Category: Tribute
Here are some of the musicians and music-related individuals who performed their final songs in 2013:
JANUARY:
Patti Page (January 1, long illness, age 85): "the singing rage" with a marvelous voice that was equally welcome in pop and country, where her rendition of "Tennessee Waltz" became the best-known version of all.
Sammy Johns (January 4, unknown cause, age 66): singer of the 70's hit "Chevy Van" and songwriter of country hits such as "Common Man" by John Conlee and "Desperado Love" by Conway Twitty.
Tandyn Almer (January 8, respiratory & cardiac illnesses, age 70): songwriter who worked with the Beach Boys and is best known for writing the Association's hit "Along Comes Mary."
Frank Page (January 8, pneumonia, age 87): Disc Jockey Hall of Fame announcer who worked on Shreveport's Louisiana Hayride program and had the distinction of being the first announcer to introduce an audience to Elvis Presley.
Rex Trailer (January 9, pneumonia, age 84): a country music performer from the 50s who worked with an early incarnation of Bill Haley & His Comets, Trailer later went on to success as the host of a regional children's show, Rex Trailer's Boomtown.
Claude Nobs (January 10, injuries from a cross-country skiing accident, age 76): "Funky Claude" in Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" was the founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
Jimmy O'Neill (January 11, heart problems & diabetes, age 72): host of the 1960s ABC music program Shindig.
John Wilkinson (January 11, cancer, age 67): guitar player in the TCB band, Elvis' touring outfit.
Precious Bryant (January 12, heart failure/complications of diabetes, age 71): blues guitarist who had her own style and legions of fans (including Bonnie Raitt) who tried in vain to mimic her playing.
John R. Powers (January 16, heart attack, age 67): author of the hilarious book Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, which became a Broadway musical.
Claude Black (January 17, cancer, age 80): Toledo-based jazz pianist who worked with numerous legendary acts including Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, and even Aretha Fraklin.
Tony Douglas (January 22, lymphoma, age 82): country singer best known for his 1963 hit "His and Hers."
Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner (January 26, cancer, age 70): lead singer of the 70s funk band the Ohio Players, known for their provocative album covers and their #1 hit "Love Rollercoaster."
Patty Andrews (January 30, natural causes, age 94): the last surviving Andrews Sister, who delighted audiences beginning in the late 1930s.
FEBRUARY:
Cecil Womack (February 1, unknown cause, age 65): a one-time member of the Valentinos, the originators of "It's All Over Now," his career included working with one-time wife Mary Wells and Sam Cooke and writing the hit "Love TKO."
Donald Byrd (February 4, unknown causes, age 80): legendary be-bop and jazz trumpet player.
Reg Presley (February 4, cancer, age 71): lead singer of the Troggs and writer of their hit "Love Is All Around."
Rick Huxley (February 11, emphysema, age 72): bassist for the Dave Clark Five.
Mark Kamins (February 14, heart attack, age 57): disc jockey and producer who is credited with discovering Madonna.
Shadow Morton (February 14, cancer, age 71): writer and producer of "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember (Walking in the Sand)," hits for the Shangri-Las.
Tony Sheridan (February 16, complications from heart surgery, age 72): an early collaborator with the Beatles.
Mindy McCready (February 17, suicide [gunshot], age 37): troubled modern country singer who took her own life a month after her boyfriend David Wilson killed himself.
Kevin Ayers (February 18, unknown causes, age 68): founder of the British psychedelic band the Soft Machine.
Damon Harris (February 18, prostate cancer, age 62): member of the legendary R&B band the Temptations.
Magic Slim (February 21, bleeding ulcers and other health issues, age 75): legendary blues guitar player.
Cleotha Staples (February 21, Alzheimer's disease, age 78): member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gospel group the Staples Singers.
Sonny Russo (February 23, unknown causes, age 83): jazz trombonist who played with Sinatra and a host of other jazz and pop legends.
Virgil Johnson (February 24, unknown causes, age 77): member of the doo-wop band the Velvets, who had the 1961 hit "Tonight (Could Be the Night)."
Dirk Fischer (February 25, colon cancer, age 88): jazz trumpet and trombone player.
Dan Toler (February 25, Lou Gehrig's Disease, age 64): guitarist who worked with the Allman Brothers Band, Dickey Betts & Great Southern, and the Renegades of Southern Rock.
Van Cliburn (February 27, bone cancer, age 78): a Texan who conquered the Soviet Union during the Cold War with his magnificent classical playing, Cliburn is the only solo musician in history to receive a ticker tape parade in New York City.
Chuck Goff (February 27, car wreck, age 54): bassist and bandleader for singer Toby Keith.
Richard Street (February 27, pulmonary embolism, age 70): a member of the Temptations, one of two members of the legendary R&B vocal group to die in February 2013 (the other was Damon Harris).
MARCH:
Jewel Aken (March 1, complications of back surgery, age 72): singer best known for his 1965 hit "The Birds and the Bees."
Bobby Rogers (March 3, long illness, age 73): co-founder of the legendary R&B band Smoky Robinson & the Miracles.
Fran Warren (March 4, natural causes, age 87): the vocalist behind the 1947 hit "Sunday Kind of Love" died on her 87th birthday.
Stompin' Tom Connors (March 6, renal failure, age 77): well-known Canadian folk singer who contributed "The Hockey Song" to the NHL lexicon.
Alvin Lee (March 6, post-operative complications, age 67): guitarist for the band Ten Years After, who had the hit "I'd Love to Change the World."
Kenny Ball (March 7, pneumonia, age 82): jazz trumpet player who had a top 3 pop hit, "Midnight in Moscow," in 1962.
Claude King (March 7, natural causes, age 90): country singer who found major crossover success with the song "Wolverton Mountain."
Peter Banks (March 7, heart failure, age 65): the original guitarist for the band Yes.
Sammy Masters (March 8, natural causes, age 82): Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductee who had his songs recorded by the likes of Patsy Cline, Bobby Darin and Willie Nelson.
Clive Burr (March 12, multiple sclerosis, age 56): drummer for the heavy metal band Iron Maiden.
Jack Greene (March 14, Alzheimer's disease, age 83): country singer who won the first CMA "song of the year" award in 1967 with his song "Statue of a Fool."
Sidney "Hardrock" Gunter (March 15, pneumonia, age 88): early rockabilly singer who wrote the Red Foley smash hit "Birmingham Bounce."
Jason Molina (March 16, alcoholism-related organ failure, age 39): indie rock singer-songwriter who recorded under his own name and the names Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co.
Bobby Smith (March 16, complications of flu and pneumonia, age 76): lead singer of the legendary R&B group the Spinners.
George Barrow (March 19, natural causes, age 91): jazz saxophonist who played in the Charlie Mingus Quintet and as a Broadway musician in Ain't Misbehavin' and 42nd Street.
Eddie Bond (March 20, Alzheimer's disease, age 79): rockabilly musician who rejected 18-year-old Elvis Presley when Presley auditioned for his band in 1955.
Deke Richards (March 24, esophageal cancer, age 68): Motown songwriter who penned the Jackson Five hits "Mama's Pearl," "I Want You Back" and "A-B-C."
Margie Alexander (March 26, unknown cause, age 64): back-up singer for Clarence Carter who went into gospel music, with her "Keep On Searching" making the Billboard charts in the 70's.
Roosevelt Jamison (March 27, unknown cause, age 76): Memphis-based songwriter best-known for writing the Otis Redding's hit "That's How Strong My Love Is."
Gordon Stoker (March 27, long illness, age 88): the tenor singer of the Jordanaires, the vocal group that backed Elvis and just about everyone else.
Paul S. Williams (March 27, complications from traumatic brain injury suffered in a 1995 bicycle accident, age 64): founder of the rock magazine Crawdaddy and author of a three-volume set Bob Dylan, Performing Artist.
Hugh McCracken (March 28, leukemia, age 70): guitarist who spent time in the first incarnation of Paul McCartney's band Wings, then worked as a prolific session man.
Robert Zildjian (March 28, cancer, age 89): the man who gave the world the famous Sabian drum cymbals.
Phil Ramone (March 30, aortic aneurysm, age 79): the man who produced some of the biggest-selling rock albums of the 1970's and 80's, including The Stranger and The Nylon Curtain by Billy Joel and Valotte by Julian Lennon.
APRIL:
Don Shirley (April 6, heart disease, age 86): American jazz and classical pianist who made the pop top 40 with "Water Boy."
