A Phil Brodie Band Muso Page
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2010
MEMORIALS
" Let us remember the great talent each possessed "



Harvey Fuqua
July 27th 1929 ~ July 6th 2010
The legendary soul singer, songwriter, record producer and record label executive Harvey Fuqua, founder of The Moonglows, has sadly died in a Detroit hospital of a heart attack at the age of 80.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, where he started a vocal group called the Crazy Sounds. Later, the group with Harvey as lead singer, along with Bobby Lester, Alexander "Pete" Graves, Prentiss Barnes, plus Billy Johnson on guitar moved to Cleveland, Ohio. An impressed rock & roll DJ Alan Freed, invited them on his radio show and concerts and in 1952, changing their name to The Moonglows Alan signed them to his Champagne Records label. The Moonglows eventually signed to Chess Records releasing their first single, "Sincerely" in November of 1954, which was an instant hit. Other hits between '55 & '57 included "Most of All", "See Saw", and "Please Send Me Someone To Love". In '58, the Moonglows were splitting up when Harvey met the Marquees, a young vocal group from Washington, DC, which included a young Marvin Gaye, who especially impressed him. Harvey formed a new Moonglow group with Marvin Gaye, Reese Palmer, James Knowland, Chester Simmons, and Chuck Barksdale of the Dells. Under the name of Harvey and the Moonglows they had a huge hit, "Ten Commandments of Love" in 1958. Soon after Harvey joined Anna and Gwen Gordy's record label Anna Records. He began working with Anna Gordy, Billy Davis, Lamont Dozier and Johnny Bristol. Helping Marvin to launch a solo career, introduced him to Anna's brother, Berry Gordy, and Harvey married the other sister Gwen Gordy. In 1961, with Gwen he started his own labels, Tri-Phi Records and Harvey Records, whose acts included the Spinners, Junior Walker and Shorty Long. A couple of years on, he was hired by Berry Gordy to head Motown's Artist Development department, he took with him Jr. Walker, Johnny Bristol, Tammi Terrell and the Spinners to Motown Records. Harvey left Motown Records in 1971, signing a production deal with RCA Records, having success particularly with the band New Birth. He also discovered disco pioneer Sylvester. The Moonglows reunited in '72, producing an LP, "The Return of the Moonglows". In 1982 he reunited with old friend Marvin Gaye to produce the singer's Midnight Love album which included the single "Sexual Healing". The Moonglows were honoured with the 1995 Pioneer Awards, inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, that same year Harvey set up his own Resurging Artist Records. He was also an Advisory Board member of The Rhythm and Blues Foundation, independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music.

Stuart Cable
May 19th 1970 ~ June 7th 2010
Welsh rock drummer, Stuart Cable, founder member and original drummer for the band Stereophonics has tragically been found dead at his home in Llwydcoed. It is said, 40 year old Stuart had been drinking with friends, and South Wales Police had ruled out any suspicious circumstances being involved in the death, but a post mortem is yet to be conducted to officially determine the exact cause of death. He is survived and sadly missed by his two children, his brother and mother.

Welsh rock drummer Stuart, born in Cwmaman near Aberdare, is maybe best known as the original drummer for the band Stereophonics. He along with childhood friends Kelly and Richard Jones began playing in a series of outfits in their early teens, playing classic rock and soul covers. They began writing and performing music in working men's clubs together in 1992 as a teenage covers band known as Tragic Love Company. The band later changing their name to The Stereophonics, after the manufacturer of a record player belonging to Stuart's father. In August 1997, the band released their first studio album, Word Gets Around, which reached No.6 in the UK charts, from which five singles were released. Afterwards, the band embarked on a successful world tour. In February 1998, the band received a BRIT Award for Best New Group. In 2002, Stuart was given his own TV chat show, Cable TV, by BBC Wales. This led to Stereophonic's 4th album "You Gotta Go There to Come Back" to be Stuart's last album with the band. In September 2003, sadly he was sacked by Stereophonics, according to reports, because of his lack of time and commitment to the band. He went on to concentrated on his career in media. In 2005, he co-hosted the Kerrang! Awards, and he also presented two shows on Kerrang! 105.2: the 'Cable and Caroline Show' on Sunday mornings and "The Rock 'n' Roll Years" on weekday mornings. In November 2007, he joined XFM South Wales and hosted weekend shows until the station was sold on 30 May 2008. In April 2010, Stuart returned to BBC Radio Wales as the presenter of Saturday Night Cable, a show playing both old and new rock music. Stuart had also been drumming in his new Welsh band, Killing for Company. They were the first band to play the new Liberty Stadium in Swansea, supporting The Who. Stuart was also temporary drummer for hard rock band Stone Gods in 2008, which is composed of former members of The Darkness.

