Music Obituaries: March 2023

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The time has come to pause for a moment and pay tribute to the people from the world of music who left us last month. My primary interest is music, so I make sure that these individuals get their final round of applause, given that most people don’t get the headline coverage that a death like Prince or Michael Jackson got. Here are the music individuals who sang their final songs in March 2023: *Leon Hughes (March 1, natural causes, age 92): DOO WOP HALL OF FAMER. The final original member of the Coasters. Although the Coasters are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Hughes was NOT inducted with them. Steve Mackey (March 2, long illness, age 56): bassist for the British band Pulp who also produced albums by the likes of Arcade Fire and Marianne Faithful. Wayne Shorter (March 2, unknown cause, age 89): multi-Grammy winning jazz saxophonist who also received the Kennedy Center Honors for his decades of work. David Lindley (March 3, vasculitis, age 78): one of the most prolific session musicians in Los Angeles in the 70s and 80s, he was best-known for his work with Jackson Browne. That included performing the falsetto chorus of Browne’s cover of “Stay” in 1978. *Calvin Newton (march 3, natural causes, age 93): GOSPEL MUSIC HALL OF FAMER. A member of the Oak Ridge Boys from their days solely as a gospel act, prior to the current country incarnation of the act. Robert Haimer (March 4, long illness, age 69): half of the act Barnes & Barnes and writer of their big novelty hit “Fish Heads.” Michael Rhodes (March 4, unknown cause, age 69): in-demand session musician who played with acts as diverse as rock’s Elton John and country’s Rodney Crowell. He was also a member of the Crowell/Vince Gill “supergroup” the Notorious Cherry Bombs. *Gary Rossington (March 5, heart disease, age 71): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. The final original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd was their lead guitarist and co-writer of many Skynyrd songs, including “Sweet Home Alabama” and “What’s Your Name.” Chaim Topol (March 8, Alzheimer’s disease, age 87): Israeli actor who generated worldwide acclaim as Tevye in the film version of Fiddler on the Roof. Napoleon XIV (ne Jerrold Samuels) (March 10, unknown cause, age 84): singer/songwriter best remembered for his novelty hit “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ah-Ha!” Jim Gordon (March 13, natural causes, age 77): one of the saddest cases in rock and roll. As a session drummer, he was in Traffic and Derek & the Dominos and co-wrote the classic “Layla.” Unfortunately, he was a schizophrenic and ended up doing life in prison for murdering his mother. He died in prison. Bobby Caldwell (March 14, long illness, age 71): singer and songwriter who had a hit with “What You Won’t Do for Love” and co-wrote “Next Time I Fall,” the duet with Peter Cetera and Amy Grant. *Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins (March 16, unknown cause, age 81): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. Singer in the legendary funk group Parliament-Funkadelic. Ron Spears (March 22, complications of cancer surgery, age 69): bluegrass bassist and performer who worked with the likes of Special Consensus. Tom Leadon (March 22, natural causes, age 70): the brother of Eagles co-founder Bernie Leadon was the co-founder of Tom Petty’s pre-success band Mudcrutch. Keith Reid (March 23, colon cancer, age 76): member of Procol Harem who co-wrote their biggest hit, “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” Nick Lloyd Webber (March 25, gastric cancer, age 43): the son of the legendary Andrew Lloyd Webber was a composer on his own, having scored The Little Prince and the TV series Love, Lies, and Records. Ray Pillow (March 26, natural causes, age 85): country music singer and songwriter whose biggest hit was his humorous duet with Jean Shepard, “I’ll Take the Dog.” Howie Kane (March 27, injuries from a car wreck, age 81): lead singer for Jay and the Americans. Peggy Scott-Adams (March 27, unknown cause, age 74): R&B singer billed as the “little lady with the big voice,” she was known for her hit duets with Jo Jo Benson including “Picking Wild Mountain Berries.” Ryuichi Sakamoto (March 28, rectal cancer, age 71): Japanese composer who won two Oscars for his film scores, including sharing The Last Emperor award with David Byrne. Sweet Charles Sherrell (march 29, unknown cause, age 80): James Brown’s longtime bassist. Mark Russell (March 30, prostate cancer, age 90): a brilliant political musical satirist who had a bi-monthly program on PBS for nearly 30s. Philip Balsam (March 31, unknown cause, age 79): Canadian songwriter who wrote a number of songs for Jim Henson’s TV program Fraggle Rock. Farewell, and thank you for the music. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s song “Don’t Ask Me No Questions,” co-written by and featuring the late Gary Rossington on guitar: