Ronnie Spector was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group The Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original “bad girl of rock and roll.” Ronnie formed the singing group with her older sister and their cousin in the late 1950s.
He was born, so to speak, with a silver flute in his mouth. Paulo Jobim’s father, Antonio Carlos Jobim, was also known as the father of Bossa Nova, introducing the subtle rhythms and melancholy tone of Brazilian music to the world and collaborating with the likes of Stan Getz, Dave Brubeck and Astrid Gilberto.
The first Savoy Brown record was released in 1967. The last in 2020. And in the 53 years in between, English guitarist and bandleader Kim Simmonds never varied his commitment to the Blues.
Christine Anne McVie was an English musician and singer. She was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists and songwriters of the band Fleetwood Mac. She initially began working with Fleetwood Mac as a session player in 1968, before officially joining the band two years later.
Born in England and raised in Australia before taking American Country music by storm in the early 70s, Olivia Newton-John was nothing if not versatile. With her wholesome appeal and bell-clear vocal delivery, she wound her way through the middle of the road to the top of the charts with a string of infectious pop hits.
Dan McCafferty was a Scottish vocalist and songwriter best known as the lead singer for the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth from its founding in 1968 to his retirement from touring with the band in 2013. He appeared on all of Nazareth’s albums up to 2014 and toured with them for 45 years.
Writer, Producer. Orchestrator. Arranger. Player, Singer. Conductor. Genius. Thom Bell wore all the hats. As one of the Mighty Three masterminds of the Philly Sound, Bell would apply his classical training and golden ear to take Soul music to a new level of sophistication and grace. As a songwriter in partnership with lyricist Linda Creed, he penned many of the most memorable songs of the 70s, from “Betcha By Golly Wow” to “You Are Everything.” He earned a Grammy for Best Producer of the Year in 1974 and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. We all strive for perfection in our work. But history will remember Thom Bell as one of the few who never settled for less.
In the sandwich known as “Holland/Dozier/Holland,” Lamont Dozier was the meat in the middle. He started writing songs down on grocery bags at the kitchen table as a child and essentially never stopped. After dropping out of school at sixteen to pursue a singing career, Dozier was hired at twenty by Berry Gordy to write for Motown Records. In partnership with the Holland brothers, Brian and Eddie, Dozier would post more than 80 Top 40 hits over a nine-year span launching The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye and many other Motown acts into superstardom. Though he always yearned to sing his own songs, Lamont Dozier can rest easy knowing that so do the rest of us.
If there is such a thing as a hardcore soft rock superstar, David Muse would be the prototype. Over the span of five decades, multi-instrumentalist Muse would leave his mark on three gold and two platinum albums, most prominently as a member of Firefall and The Marshall Tucker Band. As a saxman, flautist and keyboard player, Muse also carried on a successful solo career, performing and recording instrumental jazz, and was featured on more than 25 recordings. Until cancer took him from us in August 2022, in his own gentle way, David Muse was a force to be reckoned with.
Marilyn Bergman is one of the world’s most distinguished lyricists, and contributed to the Great American Songbook for more than five decades. Her songs have been nominated for sixteen Academy Awards, for which she has won three…