MetaFilter posts tagged with soul and obituary

RIP mister bassman, Donald "Duck" Dunn

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 13 May 2012 03:15:55 -0800

Millions may know him best from one of the only lines he delivered in the Blues Brothers movie: "We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline". Others who notice these things will remember him as the guy who also played the bass in the Blues Brothers band. And those for whom Stax records and the Memphis sound are important will know him as the four-string foundation of the great Booker T and the MGs, and the man who lent his solid, no-frills bass lines to many a tune by soul luminaries Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and lots of other greats. Memphis-born bassman Donald "Duck" Dunn has died while on tour (along with fellow legend and bandmate Steve Cropper) in Tokyo. RIP, Duck Dunn, and if there's any goat piss in heaven, I know you're gonna turn it into gasoline up there, too.

Don Cornelius, Soul Train creator, RIP

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:28:00 -0800

Over its amazing 35 year run, Soul Train provided American television viewers with an incredible panorama, a veritable cornucopia of black popular music, and of course, entertained everyone with their legendary line dance segments. The man who created and hosted the show from its beginnings up until 1993, Mr. Don Cornelius, was on Wednesday found dead in his home, an apparent suicide.

R.I.P. Everything Man

louche mustachio — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:05:04 -0800

The world just got a little less funky. Jimmy Castor passed away today. You might know him as the doo-wop Junior who replaced Frankie Lymon in The Teenagers. You might know him forYou Might know his hits Troglodyte, Hey, Leroy, or maybe the Bertha Butt Boogie. You might even know his Magic Saxophone. However you may know him, or even if you never heard of him, I am sure he would like to be remembered soulfully and funkfully, and with much grooving and booty shaking. Here is a selection of his tunes to get your ass-jowls flapping; by all means feel free to post more. (with The Juniors)This Girl of Mine (1957) Say, Leroy (The Creature From The Black Lagoon is Your Father) Leroy's in the Army King Kong(1975) (live) Dracula(1976) Psyche (It's Just Begun, 1972) L.T.D. (1972) E-man Groovin'(1976) Party People (1979)

Howard Tate, soul man, 1939-2011

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 03:33:46 -0800

The man who lent his wonderfully warm and soaring voice to the rolling soul ballad Get It While You Can, the limber southern funk of Eight Days on the Road, the coolly driving How Come My Bulldog Don't Bark, the mellow soul lilt (with breathtaking falsetto interjections!) of I Learned It All the Hard Way and so many other delightful soul numbers has died. Farewell Howard Tate. Here's the Wiki page for Howard Tate, which, as of this posting, has not yet been updated to include his death. And here's Janis Joplin's wonderful cover of Get It While You Can.

Gladys Horton, Marvelette, RIP

flapjax at midnite — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:54:21 -0800

Gladys Horton, a founding member of the pioneering (yet undervalued by Berry Gordy and Motown) girl group The Marvelettes, who sang lead on their 1961 classic Please Mr. Postman has passed on. Horton also lent her appealingly full-bodied, husky lead vocal to: Too Many Fish in the Sea Beechwood 4-5789 and Playboy. From this Detroit Free Press obituary, silver-tongued Motown head honcho Berry Gordy: "Gladys was a very, very special lady, and I loved the way she sang with her raspy, soulful voice," Gordy said through a spokesperson. "We will all miss her, and she will always be a part of the Motown family." Yeah, sure, Berry. But I'm more inclined to believe this, from Gladys Horton: "They never really respected us. Berry Gordy lost the Marvelette name in a gambling game once, that's how much they cared about us. We were just nothing to them."

"You don't believe in God? Really?" Then I took out my pistol, and shot him.

ersatz — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 06:01:31 -0800

The trick is to give without looking to receive - to give of yourself to your family, your friends, your community, and the world community with love. The King of Rock and Soul Solomon Burke, Archbishop of the House of God For All People and member of the Hall of Fame died on a plane (2) after arriving in Amsterdam. Solomon's most beloved song was arguably Everybody needs somebody to love, which was covered by the Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett and, of course, The Blues Brothers. He had another brush with the filming industry when his song Cry to me was used in the film Dirty Dancing. Solomon received a Grammy for 2002's Don't give up on me, which included compositions by the likes of Van Morrison, Tom Waits, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan. Solomon collaborated recently in the studio with Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton for his 2006 album Nashville. Burke leaves behind 21 children (14 daughters and 7 sons), 90 grandchildren and a wealth of singles with Atlantic records, like Got to get you off my mind and Just out of reach (of my two open arms).

