L-R: Jock Bartley (Firefall), Dewey Bunnell (America), Rusty Young (Poco), and Gerry Beckley (America) (Photo provided by Jock Bartley)
Jock Bartley: I’m still so saddened and stunned today about the death of our great friend RUSTY YOUNG on Wed. night (4/14). This photo was one of the last times I saw Rusty in person (although I’d spoken to him a number of times in the past year). This great concert was in Costa Mesa, CA. on August 11, 2019 with AMERICA, POCO and FIREFALL. Those 3 bands had played in NJ two days before & flew to CA on our day off – two fantastic big concerts in a row!! America & Rusty had been great friends since the early 1970s & their 1st albums; I didn’t get to know Rusty well until from the 1980s on when FF toured frequently with Poco and shared the same manager. So sad!! RUSTY was a soft-spoken, warm and very generous person .. and of course an amazing musician, singer & songwriter!! R.I.P. RUSTY YOUNG. The world won’t be the same without you in it.
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Other Notable Musicians’ Deaths…
Mike Mitchell: The Kingsmen are a 1960s garage rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of Richard Berry’s “Louie Louie”, which held the No. 2 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks and has become an enduring classic.
In total, the Kingsmen charted 11 single releases from 1963 to 1968 and five consecutive albums from 1963 to 1966. Their first album, The Kingsmen in Person, remained on the Billboard Top LPs chart for 131 weeks from January 1964 to August 1966. Their early albums were released internationally in Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, and Taiwan.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/18/us/mike-mitchell-lead-guitarist-the-kingsmen-obit/index.html
April 2021
22: Shravan Rathod, 66, Indian film composer (Aashiqui, Raja, Bewafaa), COVID-19.
21: Lea Dali Lion, 47, Estonian singer, COVID-19; Joe Long, 88, American musician (The Four Seasons), COVID-19.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Long
20: Willi Herren, 45, German actor and singer (death announced on this date); Les McKeown, 65, Scottish singer (Bay City Rollers).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_McKeown
19: Yuriy Ayrapetyan, 87, Armenian pianist and teacher, People’s Artist of the Armenian SSR (1976); Joaquín Cúneo, 34, Peruvian rock vocalist; Shyam Dehati, Indian lyricist (Dulhan Chahi Pakistan Se, Naagdev, Bhag Khesari Bhag), COVID-19; Bob Lanois, 73, Canadian record producer and recording engineer; Jim Steinman, 73, American musician, composer and lyricist (“Total Eclipse of the Heart”, “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)”, “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”); Gustavo Zanin, 91, Italian organ builder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Steinman
18: Naïma Ababsa, 51, Algerian singer; Paul Oscher, 71, American blues singer, COVID-19; Lars Ratz, 53, German heavy metal bassist and producer (Metalium), ultralight crash.
17: Black Rob, 51, American rapper (“Whoa!”, “Bad Boy for Life”), kidney failure; Lew Lewis, 65–66, English harmonica player (Eddie and the Hot Rods) (death announced on this date)
16: Barry Mason, 85, English songwriter (“Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)”, “The Last Waltz”, “Delilah”); Mike Mitchell, 77, American musician (The Kingsmen).