In Memoriam: Steve Albini (1962 – 2024)

Steven Frank Albini (July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer who was a member of the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (1992–2024). He was the founder, owner, and principal engineer of the Chicago recording studio Electrical Audio. He recorded thousands of records, collaborating with acts including Nirvana, the Pixies, the Breeders, PJ Harvey, the Jesus Lizard and Page and Plant.

Albini was born in Pasadena, California, and raised in Missoula, Montana. After discovering the Ramones as a teenager, he played in a number of punk bands. He earned a degree in journalism at Northwestern University, Illinois, and he wrote for local zines before moving to Chicago, where he immersed himself in the punk scene. He formed Big Black in 1981, with whom he released two albums: Atomizer (1986) and Songs About Fucking (1987).

Following the dissolution of Big Black, Albini opened Electrical Audio and focused on engineering. He briefly played in Rapeman with David Wm. Sims and Rey Washam, releasing their only album, Two Nuns and a Pack Mule (1988). In 1992, he formed Shellac with Bob Weston and Todd Trainer, with whom he released several albums, including At Action Park (1994) and 1000 Hurts (2000).

Noted for his outspoken and blunt opinions, Albini was critical of local punk scenes and the music industry, which he saw as exploitative. He refused to take royalties on albums he worked on, operating on a fee-only basis. Albini died of a heart attack on May 7, 2024.

In Memoriam: David Sanborn (1945 – 2024)

David William Sanborn (July 30, 1945 – May 12, 2024) was an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blended jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975 but had been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school and was a session musician long before its release. He was active as a session musician, playing on several albums by various artists.

One of the most commercially successful American saxophonists to earn prominence since the 1980s, Sanborn was described by critic Scott Yanow as “the most influential saxophonist on pop, R&B, and crossover players of the past 20 years.” He is often identified with radio-friendly smooth jazz, but expressed a disinclination for the genre and his association with it.

He has won six Grammy Awards and has had eight gold albums and one platinum album.

Sanborn won Grammy Awards for Voyeur (1981), Double Vision (1986), and the instrumental album Close Up (1988).

In 2004, Sanborn was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Sanborn died of complications from prostate cancer in Tarrytown, New York, at age 78. He had been diagnosed with the disease in 2018.

In Memoriam: John Barbata (1945 – 2024)

John Barbata (April 1, 1945 – May 8, 2024) was an American drummer who was active especially in pop and rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer. Barbata served as the drummer for The Turtles, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jefferson Airplane (for its final album and tour only), and Jefferson Starship (from 1974 to 1978). Barbata claimed to have played on over 60 albums in an uncredited capacity.

At the age of 33, Barbata retired from the mainstream music industry and built a house and recording studio in the remote redwood village of Comptche, California. He continued making music locally. On July 3, 1981, Barbata married the Oklahoma native and artist, Angela Evans (1961–2016). They released two albums together, California and Oklahoma. In 1987, their daughter Leah was born. They later relocated to his late wife’s hometown of Ada, Oklahoma, where Barbata resided up to his death. In 2016, after 34 years of marriage, his wife died from cancer. Barbata continued to play music, often performing with former band members or his singer-songwriter daughter.

Barbata died at the age of 79.

In Memoriam: Duane Eddy (1938 – 2024)

Duane Eddy (April 26, 1938 – April 30, 2024) was an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically “twangy” sound, including “Rebel-‘Rouser”, “Peter Gunn”, and “Because They’re Young”. He had sold 12 million records by 1963.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2008.

In Memoriam: Richard Tandy (1948 – 2024)

Richard Tandy (March 26, 1948 – May 1, 2024) was an English musician. He was the keyboardist in the band Electric Light Orchestra (“ELO”). His palette of keyboards (including Minimoog, Clavinet, Mellotron, and piano) was an important ingredient in the group’s sound, especially on the albums A New World Record, Out of the Blue, Discovery, and Time.

Tandy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 7, 2017, as a member of Electric Light Orchestra.

Tandy was born in Birmingham and educated at Moseley School, where he first met future bandmate Bev Bevan. Tandy would later be reunited with Bevan in 1968 when he played the harpsichord on The Move’s UK number one chart single “Blackberry Way” and briefly joined them live playing keyboards, but switched to bass while regular bassist Trevor Burton was sidelined due to a shoulder injury. When Burton was able to play again, Tandy left to join The Uglys.

