2010’s in Review – Goodbye, Beloved Artists
The Song of the Day is:
Amy Winehouse – “A Song For You”
From the posthumous album Lioness; Hidden Treasures (2011)
I’ve been so many places in my life and time
I’ve sung a lot of songs
I’ve made some bad rhymes
I’ve acted out my life in stages
With ten thousand people watching
But we’re alone now
And I’m singing this song to youLeon Russell
I had this entry, a tribute to those who’ve left us this decade, all ready to publish. This was supposed to be an impersonal tribute, but then I received the news that my parents-in-law have determined that it is time to put their 16 year-old golden retriever down. He’s been a terrific dog with the most pleasant demeanor one could hope for, loyal beyond description and adorable even into old age. He was super protective of my wife through both pregnancies and always respectful of the babies when they arrived. As Junior grew, he did his best to play with the young child, even though I’m sure there were parts of his old body that would rather be left to rest. Junior got to say goodbye, though I’m not sure he grasped the total magnitude of the loss. Cats are always thought to have nine lives, but this dog has made that his rule. He’d have stretches of days where that final visit to the vet would seem inevitable, and then bounce back and run around like a puppy for a week. We wasn’t sick at the end, his body had just given it’s all, so he was humanely put to sleep. I can’t imagine how my in-laws must feel returning to their house without that familiar presence. Thankfully, they do have another, younger, dog to find comfort in, but it’s never the same. Goodbye good dog, fare well on your travels across the rainbow bridge!
Elsewhere…
It would be foolish to imagine a whole decade passing and not having to say goodbye to a wealth of talented individuals. The 2010’s brought us many shocking and unexpected, as well as some inevitable, musicians who passed away. I fear that with the advancing age of so many classic artists, the next decade may be even more devastating. Dare I say that soul divas were hit hardest with the losses of Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, Amy Winehouse, Etta James, Natalie Cole, two Staple Singers sisters, Sharon Jones and the incomparable Aretha Franklin. Of course the guys didn’t fare too much better, with the passages of B.B. King, Teddy Pendergrass, Percy Sledge, Solomon Burke, Bobby Blue Bland, Ben E. King, Bobby Womack, Allen Toussaint, Joe Cocker, and the some of the last remaining members of the Spinners and the Dramatics. The loss of Chuck Berry and Fats Domino (and his writing partner Dave Bartholomew) leave us with just Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard as the remaining pillars of rock and roll’s first generation. Heck, the loss of Scott Weiland and Chris Cornell pretty much leaves Eddie Vedder as the sole superstar vocalist of the grunge era. Reunion hopes for Cream, the Allman Brothers, the Neville Brothers, the Monkees, Devo, and Emerson Lake & Palmer have been dashed due to the passages of multiple members, as well as the entire classic lineup of Motorhead. Many new rappers, such as Mac Miller, Fredo Santana, Nipsey Hussle, XxXTentacion, Lil Peep, and Juice Wrld died too young too truly establish their legacies. An amazing coupling of Shirley Temple, Patty Andrews, Doris Day and Patti Page can now be assembled in heaven. Singularly unique singers, such as Leonard Cohen, Captain Beefheart, JJ Cale, Lou Reed, Leon Redbone, Leon Russell, George Jones, Dr. John, Gil-Scott Heron, Ronnie James Dio, Ric Ocasek and Levon Helm have now left us. And so have world class musicians such as Pinetop Perkins, Ornette Coleman, Johnny Winter, Donald Duck Dunn, Clarence Clemons, Jeff Hanneman, Dick Dale, Ginger Baker, Chris Squire, Walter Becker, Malcolm Young, Billy Taylor, Gary Moore, Earl Scruggs. Beatle mentors Ravi Shankar and George Martin lived long lives, and have gladly left behind much of their great wisdom. And of course, there were the unexpected losses of Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, George Michael, the aforementioned Whitney Houston, Tom Petty, Prince and David Bowie, that seemed almost unimaginable.
Today, “A Song for You” to all our beloved musicians. I could think of no better song than this modern-day standard written by Leon Russell (d. 2016) and sung by this decade’s most significant addition to the 27 Club, Amy Winehouse (d. 2011). The song is considered to be Leon Russell’s signature song, and the Isaac Hayes-worthy arranged performance by Amy Winehouse was the final song on her posthumous compilation Lioness. To get an idea of just how many artists have performed this song, I’ve attached numerous videos below of performances by many artists highlighted in this tribute. But first, an incomplete list of the losses that the music world suffered from 2010 to 2019.
