October 16, 1947 – January 10, 2026

Fondly remembered this month...

Louisiana soul man ROBERT FINLEY overcame his hardscrabble origins, loss and blindness to finally find success in his later life. Amazingly, he believes he still has much to prove. “Most people retire at 65,” he tells Kevin EG Perry. “Hell, I came alive at 65.”

ALTHOUGH HE WAS 84 and had been ill for several years, the passing of soul-funk-R&B legend and general jack-of-all-trades Steve Cropper still stings — a lot. Perhaps it’s because Cropper, despite his

March 4, 1951 – December 22, 2025

October 21, 1946 – December 4, 2025