In 1972, Tandy served as the bassist in the first live line-up of Electric Light Orchestra (originally a side project of The Move), before becoming the band’s full-time keyboardist. He has collaborated musically with ELO frontman Jeff Lynne on many projects, among them songs for the Electric Dreams soundtrack, Lynne’s solo album Armchair Theatre and Lynne-produced Dave Edmunds album Information.

Tandy’s keyboards are an integral part of ELO’s sound, and include piano, Minimoog, Clavinet, Oberheim, Wurlitzer electric piano, Mellotron, Yamaha CS-80, ARP 2600, and harmonium. He was also proficient on guitar. On some albums he is also credited with vocals or backing vocals, without any specification of which songs. Tandy was Jeff Lynne’s right-hand man in the studio and co-arranged the strings with Lynne and Louis Clark from Eldorado onwards.

In 1985, Tandy formed the Tandy Morgan Band featuring Dave Morgan and Martin Smith, both of whom had worked with ELO in live concerts. In 1985, the Tandy Morgan Band released the concept album Earthrise. A remastered version was released on CD on the Rock Legacy label in 2011. A follow-up to Earthrise with previously unpublished tracks was released as The BC Collection, containing one track written by Tandy: “Enola Sad”.

Tandy is featured on every ELO album except 1971’s No Answer, recorded by Wood, Lynne, Bevan, Bill Hunt and Steve Woolam prior to his arrival, and 2015’s Alone in the Universe, on which all of the instruments aside from some percussions were played by Lynne.

In 2012, Tandy reunited with Lynne to record another ELO project, a live set of the band’s biggest hits recorded at Lynne’s Bungalow Palace home recording studio, which was broadcast on television.[5] In 2013, Tandy joined Lynne in performing two songs for Children In Need Rocks, “Livin’ Thing” and “Mr Blue Sky”. He was also part of ELO’s set on Radio 2’s Festival In A Day in September 2014, and played a piano solo on the song One More Time from Lynne’s ELO 2019 album From Out of Nowhere.

In Memoriam: Mike Pinder (1941 – 2024)

Michael Thomas Pinder (December 27, 1941 – April 25, 2024) was an English rock musician. He was a founding member and the original keyboard player of the rock group the Moody Blues. He left the group following the recording of the band’s ninth album Octave in 1978. Pinder was renowned for his technological contributions to rock music, most notably in the development and emergence of the Mellotron in 1960s rock music. In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues. He was the last surviving of the group’s original five members.

Pinder died at his northern California home at the age of 82. He had been suffering for some years from dementia.

In Memoriam: Chan Romero (1941 – 2024)

Robert Lee “Chan” Romero (July 7, 1941 – April 2024) was an American rock and roll performer, best known for his 1959 song “Hippy Hippy Shake”.

Romero was born in Billings, Montana. His father was of Spanish and Apache descent, while his mother was a mixture of Mexican, Cherokee, and Irish. Both had migrated to Montana during the Great Depression, seeking employment as migrant farm workers. The nickname “Chan” was bestowed on Romero by his grandfather. Since Romero often ran around without footwear, the nickname, from a Spanish phrase meaning “little boy with pig’s feet” seemed appropriate.

Romero said Elvis Presley’s 1956 performance of “Hound Dog” on The Steve Allen Show was a turning point in his life. He hitchhiked to East Los Angeles, California, in 1958 while still a teenager, where he wrote “Hippy Hippy Shake” and launched his career. An uncle introduced Romero and his music to an A&R representative from Specialty Records: Sonny Bono. Bono was particularly taken with a song called “My Little Ruby” and asked Romero to polish the song and to return in a few weeks. But since Romero needed to return to school in Montana, he never returned to Specialty.

Romero’s career skyrocketed with the release of “Hippy Hippy Shake” in July 1959. Released first in North America and later in Australia and the UK, it soon came to the attention of Paul McCartney who liked the song and sang it at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and the Star Club in Hamburg during his early years with The Beatles. It also did well enough in Australia for Romero to do a tour there with Jerry Lee Lewis. The 1964 version by The Swinging Blue Jeans hit number one across Europe.

