2016 Wrap-up

Well, I for one am glad 2016 is done and dusted. It wasn't a great year personally for me, and for those of us who follow the world of music and entertainment, we lost too many great people.

I stopped writing this year because life got in the way, but in retrospect, there would have been too many "Vale" posts to write.

Here's a fairly thorough list of the entertainers we lost in 2016:

• Robert Stigwood (artist manager for Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, et al)
• David Bowie
• Glenn Frey (guitarist/vocalist/songwriter for the Eagles)
• Alan Rickman (notable for the character "Professor Snape" in the Harry Potter franchise)
• Bryce Rohde (Aussie Jazz Pianist)
• Paul Kantner (Guitarist in the Jefferson Airplane)
• Maurice White (Vocalist from Earth, Wind and Fire)
• Vanity (of Prince-associated project Vanity 6)
• Harper Lee (author of the classic "To Kill a Mockingbird")
• Sir George Martin (producer of many great records, including all of the Beatles catalog)
• Jon English (Australian Rock star and theatre actor)
• Keith Emerson (keyboardist of the Nice and Emerson Lake and Palmer)
• Frank Sinatra Jnr (son of the late crooner Frank Sinatra)
• Steve Young (outlaw Country singer)
• Phife Dawg (rapper from A Tribe Called Quest)
• Dennis Davis (drummer with David Bowie and Stevie Wonder)
• Merle Haggard (Outlaw country singer)
• Pete Zorn (multi-instrumentalist with Steeleye Span and Richard Thompson, among others)
• Prince
• Billy Paul (American soul singer, whose biggest hit was "Me and Mrs Jones")
• Muhummad Ali (boxer and media figure)
• Mac Cocker (Triple J broadcasting pioneer and father of Jarvis Cocker from Pulp)
• Bernie Worrell (keyboard wizard with Parliament/Funkadelic and Talking Heads)
• Mac Rice (writer of "Mustang Sally" and Staple Singers' "Respect Yourself")
• Bud Spencer (a favourite actor of mine, in films like "They Call me Trinity")
• Scotty Moore (guitarist on all the early Elvis Presley records)
• Alan Vega (founder of post-punk band Suicide)
• Sandy Pearlman (manager of Blue Oyster Cult and founder of online download service E-Music)
• Viola Beach (British band, all members of which died in a car accident)
• Ronnie Corbett (British Comedian)
• Rudy Van Gelder (producer of the some of the finest jazz records of the 20th century)
• Prince Buster (Jamaican Reggae pioneer)
• Buckwheat Zydeco (accordionist and Zydeco musician)
• Ross Higgins (his most famous work was as Ted Bullpit in "Kingswood Country")
• Fergus Miller, aka Bored Nothing (Australian indie Musician)
• Mode Allison (American jazz pianist)
• Milt Okun (producer for Warner Bros Records in the 1960s and 1970s)
• Sharon Jones (American Soul Singer)
• Hugh McDonald (songwriter and violinist in Redgum)
• Florence Henderson (best known for her role as Carol Brady in "The Brady Bunch")
• Ray Columbus (NZ singer in Ray Columbus and the Invaders, famous for their original hit "She's a Mod" in 1964)
• Wayne Duncan (Daddy Cool)
• Ross Hannaford (Daddy Cool)
• Leonard Cohen
• Greg Lake (bassist in Emerson Lake and Palmer, King Crimson)
• Alan Thicke (American actor)
• Rick Parfitt (rhythm guitarist in Status Quo)
• George Michael (founder of WHAM! and solo artist)
• Carrie Fisher (best known for her role as Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" franchise)
• Debbie Reynolds (mother of Carrie Fisher, actress)

Wow. We will miss each and every one of them.

Here's hoping for a better 2017. Happy new year to you all.