Thursday July 5, 2012
Dear Department of Revenue,
On 06/27/2012, I recieved a notice that I owed $21 on my taxes due to an underpayment because of an error I made in filing. I am not sure I filed it wrong as you say, but I will believe it and accept paying $21. That is not my complaint.
My complaint is why I need to pay a penalty and interest on the late fee. I called this morning and was told that [fee] was because I did not pay by the due date of April 17. However, it does not seem fair that I should pay a late fee on money that I did not know I owed. This was the first notice I received.
I am paying the full amount due of $22.56, but am requesting a refund of $1.56, which I believe was unfairly charged.
I was told to submit this letter with my payment.
Thank you,
taxpayer yoshida
Also, I never received a reply to the letter I submitted with my taxes and original payment back in February. Could I please have a response sent with my refund?
Monday, July 9, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
r.i.p ~ 2012
fred milano (72, jan 1) doo wop singer with dion & the belmonts; lung cancer
larry reinhardt (63, january 2)
rhino played guitar with dickey betts & berry oakley in the mid 60s. when they joined the allman brothers, rhino joined iron butterfly. after that short lived group broke up, rhino started captain beyond (right), whose first two albums are among the most legendary early 70s shredding prog rock albums.
bob weston (64, january 3)
weston added his own bit of drama to the endlessly fascinating fleetwood mac story. he took over on guitar after the unceremonius departure of danny kirwan in 1971. a year and a half later, an affair with mick fleetwood’s wife came to light and he was fired immediately, cancelling the 1972 tour. he only played on two not very critically acclaimed fleetwood mac albums, but there is no doubt it was his slide guitar that made those albums worth hearing. post-fleetwood mac, weston sat in for many others including murray head and sandy denny. he went on to record some rare solo albums which featured cameos from past mac members danny kirwan and even mick fleetwood. (picture above, fleetwood mac 1973: weston on the right, bob welch on left.)
frederica alexandrina sagor maas (111, january 5) screenwriter of the plastic age
don carter (85, january 5) bowler; first athlete to sign $1 million endorsement
tom ardolino (56, january 6) NRBQ drummer
dave alexander (73, january 8) blues pianist; suicide
ruth fernandez (92, january 9) “soul of peurto rican song”
a true rabble rouser, ruth pushed gender barriers as the first female singer in a peurto rican orchestra as well as pushing racial barriers when not granted front door admittance to her own concerts. she signed a columbia records contract at age 14 and then became the first person to perform popular music at the metropolitan opera house in nyc. she also served as a puerto rican senator from 1972-1980, the first singer to hold political office.
robbie france (52, january 14) drummer for ufo, diamond head, skunk anansie
the senator (january 15) cypress tree; world’s fifth odest known tree; fire
jimmy castor (71, january 16) “the everything man”
singer, songwriter known as “the everything man” for playing all types of music from doo wop to funk to latin soul and every instrument from sax to bongos. castor grew up in spanish harlem as close friends of frankie lyman. he had a comparable voice to lyman such that he often filled in with the teenagers when lyman couln’t make gigs. his band the castor bunch went on to record some of the greatest early 70s soul with classics like “troglodyte: cave man” and “bertha butt boogie.” hip hop and dance musicians have sampled liberally from these works over the years, like kanye west, ice cube, and mos def. the movie flashdance featured his most notorious song “it’s only just begun.”
johnny otis (90, january 17) “the godfather of rhythm and blues”
bandleader, producer, radio dj, sogwriter, organic grocery store owner. born greek, he changed his name tootis to identify as black. “the music isn’t just the notes, it’s the culture.” his mustache and soul patch was emulated by zappa into an iconic style. wrote “willie and the hand jive” (which eric clapton famously covered) and gave etta james her break into the music industry when he produced “roll with me henry” in 1956.
etta james (73, january 20)
jerry wexler called etta “the greatest of all modern blues singers.” she had 30+ r&b hits early in her career, but only received mainstream attention later. she led a soap opera life with drug addiction, bad relationships and legal problems. beyonce played etta in the movie “cadillac records” and then etta made a highly publicised rant after beyonce sang “at last” at president obama’s innaguarion in 2008. etta james is in the blues hall of fame and the rock and roll hall of fame. hospitalized with mrsa in 2010 and then diagnosed with alzheimers and leukemia. released her newest album “the dreamer” in early 2011.
