years old; Singer-songwriter Greg Trooper wrote songs for a wide array of artists includ- ing Vince Gill, in addition to enjoying an ac- tive solo career. The 61-year-old performer died on Jan. 16 after a battle with pancreatic cancer; Multi-instrumentalist and horn player Don Markham made a huge contri- bution to the career of Merle Haggard, play- ing with Haggard from 1974 until 2013. Markham died on Feb. 24 at the age of 85; Beloved road crew member Ben Dorcy died on Sept. 16 at the age of 92. Dubbed the "world's oldest roadie" by longtime employer and friend Willie Nelson, Dorcy also worked with other stars including Elvis Presley, Way- lon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash; country music star Mel Tillis, whose career spanned performing, songwriting, movies and television, died on Nov. 19 after a long battle with intestinal issues. He was 85 years old; Jim Nabors, best known as Gomer Pyle on the Andy Griffith Showand its spinoff Gomer Pyle USMC, died on Nov. 30 at the age of 87. His career spanned work on television and a rich catalog of music, in- cluding stints in both country music and gospel. Nabors appeared at the Grand Ole Opry many times; Steve Wright, the bass player of the original Greg Kihn Band who co- wrote their biggest hits, died of a heart attack in January of 2017; Mark Selby, the song- writer behind the Dixie Chicks’ “There’s Your Trouble” and Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s “Blue on Black," died after a battle with cancer on Sept. 18 at the age of 56; Mike Kellie, who played with Spooky Tooth, the Only Ones and many British rock sessions during the early '70s, died at the age of 69 in January of 2017; In January of 2017, bassist Overend Watts became the second member of Mott the Hoople's classic lineup, best known for 1972's "All the Young Dudes," to die in just over a year; Benny Collins, who was a production and tour manager with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Journey, the Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna and Michael


Jackson, died in January of 2017; Geoff Nicholls, who played keyboards with Black Sabbath for 25 years, died of lung cancer in January of 2017; John Wetton, the bassist and singer for Asia, as well as a former mem- ber of King Crimson and U.K., died in Janu- ary 2017 at the age of 67 after a battle with cancer; Don Warden was a Steel Guitar Hall of Fame member and served as Dolly Parton's manager for nearly five decades. He died on March 11 at the age of 87; Walter “Junie” Morrison, whose original compo- sition formed the basis for Funkadelic‘s leg- endary 1978 song “One Nation Under a Groove,” died on Jan. 21 at age 62; Bob Wooton served as Johnny Cash‘s lead gui- tarist in the legendary Tennessee Three for nearly three decades. He died on April 9 of undisclosed causes; Steve Lang, the bassist who stepped in for original April Wine mem- ber Jim Clench and helped anchor the lineup during the band’s most commercially success- ful period, died at in February 2017 at the age of 67; Clyde Stubblefield, who drummed on many of James Brown‘s most important recordings, died in February 2017 at the age of 73; Renowned artist Alan Aldridge, whose distinctive designs graced the covers of classic albums by the Who and Elton John and filled the bestselling book The Beatles Il- lustrated Lyrics, died in February 2017 at the age of 73; Ilene Berns, one of the most suc- cessful female independent-label chiefs ever, died in February 2017 at age 73. She was the pioneering former director of Bang Records - home to Van Morrison and Neil Diamond; Singer -songwriter Valerie Carter, who also sang backup on many hit records from Jack- son Browne, Don Henley, Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor over the years, died in March of 2017 at the age of 64; Lyle Ritz, a bassist who was one of the many top-level Los Ange- les session musicians that comprised the “Wrecking Crew,” died in March 2017 at the age of 87. He reportedly played on more than 5,000 sessions, and the liner notes for the


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