So now, ladies and gentlemen, it is star time. Are you ready for star time? From W.B.Z. Chicago and PRX. This is sound opinions. I'm Jim Deregatus.

And I'm Greg Kott. This week we try to make sense of 2018 by sharing some of our favorite we lost this year.

That's all coming up on sound opinions.

This is sound opinions and we'll have our DJ sets for 2018 in a bit, but first Greg we have to pay tribute to some of the musicians we've lost this year.

Indeed we do, Jim. I mean what a year for deaths in the

deaths in the rock and soul and hip-hop communities I mean we have lost some

giants notably Aretha Franklin Delores O'RRarden of the cranberries, the great South African trumpeter Hugh

Masakala, Pete Shelley of the Buscocks just recently died.

That was a huge blow.

Today we're going to cover some of the people we weren't able to mention in our previous shows.

I'm going to start us off, Jim, by talking a little bit about Clarence Fountain of the Five Blind Boys of Alabama.

He died on June 3rd at the age of 88. I am a huge fan of the

Blind Boys of Alabama in particular the material they recorded in the 40s and 50s.

You know I have this pet theory of mine that

Gosh... Usually I'm the one with the theories. Well I mean the to me the roots of

what we know as rock and roll can be found in gospel music in the 40s.

A lot of people talk about they brought together blues and country and I said you know the

third element in there is gospel.

Yeah.

And in a lot of way those gospel records of the 40 sound more rock and roll

than some of the swill they put out more rock and roll than some of the

swill they put out is rock and roll in the 50s you know it rocked harder.

...