Passings: The Veteran Artists We Lost This Decade
Here is a list of some of the greats that we have lost over the last ten years.
- Screamin' Jay Hawkins
- Oliver
- Dennis Danell (Social Distortion)
- Pee Wee King
- Ian Dury
- Tommy Collins
- Johnnie Taylor
- Bobbi Martin
- Benjamin Orr (Cars)
- Tito Puente
- Paul Young (Mick & the Mechanics)
- Johnny Duncan
- Jack Nitzche (Producer)
- Julie London
- Scott Smith (Loverboy)
- Roebuck "Pop" Staples (Staple Singers)
- Kirsty MacColl
- Dale Evans
- Glenn Hughes (Village People)
- John Phillips (The Mamas & the Papas)
- Joey Ramone
- Perry Como
- John Lee Hooker
- John Hartford
- Fred Neil
- Chet Atkins
- Leon Wilkeson (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- George Harrison
- Valorie Jones (Jones Girls)
- Rufus Thomas
2002- Peggy Lee
- Waylon Jennings
- Dee Dee Ramone
- Robbin Crosby (Ratt)
- John Entwistle (Who)
- Rosemary Clooney
- Alan Lomax (Music Historian)
- Lionel Hampton
- Derek Bell (Chieftans)
- Jam Master Jay (Run-D.M.C.)
- Ray Conniff
- Lonnie Donegan
- Zal Yanofsky (Lovin' Spoonful)
- Joe Strummer (Clash)
- Mickey Finn (T.Rex)
- Maurice Gibb (Bee Gees)
- Johnny Paycheck
- Hank Ballard
- Adam Faith
- Edwin Starr
- Earl King
- Nina Simone
- Noel Redding (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
- June Carter Cash
- Mickey Most (British 60's Record Producer)
- Herbie Mann
- Barry White
- Celia Cruz
- Erik Braun (Iron Butterfly)
- Sam Phillips
- Ed Townsend
- Warren Zevon
- Johnny Cash
- Sheb Wooley
- Slim Dusty (Australian Country Singer)
- Robert Palmer
- Bobby Hatfield (Righteous Brothers)
- Arthur Conley
- Don Gibson
- Gary Stewart
- Dave Dudley
- Randy VanWarmer
- Cornelius Bumpus (Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan)
- Doris Troy
- Don Cornell
- Edmund Sylvers (Sylvers)
- J.J. Jackson (MTV VJ)
- Jan Berry (Jan and Dean)
- Ray Charles
- Syreeta Wright
- Ersel Hickey
- Arthur Kane (New York Dolls)
- Hunter Hancock (DJ)
- Rick James
- Charlie Waller (Country Gentlemen)
- Elmer Bernstein
- Laura Branigan
- Carl Wayne (The Move)
- Ernie Ball (Guitar Equipment Maker)
- Johnny Ramone
- Izora Rhodes Armstead (Weather Girls)
- Skeeter Davis
- John Peel (BBC 1 DJ)
- Dimebag Darrell Abbott (Pantera)
- Son Seals
- Artie Shaw
- James Griffin (Bread)
- Spencer Dryden (Jefferson Airplane)
- Jim Capaldi (Traffic)
- Keith Knudsen (Doobie Brothers)
- Tyrone Davis
- Sammi Smith
- Edward Patten (Gladys Knight & the Pips)
- Joe Carter (Carter Family)
- Jeremy Russell (Blue Cheer)
- Danny Joe Brown (Molly Hatchet)
- Bobby Short
- John Fred Gourrier (John Fred & the Playboy Band)
- Luther Vandross
- Al Downing
- Hedy West
- Renaldo "Obie" Benson (Four Tops)
- Long John Baldry
- Little Milton Campbell
- Vasser Clements
- Robert Moog (inventor of the Moog Synthisizer)
- Barry Cowsill (Cowsills)
- R.L. Burnside
- Clarence Gatemouth Brown
- Willie Hutch
- Mike Gibbins (Badfinger)
- Janette Carter (Carter Family)
- Lou Rawls
- Wilson Pickett
- Bill Cowsill (Cowsills)
- Charlie Hodge (Guitarist for Elvis Presley)
- Buck Owens
- King Floyd
- Bonnie Owens
- Gene Pitney
- June Pointer (Pointer Sisters)
- Desmond Dekker (Desmond Dekker & the Aces)
- Billy Walker
- Johnnie Wilder, Jr. (Heatwave)
- Freddie Garrity (Freddie & the Dreamers)
- Duane Rolland (Molly Hatchett)
- Johnny Grande (Bill Haley & the Comets)
- Arif Marden (Producer)
