The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars (341 page)

See also
Al Jackson Jr (
October 1975); David Prater (
April 1988); Johnnie Taylor (
May 2000)

Tuesday 12

Christie Allen

(June Allen - United Kingdom, 12 September 1954)

(Pendulum)

Christie Allen departed her native England to experience pop stardom down under. With her brothers as her backing band, she began by fronting mid-seventies Perth pop act Pendulum (not to be confused with any other bands of that name). Her energetic performances attracted the attention of songwriter/producer Terry Britten, a former musician with Aussie pop favourites The Twilights, who had more recently played with Cliff Richard in the UK, co-writing his international hit ‘Devil Woman.’

Though it took some persuasion, Britten helped her land a record deal with Mushroom, and she issued the debut single ‘You Know That I Love You’ in 1978. While this track failed to climb the charts, it did, at least, gain her a decent level of airplay and pave the way for a run of proper hits. ‘Falling in Love with Only You’ (1979) placed the singer into the Top Twenty for the first time, and her subsequent releases that year owed much to the era’s disco boom. ‘Goosebumps’ and then ‘He’s My Number One’ both earned Top Five slots, becoming the label’s top-selling releases to date. Allen, in turn, became the year’s most popular female artist in Australia.

If anything, Christie Allen made the mistake of not adapting her style and look as tastes changed, and her later singles failed to make much impact. More significantly, Britten had turned his talents to a bigger name–the resurgent Tina Turner – and Allen’s songwriting suffered as a result. A combination of this relative fall from grace and her own ill-health saw the singer move away from music in 1983. After raising her daughter, Allen returned to recording during the nineties with a lower-key, country-flavoured sound. Unfortunately, her physical condition deteriorated and she was forced into permanent retirement after 1998.

Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2008, Christie Allen spent her final five months in the care of her family at home.

Golden Oldies #74

Pervis Jackson

(New Orleans, Louisiana, 17 May 1938)

The Spinners

The Spinners were to become known the world over as key purveyors of Philly soul, but their origins were in the home of Motown itself. Pervis Jackson had actually been born in the south, but his parents needed to relocate to find work. Fortunately, the impressive singer found that he fit right into his new home, Detroit. As bass with The Domingoes, Jackson teamed with Bobbie Smith (lead/high tenor), George Dixon (tenor), Henry Fambrough (baritone) and Billy Henderson (baritone). This vocal-only troupe subsequently morphed into The Spinners and found that they had the attention of Berry Gordy.

It’s undeniable that the group were somewhat held back at Motown, where they frequently played second-fiddle to major stars like The Supremes and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, often finding themselves performing menial tasks for their supposed superiors. However, The Spinners made sufficient impact with songs like ‘It’s a Shame’ (1970, US/UK Top Twenty) to land a lucrative deal with Atlantic. Here, producer Thom Bell singled the group out for personal attention, encouraging Jackson’s deep, rolling bass as the ideal way to ground their sound. With a powerful new front man, Philippe Wynne, also in place, The Spinners started to clean up with a series of memorable hits, beginning with ‘I’ll Be Around’ (1972) and ‘Could It Be I’m Falling in Love?’ (1973). These huge hits were the first of six to make Billboard R & B number one, and The Spinners, over the next few years, also claimed American and British pop chart-toppers with ‘Then Came You’ (1974, a US number one that was also the first for its co-star, Dionne Warwick) and ‘Working My Way Back to You’ (1980, a UK number one following the group’s switch of producers to Michael Zager). It’s hard to argue, though, that Wynne’s departure tempered the group’s further success.

Though the hits dried up, and a new crop of stars took centre stage, The Spinners continued to fill clubs and arenas for the next thirty years, their legacy in R & B secured. Like fellow founding member Spinner Henderson -whose death preceded his by eighteen months (
Golden Oldies #43)
- Pervis Jackson gave well over half a century’s service to the group, playing his last Spinners date in California less than one month before his passing. Having only recently been diagnosed with cancer, Pervis Jackson died at his home on 18 August 2008.

See also
Philippe Wynne (
August 1984). Erstwhile Spinner George Dixon (2005) has also passed away, as has original Domingo, C P Spencer.

Tuesday 19

LeRoi Moore

(Gary Lee Moore - Durham, North Carolina, 7 September 1961)

The Dave Matthews Band

A classically trained jazz saxophonist, Gary Lee Moore – better known by his stage name, LeRoi – found a niche for himself in the rock world playing with Virginia stalwarts The Dave Matthews Band. Matthews, originally a bartender in Charlottesville, had frequently attended Moore’s local performances and proclaimed his admiration for the sax man’s playing. Although skeptical at first, Moore enjoyed Matthews’s material and agreed to work with him. By 1991, Moore was adding a whole new flavour to the young singer/songwriter’s compositions as the fledgling Dave Matthews Band emerged. Their line-up completed by teenage bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer Carter Beauford, violinist/mandolinist Boyd Tinsley, and (initially) keyboardist Peter Griesar, DMB were well on the road to stadium-sized stardom.

With a sound that encompassed world beat, jazz and mainstream rock, The Dave Matthews Band experienced phenomenal sales for their first pair of albums,
Under the Table and Dreaming
(1994) and
Crash
(1996), to which Moore contributed vocals, flute and horns. Together, these records have sold almost fourteen million copies in the US, where the group remains staggeringly popular, their following five records all having topped the charts and registered multiplatinum sales.