a Phil Brodie Band Info Page

"Births & Deaths"
These birthdates and death dates are unique to this site,
I have been working on them for over 6 years now.
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MAY: Charts ~ MAY: On This Day ~ MAY: Quiz
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MAY
SADLY DEPARTED
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RESPECT - OBITUARIES
2010 .. 2009 .. 2008 .. 2007 .. 2006 .. 2005 .. 2004 .. REQUESTS
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PASSED ~ RESPECT

May 1st
1965: Spike Jones/Lindley Armstrong Jones (53) American comedian, actor, bandleader, drummer; a popular musician and bandleader specializing in performing satirical arrangements of popular songs. Ballads and classical works receiving the Jones treatment would be punctuated with gunshots, whistles, cowbells and ridiculous vocals. Through the 1940s and early 1950s, the band recorded under the title Spike Jones and his City Slickers and toured the USA and Canada under the title The Musical Depreciation Revue. He and his band featured in many films including "Thank Your Lucky Stars", "Variety Girl" and "Fireman, Save My Child" They starred in TV variety shows such as The Colgate Comedy Hour and their Four Star Revue in 1952, before Spike was given his own slot by CBS, The Spike Jones Show, which aired from 1954 to 1961. His final group, Spike Jones's New Band, recorded 4 LPs of brassy renditions of songs of the 1960s, including "Washington Square" and "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" (emphysema) b. December 14th 1911.
1986: Hugo Peretti (69) US songwriter and record producer; he began his career as a teenager, playing the trumpet in the Borscht Belt in upstate New York. He graduated to playing with orchestras then in the 1950s partnered with his cousin Luigi Creatore to form the Hugo & Luigi songwriting team that evolved to producing records. In 1957, they bought into Roulette Records where they both wrote songs for various artists such as Valerie Carr and produced major hits for Jimmie Rodgers including "Honeycomb", "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine", "Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again" and "Secretly". In 1960 Hugo & Luigi signed a contract with RCA Records where they produced crooner Perry Como, Sam Cooke and Ray Peterson and wrote English lyrics for the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (with the original bulk of the song written by Solomon Linda), producing the hit for The Tokens. They wrote the Presley hit single Wild in the Country and with George David Weiss they co-wrote "Can't Help Falling in Love" for Elvis Presley. They left RCA in 1964 to join George David Weiss in writing a musical about the American Civil War. Titled Maggie Flynn, it ran on Broadway in 1968. In the 1970s, Hugo & Luigi owned part of Avco Records and then established H&L Records which they operated until retiring at the end of the decade. Among their successes were recordings by The Stylistics and The Softones. They also won the 1977 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album as producers for "Bubbling Brown Sugar." (?) b. December 6th 1916.
1990: Sergio Franchi (64) Italian tenor, born in Cremona, Italy, then the family moved to South Africa in 1952, where he worked part-time as a draftsman, while continuing to study music. He later returned to Italy to study with Rossi Masetti in Milan. He toured extensively in Europe, and in 1962 he undertook an American tour where he relocated to; in 1972, he became an American citizen. Sergio made his New York City Broadway mark playing the part of Renato De Rossi opposite Elizabeth Allen as Leona Samish, in the Rodgers/Sondheim musical Do I Hear a Waltz?. The title song has become popular in the repertoire. A foundation has been formed in his name to give out scholarships to talented singing students of limited means (sadly died of brain cancer) b. April 6th 1926
1992: Sharon Redd (46) US singer, disco diva; in 1968, she recorded four songs, "Half As Much", "Do You Want Me", "I've Got A Feeling" and "Since I Lost You", before getting a major break starring in an Australian production of Hair, which premiered in Sydney on June 6, 1969. She also appeared in her own television special and, in 1974, traveled to London performing in an American production of The Wedding Of Iphigenia. She released her first album in 1980, self-titled Sharon Redd, closely followed by two more "Redd Hott" in 1982 and "Love How You Feel" in 1983 which sealed her reputation as a true "disco diva". These recordings featured "You Got My Love", "Never Give You Up", "In the Name of Love", "Love How You Feel", "Beat The Street", and "Can You Handle It" (pneumonia complications) b. October 19th 1945.
