Tag Archives: Leon Russell

In Memoriam or: So Long, 2016

02 Monday Jan 2017

Posted by in Life as We Know It

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Salutations™!!

2016 was a rough year for losses of notable names in the sports, music, movies, pop culture, all around. We are probably at that time in our lives when those we admired, looked up to, watched, listened to and wanted to be like are passing on. Many of these people became popular at a time when celebrity and notoriety were new phenomena, becoming more and more in the public eye with cable channels and more visible availability to the general public. Some were behind the scenes and some in our faces and in our ears. While 2017 may or may not offer any reprieve from the onslaught of these deaths, let’s hope the list is at least smaller.

This is not, by any means, a full, comprehensive list of those we lost but I hope it’s a good tribute.

January –
1.Vilmos Zsigmond, 85, American Hungarian cinematographer (McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Deliverance, Close Encounters of the Third Kind).
10. David Bowie, 69, musician.

MOVIES-alanrickman_t658

Alan Rickman 1946-2016

14. Alan Rickman, 69, actor (Die Hard, Bottle Shock, Harry Potter series). René Angélil, 73, music producer and husband of singer Celine Dion.
18. Glen Frey, 67, musician.
23. Jimmy Bain, 68, musician (Rainbow, Dio, Phil Lynott).
26. Abe Vigoda, 94, actor (Godfather, Barney Miller)
28. Paul Kantner, 74, musician (Jefferson Airplane).Signe Toly Anderson, 74, musician (Jefferson Airplane).
30. Frank Finlay, 89, actor (Othello).

February –
3. Joe Alaskey, 63, voice actor (one of Mel Blanc’s successors for Bugs Bunny, Yosemite

george_kennedy_1975

George Kennedy 1925-2016

Sam, etc.). Maurice White, 74, musician (Earth Wind & Fire).
4. Edgar Mitchell, 85, astronaut.
13. Antonin Scalia, 79, American Supreme Court Justice.
15. George Gaynes, 98, actor (Police Academy, Punky Brewster).
19. Harper Lee, 89, writer (To Kill a Mockingbird).
22. Douglas Slocombe, 103, British cinematographer (Indiana Jones series).
23. Donald E. Williams, 74, astronaut.
25. Tony Burton, 78, actor (Rocky series, one of only four characters to be in each film).
28. George Kennedy, 91, actor (Cool Hand Luke, Naked Gun).

March –
5. Ray Tomlinson, 71, American computer programmer (invented the modern day email system).
6. Nancy Reagan, 94, American First Lady and actress.
8. Sir George Martin, 90, British record producer, composer, conductor (The Beatles). Claus Ogerman, 85, German composer, arranger, conductor (Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Diana Krall).
10. Keith Emerson, 71, British musician (Emerson Lake & Palmer/Powell)
17. Larry Drake, 67, actor (Darkman).

p01hghgp

George Martin 1926-2016

22. Rob Ford, 46, Canadian politician.
23. Ken Howard, 71, actor (1776, J. Edgar).24. Garry Shandling, 66, actor and comedian.
29. Patty Duke, 69, singer and actress (The Miracle Worker, Valley of the Dolls, The Patty Duke Show).

April –
2. Amber Rayne, 31, porn actress.
6. Merle Haggard, 79, musician.
12. Balls Mahoney, 44, professional wrestler.
17. Doris Roberts, 90, actress (Everybody Loves Raymond, Remington Steele).
20. Guy Hamilton, 93, British film director (Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, The Man with the Golden Gun). Chyna, 46, professional wrestler.

art-Prince3-420x0

Prince 1958-2016

21. Prince, 57, musician.
24. Billy Paul, 81, musician.

May –
2. Afeni Shakur, 69, activist and Tupac Shakur’s mother.
4. Bob Bennett, 82, American politician (R – Utah).
8. William Schallert, 93, actor (The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Teachers).17. Guy Clark, 74, songwriter, singer (“New Cut Road,” “The Carpenter”).
19. Alan Young, 96, actor (Mr. Ed).
21. Nick Menza, 51, musician (Megadeth, drummer).

June –
3. Muhammad Ali, 74, boxer.
6. Kimbo Slice, 42, mixed martial artist. Peter Shaffer, 90, British playwright (Equus, Amadeus).
10. Gordie Howe, 88, Canadian ice hockey player. Christina Grimmie, 22, singer (winner of NBC’s The Voice).

800px-muhammad_ali_nywts

Muhammad Ali 1942-2016

12. George Voinovich, 79, American politician (R – Ohio).
19. Anton Yelchin, 27, actor (Star Trek films).
23. Michael Herr, 76, American writer (screenplay co-writer: Full Metal Jacket). Ralph Stanley, 89, musician.
28. Scotty Moore, 84, musician (Elvis Presley). Pat Summitt, 64, college basketball coach.

