BARRY LEVINE: More musical greats who died in 2017

Editor’s note: This is the second of two columns on singers who died in 2017. Part 1 appeared on Dec. 10.

Here are some of the greats who hit their final notes in 2017. The obituaries are listed in chronological order. They include everyone from Rock and Roll Hall of Famers to “One-Hit Wonders.”

Rick Stevens, 77, the front man and lead singer for the R&B group The Tower of Power died on Sept. 5 in Oakland, Calif., of cancer.

Stevens replaced Rufus Miller in the band in 1969 and three years later, the group’s album “Bump City” put The Tower of Power in the national spotlight along with hit singles like “You’re Still a Young Man.”

In 1976, Stevens, who had left the band shortly after their big hit, became addicted to drugs and shot three men to death during a deal gone bad. He was sentenced to life in prison, where he kicked his addiction before being released on parole in 2012 after being incarcerated for 36 years.

Troy Gentry, 50, a member of the hard-hitting Montgomery Gentry duo, died in a helicopter crash when the engine failed on Sept. 8 in Medford, N.J. The act had been booked for a concert at the Flying W Airport & Resort.

Gentry got his start playing in a band in the early 1990s that included Eddie Montgomery. Gentry then tried for a solo career after winning the Jim Beam National Talent Contest in 1994. The win led to opening concerts for Patty Loveless, Tracy Byrd and Eddie Rabbitt. Unable to secure a record deal, he and Montgomery formed the Montgomery Gentry duo that signed with Columbia Records.

They got their big break in 1999, when “Hillbilly Shoes” became a Top 15 hit. They followed with other hits such as “Daddy Won’t Sell the Farm,” “She Couldn’t Change Me,” “My Town,” “Hell Yeah” and “Something to be Proud of.”

Don Williams, 78, a singer, songwriter and 2010 inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame, died on Sept. 8 at Mobile, Ala.

He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing 17 No. country hits.

His 1974 song “We Should Be Together” reached No. 5, and he signed with ABC/Dot Records. His first single with ABC/Dot, “I Wouldn’t Want to Live If You Didn’t Love Me,” became a No. 1 hit, and was the first of a string of Top 10 hits he had between 1974 and 1991. Only four of his 46 singles failed to make the Top 10.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, Tom Petty, 66, died on Oct. 2 of cardiac arrest at Santa Monica, Calif.

Petty, who sold more than 80 million records, was serving as lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at the time of his death.

In 1988, Petty joined ex-Beatle George Harrison’s group, the Traveling Wilburys, which also included Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. The band’s first song, “Handle with Care,” was intended as a B-side of one of Harrison’s singles, but was judged too good for that purpose and the group decided to record an album, “Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1.”

He formed the Heartbreakers in 1976.

Among his Top 15 hits were “Don’t Do Me like That” in 1979, “Refugee” in 1980, “Don’t Come Around Here Anymore” in 1983, “I Won’t Back Down” and “Free Fallin’” in 1989, Mary Jane’s Last Dance” in 1993 and “You Don’t Know How It Feels” in 1994.

Jimmy Beaumont, 76, lead singer of The Skyliners, a highly successful Doo-Wop group known for their smooth harmonies, died on Oct. 7 from cancer at his home in McKeesport, Pa.

The Skyliners, a Pittsburgh quintet, were best known for their 1959 hit, “Since I Don’t Have You” which peaked at No. 12.

The group also had two other Top 25 hits — “This I Swear” in 1959 and “Pennies from Heaven” in 1960.

Fats Domino, 89, one of rock’s pioneers, died on Oct. 24 at his New Orleans home.

Domino incorporated aspects of his New Orleans jazz roots into his hits including “Ain’t That a Shame” (1955), “Blueberry Hill,” “Blue Monday” and “I’m Walkin’” (1957), and “Walking to New Orleans” (1960).

