Monday, June 26, 2017

Catching up on a few more deaths

It's time to catch up on a few deaths that have occurred over the last few weeks - not as many as we've seen previously (although only a summer lull I'm afraid).
The most recent was that of influential Cajun accordionist Belton Richard at the age of 77. He was
one of the leading exponents of  south west Louisiana music and recorded extensively for the Swallow label with his group the Musical Aces. Originally from Rayne, Louisiana, he first recorded in 1959 with Un Autre Soir Ennuyant, a French version of Jimmy Clanton's Another Sleepless Night. Other Swallow recordings included Cajun Waltz, How Does It Feel To Be In My Shoes and Behind Closed Doors.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYTbdwjY0Do
I really couldn't let the death of Anita Pallenberg, at the age of 75, go unremarked. Known as the muse of the Rolling Stones, she
had relationships with Brian Jones and Keith Richards and starred with Mick Jagger in Performance. But to me she is best remembered as The Great Tyrant in the 1967 movie Barbarella. She looked stunning, sharing the glamour stakes with Jane Fonda, and was bewitching as she called Barbarella her 'pretty pretty'. The only trouble was that it wasn't her voice uttering those seductive lines. It was most likely Fenella Fielding, although Joan Greenwood has also been credited. Either way, Anita was undoubtedly a gorgeous looking woman and it's not hard to see why she was such a favourite of various Stones.  Here is a clip from Barbarella  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak1227_mOqU
A belated farewell also to Curtis Womack, second oldest of the Womack brothers and a member of the family group the Valentinos, which also included Bobby, Harry, Cecil and Friendly, who recorded for Sam Cooke's Sar label. After Bobby left to go solo and Harry was murdered in 1974 the Valentinos broke up amid family tensions. Cecil, who went on to form Womack and Womack, married Mary Wells but Curtis had a long affair with Mary, an abusive relationship apparently. Curtis continued to support various artists and I well remember seeing him with Mary Wells at the Town and Country in London in 1989 on a show that also featured Marv Johnson, Kim Weston, Caroline Crawford and Martha and the Vandellas. Those were the days, especially as two days later I went back to watch a show with Willie Mitchell, Lynn White, David Hudson, Ann Peebles and Otis Clay. Those were the days indeed.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByKyxz5f1LQ

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