Jeff Tamarkin

1 month ago | bestclassicbands.com | Jeff Tamarkin

James Lowe, the lead singer of the 1960s American psychedelic band the Electric Prunes, died on May 22, 2025, according to a social media post from his children on May 29. Lowe, 82, died of natural causes; the place of death was not reported. Lowe sang on the Prunes’ best-known hit, 1966’s “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night,” which peaked in Billboard at #11, and its followup, “Get Me to the World on Time,” which made it to #27 the same year.

Mar 5, 2025 | bestclassicbands.com | Jeff Tamarkin

Herb Greene, a photographer best known for chronicling the nascent San Francisco rock scene of the ’60s and early ’70s, died at his home in Maynard, Mass., on March 3, 2025, following a long illness. He was 82. Greene’s subjects included bands such as Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and, later, Santana, Led Zeppelin, Sly Stone, Bob Dylan and others. He often photographed his subjects in front of a wall sporting hieroglyphic-like figures, which stood at his Baker Street home in San Francisco.

Feb 21, 2025 | bestclassicbands.com | Jeff Tamarkin

Jerry Butler, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted R&B singer who began his career with the Impressions, then scored numerous hits as a solo act, before going on to a successful political career, died Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. Going by the nickname “The Iceman,” Butler was 85. Butler died in his hometown of Chicago; the cause was unspecified but Butler was known to have Parkinson’s disease. Butler’s death was confirmed in a social media post by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Feb 11, 2025 | bestclassicbands.com | Jeff Tamarkin

Today it’s inconceivable that a jazz song could be released as a single and somehow find its way to the Top 40. For one thing, jazz is almost entirely an album-oriented genre, and for another, it just doesn’t sell in large quantities to the mainstream audience.

Jan 3, 2025 | bestclassicbands.com | Jeff Tamarkin

Brenton Wood, the rhythm and blues singer best known for the consecutive 1967 hits “The Oogum Boogum Song” and “Gimme Little Sign,” died today (Jan. 3, 2025). His death, at 83, was confirmed by several major media outlets, including Variety and the Los Angeles Times.