2006: Johnny Paris/John Pocisk (65) American saxophone player; he led the instrumental band Johnny and the Hurricanes, known for their rocking renditions of traditional tunes having hits such as "Reveille Rock","Beatnik Fly" and "Red River Rock". The band began as The Orbits in Toledo, in 1957. Signing to Twirl Records and a name change, Johnny and the Hurricanes recorded their debut disc "Crossfire" in a vacant cinema to provide echo, it became a U.S. No.23 hit in the U.S. chart in the summer of 1959. The band developed a following in Europe. In 1962, they played at the Star-Club in Hamburg, where a little known British group, The Beatles, served as an opening act. Johnny and the Hurricanes cut records until 1965. After the recording haydays Johnny formed a record label, Atila Records, and his music publishing company, Sirius 1 Music, which still operate today, and also also bred bull mastiffs under the Lion Heart kennel with his 2nd wife for more than a decade. He continued with the occational tour with the Hurricanes in Europe and United States until his death (sepsis, pneumonia and pancytopenia treated splenectomy) b. August 29th 1940.
2006: Big Hawk/John Edward Hawkins (36) US rapper and a founding member of the late DJ Screw's rap group the Screwed Up Click. He was also the older brother of Fat Pat, who was killed in 1998. In 1994 Big Hawk, Fat Pat, DJ Screw and some of their friends, KK and Koldjack, collaborated to form the group D.E.A. and Dead End Records. In late 1995 D.E.A. released an original independent album entitled, “Screwed For Life” featuring Lil' Keke, Big Pokey and the rest of the S.U.C. In 1999, after the deaths of Hawk’s brother (Fat Pat) and DJ Screw and the incarceration of many others SUC members, Big Hawk participated in a Southside Playaz compilation album titled “You Got Us Fuxxed Up,” with Mike D, Claydoe and other members of the S.U.C. He released his solo album, "Under Hawk's Wings" on Dead End Records in 2000 and had recorded with Lil' Flip, Lil' Keke, Big Moe, Z-Ro, he was also was featured on the Lil' Troy hit "Wanna Be A Baller" and featured on the popular single "Swang" by Trae that included a tribute to Fat Pat in 2005 (gunned down) b. November 15th 1969.
2008: Jim Hager (66) American country musician, one half of The Hager Twins, also known as the Hager Brothers, with his identical twin Jon, they were a duo of American country music singers and comedians who first gained fame on the TV series Hee Haw. The twins first sang in the church choir. then as s teenagers, they sang on a Saturday morning WGN-TV series. Both brothers served in the United States Army and performed at Officers' Clubs and NCO Clubs in the United States and Europe. After leaving the military, the Hager brothers moved to California and performed at the Ledbetter's Night Club in Los Angeles with The Carpenters, The New Christy Minstrels, John Denver, Steve Martin and Kenny Rogers. They also worked at Disneyland, which is where Buck Owens saw them perform and signed them to contracts. In addition to Owens, the brothers served as opening acts for Tex Ritter, Wynn Stewart, Billie Jo Spears and Lefty Frizzell. (died in his sleep) b. August 30th 1941.
2010: Rob McConnell (75) Canadian jazz valve trombonist, composer, arranger, music educator, and recording artist, born in London, Ontario. He took up the valve trombone in high school, and began his performing career in the early 1950s, performing and studying with Don Thompson, Bobby Gimby, and later, with fellow Canadian Maynard Ferguson. In 1968 he formed The Boss Brass, a big band that would become his primary performing and recording unit through the 1970s and 1980s and Rob & The Boss Brass became one of Canada's most popular jazz ensembles, performing live and recording for Concord Jazz and a variety of other labels. In 1997, McConnell was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and in 1998 was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Since that time he has remained active, touring internationally both as a performer and educator, running clinics around the world and performing as both a leader and a guest artist (cancer) b. February 14th 1935

May 2nd
1985: Larry Clinton (75) US big band composer, bandleader, trumpeter; known for his practise of rearranging the works of famous composers like Debussy and Tchaikovsky and adding lyrics was known as "swinging the classics." His version of Debussy’s "Reverie", with vocalist Bea Wain, was particularly popular, which peaked at #1 on Billboard's Record Buying Guide in 1938. His first stint as a bandleader was from 1937 to 1941, and he recorded a string of hits for Victor Recordsincluding "I Double Dare You", "Summer Souvenirs", and "A Study in Brown". In 1941 Larry and his band appeared in six short musical films, designed for then-popular "movie jukeboxes". He quit the music business upon the outbreak of World War II, and became as a flight instructor. He resumed his musical career and enjoyed further success as a bandleader from 1948 to 1950. He remained active in the music business until 1961. (He died in Tucson, Arizona) b. August 17th 1909.
