Obituary Archives - Page 58 of 83

LifeNotes: Pedal Steel Pioneer Bud Isaacs Passes

September 9, 2016/by Robert K Oermann

Bud Isaacs, who made country music history as the first person to play the pedal steel guitar on a hit record, has died. Isaacs was 88 years old. He passed away in Arizona on Sunday, Sept. 4.

He was born Forrest Isaacs in Indiana on March 26, 1928 and developed his love for country music by listening to Hawaiian steel guitarist Jerry Byrd on WLW’s Midwestern Hayride out of Cincinnati.

After his radio debut on WIBC in Indianapolis, Isaacs began traveling to perform on various barn-dance shows in 1944. He worked in Texas, Arizona, Michigan and elsewhere during the following decade.

Jimmy Dickens hired him as a sideman. This association led to Isaacs performing on the Grand Ole Opry in 1950-54, then to a stint in Red Foley’s band at the Ozark Jubilee in Springfield, Missouri in 1954-57.

Isaacs was experimenting with different instrumental techniques throughout the early 1950s. In 1953, he added foot and knee pedals to a steel guitar. By manipulating these, he was able to vary the tension on individual strings to create bending, warbling, sustained, highly expressive notes.

In November 1953, Webb Pierce tapped him to play the then-new pedal steel guitar on his recording of “Slowly.” It became a massive hit in 1954, revolutionized the instrument and led to country music’s wholesale embrace of its sound. Dozens of instrumentalists rushed to imitate the playing style of Bud Isaacs. The stylist, himself, became an in-demand session player.

In addition to Pierce, Dickens and Foley, his playing can be heard on records by Jim Reeves, Skeeter Davis, Chet Atkins, Kitty Wells, Justin Tubb, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Buck Owens, Wilf Carter and more.

In 1954-56, he was a solo recording artist for RCA. Among his tunes for the label is the steel standard “Bud’s Bounce.” His 1955 RCA EP Crying Steel Guitar is highly collectible. He also recorded as a member of The Country All Stars alongside Atkins, Jethro Burns, Homer Haynes and Dale Potter. In 1956-57, he worked with Gibson Guitars as a steel designer.

Bud Isaacs was married to singer, yodeler and bass player Geri Mapes. They toured for years as The Golden West Singers before retiring to Yuma, Arizona.

He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1984. Since then, German record companies have issued three compilations of his recordings, Master of the Steel Guitar (2005), Swingin’ Steel Guitar of Bud Isaacs (2005) and Bud’s Bounce (2006).

Bud Isaacs will be cremated in Yuma, and a memorial service will be held at a later date.

LifeNotes: Fiddle Great Hoot Hester Passes

August 30, 2016/by Robert K Oermann

Hoot Hester

Longtime Opry staff fiddler Hoot Hester died Tuesday (Aug. 30) at age 65. Hester joined the Grand Ole Opry staff band in 2000 and remained there until 2014.

He also appeared with the Western swing ensemble The Time Jumpers, was once a member of Wylie & The Wild West and had an extensive resume as a session musician. Though best known as a fiddler, Hester was also proficient on mandolin and guitar.

Born Hubert Dwane Hester in Kentucky, he was inspired by his fiddle-playing father, piano-playing mother and four uncles who were also musicians. Following high school, he joined the Louisville bluegrass band Bluegrass Alliance.

He moved to Nashville in 1973 and was hired by The Whites. Stints touring with Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis and Donna Fargo ensued.

In the 1980s, he decided to focus on studio work. He joined forces with steel guitarist Buddy Emmons and guitarist Phil Baugh to form Sound Factory. They formed the basis for the “house” bands on the TV shows That Nashville Music and Nashville Alive.

Beginning around 1983, Hoot Hester became a regular at Nashville recording sessions. Throughout the rest of that decade he backed Gary Morris, Randy Travis, Dan Seals, Moe Bandy, Vern Gosdin, Conway Twitty and more on their hit records.

Studio success continued in the 1990s, with Hester appearing on the recordings of Ricky Van Shelton, Kenny Rogers, Ray Price, The Statler Brothers, George Strait, Gene Watson, Steve Wariner and more. In the 2000-2010 era, he could be heard on the discs of such stars as Charley Pride, John Conlee, Radney Foster, Dale Watson, Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Larry Gatlin, Merle Haggard and many others. More recent clients have included Alan Jackson and Charlie McCoy.

He was one of the original members of The Time Jumpers when the band was formed in 1997. In 2012, he appeared on The Time Jumpers debut album. Hoot Hester has also recorded with such diverse talents as Alabama, Manhattan Transfer, Hank Williams Jr. and Ray Charles.