john levy (99, january 20) jazz bassist
joe paterno (88, january 22) head coach of penn state nittany lions
shem macauley “slacker” (january 23) british electronic music producer
stig vig (63, january 23) singer for swedish post punk/reggae band dag vag
mark reale (56, january 25) guitarist/singer/songwriter for metal band riot
dick kniss (74, january 25) bass player for john denver
kandi barbour (56, january 26) “actress”
goody petronelli (88, january 28) trainer & manager of marvelous marvin hagler
kell osbourne (72, january 29) singer for the cavaliers & the primes (pre temptations)
leslie carter (25, january 31) singer, sister of nick & aaron carter; drug overdose
mike kelley (57, january 31) early guitarist of destroy all monsters, artist; suicide
king stitt (71, january 31) jamaican toaster; aka “the ugly one”
don cornilius (75, february 1) founder, producer, host of soul train; suicide
angelo dundee (90, february 1) trainer for mohammed ali & sugar ray leonard
charlie spoonhour (72, february 1) former st. louis bilikens basketball coach
david peaston (56, february 1) st. louis r&b singer
jeff fraza (34, february 4) boxer; hit by train
whitney houston (48, february 11) r&b singer; really famous, what do i need to say?
tonmi lillman (38, february 14) drummer for sinergy, to/die/for, ajattara & lordi
dory previn (86, february 14) singer-songwriter; poet
dory was married to andre previn, with whom she co-wrote many songs for motion pictures. her lyrics were sung by just about every famed singer of the 50s and 60s, most famously perhaps being dionne warwick singing “valley of the dolls”. andre’s affair with mia farrow led dory to madness and some time in mental institutions. she emerged a folk singer of the 70s with somewhat autobiographical songs such as “beware young girls”. she wrote many songs about emotionally frail characters, but her most significant accomplishment may have been the song “a stone for bessie smith” written about the premature death of janis joplin. dory wrote two autobiographies, “bogtrotter” and “midnight baby”
russell arms (92, february 13) vocalist on your hit parade
enrique sierra (54, february 17) guitarist for spanish band radio futura
michael davis (68, february 17) bass player mc5, destroy all monsters; liver failure
played bass for mc5 (1964-1972) on all three of their albums. after they disbanded, davis started destroy all monsters with his friend ron asheton. for that band, davis wrote punk classics “meet the creeper” “fast city” “rocking the cradle” “nobody knows”… studied art at university of oregon & portland community college after his music career. davis joined reformed versions of mc5 over the years.
christopher reimer (26, february 21) guitarist for calgary art rock band women
red holloway (84, february 25) jazz & blues tenor sax for sonny rollins, sonny stitt, etta james, roosevelt sykes…
louisiana red (79, february 25) blues singer & gutarist; “sweet blood call”
trayvon martin (17, feb 26) shooting victim
davy jones (66, february 29) singer monkees, partridge family
ronnie montrose (64, march 3) guitarist for 70s rock band montrose; suicide
bugs henderson (68, march 8) dallas blues guitarist
michael hossack (65, march 12) doobie brothers drummer
gary cornell (34, march 18) australian singer for pyramid of coyote
larry stevenson (81, march 25) inventor of kicktail skateboards & makaha skateboards
earl scruggs (88, march 28) bluegrass banjo legend
the three-finger picking style is commonly referred to as “scruggs style.” scruggs
got his entry into the bluegrass world from the father of the genre, bill monroe, joining the bluegrass boys in 1945. starting in 1948, scruggs and another blue grass boy, lester flatt, formed the foggy mountain boys, which lasted for over 20 years. one of their most well known compositions became the theme song to the beverly hillbillies in 1962. the duo also appeared in occassional episodes. they also won a 1969 grammy for the classic “foggy mountain breakdown.” flatt and scruggs were allowed entry into the elusive grand ole opry in 1955 and inducted into the country music hall of fame in 1985. the film “banjoman” was filmed during a 1973 tribute concert, featuring doc watson, joan baez, ramblin’ jack elliot and others, and became the definitive earl scruggs documentary. The album “earl scruggs and friends” won a 2002 grammy award and the next year he was given his own syndicated tv program as well as a star on the hollywod walk of fame. in 2008, his career was capped off with a grammy lifetime acheivement award. earl scruggs will likely be the most significant loss to the music world in 2012. (picutre abouve is scruggs with doc watson in 2007)
zoran romic (47, march 31) australian guitarist for chocolate starfish
barney mckenna (83, april 5) banjo legend; last surviving member of original dubliners
thomas kinkade (54, april 6) painter
mike wallace (93, april 7) news anchor 20/20
cynthia dall (41, april 5) photographer; singer, guitarist of smog & as a solo act
cynthia dall may be one of the more unknown musicians to pass away this year, but fans of the 90s indie band smog can never forget her. she was dating bill callahan during the era of “wild love,” “burning kingdom” and “doctor came at dawn” and was featured on each of those albums. she also started a solo career around the same time, releasing a self-titled/untitled (more like completely unmarked) debut for domino records in 1996 and another album “sound restores young men” for drag city in 2002.
