By Frank “Smokin” Truatt
At the end of every year, we remember those we lost and highlight the impact they’ve had on our world. Since this article is primarily about music, this is my tribute to some of those musicians that we lost in 2023. Denny Laine died on December 5th of complications following Covid-19. Denny co-founded The Moody Blues and was asked by Paul McCartney to join a band he was forming called “Wings.” We lost Jean Knight at the age of 80. She sang one of my favorite 1970’s songs, “Mr. Big Stuff.” Rudolf Isley, along with his brothers, brought their unique sound to radio, with hits like “It’s Your Thing” and “Who’s That Lady.” Roger Whitiker’s biggest pop hit was “The Last Farewell.” Roger too gave us a final farewell in 2023. Tina Turner, who was simply “The Best,” was gone in May. Gary Wright is best known for the dreamy song, “Dream Weaver,” peaking at number 2 in 1976. Jimmy Buffett transformed his easy-going beachy vibe into a brand name for restaurants, tequila and even an Atlantic City casino. Robbie Robertson, co-founder of The Band passed away in August. He was the sole writer of the band’s first four hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave Joan Baez her biggest hit by writing “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” Sinead O’Connor left us after a controversial life with the song “Nothing Compares to U.” Randy Meisner, the original bassist for The Eagles died at the age of 77. Peter Nero, “Theme From The Summer of ’42” was gone in July. We also lost Astrud Gilberto, “The Girl From Ipanema,” Ed Ames of The Ames Brothers and “My Cup Runneth Over,” Harry Belafonte, “Day-O,” Bobby Caldwell, “What You Won’t Do For Love” and Gary Rossington, the last surviving member of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Back to the early days of rock and roll, we lost Chuck Jackson, “Any Day Now” and Huey “Piano” Smith, “Don’t You Just Know It.” Burt Bacharach, one of the most accomplished pop music composers of the 20th century, left us along with Barrett Strong, “Money (That’s What I Want)” and co-writer of some of Motown’s biggest hits. David Crosby was a member of the Byrds and a constant member of the band along with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Jeff Beck was one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time. Tony Bennett, one of the last with a direct connection to the Great American Songbook left us in July. My Tony Bennett story was about the first time I had tickets to attend his concert at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, New Jersey. It was about 15 years ago, when to my surprise, I received an email from the theater asking how I enjoyed the performance the night before. Ouch! I missed the concert! The good news is that I did get to see him a year later on the next tour, and it was amazing! Which reminds me of the other concert missed at the Mayo. Once again, about 15 years ago, we arrived in Morristown early to grab dinner. Walking by the theater, the name on the billboard announcing that night’s concert was not who I was there to see. We had missed the concert by one day, and my front row seats for Gordon Lightfoot sat empty for that performance! Years later, I finally got the chance to see him at the Mayo. We lost Gordon in May of this year. These are only a few of the artists we lost in 2023. They may be gone, however they have achieved immortality through their music. That is their legacy. For all of us, along with generations to come, we will be enjoying the music that these talented performers have left for us. And by the way, on my list of things to do this year will be to get out, enjoy and mostly appreciate more live performances from some of my favorite entertainers.
