We note with sadness the following contributors to rock and pop music of the 50s through the 80s – the BEST music ever made! – who passed on last month:
October 01
● Conrad “Cronos” Lant / (Conrad Thomas Lant) → English bass guitarist, vocalist, co-founder and frontman in extreme metal trio Venom over 45 years and 14 studio albums; started in the late 1970s working as an engineer at a London recording studio while playing in local bands, assuming the stage name “Cronos” and joining the band Guillotine in 1979, which shortly became Venom and pioneered a new musical subgenre with the groundbreaking album Black Metal (1982); took a break from Venom in 1988, issued three albums as Cronos in the early 90s and appeared with and produced albums for other metal groups; reformed Venom 1995 to tour and release new material before being sidelined in a 2002 climbing accident and losing the ability to play bass and sing for nearly two years; reformed Venom for a second time in 2003 and headlined major international metal festivals over the next two decades, along the way releasing six further studio albums, the last, Into Oblivion, in May 2026; died from unspecified causes on 10/01/2026, age 63.
October 05
● Freddie Jackson / (Frederick Anthony Jackson) → Harlem-born New York City nightclub singer in the 70s before relocating to L.A. by 1980 and launching a three-decades recording career as an urban soul and MRO crooner with 34 charting singles, eight of which made the R&B Top 10, including the big crossover hit “You Are My Lady” (#12, R&B #1, 1985); after the hits dried up in the early-90s, soldiered on with nine further albums and nine minor charting singles through the late 10s; died after battling kidney disease on 10/5/2026, age 69.
● Lena Martell / (Helen Thomson) → Scottish middle-of-the-road pop and country cabaret singer, recording artist, and television personality through a more than six decade career which began performing in Glasgow dance halls and theater revues as a teenager and appearing on Broadway in the late 60s; returned to Scotland and landed a prime-time, Saturday evening music variety program on BBC Television for 10 years from 1971; released six albums in the UK Albums Chart between 1974 and 1980, including four that reached the top 20, and topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in 1979 with a cover of the gospel anthem “One Day at a Time” (UK #1, 1979); left the industry in the late 80s to care for an ailing mother, but returned to tour and release three more albums before retiring for good in the mid-00s; suffered through major heart issues, and throat and breast cancer in her later years and died in a nursing home outside Glasgow on 10/5/2026, age 87.
October 07
● Verne Allison / (LaVerne Allison) → Teenaged tenor vocalist with five high school buddies in early 50s doo wop The El-Rays, which became a quintet and changed to The Dells in 1955, beginning a nearly 60-year run performing and recording until illness forced retirement by two members and the remaining members decided to disband in 2012; the group’s debut single “Oh What A Nite” (R&B #4, 1956) preceded a long dry spell with only two minor hits in the early 60s but with 48 charting singles between 1967 and 1997, including crossover hits “Stay In My Corner” (#10, R&B #1, 1968), a re-recording of “Oh What A Night” (#10, R&B #1, 1969) and “The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind)” (#30, R&B #8, 1971); retired with his bandmates in 2012 and died from heart failure on 10/7/2026, age 90.
October 08
● Keith Christmas / (Keith Peter Christmas) → English folk-rock singer, guitarist, songwriter and respected figure on the British folk circuit from the late 60s onward; began his career performing in West Country folk clubs released a debut album Stimulus (1969), played acoustic guitar on David Bowie‘s eponymous second album (commonly known as Space Oddity, 1969), and appeared at the inaugural Glastonbury Festival in 1970; issued three additional solo albums in the 70s and supported acts such as The Who, King Crimson, and Ten Years After before stepping away from the music industry to work as a teacher; returned to recording and live performance in the 90s and 00s, releasing blues-tinged independent records like Crazy Dancing (2016) while remaining active on the UK touring scene through the late 10s; diagnosed with renal cancer in 2022 and died from the disease on 10/8/2026, age 80.
● Mark Pucci → Highly respected music publicist, record executive, and writer in a career spanning more than five decades championing rock music and artists; served as publicity director at Capricorn Records from 1974-79 and then as Vice President and G.M. for the label in Nashville from 1991-95, guiding campaigns for Southern rock legends The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band, and others, plus Widespread Panic, Kenny Chesney, Cake among many more in the 90s and beyond through Mark Pucci Media; received the prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation in Memphis in 2008 in recognition of his contributions to the blues community; died after a brief illness and complications of a stroke on 10/08/2026, age 79.
