Blackberry Smoke Drummer Brit Turner Has Died at 57

Brit Turner, drummer for country-rock outfit Blackberry Smoke, died on Sunday (March 3), according to a social media post from the band. He was 57 years old.

In fall of 2022, Turner was diagnosed with glioblastoma, which is a fast-growing form of brain cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic. He underwent surgery to fight the cancer that November, just months after suffering a serious heart attack at home that summer.

There is currently no cure for glioblastoma, though treatments can slow the growth of the cancer and help relieve symptoms such as headaches, nausea and vomiting, seizures and blurred or double vision.

Turner co-founded Blackberry Smoke in Atlanta, Ga. in 2000, and in their statement announcing his death, the band described him as their “True North” and the “compass” that guided and will continued to guide their musical direction.

“It is with the deepest sorrow that we inform everyone that our brother Brit Turner has moved on from this life,” the statement reads. “If you had the privilege of knowing Brit on any level, you know he was the most caring, empathetic, driven and endearing person one could ever hope to meet.

“…We ask for prayers for his family and band brothers,” the statement goes on to say. “More information on arrangements will be forthcoming. Thank you to everyone who has supported and been there for Brit and his family during this fight.”

Who Was Brit Turner?

Born in Michigan and raised in Smyrna, Ga., Turner’s first musical love was hard rock and heavy metal, according to Rolling Stone. He and his bassist brother Richard Turner formed a thrash metal band in 1988, but eventually they moved back toward a Southern rock, country-informed sound.

The two brothers ultimately formed Blackberry Smoke with singer and guitarist Charlie Starr and guitarist Paul Jackson. Brandon Still would join the band on keyboards not long after.In 2018, two more members — Benji Shanks on guitar and Preston Holcomb on percussion — joined the lineup.

In 2015, Blackberry Smoke’s Holding All the Roses album became the first from a small, independent band to ever reach the No. 1 spot on Billboard Country Albums chart without the support of a major record label.

In addition to his musical family, Turner is survived by his wife Shannon and a daughter named Lana. Lana herself is a cancer survivor: At age three, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma. Since then, she has recovered from her illness. The experience inspired Turner and Blackberry Smoke to raise money to fight various elements of pediatric cancer, fundraising for organizations such as the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

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Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck, legendary guitarist and giant in the world of rock, was lost to music on Jan.10. Beck was 78.

Beck was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis in late 2022. The illness progressed rapidly and he passed a couple weeks later.

Beck was instrumental in advancing rock music from the early days. He was one of the members of groundbreaking band The Yardbirds, along with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.

He also worked with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood in his own band, the Jeff Beck Group. He eventually went on to release 14 studio albums.

In later years, he contributed to other musicians records, including Ozzy Osbourne. He also formed a friendship with Johnny Depp, who was apparently in the room when he died.

Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, as a member of The Yardbirds and also as a solo artist.

David Crosby

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician David Crosby died at the age of 81. Founding member of the Byrds, he is synonymous with the legendary group Crosby, Stills, Nash (and sometimes Young.) His death was reported Jan. 19.

Memorable for their performance at Woodstock, their hits included “Wooden Ships,” “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” and “Southern Cross.”

A statement issued about Crosby’s death read, “It is with great sadness after a long illness, that our beloved David (Croz) Crosby has passed away. He was lovingly surrounded by his wife and soulmate Jan and son Django. Although he is no longer here with us, his humanity and kind soul will continue to guide and inspire us. His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music. Peace, love, and harmony to all who knew David and those he touched.”

Crosby was plagued by various health issues in his later adulthood. He suffered through addiction, diabetes, obesity, and liver problems through points in his life. He received a liver transplant in 1994, controversial due to his addiction issues.

Tina Turner

The music world lost an absolute icon when Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tina Turner died on May 24 at the age of 83.

The news was confirmed in a statement posted via her socials that reads, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner. With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow. Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly.”

Her family also issued a statement that read, “Tina Turner, the ‘Queen of Rock’n Roll’ has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model.”

Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on Nov. 26, 1939. She garnered acclaim in the ’50s and ’60s with her husband Ike Turner, first as part of the Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm, then as part of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. “A Fool in Love” was the first charting single in 1960, while the next decade would deliver such classics as “Proud Mary,” “I Want to Take You Higher,” “River Deep, Mountain High,” “Nutbush City Limits” and “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine.” Turner earned raves as one of music’s most dynamic performers.

In 1976, with Turner falling victim to domestic abuse from her husband, she fled a Dallas hotel room after a physical altercation and filed for divorce from Ike Turner later that same month. She started a solo career, making appearances on TV shows later that same year and resumed touring to pay off her debts, but initially struggled on her own to gain any traction as a solo artist.

By 1983, things finally started to turn her way with the album Private Dancer, putting her back into the spotlight. It yielded the hugely successful comeback single “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” along with “Better Be Good to Me,” a cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” and the title track.

