They inspired us, made us dance, made us laugh, made us think about our problems through new lenses or just made us forget our troubles entirely, if only for a moment. We are forever grateful for and indebted to these people for bringing people together in the spirit of music.
When beloved producer Steve Albini died, the local music scene mourned his loss.
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Steve Albini
Along with the rest of the music world, Texas recording artists honored Steve Albini with touching tributes on social media when he died in May. In a particularly touching memorial, Dallas-bred super-producer John Congleton credited Albini with helping him transition out of homelessness and start his career: "Steve Albini literally brought me in from the streets of Chicago in 1997. I was a vagrant living illegally in the dorms of DePaul, dreaming of making records. I was homeless and then I was not," posted Congleton when the news broke.
The Toadies revealed they’d been in sessions at Electrical Audio with Albini, which they called "a lifetime dream come true."
North Texas record producer and Steve Albini collaborator Britt Robisheaux reflected on his first exposure to Albini’s work at a young and formative age. "Like many others, my first introduction was in middle school when one of the guys brought a copy of At Action Park to band practice. I tripped into the rabbit hole that day and never came out." Vanessa Quilantan
Enchanting's death was confirmed by her sister and friend following her admission to an intensive care unit.
Geeno Mizzelli
Enchanting
The “No Luv” rapper, born Channing Nicole Larry, was admitted to an intensive care unit on June 10 and placed on life support for unstated reasons. After some false reports, her death was confirmed on Twitter by both her sister, Kay Jay, and her friend and collaborator, Lil CJ Kasino. She was 26.Enchanting, formerly a signee of Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records, released her final LP, Luv Scarred, last year.
“I feel like music was always something that was easy for me,” she told the Observer ahead of the album’s release. “I felt like I was musically inclined, always. It was something that I thought should probably put more time and effort into, because it was natural, you know, instead of trying to force a talent.” Carly May Gravley
Kinky Friedman
The Lone Star State lost a towering public figure on June 27 when musician, humorist and one-time gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman died at his Echo Hill ranch in Medina, Texas, after a years-long battle with Parkinson’s disease. The country and western satirist dandy was known for his unique brand of folksy-kitsch storytelling and for a glamorous raconteur lifestyle in the company of friends and collaborators including Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and T-Bone Burnett.
Friedman was a larger-than-life Texas treasure and folk hero, which means that he will live on as such within the cultural fabric of the Lone Star State. Strong in his convictions without taking himself too seriously, he lived loud and he spoke out during his time on earth. VQ
Michael Corcoran
Known to friends and colleagues as "Corky," Michael Corcoran was an award-winning newspaper writer and author who specialized in Texas music. He died in July at age 68. Corcoran had spent the early '90s as a pop music critic for The Dallas Morning News before moving on to the Austin American-Statesman, where he worked from 1995 to 2011. He earned a Cox Newspapers "Writer of the Year" honor in 1996. During his time in Austin, he won the 2003 AAFSE Award for Best Entertainment Feature with "The Devil and Billy Joe Shaver" and the title of Best Music Critic from The Austin Chronicle in 2017.
The revered writer also published work in Creem magazine, Rolling Stone and National Lampoon. Corcoran wrote the books All Over the Map: True Heros of Texas Music (a part of the “North Texas Lives of Musicians” book series from TCU Press) and Ghost Notes: Pioneering Spirits of Texas Music, cementing his reputation as a robust authority on the Lone Star State’s music history. His book, Austin Music Is a Scene Not a Sound, was released in the fall by TCU Press. VQ
Zac Crain with his son Isaac.
Zac Crain
Zac Crain
Zac Crain, author, senior editor at D Magazine, former music editor for the Dallas Observer and one-time mayoral candidate, died on July 16 at the age of 50.He was — and it hurts to write in past tense here — an amazingly smart, wonderfully kind and incredibly talented writer and editor. He was also one of the most wickedly funny people I've had the joy to work with. He played things close to the vest, so I was never quite sure whether his 2007 run for mayor was performance art or for real. But he knew and loved this city and would have made a fine mayor. Or more appropriately, Zac Crain would have made a great fucking mayor. Patrick Williams
Shaun Martin
An alum of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Weatherford College and the University of North Texas, Martin — an acclaimed producer, arranger, composer and musician — was primarily associated with Denton-based Snarky Puppy, which counted him among its ranks. He also served musical director for fellow North Texan Kirk Franklin and frequently collaborated with Erykah Badu, including producing her 2000 sophomore album Mama’s Gun.Martin, who died in August at age 45, won seven Grammy awards throughout his too-short life — four of them for his work with Franklin, and three for his work with Snarky Puppy, including sharing in a 2023 Grammy win for best contemporary instrumental album (the band's Empire Central, which was cut live over eight days at Deep Ellum Art Company). Preston Jones and Bryson "Boom" Paul
John Freeman (as "Johnny Murder" of The Psychos!) was a permanent fixture in the early 2000s. His mark will not be forgotten.
