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2013 Entertainment Industry Obituaries

melan8tr said:
radioman148 said:
melan8tr said:
radioman148 said:
Mastaclocksetta said:
Bobbie Smith Dead: Lead Singer of the Spinners Dies at 76 From Lung Cancer

http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/18/bobbie-smith-the-spinners-dead-dies/

Other than "I'll Be Around" I believe Phillipe Wynne was the lead singer on most of the other Spinners big hits during the 70s.

yes ,until he had the misfortune of a massive heart attack...

I had the good fortune to see the Spinners several times during the 70s. When Phillipe Wynne did the encore "Mighty Love" I never saw anyone pour so much heart & soul into a song. The sweat would pour off of him as he roamed the audience bringing it straight from the heart.

he was a human dynamo..not even james brown (the hardest working man in show biz)worked as hard as wynne

I agree!
 
Gordon Stoker, a member of the Jordanaires gospel group, died March 27 after a long illness. He was 88. The Jordanaires sang on many of Elvis Presley's biggest hits, including It's Now Or Never, Are You Lonesome Tonight and Don't Be Cruel, and also sang on the Judds' remake of Don't Be Cruel, Patsy Cline's Crazy, Jim Reeves' Four Walls, Kenny Rogers' Lucille and George Jones' He Stopped Loving Her Today.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/gordon-stoker-dead-dies-jordanaires_n_2966264.html
 
Shocked me to read any of the Jordanaires were that old. Still, its a sad loss. I can remember like it was yesterday when The Stamps Quartet lost JD Sumner. I felt the same way.
 
At the end of Way Down, the last Elvis Presley single released while Elvis was still alive, J.D. Sumner sang the words "Way on down" and the last word was sung to a double low C note, three octaves below middle C. That's the lowest note anybody has ever sung. I've heard that Sumner didn't think he could do it...but Elvis asked him to so how could he not try? It was Elvis, man!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GlhQhlvtKQ
 
LARadioRewind said:
At the end of Way Down, the last Elvis Presley single released while Elvis was still alive, J.D. Sumner sang the words "Way on down" and the last word was sung to a double low C note, three octaves below middle C. That's the lowest note anybody has ever sung. I've heard that Sumner didn't think he could do it...but Elvis asked him to so how could he not try? It was Elvis, man!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GlhQhlvtKQ

I wonder what kind of instruments are used to measure that type of audio response. And who does this type of service?
 
The lowest note J.D. Sumner could sing was a G0 (24.5 Hz). Here is a snippet of him hitting that note at a 1977 Elvis Presley concert---although the note sounds more like a rumbling sound than a human voice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZc2cIFwaT0

Pierce Arrow bass singer Tim Storms holds the record for the lowest note ever sung, a G7 (0.189 Hz); the Guinness World Records site explains how the tones are measured:

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/1/lowest-vocal-note-by-a-male
 
Music producer Phil Ramone died March 30 at age 72. He produced albums for Madonna, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand...it's a shame he didn't get to work with any big names. Ramone also produced songs for movies, plays and tv specials and won 14 Grammy awards.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/30/showbiz/obit-phil-ramone/index.html
 
LARadioRewind said:
Music producer Phil Ramone... produced albums for Madonna, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand...it's a shame he didn't get to work with any big names.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/30/showbiz/obit-phil-ramone/index.html

He did indeed sport a formidable portfolio of artistic diversity... and since you mentioned Sinatra & Madonna, it got me thinking-- imagine the two of them performing a duo.

Frank: (imagine a classy, bouncy beat) "... I did it myyyyyyeeee waaay..."
Madonna: (bratty, pouty as usual) ".... oh yeah, well I did it maaahhy way... got
a problem with that Mistuh New Juyzee?!

Just a thought.
 
jfrancispastirchak said:
LARadioRewind said:
Music producer Phil Ramone... produced albums for Madonna, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand...it's a shame he didn't get to work with any big names.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/30/showbiz/obit-phil-ramone/index.html

He did indeed sport a formidable portfolio of artistic diversity... and since you mentioned Sinatra & Madonna, it got me thinking-- imagine the two of them performing a duo.

Frank: (imagine a classy, bouncy beat) "... I did it myyyyyyeeee waaay..."
Madonna: (bratty, pouty as usual) ".... oh yeah, well I did it maaahhy way... got
a problem with that Mistuh New Juyzee?!

Just a thought.

