Music death toll continues

The toll of music deaths in this new year shows no sign of abating with the departures of yet more stars to music heaven.
Teddy Pendergrass had one of the sweetest voices in soul music. His classic recordings as lead singer of Harold Melcin and the Blue Notes, including I Miss You and If You Don't Know Me By Now, were among the greatest soul sides ever recorded, and his solo work, including such smooth soul ballads as Love TKO, Close The Door and Turn Off The Lights epitomised the sexy sultry side of seventies soul. Paralysed from the waist down following an accident in his Rolls Royce in 1982 he continued to record intermittently but was fairly inactive in recent years. He was just 59. This is his obit in The Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article6988465.ece
Bobby Charles was one of Lousiana's - and rock and roll's - great innovators. He wrote See You Later Alligator, Walkin' To New Orleans, The Jealous Kind and But I Do but never achieved worldwide fame for himself, despite some fine recordings, and rarely performed live. He was scheduled to appear at Jazzfest in 2007 and I awaited his performance with expectation but he failed to appear. Dr John and Marcia Ball appeared as his 'friends' instead. Apparently he has just completed a new album dedicated to Fate Domino which will be out next month. Here's a quite brilliant obituary on Bobby on Nola.com http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2010/01/bobby_charles_louisiana_songwr.html

Other recent deaths include Memphis born blues singer Sandra Wright, and Mick Green, formerly of the Pirates. The list goes on and on.