I'm 'of a similar vintage' myself; 75 or 100 would be 'a short version,' and wouldn't include those I saw whose names I've never known or have forgotten, not to mention those that are dead whose demise I'm unaware of. 'Back in the day,' I went to several festivals where likely almost every performer at them is now gone. I have been meaning to make a list independently of this thread, just out of curiosity.
I saw Chuck (twice in the 1970s) and Richard (end of the '90s), missed Bo, Fats and Jerry Lee. I was kind of annoyed with Richard at his show, but only because it showed how great he STILL was; 'c'mon dude, you haven't put out a great record in decades and all you have to do to make some is record some of your shows!' I would have been very happy to buy a copy of the performance on the way out to go home, or later, of course. Chuck's 2 shows I saw though, 'lived up to the reputation he had as a live performer in the '70s,' despite being backed by a simpatico band, The Woolies, with whom he worked many times. A long-ago roommate who backed him a few times verified the 'how many bills are you going to give me to go on-stage with an amp other than the kind specified in the contract' tales as something he'd seen first hand.
For me, it was the Pontiac Silverdome and 1975; despite being huge it was an OK place to see The Who; OTOH, I felt 'sorry' for Toots & The Maytals who opened, as they had more musicians and the stadium just made a mess of it, sound-wise, whereas The Who's guitar/bass/drums/vocals combination wasn't impacted the same way. Toots, of course, is another one for "the list."
Chet Baker. CB Trio with Philip Catherine (guitar) and Jean-Louis Rassinfosse (bass) Jazz Festival, Amiens, France, around 1985. Chet died three years later. Prince. Lovesexy Tour, Paris, France, july 1988.
I guess the most "major" ones I have seen would be: Prince Eddie Van Halen Tom Petty Freddie Mercury David Bowie Neil Peart John Entwistle Glenn Frey Walter Becker Ric Ocasek Chris Cornell
Just a sampling: David Bowie Joe Strummer w/ the Clash Keith Emerson w/ELP Greg Lake w/ELP Chris Squire w/Yes B.B. King Eddie Van Halen Allan Holdsworth Alto Reed w/Bob Seger & the SBB
Did you get a copy of DEAD DOG'S EYEBALL: The Songs Of Daniel Johnston re-issue? It certainly sounded interesting but I missed the kickstarter by days.
In rough reverse order of death Stanley Cowell Eddie Van Halen Toots Hibbert Gary Peacock Walter Lure (Heartbreakers) Pete Way (UFO) Eddie Gale Charlie Daniels Tony Allen Lee Konitz John Prine Wallace Roney Bill Withers McCoy Tyner Andy Gill (Gang Of Four) Neal Peart Kim Shattuck (Muffs) Ric Ocasek Damien Lovelock (Celibate Rifles) Art Neville Ranking Roger (Beat) Joseph Jarman Perry Robinson Roy Hargrove Hamiet Bluiett Randy Weston Tomasz Stanko Nick Knox (Cramps) Cecil Taylor Don Cherry Fast Eddie Clark (Motorhead) Sunny Murray Malcolm Young (AC/DC) Fred Cole (Dead Moon) Muhal Richard Abrams Tom Petty Grant Hart (Husker Du) John Abercrombie Greg Allman Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) J Geils Evan Jones Larry Coryell Butch Trucks (Allman Bros) Overend Watts (Mott) Greg Lake Leonard Cohen Alan Vega Merle Haggard Phife Dawg (A Tribe Called Quest) Keith Emerson Maurice White (Earth Wind & Fire) David Bowie Paul Bley Prince Lemmy Ornette Coleman Marcus Belgrave Kenny Wheeler Joe Sample Charlie Haden