- Billy Preston
- Milan Williams (Commodores)
- Jumpin' Gene Simmons
- Bruce Gary (The Knack)
- Arthur Lee (Love)
- Johnny Duncan
- Barbara George
- Freddy Fender
- Paul Mauriat
- Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd)
- Ruth Brown
- Gerald LeVert (LaVert)
- Ahmet Ertegun (Founder of Atlantic Records)
- Georgia Gibbs
- James Brown
- Del Reeves
- Pookie Hudson (Spaniels)
- Denny Doherty (The Mamas & the Papas)
- Billy Henderson (Spinners)
- Frankie Laine
- Barbara McNair
- Joe Hunter (Funk Brothers)
- Donnie Brooks
- Ian Wallace (King Crimson)
- Brad Delp (Boston)
- Hy Weiss (Owner Old Town Records, Producer)
- Henson Cargill
- Luther Ingram
- Don Ho
- Zola Taylor (Platters)
- Bobby "Boris" Pickett
- Ken Albers (Four Freshman)
- Hilly Kristal (Owner of CBGBs)
- George McCorkle (Marshall Tucker Band)
- Hank Medress (The Tokens)
- Freddie Scott
- Bill Pinkney (Drifters)
- Lee Hazlewood
- Luciano Pavarotti
- Tommy Makem (Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem)
- Dale Houston (Dale & Grace)
- Porter Wagoner
- Robert Goulet
- Teresa Brewer
- Nicky James (Moody Blues)
- Hank Thompson
- Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot)
- Ike Turner
- Joe Ames (Ames Brothers)
- Dan Fogelberg
- John Stewart (Kingston Trio)
- Jeff Salen (Tuff Darts)
- Rod Allen (Fortunes)
- Charlie Ryan
- Buddy Miles (Band of Gypsies, Electric Flag)
- Mike Smith (Dave Clark Five)
- Freddie Bell
- Sean Levert
- Norman "Hurricane" Smith
- Danny Federici (E-Street Band)
- Paul Davis
- Al Wilson
- Eddy Arnold
- Jerry Wallace
- Jim Hager (Hager Brothers)
- Jerry Wexler (Producer)
- Utah Phillips
- Danny Davis (Nashville Brass)
- Bo Diddley
- Artie Traum
- Jo Stafford
- Earl Lee Nelson (Bob & Earl, Hollywood Flames)
- Jerry Reed
- Erik Darling (The Darlings)
- Gilbert Moorer (Esquires)
- Pervis Jackson (Spinners)
- Ronnie Drew (Dubliners)
- Isaac Hayes
- Charlie Walker
- Nappy Brown
- Cherry Smith (Wailers)
- Cliff Nobles
- Levi Stubbs (Four Tops)
- Nick Reynolds (Kingston Trio)
- Dee Dee Warwick
- Russ Hamilton
- Neil Hefti
- Miriam Makeba
- Dennis Yost (Classics IV)
- Odetta
- Rick Wright (Pink Floyd)
- Eartha Kitt
- Billy Powell (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- Jon Hager (Hager Brothers)
- John Martyn
- Dave Dee (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich)
- Ron Asheton (Stooges)
- Lux Interior (Cramps)
- Gerry Niewood (Chuck Mangione)
- Estelle Bennett (Ronettes)
- Dan Seals (England Dan & John Ford Coley)
- Ellie Greenwich
- Hank Locklin
- Eddie Bo
- Jimmy Boyd
- Vern Gosdin
- Randy Cain (Delfonics)
- Nancy Overton (Chordettes)
- Travis Edmonson (Bud & Travis)
- Fayette Pinkney (Three Degrees)
- Sky Saxon (Seeds)
- Barry Beckett (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section)
- Koko Taylor
- Huey Long (Ink Spots)
- Michael Jackson
- John Dawson (New Riders of the Purple Sage)
- Danny McBride (Sha Na Na)
- Gordon Waller (Peter & Gordon)
- Larry Knechtel (Bread)
- Mike Seeger
- Billy Lee Riley
- Johnny Carter (Flamingos, Dells)
- Willy DeVille
- Jake Drake-Brockman (Echo & the Bunnymen)
- Les Paul
- Mary Travers (Peter Paul & Mary)
- Norton Buffalo (Steve Miller Band)
- Al Martino
- Dickie Peterson (Blue Cheer)
- Al Alberts (Four Aces)
- Tim Hart (Steeleye Span)
- Eric Woolfson (Alan Parsons Project)
- Liam Clancy (Clancy Brothers)
