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Sunday 1 January 2017

2016 Wrap-up

Well, I for one am glad 2016 is done and dusted. It wasn't a great year personally for me, and for those of us who follow the world of music and entertainment, we lost too many great people.

I stopped writing this year because life got in the way, but in retrospect, there would have been too many "Vale" posts to write.

Here's a fairly thorough list of the entertainers we lost in 2016:

  • Robert Stigwood (artist manager for Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, et al)
  • David Bowie
  • Glenn Frey (guitarist/vocalist/songwriter for the Eagles)
  • Alan Rickman (notable for the character "Professor Snape" in the Harry Potter franchise)
  • Bryce Rohde (Aussie Jazz Pianist)
  • Paul Kantner (Guitarist in the Jefferson Airplane)
  • Maurice White (Vocalist from Earth, Wind and Fire)
  • Vanity (of Prince-associated project Vanity 6)
  • Harper Lee (author of the classic "To Kill a Mockingbird")
  • Sir George Martin (producer of many great records, including all of the Beatles catalog)
  • Jon English (Australian Rock star and theatre actor)
  • Keith Emerson (keyboardist of the Nice and Emerson Lake and Palmer)
  • Frank Sinatra Jnr (son of the late crooner Frank Sinatra)
  • Steve Young (outlaw Country singer)
  • Phife Dawg (rapper from A Tribe Called Quest)
  • Dennis Davis (drummer with David Bowie and Stevie Wonder)
  • Merle Haggard (Outlaw country singer)
  • Pete Zorn (multi-instrumentalist with Steeleye Span and Richard Thompson, among others)
  • Prince
  • Billy Paul (American soul singer, whose biggest hit was "Me and Mrs Jones")
  • Muhummad Ali (boxer and media figure)
  • Mac Cocker (Triple J broadcasting pioneer and father of Jarvis Cocker from Pulp)
  • Bernie Worrell (keyboard wizard with Parliament/Funkadelic and Talking Heads)
  • Mac Rice (writer of "Mustang Sally" and Staple Singers' "Respect Yourself")
  • Bud Spencer (a favourite actor of mine, in films like "They Call me Trinity")
  • Scotty Moore (guitarist on all the early Elvis Presley records)
  • Alan Vega (founder of post-punk band Suicide)
  • Sandy Pearlman (manager of Blue Oyster Cult and founder of online download service E-Music)
  • Viola Beach (British band, all members of which died in a car accident)
  • Ronnie Corbett (British Comedian)
  • Rudy Van Gelder (producer of the some of the finest jazz records of the 20th century)
  • Prince Buster (Jamaican Reggae pioneer)
  • Buckwheat Zydeco (accordionist and Zydeco musician)
  • Ross Higgins (his most famous work was as Ted Bullpit in "Kingswood Country")
  • Fergus Miller, aka Bored Nothing (Australian indie Musician)
  • Mode Allison (American jazz pianist)
  • Milt Okun (producer for Warner Bros Records in the 1960s and 1970s)
  • Sharon Jones (American Soul Singer)
  • Hugh McDonald (songwriter and violinist in Redgum)
  • Florence Henderson (best known for her role as Carol Brady in "The Brady Bunch")
  • Ray Columbus (NZ singer in Ray Columbus and the Invaders, famous for their original hit "She's a Mod" in 1964)
  • Wayne Duncan (Daddy Cool)
  • Ross Hannaford (Daddy Cool)
  • Leonard Cohen
  • Greg Lake (bassist in Emerson Lake and Palmer, King Crimson)
  • Alan Thicke (American actor)
  • Rick Parfitt (rhythm guitarist in Status Quo)
  • George Michael (founder of WHAM! and solo artist)
  • Carrie Fisher (best known for her role as Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" franchise)
  • Debbie Reynolds (mother of Carrie Fisher, actress)

Wow. We will miss each and every one of them.

Here's hoping for a better 2017. Happy new year to you all.

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