jim niven (april 9) australian pianist for captain matchbox whoopee band & the sports
rich teeter (61, april 10) drummer
played on the dictators albums "bloodbrothers" & "manifest destiny". video of teeter in action 1977: http://themusicsover.com/2012/04/10/ritchie-teeter/
dick clark (82, april 18) america’s oldest teenager
being the host of american bandstand for 30 years beginning in 1957 made clark synonymous with the beginnings of the explosion of commercial rock & roll. the show was particularly notable for integrating black & white performers. he also went on to host the game show “pyramid” & “dick clark’s rockin new years eve” to celebrate the ball dropping in manhattan every year.
levon helm (71, april 19) vocalist, drummer for the band
influenced to be a musician after seeing bill monroe in concert at the age of six, levo grew up in the south in the formative years of rock & roll. he was also influenced by early performances of elvis, bo diddley & ronnie hawkins. he later moved to canada with hawkins & recruited the members that would eventually make-up the band. the band went on to work extensively with bob dylan throughout the 70s. after “the last waltz” album & highly acclaimed martin scorsese documentary, the band called it quits for the next 20 years. levon went on to a solo career starting with paul kennerly’s concept album “the legend of jesse james” in which helm played the role of jesse alongside johnny cash, charlie daniel & emmylou harris. that same year, he also played loretta lynn’s father in the movie “coal miner’s daughter”. later in the 80s, he toured with the ringo starr all-stars & then sang on roger waters epic “the wall – live in berlin” backing up sinead o’connor (along with rick danko) on “mother.” levon lived on a ranch in woodstock, where he hosted “midnight rambles” featuring pretty much any musician you can name. it was thanks to these jams & the relentless support from the music community that helped pay for helm’s treatment to survive cancer in the 90s. the midnight rambles very nearly had it’s own reality in the late 00s. “dirt farmer”, helms first solo album in 25 years won a 2007 grammy & he went on to win two ore grammys. one for “electric dirt” (2009) & then another earlier this year for “ramble at the ryman” (2011). he was inducted with the band into the rock & roll hall of fame in 1994. the elton john song “levon” is named after helm. how much more important could one hope to be in the music world than levon helm?
joe muranyi (84, april 20) dixieland clarinetist for village stompers, louis armstrong…
bert weedon (91, april 20) british guitarist
weedon created “play in a day” music books & wrote the song “guitar boogie shuffle.” through his teaching methods, he became an important influence to every british guitarist of 50s, 60s & 70s.
ikuzone (46, april 21) bass player of dragon ash
greg ham (58, april 19) australian saxophonist, pianist; men at work
billy bryans (64, april 23) drummer for the parachute club
tommy marth (33, april 23) saxophonist on the killers albums "sam’s club" & "day and age."
chris etheridge (65, april 24) bassist; international sunshine band & flying burrito bros.
country-rock bass player started out with the international sunshine band & went on to play with the flying burrito brothers (right) as well as gram parsons solo work. etheridge did the bass & piano work on the classic “gilded palace of sin” and co-wrote “hot burrito #1 & #2”. he was also a session & touring musician with emmylou harris, ry cooder, linda ronstadt, willie nelson, the byrds, jackson browne & many others.
jim mccrary (72, april 29) photographer; shot album covers for flying burito bros, carpenters, cat stevens, carole king, joe cocker & lee michaels
kenny roberts (84, april 29) the yodeling cowboy; the down homers (feat bill haley)
thomas borge (80, april 30) last surviving founding member of the sandanistas
charles pitts (65, may 1) funk guitarist; isaac hayes, wilson pickett, isley brothers
junior seau (43, may 2) 12 time pro bowl linebacker; san diego chargers
lloyd brevett (80, may 3) bass player; the skatellites
adam yauch “mca” (47, may 4) mc/bassist/film director; beastie boys
mca formed the beastie boys with kate s (later of luscious jackson) & mike d as a hardcore punk band when he was a teenager. by the mid-80s, they were the hiphop band as the world now knows them. they went on to sell innumerable records, with a string of classics “licensed to ill” “paul’s boutique” “check your head” “ill communication” “in sound from way out” & “hello nasty”. their most recent effort from 2011 “hot sauce committee part 2” which also featured santigold was not appreciated by kid yoshida nearly enough. nonetheless, for all their efforts, the b boys were inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame in april of this year. ten years ago, mca started his own production studio & film distribution company. from that, he produced the bad brains comeback album “build a nation” & distributed the film “wendy & lucy”. even though the b boys were a cohesive collective, mca still lent a heavy above the board presnce & some of the great rhymes. it’s hard to image the b boys continuing without mca. he died way too young after dealing with salivary & lymph node cancer for the past three years. here's a video for pass the mic.
