RIP Alice Mae Burnside, Pat Ramsey, Robert Lucas

• More from Bob Corritore
• RIP Alice Mae Burnside 4/26/1932-11/16/2008: Ben "The Harpman" Cox of the online publication Juke Joint Soul reports that Alice Mae Burnside, the beloved wife of the late R.L. Burnside, passed away Sunday, November 16, 2008. She was a loving mother to 12 children and grandmother to a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Services were arranged by the Rodgers Funeral Home and held on Saturday, November 22, 2008 at the Tchulahoma Church in Byhalia, MS. R.L. Burnside recorded the song "Alice Mae" as a tribute to his wife on his 1997 CD Mr. Wizard on the Fat Possum Record Label. To see of photo page of R.L. Burnside, click here.
• RIP Pat Ramsey: Harmonica player Pat Ramsey was best known for his associations with rock and blues-rock artists. He performed and recorded with Johnny Winter and Butch Trucks, and was a major influence on Eclecto Groove recording artist Jason Ricci. He died on November 17, 2008 from complications of Hepatitis C. He was 49. Click here for his complete bio. Thank you, Pat, for bringing blues harmonica to a wider audience.
• RIP Robert Lucas: Blues harpist/guitarist/singer Robert Lucas passed away Sunday November 23, 2008 of a drug overdose. He was 46. Lucas worked in the 80s and early 90s, fronting a California based blues unit called Luke & The Locomotives. He went on to be the frontman in a revised version of Canned Heat, filling the character role of the late Bob "The Bear" Hite. Being a rotund man, he both musically and visually fit the job description. In addition to a number of recordings with Canned Heat, he had seven solo albums. He was a stirring harp player with a great sense of tradition, a great slide guitarist and a hearty vocalist. He will be greatly missed. For more information and a photo of Robert Lucas, click here.