Jean Ferrat was a French singer songwriter who first achieved success throughout the French-speaking world during the 1960s. He has been called “The French Bob Dylan” due to his thought-provoking lyrics. Throughout his long career, he released nearly two dozen albums with his 1963 release, Nuit et Brouillard, earning him a coveted Grand Prix du Disque. His songs have been recorded by many French entertainers as well. Jean Ferrat passed away on March 13, 2010 following a lengthy illness. He was 79.
Richard Manuel was a Canadian multi-instrumentalist and singer who is best remembered as a long-time member of perhaps the greatest “back up” band in history, the Band. Manuel first started working with his former Band mates when, at just 17, he joined rockabilly great, Ronnie Hawkins’ backing band, the Hawks. About two years later, that unit morphed into the Band, which would count Manuel, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Robbie Robertson and Garth Hudson as its most celebrated members. Manual mostly played piano in the group. When Bob Dylan decided to go electric during the mid ’60s, it was the Band he called to serve as his backing band. And when he went on hiatus after being injured in a motorcycle accident in 1967, the Band holed up in a big pink house in Woodstock, New York to record what would become their acclaimed debut album, Music From Big Pink. Manuel wrote its “Tears of Rage” (with Dylan), “In A Station,” “We Can Talk,” and “Lonesome Suzy.” The band continued to release respected albums and collaborate with other performers, all culminating in a remarkable “farewell concert” on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. In front of an unsuspecting audience, the Band gave the show like no other, sharing the stage with such invited guests and admirers as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Neil Diamond, Dylan, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison and more. Each artists’ performance was arguably the single greatest of their careers. The evening was captured on film by Martin Scorsese and released as The Last Waltz, considered one of rock music’s greatest concert films. Sadly however, Manual was a chronic substance abuser along the way. His inner demons finally got the best of him when, on March 4, 1986, he hung himself in his hotel room after a show. Richard Manual was 42 when he died.
Booker “Bukka” White
November 12, 1909 – February 26, 1977
Bukka White was an influential Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He began making records in 1930, and about a decade later, he recorded for noted folklorist, Alan Lomax. During the mid ’60s, White enjoyed a career renaissance thanks, in part, to Bob Dylan who covered his “Fixin’ to Die Blues.” It was around that time that he also got a helping hand from John Fahey who “rediscovered” him just in time to take advantage of the folk and blues revival of the period. Bukka White was 70 years old when he died of cancer on February 26, 1977.
Ian Wallace September 29, 1946 – February 22, 2007
Ian Wallace was an accomplished session rock drummer who is most often remembered for his short stint in King Crimson during the early ’70s. He can be heard playing on Islands and their live album, Earthbound. Throughout the years, Wallace played with a who’s who of rock music. He played on such albums as Bob Dylan’sStreet Legal and At Budokon, Bonnie Raitt’sNine Lives, Don Henley’sBuilding A Perfect Beast, Rodney Crowell’sHouston Kid, Stevie Nicks’Wild Heart, and many more. He released just one album, 2003’s Happiness With Minimal Side Effects. Ian Wallace was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in August of 2006, and subsequently died of it on February 22, 2007. He was 60.
Mike Bloomfield was an influential electric guitarist who came on like a sonic boom during the ’60s Chicago blues revival. Bloomfield took Chicago by storm, winning early accolades from the likes of Buddy Guy, Bob Dylan and B.B King. In 1964, Bloomfield was signed to Columbia Records by legendary talent scout and producer, John Hammond Sr. Rather than pursue a solo career, he opted to join thePaul Butterfield Blues Band with whom he recorded two seminal electric blues albums. In later years, Bloomfield collaborated with Dylan and Al Kooper, and finally made recordings of his own. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed Mike Bloomfield and #22 on their list of the greatest guitarists of all time. On February 15, 1981, Bloomfield was found in his car dead of a drug overdose.