michael burks (54, may 6) blues/soul guitarist; “i smell smoke”
everett lilly (87, may 8) american bluegrass mandolin
expanded bluegrass music in the east & northeast & internationally with his brother bea (d. 2005) beginning in 1938. everett played with earl scruggs & lester flatt in the 50s & with the mountaineers did a highly successful tour of japan in 1970s. “true facts in a country song” documentary released on their career in 1979.
vidal sassoon (82, may 9) hair dressing revolutionaire; leukemia
celso chavez (44, may 9) guitarist; founding member of possum dixon
donald dunn (70, may 13) blues bassist for booker t & the mg’s
belita woods (63, may 14) singer for 70s r&b band brainstorm
doug dillard (75, may 16) banjo, singer; the dillards (aka the darlings on andy griffith)
chuck brown (75, may 16) go go guitarist, singer; “bustin loose”
donna summer (63, may 17) disco singer
prominent singer that many referred to as the queen of disco. she won a total of 5 grammys and also had 4 singles hit #1 on the r&b charts in a 13 month period. perhaps the best story about her was told on npr about her poor childhood in the church choir people were so enamored by her that they would give her money and tell her to pay them back when she became famous. she has a song “highway runner” in the timeless classic film “fast times at ridgemont high.” she passed away from lung cancer which was allegedly due to inhalation of toxic chemicals from the 911 disaster.
carrie smith (87, may 20) blues & jazz singer
steve hurdle (41, may 20) guitarist for the gorgots
robin gibb (62, may 20) singer; bee gees
janet carroll (71, may 23) singer, actress “risky business”
hal jackson (96, may 23) first afircan american sports announcer
doc watson (89, may 29) blind bluegrass guitarist
blinded by an eye infection in infancy, he devoted himself to bluegrass & gospel sounds made from a $10 sears & roebock guitar thanks to wages earned from chopping down chestnut trees. moved on to a les paul by the age of 30 & mastered flat picking styles as well some speed tactics that every rock n’ roller has pick up from. following his buddy, earl scruggs, who passed away two months prior, doc had a similar trophy case with 7 grammys, plus a lifetime grammy award & a presidential medal of the arts. here is an excerpt of the earl scruggs story filmed in the 60s with doc watson & his son merle at a very young age.
pete cosey (68, may 30) blues & jazz guitarist; rotary connection, etta james, muddy waters, howlin’ wolf, miles davis, herbie hancock
jack twyman (78, may 30)
orlando woolridge (52, may 31)
leroy ellis (72, june 2)
three notable basketball players passed away on successive days. twyman played for the cincinnati royals in 1959-60 when he became the first player (along with wilt chamberlain the same season) to average over 30 ppg in a season. in 11 seasons, he made the all-star team six times. he was inducted into the hall of fame in 1983. his number 27 is retired by the sacramento kings.
woolridge helped usher in the age of slam dunks with some all-time highlight reels. drafted sixth
overall by the chicago bulls in 1981, he starred for five seasons. when michael jordan came along, woolridge fell on some hard times (on & off the court), until being picked up by the lakers in 1988. he fluttered around the nba a few more years & ended up in europe before going on to coaching. he has one son playing for the tennessee volunteers & another who will play his first season with the wazzu cougars this year.
ellis won the haggerty award in 1962, given to the best division-I player out of nyc. he was then drafted eight overall by the lakers, going on to play 14 years in the association, including a bizzarre 3-year run. he played on the innagural trailblazers season 1970-71, then on the lakers championship team of 1971-72 that won a record 69 games (including a 33 game win streak), then on the 76ers 1972-73 team that lost a record 73 games (of 82). he lived in portland for the duration of his basketball career & died in scappoose.
faruq z. bey (70, june 1) saxophonist of griot galaxy
richard dawson (79, june 2) actor
known for his roles in hogan’s heroes & the iconic host of family feud for ten years, where he kissed many a ladies, richard dawson ended up being married to one of those contestants for the last 31 years of his life. his most notable movie role was in the movie running man,
in which he played the demented host of some sort of gladiator game. arnold schwarzenegger uttered the famous line “i’ll be back” to dawson’s character. maybe the coolest thing that no one knows about dawson though, was that he was somewhat of a singer as well. in the summer of love he dabbled in psychdelia, cutting a 45 “his children’s parade / apples & oranges” on the obscure carnation label.
bobby durango (june 3) singer for rock city angels
herb reed (83, june 4) singer; last surviving member of the platters
ray bradbury (91, june 5) science fiction writer
kid from waukegan, illinois, descended from mary bradbury (hung at salem 1692), which makes him related also to henry david throeau & bradbury robinson. ray grew up in the great depression with a big family, then moved to l.a. & started writing at age 11. he wrote everyday & read poetry everyday for over 75 years straight. never got a driver’s license, lived at home until 27 & married for 56 years to the only woman he ever dated. wrote farenheit 451 & the martian chronociles. had many adventures in television including jane wyman’s fireside theatre, star tonight & alfred hitchcock. he’s got every award imaginable from the presidential medal of the arts to an asteroid named after him. here is the last piece published by bradbury in the new yorker less than a week before his death.