In recent years, he has been performing with his daughter Rachel Hester. Billed as Rachel Hester & The Tennessee Walkers, they had a regular weekly gig at Robert’s Western Wear on Lower Broadway.

LifeNotes: Limeliters Singer Glenn Yarbrough Passes

August 12, 2016/by Robert K Oermann

Glenn Yarbrough

Singer Glenn Yarbrough, famed for his 1965 pop hit “Baby the Rain Must Fall” passed away in Nashville on Thursday (August 11) at age 86.

Yarbrough first came to prominence as the lead singer of the folk group The Limeliters in 1959-63. He toured and recorded for more than five decades.

Born in Milwaukee in 1930, he grew up in New York City and attended university in Annapolis, Maryland. His college roommate was Jac Holzman, later the co-founder of Elektra Records. Folk-music great Woody Guthrie met the roommates after a concert and sang all night for them in their dorm. Inspired, Glenn Yarbrough bought a guitar and took up folk singing.

After serving in the Army, Yarbrough moved to South Dakota and starred in his own local TV show. He launched his recording career with his debut LP in 1957 on Holzman’s Elektra imprint. Yarbrough also recorded a duet LP for the company with California folk stylist Marilyn Childs.

He also began to tour as a performer. Following an extended booking at Chicago’s Gate of Horn club, Yarbrough went to Aspen, Colorado, to run his own folk venue, The Limelite. There, he formed The Limeliters with Lou Gottlieb and Alex Hassilev.

The group’s debut LP appeared on Elektra Records in 1960. The following year, The Limeliters hit the pop charts with their single “A Dollar Down.”

Other songs associated with the group include “There’s a Meetin’ Here Tonight,” “The Midnight Special,” “This Train,” “Wayfaring Stranger” and “Gotta Travel On.” Bass player Gottlieb was the Limeliters comic spokesman. Banjo player Hassilev was also an actor and a linguist. Yarbrough played guitar, and his clear tenor was the act’s lead voice.

Glenn Yarbrough left the trio in 1963 to resume his solo career, but he often returned for Limeliters reunion concerts and tours. Group member Lou Gottlieb died in 1996 at age 72. His son is Nashville artist manager Tony Gottlieb.

“Baby the Rain Must Fall” was the title tune of a movie starring Steve McQueen and Lee Remick. Following his hit with the song on RCA, Yarbrough returned to the hit parade with 1965’s “It’s Gonna Be Fine.”

Among his other notable songs of this era were versions of Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” the Jay Livingston/Ray Evans favorite “All the Time” and Rod McKuen’s “Channing Way,” “The Lonely Things” and “The World I Used to Know.”

For the rest of his life, Glenn Yarbrough divided his time between making music and sailing the boat he built. He’d sail it until he ran out of money, then he’d do shows until he’d saved up enough to take to the water again. He kept this up until he reached 80.

He moved to Nashville in 2010 to be cared for by his daughter, Holly Yarbrough Burnett. Glenn Yarbrough is survived by her, by daughter Stephany Yarbrough, son Sean Yarbrough and son-in-law Robert Burnett. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

LifeNotes: Country Songwriter Richard Fagan Passes

August 6, 2016/by Robert K Oermann

Richard Fagan. Photo: Bev Moser/Moments By Moser

Hit Nashville songwriter Richard Fagan has succumbed to liver cancer.

He died Friday (Aug. 5) with his wife by his side, The Tennessean reported.

Working with a variety of collaborators, Fagan was responsible for such country hits as John Michael Montgomery’s “Be My Baby Tonight,” “I Miss You a Little” and “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident),” as well as George Strait’s “Overnight Male.”

As a writer, Fagan had six Top 10 hits, 20 charted songs and more than 65 recorded titles.

His songs were sung by Shania Twain, Hank Williams Jr., Neil Diamond, George Jones and The Blues Brothers, among many others. Albums containing his songs have sold more than 25 million copies. His works have appeared on the soundtracks of five feature films and in national television sports broadcasts.

Noted for his colorful lyrics and novelty numbers, Fagan was just as colorful as a personality. His high-strung personality often manifested itself in an irreverent sense of humor.

Richard Fagan was born in 1947. His father died of tuberculosis when the boy was 3, and he was raised in the housing projects of South Philadelphia. His mother cleaned homes and offices for a living. Fagan’s education was on the rough streets of his hometown.