Sinatra and Madonna not that outlandish..Tony Bennet and Lady GaGa did a great job on their duet "The Lady Is A Tramp"
 
GUITARIST HUGH McCRACKEN DEAD AT 61

Renowned session guitarist Hugh McCracken died on March 28th at age 61 of Leukemia. McCracken will be forever remembered for his stellar work on Paul McCartney's 1971 Ram album -- including the Number One hit, "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"; John Lennon's 1971 classic "Happy Xmas (War Is Over) -- along with Lennon's final 1980 recordings on his Double Fantasy and Milk And Honey albums, which included "(Just Like) Starting Over," "Woman," "Watching The Wheels," "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)," and "Nobody Told Me"; Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years and One Trick Pony albums; Roberta Flack's "Feel Like Makin' Love"; Hall & Oates' "She's Gone"; Bob Dylan's Desire (uncredited); Billy Joel's The Stranger and 52nd Street; Steely Dan's Katy Lied and Gaucho albums, among many, many more.
 
No need for links here-- by now, everyone has heard of the passing of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and America's iconic sweetheart, Annette Funicello.

Thatcher died of complications from a stroke. Her vulnerability to stroke was the reason given for missing the funeral of her warm ally and dear personal friend, former President Ronald Reagan. Funicello, America's favorite mouseketeer and darling of teen-oriented beach movies such as Beach Blanket Bingo, had been battling Multiple Sclerosis diagnosed in 1987, although she waited five years to disclose her ailment.

Thatcher's legacy typically would not stand the litmus test of this particular thread. Still, she and Funicello will be remembered for demonstrating enormous courage against the challenges unique to their respective times and cultures; Thatcher, for her partnership with Reagan in neutralizing the oppressive Soviet empire, and Funicello for putting a celebrity face on the challenges of M.S. They served humanity well.
 
jfrancispastirchak said:
No need for links here-- by now, everyone has heard of the passing of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and America's iconic sweetheart, Annette Funicello.

Thatcher died of complications from a stroke. Her vulnerability to stroke was the reason given for missing the funeral of her warm ally and dear personal friend, former President Ronald Reagan. Funicello, America's favorite mouseketeer and darling of teen-oriented beach movies such as Beach Blanket Bingo, had been battling Multiple Sclerosis diagnosed in 1987, although she waited five years to disclose her ailment.

Actually Thatcher did attend Reagan's state funeral - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3793565.stm

Thatcher's legacy typically would not stand the litmus test of this particular thread. Still, she and Funicello will be remembered for demonstrating enormous courage against the challenges unique to their respective times and cultures; Thatcher, for her partnership with Reagan in neutralizing the oppressive Soviet empire, and Funicello for putting a celebrity face on the challenges of M.S. They served humanity well.

Well put, both will always have positive connotations with me.

Surprising people even remember Funicello - radio has not been kind to her hits.
 
Considering that the obituary thread is part of the 1950s-60s oldies discussion, I have to point out that Annette had two top-ten hits in that era. Tall Paul was written by Robert and Richard Sherman and reached #7 in 1959. O Dio Mio got to #10 a year later. Soon after she became a regular on The Mickey Mouse Club in 1955, Annette started getting more fan mail that anyone else on the series and Walt Disney signed her to a recording contract. She protested that her voice had no range and Walt told her they'd "fix it up" in the recording studio. They did. Her other hits included Pineapple Princess (another Sherman Brothers composition) and First Name Initial.
 
Annette had a minimum amount of talent in front of the camera....but it didn't matter.
 
Karen Pendleton, Sharon Baird and Darlene Gillespie were, shall we say, a teensy bit of jealous of Annette. Darlene, in particular, had good reason: she recorded five singles for Disneyland Records in 1957 but the label didn't promote them. (Annette had recorded one single for Tower the same year.) In 1958 Annette recorded four singles for the Disneyland label; her subsequent singles were on Disney's Buena Vista label. The Disney company put put a lot of effort into promoting Annette's singles and albums.

Here are Annette and the Beach Boys doing the theme for the 1965 movie The Monkey's Uncle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRTlfFlJ4o8
 
I saw every beach movie she made..mainly at the time just to see the motorcycles that always were in the pic ridden by the "Rats and Mice' gang..lol...cant think of one thing negative to say about Annette..always classy..in those films..she never had on a bikini..or dressed as ..well..sexy as the other beach bunnies..if you want to call what they wore sexy for the time period..but it was her hair that always got my attention..walking on the beach wind blowing every body's hair ..but hers..always frozen in place...such a simple and innocent time to grow up in..don't want to leave out the great co stars in those romps..Don Rickles, Kennan Wynn, Buddy Hacket..Phil Silvers...many more..silly stupid fun...but always made me smile...
 
Annette honored Walt Disney's request that she not wear skimpy bathing suits in her movies. Even when she made movies for studios other than Disney, she dressed demurely. It's sad that a lot of younger people probably remember her only for the commercials she did for Skippy Peanut Butter beginning in 1979. Here is one of the commercials from 1981:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Rt--oTOU4
 
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