cotton owens (88, june 6) nascar hall of famer
bob welch (65, june 7) guitarist; fleetwood mac, paris
welch was born into a musical family with his father being a movie producer for paramount in 1950s. welch became a member of important 60s interracial groups the seven souls & head west. welch was most notorious for being the bridge that kept fleetwood mac afloat during 71-74 in the post peter green-era & the pre-nicks/buckingham-era. he never got his just due, though he was an instrumental player on seminal albums future games (writing the title track), bare trees (writing “ghost” & “sentimental lady”), penguin & mystery to me (writing “hypnotized”).
but during very strange times for fleetwood mac embroiled in a bizarre legal battle for their own name & welch’s marriage failing, he decided to leave the band after the 74 release heroes are hard to find. this opened the door for buckingham & nicks to join the band that would become 70s legends, but weston never being a member of the 60s blues era or the late 70s supergroup caused him to be left off the rosters inducted into the rock n’ roll hall of fame in 1988. part of this seemed to stem from a lawsuit he had filed against fleetwood mac for royalties, but welch said it best, “it was a transition. but it was an important period in the history of the band. mick fleetwood dedicated a whole chapter of his biography to my era of the band and credited me with 'saving fleetwood mac.' now they want to write me out of the history of the group. it hurts…mick and i co-managed the group for years. i'm the one who brought the band to los angeles from england, which put them in the position of hooking up with lindsey and stevie. i saw the band through a whole period where they barely survived, literally.” after forming a trio called paris in the mid-70s, welch had two very successful solo albums in the late 70s & then kind of drifted into obscurity & became a heroin addict. he recovered, did some session work & lived quietly in nashville, making an experimental jazz record in 1999. on june 7, after an unsuccessful back surgery, welch committed suicide, stating that he didn’t want his wife to have to take care of an invalid. one of welch’s bandmates in fleetwood mac, guitarist bob weston passed away earlier this year. (same picture as above, welch on left, weston on right, mick at bottom center, john & christine on top.)
li’l phat (19, june 7) hip hop artist; shooting in atlanta
chuck share (85, june 7)
taken with the first pick in the first nba draft in 1950 by the boston celtics, share played for three teams that would relocate in future years (fort wayne pistons, milwaukee/st.louis hawks, and minneapolis lakers). he won an nba title with the st. louis hawks in 1958.
stay high 149 (61, june 11) graffiti artist
henry hill (69, june 12) mobster
hill’s life story was documented in the book wiseguy & then made into the scorsese movie goodfellas.
rodney king (47, june 17) lapd beating victim
in 1991, rodney king was beaten by seven l.a. policemen & it was caught on video by a bystander. four officers went on trial, but were acquitted. this further exacerbated racial tension & the feelings of inequality in l.a. & sparked the infamous 1992 l.a. race riots.
king was never really a model citizen & the original reason for his being pulled over in the first place (he was trying to outrun cops because he knew a drunk driving charge would violate his parole for a previous felony conviction) & his bizzarre behavior after being pulled over caused officers to think king was under the influence of pcp. however, the pre-beating events are based on police & witness report, the video starts with the beating in which cops called him that infamous n-word while hitting him more than 50 times. king claimed to have suffered a fractured skull & permanent brain damage. officers at the hospital later bragged about the number of times they had hit king. as the l.a. mayor and the president of the united states expressed confusion of the jury verdict downplaying
the use of excessive force, violence in l.a. swarmed out of control with 56 people ending up killed, thousands more injured & over a billion dollars in damaged property before the national guard was finally called to end the violence. rodney king gave a televised “can’t we all just get along speech” & became a figurehead for the new era of social injustice. two of the officers were later found guilty in a federal trial & rodney king won a civil suit for $3.8 million. king was involved in several other drunk driving cases over the next 10 years & then in a bizarre shooting while he rode away from people who were trying to steal his bicycle. he eventually cleaned up & appeared on season 2 of celebrity rehab with dr. drew. & also won a celebrity boxing match against a former pennsylvania cop. king’s problems appeared to be in the past & he was engaged to marry a woman who had been a jury member during 1992 civil suit,
who found him drowned in his swimming pool. rodney king may not have been a model citizen, but then again who really is? i always wonder how many people have never driven under the influence? not eveyone that has done has been caught. how many people have never had any bigotted feelings? people like rodney king beg us to ask these questions of ourselves. his sad life story makes the world a better place.
