Obituaries for 2018

[EasyAce]

The thing that seriously pisses me off about Leon Russell is somebody named Donny Hathaway seems to be getting the credit for writing and recording Leon Russell's songs the last few years,and nobody is correcting the people repeating that garbage.

@sneakypete
The only connection between Leon Russell and Donny Hathaway that I know of is that Hathaway did a version of Russell's "A Song for You" on his second album, a set of mostly covers called simply Donny Hathaway. (Some time ago I found that and Hathaway's other albums in a small box issues by Rhino; he was easily one of the best soul performers of the 1970s with marked jazz influences---indeed, he once arranged for Woody Herman as well as for the Impressions, for whose leader Curtis Mayfield he also once served as house keyboardman at Mayfield's label, Curtom.) Hathaway was a potent songwriter in his own right; he hardly needed to seek credit elsewhere---"The Ghetto," from his first album and from a rousing version on his live album, Donny Hathaway Live, was probably his best composition. You wonder if Hathaway covering "A Song for You" on his second album caused some people to believe he'd written the song, since his version is quite different than Russell's original. After recording what proved his last studio album on his own, Extensions of a Man, the depression that plagues Hathaway much of his life came full blown; he was rarely able to work again other than playing small clubs and, after one of several hospital stays fighting the condition, recording one more duet with Roberta Flack ("The Closer I Get to You") and tentatively starting a new album with her, when he was found dead on the sidewalk outside his hotel in 1979. (Police and forensics investigators found a) no sign of any struggle on his body; and, b) the window to his room in the hotel was removed almost professionally, leading to the disclosure that Hathaway was a suicide, which puzzled those who knew him and devastated Flack, since Hathaway's career looked like it might begin reviving in earnest.)

Donny Hathaway, "The Ghetto"

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Donny Hathaway, "A Song for You"

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[sneakypete]

@sneakypete
The only connection between Leon Russell and Donny Hathaway that I know of is that Hathaway did a version of Russell's "A Song for You" on his second album, a set of mostly covers called simply Donny Hathaway

Donny Hathaway, "The Ghetto"

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Donny Hathaway, "A Song for You"

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@EasyAce

Yeah,I read all of that on the web too,and it doesn't change the fact that I have heard contestants on teebee singing/talent shows say "I am going to do "A song for you" by Donnie Hathaway",and nobody on the panel or anywhere else correcting them. There is one other Leon Russel song I have heard contestants identify as being written by Hathaway too,but I forget which one right now.

AND....,the version they all do  is virtually identical to Leon Russell.

[Gefn]

Koko, the gorilla who mastered sign language, dead at 46
7:56 AM EDT.  CBS/AP

My phone isn't letting me copy and paste, so just headline for now.

RIP, little kitten lover . You taught me what inter species love really is

[EasyAce]

@EasyAce

Yeah,I read all of that on the web too,and it doesn't change the fact that I have heard contestants on teebee singing/talent shows say "I am going to do "A song for you" by Donnie Hathaway",and nobody on the panel or anywhere else correcting them. There is one other Leon Russel song I have heard contestants identify as being written by Hathaway too,but I forget which one right now.

AND....,the version they all do  is virtually identical to Leon Russell.

@sneakypete
If you think television talent contestants have made a job of confusing the issue (they could have heard "A Song for You" first in a Donny Hathaway version without bothering to check the actual songwriting credit), think of how many bar blues bands do "Stormy Monday" and announce it as by the Allman Brothers Band instead of by its author, T-Bone Walker. Or, who do "Crossroads" and announce it as by Eric Clapton or Cream and not its actual author, Robert Johnson. (Of course, the Allman Brothers Band never recorded a version of "Stormy Monday" in the studio, just for the live Fillmore East set---and they only recorded a live version once during the 1971 shows that went into making the album, as I discovered when I bought the box set of all those shows. But when they did play it at one of the shows, they first said it was a Bobby Bland number---Bland having had a big R&B chart hit with his version--before Duane Allman said, "Actually, it's an old T-Bone Walker tune.") And don't get me started on how many bar bands introduce "Soul Man" as "something by the Blues Brothers" and not by Sam & Dave, who had the original hit written for them by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Or, who introduce "Dreams" as a Molly (Nurse) Hatchet (perfect name for that band, too, considering what noisy butchers they were in live performances) number, and not the Allman Brothers Band who came up with it in the first place.

