Rock

Alex Ligertwood, Santana Vocalist and Rock Journeyman, Dies at 79

themusicsover May 2, 2026 2 Comments

Born on December 18, 1949, in Glasgow, Scotland, Alex Ligertwood, the singer whose voice powered a key era of Santana, died on May 2, 2026. He was 79.

Best known for his work with Carlos Santana’s band during the late ’70s and ’80s, Ligertwood brought a soulful, commanding presence to a period when Santana fused Latin rock with a more polished, radio-ready sound. His vocals are front and center on hits like “Winning” and “Hold On,” songs that helped carry the band back onto mainstream charts and into a new generation of listeners.

Ligertwood began his career in the British rock circuit, fronting bands including Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express, where his powerful voice and blues instincts first gained wider attention. By the time he joined Santana in 1979, he had already built a reputation as a versatile performer capable of bridging rock, funk, and soul.

Ligertwood remained with Santana through much of the 1980s, appearing on albums such as Marathon, Zebop! and Shango. His tenure coincided with one of the band’s most commercially successful stretches, anchored by tight songwriting and a sound that balanced Santana’s signature guitar work with strong melodic hooks.

Beyond Santana, Ligertwood’s career reflected a deep commitment to craft over flash. He collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart, and remained active in music well into later years, often revisiting the songs that defined his career while continuing to explore new material.

Alex Ligertwood leaves behind a body of work that speaks clearly: a singer who knew how to serve the song, and in doing so, helped shape one of rock’s most enduring catalogs.

What You Should Own

Americana Musician Rock Singer Songwriter

Jon Dee Graham, Influential Austin Singer-Songwriter, Dies at 67

themusicsover March 27, 2026 No Comments

Jon Dee Graham, the fiercely independent Austin singer-songwriter and guitarist whose raw, deeply personal songs made him one of the city’s most respected musical voices, died March 27 at the age of 67.

Born February 28, 1959, Graham first made his mark in Austin’s punk and roots-rock underground as a member of the Skunks before joining the True Believers, the influential band he helped form with Alejandro Escovedo. Though that chapter established him as a key figure in the Austin, Texas community, it was his solo work that revealed the full depth of his songwriting.

Beginning with Escape From Monster Island in 1997, Graham built a body of work defined by emotional weight, hard truth, and a refusal to smooth over life’s damage. His songs often dealt with pain, addiction, endurance, love, and survival, carried by a voice that sounded weathered because it had earned every crack in it. Albums including Summerland, Full, and Knoxville Skyline strengthened his standing as a songwriter revered by fellow musicians and devoted fans alike.

There was nothing polished about Graham’s appeal, and that was the point. His performances hit with force, whether he was delivering a bruised ballad or a jagged rocker. What came through in every phase of his career was honesty. He wrote and sang like someone who understood how fragile things are and how much music can still hold.

Beyond his records, Graham remained a fixture of the Austin community, admired not only for his talent but for his presence, his resilience, and his willingness to keep showing up. His influence stretched well beyond his own catalog, reaching into generations of songwriters and performers who saw in him a model for how to make music without compromise.

Metal Musician Rock

Phil Campbell, Longtime Motörhead Guitarist, Dies at 64

themusicsover March 13, 2026 No Comments

**Photo by David Plastik. Click to purchase a print.**

Phil Campbell, the longtime guitarist whose razor-sharp riffs helped drive Motörhead through more than three decades of thunderous rock, has died at 64. Campbell passed away March 13, 2026 following complications after surgery, according to a statement from his family.

Born May 7, 1961, in Pontypridd, South Wales, Campbell picked up the guitar as a kid and quickly developed a style rooted in hard rock and heavy blues. Before finding international fame, he cut his teeth in the U.K. metal scene with bands including Persian Risk.

His life changed in 1984 when he joined Motörhead alongside drummer Mikkey Dee, becoming part of the band’s classic late-era lineup with frontman Lemmy Kilmister. Campbell’s fierce but blues-informed playing powered albums including Orgasmatron, 1916, Inferno, and Bad Magic, helping Motörhead maintain its reputation as one of the loudest, toughest, and most uncompromising bands in rock.

Campbell remained with Motörhead until the end of the band in 2015 following Lemmy’s death, making him the group’s longest-serving guitarist and a central figure in its final three decades.

