Musician David Bowie was the biggest name in the music business to pass away recently. His death at 69 prompted extraordinary media coverage across the world. Bowie was more than just a rock musician, he was also a pop culture icon. Like many people, Bowie was part of the musical landscape I grew up in, from his art/glam rock early days when I was at school to his Thin White Duke days when I was at university, Bowie was always there as part of the sonic furniture.
But the passing of Bowie in January and other major music stars like Lemmy of Motorhead (in the last week of December) has overshadowed those less famous, although the blues legend B.B. King did get a good send-off, especially from those younger musicians he influenced.
I wrote about the passing of New Orleans' pianist, producer and songwriter Allen Toussaint last year. I hope that many of you have now had the chance to see him in action on YouTube and if that has piqued your interest, check out the two-CD compilation the Deesu Records Story (Fuel 200 Records, USA) which showcases his work with fellow producer Marshall Sehorn on the Deesu sub-label they created. The label released a bagful of hard-edged soul singles in the mid- to late-60s from artists such as Willie West, Joe Haywood, Warren Lee and Maurice Williams.
Toussaint had a very successful solo period later in his career and as a result people have tended to overlook his amazing gifts as a writer of hook-laden soul songs (often with his rolling piano featuring somewhere in the music) and producer of dance floor-filling soul (and in his earlier days R&B) hits. The compilation is worth it for the classic hits Oo Poo Pah Do (Part 1) by Maurice Williams and Hello Mama by Willie West.
Many years ago, I wrote about a unique gospel/soul/R&B group called The Holmes Brothers, a trio of musicians, founded by Holmes brothers Sherman and Wendell and joined later by drummer Popsy Dixon. Just recently the guitarist, pianist and singer Wendell died, while drummer Popsy passed away in January 2015.
The band released 12 albums between 1990 and 2014, including the seminal 1992 release Jubilation on Peter Gabriel's "world music" label Real World Records, which includes a wonderful collaboration with the Tanzanian band leader Remmy Ongala (who died in 2012 and was originally from the Congo region) on a version of the gospel standard Will The Circle Be Unbroken, a song that I never tire of hearing.
The Holmes Brothers had the uncanny knack of sounding both ancient and modern, somehow managing to twist a gospel song like the one above into a compelling blues-African guitar workout. They might have gone but the Brothers have left a mighty legacy.
Funk fans will, of course, be mourning the passing of Earth, Wind and Fire founder Maurice White, who died last Thursday. White was the main songwriter and singer (with Philip Bailey) of EWF, a band that posted sales of some 90 million records. As a drummer, in his early days he played on many sessions at Chess Records, including those for Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Etta James and Ramsey Lewis, who he later joined in the Ramsey Lewis Trio.
He founded EWF in the late 60s but the band really took off in the early 70s with a series of hit singles. I have to say that at that time I much preferred the harder funk of Parliament and Funkadelic, James Brown or Sly Stone but one thing I really liked EWF for was the band's brass section, the full-on sound of those legendary Phenix Horns.
White is often credited with introducing the kalimba to mainstream popular music, and that may well be the case but I think he should be given more credit for the wonderful brass section he developed, which I think was only bettered by the Fred Wesley's famous horn section for James Brown's band.
There are plenty of album samples and music videos of EWF available and lots of compilations to choose from if you want to dip into the band's music.
It is sad that so many great musicians have passed away and moved on to the great stage in the sky but they have left us, in many cases, with a priceless musical legacy. And that is something really worth celebrating.
This columnist can be contacted at clewley.john@gmail.com.
