RIP Recent Deaths to start 2010 on a sad note… McGarrigle, Pendergrass, Charles

Too many deaths recently to start this year on a sad note for songwriters…

In Canada, today we heard of the death at 63 of Kate McGarrigle, who with her sister Anna, formed the folk duo the McGarrigle Sisters… She was the mother of Rufus and Martha Wainwright, who are songwriters themselves… Read more about dear Kate here…

Here she is singing Heart Like A Wheel with her sister:

And on the other side of the musical genre, Teddy Pendergrass passed away last week.  As part of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Pendergrass was a backup singer, and then he went on to a great solo career.

Not long after reaching solo success, however, Pendergrass suffered complications from a car accident in 1982 that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Though certainly hindered by the accident physically, especially initially, Pendergrass’ unfortunate disability did not keep him from continuing to make music.  Read more about Teddy Pendergrass here.

Here is a Soul Train version of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” in the Blue Notes days:

And from older days still, a songwriter who teamed with Fats Domino on Walking to New Orleans and penned other songs such as See You Later, Alligator (made famous by Bill Haley & the Comets) and The Jealous Kind (covered by Joe Cocker and others), also passed away last week.  RIP Louisiana’s own Bobby Charles who passed away at 73.

You can read more about Charles here and hear a version of See You Later, Alligator as performed by him here:

May the Muse stay with these musical souls...