November Morbidity & Mortality Report

November's dead, & took even more notables from the past w/ it in its hasty exit. Robert Vaughn & Florence Henderson, to name but two.

A brush w/ greatness: I once assisted Ron Glass w/ some copying while I was wage-slaving at Kinkos, over 10 yrs. ago. Legitimately seemed nice. I told him I'd been to a taping of Barney Miller some 30 yrs. prior, just down the street at A.B.C.'s Vine St. Theatre, which amused him.

Doubtlessly less known to auslanders, Don Waller.

Obituary: Don Waller, the rock music journalist for the Los Angeles Times and numerous other outlets, former managing editor of Radio & Records, author of "The Motown Story," and the co-founder in 1975 of Back Door Man, a fanzine out of the South Bay "for hardcore rock ’n’ rollers only," died last week. He was 65.

"Waller carried with him seemingly infinite reserves of both knowledge and passion about music, particularly soul and R&B, garage and punk," writes Steve Hochman at BuzzBands. "A truly caring, truly passionate presence, advocating for us all to dig deeper into music, into relationship with music, into the way it binds us." Waller was the longtime partner of LA journalist Natalie Nichols. On her Facebook page, Richard Cromelin writes: "Editing Don’s reviews at the Los Angeles Times was probably the most challenging and entertaining part of my job there." He was "the hardest-hustling freelancer in the rock-writing bizness," writes John Payne at LA Weekly.

Condolences to Ms. Nichols, who is quoted in the Times obit.

Blue Öyster Connection: Said obit also reveals Waller sang for The Imperial Dogs.

One of the Imperial Dogs’ early songs, “This Ain’t the Summer of Love,” earned attention when the rock band Blue Öyster Cult recorded it on its hit 1976 album, “Agents of Fortune.”