Don Blackman (April 11, cancer, age 59): pianist with Parliament/Funkadelic, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Tweenynine.
Sue Draheim (April 11, cancer, age 63): fiddler who played with the likes of Richard Thompson and was a member of the all-female Any Old Time String Band.
Chi Cheng (April 13, cardiac arrest and complications from a 2008 car accident, age 42): bassist in the alternative metal band the Deftones.
George Jackson (April 14, cancer, age 68): R&B songwriter who wrote the Osmonds' hit "One Bad Apple" and Bob Seger's classic "Old-Time Rock and Roll."
Scott Miller (April 15, unknown cause, age 53): member of the bands Game Theory and the Loud Family, he also wrote the book Music: What Happened?.
Rita MacNeil (April 16, complications from surgery, age 68): Juno Award-winning Canadian folk-country singer who had her biggest hit, "Flying On Your Own," covered by Anne Murray.
George Beverly Shea (April 16, stroke, age 104): the gospel singer and composer who was featured in Billy Graham's evangelistic crusades for 65 years.
Edwin Shirley (April 16, bleeding issue, age 64): owner of Edwin Shirley Trucking, the premiere music tour transportation company in the United Kingdom.
Cordell Mosson (April 18, liver failure, age 60): bass player who replaced Bootsy Collins in Parliament-Funkadelic.
Chrissy Amphlett (April 21, breast cancer, age 53): lead singer for the 80's new wave band the Divinyls.
Richie Havens (April 22, heart attack, age 72): folk singer/songwriter, poet and activist who became an overnight sensation when he appeared at Woodstock.
George Jones (April 26, hypoxic respiratory failure, age 81): for many THE definition of country music, the country music singer's country music singer with a career that spanned seven decades.
Barry Fey (April 28, suicide, age 69): the man responsible for booking acts at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater, including the little-known (at the time) Irish band U2 in 1983.
MAY:
Chris Kelly (May 1, drug overdose, age 34): member of the rap duo Kris Kross.
Jeff Hanneman (May 2, alcohol-related liver failure, age 49): founder and guitarist for the heavy metal band Slayer.
Ollie Mitchell (May 11, cancer, age 86): trumpet player who worked as part of the session musician group known as the Wrecking Crew, he was also an original member of Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass.
Monroe Hopper (May 17, unknown cause, age 86): member of the Gospel Hall of Fame group the Hoppers.
Alan O'Day (May 17, brain cancer, age 72): songwriter (Helen Reddy's "Angie Baby") and singer (his own 1977 hit "Undercover Angel").
Ray Manzarek (May 20, bile duct cancer, age 74): founding member and keyboardist for the Doors.
Trevor Bolder (May 21, pancreatic cancer, age 62): British bass player who worked with Uriah Heep and David Bowie's "Spiders From Mars" tour.
Frank Comstock (May 21, natural causes, age 90): trombonist with Les Brown who later wrote music for dozens of TV series including Adam-12, F-Troop and Rocky and His Friends.
Lorene Mann (May 24, stroke, age 76): a founding member of the Nashville Songwriters Association, the singer/songwriter wrote country hits "Don't Go Near the Indians" and "Left to Right" as well as recorded an album of duets with Archie Campbell.
Ed Shaughnessy (May 24, heart attack, age 88): the drummer for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson's band.
Marshall Lytle (May 25, lung cancer, age 79): the bass player for Bill Haley's Comets and a 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
JUNE:
Rob Morsberger (June 2, glioblastoma, age 53): singer/songwriter who collaborated with the likes of Patti Smith and Marshall Crenshaw.
Joey Covington (June 4, car wreck, age 67): drummer in Bay Area bands Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna, and Quicksilver Messenger Service.
Don Bowman (June 5, complications from a stroke, age 75): the writer of Jim Stafford's hit "Wildwood Weed" also wrote serious songs with Waylon Jennings ("Just to Satisfy You") and served as the original host of radio's American Country Countdown.
Elaine Laron (June 6, pneumonia, age 83): TV jingle and songwriter who was the primary lyricist for the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack to the PBS children's reading show The Electric Company.
Arturo Vega (June 8, unknown cause, age 65): graphic designer who worked in the New York punk scene, he most famously created the logo for the Ramones.
Johnny Smith (June 11, complications from a fall, age 90): jazz guitarist who wrote the guitar classic "Walk, Don't Run."
Gavin Taylor (June 12, short illness, age 72): British director who brought lives shows to film such as the U2 At Red Rocks and Queen at Wembley concerts.
Sam Most (June 13, cancer, age 82): jazz flute player who began his career in Tommy Dorsey's band.
Tom Tall (ne Tommie Lee Guthrie) (June 14, unknown cause, age 75): country and rockabilly singer best known for singing "Are You Mine" with Ginny Wright in the 1950's.
Slim Whitman (June 19, heart failure, age 90): country yodeler with a dozen top ten hits and three gold singles, he may be best-known for having his voice kill invading aliens in Mars Attacks!
Bobby "Blue" Bland (June 23, illness, age 83): the "Sinatra of the Blues," Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy Lifetime Achievement recipient, Bland was a blues legend who found commercial success in the 60's with "I PIty the Fool," "Turn On Your Love Light," and "Farther Up the Road."
Little Willie Littlefield (June 23, cancer, age 81): early rock/boogie-woogie piano player credited with being the first person to record the classic "Kansas City."
Puff Johnson (nee Ewanya Johnson) (June 24, cervical cancer, age 40): pop singer who opened for Michael Jackson and had the hit "Forever More."
Alan Myers (June 24, stomach cancer, age 58): drummer for the legendary new wave band Devo.
Paul Smith (June 29, heart failure, age 91): bebop jazz pianist who worked as Ella Fitzgerald's accompanist and served as the music director for The Dinah Shore Show.
JULY:
Texas Johnny Brown (July 1, lung cancer, age 85): blues guitarist, singer and songwriter who wrote "Two Steps From the Blues."
Johnny MacRae (July 3, heart disease, age 84): country songwriter who penned such hits as "Whiskey, If You Were a Woman" and "I'd Be Better Off in a Pine Box."
Brett Walker (July 8, unknown causes, age 51): indie rock singer/songwriter who had numerous songs featured in TV series such as One Life to Live and CSI Miami.
Jim Foglesong (July 9, natural causes, age 90): Country Music Hall of Fame record executive who signed the likes of Don Williams, Donna Fargo, Suzy Bogguss, George Strait and Garth Brooks.
Faye Hunter (July 21, suicide, age 59): lead vocalist of the band Let's Active.
JJ Cale (July 26, heart attack, age 74): rock guitarist, singer and songwriter who gave the world the hits "After Midnight" and "Cocaine."
AUGUST:
Tim Wright (August 4, cancer, age 63): bassist for Pere Ubu and DNA.
George Duke (August 5, leukemia, age 67): Grammy-winning jazz keyboardist.
Cowboy Jack Clement (August 8, liver cancer, age 82): one of country music's most colorful figures, Cowboy Jack's career spanned seven decades as a singer, songwriter, producer, publisher, and studio owner. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
Al Coury (August 9, stroke, age 79): Capitol Records executive who helped the careers of artists from the Beach Boys to Bob Seger.
Eydie Gormé (August 10, illness, age 84): wife of Steve Lawrence and cousin of Neil Sedaka, she delighted audiences for decades with her solo hits ("Blame It on the Bossa Nova") and nightclub acts with her husband.
Jody Payne (August 10, heart disease, age 77): guitarist for Willie Nelson's band.
Tompall Glaser (August 13, long illness, age 75): country singer who was one-fourth of the quartet (with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter) on the landmark Wanted! The Outlaws, country's first platinum album, in 1976.
Allen Lanier (August 14, COPD, age 67): original keyboardist for the rock band Blue Oyster Cult.
Jane Harvey (August 15, stomach cancer, age 88): jazz singer who worked with Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Desi Arnez's bands.
Sid Bernstein (August 21, natural causes, age 95): concert promoter responsible for bringing the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to the U.S., effectively beginning the "British Invasion" of the 1960's.
John "Juke" Logan (August 30, esophageal cancer, age 66): blues harmonica player who performed on albums by country, blues and rock acts and contributed to the theme songs to the TV series Roseanne and Home Improvement.
SEPTEMBER:
Ray Dolby (September 12, leukemia, age 80): the inventor of the Dolby NR noise reduction process.
