 Les Paul (1925-2009)
by John Angus MacDonald (of The Trews) In the summer of 2005, as we were preparing to release Den of Thieves, we found ourselves with a rainy Monday night off in New York City. Scouring the local rags to find something to do Jack and I discovered that Les Paul was doing his weekly gig at Iridium in Time Square. We rushed over there in the rain with my newly acquired 76 Les Paul Custom in tow (I had heard through the grapevine that if you stuck around after his show you might get a chance to meet him and I didn't want to miss a chance to have Les Paul sign one of my Les Pauls!) As we were waiting in line to get in we bumped into Mark Knopfler who was also waiting in line, this is the kind of audience such a legend attracts. We got in there and found a seat. For the next few hours we were entertained by Les and his band doing their set of jazz standards and by Les regaling the audience with the most incredible stories and jokes. He was like rock'n'rolls' grandpa telling old stories and giving sage advice. It was fantastic! When the show finished, as promised, a queue began to form at the back of the room and, after a short wait, out came Les Paul. He sat down at he head of the line and began signing autographs, taking pictures and shaking hands. And by that time the line up had grown to include just about everybody in the house that night. He must have sat there meeting and greeting for over two hours. Imagine that! This man was 90 years old at the time and had just performed a two hour show! I know bands in there twenties who wouldn't do that (I decided on that day that I would never again be "too tired" after a show to go out and spend some time with the people who came out to see us). Finally our time came and I broke out my guitar, which he personalized (" To John-Angus, Keep Rocking LES PAUL!" -I took that advice to heart...) Unfortunately the picture posted below (which Jack snapped) was taken on my shitty cell phone camera (I remembered the guitar but not the camera!) so it's a little fuzzy but I'm glad to have it nonetheless.
I'm still floored when I think back to that night. A man who's early career accomplishments alone had already cemented his status as quite possibly the most important inventive genius in modern musics (and I don't say that simply as a huge Gibson Les Paul fan, I mean 8 track recording.... where would we be without that?) was still up there, at 90, playing his heart out and loving it!...if we could all be so lucky...or so brilliant.
Anybody who's ever recorded or performed rock'n'roll owe their career to this man.
RIP Les Paul.
Used with permission.
Gordon Waller (1945 - 2009)
Gordon Waller, better known as one half of the 1960's British Invasion duo PETER & GORDON, went into cardiac arrest on the evening of July 16, 2009 and died early in the morning of July 17, 2009 at a hospital near his home in Connecticut. Peter Asher & Gordon Waller were best known for their hit version of the Lennon & McCartney track "World Without Love". The duo had been touring regularly in recent years.
Willy DeVille (1950 - 2009) Willy DeVille, founder and frontman for the proto-punk band Mink DeVille, died August 6th in New York City. The 58-year-old had been suffering from pancreatic cancer.
DeVille formed Mink DeVille in the mid-70s; they made their recorded debut on the infamous Live at CBGB's compilation in 1976 follwed by their first album, 1977's "Cabretta". Mink DeVille enjoyed a minor hit with the song "Spanish Stroll" in Great Britain. After six albums with the band, Willy DeVille became a solo artist in 1987 launching the debut album Miracle which featured the song "Storybook Love". The track was was nominated for an Academy Award after its inclusion in Rob Reiner's movie 'The Princess Bride'.
Jim Dickinson (1941 - 2009)
Renowned session musician Jim Dickinson passed away the morning of August 15th in his sleep. The Memphis native and longtime Mississippi resident had been in failing health for the past few months and was recuperating from heart surgery at Methodist Extended Care Hospital.
During the course of his colorful half-century career, Dickinson built a worldwide reputation as a session player for the likes of Dylan and The Rolling Stones, a producer for influential groups including Big Star and The Replacements, a sometime solo artist and the patriarch of a small musical dynasty through his sons, Cody and Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars.
Ellie Greenwich (1941 - 2009)Ellie Greenwich, a songwriter who along with producer Phil Spector and co-writer Jeff Barry crafted some of the biggest and greatest singles of the 1960s, passed away at the age of 68. The Associated Press reported that Greenwich died of a heart attack in New York’s Roosevelt Hospital August 25th, where she had been battling pneumonia. Greenwich's songwriting catalog includes the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” and “Baby, I Love You,” the Shangri-La’s “Leader of the Pack,” The Dixie Cups’ “Chapel of Love,” Ike & Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High” and The Crystals’ “Then He Kissed Me” and “Da Doo Ron Ron.”
Larry Knechtel (1940 - 2009) Larry Knechtel, a Grammy award-winning keyboardist who accompanied big-name musicians such as Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and the Dixie Chicks, died at the age of 69 on August 20th Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, Washington of an apparent heart attack. Knechtel was a 'go to' session player with a resume that reads like the history of Rock And Roll. His credentials include working with Neil Diamond, Randy Newman, Ray Charles, The Beach Boys, The Doors, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams Jr. and Elvis Costello. He earned a Grammy award for his arrangement of Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," played keyboard on the Dixie Chicks' Grammy award-winning album "Taking the Long Way" and performed on the Hammond organ for the group's tour of the same name. Knechtel was also a member of Bread and appeared on their final two hit studio albums.
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Starspangled Pop
