June 5, 1943 - February 17, 2012
Michael Davis was the bass guitarist for rock band MC5. In 1964, he replaced original bassist Pat Burrows and joined
Rob Tyner, Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith in MC5. He remained in the group until 1972, playing on three albums, including the classic debut
Kick Out the Jams, recorded live at Detroit's Grande Ballroom.
In February 1972, Davis was fired from the band because of his drug use. As he described it, during a British tour he was "put out of the car on the highway so that I had to find my way back home and start things over for myself". The MC5 itself lasted only until its farewell gig at the Grande Ballroom on New Year's Eve 1972.
Davis returned to his first love, painting, when he was jailed on a narcotics charge in the late 1970s.
His painting White Panther/Big World appears on the sleeve of the 2009 album
MC5: The Very Best of MC5.
Davis died at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, California after a month-long hospitalization for liver disease.
Original MC5 members Rob Tyner and Fred "Sonic" Smith both died in the 1990s.
Whitney Houston
August 9, 1963 - February 11, 2012
Whitney Houston, popular singer and actress who suffered from drug and alcohol addiction, has died in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Houston was discovered singing in a club by music mogul Clive Davis. She is cousin to Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick and godchild of Aretha Franklin.
Her music sold over 170 million albums. She scored several #1 hits and numerous awards, including two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards,
As an actress, she was the star of the feature film The Bodyguard. The film's original
soundtrack
won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single "I Will Always Love You" (authored by Dolly Parton in 1973) became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history.
After this success, Houston continued to star in films including
Waiting to Exhale (1995) and
The Preacher's Wife (1996).
Her 1992 marriage to former New Edition singer Bobby Brown proved to be a tumultuous one. They divorced in 2007.
Houston died in the bathtub of her 4th floor room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. She had been staying at the hotel in anticipation
of the 2012 Grammy Awards celebration, which she was scheduled to attend.
The cause of her death has not yet been determined.
| 2/1/2012 | 75 | Don Cornelius | Creator of Soul Train | suicide | Los Angeles, California |
Don Cornelius
September 27, 1936 - February 1, 2012
Don Cornelius created the TV show Soul Train after realizing there was no television show in the United States that featured soul music.
The show featured music and dancing and became influential among African-Americans and popular with a wider audience.
Soul Train started on WCIU-TV in Chicago after Conelius retired from the Chicago Police Department. Later,
the show moved to Los Angeles and went into national syndication.
Soul Train provided exposure to black musicians such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson.
Cornelius married his second wife, Russian Model Viktoria Chapman, in 2001. The couple went through a bitter divorce, with
Cornelius arrested on a felony domestic violence charge. Chapman filed restraining orders against Cornelius and reportedly pepper-sprayed him multiple times.
It was reported that in recent years, Cornelius suffered a stroke and had brain surgery, which left him in much pain.
Mr. Cornelius's body was found at his Sherman Oaks house with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head..
| 1/25/2012 | 56 | Mark Reale | Riot, guitarist | Crohn's disease | |
Mark Reale
June 7, 1955 - January 25, 2012
Mark Reale, guitarist for the heavy metal band Riot, passed away from complications from his longtime battle with Crohn's disease. He slipped into a coma and passed away after being hospitalized for two weeks.
Reale released 14 studio albums with Riot, and toured with AC/DC, Kiss and Black Sabbath.
| 1/25/2012 | 74 | Dick Kniss | Peter, Paul & Mary, bassist | Heart Failure | Kingston, New York |
Dick Kniss
April 24, 1937 - January 25, 2012
Dick Kniss, a self-taught musician who for more than 40 years played stand-up bass behind Peter, Paul and Mary, has died at age 74.
Mr. Kniss also had an eight-year association with singer-songwriter John Denver and helped write one of Denver's biggest hits, "Sunshine on My Shoulders."
He also played with jazz greats including Herbie Hancock and Woody Herman.
He died of pulmonary disease at a hospital near his home in Saugerties, N.Y.
Andrew Macnaughtan
February 25, 1964 - January 25, 2012
Macnaughtan was best known as the primary photographer for tours, album covers and other artwork for the Canadian rock trio Rush.
He also directed more than 70 music videos throughout his award-winning career.
He also launched the ArtGivesHope charity that helps families in Africa affected by HIV/AIDS. His 2011 photography book
Grace: Africa in Photographs raises funds for the organization.
Macnaughtan died from a sudden heart attack suffered while on a photo assignment with Rush in Los Angeles.
| 1/20/2012 | 73 | Etta James | singer | leukemia | Riverside, California |
Etta James
January 25, 1938 - January 20, 2012
Etta James, the Rhythm and Blues singer of musical staples such as "At Last", died in a Riverside, California hospital, with her husband and sons at her side,
Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles on January 25, 1938 to a 14-year old mother. Her father was never
identified, but was rumored to be professional pool player Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone.
Ms. James began singing in the gospel choir of a Los Angeles church at age 5.
As a teenager, her vocal group, the Creolettes, was discovered by the bandleader Johnny Otis.
In 1955 the group, now rechristened the Peaches after Ms. James nickname, scored R&B Hits with "Roll With Me Henry" and "Good Rockin' Daddy."
By 1956, Etta James was touring solo, opening for Little Richard.
Her career soared with the 1960 Chess records release of
At Last!, an album that combined her husky voice with lush strings.
The title cut, At Last, was written by Mack Gordon and Henry Warden for the 1942 musical
Orchestra Wives. The song became Ms. James' signature song and a popular first-dance choice at wedding receptions.
In the early 1960s, Ms. James began a decades-long struggle with heroin addiction, leading to jail sentences for writing bad checks and stealing prescription drugs, and involvements with the wrong men.
In 1978, she recorded the classic album
Deep in the Night.
with the late Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records and that year played a number of dates opening for the Rolling Stones.
In 2003, Ms. James published her autobiography,
Rage to Survive: The Etta James Story.
Ms. James was a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award-winner and a member of both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame.
James was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010, and also suffered from dementia and hepatitis C
The 73-year-old died from leukemia complications at Riverside Community Hospital, with her husband and sons at her side.
| 1/17/2012 | 90 | Johnny Otis | singer, bandleader | leukemia | Los Angeles |
Johnny Otis
December 28, 1921 - January 17, 2012
Johnny Otis (Born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes) was an American singer, musician, talent scout, disc jockey, composer, and bandleader known as
the "Godfather of Rhythm and Blues." He evangelized black music to white audiences, even changing his name because he thought Johnny Otis sounded more black than his Greek birth name.
In the 1950s he discovered Etta James. He produced her first hit, "Roll With Me, Henry" (also known as "The Wallflower").
His best known recording is 1958's "Willie and the Hand Jive" later covered by Eric Clapton.
He is the father of musician Shuggie Otis, who wrote the song "Strawberry Letter 23", made famous by the Brothers Johnson.
Johnny Otis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
Robbie France
December 5, 1959 - January 14, 2012
Robbie France, a drummer who worked with Diamond Head, UFO and Wishbone Ash, passed away in Spain at age 52.
Tom Ardolino
January 12, 1955 - January 6, 2012
Tom Ardolino, a longtime drummer of the influential cult band NRBQ (New Rhythm and Blues Quartet), has died after a lengthy battle with an unidentified illness. He was 56.
Ardolino joined NRBQ in 1974 after years as a dedicated fan and drummed with them for three decades, appearing on 15 studio albums and performing countless live shows over the years.
| 1/3/2012 | 64 | Bob Weston | Fleetwood Mac | gastrointestinal hemorrhage | London |
Bob Weston
November 1, 1947 - January 3, 2012
Bob Weston, former guitarist for the rock band Fleetwood Mac, was found dead at his flat in north London. He was 64.
Weston joined Fleetwood Mac in 1972, replacing Danny Kirwan. He played on the albums
Penguin and
Mystery to Me. During
an American tour in late 1973, drummer Mick Fleetwood discovered that Weston was having an affair with his wife, Jenny Boyd. Weston
was fired from the band and the rest of the tour was scrapped.
Weston went on to release several solo albums and played with musicians including Long John Baldry and Murray Head. He also briefly joined
Steve Marriott's All-Stars Band.
He was found dead at home in his North London flat in the evening of the 3rd January, by police who made a forced entry after friends became concerned, having not seen him for a couple of days. Cause
of death has been attributed to a gastrointestinal hemorrhage. He was found in his bed with the TV on.
| 1/2/2012 | 63 | Larry Reinhardt | Iron Butterfly, Captain Beyond | respiratory infection | Florida |
Larry Reinhardt
July 7, 1948 - January 2, 2012
Guitar player Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt, who played with Iron Butterfly and went on to found rock 'n' roll supergroup Captain Beyond, died from a respiratory infection at a Florida hospital. He was 63.
Reinhart joined Iron Butterfly in 1969, shortly after they released their definitive song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vidda." He was with the band then they recorded their
Metamorphosis
album. In 1971, Reinhardt collaborated with Butterfly bassist Lee Dorman, ex-Deep Purple vocalist Rod Evans and Johnny Winter band drummer Bobby Caldwell to form Captain Beyond, which enjoyed a five-year run.
In 2008, he released his first solo album, "Rhino's Last Stand." Two years later, he began working with members of Dickey Betts' band, Great Southern, to produce what would be his final CD, "Back in the Day." They called themselves "Rhino and The Posse."
| 1/1/2012 | 72 | Fred Milano | Dion and the Belmonts | Lung Cancer | New York |
Fred Milano
Aug. 26, 1939 - January 1, 2012
Fred Milano, an original member of Dion and the Belmonts, died at a hospital on Long Island at age 72. Dion and the Belmonts where known for hits such as "A Teenager in Love" and "Where or When."
Freddie Milano, Angelo D'Aleo and Carlo Mastrangelo were teenage friends from the Bronx when they began blending their voices into doo-wop sounds. Originally calling themselves the Belmonts (after the avenue on which Mr. Milano lived), they became Dion and the Belmonts in 1957 when Dion DiMucci joined as lead tenor.
Dion and the Belmonts were on the Winter Dance Party tour with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper and shared the stage with them on Feb. 2, 1959, at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.
Holly, Valens and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash after this show.
2011