Richie Hayward overleden op 12 augustus 2010

We are deeply saddened to announce that our dear friend,
drummer extraordinare and founding member of Little Feat, Richie
Hayward, lost his courageous battle with pneumonia and
complications from lung disease Thursday August 12, 2010. He
was loved by so so many and will be missed dearly. Not only the
music world, but the entire world, lost a truly great one today. Our
thoughts and prayers go out to his Soul Mate Shauna, his family
and his brothers in the band. RIP Richie.
Our brother Richie Hayward was the baddest drummer that ever picked up sticks, the rhythm and pulse of Little Feat, and we lost him yesterday, August 12th, to pneumonia and complications from lung disease. Our prayers are with his soul mate Shauna, and all those who loved him. May he find peace.

Some of you might like to know more about Richie. He was born February 6, 1946 in Clear Lake, Iowa. He was in a band called The Factory in Los Angeles whose front man was Lowell George. Eventually, Lowell joined Frank Zappa, offered him the song “Willin’,” and Frank wisely said, “Go start your own band, son.” The result was Little Feat, and Richie was the first and, until his health took him off the kit in 2009, eternal drummer for Feat. He was the master of space, time, and drums, and he had as much to do with Feat’s sound as Lowell’s voice, Billy Payne’s keys, Paul’s and Fred’s guitars, Kenny’s bass, or Sam’s percussion.

Don’t just take Feat’s opinion: Richie played with seemingly half the members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at one time or another, an LA session star who was a peer of people like Ry Cooder and Van Dyke Parks. He recorded and performed with Eric Clapton, James Cotton, Bob Dylan, Buddy Guy, Robert Plant, Carly Simon, Tom Waits, Warren Zevon, and many, many more.

The world’s a little quieter and a lot less rhythmic today, although heaven’s a lot funkier. We urge everyone to hug your loved ones, light a candle, listen to something righteous, and pledge to give more to the world – because Richie sure did.

Anyone wishing to remember Richie financially is invited by the family to make a donation to Sweet Relief, the Richie Hayward Fund, at WWW.SWEETRELIEF.ORG.

Hayward first appeared to the public as a member of a band based in Southern California. Before he joined Little Feat he was a member of the groups The Fraternity of Man, and then, The Factory, which was where he met the frontman of the band, Lowell George. The Factory portrayed the anachronistic Beatlesque band, the Bedbugs, on the February 9, 1967 episode of the sitcom, F Troop.
In addition to his work with Little Feat, Hayward has recorded and performed with many other artists including: Joan Armatrading, Delaney Bramlett, Kim Carnes, Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, James Cotton, The Doobie Brothers, Bob Dylan, Peter Frampton, Buddy Guy, Arlo Guthrie, Jonny Lang, Nils Lofgren, Taj Mahal, Robert Palmer, Van Dyke Parks, Robert Plant, Paul Rodgers, Bob Seger, Carly Simon, Stephen Stills, Tom Waits, John Cale, Warren Zevon, Warren Haynes and Helen Watson.
In August 2009, Hayward announced that he had recently been diagnosed with liver cancer and would not be at work indefinitely. A benefit concert was organized, and a website created where fans unable to attend could donate towards his treatment costs. Hayward, who lived in Canada, did not have health insurance. While awaiting a liver transplant, Hayward died from complications of lung disease at a hospital in Victoria, British Columbia. Little Feat drum technician Gabe Ford has been taking his place on drums since August 2009.
The day after his death Little Feat played a gig at Fairport's Cropredy Convention festival in Cropredy in the U.K and spoke of there sadness onstage finding themselves performing a spectacular set infront of 20,000 festival goers.

Doo-wop ster en Motown beheerder verlaat ons.

Nieuws gaat aan mij ook wel eens voorbij, want ik ben ook maar een mens. Zo wees Alfons mij er op dat doo-wop ster en Motown bestuurder Harvey Fuqua al op zes juli jongstleden overleden is. Hij was tachtig en stierf in Detroit na een korte ziekte aan hartproblemen.

Deze veelzijdige artiest leidde de carrières van Marvin Gaye, Etta James, The Spinners en Junior Walker & The All Stars in goede banen. Marvin beschouwde Fuqua zelfs als zijn surrogaatvader. Fuqua lijfde Marvin in 1958 in bij de groep The Moonglows en bracht hem later over naar Motown. Hij produceerde samen met Johnny Bristol Marvin’s duetten met Tammi Terrell zoals ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ (geschreven door het echtpaar Ashford & Simpson) en ‘Your Precious Love’. Samen met Vernon Bullock schreef en produceerde hij ook hun single ‘If I Could Build My Whole World Around You’ uit 1967.

In het begin van de jaren tachtig probeerde Marvin Gaye een comeback op poten te zetten, terwijl hij worstelde met drug- en andere problemen. Fuqua vervoegde hem hier in Oostende om ‘Sexual Healing’ op te nemen. Fuqua kreeg dan ook de vermelding “production adviser” op die laatste elpee ‘Midnight Love’.
Fuqua zelf vormde in 1951 in zijn thuisbasis Louisville de groep The Moonglows. Rock ‘n’ roll Dj Alan Freed ontdekte hen in Cleveland en liet hen tekenen bij Chess Records. Hun best gekende song werd ‘Ten Commandments of Love’ uit 1958. Toen Marvin erbij kwam, was de doo-wop rage al voorbij. Daarop trok Fuqua naar Detroit om er zijn eigen labels, Harvey en Tri-Phi Records op te zetten, met daarop o.a. Marvin Gaye en The Spinners. Hij produceerde ook platen voor Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier, evenals Chess tracks voor zijn voormalige vriendin Etta James. Bij Motown was hij verantwoordelijk voor het “artist development” departement en huwde met Berry Gordy’s zus Gwen. In 1971 verliet hij het label, en tekende bij RCA Records. Ook ontdekte hij de discoster Sylvester, werkte hij als road manager voor Smokey Robinson en herstelde hij The Moonglows in ere. Die groep werd in 2000 opgenomen in de Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Patrick Van de Wiele