Musical News - Nancy Wilson

Greetings!

Nancy Sue Wilson was born on February 20, 1937 in Chillicothe, OH and died on December 13, 2018 at the age of 81.

Sometimes known as Fancy Miss Nancy, she won a talent contest at the age of 15, which led to her performing on and then hosting a weekly radio show.

In 1964, Miss Nancy recorded “(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am”, which made it to no. 11 on Billboard’s Top 100. (I remember that song so well because we had it in our living room on vinyl when I was very young.) She debuted “Guess Who I Saw Today” in 1962, and it is another of my favorites.

The inimitable Miss Nancy won three Grammy Awards over five decades for the albums “How Glad I Am” (1965), R.S.V.P (Rare Songs, Very Personal) (2005), and “Turned to Blue” (2007). She won numerous and varied other awards, such as the NAACP Image Award, a Trumpet Award for Outstanding Achievement, and an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship Award. She was granted a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was inducted into the Big Band  and Jazz Hall of Fame. For a decade, she hosted the NPR Jazz Profiles program.

My daughter attended high school with Miss Nancy’s daughter in the 1990s, and when Miss Nancy came to town, my daughter and I saw her at Kimball’s East. I only regret that I did not accompany my daughter backstage when I had the opportunity to meet this lovely lady.

 

Nancy Sue Wilson (1937 – 2018)

Musical News - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul

The legendary Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin has died on August 16 2018 at the age of 76. She had been suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Aretha was born on March 25, 1942 in Memphis, TN to the Reverend C. L. Franklin. Almost from the beginning, she sang and played the piano in her father’s church choir at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, MI. She developed into a fantastic gospel singer, sometimes traveling on the road with Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers. In the early 1960s she recorded standards, jazz, blues, doo-wop, and rhythm and blues.

In 1960 at the age of 18, Aretha began singing R&B music. She signed a contract with Atlantic Records and from the beginning of her reign in the 1960s, she recorded a number of hits, such as “I Never Loved a Man,” “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man,” and the ever popular “Respect,” all from 1967. Aretha’s special voice and delivery were a part of the sound track of my childhood.

Aretha won a total of 18 Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, becoming the first female inductee. Throughout her career, she was awarded numerous honors, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1979 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. She is listed on the Rolling Stones 100 greatest artists of all time. In 2014, an asteroid was named in her honor. In 2017, a street in Detroit was renamed Aretha Franklin Way. She had a total of 20 number one hits during her lifetime.

Queen Aretha performed before presidents and queens and Super Bowl audiences, never failing to impress. Over the course of her decades long career, Aretha sold more than 75 million records worldwide.

All hail the Queen! She is already missed.

 

Aretha Louise Franklin [03/25/1942 – 08/16/2018]

© 08/16/2018

Pete Moore - The Miracles

Pete Moore of the Miracles died on November 19, 2017, his 79th birthday. His death was attributable to complications of diabetes. He was a co-founder of the Miracles, a singer-songwriter, and a vocal arranger. He co-wrote many hits for the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and for the Miracles. Notable hits are Ooh, Baby Baby 1965) and The Tracks of My Tears (1965). Mr. Moore sang co-lead on Doggone Right (1969) and produced Choosey Beggar (1969), Here I Go Again (1969), and Baby, Baby Don’t Cry (1969).

Pete’s compositions were recorded by many famous artists, including Michael Jackson, Ramsey Lewis, Luther Vandross, and the Four Tops.

Pete was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. He was also awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Mr. Moore’s contributions to music are too numerous to name.

 

 

Warren Thomas “Pete” Moore [11/19/1938 – 11/19/2017]
© 07/07/2018

 

Musical News - Pam the Funkstress

DJ Pam Warren, better known as Pam the Funkstress, died on December 22, 2017 as a result of complications resulting from organ transplant surgery. Pam was 51 years of age.

Pam was the DJ for Oakland Bay Area socially conscious rap group The Coup, from its inception in the early 1990s. The Coup is perhaps best known for “Not Yet Free” and “Dig It”, featuring Pam. Pam also DJed on local radio station KBLX for a number of years. In addition to her association with The Coup, Pam DJed for Prince during his final tour, earning her nickname Purple Pam and marking her as the best of the best.

