2016 in Review, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

2016 in Review: Bowie, Prince, Haggard and Cohen among music’s losses

Natalie Cole (Feb. 6, 1950-Dec. 31, 2015) – The daughter of Nat King Cole won multiple Grammys and sold over 30 million albums.

Robert Stigwood (April 16, 1934-Jan. 4, 2016) – A multimedia juggernaut, whose many accomplishments include managing the Bee Gees and producing and “Saturday Night Fever.”

Otis Clay (Feb. 11, 1942-Jan. 8, 2016) The Mississippi native was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.

David Bowie (Jan. 8, 1947-Jan. 10, 2016) – One of the great trendsetters in pop culture history, Bowie thrived through decades of changing musical styles.

Mic Gillette (May 7, 1951-Jan. 17, 2016) – The Oakland native was a founding member of East Bay soul-R&B powerhouse Tower of Power.

Glenn Frey (Nov. 6, 1948-Jan. 18, 2016) – A founding member of SoCal’s Eagles, one of the top-selling American bands of all time.

Paul Kantner (March 17, 1941-Jan. 28, 2016) – His work in Jefferson Airplane helped define the psychedelic “San Francisco Sound” of the ‘60s.

Signe Toly Anderson (Sept. 15, 1941-Jan. 28, 2016) – Before Grace Slick, Anderson was the original female vocalist in Airplane.

Maurice White (Dec. 19, 1941-Feb. 3, 2016) – Founder of Earth, Wind and Fire, the hitmakers behind such classic cuts as “September” and “Shining Star.”

Dan Hicks (Dec. 9, 1941-Feb. 6, 2016) – The Marin County musician led Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks for decades.

Vanity (Jan. 4, 1959-Feb. 15, 2016) – Longtime Fremont resident Denise Matthews (aka Vanity) was a Prince protege who fronted the band Vanity 6 in the ‘80s.

Sir George Martin (Jan. 3, 1926-March 8, 2016) – The “Fifth Beatle” produced the vast majority of the Fab Four’s records.

Keith Emerson (Nov. 2, 1944-March 10, 2016) – Keyboardist was one third of British prog-rock supergroup ELP (Emerson, Lake and Palmer).

Phife Dawg (Nov. 20, 1970-March 22, 2016) – The longtime East Bay resident helped popularize a new brand of socially conscious hip-hop in the ‘90s with A Tribe Called Quest.

Merle Haggard (April 6, 1937-April 6, 2016) – One of the greatest artists in country music history, he was in the same league with Johnny Cash and Hank Williams.

Prince (June 7, 1958-April 21, 2016) – He sold over 100 million albums, influenced countless musicians and boasted one of the most loyal fan bases of all time, all while constantly following his own purple muse.

Lonnie Mack (July 18, 1941-April 21, 2016) – Blues guitarist was considered an influence on such well-known fret men as Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Guy Clark (Nov. 6, 1941-May 17, 2016) – The Grammy winner’s songs have been covered by Jimmy Buffett, Lyle Lovett and Ricky Skaggs, among others.

Prince Be (May 15, 1970-June 17, 2016) – Attrell Cordes (aka Prince Be) was a founding member of the hip-hop group P.M. Dawn.

Ralph Stanley (Feb. 25, 1927-June 23, 2016) – Having performed since the ‘40s, this bluegrass master finally found mainstream success with the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack in the early 2000s.

Bernie Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944-June 24, 2016) Funk master enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic.

Scotty Moore (December 27, 1931 – June 28, 2016) – Highly influential guitarist backed Elvis Presley.

Rob Wasserman (April 1, 1952-June 29, 2016) – Acclaimed Bay Area bassist performed with Lou Reed, Jerry Garcia and many others.

Bobby Hutcherson (Jan. 27, 1941-Aug. 15, 2016) – The longtime Montara resident was one of the greatest vibraphonists in jazz history.

Toots Thielemans (April 29, 1922-Aug. 22, 2016) – Pioneering jazz harmonica player.

Juan Gabriel (Jan. 7, 1950-Aug. 28, 2016) – He was a towering figure in Latin music.

Jean Shepard (Nov. 21, 1933-Sept. 25, 2016) – Country music pioneer known for the 1953 million-seller “A Dear John Letter.”

Sir Neville Marriner (April 15, 1924-Oct. 2, 2016) – Acclaimed classical music violinist/conductor, best known for his soundtrack work on Oscar-winning film “Amadeus.”

Leonard Cohen (Sept. 21, 1934-Nov. 7, 2016) One of the greatest songwriters in popular music history, in the same league with Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Joni Mitchell, Smokey Robinson and Michael Stipe.

Leon Russell (April 2, 1942-Nov. 13, 2016) The singer-songwriter-pianist, whose many compositions included the oft-recorded “A Song for You,” was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.

Mose Allison (Nov. 11, 1927-Nov. 15, 2016) – Iconic jazz-blues singer-songwriter-pianist, he influenced countless other artists.

Sharon Jones (May 4, 1956-Nov. 18, 2016) – Leader of Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, known as a dynamic soul singer and performer.

Greg Lake (Nov. 10, 1947-Dec. 7, 2016) — Guitarist and vocalist for British prog-rock supergroup ELP (Emerson, Lake and Palmer); bandmate Keith Emerson died in March.

source: http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/12/28/2016-in-review-bowie-prince-haggar...