2025

Sonny Curtis died on September 19, 2025

Sonny Curtis: A Life in Song Early Years Sonny Curtis was born on May 9, 1937, in the small farming community of Meadow, Texas. He grew up in a large family, the son of cotton farmers who knew the value of hard work. Music, though, was his first love. Even as a small child he gravitated toward the guitar, picking up songs by ear and learning from relatives who played traditional country and bluegrass. By the time he was in grade school he could already play competently, and music quickly became both an escape from the demands of farm life…
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Grammy Winning Songwriter Brett James died September 18, 2025

Brett James: A Life in Song Brett James was one of the most prolific and respected songwriters in modern country music, as well as a singer and record producer. Over his nearly three-decade career in Nashville, he went from hopeful recording artist to one of the go-to writers behind dozens of Number One country hits. His compositions were recorded by hundreds of artists, and his impact on the sound of contemporary country music was immense. Early Life and Education Brett James was born Brett James Cornelius in Columbia, Missouri, on June 5, 1968 and grew up in Oklahoma. From an…
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Supertramp’s Rick Davies died September 6, 2025

Rick Davies: the quiet fulcrum of Supertramp Rick Davies was pianist with a bluesman’s left hand and a sardonic baritone who built a global phenomenon on odd bedfellows: Wurlitzer bark and saxophone sheen; prog-rock architecture and pop instinct; his earthier grit set against Roger Hodgson’s high, airy tenor. Across five decades he was the band’s only constant, its principal organizer and de facto musical director, and one of rock’s most distinctive keyboard stylists. Davies died on September 6, 2025, at his home in East Hampton, Long Island, from complications of multiple myeloma. He was 81. Early years in Swindon Richard…
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Mark Volman died on September 5, 2025

Mark Volman: A Life in Music, Laughter, and Legacy Mark Volman was an American vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, educator, and performer who left an indelible mark on rock history. Best known as a founding member of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, Volman also became widely recognized for his long-running partnership with Howard Kaylan in the 1970s rock duo Flo & Eddie. Under the pseudonym “Flo” (short for The Phlorescent Leech), Volman brought a mix of humor, vocal brilliance, and showmanship that kept him at the forefront of popular music. His time with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention further…
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Mastodon’s Brent Hinds died August 20, 2025

Brent Hinds (January 16, 1974 – August 20, 2025) Early Life & Musical Roots William Brent Hinds was born on January 16, 1974, in Helena, Alabama. Growing up in the South meant he was surrounded by a unique mix of country, gospel, and rock traditions. Unlike many heavy metal musicians who first cut their teeth on hard rock records, Hinds began with the banjo. The banjo would leave a permanent imprint on his approach to guitar, as he developed a hybrid-picking style that merged fingerpicking and flatpicking techniques. This banjo-informed technique became one of his defining trademarks. As a child,…
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Cool John Ferguson died August 12, 2025

Cool John Ferguson: A Life in Blues, Soul, and Spirit Early Roots in Gullah Culture and the Genesis of a Musical Prodigy John W. Ferguson, known professionally as Cool John Ferguson, was born on December 3, 1953, in Beaufort, South Carolina, a town deeply embedded in the Sea Islands and the traditions of the Gullah Geechee people. The Gullah culture preserved strong ties to West African heritage, maintaining distinctive languages, spiritual practices, and music forms. It was into this environment of rhythm, call-and-response, and deeply felt song that Cool John was born, and these sounds would form the foundation of…
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Sheila Jordan died August 11, 2025

Sheila Jordan (1928–2025): A Life in Jazz A Voice Born from Adversity Sheila Jeanette Dawson was born on November 18, 1928, in Detroit, Michigan. Her childhood was marked by instability: her father disappeared shortly after her birth, and her mother battled alcoholism. Sheila spent much of her early life with her grandparents in Summerhill, Pennsylvania, a small coal-mining town defined by poverty and struggle. The emotional and economic hardships of her youth left a lasting imprint on her sense of resilience and on the deep emotional timbre of her music. She often recalled that singing became her means of survival….
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Bobby Whitlock died August 10, 2025

Early Life and Musical Roots Bobby Whitlock was born Robert Stanley “Bobby” Whitlock in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 18, 1948, and grew up in a poverty-stricken environment in Millington, just outside Memphis. His formative years were steeped in the soulful resonance of Southern gospel, particularly from his early experiences in church music. This spiritual musical foundation deeply shaped his style as both a singer and keyboardist. As a teenager, Bobby Whitlock gravitated toward the Stax Records scene. He developed friendships with key soul artists—including Booker T. & the M.G.’s, the Staple Singers, and Albert King—and began appearing on sessions. Notably,…
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Flaco Jiménez died July 31, 2025

Flaco Jiménez: The Accordion King of Conjunto and Tex-Mex Music Flaco Jiménez, born Leonardo Jiménez in San Antonio, Texas, on March 11, 1939, was a towering figure in American roots music, whose legacy spanned nearly eight decades. A Grammy-winning accordion virtuoso and genre-bending innovator, Jiménez was best known for his mastery of conjunto, norteño, and tejano music. As both a solo artist and a collaborative force, he redefined the cultural boundaries of American popular music by blending traditional Mexican folk sounds with rock, country, blues, and R\&B. His role in legendary bands like the Texas Tornados and Los Super Seven,…
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Jazz Scat singer Cleo Laine died July 24, 2025.

Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth: The Voice That Sang Scat Across Generations Cleo Laine, born Clementine Dinah Hitching on October 28, 1927, in Southall, Middlesex, England, was a trailblazing English jazz and pop singer and an accomplished actress. Renowned for her wide vocal range and expert scat singing, Laine left an indelible mark on both British and international music and theater. Over a career that spanned eight decades, she became not only a cultural icon but also a symbol of boundary-crossing artistry in the world of jazz, classical, and stage performance. Cleo Laine passed away on July 24, 2025, just…
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