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INTRODUCTION
This is the Rest in Playlist for Friday, May 26th, 2023, featuring recording artists from around the world who passed away recently. This week the Reaper and I have decided to change up the format. Rather than play the artists who passed the week prior, we’re going to keep the Rest in Playlist as fresh as possible by playing artists who the Reaper recruited for the afterlife’s greatest jam session as recently as yesterday. That means our Headliner this week is the incomparable Queen of Rock & Roll, Tina Turner, and we have almost two weeks’ worth of artists to get to. So, let’s kick things off with our Opening Act.
Opening Act:
[23 May 2023] Sheldon Reynolds, 63, American guitarist (Sun, Commodores, Earth, Wind & Fire).
Our opening act is an American who passed on May 23rd. Sheldon Reynolds was born in 1959 and was considered a child prodigy on guitar. He began his career with Millie Jackson, before joining the R&B group Sun. He then joined the post-Lionel Richie Commodores, then spent the late 80s and 90s with Earth, Wind & Fire. Here he is on their track, “Sunday Morning,” which earned him a Grammy nomination.
Earth, Wind & Fire – Sunday Morning
Headliner:
[24 May 2023] Tina Turner, 83, American-born Swiss Hall of Fame singer (“River Deep – Mountain High“, “What’s Love Got to Do with It“) and actress (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome), eight-time Grammy winner.
You can tell the Grim Reaper needed a show-stealer, so he picked simply the best on May 24th. What can be said about the legendary Tina Turner that you haven’t heard all week? A two-time Rock Hall of Famer and twelve-time Grammy winner, she was born Anna Mae Bullock, picking cotton with her family in this little rural Tennessee town that she and her former husband Ike Turner made famous in 1973.
Ike & Tina Turner – Nutbush City Limits
Main Stage:
[14 May 2023] John Giblin, 71, Scottish bass player.
Today’s Main Stage is all about that bass. First up, a Scottish studio bass player who has recorded with Peter Gabriel, John Martyn, Elkie Brooks, Annie Lennox, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, and Simple Minds. John Giblin passed away on May 14th, and while you won’t hear him immediately on his longtime friend Phil Collins’ smash hit “In the Air Tonight,” his bass line is what brings the song home in the end.
Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight
[19 May 2023] Andy Rourke, 59, English bassist (The Smiths), pancreatic cancer.
Our next bass player at age 59 is our youngest performer on this week’s Reaper’s Rotation. Andy Rourke of England passed away on May 19th. He worked with Sinead O’Connor, The Pretenders, and Morrissey, but he was best known as the bass player for the band The Smiths. Having survived a terrible addiction to heroin, Rourke died this week from pancreatic cancer. This is The Smiths with “How Soon is Now?”
The Smiths – How Soon Is Now?
[19 May 2023] Pete Brown, 82, English poet, lyricist (“I Feel Free“, “Sunshine of Your Love“, “White Room“) and singer.
We close the Main Stage with an English poet and lyricist best known for the hits he penned for Cream. Born on Christmas Day 1940, Pete Brown also died on May 19th, and was considered one of the forefathers of the British Beat Poetry movement of the 1960s. He also recorded music with a couple of his own bands, producing albums from 1969 to 2003. Here’s one of the songs he co-wrote with Jack Bruce.
Cream – White Room
Festival Stage:
[16 May 2023] Lester Sterling, 87, Jamaican saxophonist (The Skatalites, Byron Lee and the Dragonaires).
Today the Festival Stage is all about the saxophone. We begin with Lester Sterling, also known as Mr. Versatile, who was a Jamaican trumpet and saxophone player. Sterling performed Byron Lee & His Dragonaires and was a founding member of The Skatalites. With Sterling’s passing on May 16th, Doreen Shaffer is the last surviving member of that group, here performing “Swing Easy.”
The Skatalites – Swing Easy
[14 May 2023] Bernt Rosengren, 85, Swedish jazz tenor saxophonist.
Our next saxophonist pivots us from reggae to jazz. Born on Christmas Eve, 1947, Bernt Rosengren was an award-winning Swedish jazz tenor saxophonist with a career spanning over four decades. After performing with numerous bands in the 60s, he formed his own big band in the 70s. Here he is from duet album with Arne Domnerus performing “St. Louis Blues.”
Arne Domnerus & Bernt Rosengren – St Louis Blues
[23 May 2023] Floyd Newman, 91, American saxophonist (The Mar-Keys, The Memphis Horns).
Our oldest performer at the Great Gig in the Sky this week takes the saxophone from jazz to R&B. Floyd Newman died on May 23rd and was the baritone sax man for Stax Records as a member of the Memphis Horns and The Mar-Keys. He performed with Otis Redding, BB King, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, and here with Wilson Pickett, providing that bottom end on his classic “In the Midnight Hour.”
Wilson Pickett – In the Midnight Hour
Mosh Pit:
[23 May 2023] Mark Adams, 64, American metal bassist (Saint Vitus), complications from Parkinson’s disease.
We turn it up to eleven now in the Mosh Pit with heavy metal, some redundancy, and more bass players. We start with Mark Adams, who passed away on May 23rd. Adams played bass for the band Saint Vitus, which was formed in 1978. Widely considered the one of the progenitors of doom metal, here they are with their eponymous track, “Saint Vitus.”
Saint Vitus – Saint Vitus
[22 May 2023] Kirk Arrington, 61, American drummer (Metal Church).
Next, we have drummer Kirk Arrington, who passed away on May 22nd. Arrington was one of the founding members of the group Metal Church in 1980, which became one of the integral bands of the Seattle metal scene. This track is from their self-title 1984 debut album “Metal Church” and it’s called, you guessed it, “Metal Church.”
Metal Church – Metal Church
[17 May 2023] Algy Ward, 63, English heavy metal bassist (Tank, The Damned, The Saints).
Our final bit of raucous rhythm section redundancy comes via Algy Ward, the British heavy metal bassist with the bands Tank, The Damned, and The Saints. Ward passed on May 17th and considered the late Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead to be his biggest influence. Here he is with The Damned, from the album Damned Damned Damned, with “Neat Neat Neat”… is there an echo in here?
The Damned – Neat Neat Neat
Encore:
[24 May 2023] Tina Turner, 83, American-born Swiss Hall of Fame singer (“River Deep – Mountain High“, “What’s Love Got to Do with It“) and actress (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome), eight-time Grammy winner.
We close this week once again with the amazing Tina Turner. From humble sharecropper beginnings, she forced her way onto Ike Turner’s stage in the 60s, became a star with him in the 70s, left him and became a superstar in the 80s, and was beloved around the world by superstars and ordinary folks alike. Here she is with two of her superstar friends, Cher and Elton John, with her iconic version of CCR’s “Proud Mary.”
Tina Turner, Elton John & Cher – Proud Mary
Closing
And that’s the Rest in Playlist for Friday, May 26th, 2023, featuring artists who passed away last week. Join us here next week for a tribute to the artists who have passed this week. For Rest in Playlist, I’m “Radical” Russ Belville reminding you to seize the day, it may be your last.
