Category Archives: Obit

Remembering Burt Bacharach, 1928-2023

What a long and wonderful career Burt Bacharach gave us before he died last week at 94. Forever associated with the 60s, through a remarkable series of complex yet breezy pop songs, many of which delivered by Dionne Warwick, he was composing ias early as the 50s and continued to do so well into the […]

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Remembering Christine McVie, 1943-2022

When I interviewed her in 1984, an astounding 38 years ago, she was just on tour on the heels of her solo hit “Got a Hold on Me.”  She had established herself as a solid component to what had become a wildly successful band, Fleetwood Mac. Behind Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, the shiny American […]

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Remembering Loretta Lynn, 1932-2022

The most influential woman in country music, who everybody knows was raised a coal miner’s daughter, died Tuesday at 90, after a career that lasted more than 60 years.  Loretta Lynn, whose first No. 1 country hit was “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)” broke barriers with songs about “The Pill” and late […]

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Remembering Taylor Hawkins, 1972-2022

It was shocking to hear about the death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, not just because of his young age, just 50, but because of how much life he brought to his band — in hard-hitting execution, but also sheer enthusiasm. He brought joy to rock ’n’ roll and one of its last remaining […]

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Remembering Meat Loaf, 1947-2022

Marvin Lee Aday who made his name as a larger-than-life rock singer named Meat Loaf, died Thursday at 74 in Austin. He had been born in Texas as well, but lived a lot of his life in Connecticut, where he spent a lot of time out of the limelight coaching girls’ softball in Redding. He […]

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Remembering Ronnie Spector, 1943-2022

We lost the indelible rock ’n’ roll voice of Ronnie Spector Wednesday. She died of cancer at the age of 78. Simply her work on the Ronettes biggest hit “Be My Baby” would warrant her everlasting legacy, but she continued through the decades working with Bruce Springsteen, Joey Ramone and Keith Richards and finding a […]

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Remembering Nanci Griffith, 1953-2021

Though I spent my days as a small town news reporter in Eastern Connecticut in the mid-80s, I got my foot into the features writing at  the Hartford Courant by agreeing to be the folk reviewer. It was a crash course in a field that had not only a rich heritage but was also undergoing […]

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That Time I Interviewed Rush Limbaugh

The mistake I made when I met Rush Limbaugh 30 years ago was that I thought he was just kidding. The bluster, the self-promotion, the exaggerated outrage of the radio star, who died Wednesday at 70, was so over the top you’d think he was trying to portray every liberal’s idea of a stereotypical right […]

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Remembering Larry King, 1933-2021

It’s hard to imagine a broadcast world without Larry King, who died Saturday at 87. He made his name as a radio and TV interviewer with bottomless curiosity that was also real — he prided himself on avoiding preparation. His gruff, staccato style made him both a throwback and an original,playing himself in dozens of […]

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Remembering Charley Pride, 1934-2020

It was just last month that country music pioneer Charley Pride was honored at the CMA Awards. Saturday, at 86, he was one of the more than 298,000 Americans who have died from Covid complications. In his time, Pride scored more than 50 Top 10 country singles, 40 of which went to No. 1. Before […]

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