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INTRODUCTION
This is the Rest in Playlist for Friday, March 8th, 2024, featuring recording artists from around the world who passed away recently. We’ve got a loaded stage this week, headlined by Vegas nightclub legend Steve Lawrence. We’ll start you off with some British Island pop. Then we’ve got Czechoslovakia’s funkiest drummer, Cameroon’s funkiest drummer, and one of modern Southern Rock’s best drummers. We’ve also got some blues, jazz, and reggae, as well as woman who was American Idol’s vocal coach. There’s even a bit of music from Panama and Italy in this week’s Reaper’s Rotation. Get ready to expand your musical horizons on this global jam session from the great beyond. Let’s kick things off with our Opening Act.
Opening Act:
[29 Feb 2024] Johnny Gentle, 87, British pop singer.
John Askew, known as Johnny Gentle, passed away on February 29th. He was a British pop singer best remembered for having briefly toured Scotland in 1960 with The Silver Beetles, comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Tommy Moore. Obviously, three of those fellows went on to much greater fame than old Johnny Gentle, who changed his stage name to Darren Young in 1962, then joined the group The Viscounts in 1964. Here he is with a single from 1959 called “Milk From the Coconut.”
Johnny Gentle – Milk From the Coconut
Headliner:
[07 Mar 2024] Steve Lawrence, 88, American singer (“Go Away Little Girl“, “Footsteps“) and actor (The Blues Brothers), complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz) was best known for his singing duo with his wife, Eydie Gormé. They appeared on Steve Allen’s Tonight Show back in 1954 and continued performing together until her retirement in 2009. He was also an actor, appearing on many TV shows like The Carol Burnett Show. Steve Lawrence left us on March 7th, outliving Eydie by almost eleven years. Here’s his number one hit from 1962, written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King, called “Go Away Little Girl.”
Steve Lawrence – Go Away, Little Girl
Main Stage:
[01 Mar 2024] Ernest Berger, 73, Czechoslovak-born British drummer (Heatwave), cardiac arrest.
For years, I’ve found the introductory drum, bass, and harp piece from the 1977 song “Boogie Nights” to be one of the jazziest bits of disco ever. Today we welcome Czechoslovakia’s Ernest Berger to the stage, drummer for the multinational band Heatwave, with other members from America, England, Switzerland, and Jamaica, whose number two hit was kept out of the top spot by Debbie Boone. Berger died of a heart attack on March 1st. Now let’s dig this eternal groove he laid down.
Heatwave – Boogie Nights
[02 Mar 2024] Jim Beard, 63, American keyboardist (Steely Dan).
Our next performer is an American keyboardist who worked in the studio and on stage with Victor Bailey, Steve Vai, John Mayer, Walter Becker, Esperanza Spalding, Steely Dan, Meshell Ndegeocello, Al Jarreau, Dizzy Gillespie. David Sanborn, Béla Fleck, Larry Carlton, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Wayne Shorter, and Pat Metheny. In other words, Jim Beard, who died on March 2nd, was a certified bad-ass. Here’s just one example of his immense chops on this recording with The Brecker Brothers called “Some Skunk Funk.”
The Brecker Brothers – Some Skunk Funk
[03 Mar 2024] Brit Turner, 57, American drummer (Blackberry Smoke), glioblastoma.
Closing the Main Stage we welcome Blackberry Smoke, an Atlanta band that became the first independently released artist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album charts in modern history. The rhythm section consisted of brothers Richard Turner on bass and our latest drummer to join the Great Gig in the Sky, Brit Turner, who passed away on March 3rd from brain cancer. This is Blackberry Smoke with “Little Bit Crazy.”
Blackberry Smoke – Little Bit Crazy
House of Blues:
[02 Mar 2024] W. C. Clark, 84, American blues musician.
Wesley Curley “W.C.” Clark was known as the “Godfather of Austin Blues” for his influence on the Austin, Texas blues scene since the late 1960s. He played with brothers Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan as they were coming up, and shared the stage with James Brown, B.B. King, Albert King, Freddy King, Sam and Dave, Elvin Bishop, and Bobby Blue Bland. Clark met his maker on March 2nd. Here he is performing “Okie Dokie Stomp.”
W.C. Clark – Okie Dokee Stomp
[04 Mar 2024] B. B. Seaton, 79, Jamaican singer (The Gaylads), songwriter and record producer.
