Musical News - Keith Wilder of Heatwave

Keith Wilder of Heatwave passed away of natural causes on October  29, 2017, at the approximate age of 65. Keith and his brother Johnnie (of Dayton, OH), along with Rod Temperton (England), Mario Mantese (Switzerland), Ernest Berger (Czechoslovakia), Eric Johns (Jamaica) and Roy Carter (Britain), formed Heatwave in 1975. The group was hugely successful until 1983, when they disbanded. They were known for several club hits such as “The Groove Line” (1978), “Boogie Nights” (1977) and the monstrous “Always and Forever” (1976).

Keith was singing in a band in his native Dayton when his brother called upon him to join the Chicago Heatwave in London. The rest, as they say, is history.

The band reconstituted in 1988 and again in the mid-1990s, with only Keith Wilder as an original member. I guess one could say he was drawn to the music. Keith was predeceased in death by his brother Johnnie in 2006 and by Rod Temperton in 2016.

As much as I love music I cannot really say I have a very favorite group, but Heatwave was certainly one of my favorite groups in the latter half of the 1970s, definitely my favorite decade.

I and millions of other fans will love Heatwave’s “Always and Forever” always!

 

 

 

Keith Wilder [c. 1950 – 10/29/2017]
© 10/31/2017

Musical News - Antoine "Fats" Domino

Antoine “Fats” Domino Jr., rock and roll pioneer, died at the age of 89 on October 24, 2017, of natural causes. He was born in New Orleans, LA on February 26, 1928. His father was a well known violinist and Fats learned to play the piano at an early age. At 19, he joined the Solid Senders, a band led by Billy Diamond, who gave him the nickname “Fats”.

During the early years of his career, he had at least five hit records which sold over a million copies, and ultimately he had 35 songs on the U.S. Billboard Top 40 list. “Ain’t That a Shame” (1955) crossed over onto the pop charts, and was covered by other artists. He in turn covered “Blueberry Hill” (1956), which reached no. 1 on the R&B charts. It sold over 5 million copies worldwide. Over the course of his career, he sold more than 110 million records.

In the 1980s, Fats declared his dislike for touring, stating that he could not get any food that he liked anywhere else other than Louisiana. He lost everything he owned during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and was temporarily housed in Baton Rouge and in Harvey, LA while his home was being restored.

Fats was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, one of the first musicians inducted. He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. In 1998, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. January 12, 2007 was declared the "Fats Domino Day” in New Orleans. Fats was awarded the Offbeat Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award, also in 2007. He was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame and into the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame. His Medal of Arts was replaced after Katrina, as well as his lost gold records.

While visiting New Orleans in 2015, I went to the Louisiana State Museum (formerly the Presbytère) across from Jackson Square, wherein one of Domino’s personal pianos was housed.

In this instance, the word “legend” doesn’t quite cover it.

 

 Fats Domino [02/26/1928 – 10/24/2017]

© 10/25/2017

 

Musical News - Rick Stevens of Tower of Power

Rick Stevens, one-time lead singer of Oakland’s own Tower of Power, has died as of September 5, 2017. He died of liver cancer at the age of 77. His first recording with the band was on their debut album “East Bay Grease” on one of my personal favorites, “Sparkling in the Sand” from 1970. He led the group for their recording of the smash “You’re Still a Young Man,” and I can still hear his voice singing it with so much emotion, from the one and only time I saw the band live, way back in 1972.

Stevens left Tower of Power after recording vocals on “What is Hip” and “So Very Hard to Go, but his vocals were re-recorded after his departure. Since leaving Tower of Power, Stevens encountered hardships in his life and was released from prison in 2012. He resumed his singing career with Rick Stevens and Love Power, and in 2013, he sat in onstage with his former group, leading “You’re Still a Young Man.”

Stevens, having spent several of his best years imprisoned, perhaps did not live the life that was intended for him, but for me, his voice will live on.

 

 

Rick Stevens [1940 — 09/05/2017]
© 09/05/2017

Musical News - Walter Becker of Steely Dan

Walter Becker, guitarist, vocalist, and co-founder of the jazz rock band of the 1970s, Steely Dan, passed away on September 3, 2017, at the age of 67. Steely Dan had a unique sound and filled a unique niche that appealed to me and millions of others, with such songs as “Peg,” on which Michael McDonald provided vocals, “Deacon Blues,” and “FM (No Static at All)”. I loved several of their songs, many of which were quirky to say the least, but my favorite for personal reasons was “Hey, Nineteen.”

Steely Dan was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, after having sold more than 40 million albums over their career. Steely Dan was noted as one of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Donald Fagen, who formed Steely Dan along with Becker, has pledged to "keep the music we created together alive as long as I can.” I know their music will remain alive for me as long as I still have a memory of the most fabulous decade of my life!
 

Walter Becker [02/20/1950 – 09/03/2017]
© 09/05/2017

 

Musical News - Cuba Gooding Sr. of The Main Ingredient

I was just listening to The Main Ingredient this past week. Little did I know that it was a foreshadowing of events to occur in just a few days.

