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Archive for the ‘Journalist’ Category

RIP, Patsi Bale Cox (November 5, 2011) Music Journalist

Posted by themusicsover on November 5, 2011

Patsi Bale Cox
DOB Unknown – November 5, 2011

Patsy Bale Cox was a Nashville music journalist and author who penned the popular book, The Garth Factor: The Career Behind Country’s Big Boom, that examined the success of country icon, Garth Brooks.  Born in Kansas, Cox settled in Nashville in 1983 and started out doing freelance work while editing bios and such for Capitol and Polygram Records.  She eventually became a popular writer of autobiographies in the “as told to” role.  Her two such books with Ralph Emery were best sellers.  Over the course of her career, Cox wrote books about such music greats as Pat Benatar, Tanya Tucker, Wynonna Judd, Tony Orlando, and Loretta Lynn.  As reported by CMT, Patsi Bale Cox died of emphysema on November 5, 2011.  She was 66.

Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number 1 Albums for the assist.



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RIP, Tom Hibbert (August 28, 2011) Respected British Journalist

Posted by themusicsover on August 28, 2011

Tom Hibbert
May 28, 1952 – August 28, 2011

Photo by Paul Rider

Tom Hibbert was an English journalist who found fame for his sometimes less than flattering pieces on rock musicians throughout the ’80s and ’90s.   After dropping out of Leeds University during the ’70s, Hibbert played in a handful of local bands before giving up his rock star dreams and moving on to a life in journalism.  Over the course of his career, he wrote music and pop culture columns for the New Music News, Q, and Smash Hits where he ridiculed the likes of Paul McCartney, Johnny Rotten, and David Bowie.  Perhaps his biggest moment came in 1987, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher employed Hibbert to interview her in an attempt to appeal to young voters.  The plan backfired as the interview revealed such decidedly non-hip nuggets as her favorite singer being Cliff Richard, and song being “How Much is That Doggie in the Window.”  Hibbert spent the last decade of his life in ill health and ultimately died from complications of diabetes on August 28, 2011.  He was 59.

 

Thanks to Kelly Wilson at New Releases Now! for the assist.



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RIP, Dan Sicko (August 28, 2011) Journalist Who Chronicled Detroit Techno Scene

Posted by themusicsover on August 28, 2011

Dan Sicko
DOB Unknown – August 28, 2011

Dan Sicko was a respected music journalist and author whose work has appeared in such magazines as Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, Urb, and Wired.   A tireless advocate for techno music, Sicko also lectured on the subject at UCLA and the University of Michigan, among others.  In 1999, he published Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk, which introduced many to the influential Detroit techno scene of the ’80s.  Dan Sicko was 42 when he died from complications of ocular melanoma.



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RIP, Wendy Kale (August 2, 2011) Beloved Colorado Music Journalist

Posted by themusicsover on August 2, 2011

Wendy Kale
DOB Unknown – August 2, 2011

Wendy Kale was a music writer who over the course of some 30 years, reported on the Denver, Colorado scene for Boulder’s Colorado Daily.  Kale began her music career as a college concert promoter during the late ’70s,  eventually working shows by the likes of B.B. King, Jerry Garcia, the Rolling Stones and the Eagles.  During the mid ’80s, she began writing a column for the Colorado Daily, and went on to become the one constant at area venues as she soaked in shows for review in the paper.    A tireless supporter of the local scene, Kale has been credited for being the first to champion the Samples and Big Head Todd and the Monsters.   On August 2, 2011, Wendy Kale’s lifeless body was found in her home.  Cause of death was not immediately known, but according to officials, did not appear to be suspicious.  She was 58.



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RIP, Jane Scott (July 4, 2011) Beloved Cleveland Rock Journalist

Posted by themusicsover on July 4, 2011

Jane Scott
May 3, 1919 – July 4, 2011

Jane Scott was, simply put, a rock critic’s rock critic.  For 50 years, she covered nearly every major concert that came through Cleveland, Ohio for the city’s major daily, the Plain Dealer.  Born in Cleveland, Scott graduated from the University of Michigan and served in the U.S. Navy before taking up a career in journalism.  In March of 1952, just three days after Cleveland DJ, Alan Freed put on what has been called the world’s first rock concert, Scott was hired by the Plain Dealer to cover local society events.  In 1958, she took over a column that was aimed at what now would be called “tweens,” and soon morphed it into one of the world’s first rock columns.  Scott’s earliest major rock story came in 1964 when she covered the Beatles‘ first show at Cleveland’s Public Hall.  She soon found herself covering the band’s tour through Europe.  When the Fab Four returned to Cleveland in 1966, it was Scott who scored one of Paul McCartney’s first American interviews ever.   By her retirement in 2002, Scott estimated that she had been to over 10,000 concerts, and along the way she earned the love, friendship and respect from everyone from Mick Jagger to Jim Morrison to David Bowie to Bob Dylan.  So beloved by the rock community, it took her 80th birthday celebration in 1999 to reunite the Raspberries.  And to help celebrate the occasion, Glenn Frey of the Eagles sent a note saying “Jane, you never met a band you didn’t like,”  while Lou Reed wrote “I must confess, I love Jane Scott. When I was in the Velvet Underground in the ’60s, Jane was one of the only people I can remember who was nice to us.”  Scott was 83 when she retired, but she continued to attend concerts by her favorites – the Rolling Stones, the Who, and Bruce Springsteen.  Jane Scott was 92 when she passed away on July 4, 2011.



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