Another year is about to enter, and it’s that day that I’m used to making a post about some of the musicians that passed away during the year that is about to end.
- Gerry Marsden, January 3rd
Together with The Beatles, Gerry Mardsen with the Pacemakers put Liverpool on the map of popular music.
- Sylvain Sylvain, January 13th
I was lucky enough to catch up with the reformed New York Dolls live a few years ago and they were really great. Sylvain Sylvain was their soul and a key ingredient in the development of punk and alternative rock. He’ll be missed.
- Phil Spector, January 16th
I picked a photo from Spector’s «The Wall of Sound» era and the reason is very simple: I prefer to remember him for his huge contribution to pop, mainly as one of the best producers the world has ever seen, instead of his later years. Otherwise, we would probably talk about the biggest music loss of the whole year.
- Hilton Valentine, January 29th
The guitarist of The Animals, the man behind one of the most iconic rock intros of the 60s with his guitar starting «The House of the Rising Sun».
- Dusty Hill, July 28th
As the 1/3 of ZZ Top, Dusty Hill was part of a band that managed to make one of the biggest (and most successful) crossovers in the history of rock, gaining the respect of fans from different music genres.
- Don Everly, August 21st
Don, together with his brother Phil as The Everly Brothers, managed to become probably the very first big rock n’roll band.
- Brian Travers, August 22nd
UB40 managed to bring reggae to the masses by adding a pop approach to it. A key factor for that transition was their legendary sax player Brian Travers.
- Fritz McIntyre, August 24th
The original Simply Red was a great band, blending pop with soul. And it really has to do a lot with the keyboardist and backing vocalist Fritz McIntyre. After he left the band, it was never the same.
- Charlie Watts, August 24th
Probably the loss with the greatest impact in 2021. Charlie Watts brought his cool style as both a drummer and a personality to the Rolling Stones, creating the best antidote to the Drugs, Sex and Rock N’Roll approach of Jagger and Richards.
- Everett Morton, October 8th
The Beat’s drummer, with that characteristic sound that helped them become one of ska’s finest.
- Terence ‘Astro’ Wilson, November 6th
Terrible year for UB40 fans for sure. And hey, the first song that I remember by them was Rat in the Kitchen, sang by Astro.
- Mick Rock, November 20th
The Man Who Shot the 70s. Do I need to say more?
- Steve Bronski, December 7th
The leader of Bronski Beat, one of the most successful electro acts of the 80s and a band that deared to deal with gay-related issues during a very conservative time.
- Michael Nesmith, December 10th
We all grew up with The Monkees, there’s no doubt about that. Nesmith was the serious one, and the one who was the most creative input after the band’s initial breakup, particularly in video creation and promotion. And as many say, there might not be an MTV if it wasn’t for Nesmith. Gone, but definitely not forgotten.
You can find a full list of the musicians in Billboard. I just want to point out that the list above is a mix of the ones I consider important to music, but also to me personally.
Happy New Year to everybody, and stay safe.
PopMart 2.0 