Obits.....

RIP Bernie, he will be sadly missed, his music will live on x

US country band The Chicks have said they are “shocked and saddened” by the death of founding member Laura Lynch aged 65 following a car accident.

The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed to the PA news agency that Lynch died on Friday after being involved in a two-vehicle collision.

Lynch was one of the founding members of the group in 1989, featuring on their first three albums, before departing the group in the mid-1990s. The US band was originally founded as The Dixie Chicks by Martie Maguire, Emily Strayer, Lynch and Robin Lynn Macy. Macy later left the group and Lynch was replaced by Natalie Maines. Before Lynch left, the band released three albums together – their 1990 debut Thank Heavens For Dale Evans, 1992’s Little Ol’ Cowgirl and 1993’s Shouldn’t A Told You That.

The group got its commercial breakthrough in 1998 with their fourth album Wide Open Spaces, with Maines leading the vocals. It was followed up by 1999’s Fly, 2002’s Home, 2006’s Take The Long Way – which all went to number one in the US album charts.

Anthony "Tony" Michael Clarkin (24 November 1946 – 7 January 2024)

Tony Clarkin, best known as the guitarist of the rock band Magnum. He was the sole songwriter throughout Magnum's history, writing all of the material on their 22 studio albums as well as on two studio albums by Magnum spin-off group Hard Rain. On 9 January 2024, Magnum announced on their Facebook page that Clarkin had died on 7 January. He was 77. The previous month the band revealed that he was diagnosed with a rare spinal condition, which brought about the cancellation of their Spring 2024 tour.

Anthony Michael Clarkin was born and grew up in the Shard End area of Birmingham, which spawned a number of bands tagged with the 'Brum Beat' label. Leaving school to train as a Ladies hairdresser he soon quit to join his first band The Boulevards with former school friends. They began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs at a residency at The Railway Inn, in Birmingham's Curzon Street, in 1976. Joining Clarkin and Catley were drummer Kex Gorin and bassist Dave Morgan (later a member of ELO) and Mark Stanway keyboard player joined in 1980 and remained until 2016. Their most notable success during these early years was the Jeff Glixman produced Chase The Dragon (1982) which reached number 17 in the UK Albums Chart, and  included several songs that would be mainstays of the band's live set, notably "Soldier of the Line", "Sacred Hour" and "The Spirit".

It was not until the band came into association with manager Keith Baker, their breakthrough album came in 1985 with On a Storyteller's Night which featured the single "Just Like an Arrow". This success continued in the following years when Baker introduced the band to Queen drummer Roger Taylor. He produced Vigilante in 1986, the top 5 album Wings of Heaven in 1988, and the Keith Olsen produced Goodnight L.A. which reached number 9 in the UK Albums Chart in 1990.

In mid 1995, Clarkin announced the band were to split following a farewell tour of the UK and Europe. Clarkin commented: "The break since the middle of the Nineties was definitely necessary for me. Since the end of the Seventies, in fact since we embarked on the preparations for our debut recording Kingdom of Madness, not a single month had gone by in which I didn't work for Magnum, composed for the group, or at least thought of them permanently. For almost twenty years, all my thoughts had revolved around the band. I needed a break to clear my head and to be able to devote myself to the band again with renewed energy."

Eventually, Clarkin and Catley re-launched Magnum with the album Breath of Life in 2002 on SPV. They were again joined by Stanway, with former Hard Rain bassist Al Barrow and former-Thunder drummer Harry James. This was subsequently followed by Brand New Morning in 2004. Magnum completed work on a new studio album, Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow with drummer Jimmy Copley released on 26 March 2007, that also marked the return of cover artwork by Rodney Matthews. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 70, the first time Magnum had charted in the UK since 1994. It also reached number 4 on the BBC Rock Albums Chart and number 60 in Germany, the band's biggest market along with Scandinavia outside of the UK.

Magnum's latest album, Here Comes The Rain, is due for release this coming Friday, January 12, via SPV/Steamhammer.