Romero became the first Latino to be inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Romero’s work bore a resemblance to that of Ritchie Valens, and the two ended up on the same record label. After Valens died in a plane crash, Romero was introduced to Valens’ grieving mother, with whom Romero became close. Her home served as Romero’s home during his visits to Los Angeles; he slept in Valens’ bedroom. He remained close to the Valens family and performed at the Ritchie Valens memorial concert held yearly in Pacoima, California.

Romero’s first visit to Palm Springs, California in 1964 inspired him to make the area his home. In later life, he still resided in the area and divided his time between Palm Springs and Billings. Romero’s daughter stated in 2023 that Chan no longer received royalties for his music.

Romero died at the age of 82.

In Memoriam: Mandisa (1976 – 2024)

Mandisa Lynn Hundley (October 2, 1976 – April 18, 2024) known professionally as Mandisa, was an American gospel and contemporary Christian recording artist. Her career began as a contestant in the fifth season of American Idol, in which she finished in ninth place. She is the fifth American Idol alumna to have won a Grammy Award, for her album Overcomer in the Best Contemporary Christian Music Album category.

Mandisa resided in the suburban Nashville community of Antioch, Tennessee.[citation needed] Since her appearance on American Idol in 2006, Mandisa had made efforts toward health and weight loss. The title of her second album, Freedom, was inspired by her experience of overcoming an addiction to food. As of March 2009, she had reportedly lost 75 pounds and hoped to lose a total of 100 or more. As of February 2011, she reached her goal of losing 100 pounds.

In May 2017, Mandisa returned to the public eye. Speaking openly about her struggle with depression, she appeared on podcasts and wrote a memoir, “Out of the Dark: My Journey Through the Shadows to Find God’s Joy”. When she released her album Out of the Dark in 2017, it was the first she had recorded in three years.

Mandisa died at her home in Nashville, Tennessee.

In Memoriam: Dickey Betts (1943 – 2024)

Forrest Richard Betts (December 12, 1943 – April 18, 2024) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band.

Early in his career, he collaborated with Duane Allman, introducing melodic twin guitar harmony and counterpoint which “rewrote the rules for how two rock guitarists can work together, completely scrapping the traditional rhythm/lead roles to stand toe to toe”. Following Allman’s death in 1971, Betts assumed sole lead guitar duties during the peak of the group’s commercial success in the mid-1970s. Betts was the writer and singer on the Allmans’ hit single “Ramblin’ Man”. He also gained renown for composing instrumentals, with one appearing on most of the groups albums, including “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and “Jessica” (which was later used as the theme to Top Gear).

The band went through a hiatus in the late 1970s, during which time Betts, like many of the other band members, pursued a solo career and side projects under such names as Great Southern and The Dickey Betts Band. The Allman Brothers reformed in 1979, with Dan Toler taking the second guitar role alongside Betts. In 1982, they broke up a second time, during which time Betts formed the group Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks, which lasted until 1984. A third reformation occurred in 1989, with Warren Haynes now joining Betts on guitar. After Betts was ousted from the band in 2000 over a conflict regarding his continued drug and alcohol use; he never played with them again nor appeared with other former band members for reunions or side projects. With the death of Betts in April of 2024, Jaimoe is the last living founder of the Allman Brothers Band.

He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and also won a best rock performance Grammy Award with the band for “Jessica” in 1996. Betts was ranked No. 58 on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list in 2003, and No. 61 on the list published in 2011.

Betts married his fifth wife, Donna, in 1989. He had four children: Kimberly, Christy, Jessica and Duane. Christy is married to Frank Hannon of the band Tesla. Duane, named for Betts’ former bandmate Duane Allman, is also a musician and has performed and recorded with his father.

In August 2018, Betts suffered a mild stroke and had to cancel upcoming tour dates with his Dickey Betts Band. He was in critical yet stable condition at a Florida hospital following an accident at his home in Osprey, Florida. An operation was planned for September 20, 2018. He successfully underwent surgery to relieve swelling on his brain. In a statement posted on his website, Betts and his family said the “outpouring of support from all over the world has been overwhelming and amazing. We are so appreciative.”

Although he briefly resided in Georgia during the formative years of the Allman Brothers Band, he lived in Florida’s Sarasota metropolitan area for most of his life.

