This week, again, death has proven as ruthless as it was last week and taken Chicago soul singer and songwriter Billy Butler, Cythia Lennon, English guitarsonist Dave Ball, as well as local superstar Ms. Isidor.
Cynthia Lennon, the first wife of Beatle John Lennon, died Wednesday from cancer; she was 75. Regarding Ms. Lennon's legacy, well, I'm afraid to go too deep. I'd hate to sound like a tabloid rehash of what teh internet has to say. Her story IS a thread in pop-music history, but she and son Julian have been sorta cast on the losing end. She was there at the start, tho'—she met John in art school in 1957, and in 1962, they married. Her role in John's life was well sorted before there was any Beatles pop stardom. It was the stardom, his fame and work load, that would doom their marriage.
After the group hit, he was never around for touring/recording/being John Lennon AND their marriage, and son Julian had to be kept secret from the tabloids. From all I've read, trying to maintain life with John was a clusterfuck of NO THANKS. It sounds like John was an unhelpful "grade A" butthole, as well; he's been quoted as saying his son, Julian, was a "Saturday night special...out of a whiskey bottle." Wow. Still, their marriage lasted till 1968, when John left her for Yoko Ono. After their divorce, she eventually remarried, became a designer, and published a couple memoirs: A Twist of Lennon in 1978 and 2005's John. I hope in her later life, or perhaps after John was murdered, she was able to take some control of her story, thankfully and truthfully, out from under his legend.
Chicago soul great, and younger brother of Jerry "Iceman" Butler, Billy Butler, died this past Tuesday; he was 69. Jeez, where do I begin with Mr. Butler? His run of sweet and soaring sides, like "Nevertheless" and "I'll Bet You," are the epitome of Chicago soul in the '60s; I've been chasing his 45s for two decades now. Butler's first group, the Enchanters, which he formed when he was in high school, started making records in 1963 after hooking up with Curtis Mayfield and signing to Okeh Records. On Okeh, the Enchanters became the Chanters, and they went to work making some great singles. Surprisingly, tho', they only charted in the Top 100 via 1965's "I Can't Work No Longer." When the group split in 1966, Billy went solo, but the quality of killers did NOT wane! Uh-huh, it was during this period he recorded the classic floor-filler "The Right Track." SHEESH! In 1969, he formed the group Infinity and started the Memphis label. With Infinity he saw chart action; a few of their sides almost broke Top 40, but with no solid national breaks by the early '70s, the group split; Billy found himself, again, solo. However, his solo hopes were dashed after his one album, Sugar Candy Lady, sank, and he was dropped from Mayfield's Curtom after a distribution deal with RSO. In the mid '80s, Butler settled on playing guitar in his brother's backing band, the Ice Man's Band, which is where he remained.
And lastly, also on Tuesday, guitarist Dave Ball; he was 65. Mr. Ball should be remembered for playing with a clutch of heavy English groups: the Move-related Ace Kefford Stand, the ex-Tintern Abbey group Big Bertha, Bedlam with drummer Cozy Powell, and for a few months, Procol Harum. Ball, was an also-ran, but he turned in some fucking memorable sides. He hooked up with Procol Harum in 1971 as Robin Trower's replacement, but quit while the band was recording Grand Hotel to form Bedlam with his brother and drummer Cozy Powell. Bedlam made one killer LP, Bedlam, for Chrysalis. His last recordings was his 2012 solo album, Don't Forget Your Alligator.