Today it was announced that Cuba Gooding Sr., lead singer of The Main Ingredient (and father of actors Omar and Cuba Gooding Jr.), died in Woodland Hills of a possible drug overdose. Cuba Sr. was 72 years of age.

Cuba Sr. stepped into the role of lead singer of The Main Ingredient in 1971, upon the unexpected death of Don McPherson of leukemia.

In 1971, The Main Ingredient released its breakout hit Everybody Plays the Fool, with Cuba Sr. singing lead. The song made number 2 on the R&B chart and sold over one million copies. It was their biggest hit, followed in 1974 by Just Don't Want to Be Lonely, which also sold over one million copies.

Cuba Sr. left The Main Ingredient in 1977 to pursue a solo career. His Happiness is Just Around the Bend was a solid success in 1983. He also had a minor acting career, following in the footsteps of his sons.

Cuba Sr. had a unique and most memorable voice, and it will live on in our musical memories.

 

 R.I.P. Cuba Gooding Sr. [1944 — 2017]
© 04/20/2017

Musical News - Chuck Berry

The terrible news just reached me that rock and roll legend Chuck Berry passed away on March 18, 2017 at the tender age of 90!

Charles Edward Anderson Berry was born in St. Louis, MO on October 18, 1926. He was interested in music at a young age, and first performed publicly in high school.

Berry had several hits throughout the 1950s and 1960s, such as Maybellene (1955), Roll Over Beethoven (1956), Johnny B. Goode (1958), and No Particular Place to Go (1964). He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during its  inaugural year (1986). He received accolades for “having laid the groundwork for… a rock and roll sound”. He was one of the most influential musicians of the genre.

Mr. Berry received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1984, and is honored in several of Rolling Stones magazine’s greatest of all times lists.

Mr. Berry appeared in several movies about his style of music, and his music was featured in the 1994 movie Pulp Fiction. He is now gone, but his music will never be forgotten.

 

Chuck Berry [1926 – 2017]

© 03/18/2017
 

Musical News - Joni Sledge of Sister Sledge

Joni Sledge of the popular 1970s group Sister Sledge has died on March 10, 2017 at the age of 60. The cause of her death in Phoenix, AZ has not yet been announced.

Joni and her sisters Debbie, Kim and Kathy formed the group in 1971 in their hometown of Philadelphia, PA. They practiced their craft for several years before hooking up with Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of the group Chic. Nile and Bernard co-wrote and produced the 1979 Sister Sledge album We Are Family, which produced the singles The Greatest Dancer as well as We Are Family.

Although Kathy Sledge left the Sisters for a solo career in 1989, the remaining trio continued to perform until as recently as October 2016, including a performance at the White House in 2000, and for Pope Francis in 2015.

Sister Sledge is one of the defining acts of the 1970s, and they will never be forgotten.
 

Joni Sledge [1956 — 2017]

© 03/11/2017
 

Musical News - Walter "Junie" Morrison of Ohio Players and Parliament-Funkadelic

Producer, writer, keyboardist, and vocalist Walter “Junie” Morrison, part of the funk band Ohio Players in the early 1970s, was reported dead in February 2017 (exact date of death undetermined) at the age of 62. He began by playing piano in church in Dayton, OH at the age of 5.

Junie was a part of the Ohio Players, beginning when he graduated from high school, and was instrumental in putting together the Ohio Players albums Pain (1972), Pleasure (1972), and Ecstasy (1973). He primarily wrote and arranged the 1973 gold certified smash hit, Funky Worm.

In 1974, Junie left the Ohio Players to pursue solo projects.

In 1977, Junie joined P-Funk as musical director, where he made important contributions to the album One Nation Under a Groove, and especially to the single (Not Just) Knee Deep (1979). Junie produced some P-Funk material under the pseudonym J.S. Theracon. He produced other artists and contributed to P-Funk albums through the 1990s. As a part of Parliament-Funkadelic, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
 

In 1980, Junie revived his solo career.

In 2016, Solange Knowles released a song entitled Junie (inspired by Junie Morrison), on her Grammy award winning album A Seat at the Table.
 

Walter “Junie” Morrison [1954 — 2017]
© 02/18/2017

Musical News - Al Jarreau

Soulful singer Alwin Lopez Jarreau has passed away today (February 12 2017) at the age of 76. Mr. Jarreau had been hospitalized recently and declared that he was retiring from the road, due to exhaustion. His cause of death is yet undetermined.

Mr. Jarreau was born on March 12, 1940 in Milwaukee, WI. He came from a musical family, and they performed together when he was a child. He went on to earn a master's degree in vocational rehabilitation and work a regular job, while singing nights with a band led by George Duke. He made music his primary career in 1968.

Al won seven Grammy Awards during his 50-year-plus career, in the categories of jazz, pop, and R&B. He was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001.

Al's most popular album was Breakin' Away (1981) which contained the single of that name, as well as We're in This Love Together. He also wrote and performed the title song Moonlighting for the 1980s television show. His vocals were included in several popular movies.

What I remember most about Al Jarreau is that my good friend from junior high school is crazy about him. Every time I hear his voice, I think of her. Just to be loved by you....
 

Al Jarreau [1940 – 2017]
© 02/12/2017