What are YOUR profound losses

[Baz]

Whatever one's age, but certainly for those of us baby boomers in our 50's and 60's, many of the people who've comprised our life's soundtrack are gone.

There are several artists who have passed away who I miss so so much; their losses meant more to me than others, for reasons that might be due to who I associate them with, or a time in my life, or the enormity of their talent, or potential. In fact, the losses impacting me were sudden, and that too might make one person's death more meaningful to you/me.

Many of us would say John Lennon, and then George. For us Beatle babies, John's loss signaled the end of the dream, that they would reunite, and George's music was a living homage to the Beatle legacy. This is not a contest or a judgement; maybe the Beatles didn't impact upon you as they did for many of us.

So here are the folks I miss the most, I wish I could have one more album from them, and they remain a significant part of my music collection.

Carl Wilson- Carl allowed the Beach Boys to survive; a great talent, filling the gap that Brian's illness caused, and some of his work apart from Brian was brilliant.

Laura Nyro- her second album is the one that got our attention, Eli and 13th Confession, and if you were 'there' at the time, you recall that she had her perfume scent on the album. As great as that album was, it helped us discover the first album, which is a virtual greatest hits album, and it was a first solo album.......Goodbye Joe, Wedding Bell Blues, And When I Die, He's a Runner, Flim Flam Man, Stoney End, and more.....she continued to the brilliant Motown album, Gonna Take a Miracle, and from all the reading about her that I've done, she was a white gal who loved the black sound; she wanted to sound black, and very often, she did. Linda Ronstadt remains a favorite female rock/pop singer for me, but Laura is standing right beside her.

John Denver- His hooks, melodies, were gorgeous.....his lyrics were not given their due.....he did damage to his musical career, I think, by becoming a tv performer, movie performer; his 'far out' persona detracted from how good he was musically, as a composer and a singer.

and for now, the last that comes to mind, is Jim Croce- he for the most part had the 3 albums; unreleased songs came out later......I thought he got better with each album, and he could do funky funny playful songs, or touching pieces that spoke to time passing, precious relationships, loving life even if it hurt you........

Now, I didn't mention Hendrix, Mama Cass, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko....there are so many others I miss; but the ones I mentioned were just greater losses for me.

And for you???

Barry

 

[Debs]

Well not sure the time frame fit's the 60's but heres who I miss : John Lennon {not because it was the end to 'The Beatle Reunion'dream, because John was a unique personality..interesting and provoking}, Warren Zevon {way beyond Werewolves In London, his sharp humor blended with fine music..let's hear it for smart-asses} Frank Zappa { King of The SmartAss' and hero for freedom of speech} Harry Chapin{softly yet strongly making music about real life} Then of course Jimi, Morrison, George, Janis, and countless others who asked 'WHY?' ..thats rock n' roll to me !

 

[Baz]

Come to think of it, maybe I should have found a different topic area.....but my people are from the 60's and 70's, and as I said in Golden Age, the 60's seem to go into 1975 or so......but Kurt Cobain was very important to many people, not so much for me, but there are no right answers here, just sharing feelings about the people we cherished, and still cherish.

 

[algernon]

Nice idea. I share the loss of all mentioned(except Joplin and Morrison,quite frankly--sorry...I definitely think it was their time). I would add Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Elvis. If only the Colonel had let Springsteen work with Elvis...the "might have beens" with the King really get me.

 

[Reverend Rock]

For me, the most profound loss of them all is Hendrix, because I think he really had his best work still ahead of him. When I listen to First Rays of the New Rising Sun, and realize how incredibly brilliant that album was going to be, and I consider that he was preparing to work with Gil Evans at the time of his death...when I listen to some of the other experiments he was working on with brass sections and what-have-you shortly before he died...I just feel like we lost perhaps the greatest talent of the psychedelic era, someone who would have rewritten the pages of music history several more times had he lived.

Also, I feel we lost a lot of Brian Wilson because of his mental problems. I thank God he finally finished SMiLE in 2004, but what if he'd successfully completed it the first time around in time for the planned January '67 release, and had actually been able to follow it up with whatever would have been the logical progression forward? That's one of the greatest musical what-ifs that we'll never be able to answer.

 

[Baz]

For many, the loss of Hendrix was as described, the loss of might have been.....we all hear that he was inclined to move toward more jazzier exploration.....I was not a big Hendrix fan, but certainly his loss rocked so many on their heels.

Elvis was an ongoing decline, so some say they were prepared for his demise......

I tell you something tho, I'd give a lot to see Danko and manuel back together with Helm, Robertson and and Garth.......tho the Last Waltz was a celebration of goodbye.

B.

 

[Music Wench]

I'm sure it's no surprise that John Lennon's death is the one that affected me the most. He was always my favorite Beatle. To me he was the most complicated and his music as a solo artist touched me the most.

I will never forget where I was when I heard that John Lennon had been shot. I thought it had to be a very bad joke. Who knows what might have been had he not been taken from us at such a young age.

While I miss most of them no other musician's death touched me that deeply.

 

[deezee]

great topic!

there is no doubt for me that #1 was the loss of john lennon. i flew from LA to nyc just to be in central park for the 10 minute memorial. i felt i owed it to the man who helped change me and the world forever. next would be the loss of george. once in a while i wake up and it hits me that 2 of them are gone. how is that possible? keith richards is still alive and 2 OF THE BEATLES ARE GONE. life is weird.

i have to say thank you for mentioning laura nyro. she's up there with joni, aretha, and janis in my book. i remember the first time i saw her (a very unknown jackson browne opened for her) and was blown away by her fragility on stage. the complexity of her music and lyrics spoke for many of us baby boomer women who didn't have all that much of a voice back then. her cd's are constantly in my player and "timer" remains one of my all-time favorite songs.

i miss brian jones too. though i've liked/loved the stones albums done after he was gone, what got me into the stones to begin with was his affinity for blues and r+b. i sometimes wonder what might have been if he had continued to lead the musical direction of the stones. not a popular opinion i know with most stones fans, but i think it's a travesty that half of them now don't know who he is.

jimi and janis....they were really the first deaths to let us baby boomers know that we weren' invinceable. it boogles the mind what might have been if they both had lived. somewhere though, you know that somehow janis wasn't meant for long on this earth. she had tragedy written all over her. but IMHO it also helped make her irreplaceable and totally unique.

someone i didn't run across until after her death...eva cassidy. there's a woman who could do it all. pop/blues/r+b/country. her voice is just amazing.i heard that they wanted to catagorize her and she wouldn't have it while she was alive. she wanted to do it all and absolutely could.

musically, i think that the band was the best group i ever saw live bar none (well, maybe the e street band comes in there too). i remember going to see them again in a little club after robbie had left and thinking "i hope that they're good without him". i walked out thinking "why the hell did i think that they needed him?". they did so many songs that he didn't write or sing and they were so god-damned TIGHT that it still blows me away just thinking about it all these years later. richard and rick..gone way too soon. they had the kind of talent to get together again and still be right on the money.

thank god we still have the music to listen to from all of these people.

 

[Buff]

oh geez, where to start?

I cried like a baby over the loss of Lennon, even at the tender age of 13. I remember it like it was yesterday, I was watching MNF with my dad. So incredibly tragic. He was finally living a life he loved, and getting back into his music. It's not like George (who I also wept over) who knew he was on his final days, altho still not any less tragic.

I also cried over Stevie Ray Vaughn. Tragic as well.

I was devastated over John Entwistle. That coupled with Moon really spelled the end of The Who forever. :

Elvis was a tough one, he was The King, after all. Like Robby Robertson once said, it's like the brightest light at the top of the highest mountain just went out.

And yes, being a native Coloradan, I miss John Denver as well. You just can't escape it. That was like losing a big part of my childhood.

Then there's the myriad of those who went before I was even aware of them; Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, Van Zant, Allman, others I can't think of, but like DZ said above, thank heavens they still live in their music.

 

[Baz]

Tremendous recollections, guys/gals.....I love hearing about artists and how they entered and stayed in our lives, and while I was not a big WHO fan, how sad that now they are planning a 'reunion' and 1/2 the band is gone.

By the way, I left out a performer who has meant as much to me as virtually anyone other than the Fab 4. Harry Nilsson.......besides his raw talent, he lost his voice around the time of his heart attacks, but was fighting his way back, against alcoholism, when he was gone forever.....His voice, his rock scat singing style, he was pop sounding, and he had more complex work too.....
There's a trivia question attached to him; what was identical about his first concert and his last concert....................and why did he sell his apartment in Europe?


As for the first, Nilsson didn't perform live; he had an occasional guest shot on TV, there's a video of him on Youtube.com and he sounds unreal.....but he didn't tour, didn't have Nilsson In Concert......so there was no first, there was no last concert.
Also, he got spooked as he lent the apt', I think in Paris, maybe London, to many friends, but two, Mama Cass, and the other.................Keith Moon, died while in that apartment.......I only know this by reading about him, so if my sources were wrong, it's still a spooky story, but I did read it more than once, so unless it's an urban legend.

As for Laura Nyro, no one was more soulful than her, and if I could play back my life musically, I would love once again to turn off the lights at midnight, put on some candles, have a cool breeze in the room, a woman next to me to share the experience of putting on her music, esp. Laura with piano....as powerful as Joni with piano, as on Blue.

and I echo the sentiment that we are so fortunate to have their music to hold on to.....

Barry