The Grammys In Memoriam segment, notable each year for its emotional gravity, was notably bereft of several beloved, recently departed artists. Glaring omissions included Keith Flint, Mark Hollis and Scott Walker. The segment also failed to include any kind of formal introduction or accompanying musical segment.
Keith Flint was a founding member of the English electronic dance music group The Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer, he became the group’s frontman prior to the release of their third album in 1996. He died in March 2019.
Mark Hollis was a co-founder and frontman of the English synth-pop band Talk Talk. The band was together from 1981 to 1991, at which point they broke up. Hollis returned to music as a solo act in 1998, sporadically collaborating with various artists into the 2000s. He passed away in February 2019.
Scott Walker got his start as a founding member of the American pop group the Walker Brothers. The band formed in 1964 and broke up in 1967. From 1967 on, Walker produced several singles and albums as a solo act, reunited with his fellow Walker Brothers bandmates and collaborated with other musicians. He died in March 2019 due to complications related to cancer.
The Grammys excluded several other notable acts. These included Bushwick Bill, David Berman and Robert Hunter. Bushwick Bill was a Jamaican-American rapper and producer who died in June 2019 due to issues related to pancreatic cancer. Berman was an American musician, poet and cartoonist who was one of the founders of indie rock band Silver Jews. He passed away in August 2019 by suicide. Hunter was a musician, lyricist and frequent collaborator with the Grateful Dead and several of its members, most notably Jerry Garcia. He died in September 2019.
Leave a Comment