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Quite possibly the greatest and most gifted record producer of the age.
Definitely irreplaceable…
From the many, many obituaries and retrospectives published since his passing, this piece from the Guardian seems to me to illustrate best the sheer breadth and depth of Quincy’s talent.
Rest in peace.
The British thespian profession has always punched well above it’s weight – from the secularisation of drama that followed the Reformation onward. This extraordinary tide has shown no sign of abating; long may the trend continue.
In recent times the Brits have furnished the dramatic universe with an abundance of fierce talents, particularly when it comes to those great ladies of the dramatic arts. We have been blessed with more than our fair share of ‘national treasures’.
Sadly, this weekend saw the passing of one of the greatest of those treasures – the brilliant Dame Maggie Smith. I saw her first many decades back in the film adaptation of the Muriel Spark novel – ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie‘ – in which she was, naturally, excellent. That has been the case, of course, with pretty much everything to which she turned her hand.
In the few days since her passing much has already been written in her praise. Rather than re-hash any of these eulogies here I recommend that you search out some such. The Guardian obit would be a good place to start.
Dame Maggie Smith will surely be most sadly missed by us all.
Rest in peace.
It has been a sad year for those who are involved with… or who have an interest in… or who are passionate about… the business of music. Yet another of our creative giants has succumbed to age and/or illness. Canadians, naturally, need little encouragement to celebrate one of their own greats; in this case the inimitable Robbie Robertson, who sadly passed away yesterday at the age of 80.
We were, last night, at this year’s penultimate Music in the Park in Brentwood Bay and the evening’s act – local cover band, ‘Shaky Ground’ – were moved to knock out a slightly chaotic (and definitely un-rehearsed!) rendition of ‘The Weight‘ as a tribute. It seemed apposite in its sincerity (much as did the version of “Imagine” unexpectedly rendered by Freddie Mercury and Brian May of Queen at Wembley Arena in London all those years ago the night after John Lennon was shot in New York).
I posted to this blog back in 2016 a piece entitled “The Boy(s) in the Band“ – having attended an audience with Robertson at the Farquhar Auditorium at the University of Victoria on the occasion of the publication of the first volume of his autobiography – ‘Testimony‘. If you should not be Canadian – and perhaps thus less likely to know the detail of Robertson’s background – that piece might offer a useful starting point. I also strongly recommend Daniel Roher’s excellent documentary – “Once Were Brothers” – which can be found on one or more of the usual streaming services.
In another of my earlier posts – from even longer ago, back in 2013 – I made reference to Robbie’s wonderful album – “Music for the Native Americans“, the which draws on his First Nations heritage. This I also strongly recommend.
Rest in peace.
Tags: Loss, Memories, Music, RIP, Robbie Robertson
There is something particularly touching about the considerable flood of obituaries, epitaphs and opinion pieces that have followed the news of the extremely sad passing of Sinead O’Connor. There is also a touch of irony in the fact that – for much of her career – she gave the strong impression that she would be only too happy should the spotlight not be upon her. She was clearly most uncomfortable with the whole fame and recognition side of the business, professing not unreasonably that she was a protest singer rather a ‘pop star’ (whatever that may be taken to be).
In pondering the obvious strength of feeling concerning this most talented Irish singer one should perhaps look a little beyond her huge gift and wonder why it was that we are so attracted to someone who so clearly struggled with elements of her life. Could it be that – fascinated as many are at the whole ‘celebrity’ aspect of the ‘business of show’ – even more of us are drawn to those who struggle with the messiness of their own existences. Mayhap they – in some way – speak to and for us all in their obvious distress?
I need say no more. The press and the InterWebNet are full of the loving eulogies of those who really knew her.
Like many other ‘average Joes’ I came to Sinead’s work through the sublime “No-one Compares 2 U” and the excellent album “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got”. If my memory can be relied upon (!) I saw her perform just once – when she was briefly a part of Peter Gabriel’s “Secret World” tour back in 1992 (or thereabouts). I am very glad that I did so.
Rest in peace.
Tags: Loss, Music, Sinead O'Connor
Very sad to hear of the passing of Glenda Jackson. The United Kingdom has – during my lifetime – produced such an extraordinary run of incredibly talented actors and actresses that sometimes the details of individual careers can be taken a little for granted. Glenda Jackson was one of the brightest of acting talents back in the 60s and 70s and it is all the more to her credit that she moved on from acting to a career in politics – believing fervently as she did that she could make a difference and do some good for the less fortunate subjects of the UK.
It is a great shame that not of all those who entered politics during this period (and subsequently) have held such high moral standards and noble intentions – or behaved with such integrity.
Tags: Glenda Jackson, Loss, Politics, RIP, Theatre
I mentioned only the other day in this forum that it was deeply saddening that we seem in these times to be losing so many of those giants upon whose shoulders sit the artists, thinkers, creators, sports-folk and even (dare I say it) politicians to whom we turn in these troubled times.
Now another has gone – and this time one for whom the soubriquet ‘legend’ is surely inarguable.
