March 2017 Remembrances

AM Matt

Forum Undertaker
Singer Tommy Page has committed suicide at 46 years old on Friday. The song "I'll Be Your Everything" went to # 1 back in April 14, 1990 with New Kids On The Block as backing vocalists. His other songs included "A Shoulder To Cry On" & "When I Dream Of You". Matt Clark Sanford, MI
 
Singer Valerie Carter has died Friday at 64 years old. The remake of The Five Stairsteps 1970 song "O-o-h Child" was a song that she did in 1977. Also Eddie Money dueted with her on the song "Let's Be Lovers Again" (from Eddie's 1980 album "Playing For Keeps"). She was also a backing vocalist for Christopher Cross among others. Matt Clark Sanford, MI
 
Sad. Valerie Carter recorded with Howdy Moon for the A&M album just called HOWDY MOON (SP-3628) in 1974. Her self-composed "Cook With Honey" (also performed by Judy Collins) appeared on the album and is a favorite of mine. The album has been available on CD from Japan at least twice, as D32Y3569 for the A&M 25th Anniversary and on SHM-CD (UICY-75315) for the A&M 50th Anniversary.

 
Valerie Carter did at least two albums for Columbia back in the late '70s, the best of which was the second, called Wild Child. It had several members of Toto playing on it, and was produced by James Newton Howard (who did a lot of fine work with Elton John). The album was kind of in the Boz Scaggs / Toto style of soft rock, kind of jazzy in spots, but she didn't make any hits from it and it is pretty forgotten today. sad to say. I liked it a lot.
 
Former game show host Geoff Edwards has died at 83 years old. Geoff hosted "Jackpot", "The New Treasure Hunt" & "Chain Reaction" among others. Matt Clark Sanford, MI
 
Sad. Valerie Carter recorded with Howdy Moon for the A&M album just called HOWDY MOON (SP-3628) in 1974. Her self-composed "Cook With Honey" (also performed by Judy Collins) appeared on the album and is a favorite of mine. The album has been available on CD from Japan at least twice, as D32Y3569 for the A&M 25th Anniversary and on SHM-CD (UICY-75315) for the A&M 50th Anniversary.


Lovely song. I had no idea she'd been a solo artist. I first became aware of her through my appreciation of James Taylor and his Live At The Beacon and Squibnocket concerts and then noticed she was credited on several of his albums and also my Curtis Stigers' Brighter Days album. Reading up on her work now I realise they were only a couple of the many artists she'd worked with. Very sad.
 
Just found out that jazz flute player Dave Valentin died earlier today. He suffered a stroke during a gig in 2012 and never recovered. He was only 65.
:cry:
 
Joni Sledge - member of Sister Sledge ("We are Family") - was found deceased in her home by a friend. She was 60. Cause of death has not yet been released.
 
Joey Alves, original rhythm guitarist of Y&T, died today at age 63 from complications of ulcerative colitis. The band had several A&M album releases in the '80s and a well known hit, "Summertime Girls." Dave Meniketti, who continues to lead the group, posted a tribute today on Facebook.

Dave Meniketti | Facebook


JB
 
Tommy LiPuma, 1936-2017

Grammy award winning record producer and music business executive Tommy LiPuma died Monday evening in New York City after a brief illness. His death was confirmed by his wife, Gill LiPuma.

LiPuma’s productions have resulted in more than 75 million albums sold (with 35 of these certified gold or platinum), 33 Grammy nominations, and five Grammy wins. George Benson, Natalie Cole, Miles Davis, Diana Krall, Sir Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand are but a few of the artists whom he produced during his career.

In addition to his record production work, LiPuma served in significant positions at almost every major record company—from being the first staff producer at A&M Records, and co-founder of Blue Thumb Records, in the 1960s; to head of Jazz and Progressive Music at Warner Bros. through the ‘80s; to Senior Vice-President of A&R at Elektra, and President of GRP and Impulse, in the ‘90s. From ’98 to 2004, he was Chairman of Verve Music, and Chairman Emeritus from ’04 through ’11.

Born Thomas LiPuma in 1936, he grew up in Cleveland and studied the saxophone as a high school student. LiPuma initially worked as a barber before he was offered an entry-level position packing records at a warehouse, which served as his entry into the music business.

Within a year, LiPuma moved to Los Angeles to be a radio promoter for Liberty Records, before transitioning to the publishing end of the business and embarking on his production career with early recordings for Jackie DeShannon, Randy Newman and The O’Jays (the latter yielding the Top 40 R&B hit, “Lipstick Traces”).

His later tenures working at A&M, Blue Thumb (which he co-founded with partner Bob Krasnow), Horizon, Warner Bros. and, eventually, GRP/Verve Records found him producing successful albums for artists including George Benson (Breezin’), Natalie Cole, Miles Davis, Dr. John, Al Jarreau, Queen Latifah David Sanborn, the Sandpipers (“Guantanamera”) and Barbara Streisand.

It was during his last label stint at GRP/Verve that LiPuma began his collaboration with Diana Krall, yielding eleven records, multiple Grammy nominations and over 15 million albums sold.

In 2011, Paul McCartney asked him to produce his next album, Kisses On The Bottom. The record was a critical success for the Concord Music Group, garnering a Grammy Award for Best Pop Standard Album (Vocal). LiPuma continued producing records subsequently for his long time collaborator, Leon Russell, as well as for up and coming trumpeter Dominick Farinacci. Fittingly, his final production was his collaboration with Diana Krall on her forthcoming album,Turn Up the Quiet, engineered by Al Schmitt.

Outside of music, LiPuma’s passion was 20th Century American Modernism. Works from his collection, which features pieces from such artists as Marsden Hartley, John Marin, and Alfred Maurer, have been displayed at numerous museums and galleries around the United States.

In 2012, the Board of Trustees of Cuyahoga Community College named the College’s arts center the Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts, in recognition of LiPuma’s support of the Cuyahoga Community College Foundation, the College and the students served.

Lipuma is survived by his wife, Gill, daughters Jen Monti and Danielle Wiener, and grandchildren Matty, Julia, Chloe and Ava. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made in his name to the Tommy LiPuma Endowment Fund at Cuyahoga Community College or to City Meals on Wheels. Plans for a public memorial service will be announced shortly.
 
LiPuma did much to ignite or further the careers of so many dozens of artists that it I can't even begin to list them all. He was one of the last really good old school "record men" out there.
 
"Who Needs You" from Claudine Longet's LOVE IS BLUE album (A&M SP 4142) in 1968 features Tommy Lipuma on vocals.




JB
 
The late Chuck Barris doing the late Johnny Paycheck "Take This Job & Shove It" (from the very last "Gong Show" episode from late 1978): Matt Clark Sanford, MI
 
The late Chuck Barris doing the late Johnny Paycheck "Take This Job & Shove It" (from the very last "Gong Show" episode from late 1978): Matt Clark Sanford, MI

I loved the gong show and this was a perfect way for chuck to leave NBC Of course the syndicated gong show continued until it's 1980 cancellation along with several other barris shows which were simultaneously cancelled in the wake of his unsuccessful and controversial Three's a crowd
 
Former Boston drummer Sib Hashian has died at 67 years old. Sib was on Boston's 1976 self - titled & 1978 "Don't Look Back". Sib was also on former Boston member Barry Goudreau 1980 solo album. Read the story: Sib Hashian - Wikipedia Matt Clark Sanford, MI
 
Clem Curtis, lead singer of The Foundations (UNI Records) ("Baby, Now That I Found You" & "Build Me Up Buttercup") has died of cancer at 76 years old. Matt Clark Sanford, MI
 
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