Though one such band I saw actually had the class to announce their version of "Crossroads" this way: "Eric Clapton made it famous with Cream. Robert Johnson wrote it."

[sneakypete]

@sneakypete
If you think television talent contestants have made a job of confusing the issue (they could have heard "A Song for You" first in a Donny Hathaway version without bothering to check the actual songwriting credit), think of how many bar blues bands do "Stormy Monday" and announce it as by the Allman Brothers Band instead of by its author, T-Bone Walker. Or, who do "Crossroads" and announce it as by Eric Clapton or Cream and not its actual author, Robert Johnson. (Of course, the Allman Brothers Band never recorded a version of "Stormy Monday" in the studio, just for the live Fillmore East set---and they only recorded a live version once during the 1971 shows that went into making the album, as I discovered when I bought the box set of all those shows. But when they did play it at one of the shows, they first said it was a Bobby Bland number---Bland having had a big R&B chart hit with his version--before Duane Allman said, "Actually, it's an old T-Bone Walker tune.") And don't get me started on how many bar bands introduce "Soul Man" as "something by the Blues Brothers" and not by Sam & Dave, who had the original hit written for them by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Or, who introduce "Dreams" as a Molly (Nurse) Hatchet (perfect name for that band, too, considering what noisy butchers they were in live performances) number, and not the Allman Brothers Band who came up with it in the first place.

Though one such band I saw actually had the class to announce their version of "Crossroads" this way: "Eric Clapton made it famous with Cream. Robert Johnson wrote it."

@EasyAce

I remember hearing the Robert Johnson version of it decades ago,but no details. I seriously doubt Johnson had the same arrangement.

And The Allman Brothers Band with both Greg and Duane didn't take a back seat to anybody,and had nothing to apologize for. Other than a few times when Duane tried to sing,that is.

[EasyAce]

@EasyAce

I remember hearing the Robert Johnson version of it decades ago,but no details. I seriously doubt Johnson had the same arrangement.

Of course, he didn't, but they still should credit the man. (They could take the example from Clapton himself, who made sure Robert Johnson got the songwriting credits when Cream did versions of "From Four Until Late" and "Crossroads," and who made sure Skip James got a fat royalty check for "I'm So Glad" when Cream first visited the U.S.) Sometimes I like to play Johnson's "When You've Got a Good Friend" with my blues group, and we damn well don't give the credit to Johnny Winter.

And The Allman Brothers Band with both Greg and Duane didn't take a back seat to anybody,and had nothing to apologize for. Other than a few times when Duane tried to sing,that is.

Nobody---certainly not me---said they had anything to apologise for except Duane trying to sing. He had something in common with Mike Bloomfield there: as singers, they were great guitarists.

I have the same problem---I can't sing worth a damn, but my band wrestles with me over it because I think our bassist and our keyboard player are excellent singers and I want them to divide the singing between them, even (especially) on the songs I write for the band, but they don't like to sing other than one or two songs. I can carry a tune for a guide vocal on demos I make of my songs but that's about it, folks. And I know it. I'd rather just be the guitar player and songwriter, but for some perverse reason they think that because I play a guitar it's my duty to sing even if I can't sing worth a damn. I even tried subversively to force the issue by writing a lot of instrumental music for us (we do blues on the jazzier side with a lot of freewheeling jamming), but they loved the instrumentals without taking the hint. ;)

[Free Vulcan]

Richard Harrison, 'The Old Man' on 'Pawn Stars,' has died



LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — LAS VEGAS (KSNV) - Richard Benjamin Harrison, known affectionately as "The Old Man" on long-running reality series "Pawn Stars," has died.

