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Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Benson Boone
Friday, March 8, 2024
Steve Lawrence
One of - perhaps the - last crooner of the mid-20th century, Steve Lawrence, died yesterday at the age of 88.
To me his name is synonymous with the partnership he had with his wife. He wasn't "Steve Lawrence;" he was "Steve Lawrence and Edie Gorme."
RIP
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Toby Keith
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Roger Whittaker
I try to restrict my memorial posts to public figures who had some impact on my life, even if its a secondary connection to a memory I hold dear.
Roger Whittaker, who died on the 13th at age 87, meets that definition by the slimmest of margins. The folk singers' name and face echo strongly in my memory but for the life of me I can't think why; was he popular with my parents or grandparents? Did I see a concert of his on TV? I'm drawing a blank.
None-the-less: RIP
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
Mitski Listening Party
Saturday, September 2, 2023
Jimmy Buffet
Monday, August 28, 2023
Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Sinead O'Connor
Sinead O'Connor, the Irish singer who seemed to court controversy as much as fame, has died at age 56 of yet to be disclosed causes.
By her own admission, drugs and mental illness ruled over much of her life, and that puts some of her actions in a different life. But at the height of her career, I doubt it was either that caused her to court drama - tearing up a picture of the Pope on SNL (and John Paul II no less!), getting into a beef with Frank Sinatra, etc.
Regardless: the power and sorrow in her cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" rights a lot of wrongs, it is a version that will still be played in the decades to come.
RIP
Friday, July 21, 2023
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett, the last of the great mid-20th century crooners, died today at 96.
Bennett's signature song may have been I Left My Heart in San Francisco, but that was but a miniscule part of a legacy that includes 70 - SEVENTY - albums and 19 competitive Grammy Awards.
Late in life, he drew in a new generation of fans as he mentored Amy Winehouse, befriended and worked with Lady Gaga, and became the oldest performer to have a number one record on the Billboard 200 at the age of 88.
What a life.
Thanks for letting us tag along Mr. Bennett.
RIP
Monday, July 17, 2023
Joe McIntyre at the Turner Hall Ballroom
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Tina Turner
On June 29th, 1997, Lisa and I attended a concert at the Marcus Amphitheater during Summerfest, Milwaukee's lakefront music festival. We watched a very pregnant Cyndi Lauper open the night, which was a nice bit of nostalgia, and then the great Tina Turner took the stage.
Here's the setlist from that day:
- Whatever You Want
- Do What You Do
- River Deep, Mountain High
- Missing You
- In Your Wildest Dreams
- GoldenEye
- Private Dancer
- We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)
- Let's Stay Together
- Undercover Agent for the Blues
- I Can't Stand the Rain
- Steamy Windows
- Givin' It Up for Your Love
- Better Be Good to Me
- Addicted to Love
- The Best
- What's Love Got to Do With It
- Proud Mary
- Nutbush City Limits
- On Silent Wings
- Something Beautiful Remains
- Ballad of Cleo & Joe
- I Drove All Night
- Time After Time
- You Don't Know
- Sisters of Avalon
- Money Changes Everything
Tina Turner died today at age 83. There's nothing I can write about her life that hasn't been documented better elsewhere: her rise to fame, her abusive marriage, her time in the entertainment wilderness, her magnificent comeback.
So I will merely say this: thank you for a heckuva show. RIP.
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot, the Canadian singer/songwriter who immortalized the doomed Great Lakes freighter Edmund Fitzgerald, died yesterday at age 84.
RIP, and may the crew of the Fitzgerald guide you home.
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Harry Belafonte
Continuing the rather somber tone of this site lately, Harry Belafonte - pop singer, actor, and activist - has died at age 96.
Rest in peace sir.
Monday, March 13, 2023
Victoria's Secret
I know Victoria's secret
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Apparently, it's Retirement Day
Thursday, January 19, 2023
David Crosby
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
New Music from Miley Cyrus
Thursday, January 12, 2023
Candlelight: A Tribute to Taylor Swift
And aside from a tired, introductory joke about Swift's exes (followed, ironically, by playing Lavender Haze, a song about get current six- year relationship), the show was a respectful and entertaining tribute.