Mac Curtis (September 16, car wreck, age 74): Rockabilly Hall of Fame musician and disc jockey.
Marvin Rainwater (September 17, heart failure, age 88): country singer best known for his crossover hit "Gonna Find Me a Bluebird."
Gia Maione (September 23, long illness, age 72): jazz singer and widow of Louis Prima.
Billy Mure (September 25, natural causes, age 97): guitarist who worked on countless sessions for artists as diverse as Paul Anka and Marty Robbins.
Ramblin' Tommy Scott (September 30, injuries from an August 10 car wreck, age 96): country music performer who worked with Charlie Monroe's Kentucky Partners and traveled as "the Last Real Medicine Show."
OCTOBER:
Philip Chevron (October 8, esophageal cancer, age 56): guitarist for the Irish band the Pogues.
Larry Verne (October 8, heart failure, age 77): singer of the novelty hit "Mr. Custer."
Jan Kuehnemund (October 10, cancer, age 51): founder and lead guitarist of the all-female glam band Vixen.
Cal Smith (October 10, unknown cause, age 81): country singer best known for a string of hits including "The Lord Knows I'm Drinking" and "Country Bumpkin."
Roland Janes (October 18, heart attack, age 80): rockabilly guitarist and producer who worked at Sun during the glory days, he also founded Rita Records, the label with the hit "Mountain of Love."
Leon Ashley (October 20, illness, age 77): country singer who had a hit with "Laura (What's He Got I Ain't Got)," the first time an artist wrote, sang, published and self-released a song that went to #1.
Colonel Robert Morris (October 21, complications from heart attack, age 58): songwriter of "Trucker's Last Ride" and drummer who played with Charlie Feathers.
Gypie Mayo (October 23, unknown cause, age 62): British guitarist who worked with Dr. Feelgood.
Lou Reed (October 27, liver disease, age 71): punk poet, singer and songwriter who began his career in Andy Warhol's Factory and performed in the Velvet Underground. The people he knew during his time in the Factory was chronicled in his best-known song, "Walk on the Wild Side."
Sherman Halsey (October 29, unknown cause, age 56): son of Nashville managing legend Jim Halsey and video producer/director for several country artists including Dwight Yoakam, Brooks & Dunn and the Oak Ridge Boys.
Pete Haycock (October 30, heart attack, age 62): guitarist for the Climax Blues Band, best known for their hit "Couldn't Get It Right."
Bobby Parker (October 31, heart attack, age 76): blues guitarist best known for his 1961 song "Watch Your Step."
NOVEMBER:
Clyde Stacy (November 6, car wreck, age 77): Oklahoma-based rockabilly singer who had a hit with "Hoy Hoy."
Bob Beckham (November 11, unknown cause, age 86): singer with the 1959 hit "Just As Much As Ever" who later became a publisher and mentor of acts such as Kris Kristofferson and Ray Stevens.
Wayne Mills (November 25, shot to death, age 44): a honky tonk singer who had performed dates with Jamey Johnson, he was nearing completion of a new album when he was shot by a Nashville bar owner during an argument.
Chico Hamilton (November 25, unknown cause, age 92): jazz drummer and bandleader who began his career in a band with Charlie Mingus. He also appeared as a musician in the film You'll Never Get Rich.
Oliver Cheatham (November 29, heart attack, age 65): R&B singer who had the 1983 hit "Get Down Saturday Night."
Dick Dodd (November 29, cancer, age 68): from days as a Mousketeer he went to the Standells, where he played drums and sang lead on their legendary hit "Dirty Water."
DECEMBER:
Junior Murvin (December 2, complications of diabetes, age 67): Jamaica reggae singer who originated the song "Police and Thieves," later covered by the Clash on their seminal debut album.
Homer Bailes (December 3, natural causes, age 91): the final surviving member of the legendary Bailes Brothers band, inductees in the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame and the first act from West Virginia to become members of the Grand Ole Opry.
Chick Willis (December 7, cancer, age 79): blues singing cousin of Chuck Willis who played with Elmore James following his cousin's death.
John Wyker (December 8, congestive heart failure, age 68): member of the southern rock band Sailcat, best-known for their 1978 song "Motorcycle Mama."
Jim Hall (December 10, short illness, age 83): master jazz guitar player who worked with Ella Fitzgerald and Sonny Rollins and influenced generations of younger players.
George H. Buck (December 11, heart attack, age 84): a man devoted to promoting jazz, he founded Jazzology Records and GHB Records and founded the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation to further the music he loved.
Ray Price (December 16, pancreatic cancer, age 87): Country Music Hall of Fame member who had generations of honky tonk, country shuffle, and "Nashville sound" fans thanks to songs such as "Heartaches By the Number" and "For the Good Times."
Larry Lujack (December 18, esophageal cancer, age 73): National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame member who was a staple on Chicago's WLS.
Herb Geller (December 19, pneumonia, age 85): jazz saxophonist who began his career playing with Joe Venuti and went on to international acclaim playing in Europe and backing recordings of the likes of Ray Charles and Ella Fitzgerald.
David Richards (December 20, long illness, age 57): British record producer who worked with artists such as Queen, David Bowie and Iggy Pop.
Herman "Trigger" Alpert (December 22, natural causes, age 97): a double-bass player, he was the final surviving member of Glenn Miller's orchestra.
Yusef Lateef (ne William Huddleston) (December 23, prostate cancer, age 93): Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist and flutist.
Farewell, and thank you for the music.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Keeping the "They Come in Threes" Myth Going....
Category: News/Obituary
There's a popular myth that celebrity deaths tend to come in threes. That seemed to have some validity on Sunday (12/15), when the deaths of three actors were announced.
Peter O'Toole: His roles were vast, from the title roles in Lawrence of Arabia and Goodbye Mr. Chips to the swashbuckling Errol Flynn-like character in My Favorite Year, O'Toole's real-life escapades were more extravagant than any fictional creation he portrayed on screen. He was famous for being a wild man offstage, although heart surgery in the 1970's forced him to quit drinking. He only retired from acting last year. An eight-time Oscar nominee, his only statue was an honorary one. He died December 14th after a long illness at the age of 81.
Tom Laughlin: Although Tom Laughlin had a long list of credits as a character actor in the 1950's and 60's it was the half-Indian Green Beret character he created, Billy Jack, that is his legacy. He wrote and starred in four installments of the "Billy Jack" series (which co-starred his wife, Delores Taylor). Laughlin had been in poor health for years, having endured prostate and tongue cancers and a series of strokes. He died December 12th at the age of 82.
Joan Fontaine: the sister of of Olivia deHavilland, Joan Fontaine had the distinction of being the only female performer to ever win an Oscar for an Alfred Hitchcock film (Suspicion, 1941). She and deHavilland are the only pair of sister to be Oscar winners. Fontaine died of natural causes in her California home at the age of 96.
Farewell to these three who have brought many happy moments to many fans.
There's a popular myth that celebrity deaths tend to come in threes. That seemed to have some validity on Sunday (12/15), when the deaths of three actors were announced.
Peter O'Toole: His roles were vast, from the title roles in Lawrence of Arabia and Goodbye Mr. Chips to the swashbuckling Errol Flynn-like character in My Favorite Year, O'Toole's real-life escapades were more extravagant than any fictional creation he portrayed on screen. He was famous for being a wild man offstage, although heart surgery in the 1970's forced him to quit drinking. He only retired from acting last year. An eight-time Oscar nominee, his only statue was an honorary one. He died December 14th after a long illness at the age of 81.
Tom Laughlin: Although Tom Laughlin had a long list of credits as a character actor in the 1950's and 60's it was the half-Indian Green Beret character he created, Billy Jack, that is his legacy. He wrote and starred in four installments of the "Billy Jack" series (which co-starred his wife, Delores Taylor). Laughlin had been in poor health for years, having endured prostate and tongue cancers and a series of strokes. He died December 12th at the age of 82.
Joan Fontaine: the sister of of Olivia deHavilland, Joan Fontaine had the distinction of being the only female performer to ever win an Oscar for an Alfred Hitchcock film (Suspicion, 1941). She and deHavilland are the only pair of sister to be Oscar winners. Fontaine died of natural causes in her California home at the age of 96.
