Saying Goodbye Ain't Easy • The List of 2022
As the new year begins it's appropriate to take a look and remember those we lost in 2022. This is not about mourning. This is about celebrating what each of these people gave us.
The singer Marvin Lee Aday died at age 74. We came to appreciate rock n’ roll's operatic voice delivering Jim Steinman's lyrics. “I want you, I need you, but there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna love you, but don’t be sad, ‘cause two outta three ain’t bad”. Meat Loaf was one of a kind.
Veronica Yvette Bennett died this year. If the name doesn’t instantly bring her to mind, it’s understandable. Most of us knew her first by her voice, and then as Ronnie who, with her sister Estelle and cousin Nadia became The Ronettes. The voices were wonderful, the songs were perfect, and the production was wrapped up inside Spector’s Wall Of Sound. Those pretty faces, wonderful voices, tight skirts and big hair connected with me and most other horny boys. Ronnie was 78.
Whenever you hear "The Way We Were", you should know that Marilyn Bergman crafted those lyrics to the song her husband Alan composed. Her words will stay with us. She was 93.
Film director Peter Bogdanovich died in January of 2022. This man was a Hollywood icon whose life’s output included drama, money, love, loss, comedy and fantasy. He was also a filmmaker, best known for three early movies from the 1970s: “The Last Picture Show,” “What’s Up, Doc?” and “Paper Moon”. Bogdanovich was 82.
Time caught up with Sonny Corleone. The man who personified the tough, New York, Italian, eldest son in “The Godfather” is gone. James Caan died at age 82.
Irene Cara who helped craft huge pop hits like “Fame” and “Flashdance” died at age 63.
Robbie Coltrane died in October. Loved him, of course, as Hagrid, but thoroughly enjoyed him in the detective series "Cracker". Even his cameos—as in "European Vacation"—were great. He was 72.
“The Beaver’s” older brother Wally died this year. Tony Dow was 77.
You probably heard that the head of state in the United Kingdom died. Queen Elizabeth was 96. Love her or not, she had her moments. I do remember waving to her from a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan in Milwaukee. She was on the royal yacht Britannia as it sailed by on its way back from Chicago to England. She had come over to celebrate the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. (I'm not certain she waved back.)
No more watermelons in concert. Gallagher’s defining stage prop will probably go back to just being a summertime refresher. He was 76.
Gilbert Gottfried had a voice we all instantly recognized. His comedic style might be described as a bit crude by some; others might compare it to the brakes on a large dump truck approaching a stop. Regardless, he’s someone to be missed. He was 67.
William Hurt connected with audiences in a variety of films and a variety of character types. I’ll always remember his performances in “The Big Chill”, “Body Heat” and “Broadcast News”. Mr. Hurt was 71.
Naomi Judd is gone. The mother of Wynona (and actress Ashley) was 76. No gimmicky mother-daughter singing duo, the Judds could sing. Before success arrived, Naomi Judd had already been through one marriage, survived sexual assault and drug use, supported her daughters on welfare and became a registered nurse.
Margaret Keane died at age 94. Many of us can remember her paintings of those little children with the large, paralyzing eyes.
Michael Lang, was one-half of the team that created "Woodstock" in 1969. He was 77.
Ramsey Lewis personified the hip, swingin’, music of “The In Crowd.” He didn’t write the song (Billy Page did that, and Dobie Gray’s vocal hit is a classic) but Lewis made it his own hit with his eponymous trio. He was 87.
Ray Liotta died at age 67. Two of his most memorable films were “Goodfellas” and “Field of Dreams.” He could easily move from gangster to dreamer. And we believed him.
And Jerry Lee Lewis died. He was 87. “The Killer”, as he was sometimes known because of his amazing live performances, gave us “Great Balls of Fire”, “Whole Lotta Shakin’” and so much more.
Loretta Lynn died at 90, We all remember her as “The Coal Miner’s Daughter”.
I remember seeing an album cover and hearing the music of Christine Perfect when I was working in college radio in the late 1960s. I loved her voice, and later believed that her songs were a perfect counterpoint to the songs of Stevie Nicks (as part of Fleetwood Mac.) Both have given us great songs, but Christine McVie—as most music fans know her—had the edge with me. She was 79.
Olivia Newton John died this year. She was almost a poster child for the all American girl. The Australian native was 73.
If we were ever flying around the universe, we’d want Uhura to be in charge of communications. Nichelle Nichols died at 89.
Wolfgang Petersen left us. He’s easily remembered for directing films like “Air Force One”, “Das Boot” and, “The Perfect Storm”. (He always made certain that the musical soundtracks for his films were worth listening to as well.) My favorite Petersen film was “The NeverEnding Story” (1984). Petersen reportedly told the New York Times “If people don’t dream anymore, they won’t survive . . . The whole idea of the film is that we need your imagination, your dreams, your wishes, your creativity to fight against all these dangerous problems in the world.” The dreamer was 81.
And we lost Sidney Poitier. Of course I enjoyed his films, but beyond his commanding physical presence on screen, there was that voice. Dignified one minute, and ‘take no prisoners the next.’ “Mr. Tibbs” was 90 years old.
Bobby Rydell is gone. Those of us who listened to those pure teenage singles in the 1960s—“Wild One”, “Volare”, "Sway", "I've Got Bonnie", etc.—can picture him. One of Philadelphia's favorite sons was 79.
Bill Russell was, perhaps, the most enjoyable basketball player of all time. He was tough, talented, charming, and owned a smile that no one could resist. He was 88.
Another "movie gangster” (also in "Goodfellas") died this year. Paul Sorvino was 83.
Those of us who sat in theaters to see movies like “Chariots of Fire” and “Blade Runner” walked out of the theaters remembering not just the story-lines, but the music as well. The sound tracks were by Vangelis. Although significantly different storylines, Vangelis created music for each that was right on the money. The composer was 79.
Many more have left us, as is the case every year. Thank you all.