July –
2. Michael Cimino, 77, film director, screenwriter, producer and author (The Deer Hunter).
16. Nate Thurmond, 74, NBA player.
19. Garry Marshall, 81, actor, director, producer, writer, voice artist, and comedian (Happy Days, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride).
24. Marni Nixon, 86, American soprano (West Side Story, My Fair Lady).
25. Dwight Jones, 64, NBA player. Tim LaHaye, 90, evangelist and author (Left Behind).
30. Gloria DeHaven, 91, actress (Modern Times, Best Foot Forward).

August –
2. David Huddleston, 85, actor (Blazing Saddles, The Big Lebowski). Terence Bayler, 86, actor (Time Bandits,  Monty Python’s Life of Brian, Brazil).
13. Kenny Baker, 81, actor (Star Wars (R2-D2)).

gene-wilder

Gene Wilder 1933-2016

14. Fyvush Finkel, 93, actor (Picket Fences, Boston Public).
15. Bobby Hutcherson, 75, musician.
17. Arthur Hiller, 92, director (Silver Streak, Outrageous Fortune).
19. Lou Pearlman, 62, producer and fraudster (Backstreet Boys, ponzi schemes).
23. Steven Hill, 94, actor (Mission:Impossible, Law & Order).
25. Rudy van Gelder, 91, sound engineer (John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk).
28. Mr. Fuji, 81, professional wrestler/manager.
29. Gene Wilder, 83, actor (Blazing Saddles, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Young Frankenstein).

September –

arnoldpalmer

Arnold Palmer 1929-2016

1. Jon Polito, 65, actor (The Big Lebowski, Homicide: Life on the Street).
5. Hugh O’Brian, 91, actor (The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Shootist). Phillis Schlafly, 92, American writer and political activist.
11. Alexis Arquette, 47, actor/activist (The Wedding Singer, Pulp Fiction).
16. Edward Albee, 88, writer (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?).
17. Charmian Carr, 73, actress (The Sound of Music).
20. Curtis Hanson, 71, director (LA Confidential, 8 Mile).
24. Bill Nunn, 62, actor (Do the Right Thing, Spider-Man).
25. Arnold Palmer, 87, golfer.
26. Herschell Gordon Lewis, 90, splatter horror film director.

October –

1peteburns

Pete Burns 1959-2016

20. Michael Massee, 64, actor (The Crow, Spider-Man).
23. Pete Burns, 57, British singer (Dead or Alive).
24. Bobby Vee, 73, singer.

November –
7. Leonard Cohen, 82, singer. Janet Reno, 78, first woman attorney general of the United States.
11. Robert Vaughn, 83, actor (The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Bullitt, Magnificent Seven).
13. Leon Russell, 74, musician (“Lady Blue, “Tight Rope”).
14. Gardnar Mulloy, 102, tennis player.
15. Mose Allison, 89, musician.
16. Melvin Lair, 94, politician (R – Wisconsin).
18. Denton Cooley, 96, surgeon (implanted first artificial heart).
23. Andrew Sachs, 86, actor (Fawlty Towers).
24. Florence Henderson, 82, actress (Brady Bunch). Pauline Oliveros, 84, electronic art composer.

1leonardcohen

Leonard Cohen 1934-2016

25. Fidel Castro, 90, Cuban President. Ron Glass, 71, actor (Barney Miller, Firefly, Serenity).

December –
1. Sammy Lee, 96, physician and Olympic diver.
6. Peter Vaughn, 93, actor (Remains of the Day, Game of Thrones).
7. Greg Lake, 69, musician (Emerson Lake & Palmer/Powell).
8. John Glenn, 95, astronaut. Joseph Mascolo, 87, actor (Days of Our Lives).
13. Alan Thicke, 69, actor, songwriter (Growing Pains, Diff’rent Strokes theme, Facts of Life theme).
14. Bernard Fox, 89, actor (Bewitched, Hogan’s Heroes, Titanic).
17. Henry Heimlich, 93, surgeon and medical researcher (Heimlich maneuver).
18. Zsa Zsa Gabor, 99, actress.
24. Richard Adams, 96, author (Watership Down). Rick Parfitt, 68, musician (Status Quo). Liz Smith, 95, actress (The Royale Family, The Vicar of Dibley).

1carriefisher

Carrie Fisher 1956-2016

25. George Michael, 53, musician.
27. Carrie Fisher, 60, actress (Star Wars, Blues Brothers).
28. Debbie Reynolds, 84, actress (Singin’ in the Rain, mother of Carrie Fisher).
31. William Christopher, 84, actor (M*A*S*H).