He picked up the guitar at age 14 and began leading street-corner harmony groups shortly thereafter. Fagan was drafted and sent to Vietnam, where he turned 21. His tour of duty included singing war protest songs, going AWOL, growing his moustache and being arrested for having subversive literature.

Following his discharge in 1968, he became a homeless vagabond. He married and had a son, but when the marriage ended in 1975, he sank into drug and alcohol abuse. He again became homeless.

But he also began writing songs. Philadelphia music entrepreneur Tom Oteri recorded Fagan singing his works in 1976 and began sending the tapes to industry tastemakers. Producer Bob Gaudio heard and liked one of them. Gaudio had famously worked with The Four Seasons, Diana Ross, Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand. He took Fagan’s “The Good Lord Loves You” to Neil Diamond, and it became an adult contemporary hit for the singer in 1980.

Guadio also got the songwriter a pop recording contract with Mercury Records and produced his debut LP Richard Fagan. It was released in 1979. But the follow-up LP was shelved by the label two years later and Fagan lost his recording contract. In 1985, he made his first exploratory trips to Nashville.

Up to this point, he had mainly written songs alone. In Nashville, he discovered he enjoyed co-writing. His collaborators over the ensuing years included Larry Alderman, Robb Royer, Ed Hill, Patti Ryan, Ralph James, Rich Grissom and Gordon Kennedy.

Fagan and Oteri moved to Music City in January 1986. Within a week, Con Hunley became the first country star to record one of his tunes, “Blue Suede Blues.” In 1988, Fagan had his first Top 10 success when Moe Bandy recorded his “Americana.” It became an official campaign theme song for President George H.W. Bush, who was a big country fan.

Next, Opry star Mel McDaniel had a Top 10 success with Fagan’s “Real Good Feel Good Song.” McDaniel also recorded 1989’s “You Can’t Play the Blues (In an Air Conditioned Room),” which was covered by The Blues Brothers in 1992. In the early 1990s, the songwriter also began providing novelty tunes to such comedy acts as Pinkard & Bowden, Ethel & The Shameless Hussies, Cledus T. Judd, Kacey Jones and his own band, Phillybilly.

In 1992, Strait included “Overnight Male” on the multi-million-selling soundtrack album of his movie Pure Country. Twain sang Fagan’s “Crime of the Century” on the soundtrack of the Nicolas Cage thriller Red Rock West the following year. Kevin Costner’s 1996 film Tin Cup included Patty Loveless singing the songwriter’s “Where Are You Boy.”

Meanwhile, Tom Oteri’s daughter, Cheri Oteri, gained national fame as a manic comic force on NBC-TV’s Saturday Night Live in 1995-2000. She memorably lampooned Barbara Walters, Judge Judy, Kathie Lee Gifford and other celebrities and starred opposite Will Ferrell in the “Spartans Cheerleaders” segments.

During this same period in Nashville, Tom Oteri ran Fagan’s publishing company as Collin Raye, B.B. Watson, Jason Ringenberg, Ray Kennedy, Chris LeDoux, The Crickets, Jeff Carson, Shenandoah, Ricochet and others were snapping up the songwriter’s compositions. The team’s publishing company was called “OF music,” the “O” standing for Oteri and the “F” standing for Fagan.

The songwriter reached the peak of his success when John Michael Montgomery hit the top of the charts with a trio of his works in 1994-97. Clay Walker had a big 1996 hit with “Only on Days That End in ‘Y.’”

Fagan’s band Phillybilly released its self-titled CD in that same year. As the lead vocalist of a later group called Superfan, Fagan was widely heard singing the rocking “My House” promoting the 2002 Winter Olympics for eight months on NBC-TV. That song has subsequently been used in more than 30 major-league sports facilities nationwide.

Fagan had a comeback on the country charts with Hank Williams Jr. singing his “Why Can’t We All Get a Longneck” in 2004. He also had cuts with a number of independent-label artists.

Then old demons returned to haunt Richard Fagan. According to The Tennessean, he and Oteri drank heavily on Saturday, April 26, 2008 and had a huge argument around 9 p.m. Fagan slashed Oteri’s wrist with a pocketknife. They were roommates, business partners and longtime friends.

Oteri, 69 at the time, was not a big drinker and was noted for his congenial personality, fatherly manner and gentle disposition. He was not argumentative. He was also weak and ill at the time. Fagan had never been violent and was much loved by Oteri’s adult children.

At about 10:45 p.m. that night, Fagan was arrested on a D.U.I. charge while driving in East Nashville. He called a friend to check on Oteri. After entering the home, this friend called the police. Gaetano Thomas Oteri was pronounced dead at the scene.