He kept moving forward after Motörhead’s final curtain, forming Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons, a hard-driving outfit that included three of his sons. The band carried the same spirit that had defined his years with Motörhead: loud guitars, sharp riffs, and a deep respect for rock ’n’ roll’s raw power.

What You Should Own

Americana Folk Musician Rock Singer Songwriter

Country Joe McDonald, Voice of the Vietnam Protest Era, Dies at 84

themusicsover March 7, 2026 1 Comment

**Photo credit: Jay Goodwin via wikimedia**

Country Joe McDonald, the singer, songwriter, and counterculture voice who helped give the 1960s protest movement its soundtrack, died March 7, 2026 in Berkeley, California. He was 84.

McDonald will forever be tied to one of the most unforgettable moments in rock history. Standing alone onstage at Woodstock in 1969, armed with little more than an acoustic guitar and a sharp sense of irony, he led hundreds of thousands of people through the now infamous “Fish Cheer” before launching into “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag.” The song’s biting chorus cut straight through the fog of the Vietnam War and turned a muddy field in upstate New York into one of the defining scenes of the era.

Born Joseph Allen McDonald on January 1, 1942 in Washington, D.C., he grew up in El Monte, California and came of age as the Bay Area was becoming ground zero for musical experimentation and political upheaval. By the mid-1960s he had co-founded Country Joe and the Fish with guitarist Barry “The Fish” Melton, helping shape the psychedelic folk-rock sound emerging from San Francisco clubs like the Avalon Ballroom and the Fillmore.

Country Joe and the Fish quickly became fixtures of the counterculture. Their early recordings blended folk storytelling with swirling psychedelic arrangements and a sharp political edge. Songs like “Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine” showed the band’s musical imagination, while McDonald’s outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War placed the group squarely inside the protest movement that was reshaping American culture.

Appearances at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and Woodstock two years later brought the band to a global audience. Yet the Woodstock performance became the moment most closely associated with McDonald’s legacy. What began as a playful chant turned into a thunderous crowd response that captured both the anger and the absurdity surrounding the war.

After Country Joe and the Fish faded in the early 1970s, McDonald continued on as a solo artist, building a catalog that stretched across dozens of albums and more than five decades. His music remained rooted in folk traditions and social commentary, drawing inspiration from artists like Woody Guthrie while reflecting on the complicated legacy of the Vietnam era and the cultural upheaval that followed.

What You Should Own

Musician New Wave Post Punk Rock

Fred Smith, Bassist and Founding Member of Television, Dead at 77

themusicsover February 5, 2026 No Comments

**Photo Credit: Bene Riobó via wikmedia**

Fred Smith, born April 10, 1948, in New York City, the bassist whose disciplined, melodic playing helped anchor Television at the height of New York’s punk-era explosion, passed away on February 5, 2026 following a long illness. He was 77.

Smith joined Television in 1975, stepping into the band after the departure of Richard Hell. His entrance quietly reshaped the group’s internal balance. Where punk often leaned on volatility, Smith brought steadiness, patience, and an instinct for structure, giving Television’s music its sense of control beneath the tension.

That role is etched most clearly into the band’s 1977 debut, Marquee Moon. As guitars stretched, twisted, and collided, Smith’s bass lines held the center, providing a calm, deliberate pulse that allowed songs to expand without drifting apart. His playing rarely called attention to itself, yet it defined the band’s sound, acting as the stabilizing force between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd. Television followed with Adventure in 1978 before splitting soon after.

In the years that followed, Smith remained active, contributing to solo work by Verlaine and Lloyd and returning when Television reunited for their 1992’s Television and subsequent performances.

Away from the stage, Smith built a life far removed from music. In 1999, he and his wife, artist Paula Cereghino, began making wine in their New York apartment, eventually moving production upstate and formally establishing Cereghino Smith Winery in 2007. It was a second act defined by the same qualities that shaped his music: care, precision, and attention to detail.

What You Should Own

Rock

Alex Ligertwood, Santana Vocalist and Rock Journeyman, Dies at 79

Jon Dee Graham, Influential Austin Singer-Songwriter, Dies at 67

Phil Campbell, Longtime Motörhead Guitarist, Dies at 64

Country Joe McDonald, Voice of the Vietnam Protest Era, Dies at 84

Fred Smith, Bassist and Founding Member of Television, Dead at 77

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