Marvin Isley
August 18th 1953 ~ June 6th 2010
American bass player Marvin Isley, the youngest member of the American R&B band, the Isley Brothers, has sadley died, aged 56. He passed away at a hospice near his home in Chicago, from complications of diabetes from which he had suffered from for more than 20 years. Marvin is survived by a loving family, including his wife, a son and two daughters.

Marvin grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, and graduated from Dwight Morrow High School in 1972. He became the youngest member of the soulful Isley Brothers R&B group 1973. The original group formed in 1954 with the three eldest Isley brothers, O'Kelly Jr., Rudolph and Ronald, who recorded several singles, including "Shout", "This Old Heart of Mine" and the Grammy winning "It's Your Thing". In the late 1960s, Marvin formed a trio with older brother Ernie and brother-in-law Chris Jasper. By 1973, Marvin's group had joined the older half of the Isleys as its instrumentalists, when the Isley Brothers group officially expanded to six performers. This fuller group enjoyed massive radio airplay with hits, including "That Lady," "The Heat is On," "Go For Your Guns" and "Fight the Power". In 1984, the 3+3 lineup broke into two groups with the original Isleys carrying on as the Isley Brothers; while Marvin, Ernie and Chris formed Isley-Jasper-Isley, which released 3 albums and had a US No.1 R&B hit single, with "Caravan of Love". In 1991, Marvin returned as a member of the Isley Brothers and they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Marvin retired from performing five years later, and eventually diabetes led him to have both legs amputated


Ali-Ollie Woodson
September 12th 1951 ~ May 30th 2010
Ali-Ollie Woodson, who led the legendary Motown quintet The Temptations in the '80s and '90s and helped restore them to their hit-making glory has sadly passed away after battling leukemia for 18 months. The 58 year old musician leaves behind his wife, Juanita; two children Aj and Aliah Woodson; and a granddaughter.

Ali, singer, songwriter, keyboardist and occasional actor, was born Ollie Creggett, in Detroit, Michigan, but was raised in Town Creek, Alabama. The legendary, Bill Pinkney started Ali on the road at the age of 19, giving him a job as a keyboardist and then a vocalist for The Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters in the early 1970s. Ali became the lead singer of Motown's Temptations from 1984 to 1986, joining the group as a replacement for Dennis Edwards and again from 1988 to 1996. While in the group, he co-wrote, co-produced, and sang lead and played keyboards on the 1984 Temptations single "Treat Her Like a Lady," which was a No.2 hit on the U.S. R&B charts. His last Temptations album was 1995's "For Lovers Only", after which he began his solo career, and often toured with a Temptations-like revue called Ali-Ollie Woodson & the Emperors of Soul. In 2002, Ali toured with the Temptations in Japan in 2002 when member Barrington "Bo" Henderson was unable to accompany the group due to visa problems and from 2006 to 2008, he was in The Temptations Revue featuring Dennis Edwards. Also in 2008 he toured with Aretha Franklin.

Siphiwo Ntshebe
June 28th 1974 ~ May 25th 2010
South African opera singer, Siphiwo Ntshebe, a favourite of Nelson Mandela, has died unexpectedly at the age of only 35. Siphiwo, sadly died at Livingstone Hospital after contracting acute bacterial meningitis. He is survived by a lovimg family including his mother, Lulama, two brothers and a sister.