The Gold & Silver Pawn Shop announced Harrison's passing Monday morning, with a Facebook post saying he was surrounded by his family over the weekend.

http://abc3340.com/news/entertainment/richard-harrison-the-old-man-on-pawn-stars-has-died

[Millee]

http://www.tmz.com/2018/06/27/joe-jackson-dead-dies/

Joe Jackson -- the patriarch of the Jackson family -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Family sources tell TMZ, Joe passed away at 3:30 AM Wednesday in L.A.

We broke the story ... Joe was hospitalized in June with terminal cancer. His family had been flocking to his bedside since. His wife, Katherine, had been at his bedside as were some of Joe's children and grandchildren.

 :nometalk:

[Applewood]

Thanks @Millee .  I had read a day or 2 ago that Jackson was in the hospital.  The story about him is that he was a mean, abusive, chiseling SOB.  But now he's in God's hands and it will be up to Him to judge, not me or anyone else.  May he rest in peace and may his wife and family have peace, too.

[dfwgator]

http://www.tmz.com/2018/06/27/joe-jackson-dead-dies/

Joe Jackson -- the patriarch of the Jackson family -- has died ... TMZ has learned.
 

At least the only Joe Jackson that matters, still lives....

[EasyAce]

Thanks @Millee .  I had read a day or 2 ago that Jackson was in the hospital.  The story about him is that he was a mean, abusive, chiseling SOB.

The story is that he was the kind of disciplinarian father who crossed the line into child abuse (it's one thing not to take any crap from your children, but it's something else again to deploy excessive physical abuse), though it wasn't put in those terms in the years when he began raising a family. He also went several bridges too far with his children when he discovered they had musical talent and imposed (often brutally) a strict and continuous practise and rehearsal routine upon them, essentially stealing their youth. His children might have become superstars, but the price may have been beyond exorbitant, particularly when it came to Michael Jackson, who spent so much time once he became a powerhouse on his own seeking and trying to live the childhood stolen from him, and running into so many issues on his own when he did so.

But now he's in God's hands and it will be up to Him to judge, not me or anyone else.  May he rest in peace and may his wife and family have peace, too.

Indeed.

[Applewood]

Thanks @EasyAce That just about sums up the things I read and heard about Jackson.  I also understand that he was abusive to Kathleen, fooled around with other women, fathered at least one illegitimate child, and one story said he acquired a venereal disease which of course, he gave to his wife.  Kathleen technically stayed married to him, but I'm not sure if they were still living together. 

Personally, if he were my husband, he would have been dead long ago and not from natural causes.

[Ghost Bear]

Harlan Ellison, Sci-Fi Writer Who Contributed to ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Babylon 5,’ Dies at 84

Speculative-fiction writer Harlan Ellison, who penned short stories, novellas and criticism, contributed to TV series including “The Outer Limits,” “Star Trek” and “Babylon 5” and won a notable copyright infringement suit against ABC and Paramount and a settlement in a similar suit over “The Terminator,” has died. He was 84.

More here:  https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/harlan-ellison-dead-dies-star-trek-1202861048/

[Suppressed]

Harlan Ellison, Sci-Fi Writer Who Contributed to ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Babylon 5,’ Dies at 84

Speculative-fiction writer Harlan Ellison, who penned short stories, novellas and criticism, contributed to TV series including “The Outer Limits,” “Star Trek” and “Babylon 5” and won a notable copyright infringement suit against ABC and Paramount and a settlement in a similar suit over “The Terminator,” has died. He was 84.

More here:  https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/harlan-ellison-dead-dies-star-trek-1202861048/

shoot.

Of course it was coming, but . . .

[Ghost Bear]

shoot.

Of course it was coming, but . . .

Yeah... the big names are getting fewer and fewer, and what we're left with seems so pale in comparison.   

