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INTRODUCTION
This is the Rest in Playlist for Friday, June 30th, 2023. I’ve been on vacation for a few weeks, but the Reaper never takes a holiday, so tonight we’ll catch up on many of the musical artists who passed away this month. We’ve got the original Girl from Ipanema joining us tonight, two American bluegrass legends, rock guitarists and drummers from England, Australia, and America, and our headliner, Songwriting Hall-of-Famer Cynthia Weil. But first, let’s kick things off with our opening act.
Opening Act:
[13 Jun 2023] Blackie Onassis, 57, American rock drummer (Urge Overkill).
Our Opening Act this week is a drummer with a great stage name. Born John Rowan, he took the name Blackie Onassis when he replaced Jack Watt in the band Urge Overkill. The band hit its stride in the mid-90s when their cover of this Neil Diamond Song was included on the Pulp Fiction movie soundtrack. Rowan died on June 13th at the age of 57. Here’s “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon.”
Urge Overkill – Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon
Headliner:
[01 Jun 2023] Cynthia Weil, 82, American Hall of Fame songwriter (“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’“, “Here You Come Again“, “Somewhere Out There“), Grammy winner (1988).
Our Headliner this week is a songwriter inducted into the Rock and Roll and the Songwriters Halls of Fame, the great Cynthia Weil, who passed on June 1st. Along with her husband Barry Mann, the two penned dozens of hits, from “Kicks” by The Raiders to “On Broadway” by The Drifters, as well as numerous movie soundtrack songs. Here’s the King of Rock’n’Roll covering her hit for The Righteous Brothers, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.”
Elvis Presley – You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling
Main Stage:
[05 Jun 2023] Astrud Gilberto, 83, Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer (“The Girl from Ipanema“), Grammy winner (1965).
Opening the Main Stage this week is a Brazilian who took the jazz world by storm in 1965 with her Grammy-winning collaboration with saxophonist Stan Getz. Astrud Gilberto was just 23 when she sang this bossa nova song used as the elevator music cliché in movies like The Blues Brothers. She passed away on June 5th at the age of 83. Here is Astrud Gilberto with Stan Getz on “The Girl From Ipanema.”
Astrud Gilberto – The Girl From Ipanema
[09 Jun 2023] Otis Grand, 73, Lebanese-born American blues musician.
Next up, we have a blues guitarist born in Beirut, Lebanon who made his home in the United Kingdom and the United States. Otis Grand met his maker on June 9th at the age of 73. He had been voted the Best UK Blues Guitarist seven years running and that talent is showcased on this track, “Guitars on Fire,” featuring his collaboration with Anson Funderburgh and Debbie Davies.
Otis Grand – Guitars On Fire
[18 Jun 2023] Big Pokey, 48, American rapper (Screwed Up Click, “Sittin’ Sidewayz“).
We close the Main Stage today with some rap. A legend in the Houston, Texas, rap game, Big Pokey, whose birth name is Milton Powell, died on June 18th after passing out on stage. Here’s a track featuring Big Mike and Mr. 3-2, this is Big Pokey with “The Way I Live.”
Big Pokey – The Way I Live (Feat. Big Mike & Mr. 3-2)
Country Bunker:
[27 Jun 2023] Bobby Osborne, 91, American bluegrass musician (Osborne Brothers).
This week in the Bunker we have two bluegrass greats from two great bluegrass duos joining the Great Gig in the Sky. First up, we have 91-year-old Bobby Osborne of The Osborne Brothers, not to be confused with The Brothers Osborne, who are a modern country act. Bobby & his brother Sonny, who passed in 2021, were members of the Grand Ole Opry. Here they are with “The Wabash Cannonball.”
The Osborne Brothers – Wabash Cannonball
[23 Jun 2023] Jesse McReynolds, 93, American bluegrass musician (Jim & Jesse).
Next up is bluegrass great Jesse McReynolds, one half of the duo Jim & Jesse. Brother Jim passed away in 2002 and Jesse left us on June 23rd at the age of 93. Jim & Jesse were also members of the Grand Ole Opry and starred on the Suwannee River Jamboree broadcast throughout the southeastern United States in the 50s and 60s. Here they are with a bluegrass cover of the Chuck Berry hit, “Maybelline.”
