Category: Notable Obituaries

I Honestly Love Olivia Newton-John

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I was simply in love with Olivia. My first celebrity crush, started in grade school when I first saw her sing “I Honestly Love You” on a TV special.  During high school, I treasured an original Grease movie poster that I hung in my parent’s basement, where I spent many days dreaming of my own “Sandy.” I wrote to her, got an original photo, and watched Xanadu in the theatre so many times I could recite the dialog. But teenage dreams don’t last forever and we all grow up. Sadly, cancer has attacked Olivia, and despite her best efforts would not let go of her.

If you imagined what an angel’s singing sounds like, it was the voice of Olivia Newton-John. Winning numerous awards in country music early in her career, she hit it big with her star turn in Grease and never looked back. Moving from country to pop to soft rock, in my opinion, her peak was 1978’s Totally Hot and then teaming up with ELO’s Jeff Lynne for the movie and soundtrack to Xanadu in 1980.

By the time she did Physical in 1981, she was a pop-culture phenomenon. It was a slow glide moving from there as a legacy performer, having fun appearing on TV shows like Glee and other pursuits. She never lost her focus and refused to let cancer dictate her life. In fact, she used the experience to gain greater self-awareness and became a positive inspiration to millions of people battling cancer.  Listen to her on Spotify and she never goes away.

Papa Nez takes the last train

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What can I possibly say that hasn’t been said about the “smartest” Monkee, Michael Nesmith. I’ll pull a quote from one of my favorite music writers Bob Lefsetz who said:

“So when it was over, Nesmith was the only one who had any traction as a musician. Dolenz stayed in TV, Jones went to legitimate theatre and Tork faded away, but Nesmith had the First National Band, and consensus was they were good, and credible, which was quite a leap if you consider his start in the public eye as a member of the Monkees.”

Here is his first hit song by himself, a rare version of “Different Drum”

It’s taken me some time to process the loss of Mike Nesmith. I have been lucky enough to interview him a few years ago for the Ernie Kovacs Award.
As for his work in the Monkees, a TV show about an imaginary band … that wanted to be the Beatles, he helped turn this “fake band” into a real one. By May of 1967, Headquarters proved to the world that these guys were real musicians with great songs. To honor him, please listen to the music that made this a uniquely American band that has stood the test of time, and long outlasted those early naysayers of the music press. Rest in peace, Papa Nez.

Emitt Rhodes was somebody special. RIP

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Singer-songwriter Emitt Rhodes, a pioneer of power pop has passed away at age 70. At an early age, Emitt was a rising star in the pop scene during the mid-’60s, as he played in multiple bands, including The Palace Guard and The Merry Go Round. He then signed onto A&M Records and released a series of critically acclaimed solo albums in the 1970s, each one had great songwriting and musicianship. His reputation as a “One-Man Beatles” was earned as his melodic style was often compared to Paul McCartney.  Rhodes also wrote all of the songs on his albums. On Emitt Rhodes, Mirror, and Farewell to Paradise, he played all of the instruments and sang all of the vocals while recording himself in his home recording studio on a 4 track recorder.

After a label contract dispute, Rhodes’ left the music business for a time. He still tried to come back, but efforts in the next few decades were frustrated. It wasn’t until power pop musician Chris Price showed up to his house unannounced and coaxed Emitt to record a follow up to his last solo LP, Farewell to Paradise. In 2016 the new album Rainbow Ends, a collaboration with Price was released and it was a wonderful return to the spotlight for Emitt. He was an inspiration to many artists and will continue to be remembered for years to come. Rest in peace, Mr. Rhodes — you were someone special to all of us. Visit his page on The Power Pop Hall of Fame written by Chris Price.

We will miss you, Marty Rudnick

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Marty Rudnick

A Tribute to Marty Rudnick

Marty Rudnick released his timeless album “More Songs About Cars and Girls” in 2006 on his Sandbox Records label. It’s been a favorite of many fellow power-pop fans for years. Marty was also a very successful audio engineer, remastering many artists’ work to perfection. Marty passed away this month, and even though I didn’t know him in person, we’ve been Facebook friends for years.

DJs Adam Waltmire (Pop Garen Radio) and Micheal McCartney (The Time Machine) knew him well and told a few stories about him online. He was a true musical talent as a multi-instrumentalist and singer. And he loved other talented musicians as well. RIP, Marty… we’ll always have those songs about cars and girls.

Here is a FREE download cover of Paul Simon’s “The Boxer” with Marty Rudnick, Ken Carmassi, and Tommy Dunbar.

Here is another FREE song with Marty and The Agony Aunts as part of a “Single Of The Month Club”