THEY ALSO SERVED

LEVEL 42 guitarist

ROWLAND ‘BOON’

GOULD (b.1955) joined his brother Phil in the Isle Of Wight jazz-funk outfit, and from 1979 played on six Top 20 albums and 12 Top 40 singles, including 1985’s UK/US Top 10 Something About

You, which he co-wrote. After suffering panic attacks, he left in 1987, but contributed lyrics to 1988’s Staring At The Sun. He also released two solo records. Having played on and written for Level 42’s last-released album Retroglide in 2006, he joined his old group on-stage one last time in Bristol in 2012. RHINO RECORDS’ aesthete

GARY STEWART (b. 1957) was the man behind catalogue projects like the Nuggets box set and One Kiss Can Lead To Another, the girl groups set that came in a hat box and many, many more (he has over 700 credits on discogs.com). His work set an industry standard for quality, attention to detail and research in catalogue curation. Born in Los Angeles, he started his career behind the till at Rhino’s record store in Westwood, LA in 1974 aged 17, rose to become senior vice president of A&R and later chief music officer for iTunes. It’s likely every MOJO reader will have given shelf-space to his work.

The O’JAYS’ co-founder

BILL ISLES (below, b. 1941) started singing in church in Ohio, where he formed high school band The Mascots. In 1960 they changed their name to The Triumphs, releasing a 1961 45, Miracles, on Cincinnati’s King Records. On the suggestion of local DJ Eddie O’Jay, the band became The O’Jays. Though Isles quit the group in late ’65 his warm baritone can be heard on their early hits Lonely Drifter and Lipstick Traces. FRENCH Yé-Yé star DICK

RIVERS (below, b. 1945) was born Hervé Forneri. He took his stage name from Deke Rivers, Elvis’s character in the 1957 film Loving You, and made his first recording with Les Chats Sauvages aged 15. The group played with Little Richard and Vince Taylor, and had hits including 1962’s Twist Á Saint-Tropez, before Rivers went solo. His 1964 cover of Things We Said Today made fans of The Beatles. Later, Paul McCartney bought the rights to Rivers’ back catalogue. An actor and radio star, Rivers suffered brain damage after a fall in 2015 but returned to touring in 2018. OKLAHOMA CITY-born writer, R&B producer, singer and hitmaker KENT ‘BOOGALOO’ HARRIS (b.1930) wrote for the likes of The Coasters and The Platters. He’s known to soul fans for the records he produced for wife Ty Karim, such as 1967’s Lighten Up Baby. His sister, the singer Marcene ‘Dimples’ Harris helped him get his first publishing deal in LA, where he also started recording at the Crest label in 1956 as Boogaloo And His Gallant Crew. His single Cops And Robbers was picked up by Bo Diddley in Chicago. Kent founded his own Romark label in 1960 and would later contribute music to the 2007 Eddie Murphy film Norbit. VOICE JOE TERRY (b. Joe Terranova, 1941) sang baritone with Philly doo woppers The Juvenaires, who, renamed Danny & The Juniors, scored big hits with 1957’s At The Hop and the following year’s Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay. Though their last success was 1960’s Twistin’ U.S.A, the group continued to tour, with Terry taking control of the trademark and singing lead. He also sang on the 1971 solo album of his Juniors bandmate David White, who died in March. Terry continued to perform until his death.

DRUMMER and voice JOHNNY HUTCHINSON (b. 1939) played with Merseybeat heroes The Big Three from 1959. Managed by Brian Epstein until 1963, the group played Hamburg and recorded four singles for Decca, including 1963’s UK Top 40 hits Some Other Guy and By The Way, and the live EP At The Cavern. Line-up changes hastened the band’s demise in 1966, whereupon Hutch retired from music and worked in the building trade. He had previously filled in with The Silver Beetles (in 1960) and The Beatles (in 1962), when Epstein had considered him to replace Pete Best, but was apparently sincere when he said he had no regrets. TUBA, trombone and euphonium player SAM

PILAFIAN (below, b.1949) played classical music with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic, jazz with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton, and on Philip Glass’ Koyaanisqatsi in 1982. Rock fans will know him for his contributions to Pink Floyd’s 1979 LP The Wall. He also shared his love of the tuba on US kids show Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood in 1985, played with the Empire Brass Quintet for 22 years and worked in music education at Berklee College and elsewhere. BASSIST MIKE GROSE (b.unknown) was an early member of Queen. After his schoolmate Roger Taylor saw him play in The Individuals, he came to London from Cornwall to rehearse with the nascent group, and played three gigs with them in summer 1970. He later played in No Joke with Tim Staffell, ex- voice with Taylor and Brian May’s band Smile. Grose later worked in the haulage industry. May commented, “His sound was massive and monolithic! In the end, the liaison didn’t work out, but we owe Mike gratitude for helping us take those first steps.”

JAZZ vibraphonist and marimba player DAVE

SAMUELS (b. 1948) was a member of fusion group Spyro Gyra. As a young drummer he played at Chicago jazz clubs and studied vibraphone and marimba with Gary Burton at Berklee College before moving to NY in the mid ’70s, becoming a sessioneer for Gerry Mulligan, Frank Zappa, Carla Bley and Spyro Gyra, playing on the group’s first six long-players – he appeared on 1979’s UK hit Morning Dance – before joining full time in 1983. He recorded 10 solo albums and founded the Caribbean Jazz Project in 1993, winning a Grammy for 2002’s The Gathering and 2008’s Afro Bop Alliance LPs.

Jenny Bulley and Clive Prior