Fagan was charged with homicide. He was ordered to enter an alcohol and drug treatment facility. Tom Oteri’s death was later ruled an accident.

Kacey Jones and Cledus T. Judd continued to record his songs, but mainstream country stars stopped recording his works. He reportedly had been ill for some time before he was correctly diagnosed.

LifeNotes: Music Industry Security Director Rusty Martin Passes

August 1, 2016/by Sherod Robertson

Rusty Martin. Photo: facebook.com/rusty.martin.50702

ASCAP security director and former Mississippi highway patrolman Roy L. “Rusty” Martin passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, July 30. He was 62 years old.

A native of Cleveland, Mississippi, his experience in law enforcement set him on a path in the music industry where he provided security services to Arista Records in the 1990s, under the direction of Tim DuBois, and subsequently in similar roles at RCA Label Group and most recently at ASCAP.

Martin’s main responsibility may have been security, but his cheerful personality and warm persona greeted guests and employees with such sincere interest, the security he provided went way beyond the gun in his holster. Absent of any agenda, Martin was always interested in other peoples’ lives, their families, triumphs and trials. He often served as advocate and cheerleader for everyone he knew which was one of his most endearing traits.

He had a boundless passion and love of country music which equally matched both his love of people and his prior experience in law enforcement. As evidenced by the many comments on social media after hearing of his passing, friends will remember Martin as someone who took the time to become personally invested in people.

Tim DuBois shared via Facebook, “Rusty was an amazing friend to all of us. He was always there to greet us with a smile, and we always knew we were safe when he was around. We all loved this man and knew he loved us right back.”

Rusty Martin and his late wife of 28 years, Becky, were the inspiration of Kenny Chesney‘s No. 1 hit “The Good Stuff,” after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and courageously fought her illness until her death in 2000.

“Becky was just a mother and a best friend, and she always had something positive to say about somebody,” Martin told CMT in 2002. “We were so blessed in a bad situation, because she was home and we were all around the bed holding hands until the last breath was taken.” He shared that experience with songwriters Jim Collins and Craig Wiseman and the tale inspired the tunesmiths to pen “The Good Stuff” which became the second single from Kenny Chesney’s album No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems.

Love you my brother.

Arrangements are as follows;

Visitation: Tuesday, August 2, 5:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. CST
Funeral Service: Wednesday, August 3, at 1:00 p.m. CST
The family will also receive visitors Wednesday morning up until the time of the service.

Location:
Booneville Funeral Home
506 N 3rd Street
Booneville, MS 38829
(662) 728-6607
boonevillefuneralhome.net

The Rusty Martin Memorial Fund has been established at Avenue Bank to help cover funeral expenses and will be managed by Rusty’s 3 children, Shane, Shannon & Jason.

Anyone desiring to make a donation can stop by any Avenue Bank branch and make a contribution to the account titled: Rusty Martin Memorial Fund.

If you live out of state or prefer to mail in a contribution, you can send a check to;

Avenue Bank
Attention: Ron Cox
209 Tenth Avenue South, Suite 250
Nashville, TN 37203

Rusty Martin. Photo: facebook.com/rusty.martin.50702

Country Music Hall of Fame Member Bonnie Brown Dies At 77

July 19, 2016/by Robert K Oermann

Bonnie Brown

Funeral services were held for Country Music Hall of Fame member Bonnie Brown on Saturday, July 23 at 10 a.m. at the Presbyterian Church in Dardanelle.

[Previous story below]

Bonnie Brown, who entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015 as a member of The Browns, died Saturday (July 16) at age 77.

With her siblings Jim Ed Brown and Maxine Brown, she created a dulcet-singing harmony trio that achieved success on both country and pop hit parades. The Browns’ 1959 smash hit “The Three Bells” was the first true “Nashville Sound” single to “crossover” and become a No. 1 pop success. Bonnie, Jim Ed and Maxine also had simultaneous pop and country hits with the tender folk-flavored, ballad singles “Scarlet Ribbons” and “The Old Lamplighter.” Bonnie Brown sang with her siblings throughout most of the 1950s and 1960s, placing 20 titles on the country charts.

She was the youngest member of the trio, being four years younger than her brother and seven years younger than her sister. All of the singing Browns were raised in Arkansas. Jim Ed and Maxine came to local prominence as a duo, then achieve national success with the 1954 hit “Looking Back to See.” Bonnie Brown joined them the following year, just after she graduated from high school.