Farewell to these three who have brought many happy moments to many fans.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
This Isn't Clairvoyance
Category: News
It's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination time again. This year, while there are still nominations that boggle the mind, it seems as though the nominations are actually catching up to the commercial popularity of acts (hence the term fame) and nominating accordingly. Here are this year's nominees:
Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The second nomination for the legendary blues singer and harmonica player and his band. Given his influence they'll be inducted eventually.
Chic: This is the eighth nomination for a disco-era band that is essentially a two-hit wonder. Far more deserving nominees have been omitted, and this act really needs to disappear from the list.
Deep Purple: The second nomination for the hard rock band named for a 1930's pop song. Not the worst nomination on the list, but I don't see them getting inducted. I thought last year they might garner enough "sympathy votes" off the death of songwriter Joe South (who wrote "Hush," one of Deep Purple's biggest hits) to be inducted; however, this year I don't see them making it, especially considering the other nominees.
Peter Gabriel: His first solo nomination (he's inducted as a member of Genesis). I would say that Gabriel is one of the certainties this year, if for no other reason than the critical success of most of his work and the commercial success of So and its groundbreaking video hit "Sledgehammer."
Daryl Hall & John Oates: It is about time they were nominated! Hall & Oates have surpassed the Everly Brothers as the most commercially successful duo in rock music history. They should be inducted.
Kiss: Another "about time you got around to noticing this act" nomination. Kiss is about as lame as any band can be on record. It is their live shows that earned them their loyal following and keeps them (although I am not in that category). They should be inducted.
LL Cool J: Taking Steve Miller's nomination space this year. Shouldn't have been nominated, shouldn't win.
The Meters: Second nomination. As of this writing they are in next-to-last place in the fan vote (only Chic has fewer votes).
Nirvana: First nomination. Bet the ranch on their induction.
NWA: Second nomination, taking the Moody Blues' space on the ballot. Not deserving of the space on the ballot.
The Replacements: First nomination. As someone who thinks Pleased to Meet Me was one of the best albums of the 80's: WHY are they nominated?
Linda Ronstadt: First nomination. Tonight, November 2, 2013, let it be stated that I'm guaranteeing you she'll be inducted. This isn't clairvoyance, this is the pathetic reality of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: in July Ronstadt announced that, due to advanced Parkinson's Disease, she can no longer sing. Now that her marvelous voice has been silenced they're going to honor her. And that stinks worse than a skunk factory.
Cat Stevens: Let's face it, if you grew up listening to the radio in the 1970's you like at least one Cat Stevens song. One of the great folk singer-songwriters of that era, I sincerely hope that religious prejudice doesn't keep him from being inducted.
Link Wray: Second nomination. It's a crime that there had to be a second nomination. He should've been in a decade or two ago.
Yes: First nomination. I never cared for them, but there's no question they were the premiere "art rock" band of the 1970's.
The Zombies: First nomination. I don't see them getting in.
My bets are on Ronstadt more than anyone -- even Nirvana. Given that Nirvana basically created a new genre of rock I would be genuinely surprised if they aren't inducted. I would also be surprised if Hall & Oates aren't inducted, now that they have finally been nominated, and I would also list Peter Gabriel as a very likely winner. I would also like to see inductions for Cat Stevens, Kiss, and -- even though I am befuddled over their nomination -- the Replacements. (If you're going to nominate them, then induct them!) Finally, Link Wray -- it's embarrassing that he's not inducted, given that he's generally credited with inventing (or popularizing) the "power chord" in guitar playing. Where would rock and roll be without him?
And my annual plea for the "hey, remember to nominate these people" acts who have yet again been overlooked:
Moody Blues -- yeah, they're still touring nearly 50 years after they formed. And, unlike the Rolling Stones, they aren't charging a second mortgage for the tickets -- and they aren't a parody of themselves.
Steve Miller -- Miller just turned 70 last month. He's been at this longer than half the nominees have been alive. Half the people on this list don't have entire discographies that have sold more than Fly Like an Eagle.
ELO -- a novel idea became a massively successful act. That lousy song used in the coffee commercials in the mid-80's might be what keeps them from being nominated, but they should be nominated -- and inducted.
Neil Sedaka -- one of the premiere acts in rock and roll between Elvis and the Beatles, and his songwriting skills predated ("Stupid Cupid") and post-dated ("Love Will Keep Us Together") his 60's hits.
Don Henley -- hey, if you're going to nominate people already inducted again for their solo work you might as well nominate the most commercially successful solo Eagle career (which was also the best solo Eagle career).
Inductions will be announced in late December. Fans are allowed to vote for up to five nominees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's site. The act with the most fan votes has one vote added to their "official" tally.
It's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination time again. This year, while there are still nominations that boggle the mind, it seems as though the nominations are actually catching up to the commercial popularity of acts (hence the term fame) and nominating accordingly. Here are this year's nominees:
Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The second nomination for the legendary blues singer and harmonica player and his band. Given his influence they'll be inducted eventually.
Chic: This is the eighth nomination for a disco-era band that is essentially a two-hit wonder. Far more deserving nominees have been omitted, and this act really needs to disappear from the list.
Deep Purple: The second nomination for the hard rock band named for a 1930's pop song. Not the worst nomination on the list, but I don't see them getting inducted. I thought last year they might garner enough "sympathy votes" off the death of songwriter Joe South (who wrote "Hush," one of Deep Purple's biggest hits) to be inducted; however, this year I don't see them making it, especially considering the other nominees.
Peter Gabriel: His first solo nomination (he's inducted as a member of Genesis). I would say that Gabriel is one of the certainties this year, if for no other reason than the critical success of most of his work and the commercial success of So and its groundbreaking video hit "Sledgehammer."
Daryl Hall & John Oates: It is about time they were nominated! Hall & Oates have surpassed the Everly Brothers as the most commercially successful duo in rock music history. They should be inducted.
Kiss: Another "about time you got around to noticing this act" nomination. Kiss is about as lame as any band can be on record. It is their live shows that earned them their loyal following and keeps them (although I am not in that category). They should be inducted.
LL Cool J: Taking Steve Miller's nomination space this year. Shouldn't have been nominated, shouldn't win.
The Meters: Second nomination. As of this writing they are in next-to-last place in the fan vote (only Chic has fewer votes).
Nirvana: First nomination. Bet the ranch on their induction.
NWA: Second nomination, taking the Moody Blues' space on the ballot. Not deserving of the space on the ballot.
The Replacements: First nomination. As someone who thinks Pleased to Meet Me was one of the best albums of the 80's: WHY are they nominated?
Linda Ronstadt: First nomination. Tonight, November 2, 2013, let it be stated that I'm guaranteeing you she'll be inducted. This isn't clairvoyance, this is the pathetic reality of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: in July Ronstadt announced that, due to advanced Parkinson's Disease, she can no longer sing. Now that her marvelous voice has been silenced they're going to honor her. And that stinks worse than a skunk factory.
Cat Stevens: Let's face it, if you grew up listening to the radio in the 1970's you like at least one Cat Stevens song. One of the great folk singer-songwriters of that era, I sincerely hope that religious prejudice doesn't keep him from being inducted.
Link Wray: Second nomination. It's a crime that there had to be a second nomination. He should've been in a decade or two ago.
Yes: First nomination. I never cared for them, but there's no question they were the premiere "art rock" band of the 1970's.
The Zombies: First nomination. I don't see them getting in.
My bets are on Ronstadt more than anyone -- even Nirvana. Given that Nirvana basically created a new genre of rock I would be genuinely surprised if they aren't inducted. I would also be surprised if Hall & Oates aren't inducted, now that they have finally been nominated, and I would also list Peter Gabriel as a very likely winner. I would also like to see inductions for Cat Stevens, Kiss, and -- even though I am befuddled over their nomination -- the Replacements. (If you're going to nominate them, then induct them!) Finally, Link Wray -- it's embarrassing that he's not inducted, given that he's generally credited with inventing (or popularizing) the "power chord" in guitar playing. Where would rock and roll be without him?
And my annual plea for the "hey, remember to nominate these people" acts who have yet again been overlooked:
Moody Blues -- yeah, they're still touring nearly 50 years after they formed. And, unlike the Rolling Stones, they aren't charging a second mortgage for the tickets -- and they aren't a parody of themselves.
Steve Miller -- Miller just turned 70 last month. He's been at this longer than half the nominees have been alive. Half the people on this list don't have entire discographies that have sold more than Fly Like an Eagle.
