TALK TALK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJR_KGZO4U0
Music Machine singer Sean Bonniwell of Porterville dies
THE PORTERVILLE RECORDER
Sean Bonniwell, lead singer of the 1960s Los Angeles garage-punk band Music Machine and a resident of Porterville, has died in a Visalia hospital at 71.
The band had the hit single “Talk Talk” in 1966.
A Tulare County coroner’s office spokesman said that Bonniwell died of lung cancer on Dec. 20.
Bonniwell lived in Porterville since the 1980s and was a regular attendee of services at the Living Well Church, said his pastor and friend, Keith Hansen.
Bonniwell worked as a radio DJ and for a while in the circulation department of the Porterville Recorder.
“He was just a very intelligent and informed man. He could speak on any subject,” said Hansen Thursday.
A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14 at the church at 1150 W. Pioneer in Porterville.
“He attended church every week,” said Hansen, who knew Bonniwell for the past 15 years.
“He had a strong conviction to walk with God, his savior,” he added.
He said he was not really social, but very nice to talk to and they became good friends. He said he did not know what brought the San Jose native to Porterville, but that he was very active in sports, playing softball up until last year.
Hansen said to his knowledge, Bonniwell had not performed in years, but he did go to Europe a couple of years ago on some tour connected to his old band. He said he stayed in touch with some of his old band members and other performers from his era.
Hansen said there is a chance an album that Bonniwell wrote many years ago and recorder will be released. The album is called “Close,” he said.
In recent years, Hansen said Bonniwell spent a lot of time trying to recoup copyrights and royalties, but he did not appear to be very successful as he lived a very modest life.
Bonniwell is survived by a former wife who lives in Los Angeles, but does not have other relatives that they know of, said Hansen.
Music Machine was considered one of the most original bands during the garage-punk era. “The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders” says Music Machine was one of the most-loved but least played garage bands of the 1960s.
The band started out as the Ragamuffins in 1965, but soon became known as Music Machine because of its energetic performing style. By 1967, the group began to break up. They released one album “(Turn On) The Music Machine” which featured “Talk Talk.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, Bonniwell eventually moved to Porterville and published an autobiography that reflected, he recalled in “Unknown Legends,” “my having been a teenager in the ’50s, a rock celebrity in the ’60s, a guru in the ’70s and a Christian from the ’80s on. My life has paralleled the decades of American change.”
According to Wikipedia, the original line-up of the band consisted of Ron Edgar (drums), Mark Landon (guitar), Keith Olsen (bass), and Doug Rhodes (organ).
Their debut album, (Turn On) The Music Machine, was released in 1966 on the Original Sound label. Seven of the 12 tracks were originals, written by Bonniwell, including “Talk Talk.”
A third Music Machine album was recorded but never released. In 2000, a Bonniwell Music Machine album called Ignition was released on Sundazed Records. This is a collection of songs from the unreleased 1969 album, as well as demo tracks from the band’s Raggamuffin days in 1965.
In 2000, Bonniwell wrote about his life and The Music Machine in the autobiography Beyond The Garage, published by the small press publisher Christian Vision. He also has a website: www.bonniwellmusicmachine.com/.
Thanks, Rick. Did you play any Music Machine (on air?) in memory of Sean, yesterday or today?
