This is FRESH AIR. We're going to remember Dan Hicks, who died of liver cancer Saturday. He was 74. He was a singer-songwriter and leader of the band Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks, which he formed in ...

(Surfdog, 2009): Hicks was the ultimate hipster when he launched his recording career back in the ’70s with a unique blend of acoustic swing and Gypsy jazz that was at once nostalgic and surreal.

Mortality keeps hitting second-generation giants of popular music hard; sadly, two more in recent days. Best known was Maurice White, Earth, Wind & Fire’s founder, leader, main songwriter and co-lead ...