Born in the seaside city of Port Elizabeth, but because of bad political unrest when he was six, his parents sent him to stay with his grandparents in the Transkei, for three years. His grandfather was a Methodist minister and the young Siphiwo sang in the choir. Back with his parents, he joined the township men's choir at the age of 13 and at 16 he performed with an orchestra in Port Elizabeth. After attending Khwezilomso High School in the adjacent Zwide township, he studied music at the then University of Port Elizabeth. He won another music scholarship to study at Brisbane University in Australia and in 2004 was awarded a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music in London. In 2006 he performed in Berlin for the handover of the Fifa World Cup for South Africa 2010. Thereafter, he performed for the Duke of Edinburgh, for Nelson Mandela and Prince Albert in Monte Carlo, at the South African High Commission in London, with the choir of Christ's College, Cambridge at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, at the Royal Festival Hall in London and London's Wigmore Hall among many other international venues. His repertoire included Beethoven's Fidelio, Bizet's Carmen, all Mozart's operas, Puccini, Rossini and Verdi. Blessed with a superb tenor voice which drew comparisons to his hero Pavarotti, the former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela personally selected Siphiwo to perform at the opening ceremony for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Johannesburg, but sadly Siphiwo died just two weeks and a half before he was due to perform at the opening ceremonies on June 11th 2010.

Ronnie James Dio
July 10th 1942 ~ May 16th 2010
Rock hero and legend, Ronnie James Dio, one of the greatest voices in all of heavy metal, has sadly lost his brave fight with stomach cancer. He passed peacefully at the age of 67, leaving behind his wife and manager, Wendy Galaxiola and his son Dan, adopted in his previous marriage to Loretta Berardi.

Born Ronald James Padavona in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, American heavy metal singer, songwriter and muli-musician, had a career in music stretching over 53 years, performing with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio as well as working on many other musical projects including the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid. He was widely hailed as one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal, renowned for his consistently powerful voice and for popularizing the "devil's horns" hand gesture in metal culture. He initially played the trumpet, and French horn and recorded several singles with various rockabilly bands when he was a boy. When he was in high school, he joined a band called The Vegas Kings, as the bass guitarist. He eventually became the lead singer of this band, which changed its name to Ronnie & The Rumblers to Ronnie And The Red Caps and finally in 1961, they changed their name to Ronnie Dio and The Prophets. After the band split in 1967, he and Prophets guitarist Nick Pantas started a new band called the Electric Elves recording the single Hey, Look Me Over / It Pays To Advertise in 1967. Shortening their name to Elf in 1969, Ronnie released 5 albums with them, the last being Trying to Burn the Sun in 1975. Elf had become an opening act for Deep Purple, and in 1974, Ronnie was asked by Roger Glover to sing on his solo album 'The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast', after which guitarist Ritchie Blackmore who had just left Deep Purple and was looking for musicians for his first solo album, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, apart from guitarist Steve Edwards, he decided to use all of the musicians in Elf for this album, and the band Rainbow was thus formed, with Blackmore replacing Edwards. They released their début album 'Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow' in 1975. Ronnie recorded 3 more albums with Rainbow, before leaving to join Black Sabbath, replacing Ozzy Osbourne in '79. After many tours, projects, and also working with his own band Dio, on January 17th 2007, Ronnie was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame at Guitar Centre on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard. In 2005, Ronnie was revealed to be the voice behind Dr. X in Operation: Mindcrime II, the sequel to Queensrÿche's seminal concept album Operation: Mindcrime. More recently he had been collaborating on a project with former bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice, under the moniker 'Heaven & Hell', in 2008 the band completed a 98-date world tour and whose first and only studio album, The Devil You Know, was released on April 28th 2009. Ronnie was named "Best Metal Singer" at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in April 2010 for his work on The Devil You Know, making him the oldest recipient of this award at age 67. He accepted the award in person at what was sadly to be his final public appearance, he will be greatly missed ... RIP

Lena Horn
June 30th 1917 ~ May 9th 2010
American jazz singer and actress Lena Horne has sadly passed away in the New York–Presbyterian Hospital in New York City at the grand age of 92. Renowned for her beauty and sultry voice, Lena battled against racial segregation to become Hollywood's first black sex symbol. She leaves behind a loving family including her daughter Gail Jones, later known as Gail Lumet Buckley; a grandson, Teddy Jones and granddaughters, Lena Jones and Jenny Lumet. Tragically her son Edwin Jones died from kidney disease in 1970.

