R.I.P - Really Important Passed-aways (or The Dead Thread)

1. This thread is specifically for those who have now gone to the great gig in the sky, hereby referred to as 'dead'.
2. Only influential 'dead' artistes may feature in this thread. No 'live' persons may be included even if their music does suggest otherwise.
3. No, I think Mark Knopfler is still alive.


I'm gonna kick us off with a fairly obvious Jeff Buckley (1966 - 1997). Just ONE album! (plus an unfinished one, and many live recordings), but what a fabulous record "Grace" is. Whenever I hear songs like Dream Brother, So Real, or that definitive version of Leonard Cohen's Hallellujah I wonder where Buckley's career might have taken his music. If this is what he could accomplish on his debut in 1994 aged just 28, imagine the body of work he might now have created.

well, I know he does not influence anyone but I think he might have become one of the best drummers in the world if he wouldn't have panicked in that lift and died while trying to escape from it...

Gerhard "Jerry" Fuchs from the american postrock band Maserati...

Well it was his birthday yesterday(friday) he would have been 64 If he hadn't died 4 months ago.
Stuart 'Woolly' Wolstenholme created 7 solo albums and contributed to around 12 albums with his original band. He also wrote the music to several children's programmes in the early 80s and collaborated with other music projects. He was himself inspired as much by Mahler as McCartney, with his mellotron compositions he was committed to combining classical and rock music, once describing his work as an "attempt to bridge the gap between Radios 1 and 3".
Some of his proudest moments were when his band performed with a large orchestra, and up until his death, he was still experimenting and creating in his own unique way.
Largely Passed by as a Passed-away, his influence is still felt, witness to the amount of heartfelt comments that are still added to the online book of condolences.


Woolly guestbook


Pink Floyd's Rick Wright is another keyboardist/writer of influence too. RIP

Frank Sinatra - What a great artist
Robert Palmer - what an artist/singer-/songwriter
Freddie Mercury - without words
Falco - an amacing Austrian singer/songwriter

Unfortunatelly so many people joined the great gig in the sky...

No Dead Thread should be without a paragraph on Nick Drake. A man out of his time.
He was a very gifted singer,songwriter, and acoustic guitarist - people even now, 37 years after his death, try to fathom his inspired guitar-tunings which were often done on a song-by-song basis.
In the last few years of his short life he fell into deep depression, partly due to the increasingly indifferent reception to his three albums; 1969 (Five Leaves Left), 1970 (Bryter Later), and 1972 (Pink Moon) at that time. Now ofcourse they are considered classics of beautiful, sophisticated folk poetry.
His sister, the actress Gabrielle Drake has said Nick would have been delighted by the recognition his songs have gained in the last 20 years because it means his music is communicating with people - something he always craved.

[i]And I was green, greener than the hill,
Where flowers grew and the sun shone still
Now I'm darker than the deepest sea
Just hand me down, give me a place to be

Arthur Lee - Love.

'Forever Changes', Love's 1967 magnum opus appears high up in 'greatest albums ever made' lists to this day. Arthur stepped off the coil on August 3rd 2006.

The DaddyO 44 wrote:

His sister, the actress Gabrielle Drake has said Nick would have been delighted by the recognition his songs have gained in the last 20 years because it means his music is communicating with people - something he always craved.

This is so poignant, but true...and important, if nothing else, to the ones left behind that were touched by these souls.

I was only made aware of Nick's music in the last few years through him being played on the radio, now I cherish some of his albums. Jeff Buckley, I regret never seeing him play live, but I play his albums, a live dvd and read with tears the book about him and his dad.

Steve Marriott http://www.humble-pie.net/

and Ronnie Lane http://www.the-faces.com/lane/index.html

also both had tragic ends too soon, but their music lives on...I went to a Slim Chance gig recently, with original band members singing/playing Ronnie's parts and stood behing Ronnie's brother in the audience, who was very moved by the shared love in the room ...as were we all

Oh man, how 'bout three of the mighty Ramones...Dee Dee, Johnny and Joey are all gone now. Joey was an especially harsh loss; he really was one of music's all-time great characters. Without him there would be no Ramones, and without the Ramones life would definitely suck a bit more.

The DaddyO 44 wrote:

I'm gonna kick us off with a fairly obvious Jeff Buckley (1966 - 1997). Just ONE album! (plus an unfinished one, and many live recordings), but what a fabulous record "Grace" is. Whenever I hear songs like Dream Brother, So Real, or that definitive version of Leonard Cohen's Hallellujah I wonder where Buckley's career might have taken his music. If this is what he could accomplish on his debut in 1994 aged just 28, imagine the body of work he might now have created.

Thank you.

I'm confident in saying that if Jeff Buckley were to have not drowned, he'd have become one of the biggest artists of my generation. (I was always fond of "Lilac Wine" myself. )