1989: Bennie Benjamin (81) American songwriter; hugely successful songwriter often in partenership with the great composer George David Weiss. At the age of twenty, Bennie moved to New York City, where he studied the banjo and guitar with Hy Smith, after which he performed in vaudeville and with various orchestras, until in 1941, when he started composing songs. In 1968, he became a music publisher, starting his own company. His many songs include "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Anyone (Could Fall In Love With You)", "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire", "Can Anyone Explain? (No! No! No!)", "I Don't See Me In Your Eyes Anymore", "Confess", "Cross Over the Bridge", "Echoes", "How Important Can It Be?", "How Can I?", "Strictly Instrumental", "I Am Blessed", "Of This I'm Sure", "Our Love (Will See Us Through)", "Don't Take All Night", "Lonely Man". Bennie was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984. (??) b. November 4th 1907.
1998: hide/Hideto Matsumoto (33) Japanese guitarist; lead guitarist of the popular heavy metal band X Japan from 1987 to 1997. He was also a successful solo artist and co-founder of the United States based band Zilch. In 1980 entered Zushi Kaisei Senior High School in Zushi, Kanagawa, where he joined the school's brass band, he soon quit the band though, because he was assigned the clarinet, while he wanted to play the trumpet. He then concentrated on playing guitar and in 1981, formed the band Saver Tiger. The following year they started playing shows at live houses in Yokosuka, such as Rock City. He joined X Japan, then called X, in 1987 as the band's lead guitarist and occasional songwriter, composing songs like "Celebration", "Joker" and the single "Scars". In 1993 went solo, releasing 3 albums Hide Your Face in 1994, Psyence in 1996, and Ja, Zoo in 1998) also starred in an art film titled Seth et Holth, along with Tusk of Zi:Kill. In 1994, hide oversaw the production of the first release on his own label Lemoned (After a night out drinking, he was found hanged with a towel tied to a doorknob in his Tokyo apartment. Three fans died in copycat suicides, of the 50,000 people who attended his funeral, nearly 60 were hospitalized and about 200 received medical treatment) b. December 13th 1964.
2009: Kiyoshiro Imawano (58) Japanese rock musician, lyricist, musical producer, composer and actor from Tokyo, dubbed "Japan's King of Rock". While in high school, he formed a band named the Clovers. This band changed its name to RC Succession in 1968, an influencial rock band which debuted on the music scene in 1970. In 1982, he collaborated with Ryuichi Sakamoto and released the single "Ikenai Rouge Magic" which became a top hit on the Oricon chart. After the break up of RC Succession , Kiyoshiro continued as a solo singer. In 1992, he released the album Memphis which was recorded with Booker T. & the M.G.'s. in Memphis, where he received an honorary citizenship from the Mayor of Memphis.Over his career he recorded on 27 albums and was known for pioneering adoption of linguistic characteristics of the Japanese language into his songs (cancer) b. April 2nd 1951.

May 3rd
1935: Cecil Irwin (32) US tenor saxophonist, clarinet, big band arranger; mostly known for his membership in several of the great Earl Hines bands of the '20s and '30s. At this time he also played sideman with Johnny Dodds, Jabbo Smith, King Oliver, and Joe Venuti. Earlier in his career he had played with Carroll Dickerson, Erskine Tate, and Junie Cobb (A traffic accident that occurred outside of Des Moines, IA, while he was on tour) b. December 7th 1902.
1972: Les Harvey (27) Scottish guitarist, born in Glasgow, Scotland. In the 1960s he was asked to join The Animals by Alan Price, but chose to stay with his brother Alex in the Alex Harvey Soul Band. He later joined Blues Council, recording one record, 'Baby Don't Look Down'. Then in March 1965 their tour van crashed killing vocalist Fraser Calder and bassist James Giffen, the rest of the band went their separate ways. Les joined Scottish band Cartoone to record some tracks for their 2nd album, and accompanied Cartoone on their live tour of USA supporting Led Zeppelin. Les and Cartoone were given a standing ovation in Chicago when they supported the US band Spirit in 1969. In late 1969, Les joined Stone The Crows , the rock/blues band formed in Glasgow, which had previously been known as 'Power'. He stayed with Stone The Crows until his tragic untimely death (electrocuted by a live microphone on stage at Swansea's Top Rank Suite) b. September 13th 1945.
