(RxWiki News) Sweet Caroline. Dock of the Bay. Soul Man. Suspicious Minds. Angel of Harlem. Let's Stay Together. Mustang Sally. You know the singers, but do you know who played those soulful horns?
Andrew Love, one half of the Memphis Horns duo who gave over four decades worth of music that distinctive horn melody in the background, passed away Thursday, April 12, from Alzheimer's disease, according to his wife Willie. He was 70 years old.
Love played tenor sax and his musical partner, Wayne Jackson, played trumpet for artists ranging from Aretha Franklin to U2. Together, they played on 52 No. 1 hit songs, 113 Top Ten singles, and 14 Grammy-winning songs, reported the L.A. Times.
The discography of Love and Jackson, who were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2008, includes work with over 30 members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Just about anyone in America who has turned on a radio in the past fifty years has surely heard their music.
The two were presented with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in February for their contributions to half a century's worth of American pop, R&B, blues and country music.
Even a short list of the artists they worked with is astounding: Elvis Presley, Al Green, Otis Redding, Neil Young, James Taylor, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Sting, Steve Winwood, Billy Joel, Hank Williams, Peter Gabriel, Dusty Springfield… the list goes on.
"The sound we generated was just great," Jackson told the L.A. Times last Friday. "Everybody knew it, and we knew we couldn't do any better, so we just stayed together. It came as natural to us as breathing."
Jackson and Love met at Stax Records, the famous studio and record company that became one of the signature labels of 1960s soul and R&B music.
"I have many saxophone players I admire and hold in high esteem. But I have never heard a saxophone player who affects and penetrates me like Andrew Love," Stax co-owner Al Bell told the L.A. Times last Friday.
"It was the spirit in him, and you could feel it in the music. He could arouse your deepest emotions, but he would do it gently, softly. It was like he was making love to your soul," Bell said.
Love had suffered from Alzheimer's for almost a decade, though his family did not announce this publicly until shortly before the Grammy ceremony this year.
Alzheimer's disease is a form of dementia and loss of brain function that worsens over time, gradually causing a person's memory, cognitive function and memory to deteriorate over time.
There is no known cure for Alzheimer's, though scientists have made significant strides in the past decade in understanding more about the disease and its causes. There are several behaviors that have been linked to a decreased risk of developing Alzheimer's, such as regular exercise and keeping the mind active.
Photo credit: Wayne Jackson, http://www.memphishorns.com
