advertisement
Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2023 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
advertisement
Latest News
advertisement
BILLBOARD CANADA FYI
A weekly briefing on what matters in the music industry
By signing up you agree to Billboard Canada’s privacy policy.
advertisement
advertisement
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Lou Christie
FYI
Obituaries: '60s Pop Idol Lou Christie Passes Away at 82
This week we also acknowledge the passing of New York City rock photographer Marcia Resnick, reggae star Leroy Gibbons and South African jazz drummer Louis Moholo.
3h
Lou Christie (Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco), one of the most beloved teen pop idols of the 1960s and the voice and songwriter behind Billboard Hot 100-topper “Lightnin’ Strikes,” died on June 18, after a long illness. He was 82 years old.
ABillboard obituary reports that the Pennsylvania-born singer "Christie soared to fame in the early ’60s with hits such as 'The Gypsy Cried' and 'Two Faces Have I,' the latter of which reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 in 1963. The star’s biggest hit came three years later, when 'Lightnin’ Strikes' ascended to the chart’s summit, but he would still score a top 10 smash years later in 1969 with 'I’m Gonna Make You Mine.'"
advertisement
Christie also had two LPs make it to the Billboard 200 chart, including his 1963 self-titled debut and 1966’s Lightnin’ Strikes.
"Known for his dexterous falsetto and charisma as a performer, Christie made his name as a teen idol in the age of Frankie Valli, Frankie Avalon and Paul Anka. He cut his teeth as a live artist on Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars tour, sharing dates with with Diana Ross and the Supremes." Unlike many pop idols of the day, Christie was as gifted at writing his songs as he was at singing them. He penned many of his biggest hits, including “Lightnin’ Strikes,” and he frequently worked with collaborator Twyla Herber.Leroy Gibbons, a noted Jamaican reggae vocalist, died on June 17, at age 74.
In its obituary, Reggae Vibes writes that "Leroy Gibbons was a celebrated reggae singer, widely recognized for his emotion-filled voice that deeply resonated with fans. Emerging in the mid-1980s, he quickly made a name for himself with covers like Sam Cooke’s 'Cupid' and The Drifters’ 'This Magic Moment.'"
"His definitive moment arrived with the song 'Four Season Lover,' produced by King Jammy. This success culminated in his 1988 album, also titled Four Season Lover, where Gibbons excelled as a quintessential lovers rock artist.
"Leroy Gibbons maintained a vibrant presence on global stages, even as his recording releases became less frequent after the 1990s, earning a reputation as a powerhouse performer. A significant musical evolution occurred in 2022 with a gospel-themed EP.
Reggae label VP Records stated that "Gibbons' musical career began in the mid-'80s, rising to prominence as a key member of King Jammy’s pantheon of recording artists, and he was also a regular fixture on King Jammy’s Super Power Soundsystem. His unique vocal stylings and soulful, romantic lyrics provided the perfect accompaniment to Jammy’s innovative digital Dancehall productions, with songs like 'Magic Moment,' 'She Is My Baby, ''Samfie Girl' and 'Missing You”'amongst some of the biggest tunes of the era."
advertisement
Louis Tebogo Moholo, a South African jazz drummer, died on June 13, at age 85.
He earned global acclaim as a member of notable bands, including The Blue Notes and the Brotherhood of Breath.
Born in Cape Town, Moholo formed The Blue Notes with Chris McGregor, Johnny Dyani, Nikele Moyake, Mongezi Feza and Dudu Pukwana, and emigrated to Europe with them in 1964, Based in London, that group had a real impact on British jazz.
In 1966, he recorded the album The Forest and the Zoo with Steve Lacy, Johnny Dyani and Enrico Rava.
He then joined the Brotherhood of Breath, a big band comprising several South African exiles and leading musicians of the British free jazz scene in the 1970s and was the founder of Viva la Black and The Dedication Orchestra.
His first album under his own name, Spirits Rejoice on Ogun Records, is considered a classic example of the combination of British and South African players. In the early 1970s, Moholo was also a member of the afro-rock band Assagai.
advertisement
Other elite jazz musicians Moholo played and recorded with include Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Roswell Rudd, Irène Schweizer, Cecil Taylor, John Tchicai, Archie Shepp, Peter Brötzmann, Mike Osborne, Keith Tippett, Elton Dean and Harry Miller.