"We at SPV/Steamhammer are devastated about the passing of Tony," says Olly Hahn, head of the label. "We can't believe that he's gone. For 22 years the whole team and I had the pleasure to work with him, 22 years of fantastic music, trust and loyalty. We are forever grateful for this. Rest in peace, Tony!"

Wayne Kramer, April 30, 1948 – February 2, 2024. R.I.P.

Wayne Kramer, the co-founder and guitar-vocalist of rock band MC5, has died aged 75.

The band confirmed the news on their official social media pages, writing, alongside a picture of Kramer: ‘Wayne S. Kramer “PEACE BE WITH YOU”

A cause of death has not been revealed.

The band, formed in 1963, released their debut album in 1969, titled Kick Out The Jams. MC5 were made of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Kramer and Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith, bassist Michael Davis and drummer Dennis Thompson. Tyner died in 1991 aged 46, and Smith died in 1994, also aged 46. They both died of heart attacks.

In 2018, Kramer published his memoir, The Hard Stuff, and in recent months was said to be planning a world tour for the latest incarnation of the MC5, with new music.

Fans and the other musicians have taken to social media to pay tribute after the news. Singer Alice Cooper shared an image on his own Instagram page, writing: ‘Today we lost longtime friend – and sometimes collaborator – Wayne Kramer of the MC5. RIP.’

Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello also penned a lengthy tribute, writing: ‘Brother Wayne Kramer was the best man I’ve ever known. He possessed a one of a kind mixture of deep wisdom & profound compassion, beautiful empathy and tenacious conviction.

Kramer is survived by his wife and son.

Forrest Richard "Dickie" Betts (born December 12, 1943 – April 18, 2024) R.I.P.

Born in West Palm Beach on December 12, 1943, and raised in Bradenton, Florida, Betts grew up in a musical family listening to traditional bluegrass, country music and Western swing. He started playing ukulele at five and, as his hands got bigger, moved on to mandolin, banjo, and guitar. At sixteen and feeling the need for something "a little faster", he played in a series of rock bands on the Florida circuit, up the East Coast and into the Midwest before forming Second Coming with Berry Oakley in 1967. According to Rick Derringer, the "group called the Jokers" referenced in "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" was one of Betts' early groups.

Betts joined several bands in the ’60s and eventually formed a band with bassist Berry Oakley. One fateful night in 1969, their band jammed with another local group featuring Duane and Gregg Allman, marking the birth of the Allman Brothers Band. In addition to matching band leader Duane Allman lick for lick, Betts also wrote such memorable songs as “Revival” and the instrumental tour de force “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.” After Duane Allman and Berry Oakley were killed in accidents a year apart in 1971 and 1972, the Allman Brothers worked through their sorrow, with Betts writing and singing the group’s biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man.” Members of the band ventured into solo careers in 1973, and when the ABB officially split up in 1976, he formed Dickey Betts and Great Southern. The ABB reformed in 1978, but soon split again.

In 1989, their 20th anniversary, the Allman Brothers Band regrouped again. The chemistry that resulted from the unique two-guitar approach of Warren Haynes and Betts made the Allman Brothers Band once again one of the most compelling groups in the country. The band enjoyed continued success throughout the ’90s, being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, winning their first Grammy, and amazing audiences with their powerful live performances.

Betts married his fifth wife, Donna, in 1989. He has four children: Kimberly, Christy, Jessica and Duane. Christy is married to Frank Hannon of the band Tesla. Duane, named for Betts' former bandmate Duane Allman, is also a musician and has performed and recorded with his father. In August 2018, Betts suffered a mild stroke and had to cancel upcoming tour dates with his Dickey Betts Band. He was in critical yet stable condition at a Florida hospital following an accident at his home in Osprey, Florida. An operation was planned for September 20, 2018. He successfully underwent surgery to relieve swelling on his brain. In a statement posted on his website, Betts and his family said the "outpouring of support from all over the world has been overwhelming and amazing. We are so appreciative." Although he briefly resided in Georgia during the formative years of the Allman Brothers Band, he has lived in Florida's Sarasota metropolitan area for most of his life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa4DCp6cl2U