Richard Coughlan September 2, 1947 – December 1, 2013
Richard Coughlan was an English drummer who spent almost his entire career as the drummer for influential Canterbury scene prog rock band, Caravan. With a career that more or less started when he was 10 years old, Coughlan has been called one of rock’s longest tenured musicians. After playing in different bands during his teens, Coughlan found himself playing for the Wilde Flowers, a Canterbury progressive rock band whose members eventually went on to form either Soft Machine, or in Coughlan’s case, Caravan, the genres two most influential bands. Formed in 1968, Caravan became the first British act to sign to prestigious American label, Verve. Over the next decade or so, the band built a loyal legion of fans thanks in part to their ability to blend jazz and psychedelic rock. Also called art rock, Caravan’s sound can be credited for paving the way for the likes of Genesis, Roxy Music, David Bowie, and later, Muse and Radiohead. Caravan remained active – with different members coming and going – with Coughlan remaining in the fold until he died following a fight with pneumonia on December 1, 2013. He was 66.
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Lou Reed was a Brooklyn-born singer, songwriter and musician who is as much remembered as the leader of the Velvet Underground as he is for the successful solo career that followed. Influenced early on by rock ‘n roll , jazz, and rhythm and blues, Reed learned to play the guitar by mimicking songs he heard on the radio. By the time he was in high school, Reed was already playing in a handful of bands. While attending Syracuse University during the early ’60s, he hosted a radio program that focused primarily on doo wop, free jazz and R&B. He later claimed that much of his guitar playing was influenced by jazz saxophonists like Ornette Coleman. During the mid ’60s, Reed was living in New York City where he worked as a staff writer for Pickwick Records. At one point, the label decided to form a group around Reed in an attempt to better pitch his songs. That outfit, the Primitives, included a Welsh multi-instrumentalist by the name of John Cale. The two became fast friends and began building a group that would soon become the Velvet Underground which also included Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker. On the behest of Andy Warhol, the group soon brought in German model and musician, Nico just in time to record their debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. Although the album was just moderately successful at the time, it is considered one of the most influential of the ’70s. In fact, Rolling Stone cites it at #13 of all time. White Light/White Heat followed and there would be three more until the band called it quits in 1970. Two years later, Reed resurfaced with his debut release, Lou Reed, which was more-or-less new recordings of unreleased Velvet Underground tracks. The album barely got noticed, but was thankfully followed quickly by the David Bowie and Mick Ronson produced Transformer, which reestablished Reed as one of rock music’s most important figures of the era. Songs like “Vicious,” “Satellite Of Love,” and “Walk On The Wild Side” are as influential as any that came out of the ’70s. Reed went on to record and tour through professional peaks and valleys over the next four decades which included a brief reunion of the Velvet Underground. One fact that can’t be denied about Reed, is that his name is synonymous with what would become known as protopunk, a classification of groundbreaking and often difficult to categorize musicians who many would later claim birthed punk rock – not because they were musically similar to punk rock, but because they continually challenged the norm. It must also be noted that Reed was one of the greatest poets rock music has ever known. In April of 2013, Reed received a liver transplant, and by all accounts was recovering, in fact, he later claimed on his website to be stronger than ever. On October 27, 2013 however, he passed away in his home at the age of 71. Cause of death was not immediately released.
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Trevor Bolder was an influential rock bassist who is most often associated with Uriah Heep and David Bowie‘s early to mid ’70s back up band, the Spiders From Mars. Born in East Yorkshire, Bolder cut his teeth in British R&B bands of the ’60s. By the end of the decade, he was playing alongside Mick Ronson in a rock band of some local notoriety called the Rats. In 1971, he and Ronson were invited to join Bowie’s band. Besides backing Bowie on his now legendary tours and television appearances of the era, Bolder played on his landmark albums as Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Aladdin Sane, and Pin-Ups. When Bowie decided to retire the Spiders From Mars in 1976, Bolder went on to replace John Wetton in Uriah Heep. He can be heard on such albums as Firefly, Fallen Angel and Conquest. He stayed with the band until 1981, but reunited with them a couple of years later and continued on until the time of his death. The list of other acts with whom he played throughout his career includes Wishbone Ash, Ken Hensley, and Dana Gillespie. He also appeared on Ronson’s Slaughter On 10th Avenue and Play Don’t Worry. Trevor Bolder was 62 when he passed away on May 21, 2013. He had been battling pancreatic cancer.
Big Jim Sullivan was one of the most requested and prolific session guitarists that England ever produced. Over a career that spanned over 50 years, he played on around 1000 records that charted in the UK, more than 50 reached number one. Legend has it that he played on upwards of 3000 records a year during the height of his career. Sullivan was just 14 when he started learning to play the guitar, and in just two years, he was playing professionally. In 1959, he joined a band called the Wildcats who were backing Marty Wilde at the time. The following year, the Wildcats backed Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent on the infamous UK tour that ultimately took Cochran’s life. Over the next two decades, Sullivan became one of the most in-demand guitarists in the business. He also gave a young RitchieBlackmore guitar lessons and helped convince Jim Marshall to make his now famous amps. During this time, Sullivan was one of the earliest to make use of feedback, the fuzzbox and talkbox, which was made into more or less a household name by Peter Frampton on his classic Frampton Comes Alive album of 1976. The short list who employed Sullivan to play on their records is made up of the Kinks, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Dusty Springfield, Marianne Faithfull, David Bowie, Donovan, and Frank Zappa. He was also a familiar face playing alongside Tom Jones on his American variety show. Sullivan also found time to record several albums of his own as well. Big Jim Sullivan was 71 when he passed away on October 2, 2012. He was reportedly suffering from diabetes and heart disease at the time of his death.
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Richard Coughlan was an English drummer who spent almost his entire career as the drummer for influential Canterbury scene prog rock band, Caravan. With a career that more or less started when he was 10 years old, Coughlan has been called one of rock’s longest tenured musicians. After playing in different bands during his teens, Coughlan found himself playing for the Wilde Flowers, a Canterbury progressive rock band whose members eventually went on to form either Soft Machine, or in Coughlan’s case, Caravan, the genres two most influential bands. Formed in 1968, Caravan became the first British act to sign to prestigious American label, Verve. Over the next decade or so, the band built a loyal legion of fans thanks in part to their ability to blend jazz and psychedelic rock. Also called art rock, Caravan’s sound can be credited for paving the way for the likes of Genesis, Roxy Music, David Bowie, and later, Muse and Radiohead. Caravan remained active – with different members coming and going – with Coughlan remaining in the fold until he died following a fight with pneumonia on December 1, 2013. He was 66.
Big Jim Sullivan was one of the most requested and prolific session guitarists that England ever produced. Over a career that spanned over 50 years, he played on around 1000 records that charted in the UK, more than 50 reached number one. Legend has it that he played on upwards of 3000 records a year during the height of his career. Sullivan was just 14 when he started learning to play the guitar, and in just two years, he was playing professionally. In 1959, he joined a band called the Wildcats who were backing Marty Wilde at the time. The following year, the Wildcats backed