Moholo returned to South Africa in 2005., but still performed internationally, including at Canadian jazz festivals. He later went under the name Louis Moholo-Moholo.
In a Facebook tribute, Canadian jazz critic and author Mark Miller noted that "Moholo-Moholo was the core of the Brotherhood of Breath, led by their pianist Chris McGregor. The Brotherhood’s township rhythms, approximate ensemble work and loose improvisational exuberance would set the London scene on its ear in the 1970s.
advertisement
"Moholo-Moholo’s drumming, which roiled and galloped as much as it swung — and, my, did it swing — was a major element of the Brotherhood’s presence and power, qualities that he sustained in later years with his own groups and in collaboration with many of Europe’s finest improvisers.
"In 2005 he looked back from the vantage point of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival to the freedom that the Blue Notes had found in exile 41 years earlier. 'We weren’t chased by the police,”' he told me, alluding to a common occurrence in South Africa, not least because of the band’s multi-racial identity, 'so we had time to ourselves. We found ourselves practicing every day in London, whereas in South Africa we’d practice maybe two times a week with the Blue Notes.
"And we could rub shoulders with Ben Webster, Don Byas, Kenny Clarke — sit with them, have a drink with them. Me and Dudu [alto saxophonist Dudu Pukwana], we sat one day drinking brandy with Miles Davis in Zurich. So we came to the West with something, and it gave us something back, too.”
Marcia Resnick, an American photographer, author, and graphic artist, died on June 18, at age 74, from lung cancer.
Born in New York City and a lifelong resident there, she had a major impact on the New York City music scene with her photography.
In 2005, she published a book of photographs and text, Punks, Poets, and Provocateurs: New York City Bad Boys, 1977-1982.
In 2024-2025, her works were included in the National Gallery of Art's exhibition, The ’70s Lens: Reimagining Documentary Photography and related online feature 12 Documentary Photographers Who Changed the Way We See the World.
advertisement
Many of her photographs of rock musicians appear on their album covers. Among the subjects of her photographs are John Belushi, David Byrne, Iggy Pop, John Lydon, Mick Jagger, Andy Warhol, Johnny Thunders, William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg.
Resnick was known as a key figure on the NYC music scene during the heyday of clubs like CBGB, the Mudd Club and Max's Kansas City.
Resnick also taught at Queens College and NYU and worked for SoHo Weekly News and New York Magazine. She was married to MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer for a period.
Veteran Toronto concert promoter Elliott Lefko was a longtime friend of Resnick, and he posted this tribute on Facebook: "I first met Marcia Resnick around 1983. I was promoting some Lydia Lunch gigs and NOW Magazine wanted to run a cover story. Lydia suggested Marcia shoot the pics in New York.
"The shots were amazing. Lydia looked like a superstar. I soon learned that Marcia had photographed everyone. From Warhol and William Burroughs to Klaus Nomi and Johnny Thunders to Larry Rivers and Russ Meyer. She was fearless and her portraits really brought out their outrageous personalities.
advertisement
Marcia and I became friends. I would stay with her when I went to New York. She had a loft in the same building as Laurie Anderson. She would take me to all the clubs like Area where her notoriety took us beyond all the velvet ropes to the inner sanctum.
"At some point we decided to work together on a series called Bad Boys. The first was a live performance at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto where I was working. Marcia told stories while she showed slides of her work. I had managed to get a class of photography students to show up and they loved it.
"Next was an exhibit of her work in a gallery on Queen East. She even sold a few. Finally I asked my friend [top documentary filmmaker] Ron Mann to shoot a short documentary on Marcia. I had lent Ron $1500 and I asked him to shoot the film as payback. The film showed her pics and Marcia telling her stories and even a little posing.
"The movie , Bad Boys, was really good and eventually played at the Toronto Film Festival and the Museum Of Modern Art. Over the years we stayed in touch. I invited her to one of Leonard Cohen’s gigs in NYC and she came to the after show party. And a couple of years ago she came to see Nick Cave with me. So long my friend. You were a true artist. And thanks for getting me past the velvet rope."
keep readingShow less
advertisement
Popular
advertisement
Published by ARTSHOUSE MEDIA GROUP (AMG) under license from Billboard Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Media Corporation.
advertisement