Music Obituaries: August 2023

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Even though I’m on vacation I haven’t forgotten my duty to remind, or in some cases inform, you of the losses in the world of music from the previous month. It’s been a brutal, brutal year, as these additions to the list of musical individuals who’ve passed away in 2023 indicate. Here are the musicians and music-related individuals for whom the final curtain fell in August 2023: Walter Charles (August 3, frontotemporal dementia, age 78): Broadway actor and singer whose credits include Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Cats, and the 1972 version of Grease. Carl Davis (August 3, brain hemorrhage, age 86): film composer whose credits include The French Lieutenant’s Woman and Pride and Prejudice. John Gosling (August 4, unknown cause, age 75): keyboardist in the legendary band the Kinks from 1970 to 1978. David LaFlamme (August 6, Parkinson’s disease, age 82): the violinist and co-writer on the band It’s a Beautiful Day’s big hit “White Bird.” Toussaint McCall (August 7, natural causes, age 89): R&B singer from New Orleans who had a hit with “Nothing Takes the Place of You” in 1967. Jamie Reid (August 8, unknown cause, age 76): visual artist whose claim to fame was the picture sleeve for the Sex Pistols’ hit “God Save the Queen.” Sixto “Sugar Man” Rodriguez (August 8, complications of a stroke, age 81): a virtual unknown his his native America but idolized in South Africa. A documentary about his career, Searching for Sugar Man, won an Oscar in 2012. *Robbie Robertson (August 9, prostate cancer, age 80): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. The lead guitarist and primary songwriter for The Band. Tom Jones (August 11, cancer, age 95): NOT “that” Tom Jones!! This one was American and wrote songs for plays such as The Fantasticks and 110 in the Shade. Shoji Tabuchi (August 11, pancreatic cancer, age 79): Japanese-American with an unusual gig: world-class country music fiddler. He was featured in the glory years of Branson, and appeared many times on the Grand Ole Opry. *Clarence Avant (August 13, natural causes, age 92): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. The founder of Sussex Records and the man known as “The Black Godfather” for his voluminous work with African-American artists for six decades. In 2019 Netflix ran a documentary about his career. Peter Magadini (August 13, unknown cause, age 81): drummer who worked with artists as diverse as Diana Ross, Al Jarreau, and Bobbie Gentry. *Jerry Moss (August 16, natural causes, age 88): ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER. The “M” part of A&M Records, one of the largest independent labels in history with a repertoire that included the likes of The Police, the Carpenters, Cat Stevens, and his label co-founder Herb Alpert. Walter Aipolani (August 17, unknown cause, age 68): the “father of Hawaiian reggae” was a pioneer in blending the Hawaiian guitar sounds with reggae music. Bobby Eli (August 17, natural causes, age 77): guitarist for the soul band MFSB, who did the Soul Train theme, and the writer of the Major Harris hit “Love Won’t Let Me Wait.” Ray Hildebrand (August 18, unknown cause, age 82): the “Paul” in the duo Paul & Paula and writer of their hit “Hey Paula.” Vernon Oxford (August 18, complications from dementia and Parkinson’s disease, age 82): well-respected and much-loved country singer who kept the country flame going throughout his long but not “superstar” career. Denis LePage (August 21, cancer, age 74): member of the Canadian band Lime and writer of their 1981 dance hit “Your Love.” Bob Feldman (August 23, unknown cause, age 83): member of the band the Strangeloves, who did the original version of “I Want Candy” (later covered by Bow Wow Wow), and writer of the Angels’ hit “My Boyfriend’s Back.” Bernie Marsden (August 24, unknown cause, age 72): guitarist in the 80s band Whitesnake and co-writer of their biggest hit, “Here I Go Again.” John Kezdy (August 26, car wreck, age 64): one of those oddities that you find in music: a punk singer in the Chicago punk band the Effigies who changed careers and became a lawyer. Bob Mummert (August 26, unknown cause, age 69): country music drummer who worked with Ricky Skaggs’ band Kentucky Thunder and was most recently drummer for Dailey & Vincent. Jack Sonni (August 30, unknown cause, age 68): American guitarist who toured with Dire Straits during their Brothers in Arms success. Farewell, and thank you for the music. “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” by The Band, co-written by the late Robbie Robertson (on guitar):