Remembering Big Bird’s Caroll Spinney
Sad to hear about the death at 85 of Caroll Spinney, a puppeteer who gave joy to generations of kids who may have never heard his name. But they sure…
Remembering Ric Ocasek, 1944-2019
Sad to hear of the death of Ric Ocasek Sunday at 75. The man most widely known for his elegant electronic pop songs with The Cars may have been equally…
Remembering Daniel Johnston, 1961-2019
Sad to hear of the death of Daniel Johnston, the prolific and singular songwriter, whose mental difficulties seemed to bring honesty and and unfettered heartbreak to his music. That he…
Remembering Hal Blaine, 1929-2019
One of rock’s greatest timekeepers was stilled, as Hal Blaine died in Los Angeles Monday at age 90. A player on more than 350 Top 40 hits and 40 No.…
Remembering Peter Tork, 1942-2019
Much of what we know about Peter Tork, who died Thursday at 77, is based on the character he was cast for in 1966 on “The Monkees.” There, he played…
Aretha Franklin’s ‘Amazing Grace’
Here's something I wrote in May, 1999, upon the reissue of the 1972 "Amazing Grace" album by Aretha Franklin, who died Thursday at 76. It should have been the…
Remembering Aretha Franklin, 1942-2018
The decline and hospice of Aretha Franklin over the past days still didn’t prepare for the loss of her death Thursday at 76. For decades the undisputed Queen of Soul,…
Remembering Philip Roth, 1933-2018
Sad to hear of the passing of one of America’s greatest writers, Philip Roth, who died Tuesday at 85. He was certainly one of my favorites and it was great…
Remembering Dolores O’Riordan
It was shocking to hear today of the death of Dolores O’Riordan, the memorable vocalist for the Irish band The Cranberries. She was only 46. The last time I had…
When David Cassidy Met Donald Trump
The last time I talked to David Cassidy, the forever young teen idol who died this week at 67, we chatted a bit about the unlikely guy who would become…