Musician Tribute

Leon Redbone (1949-2019) Leon Redbone (born Dickran Gobalian) was a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor specializing in jazz, blues, and Tin Pan Alley classics. Recognized by his Panama hat, dark sunglasses, and black tie, Redbone was born in Cyprus of Armenian ancestry and first appeared on stage in Toronto, Canada, in the early 1970s. He also appeared on film and television in acting and voice-over roles. In concert Redbone often employed comedy and demonstrated his skill in guitar playing. Recurrent gags involved the influence of alcohol and claiming to have written works originating well before he was born – Redbone favored material from the Tin Pan Alley era, circa 1890 to 1910. He sang the theme to the 1980s television series Mr. Belvedere and released eighteen albums. Redbone was elusive about his origins, and never explained the origin of his stage name. According to a Toronto Star report in the 1980s, he was once known as Dickran Gobalian, and he came t...

George Michael (1963-2016) George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou) was an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist who rose to fame as a member of the music duo Wham! and later embarked on a solo career. Michael has sold over 115 million records worldwide making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He achieved seven number one songs on the UK Singles Chart and eight number one songs on the US Billboard Hot 100. He was widely known for his success in the 1980s and 1990s, including Wham! singles such as "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Last Christmas" and solo singles such as "Careless Whisper" and "Faith". Achievements:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_George_Michael https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Michael_discography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wham!_discography At the time of his death, Michael had sold over 115 m...

Ted McKenna (1950-2019) Edward McKenna was a Scottish drummer who played with The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Rory Gallagher and The Michael Schenker Group. He also toured with Ian Gillan for a short period in 1990, alongside fellow former SAHB member, bassist Chris Glen. He lectured in Applied Arts at North Glasgow College from 1996–2011.  McKenna was born in Lennoxtown, Stirlingshire, Scotland. He was educated at St Patrick's High School, Coatbridge. His studies included double bass lessons at school, several piano lessons, and a year under Glasgow big band veteran, Lester Penman. He worked as a band member for several artists, including Rory Gallagher from 1978–1981. He worked as a session musician with Greg Lake & Gary Moore in The Greg Lake Band 1980–81; the Michael Schenker Group in 1981–84; Bugatti & Musker, 1982; Ian Gillan; and a solo album for Nazareth singer Dan McCafferty, in 1975. Achievements: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sensation...

Paul Whaley (1947-2019) Paul Gene Whaley was an American drummer best known as the drummer for rock band Blue Cheer. He was the son of country music singer Paul Edward Whaley. He grew up in the towns of Vallejo and Winters, California. He played drums with a Davis, California band called the Oxford Circle. Whaley is credited on the Oxford Circle album Live at the Avalon 1966. When he left the Oxford Circle to join Blue Cheer in 1967, the former band dissolved. He was the longest-standing member in Blue Cheer following Peterson's death at age 63. Achievements: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Cheer#Discography Blue Cheer is often credited as one of the very earliest pioneers of heavy metal and their version of "Summertime Blues" has been cited as the first heavy metal song. According to Tim Hills in his book, The Many Lives of the Crystal Ballroom, "Blue Cheer was the epitome of San Francisco psychedelia." Jim Morrison of The Doors character...

Peter Tork (1942-2019) Peter Halsten Thorkelson, better known as Peter Tork, was an American musician, composer and actor, best known as the keyboardist and bass guitarist of The Monkees. He grew up in Connecticut and in the mid-1960s was part of the Greenwich Village folk scene, and as an accomplished musician, befriended Stephen Stills. After moving to Los Angeles with Stills, he was recruited for the musical television sitcom The Monkees, and became a teenage idol between 1966-68. Tork recorded his debut solo album Stranger Things Have Happened in 1994, and later toured with his blues band Shoe Suede Blues. Achievements:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkees_discography The Monkees, selected specifically to appeal to the youth market as American television's response to the Beatles with their manufactured personae and carefully produced singles, are seen as an original precursor to the modern proliferation of studio and corporation-created bands. But...

Doug Sandom (1930-2019) Douglas Sandom was an English drummer who was the first drummer for the rock band The Who. During the infancy of the band's career, while they were playing as the Detours (around mid-1962), Sandom, a bricklayer, joined as drummer. However, while the other members of the band were in their late teens, Sandom was in his early thirties, and the age difference caused problems within the band. Sandom's wife also objected to him staying out into the later hours of the night. In February 1964, the band discovered that there was another group called the Detours. On Valentine's Day 1964, they changed their name to the Who. Achievements:  When the band secured, but failed, an audition with Fontana Records in early 1964, the label's producer, Chris Parmeinter, expressed a dislike for Sandom's drumming. The band's then-manager, Helmut Gordon, and lead guitarist Pete Townshend agreed. Townshend suggested to the other members, Roger Dal...

Michiel Eikenaar (1977-2019) Michiel Eikenaar was the vocalist of Nihill. The Dutch black metal singer, lyricist, and visual artist also fronted Dodecahedron. Nihill had been at work on their fifth album, Seven Trumpets of Doom, at the time of Eikenaar’s death. They will cease to continue as a group. He is survived by his wife and two children. Achievements:  Nihill’s debut album, Krach, arrived in 2007. They were known for their relentless intensity and nightmarish atmosphere. Since forming in the early 2010s, Dodecahedron have released three records, distinguished by a more progressive and avant-garde sound. Eikenaar, in addition to writing lyrics and singing, designed the artwork for several of his band’s records. Discography: Krach (2007) Grond (2009)  Verdonkermaan (2012) Woestenij EP (2012)   As (2013) The Abyss Stares Back #4 (2014) Verderf (2014) Dodecahedron released two promo tracks, "Allfather" and "Vanitas", digital...

