Here's me at a party some time ago with three men of music. Going right to left, we have Stan Freberg, then me, then Richard Sherman, then Ian Whitcomb at far left. Ian died last Sunday at the age of 78, not from the coronavirus but from, apparently, whatever had been keeping him ill for some time. He was a delightful gent, a delightful performer and a great scholar of popular music, especially old popular music, especially funny old popular music in the U.K. and U.S.
Once upon a time, he was one of those British rock stars of the sixties. He had a Top Ten hit in 1965 with "You Turn Me On" but to see him perform in the last few decades was to enjoy a delightful evening of obscure funny tunes. He loved performing and I enjoyed hearing him and also talking with him about…well, about the songs but really about anything. He was witty and friendly and I think you can tell that from the musical selection I've made below.
This could easily have been a video of him performing "You Turn Me On" but the Ian I knew was more likely to burst into this kind of song. This is from a Tonight Show from the seventies. He was one of the good guys…