Rob Fisher
November 5, 1956 – August 25, 1999

L-R: Rob Fisher, Simon Climie

As half of the 80’s pop duo, Naked Eyes, Rob Fisher was responsible for a couple of the most memorable hits from the classic MTV generation.  Fisher played keyboards and wrote songs for the group which included singer, Pete Bryne.  Their 1983 cover of Burt Bacharach’s “Always Something There To Remind Me” was a Top 10 hit in the U.S., while their follow-up single, “Promises Promises” reached #11 on the charts.  Following the 1985 break up of Naked Eyes, formed another duo, this time with Simon Climie.  As Climie Fisher, they scored a moderate his with “Love Changes Everything” in 1987.  When the band dissolved in 1990, Fisher basically left the business.  He died on August 25, 1999, following surgery for bowel cancer.  He was just 42.

Dave Alexander
June 3, 1947 – February 10, 1975

Member of the 27 Club

Dave Alexander was the founding bassist for the Stooges.  Formed by Iggy Pop, Ron Ashton, and Scott Asheton in 1967, the Stooges strongly influenced punk, alternative and metal bands for generations to come.  Their “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” is considered one of the most iconic rock songs of the era.  Besides playing bass, Alexander helped out with composing music for, and arranging the band’s first couple of albums.  Unfortunately, Alexander suffered from alcohol addiction which lead to the band firing him in 1970.  On February 10, 1975, Dave Alexander died of pulmonary edema, of fluid accumulation in the lungs, which was likely a result of his drinking.  He was 27 years old.

Ron Asheton
July 17, 1948 – January 1 (?), 2009

Ron Asheton was most famously the lead guitarist for Detroit rock band the Stooges, a garage band lead by the wildly charismatic Iggy Pop.  With the Stooges, Asheton was considered by many as ground zero for what would become known as punk rock some ten years later.  Born in Washington DC, Asheton began playing the guitar at just ten years of age, perhaps tired of the accordion, which he had been playing since he was five.  By the time he turned eighteen, he was living in Ann Arbor, Michigan playing alongside his brother Scott, Iggy Pop and David Alexander in the Stooges.  The band quickly established themselves as a must-see act in and around the Detroit area for their aggressive playing and Pop’s shocking stage antics.  It must be noted that this was still the ‘60s, a time when such blistering noise and in-your-face singing was difficult for many a Woodstock generation to swallow.  But they persevered and soon landed on Elektra Records who released their brilliant self-titled debut in 1969.  It was Asheton’s fuzzy guitars that helped define a sound that was the blueprint for the likes of the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Ramones and roughly a million more.   By the mid ‘70s, the Stooges had disbanded after three brilliant yet commercially dismal albums.  Asheton and his brother continued to play, both together and in support of other acts for the next several years.  In 2003, Rolling Stone placed Asheton at number 29 in their 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. And to the delight of fans old and new, the Stooges reunited to tour in 2003 and later released The Wierdness, their first album in some 30 years.  On January 6, 2008, Asheton’s assistant called the police after not being able to reach him for a few days.  According to the Ann Arbor News, officers entered Asheton’s home at around midnight and discovered his body on a living room couch, apparently dead for several days.  They did not suspect foul play.  Later reports indicate that Asheton died of an apparent heart attack on either December 31 or January 1.

Scott Asheton
August 16, 1949 – March 16, 2014

Scott Asheton was the drummer for Detroit group the Stooges, a garage band lead by the wildly charismatic Iggy Pop.  With the Stooges, Asheton was considered by many as ground zero for what would become known as punk rock some ten years later.  Born in Washington DC, Asheton was 14 when his family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan where he eventually co-founded the Stooges with brother, Ron Asheton, Iggy Pop and David Alexander.  After its inception, the band quickly established itself as a must-see act in and around the Detroit area for their aggressive playing and Pop’s shocking stage antics.  It must be noted that this was still the late ‘60s, a time when such blistering noise and in-your-face singing was difficult for many of the Woodstock generation to swallow.  But the Stooges persevered and soon landed on Elektra Records who released their brilliant self-titled debut in 1969. Another album followed before some line-up changes and a third album for Columbia Records.  The band broke up in 1974, so the Asheton brothers continued on, both together and in support of other acts for the next several years. In 2003, the Ashetons and Pop reformed the group.  They released The Weirdness in 2007. In 2011, Asheton suffered a severe stroke following a show in France.  Although it forced him off the road, he contributed to the band’s 2013 release,  Ready To Die.  Scott Asheton was 64 when he died on March 16, 2014.  Cause of death was not immediately released