That’s 114 notable names (if I counted them correctly) that we lost this year. Some of them I didn’t even know we lost until compiling this list. Ron Glass, Robert Vaughn, David Huddleston and William Christopher were a few I didn’t know about. Again, while 2017 may not be gentle on us either, we can hope. I think part of it is we’re used to only about one or two A-list celebs departing a year with more B- and C-listers, but this year, we had many A-listers. Many of them older than I thought. Hope you all have a great 2017!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“It would be wonderful to think that the future is unknown and sort of surprising.” – Alan Rickman

The Wrecking Crew or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

29 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by in Movie Review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Salutations™!!

a/perture cinema, the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Movie of the Week, The Wrecking Crew (2008) starring members of the famous group of LA session musicians of the same name.

Per IMDb: “A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as “The Wrecking Crew”, a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys and Bing Crosby.”wrecking-crew-dvd-cover

Tommy Tedesco is a name you’ve probably never heard unless you’re one to read the inner sleeve of vinyl records from the late sixties, on. Even then, the name may have not been seen or known. But, you’d know him with your ears, even if you’re not born of that time; I wasn’t born until 1970. You can listen to theme songs for Bonanza, Green Acres or Batman (just to name a few) and instantly say, “well, yeah, I know that.”

Tedesco was a guitarist that was part of a group of session musicians in Los Angeles that were called “The Wrecking Crew” or sometimes they were known as “the Clique Band” or “First Call Band” or even “Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound Orchestra.” It wasn’t a dedicated lineup, it was a group or pool of musicians that producers could pull from to piece together for a session. This group also included names like Glen Campbell (yes, Mr. Rhinestone Cowboy, himself) and Bill Pitman, the world-famous bassists Carol Kaye and Ray Pohlman, drummers Hal Blaine and Joe Porcaro (whose three sons would go on to form the band Toto, also from studio musicians), pianists Leon Russell and Mac Rebennack (also known as Dr. John), horn players like Plas Johnson and Steve Douglas and countless more. That list isn’t even close to complete.

What did these players play? Well, a very truncated list would include: “Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home),” “Surf City,” “I Get Around,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “California Dreamin’,” “I Got You Babe,” “Good Vibrations,” “Monday Monday,” “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” “The Beat Goes On,” “Mrs. Robinson,” “The Boxer,” “Bridge over Troubled Water,” “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu,” “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Love Will Keep Us Together.” But, that’s not all, Plas Johnson is the sax player in the Pink Panther Theme, Carol Kaye plays in so many pieces that your head would spin to know what they were.

As I said, there were little credits on the albums, usually. That was for several reasons, one it would confuse the snot out of the general public seeing that many credits on so many different artists’ albums. On top of that, the musicians that were actually in these bands (like Beach Boys, Byrds, Gary Lewis and the Playboys) didn’t want the public to know they weren’t actually playing on the records. So, they’d just not put who played what, band or not, on the credits. These people were also the musicians for The Monkees. Soon, the advent of true self-contained bands who really did play their own instruments led to the phasing out of the Wrecking Crew and other studio session musicians. When studio musicians were or are needed in the mid-to-late 70s and so on, they had younger, hipper, more rock and roll or pop-infused musicians to take their place.

The Wrecking Crew, many of which are now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, are and will forever be ingrained in the intricate history of popular music. Nothing can or will ever change that. Many have passed on, including Tommy Tedesco. Remember him? The reason I brought him up was because his son, Denny, is the producer and director of this documentary called, The Wrecking Crew.

Denny follows the careers and history of many of the studio musicians in this little society. He talks of the rise and fall, the good times, the sessions, the artists they’ve played with and plenty of other aspects of the group. Very interesting, especially when you find out the things they played on and how much what we know of 50s and 60s music is really their doing.

Tommy went on to do a lot with television and film as well. Titles like: The French Connection, The Godfather, Jaws, The Deer Hunter, Columbo, The Deep, Dallas, Caddyshack, Batman, Cocoon, Cheers, Dirty Dancing, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Starsky & Hutch and his guitar is what you hear playing in the intro of what I have said is my #1 television show of all time, M*A*S*H. He passed away in 1997 at the age of 65.

I thought the film was highly entertaining and I’m a big fan of “behind the scenes” documentaries. Also, being a musician, I love finding who played on what for albums and popular songs. One of the highlights when I research the Rolling Stone Top 500 albums is who played on what. I have a better understanding of who those people are, now. I really enjoyed watching this. There is no Rotten Tomatoes rating but IMDb has it at 7.7 stars out of 10. It’s available on Netflix, which is where I watched it. I rate it 4.5 out of 5. Have you seen it? What did you think? What would you like to read/hear me review?

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“”You leave the house at seven o’clock in the morning, and you’re at Universal at nine till noon; now you’re at Capitol Records at one, you just got time to get there, then you got a jingle at four, then we’re on a date with somebody at eight, then the Beach Boys at midnight, and you do that five days a week … jeez, man, you get burned out.” – Bill Pitman, guitarist