The following is reprinted courtesy of Robert Register's blog. Dennis Yost was one of the classic Southern voices. Although our one single lone promoting experience was not exactly a classic as recapped in the book ... he was ! and so was the music of the Classics IV which will forever be embedded in the minds of those who loved the great music of the hey baby days.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
I hate to put this up.It is my understanding that Dennis Yost has passed away.
Details or explanations for this post will follow.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Hey y'all~
Nix called me last night to tell me that Dennis Yost had passed away.
Nix had talked to Buie yesterday about Dennis and for the first time Nix told Buie that he'd dropped one of his drumsticks during the recording of EVERY DAY WITH YOU GIRL.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mwKF6o6fK8
I couldn't hear it on these two youtube videos.
Maybe we'll get Nixo to explain how we can hear his mistake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znx_0y4FA10&feature=related
We'll keep everybody in ZERO, NORTHWEST FLORIDA updated on the arrangements for Dennis.
Best,
rr
Former The Classics IV singer Dennis Yost dies
12/8/2008, 4:42 p.m. CST
By LISA CORNWELL
The Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) — Dennis Yost, lead singer of the 1960s soft rock group The Classics IV, has died in an Ohio hospital. He was 65.
Yost died Sunday at Fort Hamilton Hospital in Hamilton, about 30 miles northwest of Cincinnati. He died of respiratory failure at 2:25 a.m., said hospital spokeswoman Marielou Vierling.
The Classics IV's hits included "Spooky," "Stormy" and "Traces of Love."
Yost had been in nursing homes since suffering a brain injury in a 2005 fall, said the singer's friend and biographer Joe Glickman.
The Classics IV got their start in Jacksonville, Fla., where Yost, a native of Detroit, was raised, Glickman said. Their hit recordings were produced in Atlanta under the supervision of producer Buddy Buie and Bill Lowery, founder of Lowery Music Inc.
The group performed together for about five years.
Buie, who was a co-writer of the group's songs with the group's guitarist, J.R. Cobb, said he hadn't seen Yost for several years when he learned of his death Sunday.
"Dennis had an incredible voice — just a great voice for love songs," said Buie, 67, who is retired and lives in Eufaula, Ala. "I am deeply saddened by his passing."
Cobb, 65, said he and Yost grew up in Jacksonville and rode motorcycles together. Cobb, who later performed with the Atlanta Rhythm Section and with The Highwaymen — a country group that included Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson — is retired and lives in Monticello, Ga.
"Dennis was a friend as well as a fellow musician," said Cobb. "I always thought he had a very distinctive voice, and I think we had some of the hits we had because of him and his ability as a singer."
Yost and The Classics IV were inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1993.
Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, a vocalist with the former rock and comedy group Sha Na Na, held a benefit concert last year to help with Yost's increasing medical costs, Glickman said.
"He was a tremendous talent who did an enormous amount of the work for that group," said Bauman, who works against copycat performers as chairman of Truth in Music, based at the Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation in Sharon, Pa.
"Paradoxically, I came to know Dennis better in the later years, in which he was involved in a massive struggle to retain his own musical identity, which was one of the saddest and most difficult cases of someone losing the name of their own group, when he had pretty much been the group," Bauman said.
Bauman said truth in music legislation has been adopted in 26 states, and a bill was expected to make it through the legislature and to the governor's desk next week in Yost's home state of Ohio.
Yost is survived by his wife, Linda Yost, of suburban Hamilton.
www.VocalGroup.org/inmemory.htm
Hello Friends,
I wanted to let you know that
Dennis passed this morning,
Dec. 7, 2008 at 2:30 a.m.
I wanted you to hear it
from me first. Although it
was unexpected and sudden,
he is peaceful, and I know
singing in heaven, and making everyone laugh with his
silly jokes. Please try to
remember something good
and fun about him. You know Dennis, "There's no crying in music!" He would want everyone
to celebrate his life.
And an overdue, heartfelt
thank you, especially to
all who worked so hard
for the benefit.
No plans have been made,
yet, but updates will be on
The Classics IV web site.
Love,
Linda Yost and family
Welcome to the official web site of
"SPOOKY" * "STORMY" * "TRACES" * "EVERYDAY WITH YOU GIRL"
WHAT'S NEW?
Lead Singer, Dennis Yost, passes away at Age 65
JULY 20, 1943 - DECEMBER 7, 2008
Dennis Yost, lead singer of The Classics IV, the 1960's soft rock group responsible for hit records such as "Spooky," "Stormy," "Everyday With You Girl," and most notably the group's highest charting record, "Traces of Love," passed away suddenly early Sunday morning, December 7th, in a hospital on the outskirts of Cincinnati, OH with his wife Linda at his side. Dennis was 65 years of age.
Yost, who had been hospitalized in 2005 for a traumatic brain injury sustained after a fall, never fully recovered from the incident, however the cause of death is not believed to be related. A benefit concert, hosted by Jon "Bowzer" Bauman of Sha Na Na fame, was held last year to help raise money for increasing medical costs the Yosts were incurring. Several of Dennis' musical peers showed up to perform, including Mark "Flo" Volman of The Turtles, The Skyliners, Chuck Negron, formerly of Three Dog Night, and many others.
The Classics IV originally hailed from Jacksonville, Florida, where Yost was raised by his mother Marie Lupato, but recorded all of their hit recordings in Atlanta, GA under the supervision of producer Buddy Buie and Bill Lowery, founder of Lowery Music, Inc. In 1993, Dennis Yost & The Classics IV were inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.
In the mid 90's, Dennis received a letter of cease and desist, ordering him to stop using the name "The Classics IV" from a lawyer representing a bogus band who had acquired the trademark through other means. Yost sank into a depression as he continued to tour, hopeless that he would ever get the name he helped make famous back, while another group with no original members reaped the profits. Fortunately, in the latter part of 2000, Yost regained ownership of the trademark to "The Classics IV" as part of an out-of-court settlement. A documentary on Yost's struggles is currently in post-production. (click here for more info)
Dennis was the last touring member of the original Classics IV.
Please stay tuned for more information. In the meantime, cards and flowers may be sent to the following address:
DY Memorial c/o Linda Yost
4999 Mercedes Drive #1
Liberty Township, OH 45011
Our thoughts and prayers are with Linda and Dennis' family and friends.
Regards,
Joe Glickman
Classics IV biographer and archivist for the past 12 years
WATCH YOST'S MUSIC VIDEO for "TRACES OF LOVE"
This was filmed a few years back in Nashville, TN and Upstate, NY.
Produced & Directed by Joe Glickman
Also Starring Neil Holland, Katherine Keeble and Nicholas Barber
The April 2008 edition of "Mix" magazine, the recording industry's #1 publication, has published an in-depth article on the recording of "Traces" featuring interviews with co-writer/producer Buddy Buie, guitarist/co-writer J.R. Cobb and session engineer Lou Bradley, with contributions from www.classicsiv.com. Mix is available at all major bookstores and newsstands. You can also view the article online HERE.
Hal Leonard Music, the world's largest music print publisher, has just released "25 Great Sax Solos" featuring a very thorough inside look at the making of "Spooky," including history of the song, photos and a full transcription of the sax instrumental. We dug into our archives to help with this publication and are proud to be mentioned in the book. You can purchase "25 great Sax Solos" at HAL LEONARD ONLINE or AMAZON.COM. The book is also available at your local bookseller.
posted by roberto at 4:13 PM
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