Turner’s story about her struggle and eventual split from Ike Turner would be told in the 1993 film What’s Love Got to Do With It, Angela Bassett won the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her portrayal of Turner in the film and also received an Oscar nomination for the role.

From there, Turner’s star shined throughout the ’80s and early ’90s with such standout songs as “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” “Typical Male,” “What You Get Is What You See,” “The Best” and “I Don’t Wanna Fight.”

Turner won 12 Grammy Awards over the course of her music career and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2021, following her previous induction for her work with Ike Turner which happened in 1991. She’s also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and at one point in her career she held the Guinness World Record for the largest paying audience for a solo performer, playing to 180,000 people during a 1988 show.

Gary Rossington

Gary Rossington, the last original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, died on March 5 at the age of 71. A cause of death was not specified, however, the guitarist had dealt with some health issues in recent year.

The band shared the news via a statement on Facebook: “It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today. Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does. Please keep Dale, Mary, Annie and the entire Rossington family in your prayers and respect the family’s privacy at this difficult time.”

Rossington, who was a founding member of the legendary Southern rock group, survived the tragic 1977 plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines. A year prior, Rossington had survived a car accident when his vehicle hit an oak tree.

While initially part of the band from 1964-1977, the guitarist returned for their reunion in 1987 and had played with the band full time from 1991 until his death, appearing on all of the Lynyrd Skynyrd releases.

In addition to Lynyrd Skynyrd, the guitarist also performed as part of the Rossington Collins Band with fellow Skynyrd musician Allen Collins. The two musicians recorded a pair of albums between the initial Lynyrd Skynyrd split and their 1987 reunion. He also recorded a pair of albums with his wife Dale Krantz-Rossington under the moniker The Rossington Band.

Larry Busacca, Getty Images

Gordon Lightfoot

Legendary folk-rock singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot died on Monday, May 1 at the age of 84 in Toronto, where he had been hospitalized recently.

“It is with profound sadness that we confirm that Gordon Meredith Lightfoot has passed away,” read a statement posted to Lightfoot’s social media account. “Gordon died peacefully on Monday, May 1, 2023 at 7:30PM at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. He died of natural causes. He was 84 years old. He is survived by his wife Kim Hasse, six children– Fred, Ingrid, Eric, Galen, Miles and Meredith, as well as several grandchildren.”

In 1958, he moved to California to pursue music education in jazz composition and orchestration at Hollywood’s Westlake College of Music. In his early career, he wrote, arranged and recorded commercial jingles.

Eventually returning to Canada, he performed with the Singin’ Swingin’ Eight and the Gino Silvi Singers, before venturing out on his own with his first two singles in 1962. “(Remember Me) I’m the One” earned him his first radio hit, climbing to No. 3 on CHUM radio in 1962.

Over the course of his career, Lightfoot recorded 20 studio albums, with the most recent being 2020’s Solo record. He earned a string of hits in the ’70s including “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Sundown,” “If You Could Read My Mind” and “Carefree Highway” amongst others.

The accolades were many for Lightfoot, who was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2023. He also received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 1997 and was presented the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. That same year he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He received 16 Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent to the Grammy) and was nominated for five Grammy Awards. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1986 and in 2022 he was granted to the Golden Plate Award at the American Academy of Achievement.

As news of Lightfoot’s passing spread Monday night, musical peers and members of the music media began to weigh in on the death of the singer. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote, “We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters. Gordon Lightfoot captured our country’s spirit in his music – and in doing so, he helped shape Canada’s soundscape. May his music continue to inspire future generations, and may his legacy live on forever. To his family, friends, and many fans across the country and around the world: I’m keeping you in my thoughts at this difficult time.”

Singer Bryan Adams noted, “This one is really hard to write. Once in a blue moon you get to work and hang out with one of the people you admired when you were growing up. I was lucky enough to say Gordon was my friend and I’m gutted to know he’s gone. The world is a lesser place without him. I know I speak for all Canadians when I say: thank you for the songs Gordon Lightfoot. Bless your sweet songwriting heart, RIP dear friend. #gordonlightfoot”

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Lisa Marie Presley

Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of music legend Elvis Presley and his wife Priscilla Presley, died at the age of 54.

Presely suffered a heart attack at her Calabasas, Calif., home on the night of Jan. 12. After being rushed to the hospital, she passed after efforts to revive her was unsuccessful.

A recording artist in her own right, Presley released three studio albums. She was wed four times, including to Michael Jackson and to Nicolas Cage. From those marriages, she had four children.

Upon hearing of Presley’s death, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan tweeted, “There is heartbreak and then there is sorrow. This would be sorrow and on more levels than I can count. Please send your prayers out for her family and children at this difficult time. I truly cannot find the words to express how sad this truly is. RIP.”