1997: Narciso Yepes (69) Spanish classical guitarist; at 13, he was accepted to study at the Conservatorio de Valencia with the pianist and composer Vicente Asencio. Here he followed courses in harmony, composition, and performance. In 1950, after performing in Paris, he spent a year studying interpretation under the violinist George Enescu, and the pianist Walter Gieseking. He also studied informally with Nadia Boulanger. This was followed by a long period in Italy where he worked with artists of every kind. Over is career he was granted many honours including the Gold Medal for Distinction in Arts, conferred by King Juan Carlos I; membership in the Academy of “Alfonso X el Sabio”; an Honorary Doctorate from the Uni of Murcia, and the National Music Prize of Spain (He died in Murcia) b. November 14th 1927.
2001: Billy Higgins (64) American drummer; beginning in 1958 he started to play on Ornette Coleman's first records, before freelancing extensively with hard bop and other post-bop players, including Bo Diddley, Donald Byrd, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Milt Jackson, Jackie McLean, Pat Metheny, Hank Mobley, Thelonious Monk, Lee Morgan, David Murray, Art Pepper, Sonny Rollins, Mal Waldron, and Cedar Walton. He played on over 700 recordings, including recordings of rock and funk. In 1989, Billy co-founded a cultural center, in Los Angeles... The World Stage, to encourage and promote younger jazz musicians. (liver disease and liver failure brought on by hepatitis) b. October 10th 1936.
2005: Pierre Moerlen (52) French drummer and percussionist, best known for his work with Gong and Mike Oldfield. In January 1973, Pierre joined Daevid Allen's band, Gong, debuting on the Angel's Egg album. In June 1973 he was asked by Virgin's boss Richard Branson to play percussion with Mike Oldfield for the premiere of Tubular Bells. Between 1975 and 1987, beginning with Ommadawn, Pierre would be Mike Oldfield's percussionist of choice for his albums and his tours. From 1978 Gong went under the name of Pierre Moerlen's Gong releasing 'Downwind' in 1979, 'Time Is The Key' in 1979 followed by "Live" and "Leave It Open" both in 1980. Following Mike Oldfield's 10th Anniversary tour in 1983, Pierre joined the Swedish progressive/symphonic band "Tribute". PMG reformed for two albums and tours in the late 1980s. After spending several years as orchestra pit musician for various musicals, he returned to active service in 1997 when he joined the British jazz-rock outfit Brand X for international touring in 1997. Later that year, he was asked to rejoin Gong, and toured with the band until 1999. He then concentrated on putting together a new PMG line-up and repertoire, which resulted in the live album Pentanine, recorded in Moscow in 2002 (died unexpectedly of natural causes) b. October 23 1952.

May 4th
1937: Noel Rosa (26) Brazilian composer, songwriter, guitarist and banjo player. One of the greatest names in Brazilian popular music, giving a new twist to samba, combining its Afro-Brazilian roots with a more urban, witty language and making it a vehicle for ironic social commentary. He wrote around 250 successful compositions (tuberculosis).
1979: Leo Addeo (64) US sax, clarinet, orchestrator for Hugo Winterhalter. He was one of RCA's key house arrangers for most of the 1950s and 1960s (?)
1987: Paul Butterfield (44) American blues harmonica player, singer, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band/solo; one of the earliest Caucasian exponents of the Chicago-originated electric blues style.(drug and alcohol overdose).
