Time catches up with us all, and sadly, several oldies music artists passed away in 2008. Here's a list, in alphabetical order, of the deceased and what they meant to music, especially rock and roll. If I've missed a nationally famous or important musical performer who passed away this year, feel free to e-mail me.
1. Eddy Arnold
Died: May 8, Nashville, TN, age 89 (natural causes)
Best known song: "Make The World Go Away" (1965)
Contributions to music: Known as "The Tennessee Plowboy," this singer was actually more urbane than that moniker would imply, helping to popularize the first big country crossover known as the "Nashville Sound." In a career that spanned a full half decade, he racked up a staggering 28 Number One hits, making him, according to some sources, the most popular country singer of all time.
Best known song: "Make The World Go Away" (1965)
Contributions to music: Known as "The Tennessee Plowboy," this singer was actually more urbane than that moniker would imply, helping to popularize the first big country crossover known as the "Nashville Sound." In a career that spanned a full half decade, he racked up a staggering 28 Number One hits, making him, according to some sources, the most popular country singer of all time.
2. Jimmy Carl Black
Died: November 1, Crown Valley, CA, age 70 (lung cancer)
Best known song: "Lonesome Cowboy Burt" (1971)
Contributions to music: "Hi, boys and girls, I’m Jimmy Carl Black. I’m the Indian of the group," stated this Mothers Of Invention member on one of their songs, with the band's characteristic anti-PC bluntness. But Zappa's favorite drummer also appeared in his cult classic 200 Motels (singing "Lonesome Cowboy Burt"), and later performed with other cultural freaks like Arthur Brown and Captain Beefheart.
Best known song: "Lonesome Cowboy Burt" (1971)
Contributions to music: "Hi, boys and girls, I’m Jimmy Carl Black. I’m the Indian of the group," stated this Mothers Of Invention member on one of their songs, with the band's characteristic anti-PC bluntness. But Zappa's favorite drummer also appeared in his cult classic 200 Motels (singing "Lonesome Cowboy Burt"), and later performed with other cultural freaks like Arthur Brown and Captain Beefheart.
3. Delaney Bramlett
Died: December 27, Los Angeles, age 69 (complications from surgery)
Best known song: "Never Ending Song Of Love" (1971)
Contributions to music: Although Eric Clapton started out as a fan and turned into a sideman, the rock-soul husband-and-wife duo Delaney and Bonnie came to be seen as an adjunct to Slowhand's massive fame. Still, the pair were impressive enough to merit the admiration, including George Harrison's offer to sign them up for Apple. In return, Delaney allegedly taught George how to play slide guitar!
Best known song: "Never Ending Song Of Love" (1971)
Contributions to music: Although Eric Clapton started out as a fan and turned into a sideman, the rock-soul husband-and-wife duo Delaney and Bonnie came to be seen as an adjunct to Slowhand's massive fame. Still, the pair were impressive enough to merit the admiration, including George Harrison's offer to sign them up for Apple. In return, Delaney allegedly taught George how to play slide guitar!
4. Nappy Brown
Died: September 20, Charlotte, NC, age 78 (natural causes)
Best known song: "Don't Be Angry" (1955)
Contributions to music: Nappy's fusion of gospel and hard blues didn't just make him one of most popular pre-rock R&B vocalists -- it helped birth soul, as can be seen by Ray Charles' eventual cover of Brown's "Night Time Is The Right Time." Moreover, his vocal style, which relied heavily on intense wordplay, nonsense syllables and gospel melismas, would prove an incalculable influence on R&B singing.
Best known song: "Don't Be Angry" (1955)
Contributions to music: Nappy's fusion of gospel and hard blues didn't just make him one of most popular pre-rock R&B vocalists -- it helped birth soul, as can be seen by Ray Charles' eventual cover of Brown's "Night Time Is The Right Time." Moreover, his vocal style, which relied heavily on intense wordplay, nonsense syllables and gospel melismas, would prove an incalculable influence on R&B singing.
5. Paul Davis
Died: April 22, Meridian, MS, age 60 (heart attack)
Best known song: "I Go Crazy" (1978)
Contributions to music: Though he started out as a country singer, this soft-rock guru was always more popular with the adult contemporary crowd, and his first big pop hit, 1997's "I Go Crazy," reflected that. He scored several more hits through the beginning of the next decade -- "Cool Night," "Do Right," and the uptempo retro reminiscence "'65 Love Affair," he turned his back on commercial radio and went back to his roots, scoring hit duets with Marie Osmond and Tanya Tucker.
Best known song: "I Go Crazy" (1978)
Contributions to music: Though he started out as a country singer, this soft-rock guru was always more popular with the adult contemporary crowd, and his first big pop hit, 1997's "I Go Crazy," reflected that. He scored several more hits through the beginning of the next decade -- "Cool Night," "Do Right," and the uptempo retro reminiscence "'65 Love Affair," he turned his back on commercial radio and went back to his roots, scoring hit duets with Marie Osmond and Tanya Tucker.