October 10
● Rory Bourke / (Rory Michael Bourke) → Country music songwriter and music publisher with a long repertoire of crossover hits across a four-decade writing career, beginning in Nashville in the 60s working in regional radio and Mercury Records‘ promotion department before focusing full-time on songwriting; wrote or co-wrote Elvis Presley’s “Patch It Up (#11, 1970), Charlie Rich’s hit “The Most Beautiful Girl” (#1, AC #1, Country #1, 1973), Anne Murray’s Grammy-winning “A Little Good News” (#74, Country #1, 1983), George Strait’s breakout single “You Look So Good in Love” (Country #1, 1983), and K. T. Oslin’s “Come Next Monday” (Country #1, 1990), among many others; along the way earned three ASCAP Country Writer of the Year awards and three Grammy nominations for Best Country Song, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989; died from undisclosed causes at his home in Nashville on 10/10/2026, age 84.
October 12
● Brian Jones → Alto and tenor sax for Merseybeat The Vegas Five, one of the first rock ‘n’ roll bands in Liverpool, which became The Undertakers in 1961; after the band split in 1965, went on to do session work with other local bands, and later co-founded The New Undertakers; played off and on in various Undertakers line-ups over the decades and took control of the band following two original bandmates’ deaths in the early 10s; authored a book about his experiences, Sax, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll in 2013 and died in his sleep on 10/12/2026, age 85.
October 13
● David Surkamp / (Robert David Surkamp) → Frontman, lead vocalist and only constant member in long-running melodic progressive rock Pavlov’s Dog, beginning in St. Louis in 1972 and continuing for 50 years with just three gaps in the 80s, 90s and 00s, plus eight studio albums, the last, Wonderlust, in 2025; provided high octave vocals on top of the band’s symphonic sound formed around violin and flute, putting Pavlov’s Dog in a similar category as more successful prog rock groups as Yes and others; briefly relocated to Seattle in the 80s and formed Hi-Fi with former Fairport Convention singer Ian Matthews, but returned to reunite the band in 1990 and continued off and on over the following years, with wife Sara Surkamp joining on acoustic guitar and vocals in 2006; died from a heart attack caused by coronary artery blood clots on 10/13/2026, age 74.
October 20
● Anita Louis / (Anita Marie Louis) → Backing vocalist at Stax Records in Memphis in the 60s until handpicked by producers Isaac Hayes and David Porter to share lead vocals in pre-fab R&B/soul vocal quartet The Soul Children; contributed to Southern soul hits like “The Sweeter He Is” (#52, R&B #7, 1969) and “I’ll Be The Other Woman” (#36, R&B #3, 1973) plus fifteen other charting singles until the group’s 1979 breakup: transitioned to corporate work with FedEx and Time Warner, and later as a professional management skills trainer; died in Memphis from undisclosed causes on 10/20/2026, age 76.
October 21
● John Anderson / (John David Anderson) → Laid-back honky-tonk country music singer and songwriter credited with reinvigorating country music in the late 70s and 80s as a “New Traditionalist” purveyor of stripped-down songs in classic 50s style of country music; released 22 albums and over 40 charting singles, including five Country #1 hits: “Wild And Blue” (1982), “Swingin'” (1983), “Black Sheep” (1983), “Straight Tequila Night” (1991), and “Money In The Bank” (1993), plus fifteen other Country Top 10 singles, through to a final album Years (2020); started performing in Nashville clubs and working construction on the Grand Ole Opry house before signing with Warner Bros. Records in 1977; earned CMA Awards and Academy of Country Music honors and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2024; influenced George Strait, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakum and other traditionalists who followed in the 90s and later; passed away surrounded by his family following a brief illness on 10/21/2026, age 71.
October 24
● Nigel Durham → Heavy metal drummer in local Yorkshire bands before a brief stint in Saxon, a leader of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) in the 80s; appeared on the album Destiny (1988) and the singles “Ride Like The Wind” (UK #52, 1988) and “I Can’t Wait Anymore” (UK #71, 1988) before being fired during the ensuing tour; largely disappeared from the music business but reappeared in 1999 as a member of heavy metal Son of a Bitch and reunited with former Saxon members Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson in 2000 to form Oliver/Dawson Saxon, recording and headlining metal festivals across Europe for over two decades, and in between playing with heavy metal Morpheus Rising on their second LP in 2013; passed away from unreported causes on 10/24/2026, age 61.