[TomSea]

Gudrun Burwitz Himmler, daughter of Heinrich, worked for German intelligence during cold war, Holocaust denier, helped some Nazis escape justice at the least, after the war has died at 88 years old. She died in May but we may be just getting the news now:

German spy agency acknowledges employing Himmler's daughter

    The German spy agency BND confirmed that it had employed Gudrun Burwitz
    She died last month at the age of 88 having never renounced her evil father
    Heinrich Himmler was commander of the SS and a key architect of the Holocaust

By Tim Stickings For Mailonline and Reuters

Published: 06:31 EDT, 29 June 2018 | Updated: 14:18 EDT, 29 June 2018

Heinrich Himmler's daughter has died at the age of 88, as Germany's top intelligence service admitted it had employed the Nazi sympathiser during the Cold War. 

The BND confirmed today that Gudrun Burwitz had worked for the then-West German spy agency in the 1960s, although she never renounced her father or the Nazi regime.

She remained active in far-right extremism in later life, helping war criminals who worked for her evil father escape justice, and speaking at neo-Nazi rallies, before she died last month in Munich.

Read more at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5900491/German-spy-agency-acknowledges-employing-Himmlers-daughter.html

[dfwgator]

Gudrun Burwitz Himmler, daughter of Heinrich, worked for German intelligence during cold war, Holocaust denier, helped some Nazis escape justice at the least, after the war has died at 88 years old. She died in May but we may be just getting the news now:

She certainly lived longer than the Goebbels' children.

[Cyber Liberty]

She certainly lived longer than the Goebbels' children.

She probably had an allergy to chocolate.

[kevindavis007]

Gudrun Burwitz Himmler, daughter of Heinrich, worked for German intelligence during cold war, Holocaust denier, helped some Nazis escape justice at the least, after the war has died at 88 years old. She died in May but we may be just getting the news now:

May she burn in hell..

[Sanguine]

May she burn in hell..

 

Justice may be spotty in this life, but we are assured that, for the unrepentant, it is certain in the next.

[Suppressed]

https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/177935/doo-wop-singer-eugene-pitt-passes

Doo-wop and soul singer EUGENE PITT has passed. PITT was the lead singer for Eugene Pitt & The Jive Five, who created doo-wop classics such as "My True Story", "Never, Never", and "What Time Is It?" The group enjoyed a renaissance of sorts in the '80s. when they created and sang the a cappella jingle for the NICKELODEON cable channel..

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[Suppressed]

May she burn in hell..

May she have seen the light and become one of the saved.

[Free Vulcan]

Bay City Rollers guitarist Alan Longmuir dies at 70

He passed away "peacefully surrounded by family" after reportedly falling ill while on holiday and returning to Edinburgh for treatment.

The band's frontman, Les McKeown, tweeted a picture of him with the message: "RIP Alan Longmuir. The original Bay City Roller."

https://news.sky.com/story/bay-city-rollers-guitarist-alan-longmuir-dies-at-70-11423911

[TomSea]

Bay City Rollers guitarist Alan Longmuir dies at 70

He passed away "peacefully surrounded by family" after reportedly falling ill while on holiday and returning to Edinburgh for treatment.

The band's frontman, Les McKeown, tweeted a picture of him with the message: "RIP Alan Longmuir. The original Bay City Roller."

https://news.sky.com/story/bay-city-rollers-guitarist-alan-longmuir-dies-at-70-11423911

Co-founder, 2nd from the left....

Did you know, he got sick in Mexico per some of what you posted, for all we know, he's another person who has had something slipped into their drink or something. Sad. I read a book on the Rollers. I'll bet if he hadn't gone to Mexico, he'd still be around.... RIP

[TomSea]

I believe Ron Ilitch of the family that owns the Detroit Tigers and Redwings and Little Caesar's Pizza passed on some time ago... but he died from fentanyl and a mix of other drugs. What's somebody like him using these drugs for??

https://www.wxyz.com/news/fentanyl-and-dangerous-mix-of-drugs-linked-to-ron-ilitch-s-death