Betts died at his home in Osprey, Florida from cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

In Memoriam: Arthur “Pooch” Tavares (1942 – 2024)

Arthur Paul “Pooch” Tavares (November 12, 1942 – April 15, 2024)

Tavares (also known as The Tavares Brothers) is an American R&B and soul music group composed of five Cape Verdean-American brothers. Some were born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island, and they would move back and forth between the two cities throughout their childhood. They are probably best known for their 1976 hit “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel”.

The brothers, whose parents were of Cape Verdean descent, started performing in 1959 as Chubby and the Turnpikes when the youngest brother was nine years old. P-Funk keyboardist/architect Bernie Worrell briefly joined the group in 1968, while attending the New England Conservatory of Music. Future Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer appeared as the drummer with the group in a later incarnation called The Turnpikes from the fall of 1969 until September 1970, when he was invited to join Steven Tyler’s band. He was later replaced with drummer Paul Klodner and bassist Steve Strout, which gave them a tight, punchy rhythm section. Chubby and The Turnpikes signed with Capitol Records in 1967 and had a couple of local hit records including “I Know the Inside Story” in 1967 and “Nothing But Promises” in 1968.

By 1973, they had changed their name to Tavares and scored their first R&B top 10 (Pop top 40) hit with “Check It Out”, and soon began charting regularly on the R&B and pop charts. Their first album included their brother Victor, who sang lead on “Check It Out”, but dropped out of the group shortly afterward. In 1974, Tavares had their first No. 1 R&B hit with Hall & Oates’s “She’s Gone”.

1975 turned out to be their most successful year chartwise, with a Top 40 Pop album (In the City), the No. 25 hit “Remember What I Told You to Forget”, and their biggest hit, the Top 10 Pop/No. 1 R&B smash “It Only Takes a Minute”, which was later successfully covered by both Jonathan King and Take That, and sampled by Jennifer Lopez. They parlayed this success into a spot as an opening act for The Jackson 5. KC and The Sunshine Band was also on this tour. “Minute” was followed by a string of hits: “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel”, “Don’t Take Away the Music” (both 1976), and “Whodunit” (1977, another No. 1 R&B hit). In 1977 they also recorded “I Wanna See You Soon”, a duet with Capitol labelmate Freda Payne, which received airplay on BBC Radio 1 but failed to chart.

Ralph – Ralph Edward Vierra Tavares (December 10, 1941 – December 8, 2021)
Pooch – Arthur Paul Tavares (November 12, 1942 – April 15, 2024)
Chubby – Antone Lee Tavares (born June 2, 1944)
Butch – Feliciano Vierra Tavares Jr. (born May 18, 1948)
Tiny – Perry Lee Tavares (born October 23, 1949)

In Memoriam: Clarence “Frogman” Henry (1937 – 2024)

Clarence Henry II (born March 19, 1937), known as Clarence “Frogman” Henry, is an American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, best known for his hits “Ain’t Got No Home” (1956) and “(I Don’t Know Why) But I Do” (1961).

Clarence Henry was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, in 1937, moving to the Algiers neighborhood in 1948. He started learning piano as a child, with Fats Domino and Professor Longhair being his main influences. When Henry played in talent shows, he dressed like Longhair and wore a wig with braids on both sides. He joined Bobby Mitchell & the Toppers in 1952, playing piano and trombone, before leaving when he graduated in 1955 to join saxophonist Eddie Smith’s band.

He used his trademark croak to improvise the song “Ain’t Got No Home” one night in 1955. Chess Records’ A&R man Paul Gayten heard the song, and had Henry record it in Cosimo Matassa’s studio in September 1956. Initially promoted by local DJ Poppa Stoppa, the song eventually rose to number 3 on the national R&B chart and number 20 on the US pop chart. The gimmick earned Henry his nickname of ‘Frogman’ and jump-started a career that endures to this day.

He toured nationally with a six-piece band until 1958 and continued to record. A cover of Bobby Charles’ hit “(I Don’t Know Why) But I Do”, and “You Always Hurt the One You Love”, both from 1961, were his other big hits.

Henry opened eighteen concerts for the Beatles across the US and Canada in 1964, but his main source of income came from the Bourbon Street strip in New Orleans, where he played for nineteen years. His name could still draw hordes of tourists long after his hit-making days had ended. He still plays at various conventions, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Henry collected stuffed and ceramic frogs of every description. They lined shelves throughout his Algiers home.

