Eddy Clearwater has passed - My thoughts are with his family and friends

BLUES LEGEND EDDY CLEARWATER: JANUARY 10, 1935 - JUNE 1, 2018

Grammy-nominated Chicago blues legend Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater died of heart failure on Friday, June 1, in his hometown of Skokie, Illinois. He was 83.

Born Edward Harrington on January 10, 1935 in Macon, Mississippi, Clearwater (as he came to be known) was internationally lauded for his blues-rocking guitar playing, his original songs and his flamboyant showmanship. He was inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame in 2016, and also won two Blues Music Awards including Contemporary Male Blues Artist Of The Year in 2001.

Clearwater was equally comfortable playing the deepest, most intense blues or his own brand of rocking, good-time party music – a style he called “rock-a-blues,” mixing blues, rock, rockabilly, country and gospel. Between his slashing guitar work and his room-filling vocals, Clearwater was among the very finest practitioners of the West Side style of Chicago blues. DownBeat called him “a forceful six-stringer...He lays down gritty West Side shuffles and belly-grinding slow blues that highlight his raw chops, soulful vocals, and earthy, humorous lyrics." Blues Revue said he played “joyous rave-ups. He testifies with stunning soul fervor and powerful guitar. He is one of the blues’ finest songwriters.”

Clearwater's musical talent became clear early on. From his Mississippi birthplace, He and his family moved to Birmingham, AL in 1948 when he was 13. With music from blues to gospel to country & western surrounding him from an early age, Clearwater taught himself to play guitar (left-handed and upside down), and began performing with various gospel groups, including the legendary Five Blind Boys of Alabama. After moving to Chicago in 1950, he stayed with an uncle and took a job as a dishwasher, saving as much as he could from his $37 a week salary. His first music jobs were with gospel groups playing in local churches. Through his uncle’s contacts, Clearwater met many of Chicago’s blues stars. He fell deeper under the spell of the blues, and befriended Magic Sam, who would become one of Clearwater’s closest friends and teachers.

By 1953, as Guitar Eddy, he was making a strong name for himself, working the South and West Side bars regularly. After hearing Chuck Berry in 1957, Clearwater added a rock and roll element to his already searing blues style, creating a unique signature sound. He recorded his first single, Hill Billy Blues, for his uncle’s Atomic H label in 1958 under the name Clear Waters (his manager at the time, drummer Jump Jackson, came up with the name as a play on Muddy Waters). The name Clear Waters morphed into Eddy Clearwater. He worked the Chicago club circuit steadily throughout the 1950s, 1960s and into the 1970s. He found huge success in the 1970s among the city's college crowd, who responded to his individual brand of blues, his rock and roll spirit and his high energy stage show.

Clearwater's first full-length LP, 1980’s The Chief, was the initial release on Chicago’s Rooster Blues label, launching him onto the national and international blues scene. Over the decades he recorded over 15 solo albums and never stopped touring, with fans from Chicago to Japan to Poland. His 2003 album on Bullseye Blues, Rock ‘N’ Roll City, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. He released West Side Strut on Alligator in 2008 to both international popular and critical acclaim. His most recent CD was the self-released Soul Funky in 2014.

Clearwater is survived by his wife, Renee Greenman Harrington Clearwater, children Heather Greenman, Alyssa Jacquelyn, David Knopf, Randy Greenman, Jason Harrington and Edgar Harrington and grandchildren Gabriella Knopf and Graham Knopf.

Services will be held on Tuesday, June 5 at 11:00am at Chicago Jewish Funerals, 8851 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie, IL 60077.

Tom Petty has passed - My thoughts are with his family

Tom Petty, the American rocker who fronted one of the country’s longest-running, most successful bands, is dead at 66, according to his longtime manager.
Petty had suffered cardiac arrest at his Malibu home early Monday morning “and was taken to UCLA Medical center but could not be revived,” Tony Dimitriades, longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, said in a statement on behalf of the musician’s family. “He died peacefully at 8:40pm PT surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends.”
The news came hours after TMZ first reported that Petty was found unconscious in full cardiac arrest at his Malibu home. CBS News later reported his death, but the outlet walked back that report as the Los Angeles Police Department issued a statement that it had no information on Petty’s passing. “Initial information was inadvertantly [sic] provided to some media sources,” the police department posted on Twitter. “However, the LAPD has no investigative role in this matter. We apologize for any inconvenience in this reporting.” TMZ followed up with a post around 1:30 p.m. PST that Petty was “still clinging to life. A report that the LAPD confirmed the singer’s death is inaccurate.”

Steely Dan founder and guitarist, Walter Becker, has passed. My thoughts are with his family.

Walter Becker, the guitarist and bassist for the popular rock band Steely Dan, died Sunday. He was 67.
News of Becker's death was confirmed by a tribute post on his official website, though no cause of death was given.
Becker was forced to bow out of two Steely Dan performances earlier this month after undergoing an unidentified "procedure," according to bandmate Donald Fagen.
Fagen released a heartfelt statement on the passing of his longtime collaborator, praising Becker's skills as a musician and his killer sense of humor.

"Walter Becker was my friend, my writing partner and my bandmate since we met as students at Bard College in 1967," Fagen wrote. "Walter had a very rough childhood — I'll spare you the details. Luckily, he was smart as a whip, an excellent guitarist and a great songwriter. He was cynical about human nature, including his own, and hysterically funny. Like a lot of kids from fractured families, he had the knack of a creative mimicry, reading people's hidden psychology and transforming what he saw into bubbly, incisive art."
He added, "I intend to keep the music we created together alive as long as I can with the Steely Dan band."
The Queens-bred Becker and Fagen launched their musical legacy together in the early '70s.

