60 game changers in music who died in 2017
CHRIS CORNELL
May 18, age 52
An architect of the 1990s grunge scene, Chris Cornell was also one of its poster boys, with good looks, a near four-octave vocal range voice that matched Soundgarden’s thunder and highly developed songwriting talents – a culmination of talent that saw the band sell 30 million albums. He also fronted Audioslave and Temple of the Dog, and had a prolific solo career which brought him to Australia many times. His long time depression and substance abuse caught up with him a Detroit hotel room after a Soundgarden show at Fox Theatre.
CHESTER BENNINGTON
July 20, age 41
Linkin Park’s mash-ups captured the sound of their time, but their lyrical themes captured the innermost thoughts of their generation. Hybrid Theory became one of the most successful debut albums of all time with sales of 10 million; they went on to sell 65 million worldwide. A troubled adolescence saw Bennington suffer depression and dark self-destructive thoughts he found difficult to control. He took his life at his home in California on what would have been close friend Chris Cornell’s 53rd birthday. He sang Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ at Cornell’s funeral.
CHUCK BERRY
March 18, age 90
If he had looked a little different, Chuck Berry would have been undisputed king of rock and roll. His songs about ‘50s teen experience – well before the concept of teenager even existed – and sense of cool, as well as his showmanship and guitar style, gave a direction to rock music and inspired the next generation of rock gods including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Brash and arrogant, he was considered enough of a threat for the establishment to jail him three times.
FATS DOMINO
October 24, age 89
Antoine Dominique “Fats” Domino, Jr. sold 65 million records worldwide from the ‘50s. His New Orleans boogie piano style, raucous voice and flair for good songs as ‘Blueberry Hill’ and ‘Ain’t That A Shame’ provided rock music with a cornerstone sound.
MALCOLM YOUNG
November 18, age 64
The Young family of musician brothers had varying success. But Malcolm’s steely ambition – and a “human metronome” backhand – powered AC/DC to sales of 200 million albums, including Back In Blackbecoming the second-biggest seller of all time after Thriller. Young’s focus on what was important in music inspired generations of garage bands around the world and created a genuine outpouring of grief when he succumbed to the dementia which forced him to leave the band in 2014.
TOM PETTY
October 2, age 66
Tom Petty’s love for American radio allowed him to create more radio hits of his own, although with a touch of the rebel. This was with The Heartbreakers – one of THE great US bands – as well as part of the Travelin’ Wilburys supergroup with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne, and solo. He kept his longtime heroin addiction, a secret not wanting to glamorise usage of the drug, and was found at his home in Malibu, California although he died later in hospital.
DR G YUNUPINGU
July 25, age 46
Blind from birth and growing up in a traditional lifestyle on Elcho Island off the NT coast, Dr G Yunupingu had a clear angelic voice and played drums, keyboards, guitar (a right-hand-strung guitar played left-handed) and didgeridoo. His sang songs of his land and of reconciliation in Yolŋu languages such as Gälpu, Gumatj or Djambarrpuynu, and in English. He became the biggest selling Australian indigenous act, but his growing success in Europe and the U.S. was derailed as his liver and kidney diseases worsened.
GEORGE YOUNG
October 22, aged 70
A co-founder of The Easybeats in the ‘60s in a Sydney migrant hostel, George Young developed a strong writing partnership with guitarist Harry Vanda, which peaked with ‘Friday On My Mind’. After the group split, the pair developed into a massive hit factory that defined the Australian rock sound.
WALTER BECKER
September 9, age 67
The cool, stylisedsound of Steely Dan connectedof the dots between jazz, rock and blues, with impeccable harmonies and recordings. Withas many detractors as fans,they left a legacy of great songs and albums and a dark impish humour. Becker endeavoured to remain out of the spotlight but a wrongful death lawsuit and breaking his leg in a number of places after being hit by a cab, halted those plans in their tracks.
GREGG ALLMAN
May 27, aged 69
Gregg Allman picked up the guitar first, but moved to keyboards when his elder brother Duane proved to be gifted at it. Together they formed the Allman Bros Band which launched the southern boogie movement of the early ‘70s, and went on to endure deaths and addictions. Allman penned some of their notable songs, and starting a solo career which endured right until his death.
ROB POTTS
October 27, aged 65
Country music promoter Rob Potts not only gave an early start to the likes of Keith Urban, Tommy Emmanuel and Lee Kernaghan but also, with Chugg Entertainment, opened up the international country superstar circuit in the country – including bringing an unknown Taylor Swift for her first visit. He played an important role in associations in Australia and Nashville. He was alive when his vision for CMC Rocks to become the biggest country music festival in the southern hemisphere was realised, selling out for the first time this year.
TONY COHEN
Death announced August 2, aged 60
The triple ARIA-winning Australian record producer was also internationally acknowledged as an architect of the Australian ‘90s alt-rock sound. He began in his teens helping out at Supernaut and the Ferrets sessions before moving to The Models, The Cruel Sea, the Go-Betweens, Hunters & Collectors and TISM , as well as a 20-year relationship with Nick Cave which yielded eight Bad Seeds records.