From the start, the trio’s sibling harmony blend was exquisite, with Jim Ed’s fluid baritone, Maxine’s resonant alto and Bonnie’s lilting soprano creating memorable audio overtones. They scored immediately on the country charts with “Here Today and Gone Tomorrow” (1955), “I Take the Chance” (1956) and “I Heard the Bluebirds Sing” (1957).

The Browns’ country successes continued with “Would You Care” (1958) and “Beyond the Shadow” (1959). All three Brown siblings were pitch-perfect harmony singers, but the pattern became Jim Ed singing lead with Bonnie and Maxine as his blending vocalists. They became stars at both The Louisiana Hayride and The Ozark Jubilee. In the early 1950s, The Browns toured with the then-emerging star Elvis Presley, who took a shine to both Bonnie and Maxine.

Bonnie Brown provided the group with much of its visual appeal. Her striking beauty remained with her throughout her subsequent life, onstage and off. The trio’s elegant harmony singing was nowhere better illustrated than on 1959’s “The Three Bells.” This charming, chiming story song was adapted by The Browns from a French pop hit. Produced by Chet Atkins, it was No. 1 on the country charts for 10 weeks and No. 1 on the pop charts for four weeks. Then as now, this was a stunning feat for a Nashville country record.

Bonnie and her siblings replicated that hit’s sound on the pop and country successes “Scarlet Ribbons” (1959) and “The Old Lamplighter” (1960). Then The Browns solidified their country stardom with “Send Me the Pillow You Dream On” (1961), “Then I’ll Stop Loving You” (1964), “Everybody’s Darlin’ Plus Mine” (1964), “I’d Be Just Fool Enough” (1966), “Coming Back to You” (1966) and other hits.

Bonnie Brown

The Browns joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in 1963.

Bonnie Brown withdrew from the group in 1967 to settle back home in Arkansas with her husband and raise their daughters. Jim Ed Brown went on to have a hugely successful solo career. Maxine Brown also made solo records. The trio reunited several times over the years, usually at the Opry. Bonnie and Maxine also appeared on Jim Ed’s final album, 2015’s In Style Again. Later that year, Jim Ed Brown was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died in June 2015, but was presented with his Hall of Fame honor at his bedside before he passed away. Bonnie and Maxine attended the group’s official Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Nashville that fall.

Bonnie Brown also had lung cancer. She died of the disease on Saturday afternoon, July 16, at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.

Dr. Gene “Brownie” Ring, her husband of more than 56 years, died in January. Bonnie Jean Brown is survived by their daughters Kelly and Robin, by several grandchildren and by her sister Maxine.

Bob Goldstone Remembered, Celebration Of Life Planned

July 7, 2016/by Craig_Shelburne

Bob Goldstone

A gathering celebrating the life of Bob Goldstone, who died Sunday (July 3) following a cycling accident, will take place Saturday afternoon (July 9) at The Farm in Pegram, Tennessee.

The gathering, titled “Soundtrack of Bob’s Life,” will begin at 3 p.m. and conclude at 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Nashville organizations W.O. Smith School of Music and MusiCares.

An obituary written by his family and published on The Tennessean stated, “Bob was happiest on the farm spending time with his family, friends, dogs and goats, always listening to music, and playing along with his upright bass.” They also noted that he was an avid outdoorsman, skier, tennis player, golfer and beachcomber.

Following his death, this career retrospective was provided to MusicRow:

Born to Bud and Dorothy, Bob Goldstone was raised on Broadway musicals and always tried out for school plays singing “Tonight” or “Maria” from West Side Story. Raised in Denver, Bob’s music progressed from “Flying Purple People Eaters” and “Tom Dooley” to “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” and held Lennon’s “In My Life” and Neil Young’s “One Of These Days” as some of the truest expressions about life ever put to music. Bob felt and loved music more than anyone.

Bob’s music career started in 1972 at Chuck E. Weiss’s family record store in Denver for $1.75 an hour. Before that, he drove an ice cream truck before he was terminated for playing “White Rabbit” over the loudspeaker. Seeking a hippie’s fortune, he moved to the Northwest to open three record stores called Budget Tapes & Records. Once he had three stores under his belt, he took a buyers position at the now defunct Lieberman Enterprises as branch buyer. Bob sold off his stores and moved to Los Angeles as National Account Executive for Lieberman’s New Business division. Once in L.A., Bob landed the West Coast Marketing gig with IRS Records.

