A Tribute to a Loyal Reader Who We Nicknamed ‘The Grim Reaper’
by Greg Brodsky
Ric Allen Niedzinski
I want to acknowledge the passing of a loyal reader, Ric Allen Niedzinski. It wasn’t until this summer that I discovered that he had died in 2023. Though he and I never met, I’ll try to explain why I considered him a friend by sharing a story that demonstrates his generosity.
In 2015, I started Best Classic Bands, to celebrate the artists, music and pop culture of the classic rock era. At some point, Ric discovered our website and we developed an unusual pen pal relationship:
He would message me with news of a musician’s death and, more often than not, Best Classic Bands’ editor or I would write an obituary.
This continued for years. Naturally, as the artists of the era aged, more and more of them were dying. There were occasions I would hear from him a couple of days a week. So frequently, in fact, that my editor and I would good-naturedly refer to Ric as the “Grim Reaper” because of the topic of his messages.
In 2022, for instance, he wrote, “Have you guys heard anything about the passing of r. dean taylor? lotta rumors out there but nothing official.” I replied, “Now, that’s a name we haven’t seen in ages. We’ll keep an eye out!” He later added, “Matter of fact, got my first gold record for ‘Indiana Wants Me.’ He told me he started at Motown by doing the hand-claps on ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ by the Supremes… nice guy.” “That’s wild,” I wrote. “Yea,” Ric replied, “wrote songs for the Temptations, Supremes, Four Tops and even Paul Petersen.” “Yikes ‘Love Child,” I wrote. “I bought that at age 11 with no idea what the topic was.” “lol” was Ric’s response. We subsequently wrote this obit for Taylor.
The “hits,” of course, kept on coming: Susan Jacks of the Poppy Family… “one to watch,” wrote Ric, “ronnie hawkins taken off life support”… For that one, I wrote back, “Thanks as always. Written and waiting to fill in the blanks.” To which Ric replied, “Otherwise, have a great holiday weekend!” [Our obit for Ronnie Hawkins.]
Others from 2022: Jim Seals… Tony Dow… the Seekers’ Judith Durham… Ramsey Lewis… Irene Cara.
Ric really appreciated our site and I sure was grateful for the tips as we broke a lot of news thanks to him. [I should mention that, in a bizarre sort of way, our editor and I really enjoy writing obits, as they’re tributes to those who have given us so much.]
Fast forward to 2024. It dawned on me that I hadn’t received any tips from Ric in ages. I found our conversation in Facebook messenger and saw that our last correspondence was on August 29, 2023. It was a tip for another death, of course.
Realizing that was nearly nine months earlier, I did a Google search for Ric, with trepidation. I audibly gasped when I saw his own obituary from September 5, 2023, exactly one week from his last message to me. When I read it, I learned more about his background:
Ric was born on March 7, 1951, in Bay City, N.C., graduating from All Saints High School in the class of 1969. He would go on to have a career in radio that spanned many years and took him to several stations in Michigan, Florida and Canada. Ric was the family weatherman, who was always quick to inform them of an impending storm. Through his passion for music he found himself the administrator of the Michigan Music FB Page, eventually where he met Donna, the love of his life, 10 years ago. They enjoyed traveling to many places including Hilton Head, S.C., and destinations in Florida and Michigan. Ric kept a well-padded collection of t-shirts from all the places they visited.
He was also survived by three sons, a daughter-in-law, five grandchildren, two sisters and many others.
Even though Ric and I never met or even spoke, I feel like I’ve lost a friend and hope that this post serves as a tribute to our “Grim Reaper.”
Related: Musician deaths of 2023
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationGreat recognition of an important contributor to the website. Thanks!