The Marvelettes合唱團的主唱去世

The Marvelettes合唱團的主要團員Gladys Horton 1月26日在加州Sherman Oaks的一家安養院去世（66歲），她去年中風後健康狀況一直不佳，Gladys Horton和四個同學在底特律郊區讀高中時組了Casinyets合唱團，後來得到Motown 唱片公司的老闆Berry Gordy, Jr. 和Smokey Robinson的賞識，1961年時就和她們簽了約，在歌壇11年期間她們有25首排行榜暢銷曲，包括Motown 唱片所屬合唱團第一首排行榜冠軍曲Please Mr. Postman，1962年第7名的Playboy和1962年第17名的Beechwood 4-5789。1967年Gladys因為結婚離團而去，雖然1971年離了婚，但此後她花很多時間照顧她有殘疾的兒子。

Please Mr. Postman
The Marvelettes

(Stop)
Oh yes, wait a minute Mister Postman
(Wait)
Wait Mister Postman

Please Mister Postman, look and see
(Oh yeah)
If there's a letter in your bag for me
(Please, Please Mister Postman)
Why's it takin' such a long time
(Oh yeah)For me to hear from that boy of mine

There must be some word today
From my boyfriend so far away
Pleas Mister Postman, look and see
If there's a letter, a letter for me

I've been standin' here waitin' Mister Postman
So patiently
For just a card, or just a letter
Sayin' he's returnin' home to me

(Mister Postman)
Mister Postman, look and see
(Oh yeah)
If there's a letter in your bag for me
(Please, Please Mister Postman)
Why's it takin' such a long time
(Oh yeah)
For me to hear from that boy of mine

So many days you passed me by
See the tears standin' in my eyes
You didn't stop to make me feel better
By leavin' me a card or a letter

(Mister Postman)
Mister Postman, look and see
(Oh yeah)
If there's a letter in your bag for me
(Please, Please Mister Postman)
Why's it takin' such a long time

(Why don't you check it and see one more time for me, you gotta)
Wait a minute
Wait a minute
Wait a minute
Wait a minute
(Mister Postman)
Mister Postman, look and see

(C'mon deliver the letter, the sooner the better)
Mister Postman

Jimmy Buffett摔下舞台

Jimmy Buffett元月26日在澳洲雪梨開演唱會時掉下舞台，他在流血並失去知覺前幾分鐘被緊急送往附近醫院，64歲的他在當天晚上出院，經過腦部斷層掃描檢查結果“正常”。
有關他的背景可以參考本月16日「Jimmy Buffett要開賭場」一文。

Cher創排行榜冠軍記錄

影歌雙棲的Cher 元月份有一首You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me的歌在Billboard雜誌舞曲榜獲得冠軍，這是最近在台北上演的電影Burlesque「舞孃俱樂部」的插曲，Cher因為這首歌成了史上第一位連續六個世代（十年）都有排行榜冠軍的藝人，她的第一首冠軍曲是1965年夏天與前夫Sonny Bono一同推出的I Got You Babe。
Burlesque這部電影裡另外一位女主角Christina Aguilera則是1999年獲Grammy最佳新人獎而崛起的當紅女歌星。

I GOT YOU BABE
Sonny & Cher
written by Sonny Bono

HER: They say we're young and we don't know
We won't find out until we grow
HIM: Well I don't know if all that's true
'Cause you got me, and baby I got you

HIM: Babe
BOTH: I got you babe
I got you babe

HER: They say our love won't pay the rent
Before it's earned, our money's all been spent
HIM: I guess that's so, we don't have a pot
But at least I'm sure of all the things we got

HIM: Babe
BOTH: I got you babe
I got you babe

HIM: I got flowers in the spring
I got you to wear my ring
HER: And when I'm sad, you're a clown
And if I get scared, you're always around
HER: Don't let them say your hair's too long
Cause I don't care, with you I can't go wrong
HIM: Then put your little hand in mine
There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb

HIM: Babe
BOTH: I got you babe
I got you babe

HIM: I got you to hold my hand
HER: I got you to understand
HIM: I got you to walk with me
HER: I got you to talk with me
I got you to kiss goodnight
I got you to hold me tight
I got you, I won't let go
I got you to love me so

BOTH: I got you babe
I got you babe
I got you babe
I got you babe
I got you babe

卡通合唱團The Archies原創者Don Kirshner去世

曾經替流行音樂界帶來The Archies合唱團和Don Kirshner's Rock Concert電視節目的1960年代流行樂界名人Don Kirshner，1月17日心臟衰竭在佛羅里達州博卡拉頓家中去世（76歲），Don Kirshner被稱為“金耳朵” ，最早與Bobby Darin一同工作過，1950年代中期寫過廣告歌曲，然後與Al Nevins在紐約開了一家阿爾登音樂出版公司。 他栽培過的詞、曲作者有Carole King, Neil Sedaka 和Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil，後來都是流行音樂圈名人，他還有一家自己的公司叫Chairman Records，在1963年曾經推出the Ran-Dells' 的Martian Hop。
1960年代中期Don Kirshner開始加入The Monkees電視節目的製作人 Bob Rafelson和Bert Schneider的工作團隊，他負責處理音樂演出的部份。他所用的那些極有才華的作曲者像Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart ("Last Train To Clarksville") 和Neil Diamond ("I'm A Believer") 使該節目無論是在電視和唱片圈都獲得了極大的成就。
1967年Don Kirshner和當時已成名的The Monkees 團員Michael Nesmith因為一張單曲唱片的侵權發生糾紛，使Don Kirshner遭到解僱。 但他很快就趕上了泡泡糖搖滾樂的潮流，他找來Ron Dante, Andy Kim和Toni Wine為電視卡通秀Archies幕後演出節目中的合唱團，還替他自己的唱片公司Calendar出了唱片，Calendar後來改組成Kirshner Records也培植出著名的合唱團Kansas，The Archies的單曲Sugar, Sugar在1969年獲得四週排行榜冠軍。
1972年Don Kirshner短暫擔任過ABC美國廣播公司演唱會節目的執行製片和創意顧問， 但不久後他開了自己的Don Kirshner's Rock Concert電視節目，而且自己當節目主持人，1977年他還共同製作了音樂情景喜劇A Year At The Top 。
2007年Don Kirshner入選作曲者名人堂。

SUGAR SUGAR
The Archies

Sugar, ah honey honey
You are my candy girl
And you've got me wanting you.
Honey, ah sugar sugar
You are my candy girl
And you've got me wanting you.

I just can't believe the loveliness of loving you
(I just can't believe it's true)
I just can't believe the one to love this feeling to.
(I just can't believe it's true)

Ah sugar, ah honey honey
You are my candy girl
And you've got me wanting you.
Ah honey, ah sugar sugar
You are my candy girl
And you've got me wanting you.

When I kissed you, girl, I knew how sweet a kiss could be
(I know how sweet a kiss can be)
Like the summer sunshine pour your sweetness over me
(Pour your sweetness over me)

Sugar, pour a little sugar on it honey,
Pour a little sugar on it baby
I'm gonna make your life so sweet, yeah yeah yeah
Pour a little sugar on it oh yeah
Pour a little sugar on it honey,
Pour a little sugar on it baby
I'm gonna make your life so sweet, yeah yeah yeah
Pour a little sugar on it honey,

Ah sugar, ah honey honey
You are my candy girl
And you've got me wanting you.
Oh honey, honey, sugar sugar ..........
You are my candy girl ........