brian hibbard (65, june 18) welsh singer for the flying pickets
gerry bron (79, june 19) music manager & record label owner
bron was responsible for bringing up uriah heep in the late 60s. he ran bronze records, also releasing motorhead's records "overkill," "ace of spades," "bomber" & "iron fist." bron worked with artists such as marianne faithfull & gene pitney as well. i paid tribute to him in part when i played uriah heep “demon’s & wizards” on the 40th anniversary of its release back in may. and will do the same later when i play “the magician’s birthday.”
gad beck (88, june 24) gay, jewish holocaust survivor. in 2000, he was in the documentary paragraph 175 & published his autobiography "an underground life."
nora ephron (71, june 26)
with both her parents & all three of her husbands being writers, it probably was expected ephron would do something like become a romcom legend writing/ directing films like “when harry met sally,” “sleepless in seattle,” “you’ve got mail,” and “julie & julia.” also helping her natural writing ability was that she lived a dramatic life. she had been the whistleblower of the whistleblower, by trying to expose the identity of the informant of watergate scandal (mark felt). she was for a few years married to carl bernstein, the washington post reporter who teamed with bob woodward to report on watergate. her marriage to bernstein ended when he had an affair with baronness margaret jay. a loose version of that story can be found in ephron’s film “heartburn” starring jack nicholson & meryl streep. nora spent the last 25 years married to nicholas pileggi, who’s career has been mainly devoted to writing screenplays for gangster stories. he’s done a lot of high end ones, notably “goodfellas” the subject of which (henry hill) passed away earlier this month. with the films ephron has been a part of, it is likely assumed she has a few academy awards. she has none, though her trophy case has many accolades.
doris singleton (92, june 26) actress “i love lucy” “twilight zone” “my three sons”
don grady (68, june 27) actor “my three sons”
larry reinhardt (63, january 2)
bob weston (64, january 3)
frederica alexandrina sagor maas (111, january 5) screenwriter of the plastic age
don carter (85, january 5) bowler; first athlete to sign $1 million endorsement
tom ardolino (56, january 6) NRBQ drummer
dave alexander (73, january 8) blues pianist; suicide
ruth fernandez (92, january 9) “soul of peurto rican song”
robbie france (52, january 14) drummer for ufo, diamond head, skunk anansie
the senator (january 15) cypress tree; world’s fifth odest known tree; fire
jimmy castor (71, january 16) “the everything man”
johnny otis (90, january 17) “the godfather of rhythm and blues”
etta james (73, january 20)
john levy (99, january 20) jazz bassist
joe paterno (88, january 22) head coach of penn state nittany lions
shem macauley “slacker” (january 23) british electronic music producer
stig vig (63, january 23) singer for swedish post punk/reggae band dag vag
mark reale (56, january 25) guitarist/singer/songwriter for metal band riot
dick kniss (74, january 25) bass player for john denver
kandi barbour (56, january 26) “actress”
goody petronelli (88, january 28) trainer & manager of marvelous marvin hagler
kell osbourne (72, january 29) singer for the cavaliers & the primes (pre temptations)
leslie carter (25, january 31) singer, sister of nick & aaron carter; drug overdose
mike kelley (57, january 31) early guitarist of destroy all monsters, artist; suicide
king stitt (71, january 31) jamaican toaster; aka “the ugly one”
don cornilius (75, february 1) founder, producer, host of soul train; suicide
angelo dundee (90, february 1) trainer for mohammed ali & sugar ray leonard
charlie spoonhour (72, february 1) former st. louis bilikens basketball coach
david peaston (56, february 1) st. louis r&b singer
jeff fraza (34, february 4) boxer; hit by train
whitney houston (48, february 11) r&b singer; really famous, what do i need to say?