After working as songwriters penning tunes for artists like Barbra Streisand, they formed Steely Dan — named after a strap-on dildo mentioned in the William S. Burroughs novel "Naked Lunch" — and in 1972, released their debut album, "Can't Buy a Thrill."
Throughout the decade, they rose to fame with hits like "Reelin' in the Years," "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" (though Fegan once said he and Becker weren't very fond of the track) and "Dirty Work," which would go on to become classic rock staples thanks to their jazzy tunes and clever lyrics, often steeped in black humor and irony.
Looking back on the band’s success throughout the ‘70s, Becker said in 1993 that the music Steely Dan churned out over the years ultimately helped set him up for life

“I would say that basically I’m still resting on those laurels quite comfortably,” he said. “It opens doors. When I meet people and players for the first time, they’re already on my side. It’s been just a very good and very positive influence on people I meet and work with.”
Disputes over personal and legal troubles caused the band to part ways in 1981 after seven albums together, but Steely Dan ultimately rejoined forces in 1993 and have spent the last two decades touring.
“In truth, our original bit was put together very quickly, and it got kind of frantic in the first couple of years of touring and making records. I guess we figured we’d be deceased at an early date, so we figured we’d cool it for a few decades,” Fagen told Rolling Stone in 2013 of Steely Dan’s bumpy road.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 after a career spanning nearly four decades, nine Grammy nominations and three wins, all three of which came in 2000 for the album "Two Against Nature."
Becker enjoyed a brief solo career as well, releasing “11 Tracks of Whack” in 1994 during a stint living in Hawaii as an avocado rancher, and his final album, “Circus Money,” in 2008.
During press tours for his debut solo album, Becker explained that he was enjoying his time out of the spotlight and embracing the role of family man.
“The perfect day for me is waking up and having a cup of tea with my kids before I drive them to school, then I go into the studio and try and write some music for three or four hours and give up about noon,” he told Jazziz in 1993.
But he remained a vocal fan of his time spent on-stage with Fagen, which helps explain the band’s longevity and their passion for touring.
“It’s just such a good band and magic stuff happens all the time, and there’s stuff that happens when you’re playing together where you get into a kind of group mind that’s very thrilling,” Becker said in 2008 of touring with Steely Dan. “I’m sure that other people experience the same kind of thing in all sorts of other realms, but for me, it happens when I’m playing with other people.”

Gregg Allman has died - My thoughts are with his family

Gregg Allman, one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band, has died. He was 69.

The southern rocker's passing was announced on his official website, adding that Allman "passed away peacefully at his home in Savannah, Georgia" on Saturday.

Allman's death comes after rumors circulated last month that he had entered hospice care. A rep for the rocker told ABC News that the rumors were not true.

Despite reports, Gregg Allman has not entered hospice

Gregg Allman condemns 'Bathroom Bill,' will still perform in NC

Still, Allman had been suffering from ill health in recent years, dealing with a respiratory infection, a hernia, a liver transplant and an irregular heartbeat.

Back in March, he canceled all his 2017 tour dates to support his upcoming album "Southern Blood" due to his health.

Michael Lehman, a close friend of Allman's, said in a statement posted to his website: "I have lost a dear friend and the world has lost a brilliant pioneer in music. He was a kind and gentle soul with the best laugh I ever heard."

"His love for his family and bandmates was passionate as was the love he had for his extraordinary fans. Gregg was an incredible partner and an even better friend. We will all miss him," the statement concluded.

Allman is survived by his wife Shannon Allman along with their four children and three grandchildren.

According to his website, "The family will release a statement soon, but for now ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

J Geils has passed - My thoughts are with his family

John Warren Geils Jr., the founding guitarist behind the ’70s and ’80s rock powerhouse J. Geils Band, died at his longtime home in Massachusetts on Tuesday. He was 71.
Donald Palma Jr., the chief of police in Groton, Mass., confirmed Geils’ death on Tuesday night, saying in a press release that an early investigation suggested Geils died of “natural causes” and that “foul play is not suspected at this time.”

Geils founded his eponymous band in 1967, when he attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. The band -- with singer Peter Wolf -- was known for its deft, bluesy guitar work. After touring with the Byrds and the Allman Brothers, the band achieved its breakout success in the ’70s and early ’80s with the release of hit singles like “Must of Got Lost,” “Give It to Me” and “Love Stinks.”
“We were a rock, blues, R&B, rootsy band until we developed our own sound," Wolf told The Times in 1994. "[I]t's always cool to rediscover the masters like Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Robert Johnson. I still feel like a student-pilgrim."

But in 1982, its album “Freeze-Frame” was an even bigger smash on the strength of the hit single “Centerfold.” That track spent six weeks atop the pop charts in the U.S., with “Freeze-Frame” atop the album charts for four weeks. The band would go on to land 10 top-40 singles in its career.
The group recorded 11 studio albums before breaking up in 1985. Though it occasionally reunited, Geils broke with the band when it toured under his name without him. The group was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

Lonnie Brooks has passed - My thoughts are with his family

Grammy-nominated Chicago blues icon Lonnie Brooks, whose music Rolling Stone called, "witty, soulful and ferociously energetic...simply astonishing guitar work," died on Saturday, April 1, 2017 in Chicago, according to his son, Ronnie Baker Brooks. He was 83. Guitar Player described him as “...like a fire-and-brimstone preacher, testifying the blues from the bottom of his soul.”

With his "booming, gritty vocals and fierce six-string firepower” (Chicago Tribune), Brooks created an instantly recognizable signature sound. It combined Chicago blues, rock ‘n’ roll, Memphis soul, swampy Louisiana grooves and country twang into a style that his fellow musicians called "voodoo blues." He was inducted into the Port Arthur Historical Society Hall Of Fame in 2001 and the Blues Hall Of Fame in 2010. On June 12, 2012 Mayor Rahm Emanuel declared Lonnie Brooks Day in Chicago.

