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INTRODUCTION
This is the Rest in Playlist for Friday, April 26th, 2024, featuring recording artists from around the world who passed away recently.
This week we welcome another Rock and Roll Hall of Famer to the eternal stage, our headliner, Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues. Then it’s off to the Main Stage for some American rockabilly. We debut our new stage, The Streets, with rap from Britain and Norway, before heading to the Amphitheater for a double shot of organ recitals. We’ll also visit the House of Blues with a couple Americans, closing out the show in the Jazz Cellar in the USA and Germany.
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:
[15 Apr 2024] Eugene Wolfgramm, 57, American singer (The Jets).
When you think of successful Mormon siblings in the music business, you think of the Osmonds. Who knew the second most successful Mormon siblings, the Wolfgramms, were better known as the 80s pop group The Jets? Eugene Wolfgramm, who died on April 15th, sang for The Jets on their eponymous 1985 platinum debut album, propelled by this single that went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the Spring of ’86, this is “Crush on You.”
The Jets – Crush On You
Headliner:
[24 Apr 2024] Mike Pinder, 82, English Hall of Fame musician (The Moody Blues) and songwriter (“The Best Way to Travel“, “A Simple Game“).
The last surviving founding member of the Moody Blues passed away on April 24th. Mike Pinder co-founded The Moody Blues with Ray Thomas, Denny Laine, Clint Warwick and Graeme Edge in May 1964 and performed with them through 1978. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 with the group. Renowned for his pioneering work with electronic music in the ‘70s, in the ‘80s Pinder went to work for Atari working on music synthesis. Now, here’s the Moody Blues with “Question.”
The Moody Blues – Question
Main Stage:
[22 Apr 2024] Chan Romero, 82, American singer-songwriter (“Hippy Hippy Shake“) and guitarist.
We open the Main Stage with the first Latino to be inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, Chan Romero, who left us on April 22nd. At 15, he was inspired by Elvis singing “Hound Dog” to hitchhike to Los Angeles. Two years later, he wrote this next song, which caught the ear of an A&R man named Sonny Bono. By July of 1959, his song was such a hit that Paul McCartney started covering it in Europe with The Beatles. Here’s Romero’s smash hit, “Hippy Hippy Shake.”
Chan Romero – Hippy Hippy Shake
[09 Apr 2024] Sturgis Nikides, 66, American guitarist (Low Society, Cool It Reba), cancer.
Next up, we have a musician who was inspired at age 17 by seeing the Beatles perform at Shea Stadium. Guitarist Sturgis Nikides passed away on April 9th. He had played in John Cale’s band in the early ‘80s and in the ‘80s post-punk band, Cool it Reba. He then went on to record scores for music and television before returning to the stage in 2009 with Low Society, a band he formed with his wife, Mandy Lemons. Here they are with “You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down.”
Low Society – You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down
The Streets:
[21 Apr 2024] MC Duke, 58, British rapper.
We debut our new stage, The Streets, featuring the worldwide phenomenon of rap and hip-hop music. Our first rapper hails from Britain, known as MC Duke, who met his maker on April 21st. He was born Anthony Hilaire and adopted the Muslim name Kashif Adham as a model and dancer. Then, on a dare, he won a rap battle at an afterparty against the winner of that night’s emcee contest. Thus, MC Duke was born. Here he is with a familiar groove on “Homey Don’t Play That.”
MC Duke – Homey Don’t Play That
[06 Apr 2024] Dutty Dior, 27, Norwegian rapper.
Try and imagine the last country in the world you’d expect to hear a rap superstar. Did you think of the land of snow, socialism, and black death metal music… Norway? Our youngest performer this week is Norway’s Dutty Dior, who died on April 6th at just 27 years old. Together with another performer, Isah, Dutty Dior had this track called “Hello” on 2019 Norwegian charts for 38 weeks.
