RIP – Rock In Perpetuity

Mourning the loss of classic rock stars, other musical greats and related figures

Al Schmitt, 23x Grammy Award-Winning Producer-Engineer, Dies

The winner of 23 Grammys–more than any other engineer in history–worked with Elvis, the Jefferson Airplane, Dylan, Sam Cooke, Steely Dan, and many others

Read More

Gene Taylor, Boogie-Woogie Piano Player With the Blasters, Dies at 68

As a teenager in Los Angeles he performed with such legends as Big Joe Turner and T-Bone Walker. A longtime friend called him a “boogie/blues piano master”

Read More

James Purify, R&B Singer of ‘I’m Your Puppet’ Fame, Dies at 76

In addition to their big soul hit, the duo, two cousins from Florida, returned to the pop chart with several singles, including “Shake a Tail Feather.”

Read More

Jimmie Rodgers, Early Rock ‘n’ Roll Star, Dies at 87

He scored a #1 hit with “Honeycomb,” and went on to earn another four Top 10 pop singles. He continued to place singles on the country chart through the ’70s

Read More

New York Dolls Guitarist Sylvain Sylvain Dies at 69

A peer called him “the heart and soul” of the influential band which came to prominence in the early ’70s as a bridge from glam and early hard rock to punk

Read More

Howard Johnson, Tuba Man With The Band, Taj Mahal, Dies

Although best known for his work within the jazz field, Johnson’s tuba graced such classic albums as “The Last Waltz” and “Rock of Ages” by The Band.

Read More

Michael Fonfara, Keyboardist For Lou Reed and Foreigner, Dies

He appeared on nine of Reed’s albums and also performed on Foreigner’s 1981 smash “Urgent.” He was a 30+ year member of Canadian blues band Downchild

Read More

Mick Bolton, Keyboardist With Mott the Hoople and Dexys, Dies

The musician, not to be confused with the UFO guitarist of the same name, originally set out to be a teacher. He later gave piano lessons to Linda McCartney

Read More

Geoff Stephens, Prolific British Songwriter, Dead at 86

His many hit compositions included “Winchester Cathedral,” “There’s a Kind of Hush,” “The Crying Game” and “Daughter of Darkness.”

Read More

Tony Rice, Influential Bluegrass Guitarist, Dead at 69

Said country/bluegrass great Ricky Skaggs in a tweet, “”Tony Rice was the single most influential acoustic guitar player in the last 50 years.”

Read More