In addition to her legendary talent on the turntables, Pam was a chef in her own spot, Piccadilly Restaurant & Catering in Foster City, CA.

Pam was one of the first female DJs in hip-hop and had a stellar reputation in the music community. She mentored many young DJs and was thought of as The Turntable Queen. It was posted on social media by DJ Styles upon Pam’s death that she was taken from us because Prince needed his DJ. Perhaps they are now making beautiful music together, wherever they are.
 

 Pam Warren [11/1966 – 12/22/2017]

© 05/04/2018

 

Musical News - Kendrick Lamar Wins Pulitzer Prize for Music

The people’s choice Kendrick Lamar has finally gotten his just due. On April 16, 2018 he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in music for his album “DAMN,” for “distinguished musical composition.” This is the first Pulitzer awarded in music for a non-classical, non-jazz album. At the 2018 Grammy Awards, Lamar was beaten out in several categories where he arguably should have won. Inexplicably, the Grammys limited Lamar to the rap category. Maybe next year they will do better.

Congratulations to Lamar for his outstanding achievements, including a Generational Icon Award, the key to the city of Compton, for making the Rolling Stones list of the top 100 debut albums of all times, and the numerous Grammys he has won to date in various rap categories.

© 04/16/2018

Musical News - Yvonne Staples of Staple Singers

Yvonne Staples of the iconic Staple Singers, hitmakers of the 1970s, has died on April 10, 2018 of colon cancer. Ms. Staples was 80 years of age. She was the business manager of the group, and a background singer since 1971. The gospel inspired Staple Singers consisted of Pops, Cleotha, Pervis, and Mavis, the lead. The group crossed over into soul music in 1971, and had a string of hits including “Respect Yourself” (1971), “I’ll Take You There” (1972), and “If You’re Ready (Come Go with Me)” (1973). Yvonne sang background for Mavis during Mavis’s solo career in the 1980s.

In 1999, the Staple Singers were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. They received a lifetime achievement award at the 2005 Grammy Awards.

Most likely, all of the fans did not really know Yvonne during the group’s heyday, but on all of the songs we loved, Yvonne was there. Since the 1970s was my favorite decade, I have to repeat their famous musical request, “Let’s Do it Again” (1975).
 

Yvonne Staples [10/23/1937 – 04/10/2018]
© 04/10/2018

Musical News - Craig Mack

Rapper Craig Mack passed away on March 12, 2018 of heart failure, at the age of 46. He was born on May 10, 1971 in Trenton, New Jersey.

Craig began writing his own raps at the age of 12. He started his career in 1988, under the name MC EZ, but gained fame in 1994 with “Flava in Ya Ear,” which can be heard on television commercials to this day. The song was nominated for best rap solo, but unfortunately did not win.

After a couple of unsuccessful albums, he moved on to “Christian rap” and recorded a video in this genre which was posted on YouTube in 2016. A compilation of songs recorded by Mack between 2002 and 2006 was released in 2017, entitled “Mack World Sessions.” Neither these endeavors nor a mixtape released in 2012 matched the success of “Flava.”

Mr. Mack is survived by a wife and two adult children. He is known as one of the pioneers of rap, and will be remembered fondly as such.

Craig Jamieson Mack [05/10/1971 – 03/12/2018]

© 03/13/2018

Musical News - Dennis Edwards of The Temptations

Superstar Dennis Edwards, formerly of the Temptations, died on February 2, 2018, one day prior to his 75^th birthday. He had been suffering from an undisclosed illness.

Dennis began singing in his father’s church choir in Fairfield, AL at the age of 2. The family moved to Detroit, MI when Dennis was 10, and he eventually became choir director. As a teen, he joined the Mighty Clouds of Joy, and his family discouraged him from listening to and singing secular music. Nevertheless, in 1966, he was signed to Motown and joined The Contours. In 1968, he replaced his friend David Ruffin in The Temptations. He was on and off a part of the group through the 1980s.