ELO -- a novel idea became a massively successful act. That lousy song used in the coffee commercials in the mid-80's might be what keeps them from being nominated, but they should be nominated -- and inducted.
Neil Sedaka -- one of the premiere acts in rock and roll between Elvis and the Beatles, and his songwriting skills predated ("Stupid Cupid") and post-dated ("Love Will Keep Us Together") his 60's hits.
Don Henley -- hey, if you're going to nominate people already inducted again for their solo work you might as well nominate the most commercially successful solo Eagle career (which was also the best solo Eagle career).
Inductions will be announced in late December. Fans are allowed to vote for up to five nominees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's site. The act with the most fan votes has one vote added to their "official" tally.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Update on Robbin Thompson
Category: News
When I didn't receive an e-mailed newsletter from Robbin Thompson for months following his February announcement that he had been battling stomach cancer for 12 years I naturally suspected the worst. Fortunately, the news from Robbin in his most recent newsletter contains good news.
"I know most of you got my newsletter from February that basically disclosed my 13 year fight with the cancer," Thompson wrote in his newsletter released on his website and e-mailed to his fans. "Well..I had my 1st check-up since the surgery and the news was pretty good. No visible signs of tumors!! woohoo! I know it's not over but it's the 1st time in 13 years I've heard a Dr. say that so, needless to say I'm pretty stoked. I still have to take the drugs and the drugs that keep those drugs from killin' me but I'm ok with that. Now I can concentrate on the normal stuff that happens to all of us at this age like bad knees and why the hell do my feet hurt? what are those spots in front of my eyes? Stuff that everyone gets...right? Thanks for all the support and prayers. it worked."
Thompson has other things to concentrate on as well, such as promoting his most recent album, A Real Fine Day. Thompson continues to appear in his native Virginia regularly, and he will be heading to Finland and Sweden for a tour starting in September.
Best wishes and continued prayers for a performer who was a significant part of my musical life for the two and a half years I lived in that "Sweet Virginia Breeze" that Robbin Thompson always sings about.
When I didn't receive an e-mailed newsletter from Robbin Thompson for months following his February announcement that he had been battling stomach cancer for 12 years I naturally suspected the worst. Fortunately, the news from Robbin in his most recent newsletter contains good news.
"I know most of you got my newsletter from February that basically disclosed my 13 year fight with the cancer," Thompson wrote in his newsletter released on his website and e-mailed to his fans. "Well..I had my 1st check-up since the surgery and the news was pretty good. No visible signs of tumors!! woohoo! I know it's not over but it's the 1st time in 13 years I've heard a Dr. say that so, needless to say I'm pretty stoked. I still have to take the drugs and the drugs that keep those drugs from killin' me but I'm ok with that. Now I can concentrate on the normal stuff that happens to all of us at this age like bad knees and why the hell do my feet hurt? what are those spots in front of my eyes? Stuff that everyone gets...right? Thanks for all the support and prayers. it worked."
Thompson has other things to concentrate on as well, such as promoting his most recent album, A Real Fine Day. Thompson continues to appear in his native Virginia regularly, and he will be heading to Finland and Sweden for a tour starting in September.
Best wishes and continued prayers for a performer who was a significant part of my musical life for the two and a half years I lived in that "Sweet Virginia Breeze" that Robbin Thompson always sings about.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Livin' in the Sweet Virginia Breeze
CATEGORY: News
You've probably never heard of Robbin Thompson. Most people who do know the name remember him from being in a band called Steel Mill, which also featured a fellow of some note by the name of Bruce Springsteen. That's too bad. Robbin is a gifted singer and songwriter. He's very well-known in Virginia, where his song "Sweet Virginia Breeze" is considered an unofficial state song.
I first heard of Robbin (and his name is "Robbin;" in fact, his second album noted the unusual spelling of his name in it's title, Two B's Please) courtesy of Poco's Indian Summer album. The song "Find Out in Time" was co-written by Thompson and Timothy B. Schmit. Schmit has made appearances on several Robbin Thompson albums. In 1980 Thompson's song "Brite Eyes" (with Schmit singing backup vocals) from the aforementioned Two B's Please cracked the Billboard Top 100.
Things changed for the better for me, regarding Thompson's music, when I was transferred to Norfolk from Jacksonville in 1981. I spent the next two and a half years seeing Robbin Thompson every chance I got. While he may evoke shrugs in the other 49 states, in Virginia this man is a star. And it's well-deserved, too.
Every now and then I get a nostalgic twinge and look up something in my past. That happened when I found some old photos of Robbin playing at a club in Virginia Beach in 1981. I did an internet search and sure enough, he's still out there, making great music. His web site keeps everyone up-to-date about his concerts and offers his albums for sale.
This month his e-mailed newsletter contained a very personal message. Robbin wrote at length about his 12-year battle with cancer. Because his words are so powerful I am posting his remarks here without edit:
The Lottery, Sweet Virginia Breeze, Cancer and The Chesapeake Bay.
What do these 4 things have in common? Well...to me, they go hand in hand and I'll tell you why in this Newsletter.
The Lottery
It was the summer of 2000 and was sitting in my office at our newly constructed In Your Ear recording studios in Richmond's Shockoe Bottom. I'd just settled in to this great space a few months back. It was in the attic of a historic building. My desk was my grandfather's old roll-top and it was situated so i could see the Richmond skyline. I was busy with writing some music for a tv commercial for someone. Our receptionist came on the intercom to tell me I had a phone call from some one about doing a concert and he was holding on the line. I wish I could remember his name now but for the life of me I can't. I picked up the phone and the guy on the other end sez, "hi I just won x million in the Va. Lottery and I want to know how much you'd charge me to perform a concert for me and my friends?" I was a bit stunned for a second but I remember chuckling and saying "well...you've made your 1st post lottery mistake." "what's that? he said. "You told me you won the lottery and then asked me how much I'd charge you to play a concert!!" We both laughed and then agreed on a fee which included a limo for my wife Vicki and I for the evening. The concert was a few weeks away and I got a kick out of telling the story of that phone call for quite some time. Then, I went back to writing whatever music I was involved in doing thinking how cool it was that some guy who'd just won the lottery called me instead of Jimmy Buffett or Lynrd Skynrd.
SWEET VIRGINIA BREEZE
Back in 1975 I recorded the song "Boy From Boston." In some ways it was a song about me because I was born outside of Boston but that was about as far as it went from an autobiographical sense. It was subconsciously a story about how I didn't want my life to end up being. A singer/songwriter who wrote great songs, touched people and ended up drinkin' himself to death. I entered it in a contest, The American Song Festival. Long story short, it won best song in the "folk" category and a $5000.00 prize, got to go to Hollywood and be on a tv special. after that I ended up with a record deal signed to Atlantic Records to Nemperor, a label named after Brian Epstein's record store and owned by Nat Weiss, The Beatles attorney in the USA. I met some of my heroes, a few played on my record. It was a year of dreamworld. Then...it was over. I was back in Richmond playing bars trying to figure out what my next move (if any)would be.
Then, Steve Bassett and I wrote "Sweet Virginia Breeze," recorded it and it was a new beginning. I'm skipping a lot of the gory details here but the point is....it wasn't over yet and there was life after a major recording contract. I stopped worrying about writing for someone in NYC and writing for myself. That's where the line in the song "Together" ("tell NY to shove it, the people back home will love it...") came from. Sweet Va. Breeze became an anthem of sorts and as several Governors have said "the official unofficial state song of Virginia."
So...it wasn't a surprise when our lottery winner asked me to sing this song at his party. I started singing it, the crowd as most Virginia crowds started singing it as well. In this song there's a high note that's at the top of my range. Y'all know where it is, it takes some gut muscles to hit it. So... I get there and hit it strong but this time i felt something tweak, like i pulled a muscle or something. No big deal. On the way home in the limo I mentioned it to my Wife Vicki. The next morning, the pain was so intense I couldn't get out of bed.
CANCER
MCV Emergency Room. I can hardly stand up. 2 hours go by. can't handle it any longer, we get in the car and go to Henrico Drs. Hospital E.R. and walk right in. I get a CT scan. the next thing I know is there are several Drs. in the room telling me of the "mass" I have that's as big as a volleyball. Life, as I know it, changes.
Days now go by like minutes. The next thing I know I'm back at MCV talking to a Surgeon. They don't know what this mass is but they do know it has to come out. Surgery is scheduled. I go in and eight hours later I've delivered an 8lb tumor as big as a volleyball. It was said to be a G.I.S.T. a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. a malignant tumor that doesn't respond to chemotherapy or radiation. Nothing to do but "wait and see."
