New York Times Obits

Each day, I peruse the obituaries. Blessed with good health, I feel that my death is a way off, so I’m surprised by friends and acquaintances who have already passed. Those without similar experiences may have little interest in the obits, but maybe should consider those in The New York Times. The Times’ obits introduce readers to people who may not have been mainstream newsmakers but, nonetheless, achieved interesting accomplishments and perhaps have profoundly affected our lives today.

Two examples are historian Charles G. Sellers, whose obit appeared September 25, 2021, and pathologist Johan Hultin, whose obit appeared January 28, 2022. Sellers is known for helping “overturn the consensus that democracy and capitalism developed in tandem by showing in fact they were more often at odds.” His 1991 book, The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815-1846, demonstrated that the rapid expansion of capital and industry not only created a new economy for America but also unraveled the country’s social fabric. His work was subsequently described as “the thesis that launched a thousand dissertations.” Hultin studied the 1918 pandemic flu virus by unearthing graves in the Alaskan permafrost beginning in 1951 and sampling victims’ lung tissue. This allowed scientists to sequence the gene that allowed the virus to enter cells, which led to the sequencing of all eight of the virus’s genes.

Over the last six months, The Times has published obituaries for four individuals who have made significant contributions to the world of music. Rather than recount their entire lives, the following material describes one aspect of their obituary which I’ve found interesting.

Sandra Jaffe. Sandra and Allen Jaffe were returning to Philadelphia from their honeymoon in January 1961, when they detoured to New Orleans to visit one of Allen’s army buddies. Entranced by a jazz combo “jamming” in an art gallery, they extended their honeymoon to hear the combo’s return engagement several days later. When the gallery owner told the Jaffes that he was relocating his business to larger quarters and that he would rent them his current space for $400 per month, New Orleans’ Preservation Hall came into being. Preservation Hall has remained an iconic destination in New Orleans’ music scene for over 60 years, despite measuring only 31 by 20 feet, accommodating only about 50 patrons per performance on six benches, lacking air conditioning until 2019, and not serving alcohol. You can tell that this rendition of “Tailgate Ramble” was recorded by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Preservation Hall because there is no P.A. system. Initially, Allen assembled the musicians and performed with them, and Sandra assumed a managerial role, which included serving as bouncer and standing at the door with a basket accepting donations. When Allen passed in 1987, Sandra continued to operate Preservation Hall, and when Sandra eventually relinquished her management role, she remained involved, even sweeping the sidewalk out front. Today, the Jaffes’ son, Benjamin, manages the enterprise, and admission charges have replaced the donation system, with fees ranging from $25 for general admission to $50 for reserved seating. However, throughout its history, Preservation Hall has not wavered from its dedication to preserving traditional jazz. Sandra Jaffe passed in New Orleans on December 27, 2021, at the age of 83.

Rosa Lee Hawkins. Between the late-1950s and mid-1960s, “girl groups” were one of the formats that dominated pop music. Characterized by strong voices and vibrant harmonies, the girl group sound is further described by the Pop History Dig website as having “a fresh optimistic buoyancy to it, with lyrics that were mostly innocent and naïve.” Their sound relied on producers to assemble the separate components – writers, composers/arrangers, musicians, and singers – leaving the artists at the mercy of the producer and record company. Initially, girl groups were an East Coast phenomenon – the Chiffons from the Bronx, the Shirelles from New Jersey, the Sensations from Philadelphia, the Cookies from Brooklyn, and the Ronettes from Spanish Harlem – until Motown’s Berry Gordy replicated the sound in Detroit with the Marvelettes and Martha and the Vandellas, and Phil Spector did the same in Los Angeles with the Blossoms featuring Darlene Love. New Orleans would not be left out. In 1963, two sisters, Rosa Lee and Barbara Hawkins, and their cousin, Joan Marie Johnson, performed in a high school talent show. While they did not win the talent show, their performance caught the ear of a scout from Redbird Records and led to a recording contract. Discovering that their first choice for a name, the Meltones, was already taken, they became the Dixie Cups. In 1964, they released “Chapel of Love” which vaulted to the number 1 spot on the Billboard 100, replacing the Beatles’ “Love Me Do.” The song was later used in Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 movie, “Full Metal Jacket.” Rosa Lee Hawkins passed in Tampa, Florida, on January 11, at the age of 76.

Don Wilson. Surf music gained popularity in the early 1960s and is most often associated with Southern California. One group that did not fit this characterization hailed from the Seattle area, where the climate afforded two bricklayers with outdoor jobs plenty of time to practice playing music. The Ventures was formed by guitarists, Don Wilson, on rhythm, and Bob Bogle, on lead. Lacking a drummer or bassist to establish a “beat,” Wilson took on that role by developing a strong, driving playing style that characterized the group, which later added Nokie Edwards (bass) and Skip Moore (drums). Recording on their own record label in March 1960, The Ventures released “Walk Don’t Run,” which was their modification of a song by jazz guitarist Johnny Smith that had also been recorded by country-great Chet Atkins. The song gained little popularity until Seattle radio station KJR began playing it as the lead-in to its news segment at the top of every hour. That popularized the song in the Seattle area and also caught the ear of Dolton Records, which signed the group and re-released the song. “Walk Don’t Run” soon made Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and remains one of music’s most recognizable surf songs. Don Wilson passed in Tacoma, Washington, on January 22, at the age of 88. 

Terence “Astro” Wilson. If you thought UB40 was a Jamaican reggae band, you got the reggae part correct. UB40 was a group of multi-racial musicians of English, Welsh, Irish, Jamaican, Scottish, and Yemeni parentage, formed in Birmingham, England, in 1978. Besides all being musicians, their common characteristic was being unemployed, prompting them to base their name on Britain’s Unemployment Benefit Form 40. Terence Wilson was the group’s trumpet player and background vocalist and became known as “Astro” because he wore Doc Martens “Astronaut” boots as a child. In 1983, UB40 released their “Labour of Love” album, which included a cover of “Red Red Wine” after hearing Tony Tribe’s ska version of the song. Of course, the original version was written and performed by Neil Diamond as a melancholy ballad, characterized by Diamond’s dramatic vocal performance. His version reached #62 in 1968 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart, and Tony Tribe’s 1969 version climbed somewhat higher to #46 on the UK Singles Chart. UB40’s 1983 release of “Red Red Wine” was a “short” version that enjoyed only moderate success in the U.S. after topping the charts in Britain. This version initially edited out toaster Astro Wilson’s verse where he raps, “Red Red Wine, you make me feel so fine/You keep me rocking all of the time.” After performing this longer version at Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday concert, A&M Records decided to include that version on the group’s “Labour of Love II” album in 1988. The album became a #1 Billboard hit in the U.S. and sold over a million copies in the UK. Shortly thereafter, Neil Diamond began performing the UB40 version of the song in concert. Terence “Astro” Wilson passed on November 6, 2021, at the age of 64.

I hope these histories demonstrate that reading the obits need not be mournful, but rather allow us to celebrate the deceased accomplishments. Like all my postings, I could have gone on and on, recounting contributions by Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes, Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, and James Mtume. Just for grins, you might want to search for Mtume’s hit “Juicy Fruit.” It was so 1983.