Category Archives: Obit

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Lost in the news this week is the death of Mac Davis Tuesday at 78. A songwriter (“I Believe in Music” who was hitmaker in his own right (“Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me”), he was even a movie star for a time in things like “North Dallas Forty” and “The Sting II.” But his […]

There was no doubting that excitable voice on the phone 25 years ago. He was coming around for a club gig in in New Haven, but it was much more than gig. “Knocking it loose like a goose gone to roost!” shouted the pioneering rock ’n’ roller Little Richard, who died Saturday at 87.  “Knocking […]

It’s clear COVID-19 will mow us all down, spiritually if not literally, decimating every aspect of life. The music world is already being cut down from every genre. I just saw Joe Diffie playing some agreeable country at my first visit to the Grand Old Opry in October; he’s dead of it at 61. Jazz […]