4 months go by and I go in for a routine check up. It had returned in a smaller package. A couple of them.
After a day of walkin' around in a stupor I get a call from My oncologist at Henrico Drs. There's a study testing a new drug that will hopefully be used on this specific tumor I have. It's out of a hospital in NYC. I need to be in it and I need to be there by the next morning to get in it.
With a lot of help from my friends I get there, get in the study, start taking a drug called GLEEVEC and...it works on my tumors. Not eliminating them but keeping them from getting any bigger. For the next 12 years I get in to the routine of having blood tests and CT scans every 4-6 months along with train rides to NYC and getting to know cancer gurus on a 1st name basis.
This routine became...routine. it was just part of what I did. It was part of my schedule. I got to know the radiology dept. of Henrico Drs Hospital very well. The conductors on Amtrack knew me. As mentioned this went on for 12 years. 12 years ended about a year ago when I went for my semi-annual check-up/ct scan in NYC. My Dr. came in and said..."there's a bit of a problem...your tumors have gotten a little bigger." The Gleevec had stopped working. my tumors had become immune to it. Considering the average was 4 years...a pretty good run. What next? Another drug. I started taking it last May after I returned from my 5th European tour. It worked like a champ shrinking the little buggers and I was back on the mend.
I guess it was October when I was back in NYC for my 2nd check up for this new drug I'm on. All was well and the Drs. there started talking to me about possibly going back in and removing these very small tumors while I was on a drug that worked so well on me. The idea was to turn back the clock to zero while the drug was working. I agreed. The operation would be basically the same operation as the 1st one(you don't wanna know). So...on February 7th I went under the knife at Memorial Sloan Kettering. The operation was successful, they removed the small tumors which they said were 80- 90% dead along with a few others that were the same. I was in the hospital for 4 days. a semi-private room during the big snowstorm they called "nemo." Sharing the room with me was a guy in his 50's who'd been there for 8 days. He was from Long Island and worked for JP Morgan. We finally got to talking while we were walking the halls with our med trees. It's what you do to get everything working again. You gotta walk the halls in your hospital gown, high on morphine looking like death warmed over. He asked where I was from after hearing Vicki's southern accent and I told him I was from Virginia. He said he'd gone to college at ODU and graduated in 1981. I told him I was in a band called The Robbin Thompson Band that played the clubs back in those days at clubs all around Norfolk. He said he had seen us at least 10 times and asked me what I played in the band. I told him who I was and he started tweeting all his alum friends. Small world.
THE CHESAPEAKE BAY
Through all of this the one thing that has kept me sane is the time I have spent sailing my sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay. It's cleansed my soul, kept me thinking positively and thinking about stuff other than what was going on inside me. Some people say a boat is a hole in the water where all your money goes, I say it's a place where you can go to throw all your problems overboard. Through all this I can safely say that I have drowned many a depressing day in the Bay.
So...here I am. On the mend at home. I can't wait to get out of the house but feeling really good...considering. I felt it was time to write this for a number of reasons. It's not like I'd kept it a secret, most of my friends have known since the beginning. This cancer shit can happen to anybody. It doesn't matter who you are, what you do. Some of us get it, fight it and eventually become "cancer free" and are survivors. Some of us are surviving with cancer, and live long lives with whatever kind of cancer we have. I've learned that IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!! I've survived with cancer for 13 yrs so far and I plan on surviving a lot longer. It took cancer to get me to start traveling the world. I suggest that you don't wait for this kind of news to start living like there's no tomorrow.
I would like to ask two things of you. First, do Robbin a favor and pray for this man as he continues to fight this dreaded disease. Second, do yourself a favor and find some of his music.
You've probably never heard of Robbin Thompson. Most people who do know the name remember him from being in a band called Steel Mill, which also featured a fellow of some note by the name of Bruce Springsteen. That's too bad. Robbin is a gifted singer and songwriter. He's very well-known in Virginia, where his song "Sweet Virginia Breeze" is considered an unofficial state song.
I first heard of Robbin (and his name is "Robbin;" in fact, his second album noted the unusual spelling of his name in it's title, Two B's Please) courtesy of Poco's Indian Summer album. The song "Find Out in Time" was co-written by Thompson and Timothy B. Schmit. Schmit has made appearances on several Robbin Thompson albums. In 1980 Thompson's song "Brite Eyes" (with Schmit singing backup vocals) from the aforementioned Two B's Please cracked the Billboard Top 100.
Things changed for the better for me, regarding Thompson's music, when I was transferred to Norfolk from Jacksonville in 1981. I spent the next two and a half years seeing Robbin Thompson every chance I got. While he may evoke shrugs in the other 49 states, in Virginia this man is a star. And it's well-deserved, too.
 |
| Robbin Thompson playing in a Virginia Beach bar in 1981 |
This month his e-mailed newsletter contained a very personal message. Robbin wrote at length about his 12-year battle with cancer. Because his words are so powerful I am posting his remarks here without edit:
The Lottery, Sweet Virginia Breeze, Cancer and The Chesapeake Bay.
What do these 4 things have in common? Well...to me, they go hand in hand and I'll tell you why in this Newsletter.
The Lottery
It was the summer of 2000 and was sitting in my office at our newly constructed In Your Ear recording studios in Richmond's Shockoe Bottom. I'd just settled in to this great space a few months back. It was in the attic of a historic building. My desk was my grandfather's old roll-top and it was situated so i could see the Richmond skyline. I was busy with writing some music for a tv commercial for someone. Our receptionist came on the intercom to tell me I had a phone call from some one about doing a concert and he was holding on the line. I wish I could remember his name now but for the life of me I can't. I picked up the phone and the guy on the other end sez, "hi I just won x million in the Va. Lottery and I want to know how much you'd charge me to perform a concert for me and my friends?" I was a bit stunned for a second but I remember chuckling and saying "well...you've made your 1st post lottery mistake." "what's that? he said. "You told me you won the lottery and then asked me how much I'd charge you to play a concert!!" We both laughed and then agreed on a fee which included a limo for my wife Vicki and I for the evening. The concert was a few weeks away and I got a kick out of telling the story of that phone call for quite some time. Then, I went back to writing whatever music I was involved in doing thinking how cool it was that some guy who'd just won the lottery called me instead of Jimmy Buffett or Lynrd Skynrd.
SWEET VIRGINIA BREEZE
Back in 1975 I recorded the song "Boy From Boston." In some ways it was a song about me because I was born outside of Boston but that was about as far as it went from an autobiographical sense. It was subconsciously a story about how I didn't want my life to end up being. A singer/songwriter who wrote great songs, touched people and ended up drinkin' himself to death. I entered it in a contest, The American Song Festival. Long story short, it won best song in the "folk" category and a $5000.00 prize, got to go to Hollywood and be on a tv special. after that I ended up with a record deal signed to Atlantic Records to Nemperor, a label named after Brian Epstein's record store and owned by Nat Weiss, The Beatles attorney in the USA. I met some of my heroes, a few played on my record. It was a year of dreamworld. Then...it was over. I was back in Richmond playing bars trying to figure out what my next move (if any)would be.
Then, Steve Bassett and I wrote "Sweet Virginia Breeze," recorded it and it was a new beginning. I'm skipping a lot of the gory details here but the point is....it wasn't over yet and there was life after a major recording contract. I stopped worrying about writing for someone in NYC and writing for myself. That's where the line in the song "Together" ("tell NY to shove it, the people back home will love it...") came from. Sweet Va. Breeze became an anthem of sorts and as several Governors have said "the official unofficial state song of Virginia."
So...it wasn't a surprise when our lottery winner asked me to sing this song at his party. I started singing it, the crowd as most Virginia crowds started singing it as well. In this song there's a high note that's at the top of my range. Y'all know where it is, it takes some gut muscles to hit it. So... I get there and hit it strong but this time i felt something tweak, like i pulled a muscle or something. No big deal. On the way home in the limo I mentioned it to my Wife Vicki. The next morning, the pain was so intense I couldn't get out of bed.
CANCER
MCV Emergency Room. I can hardly stand up. 2 hours go by. can't handle it any longer, we get in the car and go to Henrico Drs. Hospital E.R. and walk right in. I get a CT scan. the next thing I know is there are several Drs. in the room telling me of the "mass" I have that's as big as a volleyball. Life, as I know it, changes.