Lena was born in Brooklyn, New York, and spent much of her childhood with her grandparents. She joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and in 1934 she landed a small role in an all-black Broadway show Dance with Your Gods. In 1935 Lena became the featured singer with the Noble Sissle Society Orchestra, which performed at many first-rate hotel ballrooms and nightclubs. She left Sissle in 1936 to perform as a solo singer in a variety of New York City clubs before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the films Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather. Due to the Red Scare and her left-leaning political views, she found herself blacklisted and unable to get work in Hollywood. Returning to her roots as a nightclub performer, she headlined clubs and hotels throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. From the late 1950s through the 1960s, Lena was a staple of TV variety shows, appearing multiple times on Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dean Martin Show, The Bell Telephone Hour, The Judy Garland Show, The Hollywood Palace and The Andy Williams Show. Lena also starred in her own U.S. television special in 1969, Monsanto Night Presents Lena Horne. During this decade, the artist Pete Hawley painted her portrait for RCA Victor, capturing the mood of her performance style. In 1970, she co-starred with Harry Belafonte in the hour long Harry & Lena for ABC; in 1973, she co-starred with Tony Bennett in Tony and Lena. Lena and Bennett subsequently toured the U.S. and U.K. in a show together. A very memorable appearance was in the 1976 program America Salutes Richard Rodgers, where she sang a lengthy medley of Rodgers songs with Peggy Lee and Vic Damone. She also made several appearances on The Flip Wilson Show. Lena released around 32 albums over her career, famous for signature songs such as "Something to Live For", "Chelsea Bridge" and "Stormy Weather", and is a four time Grammy award winner, among her many other awards and honors. She announced her retirement in March 1980, but the following year starred in a one woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, which ran for more than three hundred performances on Broadway, and earned her numerous awards and accolades, Lena continued recording and performing sporadically well into the 1990s.

Malcolm McLaren
January 22nd 1946 – April 8th 2010
The godfather of punk, impresario Malcolm McLaren, has passed away in a Swiss Clinic after a brave battle with cancer. The charismatic 64 year old prankster and former manager of the Sex Pistols sadly leaves behind his girlfriend Young Kim and his son to ex-wife Vivienne Westwood, Joseph Ferdinand Corré.

