Sal Maida, Bassist With Roxy Music and Milk ’N’ Cookies, Dies at 76

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Sal Maida, the agile bassist born in New York, who performed with groups such as Roxy Music, Sparks, and Milk ‘N’ Cookies, has passed away at the age of 76.

Lisa Burns-Maida reported that her husband, Maida, passed away on Saturday in New York due to issues stemming from a fall he suffered in December.

Or:

Lisa Burns-Maida confirmed the death of her husband, Maida, who died in New York on Saturday as a result of problems linked to a fall he had in December.

Or:

In New York this past Saturday, Lisa Burns-Maida’s husband, Maida, passed away due to difficulties following a fall he experienced in December.

Each sentence aims to convey the same information but with slightly different wording and sentence structure for variety.

Throughout his career, towering figure Maida collaborated with Ronnie Spector, The Runaways, Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, Mary Weiss from the Shangri-Las, Annie Golden of The Shirts, and Velveteen.

Salvatore Maida, born on July 29, 1948, in New York City, grew up in Manhattan’s Little Italy area. From his window, he was exposed to a variety of musical sounds, ranging from Sinatra and the Stones, Motown, Ray Charles, The Beatles, and Dinah Washington, as he himself has described.

Or:

Born on July 29, 1948, in New York City, Salvatore Maida spent his childhood in Manhattan’s Little Italy neighborhood. He listened to a diverse range of music from below his window, including Sinatra, the Stones, Motown, Ray Charles, The Beatles, and Dinah Washington, as he later recalled.

Or:

In 1948, Salvatore Maida made his entrance into the world in New York City’s bustling atmosphere. Growing up in Manhattan’s Little Italy district, he was treated to a symphony of sounds from his window, with tunes by Sinatra, the Stones, Motown, Ray Charles, The Beatles, and Dinah Washington wafting up to him.

All three sentences convey the same information but are phrased differently for variety and readability.

Enamored by all things English, he journeyed to London following his graduation from Fordham University with an economics degree, where he found himself employed at a record shop. It was during this period that he crossed paths with the Roxy Music drummer, Paul Thompson.

In 1973, Maida joined an art rock band for their tour titled “Stranded”, and the following year, she became a part of Milk ‘N’ Cookies, a group that had just emerged from Long Island to secure a deal with Island Records under the supervision of Muff Winwood, the label head.

Despite having a brief career, the power-pop style of Milk ‘N’ Cookies significantly impacted the emerging punk movement. When their debut album was re-released in the mid-2000s, they briefly reunited and performed sporadic shows throughout the 2010s.

Maida, who admitted that he initially opted for a blue Rickenbacker bass during his early years as it was popularized by Chris Squire from the band Yes, also collaborated with Sparks on their 1976 album, titled “Big Beat.

Over the past few years, Maida, who’s known for her jovial nature, has been hosting a radio program called Spin Cycle, and she also penned down a memoir titled “Four Strings, False Evidence and 300 45s” in 2017. The final part of the book’s title refers to her extensive collection of 45 records, which is published by HoZac Books.

Recently, HoZac has unveiled a new version of their book, incorporating “Bottoms Up” – a piece by Maida detailing his favorite bassists from 1960 to 1970. Additionally, in collaboration with HoZac, Maida also contributed and jointly edited two sets for the “White Label Promo Preservation Society,” which are compilations of essays focusing on underrated classic albums.

The publisher shared on Facebook: ‘Sal’s life was so extraordinary it deserved to be a book, and we’re thrilled not just to have brought that to fruition multiple times, but also to have met him personally. He was like the older brother we never had, always cool.’

His son, Dylan, died in December 2019 of melanoma.

Beyond just his wife, there are also his son’s godparents, Anthony and Kathleen Lifrieri, who survive him, as well as numerous friends who held him in great affection.

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2025-02-04 02:55