- Pet Shop Boys - After a few years of diversifying their style and sound, the Pet Shop Boys are back to what they do best, great synth-pop. From the opening bounce of Love Etc. to the huge dance hit Did You See Me Coming and through the ambient closer Legacy, this is an album without a bad track and enough variety to keep us coming back.
- Ray Davies & the Crouch End Festival Chorus - What sounded like a horrible idea turned out to be one of the most beautiful albums of the decade. Ray Davies takes many of the Kinks classics and performs them with a regular band backed by a large choir. With only one or two missteps, the choir blends beautifully with the music and doesn't sound in the least contrived. The gems of the collection are a cycle of songs from the Village Green Preservation Society album and the openers, Days and Waterloo Sunset.
- Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs - Yes, it's an covers album. What makes this so good is that it is flat out fun. Sweet and Hoffs pick sixteen songs from the 70's ranging from the Dead's Sugar Magnolia to Bread's Everything I Own and gives them fairly dead on readings. Highlights include their takes on Fleetwood Mac's Second Hand News, Mott the Hoople's All the Young Dudes and an excellent version of Rod Stewart's Maggie May sung by Hoffs. This is a great album to put on in your car and turn up loud on a hot summer day.
- Bob Dylan - Dylan has had an amazing run this decade with Love & Theft, Modern Times and this year's Together Through Life (we'll consider Christmas in the Heart as just an aberration). This one is messy, spontaneous and is the most alive Dylan has sounded in a long, long time. Based around the sound of New Orleans and the blues, there are some great songs to add to the Dylan canon such as Beyond Here Lies Nothin', Life is Hard and Forgetful Heart.
- Brian Setzer Orchestra - When Brian Setzer assembled his big band, it was the beginning of what would peak in the mid-90's as the Swing Revival. Unfortunately, this superb group of musicians got caught in the fast burnout of the fad and have been written off by too many. With Setzer on sizzling guitar and one of the tightest bands around, they've continued to make some great albums, including their latest. Songs From Lonely Avenue is described as the soundtrack to an unmade noir film, and you can hear how it would fit but, more important, it is a fantastic album performed by some of the best musicians in the business.
- Iggy Pop - Another total surprise of the year, the normally hard rocking Pop recording an album based on the jazzy sound of European pop. The opening cut, Les Feuilles Mortes, starts with a small combo and Iggy talking in French. It's not until you're a third of the way into the track that you realize that the song is Autumn Leaves and Pop is going to finish it out as a crooner. There are surprises throughout this album of very unusual material.
- Elvis Costello - The combination of Costello and producer T-Bone Burnett had us hoping for another Raising Sand, but the album fell short. It's not that it isn't a great album, but our expectations were so high that it ended up somewhat disappointing. There are still some great tracks here, including our favorite of the year, Complicated Shadows, the rather bawdy Sulphur to Sugarcane and the Emmylou Harris duet The Crooked Line.
