEY'S BROTHER ON BASS GUITAR AND OTHERS AND FORMED THE SHERATONS. PYE RECORDS MADE THEM CHANGE THE NAME TO THE HONEYCOMBS AND ANNE BECAME HONEY. JOE MEEK PRODUCED THEIR SINGLE "HAVE I THE RIGHT?" (JUNE 1964). IT WAS MADE POPULAR BY THE PIRATE STATION RADIO CAROLINE AND SOON REACHED No. 1 IN UK (ONE MILLION COPIES). THEIR FOURTH SINGLE "SOMETHING BETTER BEGINNING" WAS WRITTEN BY RAY DAVIES FROM THE KINKS.
DECEMBER 24
JAMES CALVIN WILSEY (61) / AMERICAN MUSICIAN. PLAYED BASS GUITAR WITH SAN FRANCISCO PUNK BAND THE AVENGERS (1977-1979). RECORDED AN EP WE ARE THE ONE WITH THEM IN 1977 AND AVENGERS EP IN 1979.
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