6. Bo Diddley
Died: June 2, Archer, FL, age 79 (heart disease)
Best known song: "Bo Diddley" (1955)
Contributions to music:"The Originator" did as much for popularizing and creating rock and roll as Chuck Berry, working from the same Chicago Blues background. But rock's first genuine oddity also imported Latin rhythms, hired female guitarists, played square axes, used an unconventional "hambone" beat that became his trademark, and played the violin.
Best known song: "Bo Diddley" (1955)
Contributions to music:"The Originator" did as much for popularizing and creating rock and roll as Chuck Berry, working from the same Chicago Blues background. But rock's first genuine oddity also imported Latin rhythms, hired female guitarists, played square axes, used an unconventional "hambone" beat that became his trademark, and played the violin.
7. Alan Gordon
Died: November 22, Scottsdale, AZ, age 64 (cancer)
Best known song: The Turtles' "Happy Together" (1967)
Contributions to music: As befits a songwriter, this Massachusetts native is best remembered by the hits other artists had with his tunes: The Turtles' "Happy Together," "She'd Rather Be With Me," and "She's My Girl," Three Dog Night's "Celebrate," Barbra Streisand's "My Heart Belongs To Me," Petula Clark's "The Cat In The Window (The Bird In The Sky)," and Lesley Gore's "Small Talk."
Best known song: The Turtles' "Happy Together" (1967)
Contributions to music: As befits a songwriter, this Massachusetts native is best remembered by the hits other artists had with his tunes: The Turtles' "Happy Together," "She'd Rather Be With Me," and "She's My Girl," Three Dog Night's "Celebrate," Barbra Streisand's "My Heart Belongs To Me," Petula Clark's "The Cat In The Window (The Bird In The Sky)," and Lesley Gore's "Small Talk."
8. Issac Hayes
Died: August 10, Memphis, TN, age 65 (stroke)
Best known song: "Theme From Shaft" (1971)
Contributions to music: The "Black Moses Of Soul" practically invented disco with his "Theme From Shaft," ensuring the sound of the decade. But his soul chops, honed while writing hits for Sam and Dave and Carla Thomas at Stax, served him well on his extended monologues and radical reinterpretations of pop standards, and his bald, gold-chain-bedecked persona proved inspirational to more than one generation of urban artists. And South Park called upon this sometime actor for their "Chef" character.
Best known song: "Theme From Shaft" (1971)
Contributions to music: The "Black Moses Of Soul" practically invented disco with his "Theme From Shaft," ensuring the sound of the decade. But his soul chops, honed while writing hits for Sam and Dave and Carla Thomas at Stax, served him well on his extended monologues and radical reinterpretations of pop standards, and his bald, gold-chain-bedecked persona proved inspirational to more than one generation of urban artists. And South Park called upon this sometime actor for their "Chef" character.
9. Eartha Kitt
Died: December 25, Weston, CT, age 81 (colon cancer)
Best known song: "Santa Baby" (1953)
Contributions to music: The cabaret singer and actress Orson Welles once called "the most exciting woman in the world" is best known as the third (and, some say, best) Catwoman in the Sixties "Batman" series, and also for her perennial (and definitely best) 1953 version of the saucy, witty yuletide standard "Santa Baby." But her career, which spanned half a century, was more varied and serious than those two successes would indicate -- she was also famously blackballed from US appearances after taking a stance against the government's involvement in Vietnam.
Best known song: "Santa Baby" (1953)
Contributions to music: The cabaret singer and actress Orson Welles once called "the most exciting woman in the world" is best known as the third (and, some say, best) Catwoman in the Sixties "Batman" series, and also for her perennial (and definitely best) 1953 version of the saucy, witty yuletide standard "Santa Baby." But her career, which spanned half a century, was more varied and serious than those two successes would indicate -- she was also famously blackballed from US appearances after taking a stance against the government's involvement in Vietnam.
10. Miriam Makeba
Died: November 10, Caserta, Italy, age 76 (heart attack)
Best known song: "Pata Pata" (1967)
Contributions to music: Known as "Mama Afrika," Miriam Makeba was discovered by Harry Belafonte, who encouraged her to record her South African native folk songs in the United States. A tireless opponent of apartheid and a vocal advocate of civil rights, Makeba brought a jazz sensibility to songs like "Pata Pata," "The Click Song," and "Malaika" that helped them cross over to the pop market of the time. She served as a de facto ambassador of South African music and culture for a full half-century.
Best known song: "Pata Pata" (1967)
Contributions to music: Known as "Mama Afrika," Miriam Makeba was discovered by Harry Belafonte, who encouraged her to record her South African native folk songs in the United States. A tireless opponent of apartheid and a vocal advocate of civil rights, Makeba brought a jazz sensibility to songs like "Pata Pata," "The Click Song," and "Malaika" that helped them cross over to the pop market of the time. She served as a de facto ambassador of South African music and culture for a full half-century.