Lonnie Brooks was born Lee Baker, Jr. on December 18, 1933. Over the course of his 60-year career, he recorded 11 full albums and dozens of 45s for a number of labels. His career began in Port Arthur, Texas in the mid-1950s. Recording under the name Guitar Junior, he scored a string of regional hits, including Family Rules and The Crawl for the Goldband label.

The success of his singles led to numerous southern tours and a busy performance schedule that included dancehalls, juke joints and roadhouses across Texas and Louisiana. In 1959, Lonnie befriended the great Sam Cooke, who suggested his move to Chicago. Once settled, he changed his name to Lonnie Brooks (Chicago already had a Guitar Junior) and became infatuated with the sound of deep Chicago blues. He soon landed a job as a sideman with blues hitmaker Jimmy Reed, with whom he toured and recorded. Brooks cut a handful of singles throughout the 1960s, as well as appearing on a number of Chicago blues and R&B recording sessions. He played nightly in the bars on the South and West sides of Chicago and in Gary and East Chicago, Indiana. In 1969, Capitol Records released Brooks’ first album, Broke an’ Hungry, under his old stage name, Guitar Junior.

In 1978, Brooks recorded four songs for Alligator Records' Grammy-nominated Living Chicago Blues anthology. This led to a full contract with the label. His Alligator debut, Bayou Lightning, was released in 1979. The album, along with Brooks' roof-raising live performances, brought him to the attention of Rolling Stone, which ran a six-page feature on the legendary musician. The album won the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque Award from the 1980 Montreux Jazz Festival. While appearing in Montreux, Lonnie befriended country star Roy Clark. Clark was so impressed with Lonnie that he arranged an appearance for Lonnie on the popular country music television show Hee Haw.

Constant touring in the U.S. and abroad kept Brooks in the public eye. His scorching 1980 live performance of Sweet Home Chicago on the Blues Deluxe album (resulting in Brooks' second Grammy nomination) is now considered the quintessential version of the song. A 1982 trip to Germany resulted in an hour-long Lonnie Brooks special shown on German television. BBC radio broadcast an hour-long live performance across all of Great Britain in 1987. Brooks spent the summer of 1993 on a national concert tour with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, Junior Wells and Eric Johnson. In 1995 Eric Clapton honored Brooks by inviting the bluesman on stage for an unforgettable impromptu jam at Chicago's Buddy Guy’s Legends club. In 1998 alone, he appeared in the film Blues Brothers 2000, performed on The Late Show With David Letterman and co-authored (along with his son Wayne Baker Brooks and music scribe Cub Koda) the book Blues For Dummies.

His final two releases, 1996's Roadhouse Rules and 1999's Lone Star Shootout (recorded with fellow Gulf Coast blues veterans Long John Hunter and Phillip Walker), showed Brooks at his very best -- an electrifying guitarist with full-throated vocals, clever original songs, and a dedication to having fun. His recording of It's Your World from Roadhouse Rules was featured in an episode of HBO's The Sopranos. In 2008, Brooks appeared in the film The Express -- The Ernie Davis Story. Lonnie also appeared in two award-winning Heineken beer commercials.

Among Brooks' proudest accomplishments was the success of his talented guitar-playing sons, Ronnie Baker Brooks and Wayne Baker Brooks. Lonnie always encouraged and mentored the boys as they were growing up. Ronnie even toured with his dad while still a teenager. Both Wayne and Ronnie lead their own bands and have released critically acclaimed recordings. In 2011 and 2012, Lonnie, Ronnie and Wayne toured as The Brooks Family Dynasty, showcasing three world-class blues guitarists -- a father and his sons -- standing shoulder to shoulder, delivering thunderous performances. Lonnie's last recording appearance was as a guest on Ronnie's latest album, Times Have Changed.

Lonnie Brooks' larger-than-life personality and abundance of pure talent made him beloved worldwide, leading The Chicago Tribune to declare his music "a joyful paean to the power of the blues." 

Brooks is survived by sisters Erma, Geraldine, Jerryline, Carol, Patricia (preceded him in death), brothers Herman, Cliff, Joe, MC (all preceded him in death), Ahal and Willie, Shirley, mother of his son Lee Baker III and daughter Linda Baker Williams (preceded him in death), Jeannine, mother of his sons Ronnie Baker Brooks, Wayne Baker Brooks, Russell Baker, Robert Lauderdale and daughters Denise Baker Parker, Jackie Graham and Gina Baker Landers, with a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren.

The family would like to thank all of his worldwide fans for their love, support and loyalty over his 60 year long career.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Chuck Berry has died. Our prayers are with his family

Rock 'n' roll icon and musical master Chuck Berry died Saturday at his home west of St. Louis, Missouri, authorities confirmed. He was 90.
The guitarist and musican defined the art form's joy and rebellion in such classics as "Johnny B. Goode," ''Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Roll Over Beethoven" in a career that spanned 7 decades and earned him countless accolades.
Emergency personnel summoned to Berry's residence by his caretaker about 12:40 p.m. found him unresponsive, police in Missouri's St. Charles County said in a statement. Attempts to revive Berry failed, and he was pronounced shortly before 1:30 p.m., police said.
A police spokeswoman, Val Joyner, said she had no additional details about the death of Berry, calling him  "really a legend."
Berry's core repertoire was some three dozen songs, his influence incalculable, from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to virtually any group from garage band to arena act that called itself rock 'n roll. While Elvis Presley gave rock its libidinous, hip-shaking image, Berry was the auteur, setting the template for a new sound and way of life. Well before the rise of Bob Dylan, Berry wedded social commentary to the beat and rush of popular music.
"He was singing good lyrics, and intelligent lyrics, in the '50s when people were singing, "Oh, baby, I love you so,'" John Lennon once observed.
Berry, in his late 20s before his first major hit, crafted lyrics that spoke to the teenagers of the day and remained fresh decades later. "Sweet Little Sixteen" captured rock 'n' roll fandom, an early and innocent ode to the young girls later known as "groupies." ''School Day" told of the sing-song trials of the classroom ("American history and practical math; you're studying hard, hoping to pass...") and the liberation of rock 'n' roll once the day's final bell rang.

