Len Barry was an American singer best-known for his composition “1-2-3” which was somewhat of a staple on the Northern Soul scene, state sources such as Too Darn Soulful: The Story of Northern Soul (1999) by David Nowell.
Tag Archives: American music
RIP Jerry Jeff “Mr. Bojangles“ Walker (1942 – 2020)
Jerry Jeff Walker was an American musician best known for writing “Mr. Bojangles“.
Walker recorded “Mr. Bojangles” too, but when I hear that song I’m invariably only reminded of the heavily orchestrated version by the great Nina Simone.
The Nina Simone version wormed itself into my head in 2006 via the compilation Nova Classics 07 released on Radio Nova, keepers of musical taste in the early 2000s.
Nina first released on her cover album Here Comes the Sun from 1971.
RIP Eddie Van Halen (1955 – 2020)
Eddie Van Halen was a Dutch-American guitarist and songwriter working in hard rock. He enjoyed crossover success with “Jump” (1983), a song that was discouraged from being broadcast on American radio because during 9/11 Americans had witnessed too many jumpers.
In my universe he is known for his guitar solo on “Beat It” (1982) by Michael Jackson.
RIP Mac ‘In the Ghetto’ Davis (1942 – 2020)
Mac Davis was American singer-songwriter best-known for writing “In the Ghetto“.
RIP Roy ‘Impeach the President’ C (1939 – 2020)
Roy C was an American singer-songwriter best known for writing the song “Impeach the President” (1973) which was sampled hundreds of times in hip hop songs.
RIP Ronald ‘Kool & the Gang’ Bell (1951 – 2020)
Ronald Bell was an American composer and saxophonist best-known as the founder of Kool & the Gang.
He wrote and produced many of the band’s songs including “Celebration”, “Cherish”, “Jungle Boogie”, “Summer Madness”, and “Open Sesame”.
RIP Simeon ‘Silver Apples’ Coxe (1938 – 2020)
Simeon Coxe (1938 – 2020) was an American composer and musician known as a founding member of the electronic rock ensemble Silver Apples.
I guess I first stumbled upon Silver Apples when I bought the Underground Moderne cd by Nova Records. It had the track “Gypsy Love” on it, and I always skipped it. Silver Apples were undeniably of great influence, but none of their records would end up in my desert island selection.
RIP Gary Peacock (1935 – 2020)
Gary Peacock was an American jazz double-bassist. He recorded a dozen albums under his own name, and also performed and recorded with major jazz figures such as Albert Ayler, Paul Bley, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Tony Williams.
On Life Time (Blue Note, 1964), Gary Peacock plays bass on tracks one to three.
RIP Hal Singer (1919-2020)
Hal Singer was an American R&B and jazz bandleader and saxophonist. He was the last surviving male survivor of the Tulsa race massacre.
He is known for such instrumentals as “Malcolm X” on the album Paris Soul Food (1969), produced by Bernard Estardy.
If you are a melomaniac, I’d check the latter’s “Ombilic Contact” en “Cha Tatch Ka”.
RIP Trini Lopez (1937 – 2020)
Trini Lopez was an American singer known for his rendition of “If I Had a Hammer“.