Isah, Dutty Dior – HALLO
The Amphitheater:
[23 Apr 2024] Samuel Kummer, 56, German organist (Frauenkirche, Dresden) and academic.
Now for a sharp turn from The Streets to The Amphitheater, where we feature a double shot of concert organists. We begin in Germany, where Samuel Kummer has died on April 23rd. He was an international performer from 1988 to 2022. Here he is performing a piece from Bach’s Organ Concerto in D Minor.
Samuel Kummer – Organ Concerto in D Minor, BWV 596: V. (Allegro) [Bach]
[03 Apr 2024] Kalevi Kiviniemi, 65, Finnish concert organist.
Our second organist hails from Finland. Kalevi Kiviniemi, who passed on April 3rd, gave more than 2,000 concerts, including frequent performances at Notre Dame in Paris, and recorded over 200 albums. Here he is performing Liszt’s Consolation No.6 in E-Major.
Kalevi Kiviniemi – Consolation No.6 in E-Major
House of Blues:
[07 Apr 2024] Clarence “Frogman” Henry, 87, American singer (“Ain’t Got No Home“, “(I Don’t Know Why) But I Do“, “You Always Hurt the One You Love“).
Welcome to the House of Blues Mr. Clarence “Frogman” Henry, who joined us on April 7th. He started playing piano as a child and landed his first band gig in 1952 at age 15. In 1955, he recorded our next tune and took it to #20 on the pop charts. By 1964, he was opening for The Beatles on 18 shows of their North American tour. He went on to live his life playing in New Orleans, marrying and divorcing seven times. Here’s “Frogman” Henry with “Ain’t Got No Home.”
Clarence “Frogman” Henry – Ain’t Got No Home
[04 Apr 2024] Keith LeBlanc, 69, American drummer (Little Axe, Tackhead) and music producer (“No Sell Out“).
Next in The Streets we have a drummer who recorded the beats you heard on the Grandmaster Flash song “The Message” that is this segment’s intro. Keith LeBlanc, who expired on April 4th, counted Ringo Starr as his drumming inspiration at age 10, and was also a producer for the Sugarhill Gang. LeBlanc also played in the bands Tackhead and this group, Little Axe, performing the song “Down to the Valley.”
Little Axe – Down To The Valley
The Jazz Cellar:
[14 Apr 2024] Calvin Keys, 82, American jazz guitarist, stroke.
Opening the Jazz Cellar we welcome American guitarist Calvin Keys, who left us on April 14th. Keys performed with numerous jazz and R&B artists, including Ahmad Jamal and Ray Charles, as well as recorded several albums for Black Jazz Records. Here he is with his own composition, “Shawn-Neeq.”
Calvin Keys – Shawn-Neeq
[07 Apr 2024] Joe Viera, 91, German jazz saxophonist and educator, founder of the Internationale Jazzwoche Burghausen.
We saved our oldest performer for last with Germany’s Joe Viera, a saxophonist who passed away on April 7th at the age of 91. In 1970 he founded the German jazz festival Internationale Jazzwoche Burghausen and directed it for more than 50 years. He also taught at two universities from 1971 to 1998. Here he is with the Joe Viera Sextet performing “Song for my Father.”
Joe Viera Sextet – Song For My Father
Encore:
[24 Apr 2024] Mike Pinder, 82, English Hall of Fame musician (The Moody Blues) and songwriter (“The Best Way to Travel“, “A Simple Game“).
Mike Pinder from the Moody Blues returns for an encore. Pinder was among the first to record with the Mellotron, an early 60s mechanical synthesizer that used keyboard keys to play from strips of recorded magnetic tape. Pinder’s mechanical background allowed him to fix the notoriously unreliable instrument on tour, and its lush string sounds became a staple of prog rock bands like King Crimson, Yes, and Genesis. Here’s the Moody Blues with “I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band).”
The Moody Blues – I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)
Closing:
And that’s the Rest in Playlist for Friday, April 26th, 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.
