Musician Tribute

Ric Ocasek (1944-2019) Richard Theodore Otcasek, known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and painter. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and songwriter for the rock band the Cars. In addition to his work with the Cars, Ocasek recorded seven solo albums, and his song "Emotion in Motion" was a top 20 hit in the United States in 1986. Ocasek also worked as a record producer for artists such as Suicide, Bad Brains, Weezer, Nada Surf, Guided by Voices, and No Doubt. In 2018, Ocasek was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cars. Ocasek was born on March 23, 1944, and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. When he was 16 years old, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where his father worked as a systems analyst with NASA at the Lewis Research Center. He graduated from Maple Heights High School in 1963. Ocasek briefly attended Antioch College and Bowling Green State University, but dropped out to pu

Phil Durr (1965-2019) Phil was an ace-in-the-pocket guitarist for numerous Detroit area bands like Five Horse Johnson, Thornetta Davis, Luder, Giant Brain, and Big Chief. His first band was the earth-shatteringly ahead of their times The Wood Butchers—which, coincidentally, was my first band. Our long-suffering parents had to endure an unholy racket in their basements as we tried to learn our instruments. Phil succeeded in this. I certainly did not. As the saying goes, "Those that can, do.  Those that cannot, start labels." Achievements: He was a highly regarded guitarist with bands such as Big Chief, Five Horse Johnson, Luder and others.  Durr's credits also include Gaiant Brain and Variac, while he did session work for Dennis Coffey, Thornetta Davis, the Volebeats and others. He also worked for Detroit's Small Stone Records and at Rustbelt Studios/ACME Audio in Royal Oak, and as a crew member for local concert promoters and venues. Big Chief

Jack Sheldon (1931-2019) Beryl Cyril Sheldon Jr., known professionally known as Jack Sheldon, was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He was the music director for The Merv Griffin Show and participated in episodes of the educational music television series Schoolhouse Rock!. Achievements: Sheldon was born in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. He originally became known through his participation in the West Coast jazz movement of the 1950s, performing and recording with such figures as Stan Kenton, Art Pepper, Gerry Mulligan, and Curtis Counce. Sheldon played the trumpet, sang, and performed on The Merv Griffin Show. He was Griffin's sidekick for many years. Prior to joining Griffin's show, he served as bandleader for the short-lived The Las Vegas Show. His voice is perhaps best known from the Schoolhouse Rock! cartoons of the 1970s, such as "Conjunction Junction" and "I'm Just a Bill". He appeared in one episode of John

Lexii Alijai (1998-2020) Alexis Alijai Lynch, better known by her stage name Lexii Alijai, was an American rapper. Lexii Alijai was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She was the granddaughter of musician Roger Troutman, founder of the band Zapp. Her father, Roger Lynch, the son of Roger Troutman, was also a musician. She attended Como Park Senior High School in the Como Lake area of Saint Paul, following an interest in basketball, but then focused on music instead and transferred to Creative Arts Secondary School in Minnesota, before then enrolling in an online school. Alijai ultimately dropped out to pursue a full-time music career and began rapping over the beats of popular songs by artists such as Dej Loaf, 2Pac and Drake. Achievements: Alijai released her first mixtape, Super Sweet 16s, in 2014 on her sixteenth birthday. She then collaborated with Rocky Diamonds on an extended play, titled 3 Days. A second mixtape, In the Meantime, was released a few month

Elijah Nelson (1979-2019) Elijah was the bass player for the metal band Black Breath. "His kindness, generosity, and beauty cannot be overstated," drummer Jamie Byrum wrote. "Elijah treated all humans from every walk of life with sincerity and generosity; lacking any prejudice or judgement. I think that's something we can all take away from his legacy: be kind to each other."  Achievements: Black Breath were at the forefront of the wave of American hardcore and metal bands that revived the classic Stockholm, Sweden, buzzsaw-guitar death-metal sound over the past decade. Their last album was 2015's Slaves Beyond Death, which was recorded at Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou's GodCity Studios in Massachusetts, and received much critical fanfare following its released via Southern Lord Recordings. The band have been relatively dormant the past few years, with their most recent show happening on December 31st, 2016 in Vancouver, BC, alongsid

Mike Taylor (1967-2018) Mike "Beard Guy" Taylor was the keyboardist and singer for the Canadian band Walk Off the Earth. Achievements: piano, organ, keyboards, trumpet, kazoo, accordion, melodica, didgeridoo, glockenspiel, percussion, vocals, (2010–2018) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk_off_the_Earth#Awards_and_nominations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk_off_the_Earth#Discography They are known for their music videos of covers and originals. The band are well known for their covers of pop genre music on YouTube, making use of instruments such as the ukulele and the theremin, as well as looping samples.