Died On This Date (January 21, 2017) Maggie Roche / The Roches
themusicsover Maggie Roche
October 26, 1951 – January 21, 2017
Maggie Roche, along with her sisters, Terre and Suzzy, wrote and performed primarily folk music as the Roches. Formed in Park Ridge, New Jersey in 1973, the group went on to release numerous critically acclaimed albums. They got their first break when Maggie and Terre were invited to sing harmony on Paul Simon‘s There Goes Rhymin’ Simon. Before they knew it, the due was signed to Columbia Records who released their debut in 1975. Suzzy soon joined and they re-christened themselves as the Roaches and released their Robert Fripp produced self-titled debut in 1979. The album included two of their best known songs, “Hammond Song” and “The Married Men,” both written by Maggie. In later years, they slowed down in terms of touring but continued recording as a trio, as duos, and individually. Their last studio album as the Roches, Moonswept, was released in 2007. Maggie Roche died of cancer on January 21, 2017. She was 65.
What You Should Own
Greg Trooper was a singer-songwriter who, besides building up a hefty library of his own releases, had songs recorded by Vince Gill, Steve Earle, Maura O’Connell, Robert Earle Keen, and Billy Bragg, among others. Born in Neptune, New Jersey, Trooper spent much of his teenage years frequenting folk venues of Greenwich Village. It served him well. After a detour to Kansas for college, he settled in New York City where he spent more than a decade playing clubs, pitching his songs, and recording his first couple of albums. By the mid ’90s, Trooper was living in Nashville where he released several more albums, working with producers like Buddy Miller and Garry Tallent of the E Street Band. Throughout his career, he released more than a dozen albums – the studio albums at least, to critical acclaim. During the summer of 2015, Greg Trooper was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which took his life on January 15, 2017. He was 61.
Buddy Greco was a popular jazz and traditional pop singer and pianist who first found fame during the 1960s. Born in Philadelphia, Greco began learning to play the piano at the age of four. Within just a few years, he was singing on local radio, and began performing on stage during his teen years. At just 16, Greco was hired by 