I am not going to enumerate the many classics that Burt Bacharach penned throughout his lengthy career, not tell you any of the details of his life. That is for the hoards of obituarists who have already covered many miles of paper with appropriately glowing eulogies.
I am instead simply going to recall the one occasion on which The Girl and I saw Bacharach in concert – in Pergugia at the Jazz Festival. This was during his eightieth year; fourteen years ago. His voice had by that time passed its best and he very sensibly employed three different singers to cover his beautiful songs, whilst he played piano and led the orchestra.
To our surprise he started with a ten-minute medley of some of his greatest hits. Having finished this he set out on another. We observed to each other that it was a rare star who thus disposed of his major hits within the first twenty minutes of a show.
Bacharach simply played on… giving us a further two and a half hours of greatest hits. What a catalog – and what a fantastic show! The sentiment that came most frequently into our minds during this magical concert was: “I didn’t know he wrote that!”.
Well – he did!
We will not see his like again.
Rest in Peace
Tags: Burt Bacharach, Loss, Music, RIP
Such is life… and death.
This week two huge figures in my personal pantheon have gone beyond this place:
David Crosby was a major musical figure for much of my life and, whereas CSN(Y) were maybe not quite in my premier league of immortal bands, I found myself coming back to them again and again as the years passed. What drew me in were, of course, the sublime harmonies… to which I still routinely refer whenever I have a harmony of my own to write. For this – and for the bittersweet songs – much respect. ‘Helplessly Hoping’ indeed…
Jonathan Raban was a year younger than was Crosby but, I suspect, hailed from a very different world. The Guardian’s obituary starts:
“The British author, who lived in the US, blended memoir and travelogue in books that were often inspired by the sea”
Another Guardian piece is entitled:
“Jonathan Raban: his travel writing could pierce your heart”
What’s not to like?
Raban’s best book – for my money – is “A Passage to Juneau“. What appears on the surface to be an account of a sailing trip from Seattle, up the Inside Passage to Juneau in Alaska, is actually a disquisition on the death of Raban’s father and the slow-motion wreck of his own marriage. It is also a revelatory and sublime introduction to the Pacific Northwest – and thus not to be missed.
David Crosby – Jonathan Raban – Rest in Peace…
Very sad to hear of the passing of yet another rock legend – the great Jeff Beck. Along with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, Jeff was one of those towering figures who defined what was possible on the electric guitar back in the late 60s/70s/80s and beyond. If it feels as though he has somehow always been there then that is because – for my generation – he always was. Even if at times he was not directly in the spotlight (the music business being the fickle creature that it is) he continued recording, playing and touring until the summer of last year.
Many obituaries and retrospectives have appeared in a broad cross-section of the media and I commend such to any gentle readers unfamiliar with the great man’s oeuvre.
Rest in Peace
The Chanteuse and I were greatly saddened to hear over the weekend of the passing of Troy Cook. Troy was a creative force who was a writer, artist and musician and was born, lived and worked in Fernie, BC.
Earlier this year, in spite of his illness, Troy agreed to create the artwork for the recent Anam Danu album – ‘Soul Making‘. He most generously refused to accept any payment for his work – saying:
“I like to promote original music and this is my way of helping other musicians”.
Troy was a long standing friend of The Chanteuse’s husband – they having known each other for 37 years – and he was much loved by the whole family.
In this video clip Troy explains how his art helped him to deal with his illness.
Our sympathies and thoughts are with Troy’s family.
Rest In Peace
Very sad to report that the much loved Scottish and British and Irish Lions lock forward, Doddie Weir, passed away at the end of last week at the age of 52. Doddie was a fixture in the Scottish squad at around the time that Rugby turned professional in the 1990s and was a fan-favourite with the Murrayfield crowd. He turned out sixty one times for his country, played for the Barbarians six times and went on the 1997 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.
Weir is known just as much, however, for the time after his retirement from the game. It was announced in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), with the prediction that he would be unable to walk within a year. Instead of sitting back to await the inevitable Weir threw himself into campaigning and fundraising to help find a cure for MND, setting up the “My Name’5 Doddie” foundation which had, by June 2022, raised in excess of £8 million.
The “My Name’5 Doddie” foundation website obituary includes the following:
“Since making his condition known, Doddie has championed the campaign for more to be done for sufferers of the disease, both in terms of finding a possible cure, and with the treatment and welfare of patients and their carers.
Doddie’s work over the past five years saw him recognised with several honours and accolades, including an OBE, presented by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to rugby, MND research and the Borders community. He also collected Honorary Doctorates from both Glasgow Caledonian and Abertay Universities, as well as becoming a recipient of the prestigious Edinburgh Award. Within sport, a trophy named after him is now contested between Scotland and Wales, and he became recipient of the Helen Rollason Award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony in 2019.
He also became a best-selling and nominated author, oversaw the design of his own distinctive tartan, and was captured on canvas by artist Gerard Burns, the painting now hung in the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.”
A giant of a man in every sense and a Rugby legend, Doddie Weir will be sadly missed.
Tags: Doddie Weir, Loss, Remembrance, RIP, Rugby
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