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, Domino cut his first record “The Fat Man” in 1949 at age 21. It was a rewrite of the drug-addiction song “Junker’s Blues” that many consider one of the earliest rock records. “The Fat Man” was a huge R&B hit reaching No. 2 and helped establish Domino’s sound and image.

Domino started rolling out major hits beginning in 1955 with “Ain’t That a Shame” and continued through 1960 with “Walking to New Orleans.”

Robert Knight, 72, best known for the 1967 country-soul hit “Everlasting Love,” died on Nov. 5 following a short illness at his Tennessee home.

Though he rocketed to fame for the soul-stirring song — known for its uplifting chorus, “Need you by my side, girl you’ll be my bride/ You’ll never be denied everlasting love.”

He joined The Fairlanes while studying chemistry at Tennessee State University, eventually landing a solo deal with songwriters/producers Buzz Cason and Fred Foster’s label Rising Sons Music.

It was Cason and songwriter partner Mac Gayden, who wrote “Everlasting Love,” the Motown-style song that made Knight a star when it was released in 1967. It peaked at No. 13.

Malcolm Young, 64, the rhythm guitarist and guiding force behind the hard rock band AC/DC who helped create such head-banging anthems as “Highway to Hell,” ”Hells Bells” and “Back in Black,” died on Nov. 18.

AC/DC sold more than 200 million albums including “Back in Black,” the world’s second best-selling album behind Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” AC/DC won a Grammy Award, for best hard rock performance in 2009 for “War Machine.”

Mel Tillis, 85, the longtime country star who wrote hits for Kenny Rogers, Ricky Skaggs and many others, and overcame his stuttering problem to sing on dozens of his singles, died on Nov. 19 in Ocala, Fla. The cause of death is respiratory failure.

Tillis, the father of country singer Pam Tillis, recorded more than 60 albums and had more than 30 Top 10 country singles, including “Good Woman Blues,” ”Coca Cola Cowboy” and “Southern Rain.” Among the hits he wrote for others were “Detroit City” for Bobby Bare; “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” by Rogers and the First Edition; and “Thoughts of a Fool” for George Strait.

The Country Music Hall of Fame member wrote more than 1,000 songs.

Della Reese, 86, who started as a gospel singer for Mahalia Jackson when she was 13 and rose to TV fame during the 1990s as Tess on CBS’ “Touched by an Angel,” died on Nov. 19 at her Los Angeles area home.

She was voted most promising singer by “Cashbox” magazine and received a Grammy nomination for her 1960 album, “Della.” She had numerous Top 100 hits and reached No. 2 on the pop charts with the song “Don’t You Know?” in 1959. She later was nominated twice more for Grammy Awards.

Reese was the first black woman to host “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and appeared in high-profile miniseries including “The House of Yes” and “Roots: The Next Generations.”

She garnered the most attention for her role in highly acclaimed “Touched by an Angel” which aired from 1994 to 2002.

Musician and actor David Cassidy, 67, a teen heart throb during the 1970s, died on Nov. 22 as a result of complications from dementia at a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Hospital.

The good-looking Cassidy was every girl’s favorite teen crush during the early 1970s and drew screaming crowds at concert appearances. He was part of a show-business family that included his father, Tony-winning actor Jack Cassidy, stepmother Shirley Jones, half-brother Shaun Cassidy and daughter, actress Katie Cassidy.

In 1970, Cassidy took the role of Keith Partridge in “The Partridge Family.” Keith was the son of Shirley Partridge, who was played by Jones. The show ran for four seasons and it served as the impetus for his stardom.

The Partridge Family, with Cassidy as the lead, hit No. 1 in 1970 with “I Think I Love You.” They group had two other Top 10 hits in 1971 with “Doesn’t Somebody Want to Be Wanted” and “I’ll Meet you Halfway.” Cassidy’s first single “Cherish” became a Top 10 hit in 1971. As a pop phenom, he sold a staggering 6 1/2 million albums and singles in 1971 and 1972.

Barry “The Old Rocker” Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected].