(August 14, 2017) If you look at the canon of soul and jazz music of the 20th century, it doesn’t take long before you stop and pause at the classic song, “Everything Must Change,” by any measure one of the great songs of the last 50 years. That and many other songs were the work of Benard Ighner, a talented singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who we are sad to report has died at age 72 of lung cancer. Ighner had suffered for several years with spinal stenosis, and was the subject of a major fundraiser in 2015 to pay for surgeries.
Ighner, who spoke and performed in multiple languages, has the kind of rich baritone that could stand on its own, and he was highly respected by other artists for that instrument. With it, he recorded albums in the 70s and 80s on several labels, and worked with such artists as Sarah Vaughan and Marlena Shaw.
(August 14, 2017) If you look at the canon of soul and jazz music of the 20th century, it doesn’t take long before you stop and pause at the classic song, “Everything Must Change,” by any measure one of the great songs of the last 50 years. That and many other songs were the work of Benard Ighner, a talented singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who we are sad to report has died at age 72 of lung cancer. Ighner had suffered for several years with spinal stenosis, and was the subject of a major fundraiser in 2015 to pay for surgeries.
Ighner, who spoke and performed in multiple languages, has the kind of rich baritone that could stand on its own, and he was highly respected by other artists for that instrument. With it, he recorded albums in the 70s and 80s on several labels, and worked with such artists as Sarah Vaughan and Marlena Shaw.
But clearly he will be most remembered for the seminal ballad, “Everything Must Change.” First recorded by Quincy Jones and Ighner on Jones’s Body Heat album in 1974, the song went on to be covered dozens of times by artists ranging from Nina Simone to George Benson to James Ingram, and it gave me chills every time. I will listen to it again tonight with even more melancholy, respecting this great artist who we have lost.
By Chris Rizik
Thanks to SoulTracker George for letting us know