In Memoriam - Page 24

Former Eighteen Visions bassist Mick Morris, aka MickDeth, has died at the age of 35 from a pre-existing heart condition. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, Morris started his musical career on guitar in the straight edge hardcore outfit Clear before joining Eighteen Visions on bass in 2000. He went on to record five albums with the group...

Marshall Lytle, bassist for Bill Haley and The Comets, has passed away at the age of 79 after a battle with cancer. Lytle left his mark on popular music as the bassist on the classic track “Rock Around the Clock,” a song that is often cited as the birth of rock ’n’ roll. Born in Old Fort, North Carolina in...

Trevor Bolder, who played with David Bowie’s backing band Spiders From Mars, has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 62. Born in Kingston Upon Hull, England, Bolder was a prominent member of the local R&B scene in the ‘60s before replacing Tony Visconti in Bowie’s band. He appeared on the albums Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall...

Parliament-Funkadelic member Cordell “Boogie” Mosson passed away on April 18th from an unspecified illness. He was 60 years old. Mosson grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, where he was friends with future P-Funk guitarist Garry Shider. The duo eventually joined a band called United Soul, which came to the attention of P-Funk founder George Clinton. Clinton produced several of the...

The bass community has lost another great player as former Deftones bassist Chi Cheng has passed away after a five year fight for his life. Cheng was in a car accident in 2008 in Santa Clara, California that left him in a coma. Though he had been showing signs of improvement the past two years, he succumbed to heart related...

Bassist Neil Smith, a one-time member of AC/DC and Rose Tattoo passed away early this morning, according to a message posted on his Facebook page. The bassist had been battling cancer. “Neil Smith passed away in the early hours of the morning, Sunday the 7th of April 2013. He was sleeping peacefully and surrounded by family. “Neil is now in...

Chris Bailey, the bassist for The Angels, has passed away at the age of 62 after a battle with throat cancer. The Angels guitarist John Brewster posted the news on the band’s Facebook page. “It is a very sad day for us,” Brewster said. “We have lost a great friend in Chris Bailey and a great friend to a lot...

Philip Kubicki, creator of the Factor Bass, has passed away after a battle with cancer. The renowned luthier spent nine years at Fender in their R&D department before creating his own brand. Kubicki first realized his fascination with instruments at his grandparents’ house. “When I was young – perhaps 12 or 13 years old – I found an old, handmade...

Chuck Goff, who played bass with country music superstar Toby Keith, died this week after sustaining injuries from a car accident. He was 54. Carl “Chuck” Goff Jr. played for Keith for over 25 years as both a bass player and band leader. He also cowrote “You Ain’t Much Fun” and “Upstairs Downtown” from the 1994 album Boomtown. Keith shared...

Kevin Ayers, who co-founded the 1960s British psychedelic band The Soft Machine, has passed away at the age of 68. The cause of death has not be released. Ayers formed The Soft Machine in 1966, naming the group after the classic novel by William S. Burroughs. The group became an influential force as part of the “Canterbury scene” and was...

Rick Huxley, bassist of the Dave Clark Five, has passed away at the age of 72 after battling emphysema. Huxley was a founding member of the ’60s Brit rock band and was a member for the band’s duration, from 1958 to 1970. Born in England in 1940, Huxley was just 18 when he joined the band. The group was part...

2012 had some incredible highlights in the world of bass, but we must also stop to remember the incredible bassists we lost this year. We lost some of our biggest heroes, and while their strings have stopped ringing, their musical legacies will live on. Bob Babbitt (July 16, 2012) Motown bassist and member of the Funk Brothers. Babbitt’s bass lines...