Obituaries

Sam the Record Man

Obituaries | Administrator | Monday, 13 May 2013

He said it, he did it. Sam “the Record Man” Sniderman loved catch phrases and used them frequently to promote himself and the family business that bore his name. But, unlike the claims of many entrepreneurial blowhards, Sam’s slogans were no empty boasts. He actually did create the...

Billy Bryans

Obituaries | Nicholas Jennings | Monday, 23 April 2012

Billy Bryans was best known as the drummer and founding member of the Parachute Club, the Juno Award-winning political rock group famous for its anthemic hit “Rise Up.” But his credits and contributions ran much deeper and he may ultimately be remembered as a cultural bridge builder who changed the...

Whitney Houston

Obituaries | Nicholas Jennings | Monday, 13 February 2012

In 1985, I was invited to a small reception in a Toronto hotel to meet a young woman who was already creating a major industry buzz. Besides being gospel great Cissy Houston’s daughter, Dionne Warwick’s cousin and Aretha Franklin’s goddaughter, Whitney had been signed by Clive Davis, a man with...

Oscar Peterson

Obituaries | Nicholas Jennings | Monday, 23 April 2012

Few pianists swung as hard or played as fast and with as many grace notes as Canada’s Oscar Peterson. The classically trained musician could play it all, from Chopin and Liszt to blues, stride, boogie, bebop and beyond. He led his own jazz trios, performed with such legendary figures as...

Richard Bell

Obituaries | Nicholas Jennings | Monday, 23 April 2012

Among blues-rock soloists and accompanists, he had few equals. An exceptional pianist, organist and accordion player, Richard Bell left his mark on more than 400 albums, some of which he also produced, arranged and composed and sang on. Renowned for his sense of humor as well as his dazzling keyboard...

Kate McGarrigle

Obituaries | Nicholas Jennings | Tuesday, 19 January 2010

Folksinger Kate McGarrigle left a deep musical legacy both in recordings with her older sister Anna McGarrigle and in her two children, singer-songwriters Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright. Kate and Anna McGarrigle were revered for their heavenly harmonies and sensitive love songs, made famous by the likes of Linda Ronstadt...

Paul Quarrington

Obituaries | Nicholas Jennings | Friday, 29 January 2010

On the Sunday before he died, Paul Quarrington was doing what he’d spent the last seven months doing: as much as possible. Whether it was writing, performing, recording, travelling, fishing, watching his beloved Leafs or partying with family and friends, Paul was packing it in, squeezing the juice out...

Reviews

Beyoncé - 4

2011 | Administrator | Sunday, 10 July 2011

She’s long been one of pop’s top triple threats: a Grammy-winning singer, Golden Globe-actress and a fashion icon with her own clothing line. A performer since the age of seven,...

Jeff Bridges - Jeff Bridges

2011 | Administrator | Thursday, 11 August 2011

He won an Oscar playing on-the-skids country singer Bad Blake, so it’s no surprise that Jeff should try his hand at recording. Working with his Crazy Heart collaborators, including producer...

Patsy Cline - Icon

2011 | Administrator | Thursday, 10 February 2011

She was the first woman inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But Cline, who died at 30 in a plane crash, was as much a revered pop star...

The Rolling Stones - Some Girls Deluxe Edition

2012 | Administrator | Wednesday, 11 January 2012

More rock treasures from the vaults that produced 2010’s Exile on Main Street and the previous year’s Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! reissues. Along with memorable hits like “Miss You” and...