Musician Lou Whitney dies in Springfield home

Lou Whitney, who lived a life filled with music, died Tuesday morning in his home.

Whitney over his life helped record over 1,000 different bands and always had a special place in his heart for young musicians trying to make it in a tough business, said stepson Stoney Cottingem.

Whitney, 71, had been battling cancer for over a year and died under hospice care.

Up until a few weeks ago, Cottingem said, hundreds of friends from the Ozarks and beyond stopped by the house to chat with their dying friend.

"It was a crazy outpouring of people who wanted to see him," said Cottingem, 38, who plays in the band Papa Green Shoes.

"People flew in," he said. "He touched so many lives. All through music. He produced and engineered for so many bands. He helped young musicians. They all loved him. He had the ability to make anyone feel able and worthy.

"There is a big hole in the recording room now," he said. "That chair is empty."

More importantly, Cottingem said, Whitney was kind to his mother, Kay, over the course of their marriage.

"Their relationship was the most generous, loving relationship I have ever seen," he said. "He never raised his voice to her in the 20-something years they were together."

Bobby Lloyd Hicks and Whitney played for decades together in the local band The Skeletons.

"He was just an amazing guy," Hicks said.

Whitney also played in The Morells, a rock band based in Springfield. The group released the album "Shake and Push" in 1982.

Both bands often played backup when other musicians came into Whitney's recording studio.

Whitney truly loved music, Hicks said. He opened the studio on South Avenue, just off the downtown square, about 25 years ago. It's where musicians of all kinds and all ages came to record and learn from a master.

"Lou's passion for music superseded his passion as a businessman," Hicks said. "If the kids had any trouble paying, he would say, 'Well, we will find a way to work it out.'"

According to Hicks, when Whitney heard young musicians talk about the latest goings-on of their favorite bands and musicians — including things like how they dressed and their chaotic personal lives — Whitney reminded them what mattered most: the music.

And when young musicians came in nervous, Hicks said, Whitney would put them at ease with humor.

If they flubbed something, Hicks said, Whitney would point to the array of buttons on the various pieces of equipment in the studio and say:

"That's OK. Don't worry about it. That's what these buttons are for."

Whitney was diagnosed with kidney cancer in February 2013, Hicks said. He continued to play with the Skeletons at the Outland, a club next door to the recording studio, until October 2013.

Whitney was in an experimental cancer treatment program through Washington University in St. Louis, Hicks said.

Although he stopped playing, Hicks said, Whitney would still go to the recording studio until about three weeks ago, when he broke his hip.

"The last time I saw him he just seemed real tired."