Les McCann

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/01/02/les-mccann-jazz-pianist-dead-compared-to-what/

 

I’m admittedly very late on this one, as jazz pianist and vocalist Les McCann died back on December 29^th. Although I’m largely unfamiliar with his body of work, I finally decided that there were three reasons why I should note his passing:

 

·        He discovered Roberta Flack and got her signed to Atlantic Records. (The rest is history.)

·        He and his trio backed the great Lou Rawls on his splendid 1962 debut album, Stormy Monday.

·        Last, but certainly not least, his fiery 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival performance of “Compared To What” (with the rest of his trio, along with Eddie Harris on tenor saxophone and Benny Bailey on trumpet) brought this classic protest anthem to the attention of the wider world.

Mary Weiss (Shangri-Las)

https://variety.com/2024/music/obituaries-people-news/mary-weiss-shangri-las-dead-girl-groups-1235879771/

 

The Shangri-Las, best known for the #1 smash “Leader Of The Pack”, were perhaps the most distinctive of the 1960s “girl groups”. While there are several collections of their material available, 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection - The Best of The Shangri-Las is almost worth picking up just for Dave Thompson’s splendid liner notes, which start as follows:

 

Is she really going out with him?

 

Yes, but probably not for long.

 

The course of true love has never run smoothly, but few girls ever suffered so much tragedy as the Shangri-Las. Mary, Betty, Marge and Mary-Ann endured enough heartache, heartbreak, sadness, sorrow, disaster and death to turn them off romance forever. They watched one boyfriend die in a head-on motorcycle accident, saw another one drafted to Vietnam, dumped a third because his kisses were not sweet enough, lost their mother and their innocence – yet they still came bouncing back for more. When I say I’m in love, you’d best believe I’m in love—LUV.

 

Favorite songs:

Leader Of The Pack

Out In The Streets

Give Him A Great Big Kiss

Remember (Walkin’ In The Sand)

I Can Never Go Home Anymore