tonmi lillman (38, february 14) drummer for sinergy, to/die/for, ajattara & lordi
dory previn (86, february 14) singer-songwriter; poet
dory was married to andre previn, with whom she co-wrote many songs for motion pictures. her lyrics were sung by just about every famed singer of the 50s and 60s, most famously perhaps being dionne warwick singing “valley of the dolls”. andre’s affair with mia farrow led dory to madness and some time in mental institutions. she emerged a folk singer of the 70s with somewhat autobiographical songs such as “beware young girls”. she wrote many songs about emotionally frail characters, but her most significant accomplishment may have been the song “a stone for bessie smith” written about the premature death of janis joplin. dory wrote two autobiographies, “bogtrotter” and “midnight baby”
russell arms (92, february 13) vocalist on your hit parade
enrique sierra (54, february 17) guitarist for spanish band radio futura
michael davis (68, february 17) bass player mc5, destroy all monsters; liver failure
christopher reimer (26, february 21) guitarist for calgary art rock band women
red holloway (84, february 25) jazz & blues tenor sax for sonny rollins, sonny stitt, etta james, roosevelt sykes…
trayvon martin (17, feb 26) shooting victim
davy jones (66, february 29) singer monkees, partridge family
ronnie montrose (64, march 3) guitarist for 70s rock band montrose; suicide
bugs henderson (68, march 8) dallas blues guitarist
michael hossack (65, march 12) doobie brothers drummer
gary cornell (34, march 18) australian singer for pyramid of coyote
larry stevenson (81, march 25) inventor of kicktail skateboards & makaha skateboards
earl scruggs (88, march 28) bluegrass banjo legend
zoran romic (47, march 31) australian guitarist for chocolate starfish
thomas kinkade (54, april 6) painter
mike wallace (93, april 7) news anchor 20/20
cynthia dall (41, april 5) photographer; singer, guitarist of smog & as a solo act
cynthia dall may be one of the more unknown musicians to pass away this year, but fans of the 90s indie band smog can never forget her. she was dating bill callahan during the era of “wild love,” “burning kingdom” and “doctor came at dawn” and was featured on each of those albums. she also started a solo career around the same time, releasing a self-titled/untitled (more like completely unmarked) debut for domino records in 1996 and another album “sound restores young men” for drag city in 2002.
jim niven (april 9) australian pianist for captain matchbox whoopee band & the sports
rich teeter (61, april 10) drummer
played on the dictators albums "bloodbrothers" & "manifest destiny". video of teeter in action 1977: http://themusicsover.com/2012/04/10/ritchie-teeter/
dick clark (82, april 18) america’s oldest teenager
levon helm (71, april 19) vocalist, drummer for the band
joe muranyi (84, april 20) dixieland clarinetist for village stompers, louis armstrong…
bert weedon (91, april 20) british guitarist
weedon created “play in a day” music books & wrote the song “guitar boogie shuffle.” through his teaching methods, he became an important influence to every british guitarist of 50s, 60s & 70s.
ikuzone (46, april 21) bass player of dragon ash
greg ham (58, april 19) australian saxophonist, pianist; men at work
billy bryans (64, april 23) drummer for the parachute club
tommy marth (33, april 23) saxophonist on the killers albums "sam’s club" & "day and age."
chris etheridge (65, april 24) bassist; international sunshine band & flying burrito bros.
jim mccrary (72, april 29) photographer; shot album covers for flying burito bros, carpenters, cat stevens, carole king, joe cocker & lee michaels
kenny roberts (84, april 29) the yodeling cowboy; the down homers (feat bill haley)
thomas borge (80, april 30) last surviving founding member of the sandanistas
charles pitts (65, may 1) funk guitarist; isaac hayes, wilson pickett, isley brothers
junior seau (43, may 2) 12 time pro bowl linebacker; san diego chargers
lloyd brevett (80, may 3) bass player; the skatellites
adam yauch “mca” (47, may 4) mc/bassist/film director; beastie boys
"if you can feel what i'm feeling then it's a musical masterpiece, if you can hear what i'm dealing with then that's cool at least. what's running through my mind comes through in my walk, true feelings are shown from the way that i talk."
michael burks (54, may 6) blues/soul guitarist; “i smell smoke”
everett lilly (87, may 8) american bluegrass mandolin
expanded bluegrass music in the east & northeast & internationally with his brother bea (d. 2005) beginning in 1938. everett played with earl scruggs & lester flatt in the 50s & with the mountaineers did a highly successful tour of japan in 1970s. “true facts in a country song” documentary released on their career in 1979.
vidal sassoon (82, may 9) hair dressing revolutionaire; leukemia
celso chavez (44, may 9) guitarist; founding member of possum dixon
donald dunn (70, may 13) blues bassist for booker t & the mg’s
belita woods (63, may 14) singer for 70s r&b band brainstorm
doug dillard (75, may 16) banjo, singer; the dillards (aka the darlings on andy griffith)
chuck brown (75, may 16) go go guitarist, singer; “bustin loose”
donna summer (63, may 17) disco singer
carrie smith (87, may 20) blues & jazz singer
steve hurdle (41, may 20) guitarist for the gorgots
robin gibb (62, may 20) singer; bee gees
janet carroll (71, may 23) singer, actress “risky business”
hal jackson (96, may 23) first afircan american sports announcer
doc watson (89, may 29) blind bluegrass guitarist
pete cosey (68, may 30) blues & jazz guitarist; rotary connection, etta james, muddy waters, howlin’ wolf, miles davis, herbie hancock
jack twyman (78, may 30)
orlando woolridge (52, may 31)
leroy ellis (72, june 2)
woolridge helped usher in the age of slam dunks with some all-time highlight reels. drafted sixth
ellis won the haggerty award in 1962, given to the best division-I player out of nyc. he was then drafted eight overall by the lakers, going on to play 14 years in the association, including a bizzarre 3-year run. he played on the innagural trailblazers season 1970-71, then on the lakers championship team of 1971-72 that won a record 69 games (including a 33 game win streak), then on the 76ers 1972-73 team that lost a record 73 games (of 82). he lived in portland for the duration of his basketball career & died in scappoose.
