Category: Notable Obituaries

RIP: The last ride of Paul Revere.

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Paul Revere, leader of Paul Revere and the Raiders passed away Saturday 10/4 at his home in Idaho. He was 76.

As one of the most popular bands of the 1960s, Paul Revere and The Raiders were second only to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones during their glory years (1966-1969) with a boatload of memorable singles like “Kicks,” “Hungry” and “Indian Reservation.” Dick Clark introduced them to the country on American Bandstand, a gesture Revere never forgot. The band continued to tour the oldies circuit, and as you can see and hear from the video I posted, he had a magnetic personality and a great sense of humor. The band even appeared on The Batman TV show at the time. He will be sorely missed.

Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers passes away.

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Phil Everly, who with his brother Don formed the duo The Everly Brothers passed away today (Jan. 3, 2014) He was 74 and died from complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The duo had dozens of hit songs, and it was their pristine harmonies that influenced a generation of rock artists from The Beatles, Beach Boys and The Byrds. The reason harmonies are so prominent in rock and power pop is because The Everly Brothers did it first.

When people ask me if I liked and listened to any musicians from the early days of Rock and Roll (pre-Beatles era), my list is very small.  I’m not a big Elvis fan, but I really liked Del Shannon, Bobby Darin, Jerry Lee Lewis and The Everly Brothers. I had the big box set of hits in my car CD player for years. Their influence is so great even today’s artists pay tribute – The newest duet album from Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) and Norah Jones is Foreverly.  So bow your head in thanks and respect for Phil. He’ll never be forgotten.


Even 30 years after the heyday of their fame, they could still kick ass in concert.

 

Scott Miller passes away

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Sadly, Scott Miller passed away on April 15, 2013.  Scott Miller has released more than a dozen albums with his bands Game Theory and the Loud Family, and his music has been described as “a cross between Alex Chilton, James Joyce, and the Electric Prunes” (Stereo Review) and “smart, funny, and instantly memorable” (Rolling Stone). Miller was a brilliant songwriter who’s biggest impact was during the 80’s, mixing both powerpop and new wave to craft a memorable catalog of albums. Some of these are being made public on the Loud Family website.

In addition to being a musician, Scott was an author of an insightful book Music: What Happened? In the sample chapter he describes how he found Seth Swirsky’s “Watercolor Day” –

“Certainly the Internet has changed how people find out about music, and one novelty there for my methods is what I’ll call canon triangulation. Searching around for the best new songs, I’ll do a web search on several songs that I consider indicators of good ears, and see what else is on those people’s list, and so on. I found “Watercolor Day” that way, I think on a site I want to credit with being associated with Audities, though I see I’m not able to repeat the search today.”

I can only hope that he was talking about Powerpopaholic.com — but aside from that I hope people honor Scott by playing his music today. I know I will.

Olivia Tremor Control’s Bill Doss dead at 43

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Next to The Apples in Stereo, no other band from The Elephant Six Collective had as much acclaim as Olivia Tremor Control, and Bill Doss was its driving force (along with Will Hart and Jeff Mangum). The band was at the zenith of neo-psychedelic movement and produced the masterpiece Dusk At Cubist Castle in 2000.  No details are given about his death,  but police so far have found no evidence of foul play.

Moldy Oldies: Goodbye Don Grady and the Yellow Balloon

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Don Grady, who was one of television’s most beloved big brothers as Robbie Douglas on the long-running 1960s hit My Three Sons, died Wednesday. He was 68. A musical prodigy from a young age, Grady also played drums for  sunshine pop pioneers The Yellow Balloon, who had a minor hit with a self-titled song in 1967.

Fun Fact: The band at one time also included Daryl Dragon, who wasn’t as famous at the time as he would be a few years down the road as the male half of the popular duo Captain & Tennille.