Category: Notable Obituaries

Here is a vid (with SIMS) of my favorite Left Banke song “She May Call You Up Tonight” in honor of Jeff.

Left Banke guitarist Jeff Winfield died of pneumonia on June 11th. Winfield joined the group soon after its formation and after some adjustments in the lineup. He was brought on board to take over when guitarist George Cameron switched instruments and became the band’s drummer. While Winfield was only with The Left Banke for a short time in the mid-’60s, he played on the group’s biggest hits — “Walk Away Renee” and “Pretty Ballerina.”

Former member of Wilco, Jay Bennett died yesterday, and we don’t yet know what the cause of death was (autopsy is pending). He was only 45 and representatives for Wilco could not be reached for comment yet. He was a main part of Wilco’s best albums, “Being There” and “Summerteeth.” I think, without him the band would have never earned such a cult following, by injecting strong pop craft into Jeff Tweedy’s Tupelo style. In May 2009, Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract stemming from his work for Wilco. The suit came less than two weeks after Bennett publicly revealed that he needed hip replacement surgery which he could not afford due to lack of health insurance. You will be missed, Jay.

Kelly Groucutt, former bass player of ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) has passed away at the age of 63. He died in England of a heart attack. Groucutt performed with the band from 1974 and 1983. What a sad loss to his family and the legion of ELO fans out there. It’s a real shame I never heard much of his solo work, which in many ways stands alongside Jeff Lynne as a true pop master. This video is of his hit song “Oh, Little Darling.”

If anyone knows where I can get a copy of his solo LP on CD “Kelly” please give me a shout out (It seems impossible to find).