2. Levon Helm
I'm beginning to think Day of the Dead would have a lot fewer
remembrances if it weren't for cancer. Cancer took Levon Helm at the
age of 71. After fighting back from losing his voice to throat cancer in
the late '90s, he managed to tour up until the disease finally won out
earlier this year.
multi-instrumentalist folk albums, to his time on the big screen, Helm
was hard not to love. He made you feel that everyone from the south
must be as big hearted and as well spoken as him. I've always been
touched by "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and Helm's emotional
presentation. But watch him do it again from The Last Waltz. If you
don't have goose bumps, something's wrong with you.
1. Etta James
'50s and 60's, who would have guess that the hardest living among them
would be a woman? And that she would have outlived all the men?
Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Little Walter... none of them
could keep up with the hard drinking and heroin use of Etta James. She
came to Chess in 1960 and managed to produce a debut album covering
blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, gospel, and soul. While her most famous
song was only a minor blip on the charts at the time of its release, "At
Last" has endured to be its own ofrenda to the beauty of James' amazing
voice.
We also want to take special notice of the local losses 2012 brought us: Big Poppa E, Brett Tanner, Dan Hosker, and Bobby "Load" Johnston.
Remember those who've passed away at the Day of the Dead Celebration in FAT Village Arts District, Flagler Arts and Theater Village, at 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday, Nov. 2. Processional line up begins at 5:45 p.m. at Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Art (open from 4 to 6 p.m.). The celebration offices are at 504 NW First Ave., Fort Lauderdale. A mariachi band will lead the procession north on Andrews Ave. to NW 5 St., ending in the heart of FAT Village. The event is free.