Bob met Phil Walden in L.A. and soon moved to Nashville as V.P. of Sales and Marketing for Capricorn Records, breaking Widespread Panic, 311 & Cake. After 4 years with Capricorn and not wanting to move to Atlanta, Bob moved to Mercury Nashville as National Director of Field Marketing, working with Kim Richey, William Topley, Kathy Mattea & Neal Coty – the beta version of what was to become Lost Highway.

Next gig was General Manager of Eminent Records, releasing Emmylou Harris’ live Spyboy, the Mike Plume Band and Jon Randall. It was a short, one-off stint but working with Emmylou was a career high point.

Bob missed retail contact with customers and worked out an agreement with Tower Records as Regional Community Relations Director. This move afforded Tower opportunities for events, community gatherings and the creation of a memorabilia room at Tower Opry Mills. Bob booked the greatest talent and exposed the newest and youngest talent from the W.O. Smith School of Music, The Nashville School of the arts and Nashville’s own local artists.

The last chapter brought him together with David Macias and Deb Markland at Thirty Tigers as partner and VP of Sales, which he served well for the last thirteen years. He was intensely proud of his part in creating an environment where his loving nature and strong commitment to being of service to their clients was paramount. It was second nature to him.

Most important to him was his wonderful wife Tami and their lovely daughter Emma, who kept him in line and changing everyday. He was a happy and cool person.

LifeNotes: Thirty Tigers Executive Bob Goldstone Passes

July 5, 2016/by Craig_Shelburne

Bob Goldstone

Bob Goldstone, an owner and VP of Sales at Thirty Tigers, died from injuries sustained in a cycling accident near his home in Pegram, Tennessee, on Sunday (July 3).

Goldstone held a number of positions in the music industry before joining Thirty Tigers. He had been community relations director for Tower Records and was vice president of sales and marketing at Emergent Music Marketing. He had also worked at record labels such as Eminent, Mercury, Capricorn and I.R.S. Records, all the while being a visible part of the Nashville music community.

On Tuesday afternoon, Thirty Tigers President Davis Macias issued the following statement:

“Bob was my friend first and foremost. A more loving and lovely man you could never find. Love is one of our core values, and Bob was the ultimate in that regard. He was our happy warrior, to be sure. He cared about the young people in this company so deeply. He was proud of them and was their fiercest advocate. He was their mentor and confidante. He had a hard job and did it very well. He cared so much, and there will never be another like him. Never, ever. I’m biased, I know, but I feel that Thirty Tigers is a special place, and if that is so, outsized credit goes to Bob Goldstone. He made this place cooler and was responsible for establishing so much of the culture we cherish.

He loved music. Lord, did he love music and felt it deeply. It’s not always like that in this business. He was as passionate about “the good stuff” as he was when I met him many years ago.

And above all, he was about his family. Tami and Emma were at the center of his life, and he loved them so much.

We loved him and will miss him more than you can imagine. – David Macias, President, Thirty Tigers.

As news spread on social networks on Tuesday morning, a spokesperson at Thirty Tigers issued the following statement:

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we mourn the passing of Bob Goldstone. Bob died Sunday July 3rd after being seriously injured in a bicycling accident near his home in Pegram. Thirty Tigers’ Vice President of Sales and an owner, he was an integral part of the business and the spirit of Thirty Tigers. His passion for music was only surpassed by his love for his family and friends. We’ve lost the beating, loving heart of Thirty Tigers. We’ve lost a friend, a mentor, a respected colleague and someone that loved us all so much, as we loved him.

Our love and thoughts go out to Bob’s family, his wife Tami and his step-daughter Emma. Details for services are pending.

LifeNotes: Famed Rock ‘N’ Roll Guitarist Scotty Moore Passes

June 29, 2016/by Robert K Oermann

Scotty Moore. Photo: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Scotty Moore, regarded as the founding guitarist of rock ‘n’ roll, died on Tuesday at age 84.

A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was best known as the guitar player during Elvis Presley’s rise to fame in the 1950s. Moore was also a longtime Nashville recording studio engineer.

Born in Gadsden, Tennessee, Winfield Scott Moore III began playing guitar before he reached his teens. He initially modeled himself on country/jazz stylist Chet Atkins.

After service in the U.S. Navy 1948-1952, Scotty Moore formed The Starlite Wranglers in Memphis. Sun Records owner/producer teamed the group’s Moore and Wranglers bassist Bill Black (1926-1965) with his new signee Presley. Billed as The Blue Moon Boys, Moore and Black backed Presley on his breakthrough record “That’s All Right Mama” in 1954.