Malcolm had been attracted early in his life to the Situationist movement, which promoted absurdist and provocative actions as a way of enacting social change. In 1968 Malcolm had tried unsuccessfully to travel to Paris to take part in the demonstrations there. He was raised by his grandmother, Rose, in Newington Green, North London, who home-schooled him and fed him slogans such as "To be bad is good... to be good is simply boring" and after having been expelled from several art colleges, he opened a clothes shop on the King's Road, with his future wife, Vivienne Westwood in 1971. The shop, which had a few names before becoming "Sex", became a focal point of the fledgling punk movement. It was here that he first encountered a young John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten of the future Sex Pistols. After a trip to New York in 1972, he brought back exciting images in his mind, images to add to, and blast on to the British public, images of this distressed, strange thing called Richard Hell, and the phrase, 'the blank generation'. Malcolm credits American musician Richard Hell, an originator of the punk fashion look, the first to spike his hair and wear torn, cut and drawn-on shirts, often held together with safety pins, as a definite, 100% inspiration, for his accessorized clothing he sold in his London shop, and the Sex Pistols' look and attitude. In 1975, he breifly worked with The New York Dolls, though he never actually managed them. The kind of provocative stunts Malcolm would later make work for the Sex Pistols blew up in the Dolls' faces. Dressing the band in red leather with a big Soviet flag stage backdrop provoked the outrage on which he thrives, but in the US was no substitute for the original sex-drugs outrage of glam rock. By 1976, back in the UK, he had started to manage The Strand, the band who would later become the Sex Pistols. As the manager of the punk band the Sex Pistols, he achieved the notoriety he sought, when the band's anti-establishment single "God Save The Queen", released during the Queen's Silver Jubilee, was banned from the airwaves by the BBC and the Independent Broadcasting Authority, and they became one of the most notorious acts in British music history. The band released their album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols in October 1977 and played their last UK gig before embarking upon an American tour in January 1978. This tour saw the band split up after a series of arguments. Malcolm was also accused by band members (most notably by John Lydon) of mismanaging them and refusing to pay them when they asked asked him for money. In 1979 he was approached by Adam Ant to manage Adam and the Ants following their debut album release, after which three members of the band seceded to create Bow Wow Wow under Malcolm's management; concurrently, Malcolm managed Adam Ant finding new band members for Adam and the Ants and worked on this new sound. Later, he also managed Jimmy The Hoover, formed in 1982. 1983, sees Malcolm launching a solo career for himself, debuting with "Duck Rock", an album which mixed up influences from Africa and the Americas, including hip-hop. The album proved to be highly influential in bringing hip-hop to a wider audience in the UK. He released 16 albums over the next 26 years, as well as being invoved in countless writings, music, TV and film projects. Malcolm had kept his illness quiet and stayed very active until the end of February 2010, when his tumour became very aggressive. In February he had travelled to New York for the launch of an art book before returning to Switzerland for more treatment at a clinic.
Quote: To create a magnificent failure is to create the best kind of picture: a picture that really drives and changes things. Because when you see a picture and you say, “That’s a very beautiful picture,” it is instantly forgettable. A picture that is a magnificent failure actually breathes life and allows the culture to change. If you have perfection, there is nowhere to go. With perfection there is no communication. You have nothing to access. The disasters are what bring life and allow us to connect. That’s the magic .... Malcolm McLaren

Johnny Maestro
May 7th 1939 ~ March 24th 2010
American legenary rock 'n' roll and doo-wop singer Johnny Maestro, who fronted the Crests with the classic hit "16 Candles" and has also fronted The Brooklyn Bridge for over four decades has sadly died at the age of 70 after bravely battling cancer. He leaves behind a loving family, loyal friends and many fans.

Born John Mastrangelo in New York, his career which spanned over 50 years began in 1957 as the original lead singer of The Crests, one of the first interracial groups of the recording industry. After a regional hit with "My Juanita"/"Sweetest One", and two years of chart success with "16 Candles", "Step by Step", "The Angels Listened In", and "Trouble in Paradise", Johnny left the Crests for a solo career, with Top 40 hits "What A Surprise" and "Model Girl" in 1961 and 1962. He next joined and toured with another New York group, as lead singer, called the Del-Satins. In 1967 he and the Del-Satins joined forces with the 7 piece brass group The Rhythm Method, calling themselves the Brooklyn Bridge. Their first release, a version of the Jimmy Webb song "The Worst That Could Happen" reached No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart. The follow up, "Welcome Me Love", and its flip side, Blessed is the Rain, both charted. A dramatic version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and the controversial "Your Husband, My Wife" also reached the middle ranges of the charts. The group sold over 10 million records by 1972, including LP sales. Appearances on Ed Sullivan, The Della Reese Show and other programs helped to bring the group to the national stage. Johnny with the Brooklyn Bridge continued to perform and tour until his passing, but on a scaled down size after their haydays. More recently, Johnny and the Brooklyn Bridge were featured in one of PBS's biggest fundraising events ever, "Doo Wop 50", performing both "The Worst That Could Happen" and "Sixteen Candles", the entire program was released on VHS and DVD. In 2004 they released a CD titled "Today", featuring more re-recordings of their hits and versions of other groups' songs of the 1950s and 60's and in 2005, the Brooklyn Bridge released a full concert-length DVD as part of the "Pops Legends Live" series. Johnny recorded his last album with the Brooklyn Bridge in 2009, "Today Volume 2". His final performance was January 17th 2010, when The Brooklyn Bridge was among groups appearing at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, billed as "The Ultimate Doo-Wop Party". They were honoured in 2005 being inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame, and again in 2006 when they were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15th

Micky Jones
June 7th 1946 ~ March 10th 2010
Welsh singer and guitarist with the legendary Welsh pychedelic, progressive rock, blues and country-rock band "Man", Micky Jones, has passed away peacefully at the age of 63. Sadly Micky has been in hospital over the last 5 years due to the re-occurrence of a brain tumour. He leaves behind a loving family and legacy in his son, George, who plays guitar in the current lineup of Man and with The Spectaculars.