Paul Raymond (1945-2019) Paul Martin Raymond was an English keyboardist/guitarist, best known for playing in UFO and Michael Schenker Group. Raymond began his musical career in January 1964 as a jazz musician. He later joined Plastic Penny as their keyboardist/vocalist, and replaced Christine McVie (nee: Perfect) in British blues band Chicken Shack when she left for a solo career; later she joined Fleetwood Mac. Raymond then joined Savoy Brown as their keyboardist/guitarist. He subsequently recorded with the former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Danny Kirwan. He was recruited by UFO in 1976 to replace their first keyboardist, Danny Peyronel. He wrote songs for UFO but because of a previous publishing deal was not credited for these songs until recent years. When Michael Schenker left UFO, he joined Schenker's own band, MSG, in 1981 and later joined UFO bassist Pete Way's own band, Waysted, in 1983. Raymond worked with Phil Mogg, Andy Parker, along with Schenker and W...

Earl Thomas Conley (1941-2019) Conley was born October 17, 1941, in Portsmouth, Ohio, to Glenna Ruth (née Davis; 1918–2002) and Arthur Conley (1910–1989). When he was fourteen, his father lost his job with the railroad, forcing the young boy to move in with his older sister in Jamestown, Ohio. He was offered a scholarship to an art school, but rejected it in favor of joining the U.S. Army. While in the Army, Conley became a member of a Christian-influenced trio, where his musical talent and vocal ability both first became apparent. Conley then decided to consider performing as a serious career option. He shifted more deeply into the classic country sounds of artists such as Merle Haggard and George Jones. During this period he first tried his hand at songwriting. In 1968, after his discharge from the Army, Conley began commuting from Dayton to Nashville. In 1973 while in Nashville, Conley met Dick Heard, who produced country music singer Mel Street. This meeting eventually ...

Audun Laading (1993-2019) Audun Laading, who played bass guitar while also adding backing vocals for the band Her's. Laading, from Flekkerøy, Kristiansand, Norway. Laading previously played in the rhythm section of Brad Stank's band, Sundogs. The duo initially formed Her's in jest, travelling around Liverpool to film comedic music videos and posting them on YouTube. Achievements: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her%27s#Discography Her's formed in 2015 and released their debut track, "Dorothy", on 7 April 2016. They performed on the 2016 Green Man Festival Rising Stage. A nine-track compilation titled Songs of Her's was released on 12 May 2017. The compilation received four stars from The Skinny. Writing for NME in April 2017, Thomas Smith said: Her's are not a group to stand still. Each song they produce, from the lo-fi bedroom pop power of debut track to 'Dorothy' to the duo's equally melodic take on slacker-rock on ...

Stephen Fitzpatrick (1995-2019) Stephen Fitzpatrick, who sang vocals and played guitar for the band Her's. Fitzpatrick, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Fitzpatrick previously played in the rhythm section of Brad Stank's band, Sundogs. The duo initially formed Her's in jest, travelling around Liverpool to film comedic music videos and posting them on YouTube. Fitzpatrick was also a drummer but the band used a drum machine, of which both members contributed to its programming. Achievements: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her%27s#Discography Her's formed in 2015 and released their debut track, "Dorothy", on 7 April 2016. They performed on the 2016 Green Man Festival Rising Stage. A nine-track compilation titled Songs of Her's was released on 12 May 2017. The compilation received four stars from The Skinny. Writing for NME in April 2017, Thomas Smith said: Her's are not a group to stand still. Each song they produce, from...

Aaron Alt (1990-2019) Alt was the original drummer for Have Mercy from 2009 until 2014. Alt played drums on the band’s 2012 EP My Oldest Friend, 2013 LP The Earth Pushed Back and 2014’s A Place of Our Own. Achievements: Have Mercy began in late 2009 after drummer Aaron Alt and guitarist Joey McCusker decided to disembark from their previous band. Looking for something different, following their formative years in the metal scene, they contacted long time friend Brian Swindle to head the group. Since then, they have released three albums, two EP’s, and two splits. Their debut album, titled The Earth Pushed Back, was released in 2013 via Topshelf Records. Their second album, titled A Place of Our Own, was released in 2014 via Hopeless Records.

Dick Dale (1937-2019) Richard Anthony Monsour, known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scales and experimenting with reverberation. Dale was known as "The King of the Surf Guitar", which was also the title of his second studio album. Dale worked closely with the manufacturer Fender to produce custom-made amplifiers including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier. He pushed the limits of electric amplification technology, helping to develop equipment that was capable of producing a louder guitar sound without sacrificing reliability. Achievements: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Dale#Discography Dale began playing in local country western rockabilly bars where he met Texas Tiny in 1955, who gave him the name "Dick Dale" because he thought it was a good name for a country singer. Dale employed non-Western scales in his playing. He regularly us...