Jimmy Buffett要開賭場

男歌手Jimmy Buffett的律師元月12日向密西西比州比洛克西市提出一份Margaritaville賭場的總規劃書，如果獲得批准，這個以Jimmy Buffett的暢銷曲為名的賭場將在2011年的年底開放。
來自阿拉巴馬州Mobile的男歌手、作曲與吉它手Jimmy Buffett，是南密西西比大學新聞學學士，1969年曾於「鄉村音樂之都」那許維爾擔任過Billbnoard雜誌的特派員，亦寫過幾本書，1974年他開始出唱片，也於1978年參加過電影FM的演出，Jimmy Buffett的歌迷有個暱稱Parrot head，有新聞專業背景的他，也是一位成功的流行音樂工作者。
Jimmy Buffett在排行榜上名次最好的一首歌就是1977年得到過第8名的Margaritaville，這首歌也是BMI統計全美最常播出之一百首歌曲的第63名。

MARGARITAVILLE
Jimmy Buffett

Nibbling on sponge cake, watching the sun bake,
All of those tourists covered with oil,
Strumming my six string, on my front porch swing,
Smell those shrimp, they're beginning to boil.

CHORUS:
Wasting away again in Margaritaville,
Searching for my last shaker of salt,
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame,
But I know it's nobody's fault.

Don't know the reason that I stayed here all season,
With nothing to show but this brand new tattoo,
But it's a real beauty, a Mexican cutie,
How it got here I haven't a clue.

(CHORUS)
Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home,
But there's booze in the blender,
And soon it will render,
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on.

(CHORUS)
Yes, some people claim that there's a woman to blame,
And I know it's my own damn fault.

Boney M 的主唱去世

1970年代的迪斯可合唱團Boney M 的主要團員Bobby Farrell元月六日不幸過世，這位歌者被發現死於俄羅斯聖彼得堡的一家旅館裡，Farrell五號在一場演出後曾經抱怨呼吸困難，但實際死因還要調查，Bobby Farrell是Boney M的唯一男團員，他們原訂七日要轉羅馬參加一個電視節目演出。
Boney M是製作人與作曲Frank Farian在德國組成，後來四名團員都來自西印度群島，Frank Farian於1988年另組Milli Vanilli在排行榜上有較好的表現。
Boney M在排行榜上名次最好的歌是1978年的River Of Babylon。

Rivers Of Babylon
Boney M.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.

When the wicked
Carried us away in captivity
Required from us a song
Now how shall we sing the lord's song in a strange land

When the wicked
Carried us away in captivity
Requiering of us a song
Now how shall we sing the lord's song in a strange land

Let the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart
Be acceptable in thy sight here tonight

Let the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts
Be acceptable in thy sight here tonight

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.

By the rivers of Babylon (dark tears of Babylon)
There we sat down (You got to sing a song)
Ye-eah we wept, (Sing a song of love)
When we remember Zion. (Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah)

By the rivers of Babylon (Rough bits of Babylon)
There we sat down (You hear the people cry)
Ye-eah we wept, (They need that power)
When we remember Zion. (Ooh, have the power)

Chuck Berry唱不下去了

出生於1926年10月18日的搖滾樂傳奇歌手Chuck Berry現年已85歲，元旦當天他在芝加哥開演唱會，但在開唱15分鐘後Chuck Berry就走調唱不下去，他二度拒絕醫護人員的檢查，也拒絕去醫院，問題是演唱會已經擔擱了一個多小時無法恢復，最後Chuck Berry是坐自己的轎車離去。
Chuck Berry被視為對搖滾樂最有影響的藝人，最早以1955年推出的Maybellene一曲成名，這首歌是滾石雜誌500大歌曲第18名的歌，而他1958年的Johnny B.Goode則是滾石雜誌500大歌曲第7名的歌，電影「回到未來」第一集裡男主角Michael J Fox 在畢業舞會台上唱的就是這首歌，編劇還小開了Chuck Berry的玩笑，喜歡老歌的朋友看到這一段應該都發出會心的微笑。
Chuck Berry不但唱歌也演過電影，是歷年暢銷歌星排行榜139名的名歌星。

Johnny B. Goode

Way down Louisiana close to New Orleans,
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens...
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood,
Where lived a country boy name of Johnny B. Goode...
He never ever learned to read or write so well,
But he could play the guitar like ringing a bell.

Go Go
Go Johnny Go
Go Go
Johnny B. Goode

He use to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
And sit beneath the trees by the railroad track.
Oh, the engineers used to see him sitting in the shade,
Playing to the rhythm that the drivers made.
People passing by would stop and say
Oh my that little country boy could play

His mama told him someday he would be a man,
And he would be the leader of a big old band.
Many people coming from miles around
To hear him play his music when the sun go down
Maybe someday his name would be in lights
Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight.

