RIP - Christopher Plummer

Christopher Plummer passed away on February 5, 2021 at age 91. 

 

My first memory of him was when my aunt took my sister and me to see "The Sound of Music" in 1965.  

 

 

From 2005:

RIP - Gerry Marsden

2021 has picked up right where 2020 left off... 

 

Gerry Marsden, the vocalist, guitar player, primary songwriter, and leader of the 1960s' British Invasion group Gerry and the Pacemakers passed away on January 3, 2021 at age 78.

The Pacemakers were from Liverpool and were buddies with the Beatles. (The 2 bands combined for one show in their pre-fame days.) 

 

Other things they had in common with the Beatles (besides their hometown) were Brian Epstein as their manager, and George Martin as their record producer. 

 

Some of their most well-known songs are "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey", both written by Gerry. They also got in on the "let's make a movie" craze, as did the Beatles (obviously), the Dave Clark Five, Herman's Hermits, and others.

 

His band was one of my favorite British Invasion bands back in the day, right after the Beatles and the Dave Clark Five. They were in my "2nd-tier", along with the Hollies and Herman's Hermits. (The Rolling Stones and the Who were of lesser interest to me.) 

 

A few years ago I bought this DVD, and had just re-watched it about 2 weeks before his death.

Marsden in 2017. He resided in Liverpool his entire life.  

 

BBC obituary 

 

RIP - Dawn Wells

One day before the end of the worst year ever, and this has to happen.

Dawn Wells, one-half of the decades-old "Ginger or Mary Ann?" question, passed away on December 30, 2020 at age 82. 

 

The cause was COVID-19. 

 

CNN obituary 

 

RIP - Eddie Van Halen

In the past month or two, celebrities have been passing away at an alarming rate. 

Rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen passed away on October 6, 2020 at age 65.

One of my favorite VH songs from the David Lee Roth era is "Ice Cream Man". (All 4 of them are off the chain on that one.) From the Sammy era it is "I Can't Stop Loving You". 

My son and I saw Van Halen a few years ago. We have been hitting some of the classic rock shows over the past decade: Van Halen, Paul McCartney, the Who, Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, the Beach Boys, Kiss, and Def Leppard.

Foghat

I belong to a music group on Facebook, and a few days ago someone posted about Foghat, which reminded me that they were one of my favorite bands in the mid-1970s. Then I watched a few YouTube videos (about 5 times each!) and decided I needed to write about them here.

When I first latched on to rock music in 1967, my favorite bands were the Beatles (duh!), the Beach Boys, and probably the Monkees. As the Beatles winded down their career in 1970, the Grass Roots soon filled the space on my music radar for a few years.

In the mid-1970s, I became acquainted with Kiss and Foghat through my younger brother's 8-track tapes. I soon bought Foghat's Live LP (which went platinum).

The classic Foghat lineup was "Lonesome" Dave Peverett (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Rod Price (lead guitar), Tony Stevens (bass), and Roger Earl (drums). All but Price had been in Savoy Brown before leaving to form Foghat in 1971.

Their 5th album "Fool for the City" was released in 1975 and included the title track, and also "Slow Ride". (I think this was the 8-track that my brother had back then.)

Although "Slow Ride" was their biggest hit, that song seemed too slow (no pun intended) for me. I always liked "Fool for the City" best, followed by "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (mostly because of the dueling guitars on the intro and the driving bass line).

They had some great songs, but the band seems to have been forgotten over time. They broke up in the 1980s, then two splinter groups formed. Finally, the original lineup got back together for a while in the 1990s.

Here are 3 must-see videos:

Fool for the City (1975) (Peverett, Price, Earl; Craig McGregor on bass)

I Just Want to Make Love to You (1997 video) (Peverett, Price, Stevens, Earl)

Sweet Home Chicago (1999 video) (Peverett, Stevens, Earl; Bryan Bassett on lead guitar)

The change in singer Dave Peverett's appearance in just the 2 years between the 1997 video and this 1999 video is startling. 5 months later, he died from cancer at age 56.

Rod Price passed away in 2005. Drummer Roger Earl still tours with a new Foghat lineup.

RIP - Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland, the last remaining star from Hollywood's Golden Age, passed away on July 26, 2020 at age 104.

She appeared in 49 movies, 35 of them coming during the 1930s and 1940s. She is probably most remembered for her role in "Gone With the Wind". She won two Academy Awards for Best Actress (1946, 1949).

She had lived in Paris since the early 1950s, mostly out of the public eye.

New York Times obituary
 

Happy 80th Birthday, Ringo!

Just 3 weeks after Paul's 78th birthday, Ringo turned 80 today.