Monday, March 20th
passings
Chuck Berry, October 18, 1926-March 18, 2017, guitar player, singer, songwriter
“Roll Over Beethoven” (C. Berry), live (TV show), France, 1958
*****
the beat goes on
2,600 posts—and counting.
music clip of the day
jazz/blues/rock/classical/gospel/more
Category: passings
2017
2017
Thursday, February 23rd
passings
Walter “Junie” Morrison, keyboard player, singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, etc., 1954-January 21, 2017
Keyboards and vocals, with Parliament-Funkadelic, “Into You,” live, Passaic, New Jersey, 1978
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Questlove, Instagram post:
The Great Junie Morrison. So inspirational. All the #OhioPlayers westbound era funk that birthed #Voodoo & #BlackMessiah: #Junie. Those adlibs on Hov’s “#BrooklynsFinest & #Tribe‘s #ScenarioRemix is Junie. All the Warner Era #Funkadelic songwriting wizzardry #OneNationUnderAGroove & #UncleJamWantsYou (he co-wrote #NotJustKneeDeep) even #Parliament‘s #MotorBootyAffair & #Gloryhallastoopid. His ideas birthed and ushered in the G-Funk era (all that synthy #FunkyWorm synth yall associate w gangsta rap/Dre’s sound? That’s #JunieMorrison. Even his #SuzieThundertussy in its tales of “Lost Angeles” were the backdrop on Ye’s bright light for #TLOP‘s #NoMorePartiesInLA. Solange even gave him props on #Junie (“jump on it” for those that call it the “Jump on it song Dre3000 sings on)—this man was an uncelebrated unsung unchampioned whose ideas we just took and took and took. I regret so much not having a “proper” conversation about his journey. His songwriting. His technology innovations. Man. This STINGS. Rip #Junie.
2017
Tuesday, February 21st
passings
Clyde Stubblefield, drummer, April 18, 1943-February 18, 2017
“Funk Thing” (with Fred Wesley, trombone; John Scofield, guitar; John Medeski, organ; Fred Thomas, bass), 1999
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“Funky James Brown” (with John “Jabo” Starks, drums)
2017
Monday, February 13th
passings
Al Jarreau (aka Alwin Lopez Jarreau), March 12, 1940-February 12, 2017, singer
“Take Five” (P. Desmond), live (TV performance), Germany, 1976
(Taking a break—back in a while.)
2017
Saturday, January 21st
passings
Some drumming is solid. Some, like this, liquid.
Charles “Bobo” Shaw, drummer, September 15, 1947-January 16, 2017
With Lester Bowie (trumpet, MCOTD Hall of Fame), “Bugle Boy Bop” (Bugle Boy Bop, recorded 1977; released 1983)
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York)
Helen Levitt (MCOTD Hall of Fame), New York, c. 1940
2016
Friday, December 30th
only rock ‘n’ roll
What a way to close out a life—with some of the strongest work of your career.
David Bowie (January 8, 1947–January 10, 2016), Blackstar (January 8, 2016)
“Lazarus”
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“Blackstar”
2016
Sunday, December 18th
more
Joe Ligon (September 11, 1942-December 11, 2016) with the Mighty Clouds of Joy, “I Don’t Feel No Ways Tired” (J. Cleveland), live, Charleston, S.C., 1996
2016
Tuesday, December 13th
passings
Joe Ligon [AKA Willie Joe Ligon], singer, September 11, 1942-December 11, 2016
Today, remembering him, we revisit a few favorites.
*****
October 18, 2010
“I’ve Been in the Storm Too Long,” live, Albertina Walker Memorial Service, Chicago, 10/14/10
Like a lot of impromptu performances, this starts a little shakily; but then it builds, builds, builds.
*****
May 27, 2012
two takes
“Steal Away To Jesus” (with the Mighty Clouds of Joy)
TV show (TV Gospel Time), early 1960s
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Live, South Carolina (Charleston), 1996
*****
December 20, 2015
old school
“I’m Glad About It” (with the Mighty Clouds of Joy), live, Houston, 1967
*****
Gospel singers don’t retire, you know, they just die doing what they do.
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
2016
Monday, November 21st
passings
Sharon Jones, singer, May 4, 1956-November 18, 2016
With the Dap-Kings, live, Seattle, 2016
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
2016
Sunday, November 20th
passings
Leon Russell, singer, songwriter, piano player, April 2, 1942-November 13, 2016
“His Eye Is on the Sparrow” (C. Martin, C. Gabriel), 2013*
*****
*Recorded in tribute to Sherman Halsey (video director and producer, artist manager).
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