Harris Lloyd “B. B.” Seaton was a Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, and record producer who was a member of The Gaylads, The Astronauts, Conscious Minds, and The Messengers. He also had a long solo career dating back to 1960. Seaton was the first reggae artist to be signed by Virgin Records and continued to perform into the 2010s as a member of The Gaylads. Seaton left us on March 4th. This is The Gaylads with “It’s All in the Game.”
The Gaylads – It’s All in the Game
The Amphitheater:
[05 Mar 2024] Debra Byrd, 72, American singer and vocal coach.
Debra Byrd, who joined the choir invisible on March 5th, was an American vocalist who worked with Barry Manilow, appeared on Broadway, and served as the head vocal coach for American Idol and Canadian Idol for ten and six seasons, respectively. This is from Barry Manilow’s Duets album, a track with Debra Byrd called “Let Me Be Your Wings.”
Barry Manilow – Let Me Be Your Wings (With Debra Byrd)
[05 Mar 2024] Linda Balgord, 64, American stage actress and singer (The Pirate Queen, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera).
Linda Balgord was an American Broadway actress and singer who passed away on March 5th. She was most notable for playing Norma Desmond in the 1996 United States tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Sunset Boulevard, being the last actress to portray Grizabella in the original Broadway run of Cats, and originating the role of Queen Elizabeth I in The Pirate Queen on Broadway. She also played the role of Madame Giry in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, and appeared in the original Broadway cast of Death Takes a Holiday, from which we’ll play this cut, “Something’s Happened.”
Original Broadway Cast of ‘Death Takes a Holiday’ – Something’s Happened
Festival Stage:
[07 Mar 2024] Pedro Altamiranda, 88, Panamanian singer.
Pedro Altamiranda Félez, or Pedrito Altamiranda, was a Panamanian singer and composer known for his Carnival songs. Altamiranda sang about the culture and politics of Panama using humorous Panamanian slang. Many of his political songs have been controversial, some of them censored by different governments including the Manuel Noriega dictatorship. Altamiranda started writing songs in 1979 and continued performing until his death this week on March 7th. Here he is with “El Buhonero” or “The Peddler.”
Pedrito Altamiranda – El Buhonero
[03 Mar 2024] Oscar Ghiglia, 85, Italian classical guitarist.
Oscar Alberto Ghiglia was an Italian classical guitarist who left for the great hereafter on March 3rd. He was a student of the great Andrés Segovia and founded the Guitar Department at the Aspen Music Festival. Besides touring as a solo performer, Oscar Ghiglia played and recorded with a great number of singers, soloists, and quartets. This is Oscar Ghiglia performing “Monpou.”
Oscar Ghiglia – Monpou
[03 Mar 2024] Félix Sabal Lecco, 64–65, Cameroonian drummer.
Our final drummer for the week hails from Cameroon, the son of a diplomat who’d been the nation’s ambassador to Italy and France. Félix Sabal Lecco, who died on March 3rd, went on to play with Jeff Beck, Prince, Peter Gabriel, Herbie Hancock, Snoop Dogg, Janet Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, and Paul Simon, to name a few. This is a track from French singer Régine Lapassion that features Lecco, called “Ou aller?”
Régine Lapassion – Ou aller? (feat. Félix Sabal Lecco)
Encore:
[07 Mar 2024] Steve Lawrence, 88, American singer (“Go Away Little Girl“, “Footsteps“) and actor (The Blues Brothers), complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Steve Lawrence returns to the stage to close out our show. He’ll always hold a special place in my heart for his portrayal of Maury Sline, the agent who books the Blues Brothers into the Palace Hotel Ballroom in Lake Wazupamani. Without Sline, they never could have paid the taxes on the orphanage. Here’s Lawrence’s #7 hit from 1960, featuring his wife Eydie singing background vocals, a song written by Barry Mann and Hank Hunter called “Footsteps.”
Steve Lawrence – Footsteps
Closing:
And that’s the Rest in Playlist for Friday, March 8th, 2024. Join us here next week as we chronicle the latest musicians, singers, and songwriters to join the Great Gig in the Sky. Catch up on every year of Rest in Playlist back to 2016 on Spotify and RadicalRuss.com. For Rest in Playlist, I’m “Radical” Russ Belville reminding you to seize the day, it may be your last.