Horace Silver Yusef Lateef Lou Reed George Jones Richie Havens John Tchcai Sugar Minott Fred Anderson Marvin Isley Dio Steve Reid Alex Chilton Rowland Howard (Birthday Party) Rashied Ali Lux Interior (Cramps) Freddie Hubbard Bo Diddley Danny Federici (Bruce Springsteen) Max Roach George McCorkle (Marshall Tucker) Andrew Hill James Brown Boz Burrell (Bad Co.) Jackie McLean Chris Whitley Danny Joe Brown (Molly Hatchett) Jimmy Smith Johnny Ramone Ray Charles Robert Quine Elvin Jones Tony Thompson (Chic) Johnny Cash Warren Zevon Joe Strummer John Entwhistle Dee Dee Ramone Layne Staley (Alice In Chains) Waylon Jennings Joey Ramone John Fahey Bryan Gregory (Cramps) Stanley Turrentine Benamin Orr (Cars) Tito Puente Curtis Mayfield Grover Washington Jr Lester Bowie Roland Alfonso (Skatellites) Cozy Powell (Rainbow) Thomas Chapin Glen Buxton (Alice Cooper) Fela Kuti Bernard Edwards (Chic) Jeffrey Lee Pierce (Gun Club) Gerry Mulligan Don Cherry Jerry Garcia Kristen Pfaff (Hole) Kurt Cobain Frank Zappa Albert Collins Sun Ra Dizzy Gillespie Jerry Nolan (Heartbreakers) Freddie Mercury Miles Davis Johnny Thunders Art Blakey Stevie Ray Vaughn Brent Mydland (Grateful Dead) Stiv Bators Dexter Gordon Allen Collins (Skynyrd) Puma Jones (Black Uhuru) Pet DeFrietas (Echo and the Bunnymen) Woody Shaw Jaco Pastorius Peter Tosh Cliff Burton (Metallica) Joe Farrell Phil Lynott D Boon Ian Stewart Razzle (Hanoi Rocks)Pete Farndon (Pretenders) James Honeyman-Scott (Pretenders) Randy Rhoads (Ozzy) Keith Godchaux (Grateful Dead) Tommy Caldwell (Marshall Tucker) Bon Scott Jimmy McCulloch(Wings) John Glasscock (Jethro Tull) Terry Kath (Chicago) Ronny Van Zant (Skynyrd Steve Gaines (Skynyrd) Obviously I don't have this memorized -- I went through Wikipedia over the past few days. I'm sure I missed some.
Tom Petty Warren Zevon Dr. John BB King Toots Hibbert Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici (Bruce Springsteen) Neil Peart (Rush) Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) Pat DiNizio (Smithereens) Chris Squire (Yes) John Entwistle (Who) Walter Becker (Steely Dan) Ray Thomas (Moody Blues) Rick Wright (Pink Floyd) Rob Buck (10,000 Maniacs) I was supposed to have seen Leonard Cohen in 2012 but that didn't happen for personal reasons. The one that galls me is John Prine, who I blew off even though I knew it would be a good show.
I remember seeing Alto Reed, aka Tom Cartmell, many times before the many times I saw him with Seger back then, (cover being in the $1-$3 range in those pre Live Bullet days), back when he was still Tom Cartmell, with the area band Ormandy. So does this guy: Remembering the early rock and roll shows in Howell "Along with The Woolies for the Armory show was the band Ormandy, which had a pretty good saxophone player named Tom Cartmell, who later went on to play with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band under the pseudo-name Alto Reed. Incidentally, also playing at the armory with The Woolies and Ormandy for that melon festival show was a very good Howell band called Quiet Sun, made up entirely of Howell kids, some of whom still live in Howell."
Too many to list. Life stops for all of us at some point. Probably the most poignant is Tom Petty—my wife and I saw what turned out to be his last show at the Hollywood Bowl. What a gut punch to have him snatched away so unexpectedly after that.
