Join us Tuesday, January 4th starting at 9 am, as Martin Anderson pays tribute to many of the musicians we lost in 2021. Revered songwriters like Nanci Griffith and Tom T. Hall, bluegrass stalwarts Sonny Osborne, J.D. Crowe, Byron Berline and Jason Moore, four crucial reggae giants, six dedicated drummers, and some beloved regional friends like Eliot Wadopian, Arvil Freeman, and Patrick Sky. Jazz, Soul, and other rock, bluegrass and Celtic favorites, too. This WNCW tradition is a celebration of their wonderful contributions to music, and a commitment to keep their legacies alive.
Musicians We Lost in 2021
Tim Bogert bassist: Vanilla Fudge, Jeff Beck 1/13
Phil Spector producer 1/16
Hilton Valentine guitarist: The Animals 1/29
Anne Feeney singer, songwriter 2/3
Jim Weatherly songwriter: "Midnight Train to Georgia" 2/3
Chick Corea pianist 2/11
Naomi Shelton singer 2/17
U-Roy reggae toaster 2/17
Curtis McPeake banjo player 2/19
Joe Burke accordionist, from Co. Galway, Ireland 2/20
Gene Taylor pianist: The Blasters, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Canned Heat 2/20
Peter Ostroushko mandolinist & fiddler: Robin & Linda Williams, John Gorka, Norman Blake 2/24
Bunny Wailer singer, multi-instrumentalist: The Wailers (last surviving cofounder) 3/2
Rusty Young singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist: Poco 4/14
Mike Mitchell guitarist: The Kingsmen 4/17
Jim Steinman producer, composer: Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, others 4/19
Maynard Holbrook singer, Wilkes County: often joined the Kruger Brothers 4/23
Al Schmitt producer, engineer: Sam Cooke, Jefferson Airplane, Steely Dan, Diana Krall 4/26
Tony Markellis bassist: Trey Anastasio Band 4/30
Lloyd Price singer, cornerstone of Rock & Roll: "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" 5/3
Pervis Staples singer: The Staples Singers 5/17
Roger Hawkins drummer: Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, a.k.a. The Swampers 5/20
Tommy Edwards guitarist, songwriter: The Bluegrass Experience 5/21
Patrick Sky Uillean pipe luthier, multi-instrumentalist, cofounder of Green Linnett Records 5/26
Ike Stubblefield Hammond B-3 organist 6/20
Byron Berline fiddler 7/10
Chuck E. Weiss drummer 7/19
Count M'Butu percussionist: Derek Trucks Band, Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit 7/25
Dusty Hill bassist: ZZ Top 7/27
Charlie Connor drummer: Little Richard, James Brown, Sam Cooke 7/31
Nanci Griffith singer/songwriter 8/13
Tom T. Hall singer/songwriter 8/20
Ed "Eddie B" Stokes WNCW host: "Goin' Across the Mountain", ARC Overnight 8/20
Bill Emerson banjo player 8/21
Don Everly singer: The Everly Brothers 8/21
Charlie Watts drummer: The Rolling Stones 8/24
Kenny Malone percussionist 8/26
Lee "Scratch" Perry producer, musician 8/29
Eliot Wadopian bassist: Free Planet Radio, Paul Winter Consort,
Asheville & Greenville Symphony Orchestras 9/13
George Wein co-founder and creator of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival,
Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals 9/13
Courtney Granger fiddler, singer: Pine Leaf Boys, Balfa Toujours 9/18
Bob Moore bassist: Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, Roger Miller... 9/22
Pee Wee Ellis saxophonist: James Brown Band 9/23
George Frayne singer, pianist: Commander Cody 9/26
Robin Morton musician, folklorist, record label founder: Boys of the Lough, Temple Records 10/1
Tony McMahon accordionist and broadcaster, traditional Irish music 10/8
Paddy Moloney piper, flutist, founder: The Chieftains 10/12
Phil Leadbetter dobro: Grasstowne, Wildfire, J.D. Crowe & the New South (native of Knoxville) 10/14
Ronnie Tutt drummer: Elvis Presley, Jerry Garcia Band, Roy Orbison, Jim Lauderdale, others 10/16
Tom Gray singer, songwriter, musician: Delta Moon, The Brains 10/16
Arvil Freeman fiddler: Weaverville and Madison County, NC 10/20
Sonny Osborne banjo player, singer: The Osborne Brothers 10/24
Sean Tyrrell singer, songwriter, musician: from Co. Clare, Ireland 10/30
Graeme Edge drummer, poet: The Moody Blues 11/11
Bill Holden banjo player, fiddler, bassist: Bill Monroe & the Bluegrass Boys, Country Gentlemen 11/15
Jason Moore bassist: Sideline, Mountain Heart 11/21
Bobby McMillon storyteller, singer (from Yancey County) 11/28
Gary Scruggs bassist, producer 12/1
Stonewall Jackson singer, musician 12/4
Bill Staines singer, songwriter 12/5
Robbie Shakespeare bassist, producer: Sly & Robbie 12/8
Barry Harris pianist 12/8
Michael Nesmith singer, songwriter, music video pioneer 12/10
Vicente Fernandez singer, songwriter 12/12
David Surette multi-instrumentalist 12/19
J.D. Crowe banjo player, singer, bandleader: J.D. Crowe & the New South, Bluegrass Album Band 12/24