Jim & Jesse – Maybelline
[19 Jun 2023] Max Morath, 96, American ragtime pianist, television presenter and author.
The oldest performer in the Reaper’s Rotation this week is 96-year-old Max Morath, a pianist, television host, and author who takes us back a century to the era of ragtime music. If you’re Gen-X or Boomer, however, this next track makes you think of a cartoon frog. Morath passed away on June 19th. Here he is with the classic, “Hello, Ma Baby.”
Max Morath – Hello, Ma Baby
Mosh Pit:
[18 Jun 2023] Teresa Taylor, 60, American drummer (Butthole Surfers) and actress (Slacker), lung disease.
Opening the Mosh Pit this week we have a woman with two slightly not-safe-for-work credits. As an actress, Teresa Taylor was the “Madonna pap smear pusher” in the Richard Linklater film Slacker. As a drummer called Teresa Nervosa, she was a member of the Texas punk band “Butthole Surfers.” Taylor passed away on June 18th at the age of 60. Here she is with the Surfer’s cover of “American Women.”
Butthole Surfers – American Women
[15 Jun 2023] Dan Lardner, American singer and guitarist (QTY).
Next, we have New York singer/guitarist Dan Lardner, a member of the band QTY, who passed on June 15th. The band formed in 2014 and by 2017 was making waves as the next big New York pop-guitar band in the mold of The Velvet Underground and The Strokes. Here is QTY with the track, Rodeo.”
QTY – Rodeo
[19 Jun 2023] Ryan Siew, 26, Australian guitarist (Polaris).
Closing the Mosh Pit we head Down Under for an Australian band and the youngest artist on this week’s set. Ryan Siew was just 26 years old when he passed away on June 19th. He was lead guitarist for the metalcore band Polaris, which received numerous Australian music awards. Here is Polaris with “The Remedy.”
Polaris – The Remedy
Festival Stage:
[06 Jun 2023] Tony McPhee, 79, English guitarist (The Groundhogs), complications from a fall.
Our Festival Stage this week takes on a decidedly English tone. We open up with Tony McPhee, guitarist for The Groundhogs, who died of complications from a fall on June 6th at the age of 79. Known as one of the UK’s foundational blues-rock bands, they opened for John Lee Hooker and Champion Jack Dupree throughout the 60s. Here are The Groundhogs with “Cherry Red.”
The Groundhogs – Cherry Red
[20 Jun 2023] John Waddington, 63, English guitarist (The Pop Group, Maximum Joy, Perfume).
Closing our Festival Stage we have John Waddington, another English guitarist. Known for his work in The Pop Group, Maximum Joy, and Perfume, Waddington died on June 20th at the age of 63. We played “She is Beyond Good and Evil” back in April when his bandmate Mark Stewart passed on, so here’s another track from The Pop Group called “We Are All Prostitutes.”
The Pop Group – We Are All Prostitutes
Encore:
[01 Jun 2023] Cynthia Weil, 82, American Hall of Fame songwriter (“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’“, “Here You Come Again“, “Somewhere Out There“), Grammy winner (1988).
We bring back our headliner, songwriter Cynthia Weil, for a couple of her best-known hits. First up, a talented songwriter in her own right, Miss Dolly Parton, performing Weil’s composition, “Here You Come Again.”
Dolly Parton – Here You Come Again
And finally, Cynthia Weil left an indelible stamp on movies with her soundtrack hits. This is James Ingram & Linda Ronstadt performing “Somewhere Out There” from An American Tail.
James Ingram & Linda Ronstadt – Somewhere Out There
Closing
And that’s the Rest in Playlist for Friday, June 30th, 2023, featuring musical artists who passed away recently. Join us here next week for another tribute to the artists joining the Great Gig in the Sky. For Rest in Playlist, I’m “Radical” Russ Belville reminding you to seize the day, it may be your last.
