Results for "Obituary"

Bob Flanigan

June 23, 2011

More than one Rifftides reader has taken me to task for posting nothing about the death of Bob Flanigan, the original lead singer of the vocal-instrumental group The Four Freshmen. Flanigan died on May 15 at his home in Las Vegas. He was 84. As if to validate the group, many of his obituaries dwelled on ...

R.I.P. Clarence Clemons

June 21, 2011

THE BIG MAN IS GONE On the cover of 1975's Born To Run, it is saxophonist Clarence Clemons that Bruce Springsteen leans on, the pair caught in a moment of laughing camaraderie. For decades, Clarence was the rock, at least subtly & psychologically, the entire E Street Band set their foot upon, a presence as much ...

Clarence Clemons (1942-2011): An Appreciation

June 20, 2011

ate last night, I saw the email light blinking on my phone. A single new message had come in from one of my writer cohorts. The subject line read “Blood Brothers" ... and I knew. By the time you read this, thousands of obits will have already been published. The Clarence Clemons' story is well known ...

Clarence Clemons, 1942-2011...

June 20, 2011

A cornerstone of the E Street Band has now passed away. Saxophonist Clarence Clemons died Saturday evening at 69, just days after suffering a serious stroke. Shortly after news of the death, Bruce Springsteen offered this statement. “Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He ...

More About Mae

June 18, 2011

Following up on the death of the iconic singer Mae Wheeler, yesterday I talked with people who knew and worked with her for another article that's now up on the Riverfront Times website. Check it out! Update—More coverage from around town of Wheeler's passing: The Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson recalled the first time he met Wheeler, and ...

Mae Wheeler 1934 - 2011

June 16, 2011

Singer Mae Wheeler (pictured), known to generations of St. Louis music fans as “Lady Jazz," died this evening at her home in Maryland Heights after a long illness. She was 77. Wheeler, known for her charity fundraising efforts as well as for a musical career that spanned six decades, had been battling colon cancer since 2006, ...

Ray Bryant, 1931-2011

June 5, 2011

Ray Bryant died on Thursday in a New York hospital following a long illness. He was 79. A pillar of modern mainstream piano, Bryant was often categorized as a blues pianist. He was certainly that, a great one, but his stylistic breadth,powerful swing and harmonic flexibility put him in demand not only by blues singers and ...

Ray Bryant - R.I.P.

June 4, 2011

While the news today has been full of the deaths of Jack “Dr. Death" Kevorkian, 83 (a curiously interesting musician in his own right), and actor James “Matt Dillon" Arness, 88, the great pianist Ray Bryant has also died. His sound—a mix of joyous jazz and grandstanding gospel—was like no other and is evident on many ...

R.I.P. Gil Scott Heron "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" [video]

May 31, 2011

Weekend Wax Bits

May 30, 2011

Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011), a spoken-word singer- songwriter whose socially conscious soul-jazz albums of the '70s neatly leveraged the feel and urgency of Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye and Richie Havens, died in New York on May 27. He was 62. Scott-Heron's albums from the '70s are essential for fans of jazz and soul. His most dynamic recordings ...