"Roll Over Beethoven" was an anthem to rock's history-making power, while "Rock and Roll Music" was a guidebook for all bands that followed ("It's got a back beat, you can't lose it"). "Back in the U.S.A." was a black man's straight-faced tribute to his country at a time there was no guarantee Berry would be served at the drive-ins and corner cafes he was celebrating.
"Everything I wrote about wasn't about me, but about the people listening," he once said.

"Johnny B. Goode," the tale of a guitar-playing country boy whose mother tells him he'll be a star, was Berry's signature song, the archetypal narrative for would-be rockers and among the most ecstatic recordings in the music's history. Berry can hardly contain himself as the words hurry out ("Deep down Louisiana close to New Orleans/Way back up in the woods among the evergreens") and the downpour of guitar, drums and keyboards amplifies every call of "Go, Johnny Go!"

The song was inspired in part by Johnnie Johnson, the boogie-woogie piano master who collaborated on many Berry hits, but the story could have easily been Berry's, Presley's or countless others'. Commercial calculation made the song universal: Berry had meant to call Johnny a "colored boy," but changed "colored" to "country," enabling not only radio play, but musicians of any color to imagine themselves as stars.

"Chances are you have talent," Berry later wrote of the song. "But will the name and the light come to you? No! You have to go!"
Johnny B. Goode could have only been a guitarist. The guitar was rock 'n' roll's signature instrument and Berry's clarion sound, a melting pot of country flash and rhythm 'n blues drive, turned on at least a generation of musicians, among them the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards, who once acknowledged he had "lifted every lick" from his hero; the Beatles' George Harrison; Bruce Springsteen; and the Who's Pete Townshend.
When NASA launched the unmanned Voyager I in 1977, an album was stored on the craft that would explain music on Earth to extraterrestrials. The one rock song included was "Johnny B. Goode."
Charles Edward Anderson Berry was born in St. Louis on Oct. 18, 1926. As a child he practiced a bent-leg stride that enabled him to slip under tables, a prelude to the duck walk of his adult years. His mother, like Johnny B. Goode's, told him he would make it, and make it big.

A fan of blues, swing and boogie woogie, Berry studied the very mechanics of music and how it was transmitted. As a teenager, he loved to take radios apart and put them back together. Using a Nick Manoloff guitar chord book, he learned how to play the hits of the time. He was fascinated by chord progressions and rhythms, discovering that many songs borrowed heavily from the Gershwins' "I Got Rhythm."


He began his musical career at age 15 when he went on stage at a high school review to do his own version of Jay McShann's "Confessin' the Blues." Berry would never forget the ovation he received.
"Long did the encouragement of that performance assist me in programming my songs and even their delivery while performing," he wrote in his autobiography. "I added and deleted according to the audiences' response to different gestures, and chose songs to build an act that would constantly stimulate my audience."
Meanwhile, his troubles with the law began, in 1944, when a joy riding trip to Kansas City turned into a crime spree involving armed robberies and car theft. Berry served three years of a 10-year sentence at a reformatory.

A year after his October 1947 release, Berry met and married Themetta Suggs, who stayed by his side despite some of his well-publicized indiscretions. Berry then started sitting in with local bands. By 1950, he had graduated to a six-string electric guitar and was making his own crude recordings on a reel to reel machine.
On New Year's Eve 1952 at The Cosmopolitan club in East St. Louis, Illinois, Johnson called Berry to fill in for an ailing saxophonist in his Sir John Trio.
"He gave me a break" and his first commercial gig, for $4, Berry later recalled. "I was excited. My best turned into a mess. I stole the group from Johnnie."

Influenced by bandleader Louis Jourdan, blues guitarist T-Bone Walker and jazz man Charlie Christian, but also hip to country music, novelty songs and the emerging teen audiences of the post-World War II era, Berry signed with Chicago's Chess Records in 1955. "Maybellene" reworked the country song "Ida Red" and rose into the top 10 of the national pop charts, a rare achievement for a black artist at that time. According to Berry, label owner Leonard Chess was taken by the novelty of a "hillbilly song sung by a black man," an inversion of Presley's covers of blues songs.
Several hits followed, including "Roll Over Beethoven," ''School Day" and "Sweet Little Sixteen." Among his other songs: "Too Much Monkey Business," ''Nadine," ''No Particular Place To Go," ''Almost Grown" and the racy novelty number "My Ding-A-Ling," which topped the charts in 1972.
Berry also appeared in a dozen movies, doing his distinctive bent-legged "duck-walk" in several teen exploitation flicks of the '50s. Richards organized the well-received 1987 documentary "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll," a concert at St. Louis' Fox Theatre to celebrate Berry's 60th birthday. It featured Eric Clapton, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, who recalled being told by his own mother that Berry, not he, was the true king of rock 'n' roll.

Country, pop and rock artists have recorded Berry songs, including the Beatles ("Roll Over Beethoven"), Emmylou Harris ("You Never Can Tell"), Buck Owens ("Johnny B. Goode") and AC/DC ("School Days"). The Rolling Stones' first single was a cover of Berry's "Come On" and they went on to perform and record "Around and Around," ''Let it Rock" and others. Berry riffs pop up in countless songs, from the Stones' ravenous "Brown Sugar" to the Eagles' mellow country-rock ballad "Peaceful Easy Feeling."
Some stars covered him too well. The Beach Boys borrowed the melody of "Sweet Little Sixteen" for their surf anthem "Surfin' U.S.A." without initially crediting Berry. The Beatles' "Come Together," written by John Lennon, was close enough to Berry's "You Can't Catch Me" to inspire a lawsuit by music publisher Morris Levy. In an out of court settlement, Lennon agreed to record "You Can't Catch Me" for his 1975 "Rock n' Roll" album.

