While on tour in 1974 with his band Carmen, bassist John Glascock met charismatic Jethro Tull front man Ian Anderson. Carmen opened a few shows for Tull on their War Child tour and John Glascock was beside himself. He was a big fan of the band and meeting Anderson and his crew was like meeting royalty.

Fan favorite bassist Jeffrey Hammond left Jethro Tull just after the band toured in support of Minstrel in the Gallery. John was recruited to join Tull as Hammond’s replacement. It was a dream come true. He played on their 1976 concept album Too Old to Rock and Roll (Too Young to Die). He also provided harmony vocal, something that was missing on all previous Jethro Tull releases.

John contributed to Songs from the Wood, Heavy Horses and several tracks on Stormwatch. It was during the promotional tour for Heavy Horses that John’s health became an issue. A known defect in a heart valve was aggravated by John’s aggressive “party” lifestyle. He was a heavy drinker and a heavy user of marijuana. A doctor’s diagnosis was ignored, despite a warning that an unrelated infection in an abscessed tooth could be detrimental.

Three years to the day of his debut with Jethro Tull, John Glascock played his last show in May 1979. Later that year, he passed away from complications attributed to the infection. John was 28 years old. After Ian Anderson broke the sad news to his bandmates, John’s long-time friend, drummer Barriemore Barlow, announced his plans to leave the band.

Stormwatch proved to be the final Jethro Tull album to feature the so-called “classic” line-up. Anderson fired the entire roster, save for guitarist Martin Barre. The bass parts that were scheduled to be played by John Glascock were covered by Anderson himself.

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Mildred Rossi was born in El Paso, Texas, but moved with her family to San Francisco when her father was named the construction manager of San Simeon, the proposed mansion and homestead of publisher William Randolph Hearst. Camille Rossi, Mildred’s father, was working under Julia Morgan, the first female architect licensed in California. Morgan was an obvious and strong inspiration to young Mildred. Another strong female figure in Mildred’s life was Hearst’s wife Millicent. During the course of their working relationship, Julia Morgan and Camille Rossi butt heads, causing Morgan to have Rossi removed from the on-going project. The Rossi family moved to Glendale, California. Mildred, now a budding artist, took her talents to the Chouniard Art Institute in Los Angeles.

24-year old Mildred got a job at the Walt Disney Studios as a member of the all-female ink-and-paint department. Within a year, she was moved to the Animation department, becoming one of the first female animators. During her brief time with Disney, she animated the character of “Chernabog” in the 1940 classic Fantasia. She also worked on Dumbo before her departure in 1941.

Taking the name “Millicent” (an homage to Millicent Hearst), she began working as a promotional model, thanks to her striking good looks. A chance meeting with an agent led her to a job at Universal Studios. Here, she put her artistic talents to work. Under the tutelage of Bud Westmore, head of Universal’s Make-Up and Special Effects department, Millicent created make-up designs for the pirate swashbuckler Against All Flags, the drama Sign of the Pagan and the comedy Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as well as designing the iconic Metaluna mutant for the sci-fi classic This Island Earth. In 1953, Millicent created and designed the Gill Man featured in The Creature from the Black Lagoon. In the early 1950s, it was unheard-of for a woman to have such responsibility and recognition. So, Bud Westmore took full credit for the Creature design, citing Millicent’s contributions as merely “assistance.” After a promotional tour for the film, Millicent was released from her Universal contract at Westmore’s insistence. He was jealous of her talents. Millicent never worked in a “behind-the-scenes” capacity again, concentrating on small, on-screen roles instead. In the 70s, Forrest Ackerman, publisher of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine and a close friend of Millicent’s, printed a story rightfully crediting Millicent for sole creation of the Creature costume. Subsequent research and a 2019 book corroborated the story.

While working at Disney Studios, Millicent began a relationship with married Paul Fitzpatrick. When Paul’s wife took her own life, Millicent and Paul wed, only to split a few years later. Millicent, however, took the name “Patrick” as her surname. In 1950, she had a brief affair with voice actor Frank Graham, best known for his narration of Disney’s The Three Caballeros and the Bugs Bunny cartoon Baseball Bugs. After their break-up, Graham committed suicide. He was found in his garage, dead from carbon-monoxide poisoning. He was clutching a photo of Millicent. In 1963, after a series of cancellations and postponements, Millicent married her fourth husband, voice actor Lee Trent. The couple divorced after six years, but remained linked romantically for years.

In the late 1980s, Millicent was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, and later, she developed breast cancer. She passed away in hospice care in February 1998 at the age of 82.

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A prolific songwriter, Geoff Stephens wrote a slew of  hits for one-off groups in the early days of British rock. In 1964, singer Dave Berry recorded Geoff’s song “The Crying Game” to great success. Later the same year, Geoff co-produced the debut album for British psychedelic folksinger Donovan.

In 1966, Geoff assembled a group of studio musicians to form the New Vaudeville Band. They had an international hit with the throwback novelty tune “Winchester Cathedral.” The song won a Grammy at the following year’s awards ceremony and was covered by a range of performers including Frank Sinatra and Dizzy Gillespie. The song “There’s a Kind of Hush,” also appeared on the New Vaudeville Band’s debut album. It was later recorded by Herman’s Hermits and even later by The Carpenters.

In the late 60s and early 70s, Geoff was writing hits for recording artists like Cliff Richard, Tom Jones, Mary Hopkin, Scott Walker, The New Seekers, Hot Chocolate and many others. The 1970 United Kingdom entry in the Eurovision Song Contest was penned by Geoff. In the 80s, he was writing songs for musicals with a variety of collaborators. In 2005, he was involved with the production of a musical based on the lives of the notorious Bonnie & Clyde.

Geoff passed away on Christmas Eve 2020, another casualty of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. He was 86.

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