Moore also served as Presley’s first manager. Later augmented by drummer D.J. Fontana, The Blue Moon Boys backed the superstar on his earliest tours, TV appearances and films.

The distinctive guitar licks of Scotty Moore can be heard on such early Elvis Presley hits as “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Mystery Train,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Hound Dog,” “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Hard Headed Woman,” “Baby Let’s Play House,” “Too Much” and “Milk Cow Blues Boogie.” In 1957-60, Moore appeared in the Presley movies Loving You, Jailhouse Rock, King Creole and G.I. Blues.

When Presley was drafted into the Army in 1958, Moore began working at Fernwood Records in Memphis. There, he produced the hit “Tragedy” for Thomas Wayne. Moore next became the production manager at Sun Records. After Presley resumed civilian life, Moore played on such RCA hits as “Good Luck Charm,” “Such a Night,” “Surrender,” “I Feel So Bad,” “Rock-a-Hula Baby,” “Devil in Disguise” and “Bossa Nova Baby.”

In 1964, Scotty Moore released his first solo LP, The Guitar That Changed the World. In 1968, he joined Elvis Presley on the famed “comeback” NBC television special.

By then, Moore had relocated to Nashville. In 1964, he formed his Music City Recorders studio on 19th Ave. S. and launched Belle Meade Records. The studio is where he engineered the Ringo Starr LP Beaucoups of Blues.

He sold the studio in 1973 and began working as a freelance engineer, often at Monument Records. In 1976, he opened a tape-duplication business in the Monument building, which he bought. Over the years, he also continued to record as a guitarist. Among the artists he backed on disc were Sonny Burgess, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dale Hawkins, Alvin Lee, Mother Earth, Billy Swan, Ann-Margret, Charlie Rich, Ronnie McDowell and The Tractors. He produced records for Frank Frost, Tracy Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Steve Ripley and others.

Scotty Moore engineered many TV shows for Opryland Productions in the 1980s. The stars he worked with included Dolly Parton, Carol Burnett, Bob Hope, Perry Como, Minnie Pearl, Johnny Cash, Ann-Margret and Jerry Lee Lewis. He also worked on several albums by Carl Perkins.

During the 1990s, he participated in several Elvis Presley tribute events, concerts, tours and TV specials. One of the most notable was the 1997 all-star CD All the King’s Men. Also in 1997, Scotty Moore was inducted into the Guitar Center’s Rockwalk in Hollywood, alongside Chet Atkins, James Burton, Duane Eddy and Hank Garland.

In 1999, Gibson Guitars unveiled its Scotty Moore model. The company gave him its Lifetime Achievement award in 2002.

Rock greats such as Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Bruce Springsteen have all cited Scotty Moore as an inspiration. Following his 2000 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Moore continued to perform and tour. He worked with Ronnie McDowell, Lee Rocker and The Mike Eldred Trio, among others.

He was named a Memphis Music Hero by that city’s chapter of The Recording Academy in 2004. In 2007, he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. He also announced his retirement from performing in that year.

He died at home in Nashville on Tuesday, June 28. No funeral arrangements have been announced.

Ralph Stanley Dies at 89

June 27, 2016/by Robert K Oermann

Ralph Stanley

Funeral arrangements for Ralph Stanley took place Tuesday, June 28, at Hills of Home Park. The service was open to the public.

Hills of Home Park is located on Carter Stanley Highway on Smith Ridge between Coeburn and McClure, Virginia. The park is the location for Stanley’s annual music festival.

In lieu of flowers, it was requested that donations be sent to the Shriners Hospital for Children and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

[Previous story, posted June 23, 2016]:

Grand Ole Opry star Ralph Stanley—whose haunting voice became known to millions on the hugely successful album O Brother, Where Art Thou—has died at age 89.

Stanley was the last living figure of the founding generation of bluegrass music, since Bill Monroe, Carter Stanley, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs had all preceded him in death. He was also the Opry’s oldest member.

The mountain-music icon won a 2001 Grammy Award for his performance of “O Death.” That song’s acclaimed parent album, O Brother, Where Art Thou, also earned the Grammy for Album of the Year. Selling in excess of eight million copies, this was the soundtrack album for a George Clooney film of the same name. The Stanley Brothers’ classic version of “Angel Band” was on the album too.

Ralph Edmund Stanley was born in the mountains of southwestern Virginia, in the same region that also produced The Carter Family, a major influence on him. Ralph Stanley began playing banjo as a teenager. After serving in the Army, he joined older brother Carter Stanley (1925-1966) in forming The Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys in 1946.