Days now go by like minutes. The next thing I know I'm back at MCV talking to a Surgeon. They don't know what this mass is but they do know it has to come out. Surgery is scheduled. I go in and eight hours later I've delivered an 8lb tumor as big as a volleyball. It was said to be a G.I.S.T. a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. a malignant tumor that doesn't respond to chemotherapy or radiation. Nothing to do but "wait and see."
4 months go by and I go in for a routine check up. It had returned in a smaller package. A couple of them.
After a day of walkin' around in a stupor I get a call from My oncologist at Henrico Drs. There's a study testing a new drug that will hopefully be used on this specific tumor I have. It's out of a hospital in NYC. I need to be in it and I need to be there by the next morning to get in it.
With a lot of help from my friends I get there, get in the study, start taking a drug called GLEEVEC and...it works on my tumors. Not eliminating them but keeping them from getting any bigger. For the next 12 years I get in to the routine of having blood tests and CT scans every 4-6 months along with train rides to NYC and getting to know cancer gurus on a 1st name basis.
This routine became...routine. it was just part of what I did. It was part of my schedule. I got to know the radiology dept. of Henrico Drs Hospital very well. The conductors on Amtrack knew me. As mentioned this went on for 12 years. 12 years ended about a year ago when I went for my semi-annual check-up/ct scan in NYC. My Dr. came in and said..."there's a bit of a problem...your tumors have gotten a little bigger." The Gleevec had stopped working. my tumors had become immune to it. Considering the average was 4 years...a pretty good run. What next? Another drug. I started taking it last May after I returned from my 5th European tour. It worked like a champ shrinking the little buggers and I was back on the mend.
I guess it was October when I was back in NYC for my 2nd check up for this new drug I'm on. All was well and the Drs. there started talking to me about possibly going back in and removing these very small tumors while I was on a drug that worked so well on me. The idea was to turn back the clock to zero while the drug was working. I agreed. The operation would be basically the same operation as the 1st one(you don't wanna know). So...on February 7th I went under the knife at Memorial Sloan Kettering. The operation was successful, they removed the small tumors which they said were 80- 90% dead along with a few others that were the same. I was in the hospital for 4 days. a semi-private room during the big snowstorm they called "nemo." Sharing the room with me was a guy in his 50's who'd been there for 8 days. He was from Long Island and worked for JP Morgan. We finally got to talking while we were walking the halls with our med trees. It's what you do to get everything working again. You gotta walk the halls in your hospital gown, high on morphine looking like death warmed over. He asked where I was from after hearing Vicki's southern accent and I told him I was from Virginia. He said he'd gone to college at ODU and graduated in 1981. I told him I was in a band called The Robbin Thompson Band that played the clubs back in those days at clubs all around Norfolk. He said he had seen us at least 10 times and asked me what I played in the band. I told him who I was and he started tweeting all his alum friends. Small world.
THE CHESAPEAKE BAY
Through all of this the one thing that has kept me sane is the time I have spent sailing my sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay. It's cleansed my soul, kept me thinking positively and thinking about stuff other than what was going on inside me. Some people say a boat is a hole in the water where all your money goes, I say it's a place where you can go to throw all your problems overboard. Through all this I can safely say that I have drowned many a depressing day in the Bay.
So...here I am. On the mend at home. I can't wait to get out of the house but feeling really good...considering. I felt it was time to write this for a number of reasons. It's not like I'd kept it a secret, most of my friends have known since the beginning. This cancer shit can happen to anybody. It doesn't matter who you are, what you do. Some of us get it, fight it and eventually become "cancer free" and are survivors. Some of us are surviving with cancer, and live long lives with whatever kind of cancer we have. I've learned that IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!! I've survived with cancer for 13 yrs so far and I plan on surviving a lot longer. It took cancer to get me to start traveling the world. I suggest that you don't wait for this kind of news to start living like there's no tomorrow.
I would like to ask two things of you. First, do Robbin a favor and pray for this man as he continues to fight this dreaded disease. Second, do yourself a favor and find some of his music.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Court's Adjourned!
Category: TV/Tribute
Reinhold Weege passed away in December. As you probably scratched your head going, "Who?," I was hit with an attack of nostalgia and dragged out my DVDs.
Reinhold Weege was a comedy writer who worked on Barney Miller in the 70s. He had, as he said, the usual share of failed pilots and shows in his career as well, including Park Place, a sitcom about work in the Legal Aid office. In 1983 NBC came to Weege and asked him to develop a series. They gave him one word to work with: court. What Weege gave back to NBC was a classic: Night Court. In watching the DVDs of the show I am reminded of just how incredible this series was.
The show was set in a criminal court room in Manhattan, and in reality it could not have been set anywhere else in order to obtain the cast of loonies that marched through the court on a weekly basis. We may all know someone like Phil the wino or Dan the pervert, but only in New York could they all congregate in a single room. Many of the situations were so outlandish that one would think Weege had, like David Byrne did for the characters in True Stories, lifted situations from the headlines of Weekly World News. But that was part of the show's charm.
The main joy, however, was the regular cast of goofball characters. Harry Anderson, as the story goes, went to the casting audition for Night Court and told Weege, "I am this guy!" Weege said he rolled his eyes at Anderson's proclamation, but Anderson wasn't lying: like Harold T. Stone, Anderson is a gifted magician and a Mel Tormé fan (so much so that Anderson gave the eulogy at Tormé's funeral in 1999). It's impossible to think of anyone other than Anderson in that role. Fun-loving, as apt to use an exploding gavel as a real one, and a man with a heart as big as he is tall, Harry Stone is the judge we all want to face should we ever find ourselves in court. The ace up his sleeve, figuratively and literally, was that he would listen, no matter how absurd the defendant's argument sounded. It endeared him to the people brought before him.
John Larroquette, however, was the towering strength in a towering cast (quite literally: Weege said that, unintentionally, Night Court boasted the tallest cast in prime-time history, with 6'2" Charles Robinson, 6'4" Anderson and 6'5" Larroquette still looking up to 6'8" Richard Moll). Dan Fielding is one of the legendary characters in television history thanks to Larroquette's brilliant acting and his willingness to do anything and everything -- from taking a pie in the face to wearing a pair of jockey shorts that had been "guaranteed not to ride up" around his neck -- to get a laugh. Dan Fielding was, as Weege said, "the crème de la scum" of nighttime television characters, a bootlicker that could make the best bootlickers before him (think Hogan's Heroes' Colonel Klink or Bewitched's Larry Tate) look like independent thinkers in comparison; and his obsession with cheap sex (when called a "nondescript, morally bankrupt gigolo" in one episode Dan snapped in disgust, "Hey! Who are you calling 'nondescript'?"), or any sex (demanding that Christine repay him for saving her life by sleeping with him) endeared him to no one.
Larroquette is an avid book collector, but the books in his home don't have enough space to hold the things that can be written regarding his acting genius. He won four consecutive Best Supporting Actor Emmy awards as Dan Fielding; and, had he not withdrawn his name from consideration after the fourth award, he probably would still be getting Emmys for playing a character in a series that ended 21 years ago. Larroquette continues to wow, picking up a Tony in his Broadway debut for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as well as a fifth Emmy, in 1998, for a role in The Practice. He is currently in the NBC series Deception, and if he gets Emmy number six this fall I will not be the least bit surprised. The man could play a log and get an award -- because he is that good.
One of the things that may be overlooked because of all the silliness that went on between rulings is how legally accurate the show was. One attorney group hailed Night Court as the most accurate show, from the standpoint of the legal rulings, on television. That is partially because Weege spent time in actual courts, watching the procedures.
Weege said he loved to put friends' names in the episodes as characters. The judge's name was remarkably similar to that of actor Harold J. Stone, who coincidentally appeared in an episode of Barney Miller that Weege wrote. Carla Bouvier, the prostitute that fell in love with Harry in the first season, was also named after one of Weege's friends. The most notorious "naming," however, was revealed in the third season episode "Hurricane," when Dan admitted that his real first name was not Dan, but Reinhold. (In the second season Dan's parents showed up, revealing his last name was not "Fielding" but Elmore, making Dan's real name Reinhold Fielding Elmore.)
