Thursday, December 28

In Memorium, 2006

As tends to happen with the passage of time, a good number of important and ground-breaking musicians passed away in 2006. The R&B community lost some of its legends and a young star, and influential jazz, ska, and country artists left us as well. Rock, punk, hip-hop, and indie fans were hard-hit by the demise of important stars from both the past and present.

Below is a gallery of some of those who passed this year, though they will surely live on through their music. This list is not all-inclusive, so feel free to note anyone I overlooked. A link to an obituary is provided for each, along with a musical sample and links to learn more. Apologies if some of the songs are a bit melancholy, but I thought they were appropriate. Thanks to each of these individuals for their works and impact.


Syd Barrett (1946-2006)

Syd Barrett - Here I Go
Syd Barrett - Wouldn't You Miss Me?


Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


James Brown (1933-2006)

James Brown - Soul Power
James Brown - That's Life


Obituary @ New York Times
Wikipedia - Amazon


Ruth Brown (1928-2006)

Ruth Brown - So Long
Ruth Brown - As Long as I'm Moving


Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Desmond Dekker (1941-2006)

Desmond Dekker - Israelites
Desmond Dekker - My Precious World (The Man)


Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


J Dilla (1974-2006)

J Dilla - Won't Do

Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Freddy Fender (1937-2006)

Freddy Fender - Vaya con Dios
Freddy Fender - Wasted Days and Wasted Nights
(live)

Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Maynard Ferguson (1928-2006)

Maynard Ferguson - Gospel John
Maynard Ferguson - Spinning Wheel


Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Arthur Lee (1945-2006)

Love - Always See Your Face
Love - Live and Let Live


Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Gerald LeVert (1966-2006)

Gerald LeVert - Made to Love Ya

Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Grant McLennan (1958-2006)

The Go-Betweens - He Lives My Life (live at Barbican)
The Go-Betweens - Right Here (live at Barbican)

Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Buck Owens (1929-2006)

Buck Owens - Cryin' Time
Buck Owens - Close Up the Honky Tonks


Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Wilson Pickett (1941-2006)

Wilson Pickett - In the Midnight Hour
Wilson Pickett - Hey Joe


Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Billy Preston (1946-2006)

Billy Preston - Will It Go Round in Circles?
Billy Preston - As One


Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Lou Rawls (1933-2006)

Lou Rawls - See You When I Get There
Lou Rawls - Georgia on my Mind


Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Nikki Sudden (1956-2006)

Nikki Sudden - Fall Any Further
Nikki Sudden & Dave Kusworth's Jacobites - Shame for the Angels

Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Vince Welnick (1951-2006)

Vince Welnick - Heaven's Reign
Jerry Lawson & Vince Welnick - Home of the Angels

Obituary @ BBC
Wikipedia - Amazon


Will Westbrook (1970-2006)

The Gerbils - Sunshine Soul

Obituary @ Pitchfork
Wikipedia - Amazon

Please feel free to mention others in the comments. Now, enjoy the music!

5 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

great stuff, a wonderful tribute... but it should read In Memoriam. Cheers!

11:01 AM

 
Blogger Rich said...

Thousands of visitors, 15gb of downloads, and no comments other than a spelling correction that I'm not even going to change. Yeesh.

7:57 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you! The tribute is wonderful.

11:35 PM

 
Blogger Rich said...

Yay! Love!!!

11:42 PM

 
Blogger Dana said...

great post.

4:00 PM

 

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