別了Gerry Rafferty

曾經參加過Stealers Wheel合唱團，後來以Baker Street一曲成名的男歌星Gerry Rafferty元月4日因肝病去世（63歲），Gerry Rafferty前二個月都為肝病所苦，他出生於蘇格蘭靠格拉斯哥的地方，學校畢業之後到倫敦發展，1972年加入了學生時代的朋友Joe Egan所組的Stealers Wheel合唱團，這個團最有名的歌是1973年第6名的Stuck In The Middle Of You，1975年Gerry Rafferty開始推出個人的唱片，其中最成功的就是1978年獲得6 週第2名的Baker Street（當時冠軍曲是Bee Gees的Night Fever，且連續8週），Gerry Rafferty最後一張專輯是2000年發行的，2008年八月Gerry Rafferty自倫敦醫院中不告而別，最後在意大利現身，Gerry Rafferty長期酗酒，後果終於使他因肝衰竭而亡。
Baker Street 這首歌的歌名來自偵探小說Sherlock Holmes「福爾摩斯辦案」當中的街名，雖然實際上並沒有這條街。

BAKER STREET
Gerry Rafferty

Winding your way down on Baker Street
Lite in your head, and dead on your feet
Well another crazy day, you drink the night away
And forget about everything
This city desert makes you feel so cold, its got
So many people but its got no soul
And its taken you so long to find out you were wrong
When you thought it held everything.
You used to think that it was so easy
You used to say that it was so easy
But you're tryin, you're tryin now
Another year and then you'd be happy
Just one more year and then you'd be happy
But you're cryin', you're cryin now
Way down the street there's a light in his place
You open the door, he's got that look on his face
And he asks you where you've been, you tell him who you've seen
And you talk about anything
He's got this dream about buyin' some land
He's gonna give up the booze and the one night stands
And then he'll settle down, it's a quiet little town
And forget about everything
But you know he'll always keep moving
You know he's never gonna stop moving
Cause he's rollin, He's the rolling stone
And when you wake up it's a new morning
The sun is shining it's a new morning
And you're going, you're going home

一首感嘆時光飛逝的名曲

曾經由Roy Clark 唱紅的抒情曲Yesterday When I Was Young的作者Herbert Kretzmer開年獲得英國伊莉沙白女王頒授帝國軍官勳章，Herbert Kretzmer也寫過舞台劇「悲慘世界」當中的歌詞，同時獲這個榮譽的還有The Eurythmics合唱團的主唱Annie Lenox。
Yesterday When I Was Young是1969年得到過第19名的一首感嘆時光飛逝的非常動聽的老歌，演唱者Roy Clark是一位擁有52首鄉村排行暢銷曲的名歌星，也曾經演過電視影集The Hillbillies，並和另一位鄉村巨星 Buck Owens一同主持過電視節目Hee Haw。

Yesterday When I Was Young
Herbert Kretzmer

Yesterday when I was young
the taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue.
I teased at life as if it were a foolish game,
the way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame.
The thousand dreams I dreamed, the splendid things I planned
I always built to us on weak and shifting sand.
I lived by night and shunned the naked light of the day
and only now I see how the years ran away.

Yesterday when I was young
so many happy songs were waiting to be sung,
so many wild pleasures lay in store for me
and so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see.
I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out,
I never stopped to think what life was all about
and every conversation I can now recall
concerned itself with me and nothing else at all.

Yesterday the moon was blue
and every crazy day brought something new to do.
I used my magic age as if it were a wand
and never saw the waste and emptiness beyond.
The game of love I played with arrogance and pride and
every flame I lit too quickly quickly died.
The friedns I made all seemed somehow to drift away
and only I am left on stage to end the play.
There are so many songs in me that won't be sung,
I feel the bitter taste of tears upon my tongue.
The time has come for me to pay for yesterday when I was young.