Berry himself was accused of theft. In 2000, Johnson sued Berry over royalties and credit he believed he was due for the songs they composed together over more than 20 years of collaboration. The lawsuit was dismissed two years later, but Richards was among those who believed Johnson had been cheated, writing in his memoir "Life" that Johnson set up the arrangements for Berry and was so essential to the music that many of Berry's songs were recorded in keys more suited for the piano.

Openly money-minded, Berry was an entrepreneur with a St. Louis nightclub and, in a small town west of there, property he dubbed Berry Park, which included a home, guitar-shaped swimming pool, restaurant, cottages and concert venue. He declined to have a regular band and instead used local musicians, willing to work cheap. Springsteen was among those who had an early gig backing Berry.
Burned by an industry that demanded a share of his songwriting credits, Berry was deeply suspicious of even his admirers, as anybody could tell from watching him give Richards the business in "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll." For the movie's concerts, he confounded Richards by playing songs in different keys and tempos than they had been in rehearsal. Richards would recall turning to his fellow musicians and shrugging, "Wing it, boys."

His career nearly ended decades earlier, when he was indicted for violating the Mann Act, which barred transportation of a minor across state lines for "immoral purposes." An all-white jury found him guilty in 1960, but the charges were vacated after the judge made racist comments. A trial in 1961 led to his serving 1 1/2 years of a three-year term. Berry continued to record after getting out, and his legacy was duly honored by the Beatles and the Stones, but his hit-making days were essentially over.
"Down from stardom/then I fell/to this lowly prison cell," Berry wrote as his jail time began.
Tax charges came in 1979, and another three-year prison sentence, all but 120 days of which was suspended. Some former female employees later sued him for allegedly videotaping them in the bathroom of his restaurant. The cases were settled in 1994, after Berry paid $1.3 million.
"Every 15 years, in fact, it seems I make a big mistake," Berry acknowledged in his memoir.

Still, echoing the lyrics of "Back in the U.S.A.," he said: "There's no other place I would rather live, including Africa, than America. I believe in the system."
Berry announced on his 90th birthday in late 2016 that he would soon be releasing his first new album in 38 years. The album “Chuck” is set to contain new songs performed by Berry’s longtime backing group, including his kids Charles Berry, Jr. and Ingrid Berry. Its release date had not yet been announced at the time of his death.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

James Cotton has passed - My thoughts are with his family

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — James Cotton, a Grammy Award-winning blues harmonica master whose full-throated sound backed such blues legends as Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II and Howlin' Wolf, has died at age 81.

A statement from Alligator Records, Cotton's label, says he died Thursday of pneumonia at St. David's Medical Center in Austin.

The Mississippi Delta native performed professionally since age 9. Cotton backed Muddy Waters in his landmark album "At Newport" on Chess Records.

After going solo in the 1960s, Cotton released almost 30 albums, including his 1996 Grammy Award-winning Verve album, "Deep In The Blues." His most recent album, "Cotton Mouth Man" for Alligator Records in 2013, was nominated for a Grammy.

James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time and with his own band. He played drums early in his career but is famous for his harmonica playing.
Cotton began his professional career playing the blues harp in Howlin' Wolf's band in the early 1950s. He made his first recordings in Memphis for Sun Records, under the direction of Sam Phillips. In 1955, he was recruited by Muddy Waters to come to Chicago and join his band. Cotton became Waters's bandleader and stayed with the group until 1965. In 1965 he formed the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet, with Otis Spann on piano, to record between gigs with Waters's band. He eventually left Waters to form his own full-time touring group. His first full album, on Verve Records, was produced by guitarist Mike Bloomfield and vocalist and songwriter Nick Gravenites, who later were members of the band Electric Flag.
In the 1970s, Cotton played harmonica on Waters's Grammy Award–winning 1977 album Hard Again, produced by Johnny Winter.

Guitar Virtuoso Larry Coryell has passed - My thoughts and prayers are with his family