For the first dozen years of its existence, the group climbed to regional fame in Bristol on WCYB’s Farm and Fun Time radio show. Deeply impressed by the sound of Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, the Stanleys initially incorporated many of that group’s songs into their repertoire.

But they soon began introducing original songs. These were usually penned by Carter Stanley, although Ralph composed a number of banjo instrumentals.

The Stanley Brothers signed with Columbia Records in 1949. Furious that they were basing their sound on “his” music, Monroe left the label in protest and signed with Decca. The two acts later reconciled.

During their Columbia years, the Stanleys recorded many of their signature songs, including “The White Dove,” “Little Glass of Wine,” “The Angels Are Singing in Heaven Tonight” and “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow.”

They signed with Starday/King Records in the 1956, which is where the bulk of the Stanleys’ catalog resides. Stanley Brothers records from their affiliation with these labels included “Rank Stranger,” “Little Maggie,” “Gonna Paint the Town,” “Ridin’ That Midnight Train” and a bluegrass version of Hank Ballard’s r&b hit “Finger Poppin’ Time.”

During this period, the brothers became popular on the collegiate folk circuit. They performed at the Newport Folk Festival in 1959 and 1964.

In the early 1960s, The Stanley Brothers hosted their own TV show in central Florida. In 1965, they appeared in Fincastle, VA at what is now regarded as the first bluegrass festival.

Carter Stanley’s escalating alcoholism led to his death from complications of liver cirrhosis in late 1966 at age 41. He had been the team’s lead singer and chief songwriter. Grief-stricken Ralph was uncertain whether or not to proceed, but fans urged him to carry on with The Clinch Mountain Boys. The group trained such future bluegrass greats as Charlie Sizemore, Larry Sparks, Melvin Goins and Roy Lee Centers.

Kentucky teenagers Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley joined Stanley’s band in 1970 and recorded the acclaimed Cry From the Cross and Something Old, Something New albums with the master during their tenure in his group. In addition to Skaggs and Whitley, Stanley is cited as an influence by Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris and Jim Lauderdale, not to mention a galaxy of bluegrass artists.

Beginning in 1971, Ralph Stanley recorded for more than 40 years for Rebel Records. He won an IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) award for 1998’s double CD on Rebel, Clinch Mountain Country. It featured him singing with George Jones, Bob Dylan, Hal Ketchum, Patty Loveless, Marty Stuart, Diamond Rio, Alison Krauss, John Anderson, Connie Smith, Junior Brown, Vern Gosdin and more.

His 2001 Rebel release, Clinch Mountain Sweethearts, found him collaborating with Dolly Parton, Pam Tillis, Gillian Welch, Maria Muldaur, Sara Evans, Joan Baez, Melba Montgomery, Lucinda Williams, Jeannie Seely, Gail Davies and others. This also won an IBMA award.

Ralph Stanley focused more and more on traditional Appalachian sounds as he aged, frequently performing a cappella gospel songs. Son Ralph Stanley II and grandson Nathan Stanley eventually became lead singers of The Clinch Mountain Boys.

Tennessee’s Lincoln University gave Ralph Stanley an honorary Doctorate degree in 1976. Thereafter, he was loftily dubbed “Dr. Ralph.” He was presented with a National Heritage Fellowship honor by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1984.

Stanley was invited to perform at the inaugurations of both Jimmy Carter (1977) and Bill Clinton (1993). In 1992, The Stanley Brothers were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

The Grand Ole Opry made Ralph Stanley a cast member in 2000. The Library of Congress named him a Living Legend in that same year. In 2002, he won another Grammy. This one was for an album recorded with Jim Lauderdale titled Lost in the Lonesome Pines.

Further honors were showered on him in subsequent years. He was given a National Medal of Arts honor in 2006, an Outstanding Virginian award in 2008, an honorary Doctorate of Music degree from Yale in 2014 and an election as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, also in 2014.

His final album was 2015’s Ralph Stanley and Friends. Co-produced by Lauderdale and Buddy Miller, it featured admirers Dierks Bentley, Del McCoury, Gillian Welch, Old Crow Medicine Show, Robert Plant and more.

Ralph Stanley died on June 23 of complications from skin cancer. He is survived by wife Jimmie Stanley and children Lisa Stanley Marshall, Tonya Armes Stanley and Ralph Stanley II. He’s also survived by grandchildren Nathan Stanley, Amber Meade Stanley, Evan Stout, Ashley Marshall, Alexis Marshall, Taylor Stanley and Ralph Stanley III, plus great-grandchild McKenzie Stanley.