Still awesome

Well, it does happen in threes, does it not? First Adam "MCA" Yauch, then Donald "Duck" Dunn, and now the First Lady of Love Donna Summer.

Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines in Boston, Massachusetts, Donna Summer's rise to prominence was through the wild days of the disco era and though that cemented her musical reputation in the annals of history, her story runs much deeper than that.

Busting out of Boston with psychedelic outfit The Crow, Summer (then known as Donna Gaines) had already proven that though well-versed in the spirituals and singing traditions of her church, it wasn't just Mahalia Jackson records that kept her up at night. Filled with love for Motown girl groups like The Supremes, it would be Janis Joplin's work with Big Brother and the Holding Company that would prove a major influence in deciding her career path.

Her early New York City days were filled with missed opportunities but after losing a spot in the musical Hair, it would be an offer to follow the show to Europe that would prove the better bargain for Summer.

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Awesome bass: Check. Awesome hair: Check!

Whether you know it or not, Donald "Duck" Dunn's sleazy (in a good way) bass lines have reverberated through your body at some point in your life. Known more as a "filler" bassist than a conventional rhythm man, Dunn's plucks were an integral part of the session sound of Stax Records' '60s and '70s sound.

Along with fellow session men Al Jackson Jr., Booker T. Jones, and childhood pal Steve Cropper, Dunn was part of the legendary stable of Stax men that became the world-famous and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognized (1992) Booker T. & the MG's. While he wasn't onboard for the recording of their classic Green Onions album, it was his bass that propelled the compositions and covers since he joined in 1964.

If nothing of this rings a bell, maybe his participation in 1980's The Blues Brothers film starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi will, as the bass player with the dynamite one-liner quote: "We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline!"

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Photo by Ian Witlen

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Digital Love: 2/3/11 - 4/12/12

Yesterday, local DJ and promoter extraordinaire, and friend of County Grind, Miguel Bravo announced that tonight's Digital Love event featuring Millionyoung and Sumsun at Green Room will be the last, noting that another event will be taking over its slot. 

Bravo founded the weekly Thursday-night indie dance party along with his partner-in-jams Andie Sweetswirl in 2011, and the ready-to-boogie Fort Lauderdale peeps were quick to hit the dance floor and wile out. In its relatively short life, Digital Love grew to be a well-loved party by its regular attendees and its papa, Mig.

His Facebook announcement indicated some sadness, "Not to get too mushy about a party, but Digital Love holds a special place in my heart for a multitude of reasons."

Mig isn't the only one moved enough to get a little mushy about this. County Grind would like to offer an affectionate response to the news on behalf of YASAFL (Young Ass-Shaking Adults of Fort Lauderdale). Proceed for an emotional farewell to a party we fell a little in love with. 

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Leni Sinclair

​Michael Davis (06/05/1943 - 02/17/2012) More >>

​Before you go and get your panties all up in a bunch at this seemingly (at best) morbid listing of music idols that we predict will expire soon, ask yourself exactly why it is you're checking this blog to begin with?

Weren't you tickled pink when Jacko bit it a couple of years ago? Or when Lennon ate lead? Or that you didn't tell all your friends that you saw the Winehouse thing coming? And don't tell us "Bobby Brown" and "cocaine" didn't cross your minds with a chuckle this past weekend. C'mon, get the fuck outta here!

Celebrities die.

Some too young, some old enough to leave a solid catalogue. Some way too old, leaving behind a few years of great, tarnished by decades of crap.

We're just trying to have a little fun at the expense of their mortality. We took a peek into our magic crystal ball. We think it's on the money and stand by our predictions of these five joining the already impressive (and growing) alumni of 2012 like Johnny Otis, Mike Kelley, Etta James, King Stitt, and Leslie Carter.

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​When Rockit to Russia's Bobby Ramone Reinhardt passed this October, his family wasn't able to afford a funeral. To help his family and celebrate the fastest bassist since Dee Dee Ramone, his bruddas are throwing a sendoff this Saturday at the Monterey Club. Near the end of his battle with diabetes, Reinhardt could barely afford all the treatment he needed. Stranded, without a car, and geographically isolated in Oldsmar, Florida, he struggled to get rides to dialysis. As a founding member of South Florida's premiere Ramones tribute band, he seemed to embody Joey Ramone's Too Tough to Die spirit.

His late younger brother, Mikey, also did his time in Rockit to Russia. "He played the Ramones stuff better than anyone -- he died of a pulmonary embolism in 2008," says longtime friend and Death Becomes You drummer Christopher Lee. Lee and his band of actual brothers shared a close and special bond with Bobby, Mikey, and the rest of the Rockit. It's appropriately heartwarming that Lee would pull his resources and set up a benefit show for Bobby's family.

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jacop.net

Ingrid Pastorius with Jaco Pastorius' four children -- John, Julius, Felix, and Mary -- in 1983.

​Ingrid Pastorius, who was married to virtuoso electric bassist Jaco Pastorius between 1979 and 1985, died on Monday from complications following an aortic aneurysm, according to a source close to the family. She was 61.

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Lotusflow3r, we hardly knew ye.

​Plenty of Prince albums will always sell at a decent clip -- Purple Rain and 1999 among them -- but it's a sign o' the times that the three-disc Lotusflow3r is getting pulled from shelves.

Two years and seven months after its physical release, available exclusively at Target stores, the backstock of piles and piles of unsold copies is finally exiting the music department, according to Kelvin Mitchell, who works at the store in Miami's Tropicaire Shopping Center.

Earlier today, Mitchell (who also plays bass for area darkwave outfit Möthersky) posted a photo of the boxes of unsold copies of Lotusflow3r set to make their journey out of Target stores as part of the store's quarterly inventory scan. "It's been a long-running joke with all of the employees here," he says. "There would always be new release inventory to send back, but the Prince album was always a mainstay. Today we scanned it, and finally it told us to send them all back."

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