NEW YORK – Legendary guitarist Larry Coryell died on Sunday, February 19 in New York City. Coryell, 73, passed away in his sleep at his hotel from natural causes. He’d performed his last two shows on Friday and Saturday, February 17 and 18, at the Iridium in New York City.
As one of the pioneers of jazz-rock -- perhaps the pioneer in the ears of some (he’s known to many as the Godfather of Fusion) -- Larry Coryell deserves a special place in the history books. He brought what amounted to a nearly alien sensibility to jazz electric guitar playing in the 1960s, a hard-edged, cutting tone, phrasing and note-bending that owed as much to blues, rock and even country as it did to earlier, smoother bop influences.
Yet as a true eclectic, armed with a brilliant technique, he was comfortable in almost every style, covering almost every base from the most decibel-heavy, distortion-laden electric work to the most delicate, soothing, intricate lines on acoustic guitar.
Born in Galveston, Texas on April 2, 1943 Coryell grew up in the Seattle, Washington area where his mother introduced him to the piano at the age of 4. He switched to guitar and played rock music while in his teens. He didn't consider himself good enough to pursue a music career and studied journalism at The University of Washington while simultaneously taking private guitar lessons.
By 1965 he had relocated to New York City and began taking classical guitar lessons which would figure prominently in the later stages of his career. Although citing Chet Atkins and Chuck Berry as early influences he also took cues from jazzmen such as John Coltrane and Wes Montgomery. He was also inspired by the popular music of the day by The Beatles, The Byrds and Bob Dylan and worked diligently to meld both rock and jazz stylings into his technique. This was reflected on his debut recording performance on drummer Chico Hamilton's album The Dealer where he sounded like Chuck Berry at times with his almost distorted "fat" tone.
In 1966 he formed a psychedelic band called The Free Spirits on which he also sang vocals, played the sitar and did most of the composing. Although conceptually the band's music conformed to the psychedelic formula with titles like "Bad News Cat" and" I'm Gonna Be Free" it foreshadowed jazz-rock fusion with more complex soloing by Coryell and sax/flute player Jim Pepper.
However, it wasn't until three years later after apprenticing on albums by vibraphonist Gary Burton and flutist Herbie Mann and gigging with the likes of Jack Bruce and others that Coryell established his multifarious musical voice, releasing two solo albums (Lady Coryell and Coryell) which mixed jazz, classical and rock ingredients.
In late 1969 he recorded Spaces, the album for which he is most noted. It was a guitar blow-out which also included John McLaughlin who was also sitting on the fence between rock and jazz at the time and the cogitative result formed what many aficionados consider to be the embryo from which the fusion jazz movement of the 1970s emerged. It contained insane tempos and fiery guitar exchanges which were often beyond category not to mention some innovating acoustic bass work by Miroslav Vitous and power drumming by Billy Cobham, both of whom were to make contributions to jazz-rock throughout the 70s.
His career as a significant guitar force in the era of late 60s and early 70s music continued to take flight in a time when guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana and many other iconic names also blossomed. His varied musical expression took him on a diverse journey, and though he did not receive the level of commercial fame some of his guitarist contemporaries enjoyed, he was still able to make his timeless mark in music through his highly acclaimed solo work (he released well over 60 solo albums), his performances with powerhouse fusion band The Eleventh House and numerous collaborations with a host of jazz greats including of Miles Davis, Gary Burton, Alphonse Mouzon, Ron Carter, Chet Baker and many other noteworthy artists of all styles.
Larry still toured the world right up until his passing and had planned an extensive 2017 summer tour with a reformed The Eleventh House.
His most recent releases are Barefoot Man: Sanpaku, released on October 14, 2016 on Cleopatra Records and an upcoming Eleventh House release, entitled Seven Secrets, which will be released on the Savoy Jazz label on June 2.
His final original works included operas based on Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, Anna Karenina and James Joyce's Ulysses.
He is survived by his wife, Tracey, his daughter Annie, his sons Murali and Julian, and his daughter Allegra, as well as six grandchildren.
A memorial service is being planned Friday February 24th at the S.G.I-USA Buddhist center at 7 east 15th St. at 7 p.m.

Allman Brothers drummer ButchTrucks shot himself - My prayers are with his friends and family

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks killed himself in front of his wife, police reports released Wednesday show.
The 69-year-old Trucks shot himself in the head Jan. 27 at his home, the West Palm Beach police reports show.

'My husband just shot himself! My husband just shot himself!,' the wife of Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks screams into the phone seconds after what sounds like a gunshot.

DailyMail.com has obtained from police the audio of the 911 call that Melinda Trucks, the legendary drummer's wife of more than 25 years, placed January. 24 when the rocker took his own life in his waterfront condo in West Palm Beach, Fla.

The heavily edited recording -- police stripped all identifying words from the original -- starts with a loud noise believed to be the moment Trucks pulled the trigger on the pistol he held to his head as Melinda lets out blood-curdling screams.

'Allo, allo, my husband just shot himself,' Melinda yells into the phone. 'My husband just shot himself.'

'What did he shoot himself with,' the 911 operator asks.

'A pistol,' Melinda replies as the voice of a man sounds off in the background. According to the original police report, Trucks' singer son Vaylor may have been at the scene.

'Is he breathing still, though,' the operator asks.

'No, no,' Melinda replies. 'He shot himself in the head.

'I can't look at him,' Melinda says. 'What do I do? Call the hospital? .... Oh, I can't touch him!'

'No ma'am, you don't have to call the hospital ... You don't have to touch him ... Paramedics and the police are on the way,' the operator responds. 'Just stay outside.'

The transcript of the frantic call made to West Palm Beach Police also provides the awful details of the drummer's death at home in the downtown waterfront Villa Del Lago complex.

A woman caller who is unidentified on the transcript but described as 'hysterical' dialed 911 at 6:02 p.m., the transcript shows. 

The transcript of the frantic call made to West Palm Beach Police about 6:00 p.m. also  provides the awful details of the drummer's death at home in the downtown waterfront Villa Del Lago complex.

A woman caller who is unidentified on the transcript but described as 'hysterical' dialed 911 at 6:02 p.m., the transcript shows. 

The police dispatcher reported the woman saying her 'husband just shot himself' with a pistol.

The caller used Trucks' real first name, Claude, when she identified the victim.

As several squad cars rolled toward the apartment building, the caller continued talking to the dispatcher although she was so distraught she couldn't speak in complete sentences.

Trucks suffered a gun shot wound to the head, the caller said. At that point, the caller wasn't sure Trucks was still breathing.

The dispatcher then radioed the officers that Trucks' wife, painter Melinda, and a son were waiting for police in the hallway outside the condo. Trucks had two adult children, a daughter and a son, Atlanta-based musician Vaylor Trucks.

The dispatcher noted Melinda witnessed Trucks pulling the trigger.

Although he was breathing when police arrived, the man considered by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 10 drummers in rock history expired seconds later as the dispatcher concluded the call by noting a 'Signal 7,' police code for a dead person.

Police refused to comment but put out a statement confirming that Trucks died in his condo, and investigators did not suspect foul play despite the fact the incident officially still is under investigation.

The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy Wednesday, but the results won't be known for weeks.

Kathleen Salata, a manager at Villa Del Lago, said Melinda was spotted by residents Wednesday but was 'completely distraught.'

Several residents walking their dogs said they had no clue that the shooting occurred in their building and didn't realize that a legendary rocker lived on the fifth floor.

Todd Brodginski, Trucks' publicist, didn't return repeated calls asking whether the musician appeared depressed as of late.