So I made a list....it’s kinda long Glenn Frey Gary Richrath Ken Hensley Lee Kerslake Trevor Boulder Sandy West (Runaways) Tom Petty Howie Epstein Billy Jones/Hughie Thomasson (Outlaws) Neil Peart Eddie Money Brad Delp/Sib Hashian (Boston) Freddie Mercury Petr Sweival (Starz) Rod Price/Dave Peverett/Craig MacGregor (Foghat) Eddie Van Halen Pete Way/Paul Raymond (UFO) Alto Reed Chris Squire Dave Gilbert/Donnie Backus/Bobby Neil Harrelson (The Rockets) James Dewar (Robin Trower) Dave Hlubek/Duane Roland/Steve Holland/Danny Joe Brown/Banner Thomas/Bruce Crump (Molly Hatchet) Jakson Spires (Blackfoot) Allen Collins Billy Powell Leon Wilkeson Ed King Steve Marriott Boz Burrell Keith Emerson Greg Lake Ray Thomas Gregg Allman Butch Trucks Dan Toler Frankie Toler Allen Woody Bob Welch Toy & Tommy Caldwell/George mcCorkle (Marshall Tucker) Billy Preston Ginger Baker Duck Dunn Matt Guitar Murphy/Alan Rubin (Blues Bros.) Clarence Clemens/Danny Federici (E Street) Jerry Lee Lewis Chuck Berry Johnny Cash Aretha Franklin Little Richard James Brown Bo Diddley Peter Green Paul Kantner Joe Cocker Leon Russell Levon Helm Rick Danko Lou Reed Art Neville Charles Neville Richard Wright Walter Becker Stevie Ray Vaughan Jerry Garcia Vince Welnick John Entwistle Warren Zevon Malcolm Young Mark Sandman Dennis Wilson Carl Wilson Steve Goodman Ronnie James Dio Ric Ocasek Ben Orr Jon Lord Mitch Mitchell Dr. John Johnnie Johnson Eric Carr Kurt Cobain Paul Butterfield Pete Seeger Hillel Slovik Nina Simone Ian McLagan Pops Staples Ron/Scott Asheton Steve McKay (Stooges) Chris Cornell J. Geils John Panozzo (Styx) Ed Gagliardi (Foreigner) Ian Stewart Allen Lanier (BOC) Randy Rhoads Dimebag Darrell Vinnie Paul Fast Eddie Clarke Michael Hutchence Jay Bennett (Wilco) Darrell Sweet (Nazareth) JJ Cale Ritchie Hayward/Paul Barrerre (Little Feat) Grant Hart (Husker Du) Bob Stinson (Replacements) Karl mueller (Soul Asylum) Leroi Moore (DMB) Doc Neeson (Angel City) John Wetton Johnny Winter Jeff Healey Dave Brubeck Michael Brecker Tony Williams Mulgrew Miller Chick Corea Elvin Jones McCoy Tyner Milt Jackson Percy Heath Jimmy Heath Lyle Mays Gil Scott Heron Nancy Wilson Ray Brown Joe Henderson Charlie Haden Joe Zawinul Geri Allen Wallace Roney Kevin Mahogany Larry Coryell Ornette Coleman Ronald Shannon Jackson Sonny Sharrock Letter Bowie Little Milton Rufus Thomas Otis Clay Sunnyland Slim Brownie MacGhee Johnny Otis Lowell Fulson Junior Wells Jimmy Rogers Johnny Adams Buckwheat Zydeco Rockin Dopsie Beau Jacque Boozoo Chavis Jimmy Dawkins Luther Allison Carey Bell Bobby Bland Ruth Brown Solomon Burke Willie Dixon Isaac Hayes John Lee Hooker Etta James Albert King BB King Johnny Copeland Albert Collins Lonnie Brooks Koko Taylor Son Seals Otis Rush Robert Jr. Lockwood Johnny Shines Honeyboy Edwards Eddy Clearwater Ray Charles Lonnie Mack Gatemouth Brown Hubert Sumlin Pinetop Perkins Calvin Fuzz Jones Willie Big Eyes Smith Earl King Champion Jack Dupree R.L. Burnside Junior Kimbrough William Clarke Katie Webster Lucky Peterson Ted Hawkins Wendell Holmes/Popsy Dixon (Holmes Bros.) Magic Slim Snooks Eaglin Jimmy Witherspoon Howard Tate Charles Brown Guess I’ve been to a few shows
BB King, Lou Reed, Jerry Garcia, Brent Mydland, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Paul Kantner, Michael Hutchence, David Bowie, Dr. John, Art Neville, Gregg Allman, Charles Brown ("Merry Christmas, Baby"), Joe Henderson, Milt Jackson, Clarence Clemons, LeRoi Moore, Norton Buffalo, Merl Haggard, and Warren Zevon. And Bill Graham after a show at the Henry J in Oakland.
Sure there are more but two come to mind immediately- Johnnie Johnson and Pat DiNizio with The Smithereens
As I saw my first gig in 1972-T. Rex all of whom have sadly died, my list would be long indeed. The most startling was Mick Farren, who actually died on stage a couple of yards in front of me at The Borderline in London in 2013.
Glenn Frey Andres Segovia (twice) Merle Watson Doc Watson (four times) Jean-Pierre Rampal Gatemouth Brown Professor Longhair Clifton Chenier