JOHN R. GLICK, 35, SONGWRITER, GUITARIST
By Emma Stickgold, Globe Correspondent | July 27, 2005

When John Richard Glick sat down to pen songs for his power-pop band, The Returnables, what flowed were ballads about women and love and political commentary. He played his catchy tunes mostly at venues in Chicago and around the Midwest.

By day, the Boston native worked at a company that manufactures microphones and other audio products. By night, he played guitar, sang, and wrote songs for a group described by one reviewer as ''possibly the most handsome band in America."

On July 14, Mr. Glick, 35, died when a 23-year-old woman, who police said was intent on ending her life, slammed into the car he was traveling in while it was stopped at a light in a Chicago suburb. Two other musicians with him in the car died in the crash, and the woman was charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

Mr. Glick graduated from Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge. He studied Latin and theater, writing and performing plays for children. He later earned a degree in film from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he met Rebecca Crawford, a fellow musician. About six years ago, the couple moved to Chicago in search of a bigger audience for their music. They were married last September.

Mr. Glick also read philosophy and ''had an encyclopedic knowledge for a vast range of topics," his family said in a statement.

''John was really the most accepting person that I've ever known, and it is just a wild experience to have him for a baby brother," his sister Emily Alston-Follansbee, of Concord, said yesterday.

In 2001, Mr. Glick landed a job at Shure Inc., eventually becoming a senior marketing specialist for the company.

Whether dealing with misguided romance or mocking the misuse of power, Mr. Glick's songs helped to earn the band a loyal following. The Returnables put out a handful of albums, including ''So When Can I See You Again," in 1999, and ''Unrequited Hits" in 2002.

''It was really fun, basic, good old rock 'n' roll, and everybody who went to their shows could feel how much energy, enthusiasm, and fun they were having," said his brother-in-law Mark Alston-Follansbee.

On July 14, Mr. Glick was on a lunch break with two of his colleagues, also well-known musicians in Chicago's music scene, Michael Dahlquist, 39, and Douglas Meis, 29, when Jeanette Sliwinski rammed their Honda Civic at full speed, police said.

In the days following the crash, fans from across the country tapped out reams of tributes to the musicians in Internet blogs. Many recalled an oft-quoted line Mr. Glick wrote in one song: ''It's not like it was when he was here."

''They were people who were so smart and brilliant and amazing," Crawford told the Chicago Tribune. ''Everyone feels cheated that they haven't been able to accomplish what they set out to do."

''He was a very, very gifted songwriter," a bandmate, Jonathan Ben-Isvy, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

''The three of them created an enormous amount of laughter and happiness in others' lives," his wife said. ''They had a certain exuberance about life that is really hard to come by."

In addition to his wife and his sister, Mr. Glick leaves his parents, Eugene and Susan of Cape Neddick, Maine; another sister, Katherine Antin Glick of Arlington; and a brother, Peter of Sudbury.

Services were held. Burial was in Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie, Ill

The Boston Globe • 7/27/05

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