Charles Michael Jones from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales has played in every incarnation of the rock band Man until his illness in 2002 and again in 2005. In 1960, whilst still at school, Micky formed his first band The Rebels who played cover versions of the hits of the day, before he formed his first professional band The Bystanders in 1962. He adopted for the stage name of Mike Martin and later Mike Steel. They released eight singles, including "98.6" in February 1967, which featured in the 2009 film, The Boat That Rocked and "When Jesamine Goes", written by their manager Ronnie Scott and 60's pop star Marty Wilde who went under the pseudonyms of Frere Manston and Jack Gellar. The classic line up was Micky Jones-guitar, Ray Williams-bass, Jeff Jones-drums, Clive John-keyboards and Vic Oakley-vocals, but by 1968, the band, other than Oakley, wanted to change musical direction, to a more psychedelic/American west coast guitar sound, so Oakley was replaced by Deke Leonard and the band changed its name to Man. They were initially signed to Pye Records, for whom they recorded their first two albums, "Revelation" noted for the simulated orgasm on "Erotica", which received a UK ban, and "2 Ozs of Plastic with a Hole in the Middle". At this time, Man were also recording three demo sessions a week for Leeds Music, including Down the Dustpipe which they taught to Status Quo. Their manager, Barry Marshall of rock band Bitter Suite, obtained a new record contract with United Artists Records, for whom the band recorded the eponymous Man album, and got their media break when outperforming Soft Machine, Yes and Family at a concert in Berlin, but they continued to play on the continent, playing with the likes of Harkwind, Badfinger, and Frank Zappa. Man recorded the first of their three Peel Sessions on 29 August 1972, the others being 18 September 1973 & 31 October 1974. After Man played their farewell gig at Slough 's Fulcrum Theatre on December 16th 1976, Micky pusued a solo career, recording some demos with John McKenzie, Malcolm Morley and Derek Ballard. In 1978 he formed the Micky Jones Band, with Tweke Lewis on guitar, drummer Steve Dixon, Al McLaine on bass and keyboardist Steve Gurl. Micky worked on other projects with The Attack (1979-1980), Manipulator/The Acidtones (1980-1981), The Flying Pigs (1980-1982 & 1987), Mary Whitehouse Experience (1986-1990), The Penetrators (1991-2005), Contraband (1991-2005), The Valves (2004–2005), and both The Silverbirds, and The Amoebas. He has also made guest appearences with Total Beach Boys, George Jones Band, The Muffinmen and worked with the likes of John Cipollina, Peter Singh and Clodagh Rogers on The Two Ronnies. As well as all his projects, "Man" reformed in 1983, with Micky and Deke Leonard on guitars, their first studio album was The Twang Dynasty, which included the track "Fast and Dangerous" which was used on trailers for Paul Whitehouse’s Fast Show. Throughout Micky and Man's history they had a stunning 409 releases on 71 labels, in 24 countries. In 2002 Micky was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had to take time off for treatment. A true trooper till the end in 2004 Micky was back with Man and his other projects but tragically the following year his health deteriorated again due to the re-occurrence of his brain tumour and so sadly Micky remained in hospital for the next 5 years where he passed away peacefully ... Rest In Peace.
John Burtenshaw is currently writing a book about the life of this amazing but sometimes sadly over-looked musician Micky Jones. Any information please email john.burtenshaw1@ntlworld.com

Mark Linkous
1962 ~ March 6th 2010
Sadly, Mark Linkous multi-musician, singer songwriter of Sparklehorse, has taken his own life. Tragically the talented 47 year old musician shot himself in the heart while in Knoxville, Tennessee. He leaves behind his wife Teresa, his parents, and three brothers.

