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Composer and arranger Johnny Mandel died June 29 2020

John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925 – June 29, 2020), known as Johnny Mandel, was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. He worked with many musicians including Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O’Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Diane Schuur and Shirley Horn, and won five Grammy Awards – from 17 nominations. John Alfred “Johnny” Mandel was born in Manhattan on November 23, 1925. His father, Alfred, was a garment manufacturer who ran his own business called Mandel & Cash, and his mother, Hannah, had wanted to be an opera singer and discovered…
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Jamaican guitarist for Toots and the Maytals and Paul Simon, Hux Brown died June 18, 2020

Lynford Brown (December 4, 1944 – June 18, 2020), known as Hux Brown, was a Jamaican guitarist who featured on many successful rocksteady and reggae records in the 1960s and 1970s, and was later a member of Toots and the Maytals. Lynford “Hux” Brown was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica. He was nicknamed “Fordie”When at school, then “Fordux”, which eventually became “Hux”. He formed a band, the Vikings, before moving to Kingston where he joined the Soul Brothers at Clement Dodd’s Studio One label. In 1967, he moved to the rival Treasure Isle studio for producer Duke Reid, and the…
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UFO guitarist Tonka Chapman died June 9, 2020

Paul William “Tonka” Chapman (June 9, 1954 – June 9, 2020) was a Welsh rock guitarist known as Tonka Chapman and best known for his work in bands such as UFO, Waysted and Lone Star. Paul Chapman was well known by his nickname “Tonka”, allegedly given to him because of his indestructible qualities. Tonka Chapman’s first notable band was when he replaced Gary Moore as guitarist in Skid Row in December 1971, but his time in the band was fairly short and only lasted until July 1972. His next band was Kimla Taz, which he was guitarist in from December…
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Pointer Sister Bonnie Pointer died June 8, 2020

Patricia Eva “Bonnie” Pointer (July 11, 1950 – June 8, 2020) was an American singer, and founding member of the legendary vocal group, The Pointer Sisters, as well as a solo performer. Bonnie Pointer and her youngest sister June began singing together in their father’s West Oakland Church of God in California. They formed The Pointers, also known as The Pair, in 1969. After their sister Anita joined the duo that same year, they changed their name to The Pointer Sisters and recorded several singles for Atlantic Records between 1971 and 1972. In December 1972, they recruited oldest sister Ruth…
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The Sweet Bass player Steve Priest died June 4, 2020

Steve Priest (February 23, 1948 – June 4, 2020) was a British bass player and lead and backing vocalist of the glam rock band The Sweet. Stephen Norman (Steve) Priest was born in Hayes, Middlesex, UK. As a young teenager he made his own bass guitar and began playing in local bands after being influenced by artists such as the Shadows, the Rolling Stones and The Who. In January 1968, Steve Priest was invited to form a band with vocalist Brian Connolly, drummer Mick Tucker, and guitarist Frank Torpey. That band that was to become The Sweet. Frank Torpey was…
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KISS, Meat Loaf and WASP guitarist Bob Kulick died on May 29, 2020

Robert J. (Bob) Kulick (January 16, 1950 – May 29, 2020) was an American guitarist and record producer, best known for his studio work with KISS and shock-rock heavy metal band W.A.S.P. Robert J. (Bob) Kulick was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was the older brother of another former KISS lead guitarist Bruce Kulick. In late 1972 Bob Kulick took a chance and auditioned for the lead guitar spot in a new band called KISS. KISS founding members Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss were very impressed by Bob’s performance, but the glitzier showman Ace Frehley, who auditioned…
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Jazz Drummer Jimmy Cobb died May 24, 2020

Wilbur James Cobb (January 20, 1929 – May 24, 2020) was an American jazz drummer, known as Jimmy Cobb, and a member of the legendary Miles Davis’s First Great Sextet. Wilbur James (Jimmy) Cobb was born in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 1929 to Wilbur Cobb, a security guard and taxi driver, and Katherine, a domestic worker. As a teenager in the mid-1940s he became obsessed with jazz, listening to American wartime broadcasts and washing dishes in diners to save money to buy a drum kit. His dream was to learn the polyrhythmic innovations of the bebop drum masters Kenny…
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Bluesman Lucky Peterson died May 17, 2020.

Judge Kenneth Peterson (December 13, 1964 – May 17, 2020), KNOW AS Lucky Peterson, was an American singer and musician who played contemporary blues guitar and keyboards, fusing soul, R&B, gospel and rock and roll. Lucky Peterson’s father James Peterson, who was also a bluesman, owned a nightclub in Buffalo, called The Governor’s Inn, which was a regular stop for fellow bluesmen including Howlin Wolf and Willie Dixon, who saw five-year-old Lucky Peterson performing at the club and took him under his wing. A few months later, Lucky Peterson performed on The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show and What’s…
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Soul and R&B singer Betty Wright died May 10, 2020

Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), was known as Betty Wright, and was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and backing vocalist. Born in Miami, Florida, Betty Wright was the youngest of seven children of Rosa Akins Braddy-Wright and her second husband, McArthur Norris. Betty Wright began her professional career at the age of two when her brothers and sisters formed a gospel group called “the Echoes of Joy”, and she contributed to the vocals on the group’s first album which was released in 1956. “The Echoes of Joy” performed together until 1965, when Betty…
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Rock n Roll Legend Little Richard died May 9, 2020

Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), better known as Little Richard, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Richard Wayne Penniman was born in Macon, Georgia, and was the third of 12 children to Charles “Bud” Penniman and Leva Mae. His father was a church deacon, a brick mason, sold bootlegged moonshine and owned a nightclub called the Tip In Inn. As a child Richard Penniman was nicknamed “Lil’ Richard” by his family because of his small and skinny frame. Little Richard’s family was very religious and joined various churches, with several family members becoming ministers….
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