Obituaries, Oct. 26, 2023
Gregg Sutton, US musician and songwriter, died on Oct. 22, at age 74. A cause of death has not been reported.
By Kerry Doole
Gregg Sutton, US musician and songwriter, died on Oct. 22, at age 74. A cause of death has not been reported.
Sutton wrote hits for Sam Brown (Stop!) Joe Cocker (Tonight and seven others) and contributed songs to such artists as Tal Bachman, Matraca Berg, Joe Bonamassa, , Eric Burdon, Charles & Eddie, Papa John Creach, Billy Ray Cyrus, John Farnham, Jeff Healey, The Human League, Tom Jones, Lone Justice, Del McCoury, Maria McKee, John McVie, Jason Ringenberg, Timothy B. Schmit, Percy Sledge, Edgar Winter, and more.
During the 1980s, he played bass for Bob Dylan on Real Live and for Barry Goldberg, Sass Jordan, Carla Olson, Mick Taylor, Dave Alvin, Katy Moffatt, and more. Sutton joined LA roots rockers Lone Justice as bassist after the group signed to Geffen Records, and was a key participant in the LA group’s second and last album, Shelter, co-writing two songs. He later co-wrote with LJ singer Maria McKee for her 1989 solo debut and also recorded as a solo artist.
In 1979, Sutton was the musical director for Andy Kaufman's show at Carnegie Hall. He was also featured in the 1980 movie Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall and as an actor in the motion picture Man on the Moon, starring Jim Carrey.
Sources: Wikipedia, Variety
Dwight Twilley, a revered power pop recording artist, died after a stroke on Oct. 18 at age 72.
Tulsa World writes that "Power pop aficionados appreciate Twilley’s larger body of work (he released more than two dozen albums), but the native Tulsan charted two top-20 songs: I’m on Fire with the Dwight Twilley Band in 1975 and Girls as a solo artist in 1984. He recently was unanimously selected for inclusion in the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame."
Twilley and musical collaborator Phil Seymour scored a deal with Shelter Records and created a hit in I’m on Fire. That song, and other Twilley songs, continue to be licensed for use in TV and film projects, most recently in a flashback episode of Reservation Dogs. Tia Carrere covered one of his later songs, Why You Wanna Break My Heart, for the multi-platinum “Wayne’s World” soundtrack in 1992, and royalties provided funds for his studio. He continued to record albums there.
Read more in Tulsa World.
Other sources: Wikipedia, LA Times