Edwards sang lead on such Temptations classics as “Cloud Nine” (1968) and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” (1969), both of which won Grammy Awards. Edwards’s solo career included the 1984 hit “Don’t Look Any Further.” After his final departure from The Temptations, he toured with Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin, and he ultimately joined a Temptations Review, performing old Temptations hits.

As a member of The Temptations, Edwards was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Edwards is definitely a big part of our beloved musical history.

Dennis Edwards [02/03/1943 – 02/02/2018]

© 02/02/2018

Musical News - Garry “Starchild” Shider [2010]

Garry “Starchild” Shider, the longtime musical director of Parliament-Funkadelic whose funky guitar work, songwriting skills, and musical arrangements thrilled fans around the globe and earned him a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, died from lung and brain cancer at age 56 on June 16, 2010. He co-wrote such songs as “One Nation Under a Groove” and “Atomic Dog.” Due to his crossing over, an era has come to a close.

 

Garry “Starchild” Shider [1953 – 2010]
© 06/18/2010

Musical News - Hugh Masekela

Hugh Masekela, the South African trumpeter who became famous in the U.S. in 1968 with his rendition of “Grazing in the Grass,” died on January 23, 2018 of prostate cancer. He was 78 years of age.

Masekela was born in South Africa on April 4, 1939. As a child, he sang and played piano. At 14, he took up the trumpet and eventually the cornet and flugelhorn. His music protested the South African government and its system of apartheid. He attributed some of his success to Miles Davis, who advised him to diversify his style of music in order to set himself apart.

He co-founded the Jazz Epistles, the first African jazz group to record an album. He ultimately collaborated with world renowned musicians such as Paul Simon, Herb Alpert, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Miriam Makeba, to whom he was married for a short period in the mid-1960s.

Masekela composed “Soweto Blues” in 1977 for Makeba, to commemorate the Soweto Uprising of 1976. He composed “Bring Him Back Home” in 1987 in honor of Nelson Mandela, to protest his continued imprisonment. The song became an unofficial anthem.

Masekela was instrumental in the musical development for the Broadway play, “Sarafina!” and recorded with the band Kalahari. He was featured in the documentary film “Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony” in 2003.

 

He founded the Botswana International School of Music in 1985. He was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including a nomination for “Grazing in the Grass.”

Masekela was known as the father of African jazz, but was also widely known as an activist and philanthropist. The world has lost an extraordinary musician and freedom fighter.

 

Hugh Ramapolo Masekela [04/04/1939 – 01/23/2018]

© 01/23/2018

Musical News - Edwin Hawkins

Edwin Hawkins of the Edwin Hawkins Singers left this life on January 15, 2018 at the age of 74. He died in Pleasanton, CA of pancreatic cancer.

Hawkins was born on August 19, 1943 in my hometown of Oakland, CA. He was a professional singer and keyboardist with his family’s gospel choir by the age of 7. He co-founded the Northern California State Youth Choir, which contained nearly fifty members. In 1968, the choir recorded their first album, “Let Us Go into the House of the Lord,” on which was the international blockbuster crossover hit “Oh Happy Day” (re-released in 1969). Hawkins was presented a Grammy for this successful gospel / soul recording.

In addition, Hawkins was credited with three other Grammies, consisting of 1971’s Best Soul Gospel Performance for “Every Man Wants to Be Free”; 1978’s Best Soul Gospel Performance, Contemporary for “Wonderful!”; and 1993’s Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album for Edwin Hawkins Music & Arts Seminar Mass Choir.

In 1990, Hawkins recorded a solo project entitled “If at First You Don’t Succeed (Try Again),” which reached 89 on the R&B charts.

Hawkins was credited as the choir master in the 1992 film, “Leap of Faith,” starring Steve Martin.

In 2007, Hawkins was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.

Hawkins directed his gospel choir and performed through the 1990s. He was a local star, who is still shining brightly.

Edwin Reuben Hawkins [08/19/1943 – 01/15/2018]
© 01/21/2018