American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist born in Arlington, Virginia, celebrated for his beautiful, haunting and melancholy music; he graduated from high school in the early 1980s and moved to New York City, where he co-founded the band Dancing Hoods. They released a self-titled EP in 1984, followed by their debut album "12 Jealous Roses" in 1985. In 1988 "Baby's Got Rockets", a single from their "Hallelujah Anyway" album, became a college radio hit. Mark and the band relocated to Los Angeles, but broke up shortly after their move. He moved back to Virginia, and formed the alternative rock band Sparklehorse, releasing their first album, "Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot" in 1995. In 1996, while touring Europe with Radiohead, Mark accidentally overdosed on a combination of anti-depressants, valium, alcohol, and heroin in a London hotel room. A potassium build up in his body caused his heart to stop for several minutes, which left him wheelchair-bound for six months, and he had surgery seven times to save his legs. Despite the ordeal, he and Sparklehorse went on to record five more albums, the last being "In the Fishtank" in September 2009. Four of their albums.. "Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot", "Good Morning Spider", "It's a Wonderful Life", and "Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain" charted in the UK. Mark was also known for his collaborations with artists such as Thom Yorke, David Lowery, Vic Chesnutt, Daniel Johnston, Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, The Flaming Lips, Iggy Pop, Dangermouse, Nina Persson, Kurt Wagner, Gruff Rhys, James Mercer, Dave Fridmann, Joan Wasser, John Parish, Adrian Utley, Sol Seppy, Christian Fennesz, David Lynch, Frank Black, Suzanne Vega, Jason Lytle, Julian Casablancas and he also established the Static King Studio in Hayesville, North Carolina. Mark had recently completed most of the work for a new Sparklehorse album and was in the process of moving to Knoxville and setting up a new studio to complete the album.

Sir John Dankworth
September 20th 1927 ~ February 6th 2010
English jazz icon, composer, saxophonist, clarinetist and musical arranger, Johnny Dankworth, has sadly died in King Edward VII Hospital, London after being ill for several months. At the age of 83, he leaves behind a close and loving family including his wife jazz singer Cleo Laine, their son jazz bassist, Alec and their daughter, jazz singer Jacqui.

Johnny Dankworth was born in Woodford, Essex, playing piano and violin from an early age, but inspired by Johnny Hodges, he took up the alto saxophone. After winning a place at the Royal Academy of Music aged 17, and following a short stint in the Army, he was voted British Musician of the Year in 1949. That same year he attended the Paris Jazz Festival, where he played with the legendary Charlie Parker. Johnny and future his wife Cleo met in 1950, while he was auditioning for singers with his band, the Dankworth Seven. The band performed at the Birdland jazz club in New York and shortly afterwards shared the stage with the Duke Ellington Orchestra for a number of concerts. They also performed at a jazz event at New York’s Lewisohn stadium where Louis Armstrong joined them for a set. By now, Cleo Laine's singing was a regular feature of Dankworth's recordings and public appearances and they married in 1958. In the 1960s, he scored such films as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, The Servant and Modesty Blaise and wrote the theme tunes for The Avengers and Tomorrow's World. Recordings during this period featured many other respected jazz names. Some were full-time members of the Dankworth band at one time or another, like Tony Coe, Mike Gibbs, Peter King, Dudley Moore, John Taylor and Kenny Wheeler, while others such as Dave Holland, John McLaughlin, Tubby Hayes and Dick Morrissey were occasional participants. During this active period of recording, the Dankworth band nevertheless found time for frequent live appearances and radio shows, including tours in Britain and Europe with Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan and Gerry Mulligan, and concerts and radio performances with Lionel Hampton and Ella Fitzgerald. He and wife Cleo founded their charity, the Wavendon Allmusic Plan, in 1969. In the 70s and 80s, Johnny was appointed CBE in 1974, he continued his friendship with Duke Ellington until the Dukes death in 1974, after which he recorded an album of symphonic arrangements of many Ellington tunes featuring another Ellingtonian trumpeter Barry Lee Hall. He also performed with the Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Duke’s son, Mercer Ellington. In this period Johnny recorded various symphonic albums with Dizzy Gillespie and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra to mention a few. Other jazz musicians with whom he performed include George Shearing, Toots Thielemans, Benny Goodman, Herbie Hancock, Hank Jones, Tadd Dameron, Slam Stewart, and Oscar Peterson. In 1985 he founded the London Symphony Orchestra Summer Pops In 1993 he formed the Dankworth Generation Band, with his son Alec. Johnny was also a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and received the Freedom of the City of London in 1994. He always had an enthusiasm for jazz education, for many years running the Allmusic summer schools at The Stables in Wavendon, a theatre created by him and his wife, Cleo, in their back garden. Johnny was knighted in 2006 for services to music and Sir John remained an active composer into later life, and he wrote a jazz violin concerto for soloist Christian Garrick to play. This work had its world premier in Nottingham on 1 March 2008 in partnership with the Nottingham Youth Orchestra. In October last year Sir John fell ill at the end of a US tour with his wife, Cleo Layne. The couple cancelled a number of UK concert dates for the following month, but Sir John did return to the concert stage at the London Jazz Festival, playing his saxophone from his wheelchair at the Royal Festival Hall and also played at John & Cleo's Christmas Show on the 17 December at The Stables. On the day of Sir John's death a pre-arranged show at The Stables bravely went ahaed. The concert which featured performances from Dame Cleo and the couple's jazz musician children Alec and Jacqui, along with celebrities Paul O'Grady, Prunella Scales, Maureen Lipman, Timothy West and Victoria Wood turned the concert into a celebration of Sir John's life. Dame Cleo did not brake the sorrowful news to the 400 strong audience until the finale.