That home was badly damaged by Hurricane Ida. Henry, whose mobility was severely limited in recent years, slept on a moldy sofa until friends and fans learned of his dire straits. Volunteers helped repair his home and replace his furnishings.

Even as his health declined and he had to rely on a walker or wheelchair, he continued to make occasional appearances onstage.

He was scheduled to perform at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, April 25 as part of “The New Orleans Classic Recording Revue” alongside the Dixie Cups, Al “Carnival Time” Johnson and Wanda Rouzan. That show was to have also included a tribute to Jean Knight, the “Mr. Big Stuff” singer who died in 2023.

In Memoriam: C. J. Snare (1959 – 2024)

Carl “C.J.” Snare (December 14, 1959 – April 5, 2024) was an American singer best known for being the frontman and founding member of the hard rock/glam metal band FireHouse.

Snare co-wrote most of the band’s songs and has had seven songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, five of which were top 40. He also appeared periodically with his other band, Rubicon Cross, and occasionally appeared with Scrap Metal.

Snare was born on December 14, 1959 in Washington, D.C. He had two sons and one daughter.

In 2020 he was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. In 2023 he took a hiatus from FireHouse to undergo abdominal surgery. Although he intended to return to the band for their shows in summer 2024, he died on April 5 of cardiac arrest. He was 64.

In Memoriam: Michael Ward (1967 – 2024)

Michael Ward (February 21, 1967 – April 1, 2024) was an American guitarist from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ward was a founding member of the early 1990s alternative rock band School of Fish on Capitol Records, his unique tone provided the underpinning hook for the Band’s hit single “3 Strange Days” which has been covered by several artists, most recently by Dave Navarro (Janes Addiction) and Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe) in a live performance at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.

Michael’s innovative approach to the guitar has captured the attention of several producers such as Matt Wallace (Faith No More, Maroon 5, Deftones, R.E.M) and Mark Endert (Madonna, Train, Miley Cyrus) leading to over 50 studio album recordings throughout his 35-year career.

With Matt Wallace, Ward recorded the John Hiatt album Perfectly Good Guitar, including the hit title track. Along with Mark Endert, he recorded the Gavin DeGraw album Chariot, which featured the smash hit “I Don’t Wanna Be.”

In 1995, Ward was approached by Jakob Dylan to join the Wallflowers and record the album Bringing Down the Horse, selling over 5 million copies and earning Michael a Grammy Award for “One Headlight” in the category of Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with vocal.

Ward died on April 1, 2024, at the age of 57.

In Memoriam: Albert Heath (1935 – 2024)

Albert “Tootie” Heath (May 31, 1935 – April 3, 2024) was an American jazz hard bop drummer, the brother of tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the double-bassist Percy Heath. With Stanley Cowell, the Heaths formed the Heath Brothers jazz band in 1975.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on May 31, 1935, he first recorded in 1957 with John Coltrane. From 1958 to 1974, he worked with, among others, J. J. Johnson, Wes Montgomery, Art Farmer and Benny Golson’s Jazztet, Cedar Walton, Bobby Timmons, Kenny Drew, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Herbie Hancock, Friedrich Gulda, Nina Simone, and Yusef Lateef. In 1975, he, Jimmy and Percy formed the Heath Brothers. He remained with the group until 1978, then left to freelance.[2] He recorded extensively throughout his career.

Among his many workshop and classroom teaching assignments, Heath was a regular instructor at the Stanford Jazz Workshop.

Heath was later the producer and leader of The Whole Drum Truth, a jazz drum ensemble featuring Ben Riley, Ed Thigpen, Jackie Williams, Billy Hart, Charlie Persip, Leroy Williams and Louis Hayes.

Albert Heath died from leukemia in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the age of 88.

In Memoriam: Keith LeBlanc (1954 – 2024)

Keith LeBlanc (1954 – April 4, 2024) was an American drummer and record producer who was a member of the bands Little Axe and Tackhead.

His record “No Sell Out” was one of the first sample-based releases. The song was a success, charting at No. 60 on the UK Singles Chart, and becoming the single of the week for several major music publications. His career started out on Sugar Hill Records recording with hip hop pioneers Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel, and released several singles on and was a studio musician for Tommy Boy Records. He is also featured on several tracks on the album Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails. He had his own record label on which he still released music, samples records, and experiments.