Iain Shedden, drummer with The Saints, and entertainment columnist with The Australian.
John French, Melbourne engineer and producer, again lauded as an architect of the pub-rock sound.
Kevin Stanton, guitarist and songwriter with NZ-hailed, Sydney-based band Mi-Sex.
Jon Hendricks,influential US jazz vocalist.
Graham Wood, Perth jazz pianist and jazz club owner.
Carol Lloyd, flame-haired Brisbane blues rock singer and performer, with Railroad Gin and her own bands. Hailed as an inspiration for generations of Australian female singers.
Ritchie Yorke, sacked from Brisbane radio for playing Jimi Hendrix 20 times in a row, became a prominent music journalist, author and peace activist (and close friend of John Lennon & Yoko Ono and Led Zeppelin) in Canada and then in Queensland.
“French Elvis”Johnny Hallyday’s funeral this month drew 1 million and created massive traffic jams across Paris.
David Cassidy, star of the musical TV series The Partridge Family and a teen idol in the early ‘70s stopped performing after a young girl was crushed to death at a show and continued to write and record.
Krautrock group Can’s multi-instrumentalist, drummer and singer Holger Czukay was an early creator of ambient music, made “world music” before the term was coined and was a pioneer of sampling.
US singer Della Reese of ’Touched by an Angel’ fame.
Rising US rapper Lil Peep, 21, was found in his tour bus of a suspected overdose.
Chuck Mosley, first frontman with Faith No More.
Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens.
Saxa (born Lionel Augustus Martin in Jamaica) worked with Jamaican legends, but best known for his tours here with British ska band the Beat.
American songwriter and criminal Charlie Manson.
Paul Buckmuster, strings arranger for the likes of Elton and the Stones.
US R&B singer Charles Bradley started as a James Brown impersonator before moving late in his career, at 42, to a solo career.
Grant Hart of US power trio Husker Du.
Smooth baritone gentle giant US country singer Don Williams.
Melissa Bell sang with British R&B/electro Soul II Soul.
News of the death of Gord Downie, of The Tragically Hip, from brain cancer caused the Canadian PM to cry on TV.
Country and pop crossover champion, TV host, songwriter and ace session guitarist Glenn Campbell.
Pete Moore, bass singer and original member of The Miracles, co-writer and uncredited vocal arranger of their hits.
Darren “Razzle” Thornburgh, Melbourne nightclub identity and operator.
Butch Trucks, drummer and co-founder of the Allman Brothers died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Jazz fusion and rock guitarist and composer Allan Holdsworth also played with seminal outfits Tony Williams’ Lifetime, Tempest, Gong and Soft Machine.
J Geils (born John Warren Geils Jr) went to Boston to study mechanical engineering but ended up forming the J. Geils Band, best known in Australia for ‘Centerfold’ and ‘Freeze Frame’.
John Wetton, singer, technically-proficient bassist, and songwriter with King Crimson, Roxy Music, Asia, Uriah Heep (among others) succumbed in January to colon cancer.
Peter Overend Watts was bassist with Mott The Hoople (‘ll The Young Dudes’, written by David Bowie) and British Lions.
Anita Pallenberg, artist, model and actress, girlfriend of Brian Jones and then Keith Richards, was the inspiration of many of Richards’ songs and drew him to black magic.
Over a six decade career singer and pianist Buddy Greco (‘The Lady Is A Tramp’) recorded 60 albums and ran with the infamous Hollywood Rat Pack.
The “acrobat of scat,” Al Jarreau brought a personal flair to contemporary jazz pop, making his mark particularly in the early ’80s with his album Breakin’ Away. Nominated 20 times for the Grammys he’s the only singer to win a Grammy in three different categories, jazz, pop, and R&B.
Best known for his work with James Brown, Clyde Stubblefield laid the foundation for modern funk drumming on ‘Cold Sweat’, ‘Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud’ and ‘Sex Machine’. He’s also one of the most sampled drummers today.
American singer and songwriter Tommy Keene.
Jayhawks co-founder Caleb Palmiter after years of ill health.
Australian country music singer and songwriter Geoff Mack.
Peter Principle, bassist for Tuxedomoon.
Dave Rosser, guitarist with US ground breaking Afghan Whigs.
Robert Miles, IItalian electronic dance musician and record producer.
American jazz guitarist Larry Coryell.
Joni Sledge, of Sister Sledge of ‘We Are Family’ fame.
Maggie Roche, eldest of quirky New Jersey three sisters The Roches
Steve Wright, singer of Greg Kihn Band and writer of their two biggest hits ‘The Breakup Song’ and ‘Jeopardy’.
Peter Sarstedt, British singer songwriter who had a hit in the late ‘60s in Australia with ‘Where Do You Go To My Lovely’ and ‘Frozen Orange Juice’.
Paul O’Neil, composer, lyricist, producer, songwriter and founder of art-rock Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and producer for Aerosmith and Savatage.
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