October 26
● Donnie Iris / (Dominic Ierace) → Pop-rock singer, guitarist, songwriter, founding member of one hit wonder pop-rock The Jaggerz, short-time member of funk disco Wild Cherry, and solo artist with over forty years fronting Donnie Iris & The Cruisers; started in the early 60s playing in an R&B cover band in northwestern Pennsylvania before forming The Jaggerz in 1969, writing and singing lead on their only big hit, “The Rapper” (#2, 1970); left in 1976 and joined Wild Cherry in 1979 during their post-“Play That Funky Music” era to tour and appear on their album Only The Wild Survive (1979); launched Donnie Iris & The Cruisers shortly thereafter and scored a string of charting singles in the 80s, including “Ah! Leah!” (#29, Mainstream #19, 1980) and “Love Is Like a Rock” (#37, Mainstream #9, 1981); continued touring, recording and playing in oldies revues with the band and its changing members into his seventies; was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2023, performed at a farewell concert in Pittsburgh in late September 2026, and died on 10/26/2026, age 83.
● Phil McDonald / (Phillip John McDonald) → Eighteen-year-old tape librarian at EMI Studios in the early 60s, moving up to tape operator and balance engineer in 1965 and then mixing engineer for The Beatles late-60s hit songs and four albums: Revolver (#1, UK #1, 1966), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (#1, UK #1, 1967), The Beatles (White Album) (#1, UK #1, 1968) and Abbey Road (#1, UK #1, 1969), the latter earning a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical in 1970; moved to Abbey Road Studios in 1971 and engineered multiple solo albums for the four former Beatles, plus albums by Syd Barrett, Eric Clapton, Deep Purple, The Traveling Wilburys, and many others, as well as producing albums by Squeeze and others over the years; died from cardiac arrest on 10/26/2026, age 80.
October 27
● Eddie Gray / (Edward J. Zgorecki) → Guitarist in the second incarnation of pop-rock Tommy James & The Shondells, joining just as the fledgling group’s bubblegum hit “Hanky Panky” (#1, UK #38, 1966) hit the charts and playing on all six subsequent Top 10 hits, including the co-written psych-pop “Crystal Blue Persuasion” (#2, CAN #1, 1968); stayed with the Shondells as country-rock Hog Heaven after James abandoned the group in 1970 for health reasons, issuing two albums and a single, “Happy” (#98, 1971) before disbanding soon thereafter; worked in a Pittsburgh recording studio as a sound engineer for many years, along the way reuniting with his groupmates in 2009 to record the soundtrack of a film based on James‘s autobiography, Me, the Mob, and the Music, released in February 2010; reunited again as The Crystal Blues Band for the oldies circuit from 2015-2022; died from cardiac arrest on 10/27/2026, age 78.
● Bobby Wright / (John Robert Wright Jr.) → Television personality-turned country music singer as both a solo recording artist and a member of one of country music’s most celebrated multi-generational families; began as an actor in the 1960s, gaining national recognition playing radio operator Willie Moss on the hit WWII comedy series McHale’s Navy (1962-1966) before following his parents – country legends Kitty Wells and Johnnie Wright – into the recording industry; appeared on his parent’s TV music variety show in 1970, then launched a solo career with 21 singles on the Billboard country chart through 1979, including “Here I Go Again” (Country #13, 1971) and a cover of “Seasons In The Sun” (Country #24, 1974); spent decades touring internationally alongside his parents and sister Sue Bob as part of the acclaimed Kitty Wells & Johnnie Wright Family Show, performing regularly on the Grand Ole Opry and headlining concert halls worldwide; retired following his mother’s death in 2012 and died from undisclosed causes at his home in a Nashville suburb on 10/27/2026, age 84.
October 30
● Steve Ellis / (Stephen John Ellis) → British pop singer starting at age 15 fronting The Soul Survivors in youth clubs and weddings in North London, which became soul-pop outfit The Love Affair in 1966 and led a string of five UK Top 10 hits, including a cover of “Everlasting Love” (UK #1, 1967); departed the group at the height of their success to form prog-rock Ellis and release two unremarkable albums, then joined prog rock supergroup Widowmaker on the group’s debut album and three singles during its brief existence in the mid-70s; dropped from the limelight for many years except for occasional session work as a backing vocalist and one-off performances of Love Affair, but resurfaced in 2008 on an album featuring Paul Weller of The Jam and Roger Daltrey of The Who; toured for a time with 60s revival band New Amen Corner in the 10s and released a debut solo album Boom, Bang, Twang in 2018; died from complications of an undisclosed, chronic illness on 10/30/2026, age 76.
