Music Obituaries: January 2023

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Welcome to the first music memorial of 2023. With the beginning of the new year the world of music started taking a lot of losses. A friend said it reminded her of 2016, when we lost four Hall of Famers in one month. We did that again this year, too. Along with the famous, the people behind the scenes and the little-known acts also passed away, and that’s why I do this every month: to acknowledge the contributions they made to music. No matter how well-known or little-known they were, they still mattered. Here are the music and music related individuals for whom the final curtain fell in January 2023: *Fred White (January 1, unknown cause, age 67): Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. The drummer for Earth, Wind, and Fire and half-brother of the late front man Maurice White. Jeff Capps (January 3, unknown cause, age 55): son of Musicians Hall of Fame member Jimmy Capps and brother of sound engineer Mark Capps (see below). Stan Hitchcock (January 4, cancer, age 86): country music singer with some hits in the 60s, as well as the co-founder of the cable channel Country Music Television (CMT). Mark Capps (January 5, shot [suicide by cop], age 54): Grammy-winning sound engineer and record producer and the son of Musicians Hall of Fame member Jimmy Capps. He took his wife and step-daughter hostage two days after his brother’s death and was shot by police when he pointed his gun at them. Gordy Harmon (January 5, unknown cause, age 79): founding member of the R&B group the Whispers. Jeff Blackburn (January 6, unknown cause, age 77): guitarist in the bands Moby Grape and Blackburn and Snow. He also co-wrote “Hey, Hey, My, My (Out of the Blue)” with Neil Young. Jack W. Hayford (January 8, natural cause, age 88): Pentecostal minister and songwriter whose song “Majesty” became a contemporary Christian classic. Slim Newton (January 8, natural causes, age 90): Australian country singer best remembered for his novelty song “Redback on the Toilet Seat.” *Jeff Beck (January 10, bacterial meningitis, age 78): Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. Guitarist in the Yardbirds and a jazz/rock solo artist who influenced countless guitarists. Dennis Budimir (January 10, unknown cause, age 84): guitarist in the Los Angeles-based “supergroup” of musicians known as the Wrecking Crew. Robbie Bachman (January 12, unknown cause, age 69): the drummer in Bachman-Turner Overdrive and brother of front man Randy Bachman. Lisa Marie Presley (January 12, cardiac arrest, age 54): the daughter of Elvis Presley made some records on her own (most notably, her cover of Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry”). Gordon “Country Boy Eddie” Burns (January 13, natural causes, age 92): a mainstay in the Birmingham, Alabama radio and TV market with his country music show, he was instrumental in giving Tammy Wynette her first exposure on his program. Keith Beaton (January 14, unknown cause, age 72): member of the R&B group Blue Magic, known for their 1974 hits “Sideshow.” Bruce Gowers (January 15, acute respiratory infection, age 82): video music directors whose successes included Prince’s “1999” and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” C.J. Harris (January 15, heart attack, age 31): a contestant on the 13th season of American Idol. Tom Corcoran (January 16, cancer, age 79): writer who was Jimmy Buffett’s sailing buddy for decades. Gary Smith (January 16, short illness, age 64): the co-owner of Vermont’s Fort Apache Studios, where he produced records for the likes of Billy Bragg and the Pixies. Van Connor (January 17, pneumonia, age 55): bassist for the influential grunge band Screaming Trees. *David Crosby (January 19, COVID-19, age 81): Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. From the Byrds to Crosby, Stills, and Nash, his lilting voice and harmonies made an indelible impact on folk-rock. Jerry Blavat (January 20, myasthenia gravis, age 82): Philadelphia-based songwriter, disc jockey, music historian, and promoter. Marshall Tucker (January 20, complications from a fall, age 99): a blind-from-birth piano player and tuner in South Carolina who became the namesake of the iconic southern rock band the Marshall Tucker Band after they found his name on a keychain in the recording studio. Tom Topham (January 23, unknown cause, age 75): one of the many guitarists in the later career of the Yardbirds. Dean Daughtry (January 26, natural cause, age 76): keyboardist in the Classics IV and the later incarnation known as the Atlanta Rhythm Section. He co-wrote two of ARS’s biggest hits, “So Into You” and “Imaginary Lover.” Peter McCann (January 26, unknown cause, age 74): singer (“Do You Want to Make Love”) and songwriter (Jennifer Warnes’ “Right Time of the Night”) whose popularity peaked in the 1970s. Floyd Sneed (January 27, unknown cause, age 80): the drummer for Three Dog Night. Barrett Strong (January 28, unknown cause, age 81): R&B singer and songwriter whose biggest songwriting credits include “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “War,” and “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me).” Pat Bunch (January 30, unknown cause, age 83): country music songwriter whose credits include the hit “Wild One” by Faith Hill. Donnie Marsico (January 31, unknown cause, age 68): a later member of the 70s band the Jaggerz, known for their one hit “The Rapper.” *Charlie Thomas (January 31, liver cancer, age 85): Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. The final original member of the legendary R&B group the Drifters. Farewell, and thank you for the music. One of David Crosby’s great songs from the CSN album: