Michael Brecker was a highly regarded and influential jazz saxophonist who many considered the greatest since John Coltrane. Over a career that spanned nearly four decades, Brecker won 15 Grammys and collaborated with a list of greats that includes pop stars like Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon, John Lennon and James Taylor; and jazz icons like Horace Silver, Charles Mingus, McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock. He also played in the Saturday Night Live house band during the ’80s. Michael Brecker was 57 when he died from complications of leukemia.
Yabby You (Born Vivian Jackson)
August 14, 1946 – January 12, 2010
Yabby You was a Jamaican street hustler turned reggae singer and producer who came on the scene during the 1970s. He released his first single “Conquering Lion” in 1972 under the name, Vivian Jackson & the Ralph Brothers with King Tubby producing. The song and subsequent album of the same name afforded You enough of a fortune to set up shop as a producer of other reggae artists. He went on to work with the likes of Michael Rose, Big Youth, and Dillinger. You continued to perform, record and produce, albeit at a slower pace, through the early part of the 21st century. Malnutrition as a teenager lead to severe arthritis, necessitating his use of crutches and limiting his mobility as he grew older. On January 12, 2010, Yabby You died following a brain aneurysm. He was 63.
Maurice Gibb was an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer who, along with his twin brother, Robin Gibb and younger brother Barry Gibb, made up the Bee Gees. The group went on to become one of the most popular and successful bands of all time and almost single-handedly sent disco into the stratosphere during the late ’70s. But don’t hold that against them. They have sold in the neighborhood of 225 million albums throughout their career. And their younger brother, Andy Gibb, had a successful career as a pop musician as well. While Maurice was still just a child, the Gibb family moved from the Isle of Man to Australia where the brothers Gibb, or Bee Gees, formed their band. Maurice primarily handled the arrangements, played lead guitar and other instruments, and sang harmony vocals, which of course, the group was very famous for. After relocating back to England in 1966, the Bee Gees began getting noticed. Their early albums were more English folk rock and progressive than their late ’70s disco output, and their first album of significance, 1967’s Bee Gees 1st (which it wasn’t) can easily stand along any number of the great British Invasion albums of its time. The album ultimately cracked the Top 10 in both America and the UK. Their later pre-disco albums leaned more rock and even progressive at times. In 1977, the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever was released, and with several Bee Gees tunes on it, their lives changed. The album sold over 15 million copies, and although it didn’t “invent” disco, it certainly helped bring it to the suburbs of white America. Over the next year and a half, the Bee Gees earned six consecutive #1 singles – holding the record until Whitney Houston came along. After disco crashed during the ’80s, the Bee Gees took a long break during which Maurice worked on solo releases by Barry and Robin while producing other projects. The group reunited during the ’90s and again, the 2000s to respectable success, both on record and on tour. Their final live performance as a trio came in 2002. In his later years, Maurice took up paint ball and even opened a paintball equipment store near his Florida home. On January 12, 2003, Maurice Gibb died from complications of volvulus, or a twisted intestine. He was 53.
Brian Damage (Born Brian Keats)
February 11, 1963 – January 12, 2010
Brian Damage was a rock drummer who once played with Glenn Danzig in his band, the Misfits. Prior to that, Damage played with Genocide and Verbal Abuse. He joined the Misfits in 1983, but his first show ended up being the band’s farewell concert. And Damage didn’t even complete that show, as reports indicate, he was so drunk that the other band members physically removed him from the stage mid-show and continued on with another drummer. Following his brief tenure with the Misfits, Damage landed several studio and live gigs with many other artists. That list includes Raging Slab, Princess Pang, Sylvain Sylvain, Low Pop Suicide, Susannah Hoffs, Billy Idol, and the Fuzztones. Brian Damage died of cancer on January 12, 2010. He was 46 years old.
Thanks to Craig Rosen atNumber1Albumsfor the assist.
Spencer Dryden is best remembered as a drummer for ’60s rock bands, Jefferson Airplane and New Riders of the Purple Sage. Born to a half-brother of Charlie Chaplin, Dryden grew up in Los Angeles where his father worked for the actor. Much of Dryden’s childhood was spent on movie sets and later, jazz clubs that his father frequented. In 1966, Dryden was hired by the Jefferson Airplane to replace Skip Spence who had left to form Moby Grape. Because of his background, Dryden brought some jazz improv into the band’s live sets. After Jefferson Airplane’s infamous altercation with the Hell’s Angels at the Altamont concert, Dryden decided to leave the group. From 1970 to 1977, Dryden played in New Riders of the Purple Sage, and soon thereafter, for psychedelic supergroup, the Dinosaurs. He retired in 1995. Spencer Dryden was reportedly living in poverty during the final years of his life and died of colon cancer on January 11, 2005.