Yet another obituary for me to write on this little blog of mine, and this time it's an absolute heartbreaker. Seattle-based singer/songwriter Shawn Smith - he of the sublime vocal ability and magisterial songwriting chops - has passed away at the tragically young age of 53. No cause of death has been officially given as of yet, but rumours are circulating that Shawn died of a heart-attack due to diabetes related complications. He was found at his home in Seattle on Friday and is survived by his teenage son, Dove. Shawn was a phenomenal singer and musician with talent oozing from every pore and will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him and who listened to and subsequently fell in love with his music. He sadly never achieved the kind of commercial recognition that his monumental gifts should have bestowed upon him - indeed in recent years he had apparently been struggling for money and was close to homelessness - but his musical legacy will live on and, for my money, can easily be compared to his heroes Prince and Stevie Wonder.
I first discovered Shawn in early 1993 when - due to my insane devotion to Pearl Jam - I rushed out to buy the side-project album by PJ guitarist Stone Gossard which he was releasing under the name Brad. This new band of Gossard's was a four-piece blues-infused funk-rock combo made up of Gossard on guitar, Regan Hagar on drums, bassist Jeremy Toback and Shawn on vocals and piano. It was obvious to me from the very first vocal lines of opening track Buttercup that Shawn was an incredible singer and I vowed to learn everything I could about this amazingly talented man. I posted a full and thorough appreciation of Shawn on this blog in June 2017 in conjunction with his UK tour of that month and I implore you to scroll back and give it a read. Suffice to say that since that wondrous Brad debut in 1993, there have been a myriad of projects featuring Shawn - four more Brad albums, three from his band Satchel, two dance-based electronica records under the name Pigeonhed, various solo efforts and side projects - and all of them are fantastic collections of songs that when listened to, leave you shaking your head at the mysterious vagaries of the music business that allow stunning talents like Shawn to slip through the cracks whilst other lesser singers reap the rewards. As far as I'm concerned, Shawn was one of the greatest singers that I've ever had the joyous fortune to listen to and my memories of the three times I was lucky enough to witness him perform live - once with a reunited Brad in 2013 and two solo tours in 2015 and 2017 - will stay with me for the rest of my days. The man was a true great and to say I'm devastated at his passing is an understatement.
Rest in peace, Shawn. Sleep well and thank you for the music.
"And you're wrapped in my memory like chains yeah, you're only a memory now. I can't wait till we see each other again, and you're wrapped in my memory like chains".
TOP TWENTY SHAWN SMITH SONGS
1: SATCHEL: SUFFERING
2: BRAD: SCREEN
3: SHAWN SMITH: WRAPPED IN MY MEMORY
4: BRAD: BUTTERCUP
5: PIGEONHED: THE FULL SENTENCE
6: BRAD: 20th CENTURY
7: BRAD: THE DAY BRINGS
8: SHAWN SMITH: THE TRAIN IS COMING
9: BRAD: RAISE LOVE
10: PIGEONHED: GLORY BOUND
11: SATCHEL: TIME 'O' THE YEAR
12: SHAWN SMITH: LEAVING CALIFORNIA
13: PIGEONHED: BATTLE FLAG
14: BRAD: LIFT
15: SATCHEL: TROUBLE COME DOWN
16: BRAD: GOOD NEWS
17: PIGEONHED: FIRE'S COMIN' DOWN
18: BRAD: WATERS DEEP
19: PIGEONHED: AIN'T IT SO
20: BRAD: IF YOU CAN MAKE IT GOOD
SHAWN SMITH: 28/10/1965 - 05/04/2019 R.I.P.
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