In Memoriam: Those We Have Lost from the Music Industry

[WendyCR72]

Irene Cara, actress and singer, who sang the theme songs for both Fame and Flashdance, has died at only 63. No cause of death is known as of yet.

Sixty-three is just too young. She had one hell of a voice. May she rest in peace.

[AimingforYoko]

Christine McVie had two of the bigger hits on Tango In The Night, Fleetwood Mac's last essential album, with "Everywhere" and "Little Lies", but this is my favorite on that album:

R.I.P.

[WendyCR72]

Wow. Rest in peace, Lisa Marie Presley, dead at only 54.

Lisa Marie Presley seemed like such a "little girl lost" to me. Losing her dad so young, then having her son commit suicide, it just seemed like she was destined for heartbreak.

I hope she rests in peace and her surviving children find comfort now.

My heart also goes out to Priscilla Presley.

[Annber03]

Oh, wow. 

Damn. Rest in peace, Lisa. 

[smittykins]

Robbie Bachman, drummer of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, dies at 69

Roll on down the highway, Robbie. 

[KWalkerInc]

Vivan Trimble, former keyboardist for Luscious Jackson, dies at 59.

For those maybe unfamiliar, Luscious Jackson was an alternative pop-rock group originating in New York City in the 1990s.  They were popular on MTV's 120 Minutes and got decent overall airplay for their 1997 hit "Naked Eye," which reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Viv was my cousin, although we lived on opposite coasts and I hadn't seen her since her wedding a very long time ago.  Although I knew she was ill, it was, as LJ said in their statement, jarring a few days ago to learn that she had passed so suddenly.  I hope it will be okay to share a few memories.

It was always cool to see her at family events when I was a kid, before she went to college and started her own life.  Then when I was in high school, a bunch of family members were meeting up at a Rax (!) fast food place in town, and she joined us before going to catch a bus to somewhere.  My aunt and uncle lived far away but would keep us up to date on her.  I knew she was a musician, but they only told us of a band she was in called Hippies With Guns, so when LJ was featured in the "Artists to Watch" section of Rolling Stone, I passed right over their section at first (until someone mentioned it to my mom, who asked about it)!

Even though it wasn't the style of music I always listened to, I tried to keep up as much as I could with their appearances on TV (mostly talk shows), and got to go to several of their concerts and catch up.  I was really psyched when they got to go on SNL, although the sketches proved so terrible (Jeff Daniels episode, though I don't think it was his fault) that I had to keep flipping back and forth so as not to miss their performances.  I remember that at the end, Viv and another band member started dancing to the music they play for the "goodnights," and Michael McKean joined in with them.   It was really funny. 

I also remember an episode of 120 Minutes (the group also hosted once) where Matt Pinfield asked an extremely convoluted and long question that seemed like he would never get out.  I think Viv agreed, because she answered it "Yes" even though it probably wasn't a yes/no question (but hard to tell).

After Viv left the group, I got to see her fairly often by our family's standards until all the people that were going to get married had done so.  She was very kind and smart and easy to talk to.  At another cousin's wedding, everyone from our side of the family had a lot of fun on the dance floor, but everyone began to retreat when "Copacabana" came on.  I was very enthusiastic about the song though, so even though people were trying to talk to her, Viv stayed on the dance floor with me while I made a fool of myself dancing and loudly singing every word so that I wouldn't have to be alone.

On that same weekend, Viv was talking about how when she was still in the band and touring, the only place open to eat after concerts was Denny's, and she must have had her fill.  I'm pretty sure she said, "I never want to eat at a Denny's again."  The morning after the wedding, I get up and the first thing I'm told is that all of us who were staying at that motel...were going to Denny's.  I pointed out what Viv had said, but was told that she wasn't up yet when this was decided!  I never minded Denny's because I didn't eat there too much, but this story always made me smile.

Here is a video I found of Viv singing lead on their cover of "69 Annee Erotique."  I knew the song from a compilation (which I bought for Salt-N-Pepa and Queen Latifah without even knowing LJ had a song on it, let alone that Viv was on lead), but I'd never seen the video before.

 

[Annber03]

Condolences on your loss. Thanks for sharing those stories and allowing us to learn a little more about Vivian. I've heard of this group, but I don't know that I'm familiar with their music much, so it's nice to learn a bit more about them and her role in the group as well. 

[Bastet]

11 hours ago, KWalkerInc said:

For those maybe unfamiliar, Luscious Jackson was an alternative pop-rock group originating in New York City in the 1990s. 

Oh, I am very familiar -- I played "Daughters of the Kaos" over and over for a solid year (so, years later, I was happy to see them get wider recognition when "Naked Eye" was a hit), and still listen to it occasionally.

I think "Daughters of the Kaos" was shortly before she joined the band.  But I also fondly remember the Dusty Trails (Viv and a member of The Breeders) song, "Order Coffee", which featured guest vocals from Emmylou Harris.

Thank you for sharing those great stories of Viv, and my condolences to your family.

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Bastet

[smittykins]

RIP Harry Belafonte.

 

[Annber03]

Aw :(. 

96 is a good run - quite the legacy he's left behind. May he rest in peace. 

[smittykins]

RIP Gordon Lightfoot.

[Oosala]

Gordon Lightfoot was very much an underrated song writer.  He didn't write songs so much as tell stories.  The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is a perfect example of this.

“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?”

"And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters."

"The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald."

Goosebumps and tears every time.

[smittykins]

That song came out when I was in fifth grade, and it was a few more years before I learned that it was about an actual event.

[Oosala]

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.  I'm not havin' it.  Sinéad O'Connor, aged 56, has died.  I refuse to accept this, especially in the wake of the relatively recent death of Dolores O'Riordan.  Sinéad's voice is/was so incredibly beautiful, and beautiful isn't even a big enough word for it.  I'm crying.  It's like Tom Petty all over again.  I suppose it will be another f--king accidental overdose.  I know she was diagnosed as bipolar and that she suffered from fibromyalgia.  I can't believe her voice has been silenced.  I love her best when she sings with other artists.  Her collaborations with The Chieftains, Shane MacGowan, U2 and others are magical.

Regarding the incident on SNL, she has been described as a feral out-runner for revolution.  Calling out the pope, in my opinion, was a good thing.  I was raised in the Catholic church and it really fucked with my head.

Dare:  Listen to this without crying:

 

[Spartan Girl]

“I go out every night and sleep all day” just hits so damn hard these days.

Yes, I know it was a Prince first. Don’t care. Sinead still sang the hell out of it.

Edited July 28, 2023 by Spartan Girl

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Saw where Hall Of Fame Disc Jockey Moby had passed away from cancer. He was in the business for 40 some odd years.  He was in Nashville,Dallas,Houston,Tampa Bay, Atlanta etc.. for a number of those years. I remember his saying, "Get your lazy asses outta bed! " in the mornings on rock stations. R.I.P. 

[Tachi Rocinante]

C.J. Snare, the lead singer of Firehouse, passed away after a battle with Stage IV colon cancer.

RIP.