faruq z. bey (70, june 1) saxophonist of griot galaxy
richard dawson (79, june 2) actor
known for his roles in hogan’s heroes & the iconic host of family feud for ten years, where he kissed many a ladies, richard dawson ended up being married to one of those contestants for the last 31 years of his life. his most notable movie role was in the movie running man,
bobby durango (june 3) singer for rock city angels
herb reed (83, june 4) singer; last surviving member of the platters
ray bradbury (91, june 5) science fiction writer
kid from waukegan, illinois, descended from mary bradbury (hung at salem 1692), which makes him related also to henry david throeau & bradbury robinson. ray grew up in the great depression with a big family, then moved to l.a. & started writing at age 11. he wrote everyday & read poetry everyday for over 75 years straight. never got a driver’s license, lived at home until 27 & married for 56 years to the only woman he ever dated. wrote farenheit 451 & the martian chronociles. had many adventures in television including jane wyman’s fireside theatre, star tonight & alfred hitchcock. he’s got every award imaginable from the presidential medal of the arts to an asteroid named after him. here is the last piece published by bradbury in the new yorker less than a week before his death.
cotton owens (88, june 6) nascar hall of famer
bob welch (65, june 7) guitarist; fleetwood mac, paris
welch was born into a musical family with his father being a movie producer for paramount in 1950s. welch became a member of important 60s interracial groups the seven souls & head west. welch was most notorious for being the bridge that kept fleetwood mac afloat during 71-74 in the post peter green-era & the pre-nicks/buckingham-era. he never got his just due, though he was an instrumental player on seminal albums future games (writing the title track), bare trees (writing “ghost” & “sentimental lady”), penguin & mystery to me (writing “hypnotized”).
li’l phat (19, june 7) hip hop artist; shooting in atlanta
chuck share (85, june 7)
taken with the first pick in the first nba draft in 1950 by the boston celtics, share played for three teams that would relocate in future years (fort wayne pistons, milwaukee/st.louis hawks, and minneapolis lakers). he won an nba title with the st. louis hawks in 1958.
stay high 149 (61, june 11) graffiti artist
henry hill (69, june 12) mobster
hill’s life story was documented in the book wiseguy & then made into the scorsese movie goodfellas.
rodney king (47, june 17) lapd beating victim
in 1991, rodney king was beaten by seven l.a. policemen & it was caught on video by a bystander. four officers went on trial, but were acquitted. this further exacerbated racial tension & the feelings of inequality in l.a. & sparked the infamous 1992 l.a. race riots.
brian hibbard (65, june 18) welsh singer for the flying pickets
gerry bron (79, june 19) music manager & record label owner
bron was responsible for bringing up uriah heep in the late 60s. he ran bronze records, also releasing motorhead's records "overkill," "ace of spades," "bomber" & "iron fist." bron worked with artists such as marianne faithfull & gene pitney as well. i paid tribute to him in part when i played uriah heep “demon’s & wizards” on the 40th anniversary of its release back in may. and will do the same later when i play “the magician’s birthday.”
gad beck (88, june 24) gay, jewish holocaust survivor. in 2000, he was in the documentary paragraph 175 & published his autobiography "an underground life."
nora ephron (71, june 26)
with both her parents & all three of her husbands being writers, it probably was expected ephron would do something like become a romcom legend writing/ directing films like “when harry met sally,” “sleepless in seattle,” “you’ve got mail,” and “julie & julia.” also helping her natural writing ability was that she lived a dramatic life. she had been the whistleblower of the whistleblower, by trying to expose the identity of the informant of watergate scandal (mark felt). she was for a few years married to carl bernstein, the washington post reporter who teamed with bob woodward to report on watergate. her marriage to bernstein ended when he had an affair with baronness margaret jay. a loose version of that story can be found in ephron’s film “heartburn” starring jack nicholson & meryl streep. nora spent the last 25 years married to nicholas pileggi, who’s career has been mainly devoted to writing screenplays for gangster stories. he’s done a lot of high end ones, notably “goodfellas” the subject of which (henry hill) passed away earlier this month. with the films ephron has been a part of, it is likely assumed she has a few academy awards. she has none, though her trophy case has many accolades.
doris singleton (92, june 26) actress “i love lucy” “twilight zone” “my three sons”
don grady (68, june 27) actor “my three sons”
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