Obituaries: Canadian Country Star Joe Kozak, Tito Jackson of the Jackson 5

Joe Kozak, a Canadian country recording artist, producer, studio owner and engineer, died on Sept. 10, at age 88.

Music historian Larry Delaney, who uses the tag Cancountry, reports that "Joe Kozak was renowned on the Edmonton music scene for his many years performing with and/or producing recordings for such favourites as Wilf Carter, The Rodgers Brothers, Gaby Haas, Hank Smith, Dick Damron, Jimmy Arthur Ordge, Bev Munro, Joyce Smith, R. Harlan Smith and many others. He toured as a member of the Western Canadian Hayride with Joyce Smith and Hank Smith, and worked on tours headlined by Wilf Carter. Marty Robbins and more.

"Joe Kozak's early years included his own Rockabilly recordings, most notably his 1959 song 'Hillbilly Rock' (with The Frontiersmen) which earned a spot on the Bear Family Records release, Shakin' Up North. He also recorded under the name Joe Castle, (with The Rodgers Brothers) releasing the country hit 'My Baby's Crazy Over Me.' He later released several albums, mostly of country standards, on the Banff/Rodeo Records label."

The Legends of the Edmonton Music Scene Facebook group noted that "In 1963, Joe Kozak opened Edmonton’s first dedicated recording studio in a garage in West Jasper Place. He moved the studio to Whyte Avenue in the early 1970’s, naming it Universal Sound. Subsequent studio moves were to Jasper Avenue as Project 70 in the later 70’s and to West Bank Studios in Nisku from 1985 to 1991."

At his own basement studio he recorded an album for Bev Munro album in 2002 and one for Joyce Smith in 2017.

International

Frankie (Howard Stanley) Beverly, the leader of best-selling R&B group Maze, died on Sept. 10, at age 77. A cause of death has not been revealed.

Billboard reports that “Beverly’s death follows in the wake of his being honored at this year’s Essence Festival in July. Prior to that, he had embarked on a farewell tour, which launched March 22 in Atlanta and wrapped in Los Angeles on May 12.

“Also doubling as Maze’s writer and producer, Beverly was the lead force behind a string of memorable R&B hits and fan faves that through the years became cultural and generational backdrops for many family barbecues, reunions and parties.

“Beginning in the late ‘70s with 'While I’m Alone' and running through the mid-‘90s, the group’s musical legacy includes 'Feel That You’re Feelin’,' 'Southern Girl,' 'Running Away,' the No. 1 singles 'Back in Stride' and 'Can’t Get Over You' and, of course, 'Before I Let Go.' That 1981 hit took center stage again in 2019 when Beyoncé lovingly covered the song and included it as a bonus track on her Homecoming: The Live Album.

The Philadelphia-born Beverly moved to California with his second group, rebranded as Raw Soul, then given the new moniker of Maze by Marvin Gaye. Maze had nine albums certified gold, nine Top 10 hits on (what’s now called) Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and two No. 1 albums on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The NBC affiliate in Philadelphia — where Beverly was born — noted that Maze is perhaps best known for its classic song “Before I Let Go,” which peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1981 and has been a staple at cookouts, weddings and parties for families across the country for decades.

An MSNB Opinion piece noted that "As beloved as the bandleader was to Black people, Beverly remained virtually unknown to others. In December 2019, the writer Michael Harriot conducted a poll on Twitter that asked, “Who is the most ‘blackfamous’ person of all time?” The person judged to have been known by the greatest number of Black people and the smallest number of white people was far and away Frankie Beverly."

In 1994, then, Baltimore Sun music critic J.D. Considine (now a Toronto resident) wrote that “Frankie Beverly may be the biggest R&B star you never heard of.”

Tommy Cash, the younger brother of Johnny Cash and a country singer in his own right, died on Sept. 13, at age 84. A cause of death has not been reported. The news of his passing was confirmed in an Instagram post by the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville.

Tommy Cash worked as a radio DJ for the Armed Forces, and later performed as a musician with Hank Williams Jr.‘s band. He scored a record deal in 1965, releasing a debut album, Here’s Tommy Cash, in 1968. His first top 10 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs came in 1970 with “Six White Horses,” which reached No. 4, was later covered by country great Waylon Jennings.

Cash scored two more top 10 hits on Hot Country Songs in 1970 with “Rise and Shine” and “One Song Away.” He collaborated with big brother Johnny on “Guess Things Happen That Way” in 1990.

Read more here.

Doug (Douglas Henry)Hood, a New Zealand engineer, manager and promoter for local and international touring bands, died on Sept. 10, at age 70. He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2022.

He was considered a N.Z. music pioneer and was made Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the music industry in 2023.

