The musical talents who died in 2016
“Music has lost a great presence,” Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon tweeted when he learned about Prince’s death on April 21. It’s a sentiment that seems to cover all of 2016. In the past year, the world lost many irreplaceable musical talents. Here’s a lo
JANUARY Paul Bley, 83. (Jan. 3)
The Montreal-born pianist was a leader in the avant-garde movement in the early 1960s, including an appearance on clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre’s 1963 album Free Fall, a free-jazz classic. Bley’s prolific career also included innovative recordings with various synthesizers. A member of the Order of Canada, Bley in some years recorded more than eight albums.
David Bowie, 69. (Jan. 10)
The rock ’n’ roll chameleon was at the forefront of music, music videos and fashion for more than 40 years. Among his most revered albums: Space Oddity (1969), Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) and Let’s Dance (1983). His final album, Blackstar, was the No. 2 album of the year according to Rolling Stone (Beyoncé’s Lemonade was No. 1).
Glenn Frey, 67. (Jan. 17)
A founding member of the Eagles, Frey co-wrote some of the popular country/rock band’s most enduring hits, including Desperado, Hotel California and Take It Easy. His, well, easy lead vocal on Take It Easy was a defining moment for the laid-back sound of ’70s country rock. Frey had solo success as well, including a worldwide hit with The Heat Is On from the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop. Frey was pegged to record Shakedown from the film’s sequel, but after he hesitated on the lyrics and developed laryngitis, the song went to fellow Detroit-area singer Bob Seger.
FEBRUARY Maurice White, 74. (Feb. 4)
Earth, Wind & Fire: Funk at its finest, founded by White. He was the group’s principal songwriter and producer, as well as a singer and drummer. Renowned for its swinging horn section and elaborate live performances, Earth, Wind & Fire won six Grammys and were inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame. White was also named to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
MARCH George Martin, 90. (March 8)
The most deserving candidate for the nickname the Fifth Beatle, innovative producer Martin signed the Beatles to their first recording contract and produced much of their work. Martin also worked with a variety of other artists and produced No. 1 hits by America (Sister Golden Hair), Kenny Rogers (Morning Desire) and Elton John (Candle in the Wind 1997).
Keith Emerson, 71. (March 11)
Keyboardist Emerson was an integral part of prog-rock pioneers Emerson, Lake and Palmer, helping bring classical and jazz to a rock audience. Acclaimed as one of the best keyboardists of the 1970s, Emerson joined other progressiverock giants to open for the reunited Led Zeppelin at the 2007 concert in London’s O2 Arena.
APRIL Merle Haggard, 79. (April 6)
An outlaw in the truest sense of the word, Haggard went from ex-con to country icon. He had a crime-filled youth and served time in various correctional facilities, including San Quentin. While at San Quentin, Haggard was inspired to join the inmate country band after a Johnny Cash performance at the prison in 1959. Haggard went on to have 38 No. 1 country hits and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2010.
Prince, 57. (April 21)
Prince Rogers Nelson represented a musical hybrid, combining elements of rock, pop, funk, R&B and whatever else he needed to create his unique sound. He reached superstardom in 1984 with the film and soundtrack for Purple Rain, which contained the No. 1 hits Let’s Go Crazy and When Doves Cry. Prince achieved a Beatles hat trick when the album and film Purple Rain topped their respective charts simultaneously with the single When Doves Cry. Aside from seven Grammy Awards, Prince also won a Golden Globe and an Oscar.
JUNE Ralph Stanley, 89. (June 23)
A distinctive vocalist and banjo player who was one of the originators of bluegrass. He had a career rebirth in 2000 with his haunting version of O Death on the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers film O Brother Where Art Thou? His performance earned Stanley the 2002 Grammy for best male country vocal performance.
AUGUST Rudy Van Gelder, 91. (Aug. 25)
An unsung hero of the music world. From 1946 to 1959, Van Gelder engineered dozens of seminal jazz albums at his recording studio, built into his parents’ place in Hackensack, N.J. He was an optometrist by day until 1959, when he became a full-time recording engineer. The list of who Van Gelder recorded is a jazz honour role: John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins and Art Blakey.
OCTOBER Neville Marriner, 92. (Oct. 2)
Violinist and conductor founded the acclaimed English chamber orchestra Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. The Marriner- St. Martin partnership is the most recorded of any orchestra and conductor. He also supervised the Mozart selections for the soundtrack of the film Amadeus — one of the most popular classical recordings ever.
NOVEMBER Leonard Cohen, 82. (Nov. 7)
Beloved poet and singer released his final album, You Want It Darker, weeks before his death. Cohen’s generally dark lyrics and distinctive deep vocals made his songs instantly recognizable. Among the Montreal native’s best-known songs were Everybody Knows, First We Take Manhattan and the oft-covered Hallelujah, which has become a modern pop standard. Cohen was probably the only person in the world to be a Companion of the Order of Canada as well as an ordained Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk.
Leon Russell, 74. (Nov. 13)
Multi-instrumentalist collaborated with many of the top acts in the 1960s as a member of the Wrecking Crew, a top-notch group of L.A.based studio musicians. Russell played keyboards on the Ronettes’ Be My Baby and Ike & Tina Turner’s River Deep, Mountain High, among many other songs. Inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
DECEMBER Greg Lake, 69. (Dec. 7)
Singer, multi-instrumentalist and the second member of Emerson, Lake and Palmer to die in 2016. His engaging vocals provided an entry point for many rock fans to ELP, known for their complex excursions. Lake also had solo success, reaching No. 2 in the U.K. in 1975 with I Believe in Father Christmas.