Kate McGarrigle
February 6th 1946 ~ January 18th 2010
Canadian singer songwriter and folk music musician Kate McGarrigle has sadly passed away at the age of 63 after battling cancer since the summer of 2006. She leaves behind a loving family, two sisters Jane and her life long singing partner sister Anna, and a son and daughter, both fine legacies to her, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, who like their mother, are singers.

Kate and her sister Anna were born in Montreal, but grew up in the Laurentian Mountain village of Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, Quebec. They learnt the piano from the nuns in St. Sauveur and as schoolgirls in the Laurentians, they heard and learned French-Canadian folk songs from listening to the radio and early pop from the records of their older sister Jane. They were inspired too, by the harmonizing of the Everly Brothers. In the early 60s Kate and Anna, as the McGarrigle Sisters, sang around the local gig scene before forming the Mountain City Four with Peter Weldon and Jack Nissenson, a group that drew on traditional music sources ranging from British ballads to the blues and to the Canadiana songs of Wade Hemsworth. By the early 70s Kate had also taken up songwriting with songs such as "Cool River", "Lying Song", "Papa Tried To Make Me Sing", "Home, Sweet Home and Aura Lee", "Camptown Races and Susanna, Don't You Cry", "Gentle Annie" and "When I Was a Little Thing". She would sometimes draw of older songs, such as writing about learning Stephen Foster works, as in The Work Song, recorded by Maria Muldaur on her self titled album in 1973. They attracted attention and had a big break in 1974 when Linda Ronstadt recorded their song "Heart Like a Wheel" as the title track for one of her albums. This led to the McGarrigle Sisters, to record their debut album 1975 "Kate and Anna McGarrigle," which was chosen by Melody Maker as Best Record of the Year. Other artists who covered the pair's songs include Emmylou Harris, Billy Bragg, Kirsty MacColl, Judy Collins and Elvis Costello. Their albums Matapedia in 1997 and The McGarrigle Hour in 1999, both won Juno Awards. Kate wrote and recorded over 10 albums and played countless performances with her sister, Anna, her lifelong singing partner. In 1993, Kate was made a Member of the Order of CanadaIn and in 1999 Kate and Anna both received Women of Originality awards and were honoured in 2006 by SOCAN with Lifetime Achievement awards. Kate made her last public appearance six weeks ago at a concert with her children Rufus and Martha Wainwright at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The show raised £33,600 ($55,000) for the Kate McGarrigle Fund, which she set up in 2008 to raise awareness of sarcoma, a rare cancer that affects connective tissue such as bone, muscle, nerves and cartilage.


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