Rocks Off put it off as long as we could, because December has been a pretty rough month. It always is for music. (Hollywood, too.) But it’s time to call the roll of people who played or sang their last note in 2012, plus a few who were just as instrumental offstage.
Precious few corners of the musical spectrum went untouched this year. In memoriam:
YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO
- Levon Helm, The Band
- Earl Scruggs
- Doc Watson
- Andy Griffith
- Kitty Wells
- Joe South
- Scott McKenzie
- Gene Thomas, Gene & Debbe
- Davy Jones, The Monkees
- Robin Gibb, The Bee Gees
- Andy Williams
- Hal David, lyricist (“The Look of Love”)
- Dave Brubeck
- Ravi Shankar
- Javier Olivares, La Pura Sabrosura
- Johnny Perez, Sir Douglas Quintet
- Jenni Rivera
- Donna Summer
- Etta James
- Whitney Houston
- Marva Whitney
- Jimmy Ellis, The Trammps
- Johnny Otis
- Jimmy McCracklin
- Donald “Duck” Dunn, Booker T & the MGs
- Ronnie Montrose, Montrose
- Adam “MCA” Yauch, Beastie Boys
- Bob Welch, Fleetwood Mac
- Greg Ham, Men at Work
- Dennis Flemion, The Frogs
- Lee Dorman, Iron Butterfly
- Jon Lord, Deep Purple
- Mike Scaccia, Rigor Mortis/Ministry
- Mitch Lucker, Suicide Silence
OFFSTAGE
Bobby Lewis, owner, Houston juke joint Miss Ann’s Playpen
Brent Grulke, SXSW Creative Director
Dick Clark, American Bandstand host
Don Cornelius, Soul Train host
Jim Marshall, founder, Marshall amplifiers
Gil Friesen, A&M Records
BONUS RDIO PLAYLIST BY CRAIG HLAVATY
