Deaths All Around

The long shadow cast by the death of Don Knotts[1] has perhaps obscured your awareness of other, lesser known luminaries who have recently passed away. 2006 has brought us the news of the deaths of two of the remaining Cowsills, Billy and Barry. Who are the Cowsills, you say? They’re actually the group upon whom The Partridge Family was based, a family band of teens and a mom that fused the gooey pop of the Monkees with the harmonic inventiveness of the Beach Boys. Take a listen:

The Rain, the Park and Other Things (right click to save as…)

I’m pretty sure the tunes were written by Brill Building songwriters, but we don’t hold that against the Monkees, do we?[2]

We also lost avant-garde jazz guitarist Derek Bailey. I only have some random remixes of his stuff, and since it’s skronky, atonal electric guitar, I’ll spare you a sample.

1.) Can death cast a shadow?
2.) Yes.