The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars (382 page)

Kate and her elder sister Anna originated from Saint-Saveur-des-Monts (northwest of Montreal) and often recorded in French, though they are undoubtedly more widely recognized for the songs that they sang in English. One of the first artists to pick up on their work was Linda Ronstadt, the pop/country starlet at the height of her powers when she recorded Kate’s ‘Heart Like a Wheel’ as the title cut of her 1975 number-one album.

The song also appeared on Kate & Anna’s self-titled debut album for Hannibal Records (1975), as did Loudon Wainwright’s ‘Swimming Song’, Kate having married the singer/songwriter in 1971. (Although the couple divorced in 1977, they begat two fine musical talents in Martha and Rufus Wainwright.) The sisters–who generally composed separately–signed with Warners for their second and third collections,
Dancer with Bruised Knees
(1977) and
Pronto Monto
(1978). Always warmly and wittily conceived, the McGarrigles’ songs received constant praise; turning them into a commercial force proved somewhat harder, the sisters finding themselves back with Hannibal for 1980’s
The French Record
(known to French-Canadians as
Entre Lajeunesse et la sagesse
–the title a reference to a street in Montreal).

The McGarrigles–both of whom were now raising families–recorded more sporadically toward the end of the century, though they still issued six further collections of radio-friendly folk/pop over the next two decades. Kate and Anna recorded with a host of admiring artists from Bill Monroe to Lowell George to Nick Cave, the duo’s cultural impact now such that, in 1993, the McGarrigles were appointed Members of the Order of Canada for their services to music.

Diagnosed with clear cell sarcoma, Kate McGarrigle’s health diminished; she died at home after a four-year battle with the disease.

Wednesday 20

Joe Ptacek

(Wildwood, Illinois, 1 May 1972)

Broken Hope

Broken Hope were popular Chicago death metallers who graduated from local rock clubs to the world stage with a sound that owed as much to melody as it did the usual themes and styles of the genre.

Formed in 1988, the band–Ptacek (vocals), Brian Griffin (lead guitar), Jeremy Wagner (rhythm guitar), Shaun Glass (bass) and Ryan Stanek (drums)–released five studio albums on the RedLight, Metal Blade and Martyr labels during the nineties, before splitting in 2002. The best-received was probably 1997’s
Loathing,
a record that dealt lyrically with such diverse themes as necrophilia, fascism and safe sex. All of Broken Hope’s releases boasted Ptacek’s remarkable, slow-paced vocal delivery.

Sadly, it appeared that the dark themes of some of the band’s material echoed within Ptacek’s own world. The singer–who, according to Wagner, had seemed content at the start of the year–committed suicide by gunshot at the age of just thirty-seven.

Golden Oldies #106

Lyn Taitt

(Nearlin Taltt-San Fernando, Trinidad, 22 June 1934)

(The Jets)

A close affiliate of many key names at the time of the genre’s explosion, reggae guitarist Lyn Taitt had begun by accompanying a local steel band. He later discovered and helped hone the sound of rocksteady during the mid-1960s. It is, of course, highly debatable as to what actually qualifies as the ‘first’ rocksteady release–although contenders include ‘Take It Easy’ (Hopetown Lewis), ‘Girl I’ve Got a Date’ (Alton Ellis & The Flames), ‘Hold Them’ (Roy Shirley) and ‘Tougher Than Tough’ (Derrick Morgan). What
is
undeniable is that Taitt played guitar on all four recordings.

The guitarist’s pointed, percussive style was coaxing Jamaican music in a very different direction. Taitt was constantly in demand as a session player at this time; among many other artists, the guitarist played behind the soon-to-be-globally famous Johnny Nash. But he also fronted a number of his own groups, most notably The Jets, with whom he recorded several well-received albums, and worked with major producers like Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd and rival Duke Reid. But in 1968, he virtually disappeared from what was a fast-emerging international scene.

Relocating to Toronto, he remained an active figure on the Canadian circuit for almost four decades. Lyn Taitt–’the reggae musician’s musician’–was still living there at the time of his death from cancer on 20 January 2010.

See also
Alton Ellis (
October 2008); Roy Shirley (
July 2008)

Golden Oldies #107

Robert ‘Squirrel’ Lester

(McComb, Mississippi, 16 August 1942)

The Chi-Lites

Mississippi-born tenor Robert Lester started his career alongside ambitious leader Eugene Record in the line-up of smooth doo-wop hopefuls The Chanteurs, this group managing just one 1959 single before merging with the similar-sounding Desideros to form The Hi-Lites within a couple of years. The new group adapted their name in 1964 as a ‘tribute’ to the town of Chicago–now their base as The Chi-Lites set about making a considerable mark in R & B music.

The definitive line-up of Lester, Record, Creadel ‘Red’ Jones (who left in 1973) and Marshall Thompson spent some years issuing records via local labels until a 1968 deal with Brunswick changed their fortunes. ‘(For God’s Sake) Give More Power to the People’ (1969, US/UK Top Forty) suggested a band with a serious conscience; however The Chi-Lites found a more consistent return with smooth, romantic hits such as the American number one, ‘Oh Girl’ (1972, UK Top Twenty)–which also nudged the album
A Lonely Man
toward gold status. Perhaps unexpectedly, the group then became more popular in Britain where, by the mid-seventies, they were regularly enjoying chart battles with similarly veined US acts like The Stylistics and The Moments: although The Chi-Lites struggled to sustain a Billboard profile, ‘Have You Seen Her?’ (1971; reissued, 1975), ‘Homely Girl’ (1974), ‘It’s Time for Love’ (1975) and the disco-flavoured ‘You Don’t Have to Go’ (1976) all secured UK Top Five positions for the group.

Robert Lester stayed with the group into the millennium, The Chi-Lites seldom short of an audience for their cabaret-friendly set. His death on 21 January 2010–following a lengthy battle with liver cancer–came just ahead of The Chi-Lites’ induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

See also
Barbara Acklin (
November 1998); Eugene Record (
July 2005). ‘Red’ Jones has also passed away (1994), as has sometime Chi-Lite Reynaldo Wyatt (2006) and early member Clarence Johnson (2011).