1990: Emily Remler (32) American jazz guitarist; born in New York City, Emily began to play the guitar at the age of ten. She veared from rock to jazz while studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and began to listen to legendary jazz greats such as Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Emily rose to prominence in the 1980s. She recorded seven albums of hard bop, jazz standards and fusion guitar, releasing her debut album Firefly in 1981. This was followed by Take Two, Transitions, Catwalk, Together - with Larry Coryell, East to Wes and her final album, This is Me in 1990. As well as her solo caree, Emily played in blues groups, on Broadway and with artists as diverse as Larry Coryell to the singer Rosemary Clooney. She played for the Los Angeles version of the show 'Sophisticated Ladies' from 1981 to 1982 and produced two popular guitar instruction videos. She also worked as guitarist for Astrud Gilberto. In 1985 she won the ‘Guitarist Of The Year’ award in DownBeat Jazz Magazine’s international poll. (died of heart failure at the home of musician Ed Gaston at Connells Point, while on tour in Australia) b. September 18th 1957.

May 5th
1959: Hal McIntyre (44) saxophone, clarinet; Glenn Miller/own band; American bandleader and a founding member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra (he died in a house fire at his home in Los Angeles)
1972: Reverend Gary Davis (76) American blues and gospel guitarist & singer, his unique finger-picking style influenced many other artists such as the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Wizz Jones, Jorma Kaukonen, Keb Mo, Ollabelle and Resurrection Band. Born in the south, he played around the Carolinas in his earlier days, but in the 1940s, he relocated to New York City. By the 1960s, he had become known as the "Harlem Street Singer" and had acquired a reputation as the person to see if you wanted to learn to play guitar, his students in New York City included Stefan Grossman, David Bromberg, Roy Book Binder, Woody Mann, Nick Katzman, Dave Van Ronk, Tom Winslow, and Ernie Hawkins.. The folk revival of the 1960s re-invigorated his career, culminating in a performance at the Newport Folk Festival and the recording by Peter, Paul and Mary of "Samson and Delilah", also known as "If I Had My Way", originally a Blind Willie Johnson recording that Gary had popularized (heart attack) b. April 30th 1896.
1977: Sam Lanin (85) US bandleader; recorded under names Lanin's Arcadians, Lanin's Jazz Band, Lanin's Famous Players, Lanin's Southern Serenaders, Lanin's Red Heads, Sam Lanin's Dance Ensemble, Lanin's Arkansaw Travelers. Also a session leader for an enormous number of jazz recording sessions of the 1920s. Among the ensembles he directed and recorded with were Ladd's Black Aces, The Broadway Bell-Hops, The Westerners, The Pillsbury Orchestra and Bailey's Lucky Seven. He had a rotating cast of noted musicians playing with him, including Phil Napoleon, Miff Mole, Jules Levy Jr. and Red Nichols, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Manny Klein, Jimmy McPartland, Bix Beiderbecke, Eddie Lang, Bunny Berigan, Nick Lucas and Frankie Trumbauer (sadly died and forgotten by many) b. September 4th 1891.
1982: Cal Tjader (56) vibraphonist and percussionist with the Dave Brubeck Trio/own mambo bands (he was born on tour, he also died on tour. On the road with his band in Manila, he collapsed from a heart attack)
1986: Billy Mackel (73) American jazz guitarist, he started out playing banjo early in his career in his home town of Baltimore, but switched to guitar in the 1930s. He led his own band early in the 1940s, then joined Lionel Hampton in 1944. Billy worked with Hampton, with occasional intermissions, for over thirty years, touring and recording with him copiously. In the 1940s he also recorded with Milt Buckner, Arnett Cobb, Herbie Fields, and others, and worked with Billy Williams in the 1960s (?) b. December 28th 1912.
1992: Jean-Claude Pascal (64) French singer; He won the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg singing "Nous Les Amoureux" We the lovers ()
2004: Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (72) Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, '60s and beyond. He held regular Sunday evening auditions in search of new talent, and it was here that he first found Bob Marley, singing as a part of The Wailin' Wailers (heart attack).
2004: Ritsuko Okazaki (44) Japanese singer-songwriter; she became involved in earnest with anime and composed several songs for Wedding Peach, Fruits Basket and Love Hina. She formed the duo Melocure in 2002 with singer-songwriter Megumi Hinata (died suddenly from septic shock as a result of septicemia).
