Granted there is still time to bite the big one, but you musicians who don't find yourselves on this list just may have stayed out of rock 'n roll heaven for another year. From Reuters/Billboard, here is a look at some of the notable artists who died in the past year.Swing-era clarinetist/bandleader ARTIE SHAW, 94, died December 30, 2004, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. By some accounts, Shaw sold more than 100 million records during his career as a performer/composer/arranger. His first million seller came in 1938 with a swing makeover of Cole Porter's usually languid "Begin the Beguine." Shaw's theme song, the minor-mode, noir wail "Nightmare," also sold 1 million copies. His lifelong conviction that art should trump commerce led him to walk away from his career several times. In 1954, he put down the clarinet for good, although he later returned to the music scene as a bandleader.
Singer/songwriter JIMMY GRIFFIN, 61, January 11 in Nashville. Best-known for his work with 1970s soft rock act Bread, Griffin gained acclaim as a songwriter with cuts recorded by Rudy Vallee, Ed Ames, Lesley Gore, Bobby Vee and others. Following the breakup of Bread in 1977, Griffin formed many other groups, the most successful of which was the Remingtons, who scored a top 10 country hit.
Songwriter/drummer JIM CAPALDI, 60, January 28 in London. Capaldi was a member of British rock act Traffic from its formation in 1967 until it disbanded in 1974. Traffic was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Capaldi released his first solo album in 1972. He remained in demand as a musician/writer, working with such artists as Bob Marley, Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton.
Wait, don't relax just yet. - more - sadly, Lou Rawls
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