Singer/songwriter Bobby Whitlock, who worked with many rock music luminaries over the years, has died.

He came to Eric Clapton’s attention when he was with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends was a founder member of Derek and the Dominos with Eric Clapton and others. He was of the opinion that that band was the best on the planet, “better than anybody.”

He was a major contributor to their LP Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, the only one the band managed to complete, co-writing six songs with Clapton and was the sole writer of Thorn Tree in the Garden.

Derek and the Dominos: Thorn Tree in the Garden

The band’s first single was Tell the Truth.

Derek and the Dominos: Tell the Truth (Single Version)

Clapton thought it was too fast (it does undeniably have energy) and it was re-recorded for the album.

This is a reworking of the song Whitlock made for his second solo album.

Bobby Whitlock: Tell the Truth

Robert Stanley Whitlock: 18/3/1948 – 10/8/2025. So it goes.

Despite the fact that he had health problems it was still a surprise to hear of the death of Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne since he had appeared on stage at the band’s final concert only a few weeks ago, albeit from a sitting position.

His band has a claim to be the founders of heavy metal. Whatever, they certainly had a profound influence on the genre.

I featured their – perhaps untypical – song, Changes, here.

This was the first track on their second LP, Paranoid, which gave them their first and biggest hit.

Black Sabbath: War Pigs

John Michael (Ozzy) Osbourne: 3/12/1948 – 22 /7/2025. So it goes.

(For some reason this didn’t appear as scheduled on Friday 18^th) so I’ve rescheduled it for today.

Dave Cousins, singer, songwriter and main man of The Strawbs, died last week.

I featured their first UK hit, Lay Down, here.

Their biggest hit, Part of the Union, wasn’t written by Cousins but also wasn’t entirely typical of their output.

Their only other top 40 hit was this one.

The Strawbs: Shine on Silver Sun

David Joseph (Dave) Cousins (born David Joseph Hindson): 7/1/1940 – 13/7/25. So it goes.

Mick Ralphs, guitarist with Mott the Hoople and Bad Company among others, died last week. He apparently left Mott the Hoople as the songs he was writing were not suited to singer Ian Hunter’s voice.

They found a compatible home with Paul Rodgers, though, when they formed Bad Company along with Simon Kirke and Boz Burrell.

This is a live version of their first hit, which Ralphs wrote.

Bad Company: Can’t Get Enough

Michael Geoffrey (Mick) Ralphs: 31/3/1944 – 23/6/2025. So it goes.

Brian James, founder member of punk rock band The Damned, died on 3/3/2025. Punk rock wasn’t really my thing but it was undeniably a significant part of the late 1970s musically.

This song, written by James, wasn’t a hit in the UK but is very familiar from radio play in the years since.

Brian Robertson (aka Brian James ) 18/2/1955 – 6/3/2025. So it goes.

Singer Roberta Flack died earlier this week.  Her signature style was reserve, not flamboyance or over-indulgence, and her records were the better for it.

Not her biggest UK hit (that would be Killing Me Softly With His Song) but her first.  An all-but perfect rendering of a song Kirsty’s dad Ewan McColl wrote for Peggy Seeger.

Roberta Flack: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Roberta Cleopatra Flack: 10/2/1937 – 24/2/2025. So it goes.

I was reminded of this by a piece in the Guardian during last week, so I thought I’d use it here.

The Only Ones: Another Girl, Another Planet

Renowned record producer Quincy Jones died during the week.

His CV is beyond compare. He seems to have worked with just about everybody in the music business over the past sixty plus years.

He only had a few hits under his own name, of which this is one.

Quincy Jones (with Dune): Ai No Corrida

Quincy Delight Jones: 14/3/1933 – 3/11/2024. So it goes.

Also lost to us last week was bass player Herbie Flowers. His CV is second to none.

Perhaps his most distinctive performance was his double bass line for Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side but that could be matched by the innovation on David Essex’s Rock On.

Lou Reed: Walk on the Wild Side

David Essex: Rock On

Brian Keith (Herbie) Flowers: 19/5/1938 – 5/9/2024. So it goes.

Stealers Wheel weren’t just Gerry Rafferty’s backing band. Joe Egan, who has died, was his fellow front man and wrote many of their songs himself as well as co-writing their most famous hit Stuck in the Middle With You with Rafferty.

I have featured their work before with Benediction and Late Again.

This is one he wrote himself.

Stealers Wheel: I Get By

Joseph (Joe) Egan: 18/10/1946 – 6/7/2024. So it goes.