- George Strait - There is nobody in country music more reliable than Strait, and this one lives right up to the billing. It's filled with the type of country that few still perform, much less turn into radio hits. While the first single, Living for the Night was a standard Strait ballad, the title song kicks it into old style country and the album closer, El Rey, even takes him in the direction of Mariachi music.
- Loudon Wainwright III - The third big surprise of 2009. Loudon Wainwright III recorded two discs of music recorded in the 20's by country singer and all around hellraiser Charlie Poole, along with a few original compositions in the Poole style. Don't be scared away by the almost century old music. The updating gives the tracks a modern sound even though the structure of the songs still retain the feel of their original days.
- Chickenfoot - This one is simple. It's the music Van Halen would have recorded if what's left of Van Halen wasn't so full of itself. This is pure, simple, driving rock and roll played by a group of veterans (Sammy Hagar, Mark Anthony, Joe Satriani and Chad Smith) that certainly have the experience to pull it off.
- Regina Spektor - Our overall favorite album of 2009 is quirky, at times unsettling and overall wonderful. Spektor's formal training in classical music shows through in her piano arrangements and some of the song structures but it doesn't stop her from embellishing the music with her own mouth rhythms, strange instrumentation and odd interludes. On first hearing, the album can sound almost dissonant at times but further listening shows just how well structured and memorable is her writing.
- Mayer Hawthorne - Hawthorne has the voice, both regular and falsetto, to pull off a magnificent facsimile of 70's soul. His admiration for the genre has allowed him to write all new material that reflects the style of the time and his crack band recreates the soulful arrangements perfectly.
- Brandy Carlile - Mark our words. One of these days the award givers and the general public are going to realize what an immense talent this woman is. Give Up the Ghost is possibly an even better album than 2007's The Story, which was a brilliant mix of songwriting and style.
- Brooke White - Yes, this is the Brooke White from American Idol. Her debut album is wonderful return to the singer-songwriters of the seventies. These finely crafted songs should have been all over the radio and charts. Are you listening radio programmers?
- Lily Allen - Forget the tabloid reports, Allen's second album is nearly as good as her first. The thing about Lily is that her totally unassuming style of writing has actually produced some of the most biting, clever lyrics of the decade. Who else could write a farewell song to George Bush with the bouncy pop sounds of the seventies and call it Fuck You.
- Hot Club of Cowtown - Everyone thought that the Willie Nelson/Asleep at the Wheel Album Willie and the Wheel would be the best in Western Swing. They were wrong. The Hot Club of Cowtown sows up that honor with this album that not only covers the swing genre but ventures out into a bit of old-time jazz. This is their first album since they reformed and we're hoping that it proved to them that they need to keep recording for a long time.
- Maxwell - Here's another artist who didn't record for much of the decade but came back with a great album. In a world filled with hip-hop and rap, Maxwell proved that its still possible to make a smooth R&B album AND get the public to buy it.
- Neko Case - They label her Americana, but we think she's just a good all-around artist. Middle Cyclone includes a few more upbeat songs than her previous albums but there is still plenty of plaintiff ballads to keep her fans happy. Particularly good is a cover of Nilsson's Don't Forget Me.
- Moby - We've been waiting for Moby to return to the heights of his album Play. This isn't it, but it's the closest he's come this decade. The album is filled almost exclusively with ambient songs with vocals contributed by a variety of female vocalists. The sound of Play is here. It just falls a little short on the quality of the songs.
- Mandy Moore - Her 2007 album, Wild Hope, was a revelation. It showed that a former teen pop star could transition to very serious folk-rock-pop sounds. Amanda Leigh continues that trend, with the exception of the 80's pop tinged I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week, with an album of sophisticated writing and arranging. The albums opener, Merrimack River, is a particularly beautiful piece of writing while Pocket Philosopher will make you think you are listening to a newly discovered Burt Bacharach song.
Top 100 British Albums
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Top 100 British Singles