Teddy Pendergrass 1950 - 2010

svenni — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:39:02 -0800

Singer Teddy Pendergrass has passed away. Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass, Sr. died yesterday at a hospital in the Philadelphia area. Pendergrass, who began his career as a drummer, rose to fame when he became the lead singer of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, with hits such as If You Don't Know Me By Now and I Miss You. He later went solo, with hits such as The More I Get the More I Want and Close The Door. In 1982 he was involved in a car accident where the brakes of his Rolls Royce failed, and he hit a tree. He suffered a spinal cord injury paralyzing him from the waist down. After his accident he continued performing and recording throughout the 80's and 90's. In 2009, Pendergrass underwent colon cancer surgery from which he had difficulty recovering. He passed away on January 13, 2010, at age 59, at Bryn Mawr Hospital in suburban Philadelphia.

Willie Mitchell, RIP

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:14:50 -0800

The man behind the classic sound of Al Green, Memphis producer and soulmeister supreme Willie Mitchell has passed on. Many of the Al Green sides are legendary, of course, and very well known (as is the fantastic "I Can't Stand the Rain, by Ann Peebles), but be sure and head over to the excellent Funky 16 Corners where you can hear three of his lesser-known but deeply grooving productions. Fat stuff. So long, Willie Mitchell, and thanks for the wonderful music.

R.I.P. Willy DeVille

maudlin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:57:20 -0800

Sister Sue, tell me baby what are we gonna do. She said take two candles, and then you burn them out. Make a paper boat, light it and send it out, send it out now ... Willy DeVille (formerly William Dorsay), died of pancreatic cancer on August 6, at the age of 58. So much of his music evoked the languid heat of a city night. This might be a good evening to turn it up loud. His band Mink DeVille played at CBGBs regularly during the rise of NY punk, but they were always more classic rock n roll/soul/blues/Latin than punk (Spanish Stroll; Cadillac Walk; Savoir Faire; Guardian Angel; Mixed Up Shook Up Girl). More people probably know him from the stately, gravellly Storybook Love, his collaboration with Mark Knopfler for the soundtrack of The Princess Bride. After moving to New Orleans in 1988, he continued to produce some really fine music, but most of the world never paid that much attention again. Go here or here to find any of his music that you might have missed. If you want an immediate hit, this YouTube channel has a growing selection of uploads with excellent, detailed commentary. There's a lovely 2006 interview with Willy here. And there's a lavish Wikipedia article on him here.

Dee Dee Warwick, RIP

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 04:04:20 -0800

Dee Dee Warwick, sister of Dionne and a fine soul singer in her own right, recently passed on to that other shore. This blog entry on Dee Dee features mp3 links to her wonderful cover of the Elvis Presley hit Suspicious Minds and the heartrending She Didn't Know. More: I'm Gonna Make You Love Me, Monday Monday and Foolish Fool.

Jerry Wexler

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 01:17:36 -0800

Legendary record man and music producer Jerry Wexler died on August 15, at the age of 91. His keen insight, and his deep love and appreciation for the artists he worked with resulted in an extraordinary enriching of American music. NY Times book review from 1993, of Wexler's autobiography, RHYTHM AND THE BLUES: A Life in American Music. From Rolling Stone, listen to a selection of twenty essential Wexler productions. Unfortunately, these files are available to US ears only, and also, be warned: you might get a supremely annoying audio ad popout. I got one... Here's a selection of tunes that, in one way or another, were brought to you by Jerry Wexler: What'd I Say, Ray Charles (the original Wexler-produced recording) I Got a Woman, Ray Charles (the original Wexler-produced recording) Green Onions, Booker T and the MGs In the Midnight Hour, Wilson Pickett Tipitina, Professor Longhair And from the incomparable Aretha Franklin (all of these live performances are sheer joy): Chain of Fools Chain of Fools Baby I Love You... And that's just a tiny tip of the iceberg. Rest in peace, Jerry Wexler. And props to stupidsexyFlanders, who originally brought Wexler's passing to our attention here.

Rock me again and again and again and again and again and again

Len — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 06:26:20 -0800

R.I.P. Lyn Collins [NYT, reg. req.] Backing singer for James Brown, whose revue she joined in 1971 (she was also the sister of his band members Bootsy and Catfish Collins), her first hit was the monster Think (About It) in 1972, one of the most sampled records in hip hop, maybe most famously in Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's It Takes Two. (Extensive, but by no means full, list of Collins samplers here.) Audio sample (mp3) of You Can't Love Me If You Don't respect Me here. Brief obit and full mp3 of a great live version of Do Your Thing here.

One More Star In Heaven

essexjan — Thu, 03 Apr 2003 03:45:20 -0800

A soul legend is dead. Edwin Starr, 70s soul singer, who wrote the seminal "War" has died of a heart attack aged 61.

There is one more star in heaven.