After reading the book Sweeps: Behind the Scenes in Network TV, I am amazed that Night Court ever got past a pilot, let alone lasted nine seasons. Anderson said in the DVD interview that the members of the show were, in his words, "strung along," with a pilot made, two episodes months later (while Anderson was busy conning Sam Malone out of everything but the bar on Cheers as Harry the Hat), then three more, before finally being renewed for a full season. That probably contributed to the revolving door of actors in the first two seasons: Karen Austin, the no-nonsense court clerk Lana Wagner (who in the pilot referred to the court as her court, not the judge's) was gone by the end of the first season, replaced by guest stars before Charles Robinson settled into the role of Mac in the second season. Paula Kelly was great as Liz, possessing a little more "street smarts" (that Marsha Warfield later brought with her Roz character) than the relative innocence of Markie Post's Christine Sullivan; however, she, too, probably tired of the uncertainty of the show's future and left. Ellen Foley, who sang the spectacular female part on Meat Loaf's classic "Paradise By the Dashboard Lights," was a wonderful counterpart to both Dan's sleazy remarks and Harry's hustling (warning him that she was no slouch at pool when he challenged her to a game on her first night of work), but she, too, departed, making room for Christine.
Then there were the deaths. Selma Diamond's role as the caustic bailiff Selma Hacker was written expressly for her by Weege, who admired her work as a writer on Your Show of Shows. Diamond chain smoked, a fact that, like many other similarities between actors and their characters (such as both Larroquette and Fielding being natives of Louisiana), was written into the show. How the constant smoking made it on network TV some dozen years after cigarette commercials were banned is beyond me. The smoking, although comedic on screen (after someone said an action was touching bailiff Selma replied, "Let me have a cigarette and I'll well up with you"), took Diamond's life at the age of 64. Her replacement, Florence Halop, lasted only one season before she also succumbed to cancer (breast cancer).
Now Weege is gone, too. He died of "natural causes" that were most likely heart-related (he had bypass surgery in the early 90s) at the age of 63.
Reinhold Weege's great legacy, sadly, is not in syndication anywhere at present time. It is criminal (pardon the pun) to think that a show that ran for nine years, with the awards and consistently high ratings, is nowhere to be found while eight different cable/satellite channels will be showing the exact same episode of Two and a Half Men tonight. I hope the programmers are charged with neglect in this matter, and I hope Judge Stone throws the book at them.
Reinhold Weege passed away in December. As you probably scratched your head going, "Who?," I was hit with an attack of nostalgia and dragged out my DVDs.
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| Night Court creator Reinhold Weege |
Reinhold Weege was a comedy writer who worked on Barney Miller in the 70s. He had, as he said, the usual share of failed pilots and shows in his career as well, including Park Place, a sitcom about work in the Legal Aid office. In 1983 NBC came to Weege and asked him to develop a series. They gave him one word to work with: court. What Weege gave back to NBC was a classic: Night Court. In watching the DVDs of the show I am reminded of just how incredible this series was.
The show was set in a criminal court room in Manhattan, and in reality it could not have been set anywhere else in order to obtain the cast of loonies that marched through the court on a weekly basis. We may all know someone like Phil the wino or Dan the pervert, but only in New York could they all congregate in a single room. Many of the situations were so outlandish that one would think Weege had, like David Byrne did for the characters in True Stories, lifted situations from the headlines of Weekly World News. But that was part of the show's charm.
The main joy, however, was the regular cast of goofball characters. Harry Anderson, as the story goes, went to the casting audition for Night Court and told Weege, "I am this guy!" Weege said he rolled his eyes at Anderson's proclamation, but Anderson wasn't lying: like Harold T. Stone, Anderson is a gifted magician and a Mel Tormé fan (so much so that Anderson gave the eulogy at Tormé's funeral in 1999). It's impossible to think of anyone other than Anderson in that role. Fun-loving, as apt to use an exploding gavel as a real one, and a man with a heart as big as he is tall, Harry Stone is the judge we all want to face should we ever find ourselves in court. The ace up his sleeve, figuratively and literally, was that he would listen, no matter how absurd the defendant's argument sounded. It endeared him to the people brought before him.
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| Judge Stone (Harry Anderson) lays down the law |
Anderson always claimed that he is not an actor and that the ensemble cast just made him look good. Weege, however, vehemently disagreed: "He is a good actor," he said when interviewed for the DVD release. "He's a very good actor." Three Emmy nominations for the role of Harry Stone as well as Anderson's post-Night Court roles, including playing Dave Barry in Dave's World and Elwood P. Dowd in a Hallmark updated version of Harvey, indicate that Weege's proclamation was far more accurate than Harry's.
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| John Larroquette racking up the Emmys as sleazeball Dan Fielding |
Larroquette is an avid book collector, but the books in his home don't have enough space to hold the things that can be written regarding his acting genius. He won four consecutive Best Supporting Actor Emmy awards as Dan Fielding; and, had he not withdrawn his name from consideration after the fourth award, he probably would still be getting Emmys for playing a character in a series that ended 21 years ago. Larroquette continues to wow, picking up a Tony in his Broadway debut for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as well as a fifth Emmy, in 1998, for a role in The Practice. He is currently in the NBC series Deception, and if he gets Emmy number six this fall I will not be the least bit surprised. The man could play a log and get an award -- because he is that good.
One of the things that may be overlooked because of all the silliness that went on between rulings is how legally accurate the show was. One attorney group hailed Night Court as the most accurate show, from the standpoint of the legal rulings, on television. That is partially because Weege spent time in actual courts, watching the procedures.
Weege said he loved to put friends' names in the episodes as characters. The judge's name was remarkably similar to that of actor Harold J. Stone, who coincidentally appeared in an episode of Barney Miller that Weege wrote. Carla Bouvier, the prostitute that fell in love with Harry in the first season, was also named after one of Weege's friends. The most notorious "naming," however, was revealed in the third season episode "Hurricane," when Dan admitted that his real first name was not Dan, but Reinhold. (In the second season Dan's parents showed up, revealing his last name was not "Fielding" but Elmore, making Dan's real name Reinhold Fielding Elmore.)
After reading the book Sweeps: Behind the Scenes in Network TV, I am amazed that Night Court ever got past a pilot, let alone lasted nine seasons. Anderson said in the DVD interview that the members of the show were, in his words, "strung along," with a pilot made, two episodes months later (while Anderson was busy conning Sam Malone out of everything but the bar on Cheers as Harry the Hat), then three more, before finally being renewed for a full season. That probably contributed to the revolving door of actors in the first two seasons: Karen Austin, the no-nonsense court clerk Lana Wagner (who in the pilot referred to the court as her court, not the judge's) was gone by the end of the first season, replaced by guest stars before Charles Robinson settled into the role of Mac in the second season. Paula Kelly was great as Liz, possessing a little more "street smarts" (that Marsha Warfield later brought with her Roz character) than the relative innocence of Markie Post's Christine Sullivan; however, she, too, probably tired of the uncertainty of the show's future and left. Ellen Foley, who sang the spectacular female part on Meat Loaf's classic "Paradise By the Dashboard Lights," was a wonderful counterpart to both Dan's sleazy remarks and Harry's hustling (warning him that she was no slouch at pool when he challenged her to a game on her first night of work), but she, too, departed, making room for Christine.
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| Selma Diamond & Richard Moll provided what Weege referred to as a "Mutt & Jeff" appearance |
Then there were the deaths. Selma Diamond's role as the caustic bailiff Selma Hacker was written expressly for her by Weege, who admired her work as a writer on Your Show of Shows. Diamond chain smoked, a fact that, like many other similarities between actors and their characters (such as both Larroquette and Fielding being natives of Louisiana), was written into the show. How the constant smoking made it on network TV some dozen years after cigarette commercials were banned is beyond me. The smoking, although comedic on screen (after someone said an action was touching bailiff Selma replied, "Let me have a cigarette and I'll well up with you"), took Diamond's life at the age of 64. Her replacement, Florence Halop, lasted only one season before she also succumbed to cancer (breast cancer).
Now Weege is gone, too. He died of "natural causes" that were most likely heart-related (he had bypass surgery in the early 90s) at the age of 63.
Reinhold Weege's great legacy, sadly, is not in syndication anywhere at present time. It is criminal (pardon the pun) to think that a show that ran for nine years, with the awards and consistently high ratings, is nowhere to be found while eight different cable/satellite channels will be showing the exact same episode of Two and a Half Men tonight. I hope the programmers are charged with neglect in this matter, and I hope Judge Stone throws the book at them.
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