2010
Teddy Pendergrass, Jay Reatard, Herb Ellis, Dale Hawkins, Alex Chilton of The Box Tops and Big Star, Guru of Gang Starr, Garry Shider and Catfish Collins of P-Funk, Lena Horne, Ronnie James Dio of Rainbow and Black Sabbath, Henry Fuqua, Jimmy Dean, Marvin Isley of the Isley Brothers, Eddie Fisher, Teena Marie, Solomon Burke, Gregory Isaacs, Captain Beefheart, Billy Taylor
2011
Gerry Rafferty, Gary Moore of Thin Lizzy, Mike Starr of Alice in Chains, Nate Dogg, Gerard Smith of TV on the Radio, Phoebe Snow, Carl Gardner of the Coasters, Marshall Grant of Johnny Cash’s Tennessee Two, Pinetop Perkins, Gil-Scott Heron, Clarence Clemons of the E Street Band, Amy Winehouse, Nicholas Ashford, Jerry Leiber, Hubert Sumlin, Dobie Gray, Howard Tate, Sylvia Robinson, Mickey Welsh of Weezer, Heavy D
2012
Bob Weston of Fleetwood Mac, Etta James, Whitney Houston, Davy Jones of The Monkees, Earl Scruggs, Dick Clark, Levon Helm, Joel Goldsmith, Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, Donna Summer, Donald “Duck” Dunn of Booker T. & the MGs, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, Doc Watson, Chris Ethridge of the Flying Burrito Brothers, Bob Welch of Fleetwood Mac, Kitty Wells, Marvin Hamlisch, Hal David, Andy Williams, Dave Brubeck, Ravi Shankar
2013
Patti Page, Donald Byrd, Benjamin Curtis of School of Seven Bells, Reg Presley of The Troggs, Mindy McCready, Van Cliburn, Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, Clive Burr of Iron Maiden, Alan Myers of Devo, Richie Havens, George Jones, Jeff Hanneman of Slayer, Bobby Blue Bland, JJ Cale, George Duke, Lou Reed, Jim Hall, Lord Infamous of Three 6 Mafia, Ray Manzarek of the Doors, Chris Kelly of Kris Kross, Phil Ramone, Cleotha Staples of the Staple Singers, Patty Andrews of the Andrews Sisters
2014
Shirley Temple, Jay Traynor of Jay & The Americans, Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers, Anna Gordy Gaye, Bob Casale of Devo, Franny Beecher of Bill Haley & the Comets, Frank Reed of the Chi-Lites, Scott Asheton of the Stooges, Pete Seeger, Bobby Womack, Dave Brockie of Gwar, Frankie Knuckles, Tommy Ramone of the Ramones, Johnny Winter, Ian McLagan of the Small Faces and the Faces, Jack Bruce of Cream, Bobby Keys, Joe Cocker
2015
B.B. King, Little Jimmy Dickens, Lesley Gore, Allen Toussaint, Lemmy Kilmister and Phil Taylor of Motorhead, Koopsta Knicca of Three 6 Mafia, Ben E. King, Percy Sledge, James Horner, Chris Squire of Yes, Lynn Anderson, Billy Joe Royal, Natalie Cole, Cynthia Robinson of Sly & the Family Stone, Cory Wells of Three Dog Night, Louis Johnson of the Brothers Johnson, Errol Brown of Hot Chocolate, Ornette Coleman, Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver
2016
Otis Clay, David Bowie, Glenn Frey of the Eagles, Maurice White of Earth Wind & Fire, George Martin, Keith Emerson and Greg Lake of Emerson Lake & Palmer, Frank Sinatra Jr., Merle Haggard, Lonnie Mack, Prince, Billy Paul, Guy Clark, Christina Grimmie, Ralph Stanley, Scotty Moore, Alan Vega of Suicide, Toots Thielemans, Johnny Rebel, Prince Buster, Rod Temperton, Jean Shepard, Bobby Vee, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, Mose Allison, Sharon Jones, George Michael
2017
Bobby Freeman, Junie Morrison of the Ohio Players, Butch Trucks and Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, Clyde Stubblefield, Al Jarreau, Larry Coryell, James Cotton, J. Geils of the J. Geils Band, Chuck Berry, Chris Cornell, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, Glen Campbell, Walter Becker of Steely Dan, Don Williams, Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry, Tom Petty, Robert Knight, Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip, Daisy Berkowitz of Marilyn Manson, Fats Domino, Luis Bacalov, Lil Peep, Malcolm Young of AC/DC, Charles Bradley, Mel Tillis, Della Reese, David Cassidy of the Partridge Family, Johnny Hallyday, Keely Smith
2018
Rick Hall, Ray Thomas of the Moody Blues, Denise LaSalle, Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries, Edwin Hawkins, Fast Eddie Clark of Motorhead, Fredo Santana, Hugh Masekela, Mark E. Smith of the Fall, Dennis Edwards of the Temptations, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Nokie Edwards of the Ventures, Craig Mack, Randy Scruggs, Avicii, Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers, Jabo Starks, Eddy Clearwater, D.J. Fontana, Clarence Fountain of the Blind Boys of Alabama, Matt Guitar Murphy, XxXTentacion, Vinnie Paul of Pantera, Joe Jackson (Jackson family patriarch), Richard Swift, Aretha Franklin, Ed King of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Conway Savage of the Bad Seeds, Mac Miller, Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane, Otis Rush, Geoff Emerick, Wah Wah Watson, Tony Joe White, Roy Clark, Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks, Nancy Wilson, Ray Sawyer of Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, Yvonne Staples of the Staple Singers
2019
Daryl Dragon of Captain & Tennille, Pegi Young, James Ingram, Lorna Doom of Germs, Peter Tork of the Monkees, Mark Hollis of Talk Talk, Andre Previn, Hal Blaine, Dick Dale, Scott Walker, Nipsey Hussle, Keith Flint of the Prodigy, Doris Day, Leon Redbone, Art Neville of the Neville Brothers, Dave Bartholomew, Roky Erickson, Dr. John, Bushwick Bill of the Geto Boyz, João Gilberto, Johnny Clegg, David Berman of the Silver Jews, Daniel Johnston, Eddie Money, Ric Ocasek of the Cars, Robert Hunter of the Grateful Dead, Ginger Baker of Cream, George Chambers of the Chambers Brothers, Lord Burgess, Juice Wrld, Marie Fredericksson of Roxette, Allee Willis, Jerry Herman
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