Blues Artists That Died In 2010

R&B legend Solomon Burke, considered by many to be the greatest soul singer of his generation, passed away on Sunday morning, October 10, 2010 of natural causes. Burke was 70 years old and en route from Los Angeles to Amsterdam for a sold out performance. Signing with Atlantic Records in 1960, Burke recorded a string of Top Ten R&B chart hits, and helped write the book for modern soul with hit songs like "Cry To Me," "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love," "If You Need Me," and "Tonight's The Night."

The news hit our desk yesterday of the death of blues historian Stephen Calt. The author of such books as I’d Rather Be the Devil: Skip James and the Blues and King of the Delta Blues: The Life and Music of Charlie Patton, Calt passed away on October 17, 2010 at the age of 64 in Queens, New York after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. A talented and often insightful writer, Calt wrote numerous articles and album liner notes, and even contributed artist descriptions to underground cartoon artist (and old-timey blues fan) Robert Crumb's Heroes of the Blues card set. Calt's latest work was 2009's Barrelhouse Words: A Blues Dialect Dictionary, the book documenting the use and definitions of blues slang and phrases from the 1920s and '30s.

We just heard the news about the death of Scottish bluesman Tam White. Although not very well known among stateside blues fans, White was a legend in his homeland, a gravel-throated singer who had held his own performing alongside such stars as B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, and Rod Stewart, among many others. It is believed that White, 67 years old at the time of his death, had suffered a heart attack sometime last week and died on Monday, June 21, 2010 after returning home to Edinburgh.