Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 12-17-23

Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong collaborated to write several hits for The Temptations, among them “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,” “I Can’t Get Next To You,” “Psychedelic Shack,” “Ball Of Confusion,” and “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me).” The latter was inspired by Strong’s crush on a woman who didn’t know he existed. It became The Temptations’ third number one single on the Hot 100. 

Lead vocalist on “Just My Imagination,” the late Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations was born on this date in 1939.

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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 9-22-22

Today’s playlist celebrates the September 21 birthday of Leonard Cohen, inadvertently missed the other day; the September 22 birthdays of Joan Jett, Nick Cave, Whitesnake’s David Coverdale, Mystikal, Toni Basil, Right Said Fred’s Richard Fairbrass, The Rentals’ Matt Sharp, Debby Boone, Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano, Marlena Shaw, Martin Solveig, The Jones Girls’ Shirley Jones, Timebox’s Mike Patto, and Pat Suzuki; and the September 23 birthdays of Bruce Springsteen, John Coltrane, Ray Charles, Ani DiFranco, The Whispers’ Walter and Wallace Scott, Jermaine Dupri, Freeez’s John Rocca, K’s Choice’s Sam Bettens, Paul Petersen, Anya Marina, and Mary Kay Place.

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In Memoriam: 2016

Per the email I received from Spotify in mid-December, my most-streamed track of 2016 was Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” While that is a great song, I don’t recall playing it more than once or twice this year. However, I did spend hours listening to music by those taken from us by the Grim Reaper. I’m not the only person to feel incredible sadness at the seemingly non-stop loss of great talents, which started on New Year’s Day when we heard the report that Natalie Cole died the day before.

With this playlist I want to celebrate the contributions these folks made to our lives and our culture. If I missed someone, forgive me. There were a lot of folks to remember.

Before we get to the Spotify playlist, videos from two whose music is not on Spotify.

Thank you for enriching my life:
David Bowie
George Michael
Glenn Frey (of Eagles)
Gene Wilder
Leonard Cohen
Muhammad Ali (nee Cassius Clay)
Maurice White (of Earth, Wind and Fire)
Florence Henderson
Merle Haggard
Carrie Fisher (actress best known for Star Wars)
Debbie Reynolds
Paul Kantner (of Jefferson Airplane)
Signe Toly Anderson (of Jefferson Airplane)
Sir George Martin (record producer best known for his work with The Beatles)
Attrell “Prince Be” Cordes (of P.M. Dawn)
Garry Marshall (television/film director/producer/writer, creator of Happy Days)
Pete Burns (of Dead or Alive)
Billy Paul
Natalie Cole
Garry Shandling
Sharon Jones
Alan Vega (of Suicide)
Don Ciccone (of The Four Seasons)
Alan Rickman
Keith Emerson (of Emerson, Lake and Palmer)
Greg Lake (of Emerson, Lake and Palmer)
Steven Young (of M/A/R/R/S)
Joan Marie Johnson (of The Dixie Cups)
Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor (of A Tribe Called Quest)
Prince Buster
Bernie Worrell (of Parliament)
Bobby Vee
Gary Paxton (of The Hollywood Argyles)
Rick Parfitt (of Status Quo)
Mack Rice (songwriter whose credits include “Respect Yourself”)
Milt Okun (record producer best known for his work with John Denver)
Marni Nixon (singer/actress best known for dubbing the singing voices of Natalie Wood in West Side Story and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady)
Rod Temperton (of Heatwave)
Leon Russell
John Chelew (record producer best known for his work with John Hiatt)
Lonnie Mack
Gogi Grant
Jim Lowe
Sonny James
Nicholas Caldwell (of The Whispers)
Kitty Kallen
Mose Allison
Black
Otis Clay
Bobby Hutcherson
Joe Dowell
Trisco Pearson (of Force MDs)
Gayle McCormick (of Smith)
Gary Loizzo (of American Breed)
Leon Haywood
Paul Upton (of The Spiral Starecase)
Carlo Mastrangelo (of The Belmonts)
Fred Tomlinson (co-writer of “Lumberjack Song”)
Steve Young
Alexis Arquette
Dan Hicks
John D. Loudermilk
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Christina Grimmie
Alan Thicke

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