Hood played a key role in developing the so-called 'Dunedin sound' in the '80s, one that had a major international impact. In 1981, he engineered The Clean's legendary Boodle Boodle Boodle EP for Flying Nun in 1981 on a primitive 4-track owned by his close friend and Toy Love front man Chris Knox. He went on to engineer the Flying Nun's Dunedin Double EP, a 1982 compilation which was the recording debut of such noted N.Z. indie rock bands as The Chills, The Verlaines, Sneaky Feelings and the Stones.

His engineering skills were also put to good use on New Zealand's live scene, as resident sound man at Auckland's Windsor Castle pub in the early 1980s, a crucial music venue. He also booked that club, leading him into promotion, founding Looney Tours.

"He instilled a good work ethic in all the bands he toured around the country during the Looney Tours days and he made certain that The Chills saved enough money for our first excursion overseas: to London (and Brighton) in late 1985," the late Martin Phillipps, leader of The Chills, told music website AudioCulture in 2022.

Looney Tours brought such big names as Violent Femmes, Billy Bragg, New Order, John Cale, PiL and Iggy Pop to New Zealand. Hood then brought the Big Day Out festival, Australia's biggest rock fest, to New Zealand in 1994.

AudioCulture ran a tribute to Hood in 2022 when he became seriously unwell and numerous voices from the industry paid tribute to him. That website's founding editor, Simon Grigg, a life-long friend of hood, told Radio NZ that "We, as a nation, are often slow to honour our cultural giants but Doug Hood surely was one. I don't know if Doug, who had not had an easy few years, saw all of the many letters and words of support and love that flowed in, some from people in high places, but most simply from people whose lives had been changed positively, often forever, by his vision and determination. If he did, I imagine he smiled and then humbly returned to his lifelong passions of music, friendship (and rugby)."

Tito (Toriano Adaryll) Jackson, a founding member of the legendary Jackson 5, died on Sept. 15, at age 70.

According to initial reports from Entertainment Tonight, Jackson suffered a heart attack while driving from New Mexico to Oklahoma.

In its obituary, Billboard notes that "Tito was an integral part of the Jackson family’s musical dynasty. He, along with his brothers Michael, Jermaine, Marlon, and Jackie, formed The Jackson 5 in the 1960s.

"Tito’s rhythm guitar work and the harmonies of his brothers helped the group achieve meteoric success, culminating in their signing to Motown Records in 1968. Their debut single, “I Want You Back,” became an instant sensation, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as did their subsequent hits “ABC” and “I’ll Be There.” While his younger brother Michael often dominated the spotlight, Tito’s steady presence as a musician and performer was crucial to the band’s success."

Tito continued to perform and tour with his brothers as The Jacksons through the 1980s, contributing to hit albums like Destiny and Triumph.

He emerged as a solo artist late in his career, releasing his debut album Tito Time in 2016. His single “Get It Baby” reached No. 19 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart.

Read more here.

Zoot Money, an English Keyboardist and bandleader who rode the wave of the British rhythm and blues movement in the 1960s, died on Sept. 8, at age 82.

Noted English music journalist Chris Welch stated that "Money was a charismatic personality, a soulful singer and an excellent Hammond organist. He was much loved by the mods who flocked to his band’s shows at London clubs such as the Flamingo in the swinging 60s. Members of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the Animals were also among his greatest fans. Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band vied for popularity with Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames at the height of the British R&B boom."

He started with his Big Roll Band, formed in 1961, which soon featured Andy Summers on guitar. Money was then invited to play with Alexis Korner in Blues Incorporated and moved to London. The Big Rollers replaced Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames as the resident band at famed venue the Flamingo, began touring extensively and released a debut single, The Uncle Willie (1964), followed by an album, It Should’ve Been Me (1965).

The band also backed visiting American blues stars like John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson.

The Big Rollers packed out clubs such as Klooks Kleek in West Hampstead, where they recorded their live album Zoot! in May 1966. Money was renowned for his extroverted showmanship, but chart success proved elusive. His only hit was "Big Time Operator," which got to No 25 in 1966.

In 1967, the Big Roll Band broke up, replaced by the more psychedelic Dantalian’s Chariot, but they disbanded within a year

Money then divided his time between various groups and artists, notably Eric Burdon’s New Animals, GRIMMS, Kevin Coyne and Kevin Ayers. He also turned to acting and had screen roles in a host of TV shows, and films including Breaking Glass (1980), Absolute Beginners (1986) and Mona Lisa (1986), and developed a career as a record producer and songwriter.

He released his final solo album, The Book of Life ... I’ve Read It, in 2016, and the following year Repertoire Records released Big Time Operator, a celebratory four-CD box set of live Big Roll Band recordings.