Music Obituaries: September 2024

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Every now and then every field will have one of “those” months. September was definitely one of “those” months for music. Not only a number of music personalities passed away, but SIX hall of Famers. Wow. So here, as every month, is the opportunity to give them their final round of applause for the music they gave us. Here are the music and music-related individuals who sang their final song in September 2024: James Darren (September 2, heart failure, age 88): although primarily known as an actor, he had a number of charted songs, with his biggest hit being “Goodbye Cruel World” in 1961. *Pat Lewis (September 2, illness, age 76): RHYTHM & BLUES HALL OF FAMER. An R&B and gospel singer who had a number of R&B hits in the 60s and later became a member of Isaac Hayes’ backing band. Herbie Flowers (September 5, unknown cause, age 86): British bass player who worked with a number of heavyweights including Bowie and Elton. Most famously, he played the iconic bass line in Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side.” Sérgio Mendes (September 5, long COVID, age 83): Grammy-winning Brazilian musician who had hits in the US and worldwide with “Brasil ‘66” and “Brasil ‘77.” Screamin’ Scott Simon (September 5, sinus cancer, age 75): piano player and singer in the 50s revival band Sha Na Na. *Will Jennings (September 6, long illness, age 80): SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAMER. A songwriter who worked with countless acts (such as Jimmy Buffett, Steve Winwood, and Eric Clapton), co-writing such classics as “Tears in Heaven” and “My Heart Will Go On.” Johnny Thunder (ne Leroy Hamilton) (September 6, natural causes, age 93): R&B singer who had the 1963 hit “Loop de Loop.” Dan Morgenstern (September 7, heart failure, age 94): jazz historian and journalist who wrote for DownBeat and Jazz Journal, winning eight Grammy awards for his liner notes. Zoot Money (September 8, unknown cause, age 82): keyboardist who played with the Animals and Humble Pie as well as his own band. Frankie Beverly (September 10, unknown cause, age 77): leader of the 70s disco band Maze and writer of songs such as “Before I Let Go,” later covered by Beyoncé. Kenneth Cope (September 11, natural causes, age 93): the British actor and writer had a long and varied career including a novelty song hit, “Hands Off, Stop Mucking About.” Les Singer (September 12, long illness, age 69): guitarist who, at 40 years, was the longest-tenured member of Bill Anderson’s Po Folks Band. Tommy Cash (September 13, unknown cause, age 84): the younger brother of Johnny Cash had his own string of hits, including “Six White Horses” and “Rise and Shine.” David Davis (September 15, car wreck, age 63): bluegrass mandolin player and leader of the band David Davis and the Warrior River Boys. Kenny Hyslop (September 15, prostate cancer, age 73): drummer for a number of bands, including Simple Minds. *Tito Jackson (September 15, heart attack, age 70): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. A member of the Jackson Five. *Billy Edd Wheeler (September 16, natural causes, age 91): NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAMER. Besides his novelty hit “Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back” he wrote countless country hits in his long career, including “Coward of the County,” “Jackson,” and “The Reverend Mr. Black.” *J.D. Souther (September 17, unknown cause, age 78): SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAMER. As a singer, he had one major hit (1979’s “You’re Only Lonely”). As a songwriter, his career was expansive, co-writing three of the five #1 hits by the Eagles as well as songs for and with Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, and Jimmy Buffett. Nick Gravenites (September 18, complications from dementia and diabetes, age 85): musician who played with The Electric Flag and Big Brother and the Holding Company. He also produced Brewer & Shipley’s hit “One Toke Over the Line.” Daniel McMahon (September 19, esophageal cancer, age 41): musician, songwriter, and record producer whose biggest claim to fame was composing the music for the Oscar-winning film Undefeated. Marvin Schlachter (September 19, intestinal cancer, age 90): founder of the 70s disco/house music label Prelude Records. Kathryn Crosby (September 20, natural causes, age 90): an actress and singer herself, she is best known as Bing Crosby’s widow. Benny Golson September 21, unknown cause, age 95): saxophonist who worked in the “hard bop” era of jazz with the likes of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie. Roger Palm (September 21, Alzheimer’s disease, age 75): drummer for the band Abba. Cat Clover (September 24, unknown cause, age 62): dancer and choreographer for Prince on his Sign o’ the Times tour. Ken Howard (September 24, unknown cause, age 84): British songwriter who composed several TV theme songs and the Honeycombs hit “Have I the Right.” Mike Bell (September 25, congenital heart disease, age 45): rockabilly singer/songwriter from Finland who made a splash with his authentic sound. *Kris Kristofferson (September 28, illness, age 88): COUNTRY MUSIC, SONGWRITERS, and NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAMER. A songwriter’s songwriter. The poet of our generation who gave us lyrical movies such as “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down” and “Me and Bobbie McGee.” Martin Lee (September 29, heart failure, age 77): singer in the group Brotherhood of Man and songwriter of a number of their songs, including the Eurovision-winning “Save Your Kisses for Me.” Farewell, and thank you for the music. Any other month and I’d naturally have a Kristofferson song; however, J.D. Souther’s death hurt me a lot. The photo above is J.D. and me after his concert in Nashville in 2009. Here’s his song “Faithless Love,” later made famous by his one-time girlfriend Linda Ronstadt.