Palm Beach County court records, meanwhile, show Trucks appeared to be wrestling with financials problems as of late.

In 2011, Trucks had to sell his prized home in Palm Beach for $2 million when it was possibly worth twice as much to pay off a $800,000 mortgage that a bank was trying to foreclose on.

In 2014, Trucks and his wife spent $500,000 on the condo where he shot himself.

And he was hounded by the IRS, according to federal records.

A consummate Floridian, Trucks was born in the Jacksonville area and by age 8 played drums with local bands.

He was playing a gig in Daytona in the late 60s when he was approached by Gregg and Duane Allman. Together, they formed The Allman Brothers Band, which became one of the 70s most popular concert bands.

Trucks moved to the Palm Beach area in the early 1990s. He and Melinda had become stalwarts on the local charity circuit and often made appearances at high-profile dinners to benefit non-profit groups.

He was one of the Allman Brother's Bands two drummers. Through the years, the band broke up and reunited three times and Trucks was there for every reunion. 

During their most recent stretch, from 1999 to 2014, Trucks' own nephew Derek was brought into the band to play guitar.  

After the band's most recent break-up two years ago, Trucks started a new group called Butch Trucks and the Freight Train Band. Trucks played his last show on January 6, and the group was scheduled for more shows this spring.

Trucks had been very open about his demons, including the drug and alcohol problem he developed in his early years in the band. 

Trucks told the Palm Beach Post that by 1974, the first thing he did in the morning was drink a beer or wine. He got into cocaine as a way to prolong the night. 

When the band first broke up in 1974, he says he tried to quit both by moving his family to Tallahassee and going back to school to finish college.  

While he was able to kick hard alcohol and drugs, he kept drinking wine.

After his kids left the house, Trucks and his wife moved to Palm Beach where his alcohol demons came back to bite him. 

'I promised myself no more than three glasses and I couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it,' he said.  

In October 2001, he quit alcohol completely, without going to rehab of Alcoholics Anonymous. 

'You have to make the commitment deep down inside that this is enough. That you care more for the people around you than the booze. My message is 'life can get better,'' he said

Just this year, Rolling Stone named Trucks and bandmate Jai Johanny 'Jaimoe' Johanson among the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time.   

Trucks was one of two original drummers, along with Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson, who helped formed the rhythms and the drive for The Allman Brothers. Formed in 1969 and led by Duane and Gregg Allman, the group helped define the Southern rock sound that incorporated blues, rock, country and jazz.

Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Trucks joined with the Allman siblings to form the band, including guitarist Dickey Betts and bassist Berry Oakley. They moved to Macon, Georgia, to cut their first record with Capricorn Records.

The two drummers melded their individual styles, with Trucks considered to be the straightforward, driving train rhythm player, while Johanson added his R&B and jazz drumming influences.
The band's 1971 live album, "At Fillmore East," became their seminal breakthrough album, featuring a fusion of jazz, blues and rock. It featured songs like "You Don't Love Me" and a 22-minute version of "Whipping Post."
Trucks also helped encourage a family lineage of musicians. One nephew, Derek Trucks, is the frontman of the Tedeschi Trucks Band and also joined The Allman Brothers band in 1999 as a guitarist. Another nephew, Duane Trucks, is the drummer for Widespread Panic.
Trucks was most recently touring with his band, Butch Trucks and the Freight Train.

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RIP - Jim Mouradian of Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters - My Thoughts are with his family and friends

Mouradian, of Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters, Passes Away

Jim Mouradian, bassist for Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters since 2000, suffered a massive heart attack and passed away following the band’s show on Saturday night, January 14, at The KATE in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

In addition to being a fantastic bassist who toured an recorded with Ronnie Earl for all those years, Jim Mouradian was an internationally known luthier, who crafted basses for a number of legendary bassist, including Chris Squire of Yes.

Ronnie Earl’s management posted the following statement yesterday on Facebook:

“ We are devastated to share the passing of our dear brother Jimmy Jim Mouradian of a massive heart attack last night following our show at The KATE. Jim was a man we all loved who exuded compassion, joy, faith, and gratitude for every person he met and every note he played. Please keep his wife Michele and his entire family in your prayers. We will update you when we hear of plans to celebrate his life - Debbie on behalf of all of us in the band.”

Sharon Jones has passed - Our prayers are with her family

Sharon Jones, the soul and funk singer in Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, has died after long battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 60. Her representative Judy Miller Silverman says she died Friday at a Cooperstown hospital surrounded by her band, the Dap-Kings. Silverman says in a statement, “Thank you for your prayers and thoughts during this difficult time.”

Jones was diagnosed with Stage 2 pancreatic cancer in 2013.

Her story was told this year in a Barbara Kopple documentary called “Miss Sharon Jones!” The film documents her transformation into cancer patient and back into a full-throated force. 

Jones started her career in the 1970s as a soul singer, but she spent decades in obscurity before her debut album, Dap Dippin’ with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, came out in 2002. In 2014, Jones was nominated for her first Grammy, for the album Give the People What They Want. 

Leon Russell has passed - Our thoughts and prayers are with his family

American musician and songwriter Leon Russell has died at the age of 74.

The artist, who is best known for the songs "Shine a Light" and "A Song for You", died in Nashville on Sunday.

“His wife said that he passed away in his sleep,” a statement posted on Russell’s website read.

The artist, who performed his gospel-inflenced southern boogie piano rock, blues, and country music for over five decades,  was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2011.

Russell's colourful career saw him lead the famous Joe Cocker's ‘Mad Dogs & Englishmen’ tour, perform with George Harrison and Friends and tour with everyone from Sir Elton John to Willie Nelson, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, Edgar Winter and The New Grass Revival. He was a longtime hero of Sir Elton  and collaborated with him on a number of occasions. 