Phil Everly, along with his brother Don Everly, are considered the must influential vocal duo pop music has ever known.  Working together as the Everly Brothers, they created such seamless and glorious harmonies that no less than members of the Byrds, the Beatles, and the Beach Boys have preached their influence ever since.  Born in Chicago, Illinois to a musical family, Phil learned to play the guitar at an early age.  Family patriarch, Ike Everly was a respected professional musician himself, so the boys were introduced to music as a way of life while still in their childhood.  Ultimately settling in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Everly family performed as a group throughout the area for many years.  By the early ’50s, Phil and Don were working as a duo, making an early believer out of Chet Atkins who helped then secure their first recording contract with Columbia Records.  Their first single, “Keep A’ Lovin’ Me,”  performed less than spectacularly, so Columbia dropped them.  Before they knew it, Acuff-Rose Publishing snatched Phil and Don up as songwriters while Roy Acuff helped land them a deal with Cadence Records. From there, the Everly Brothers’ career skyrocketed.  Their first release for Cadence, “Bye Bye Love” shot to #2 on the pop charts, #1 on the country charts, and #5 on the R&B charts.  What followed that million-seller was a string of hits that helped define the era.  Records like “Wake Up Little Susie,” “All I Have To Do Is Dream,” and “Cathy’s Clown”  earned the duo more than $35 Million dollars by 1962 – an astonishing sum at that time.  After the British Invasion hit the U.S in 1964, the Everly Brothers’ shine diminished as teenagers scrambled for the new sound by the likes of the Beatles, who ironically, might not have ever crossed the Atlantic if it weren’t for Phil and Don.  By the dawn of the ’70s, the Everly Brothers had split up to pursue solo careers.  Phil worked with likes of  Warren Zevon and Roy Wood, and later scored a hit with “Don’t Say You Don’t Love Me No More,” a tune he wrote and performed with actress, Sondra Locke in the Clint Eastwood hit film, Every Which Way But Loose.  In 1983, the Everly Brothers reunited for an acclaimed concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.  The show was recorded and the subsequent album returned the duo to the charts.  Phil and Don continued to record and perform as a duo and individually well into the 2000s.  In all, they scored 35 Billboard Top 100 singles, a record that still stands to this day.  They  were also recognized with nearly every musical award you could think of including being part of the first group of ten artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.  On January 3, 2014, it was announced that Phil Everly died of pulmonary disease.  He was 74.

Richard Coughlan was an English drummer who spent almost his entire career as the drummer for influential Canterbury scene prog rock band, Caravan.  With a career that more or less started when he was 10 years old, Coughlan has been called one of rock’s longest tenured musicians.  After playing in different bands during his teens, Coughlan found himself playing for the Wilde Flowers, a Canterbury progressive rock band whose members eventually went on to form either Soft Machine, or in Coughlan’s case, Caravan, the genres two most influential bands.  Formed in 1968, Caravan became the first British act to sign to prestigious American label, Verve.  Over the next decade or so, the band built a loyal legion of fans thanks in part to their ability to blend jazz and psychedelic rock.  Also called art rock, Caravan’s sound can be credited for paving the way for the likes of Genesis, Roxy Music, David Bowie, and later, Muse and Radiohead.   Caravan remained active – with different members coming and going – with Coughlan remaining in the fold until he died following a fight with pneumonia on December 1, 2013.  He was 66.

Bob Casale was a founding guitarist for influential new wave band, Devo.  Formed with his brother, Gerald Casale, brothers, Mark Mothersbaugh and Bob Mothersbaugh, andAlan  Myersin 1972, Devo went on to become one of the most popular bands of the era thanks to such hits as “Girl U Want,” “Freedom Of Choice,” “Working In A Coal Mine,” and “Whip It.”  The latter was one of the most recognizable songs of the ’80s and helped propel the album Freedom Of Choice to Platinum in the US.  The song’s video was one of the most popular on MTV at the time.  The band continued to release album throughout the ’80s but slowed down as the public’s taste changed during the ’90s and 2000s.  In 2010, they released Something For Everybody to critical acclaim. It reached #30 on the Billboard album charts, their first charting album since 1988.  Also in 2010, Devo performed during a televised broadcast from the Vancouver Winter Olympics.  Bob Casale died of heart failure on February 17, 2014.  He was 61.

Sadly missed by many rock fans including me!

Cozy Powell (Born Colin Flooks)
December 29, 1947 – April 5, 1998

Photo by David Plastik – Click To Order Quality Prints – Discount code: 10OFF

Cozy Powell was without of doubt, one of rock’s most respected and influential drummers. He mastered the drums at a young age, and by 15 he was one of the best players around. Over the years Powell has been in such bands as Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake and Powell, Black Sabbath, Michael Schenker Group, Jeff Beck Group, and when Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham died in 1980, Powell was considered to take his place until the band decided to call it quits. He drummed on over 60 albums and played on numerous other recordings as well.  Powell’s other passion was racing cars and motorcycles. He even drove for Hitachi on the UK race circuit for a bit. That love for speed would eventually kill him. Cozy Powell died on April 5, 1998 from injuries he sustained after crashing his car on the M4 Motorway near Bristol, England. Other factors might have been the bad weather and the fact that he was talking to his girlfriend on a cell phone. He was 50 years old.