Darci Ratliff
John Freeman
John Freeman started making noise around the University of North Texas's Bruce Hall in the fall of 1990. Show up at the Punk Rock Weenie Roast and you could watch a guy with Tourette's Syndrome sort of playing guitar and half crooning, half screeching original songs about TV's Webster ("I Touched Emmanuel Lewis") and the Kennedy assassination ("JFKaput!") in between Prince covers. It wasn't like anything you'd ever seen, and you either didn't get it at all or you could not get enough. Freeman died in August at age 52.
As a solo artist, his musicianship was clearly style over substance — a gifted writer to be sure, but John never had the patience to really learn how to play an instrument. Friend and bandmate Matt Pence (Centro-matic, Shakey Graves) remembers: "His mind moved incredibly fast — imagine a hummingbird — so in the time it took to learn even the simplest chord he'd have thought of 10 new song ideas. When he figured out he could use alternate tuning to change chords with just one finger, John's guitar lessons were over." Darci Ratliff
Justin Riley, better known as BeatKing and Club Godzilla, is remembered for hits like "Then Leave."
HOTSPOTATL, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
BeatKing
Justin Riley, the Houston-based rapper who performed under the names BeatKing and Club Godzilla died on Aug. 15 at the age of 39.
Riley broke out in 2010 with the single “Crush” and found success on TikTok with the 2020 club hit “Then Leave.” He was doing a morning takeover at Urban One/Radio One in Houston when he fainted and was rushed to a nearby hospital. He died that same day of a pulmonary embolism.
Riley’s manager, Tasha Felder, confirmed the news of his death with a statement on Instagram: “BeatKing has been the best part of the club for over a decade,” Felder wrote. “He has produced and worked with so many artists that his sound will forever live.” CMG
Daron Beck (left), with Pinkish Black bandmate Jon Teague.
Naomi Vaughan
Daron Beck
Daron Beck, vocalist and keyboardist for the Fort Worth experimental metal band Pinkish Black, died on Aug. 22 of unspecified medical complications.Pinkish Black is a giant among North Texas music and was a staple at venues across the area: The Kessler and Texas Theatre in Dallas, Rubber Gloves and The Argo in Denton, and Lola’s and The Wreck Room in Fort Worth. The band also opened for artists such as Ghost and Sleep on national tours.
Beck previously played in groups Maxine’s Radiator, Pointy Shoe Factory and The Great Tyrant, Pinkish Black’s predecessor, which disbanded after bassist Tommy Atkins died in 2010. CMG
Guitarist Rocky Athas was among the performers who paid tribute to the late Ron McKeown on Dec. 1.
Courtesy of Rocky Athas
Ron McKeown
Buddy magazine publisher Ron McKeown died Sept. 5 from natural causes at his Sulphur Springs home. He was 78.
A Dallas native, Vietnam veteran and Bronze Star recipient, McKeown cut his teeth as a photojournalist for military publications, beginning at Fort Bliss and continuing through a military career that concluded in 1971. Following his stint as a soldier, McKeown worked various jobs in journalism — both as a staff writer and a freelancer — including a stint with Belo Corp.
McKeown, along with the late Stoney Burns, was a founding member of Buddy, which launched in 1973. McKeown took over as publisher in 1989 when Burns retired, and served as publisher until shifting into a “publisher emeritus” role in 2020, which he held until his death. Preston Jones
Mark Ridlen
On Nov. 16, the North Texas music community received news that one of its most cherished members, Mark Ridlen, had died at age 65 after a long struggle with kidney cancer.
Ridlen had been an established fixture in the Dallas music underground since the 1970s, when he formed bands Quad Pi, The Klogz, The Moondials and perhaps his best-known band, Lithium-Xmas, which released a self-titled, limited-edition vinyl album in 2022.
But as Dallas’ classic punk scene gave way to the club scene, Ridlen continued on as the house DJ at the legendary Starck Club, a gig that would cement his legacy and establish him as the influential DJ Mr. Rid for the next four decades. David Fletcher