Born in Tulsa in Oklahoma, Russell embarked on his musical career at the age of just 14 in local nightclubs. By the 1950s he had moved to Los Angeles to become a session music, playing the piano on the songs of numerous 1960s musicians. Fast forward to 1970 and he had become a solo recording artist but continued to persist with his other numerous musical roles. His hit Shine a Light was featured on the 1972 Rolling Stones' album Exile on Main St.

He then dipped into relative obscurity for a period before coming back with a vengeance after he recorded The Onion alongside Sir Elton. This boosted his popularity until his last days, with him going on to release a solo album and tour the world.

Guy Clark has passed - My thoughts and Prayers are with his family.

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Guy Clark has died.
Clark died Tuesday at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, according to his manager, Keith Case. He was 74 and had been in poor health, although Case didn't give an official cause of death.
A native of Monahans, Texas, Clark was known for such hits as "L.A. Freeway" and "Desperados Waiting for a Train," and his songs were covered by Johnny Cash, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs and many others. In 2014, his "My Favorite Picture of You" won a Grammy for best folk album.
Clark also was a mentor for such future stars as Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell.


We've not left much room for the making of things that matter in this modern world. For the careful, private passion of handwork and contemplative creation. Instead of art we've embraced certain obsolescence, offshore manufacturing, factory farming, and digital truths that arrive with the half-life of a firefly. Packaging.
And yet the tradition somehow endures: homegrown tomatoes, locally brewed beer, hand-knit sweaters. Bits of jewelry. And a few careful songs which still seek to tell private and public truths. At least so long as Guy Clark and his loose-knit confederation of ornery musicians keep writing and recording them.
Which makes My Favorite Picture of You, Clark's first album of new material in four years, a rare and treasured work, a custom creation much like the guitars he fashions on a simple workbench downstairs. It is also, arguably, the most emotional album of his much-decorated career. Consider the lingering memories of its title track, the banked fury of "El Coyote," and an incautious number titled "The High Price of Inspiration." And, alas, "The Death of Sis Draper," a fictional character about whom Clark and Shawn Camp have been writing for nearly a decade.
Not that he would admit any intentional coherence. "I don't do theme records," says Clark with a dry chuckle. "It's just the best ten songs I've got, that's the way I record."
No matter his long tenure at the edge of Music Row, Guy Clark is inescapably from Texas. A resolute, elegant man, regardless the simplicity of his clothes, nor the wear of his 71 years. The elder statesman of a clutch of gritty, gutty songwriters which includes the late Townes Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, and Nanci Griffith. And, of course, the late Susanna Clark, who died June 27, 2012. It is her picture which adorns her husband's new record, the lasting image of his creative partner who so long ago insisted he quit his day job, go ahead and write songs. And then did the same.
"That was always my favorite picture of Susanna, probably 30 years old," he says, with dignity and time buffing the hurt from his voice, only tenderness left behind. "Me and Townes are in that house, just drunk on our asses, jerks. And she'd had enough, she walked out that front door. I think it was John Lomax who snapped that picture. I had it pinned on my wall, and Gordon [Sampson] came over. We were writing and he had a list of lines and titles and all that shit that most people carry around. I was going through it and I hit on this line that said, 'My favorite picture of you.' I turned in my chair and it was right there in front of me. The lyrics just poured out because all it boiled down to was describing the picture. We might have written it in one day."
One day, not twenty minutes.

This is not work that he has to do, not at an age when most men are safely retired, except that he does. He's written enough songs — "Desperados Waiting for a Train," "L.A. Freeway," "The Randall Knife" — to leave a legacy and pay the bills, if that's what mattered.
"It's what I enjoy," he says. "It gets harder, all the time. It doesn't fall out of the sky, you know. But I have joy doing the work, I enjoy the creative process. I write and build guitars in the same space, and I find that one is right brain and one is left brain, and they kind of feed off of one another. But, I don't know. It's just a way to while away the time until you die."
An artist, not an auteur. In some circles Nashville's penchant for co-writing has a bad name. For Clark it is an essential tool. "I just write 'em one song at a time," he says. "Whoever comes through the door with a better idea than I've got."
Formidable talents come through Guy Clark's door these days, and have for years. Shawn Camp, of course, and his long-time guitarist Verlon Thompson. Chris Stapleton, The SteelDrivers' original songwriter and vocalist, whose wife, Morgane sings much of the harmony on this record. Gordy Sampson, from Halifax. Noel McKay from Bandera, Texas. Ray Stephenson, Jedd Hughes, Rodney Crowell.
"Oh, I don't consider it mentoring," Clark says. "If they're good enough to sit in a room with me and write…they don't need mentoring, as far as I'm concerned. I'm not trying to mentor anyone. I just enjoy the process of co-writing simply because of the give and take, especially with bright people who are good at what they do."
Clark does not write angry. He writes carefully, shaving off the unnecessary bits until the story's told. And yet, at the center of My Favorite Picture of You are two striking topical songs. Angry songs. "Well…I think about that stuff," is all he offers.
"Heroes" was suggested by press coverage of the suicide epidemic afflicting soldiers returning from the Middle East. "They can't live with what they did and what they saw," Clark says, an edge to his voice for the first time. "Where's Woody Guthrie?"
Guthrie comes to the foreground of "El Coyote," a song about a crooked smuggler of people over the Mexican border. "'El Coyote' was about a situation that really happened," says Clark. "Something spooked the driver, and he just pulled over to the side of the road, left 18 workers in the Texas sun, and walked off. Locked them in, and they all died. I just thought it was something that needed to be addressed. And Noel speaks really good Spanish, been around that all his life, too. So I presented him the idea of writing that song, and he was very helpful."
Add into the mix a cover of Lyle Lovett's "The Waltzing Fool," the song Clark made Tony Brown listen to back when, and the result is a formidable collection of songs.
A testament to the poetry of carefully wrought songs, and a powerful pleasure.

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