Andrew Love
November 21, 1941 – April 12, 2012
Photo by Dave Darnell
Andrew Love was a tenor saxophone player, who along with Wayne Jackson on trumpet, made an indelible mark on popular music as the Memphis Horns . They have been called the greatest horn section soul music has ever known and played on virtually every Stax record that required a horn section. Their signature sound can be heard on iconic Stax recordings from the likes of Isaac Hayes, Sam and Dave, and Otis Redding, to name a few. If that weren’t enough, they can also be heard on Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” Dusty Springfield’s “Son Of A Preacher Man,” and Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds.” They were also featured in U2′s film, Rattle And Hum. Throughout their career, Love and Jackson played on more than 80 gold and platinum albums and upwards of 50 Number One singles. In February of 2012, the Memphis Horns were awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Andrew Love was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2002 and ultimate died from it on April 12, 2012. He was 70 years old.
Eva Cassidy was an American guitarist and vocalist who was equally adept at interpreting jazz, blues, country, folk, and pop standards. Without much more than a cult following outside of her hometown of Washington DC, Cassidy never failed to wow audiences with her remarkable technical ability and passion with which she sang. Unfortunately, and at no fault of her own, record companies ignored her, but only because of their own confusion on how to best market her. In 1993, Cassidy had a malignant mole removed from her back, and her health seamed fine from that point on, but roughly three years later, she began feeling stiffness and pain in her hips. Further tests revealed that she was suffering from advanced stages of melanoma. Eva Cassidy was 33 when she died from the cancer on November 2, 1996. Ironically, after spending her entire adult life trying to get her music heard, it took her death to finally expose her beyond her local fan base. In the years following her passing, collections of her recordings started coming out, leading to critical praise and several charting singles in the UK. In 2005, nearly 10 years after her death, amazon.com ranked her as their 5th best-selling musician behind the Beatles, U2, Norah Jones, and Diana Krall.
Sterling Morrison was a founding guitarist of the Velvet Underground. While studying at Syracuse University, Sterling struck up a friendship with fellow English student, Lou Reed. Over the next couple of years they drifted apart but then reconnected in New York City where they, along with John Cale, formed the band. In 1971, Morrison earned a Ph.D in medieval studies and decided he no longer wished to continue with VU. Living in Texas and primarily focussing on academia during the early ’80s, Morrison played around town casually for the most part, but also found time to captain a Houston based tug boat. In 1992, the Velvet Underground reformed to tour Europe, opening many dates with U2. But due to inner-turmoil within the band, the short-lived reunion was over by the end of the tour. Morrison learned he had non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 1994, and died from it the following year. He was 53 years old.