2006: Naushad Ali (86) Indian music director; regarded as a pioneer of Indian music, one of the foremost music directors and composers for Bollywood films. Naushad worked with several lyricists, including Shakeel Badayuni, Majrooh Sultanpuri, D. N. Madhok, Zia Sarhadi, and Khumar Barabankvi. Mother India in 1957, for which he had composed music, was the first Indian film that got nominated for Oscar. In 1981, Naushad was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. In 1988 he worked in a Malayalam Film Dhwani starring Ever Green Hero Prem Nazir. In 1995 he gave music for Shahrukh Khan starrer, Guddu of which a few songs became popular. In 2004, when a colorized version of the classic Mughal-e-Azam was released, Naushad was a guest of honor at the premiere. He composed the tunes of Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story in 2005 at the age of 86, thus becoming the world's oldest composer (old age) b. December 25th 1919.
2008: Thomas Boggs (63) American drummer; he played in local Memphis bands including Tommy Burk and the Counts and with Flash and the Board of Directors, who opened for Paul Revere and the Raiders. In 1968 he joined the Box Tops, playing on thier hit "Sweet Cream Ladies". After The Box Tops he went into the catering business and went on to found the Huey's Restaurant Chain around Memphis, USA. (cancer related) b. July 16th 1944.
2008: Jerry Wallace (79) American country music singer, his better-known songs include "Primrose Lane", "Shutters And Boards", "In The Misty Moonlight", "Otoko no Sekai" and "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry" (heart failure). b. December 15th 1928.
2010: Lucho Barrios/Luis Barrios Rojas (76) Peruvian bolero singer born in Callao (sadly died due to a pulmonary embolism) b. April 22nd 1935.
2010: Giulietta Simionato (99) Italian mezzo-soprano singer, born in Forli She studied in Rovigo and Padua, and made her operatic debut at Montagnana in 1928 and by the end of her career was recognised as one of the most respected singers of her generation. In 1936, she made her debut at La Scala and appeared there regularly between 1936 and 1966. She made her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1953, where she likewise appeared regularly between 1963 and 1965. In 1959, Giulietta made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, as Azucena in Il Trovatore. She also appeared at the Edinburgh Festival, the San Francisco Opera, the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, the Lyric Opera of Chicago from 1954–1961, the Vienna State Opera, and the Salzburg Festival. In 1957, she sang in Anna Bolena with Maria Callas. Giulietta was a major recording artist and retired in 1966 (died in Rome a week before her 100th birthday) b. May 12th 1910.

May 6th
1983: Kai Chresten Winding (60) Danish born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is well known for a successful collaboration with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. Born in Aarhus, Denmark, he immigrated to the US in 1934, graduating in 1940 from Stuyvesant High School in New York. His career as a professional trombonist began in 1940 with Shorty Allen's band, then played with Sonny Dunham and Alvino Rey. After the war, he joined Benny Goodman's band, and later moved on to Stan Kenton's orchestra. During the 60s, Kai had a long stint at Verve Records, his best known recording from this period is "More", the theme from the movie Mondo Cane. In the 70s and early 80s, Kai recorded for a number of independent record labels, and he continued to give clinics, play jazz concerts and even reunited with Johnson for a live concert in Japan (Tragically died from a brain tumor) b. May 18th 1922
1992: Marlene Dietrich (90) German-born American cabaret singer, chorus girl and film and stage actress, born in Schöneberg, a district of Berlin, Germany. In 1920s Berlin, she acted on the stage and in silent films. Her performance as Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel, directed by Josef von Sternberg, brought her international fame and a contract with Paramount Pictures in the US. Her many Hollywood films included Morocco, Dishonored, Shanghai Express, Blonde Venus, The Scarlet Empress, and The Devil is a Woman. Marlene became a US citizen in 1939; during World War II, she was a high-profile frontline entertainer. Although she still made occasional films in the post-war years, she spent most of the 1950s to the 1970s touring the world as a successful show performer. Marlene appeared at the Edinburgh Festival, with Bacharach as conductor, in 1964 and 1965 and made appearances on Broadway twice in 1967 and 1968, winning a special Tony Award for her performance. In 1999 the American Film Institute named Marlene the ninth greatest female star of all time (died peacefully of natural causes in Paris, France) b. December 27th 1901.
2002: Otis Blackwell (69) American songwriter, singer, and pianist whose work significantly influenced rock 'n' roll. His compositions include Little Willie John's "Fever", Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless", Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender" (with Winfield Scott), and Jimmy Jones' "Handy Man".[Not be confused with songwriter and producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell].(heart attack)
2004: Barney Kessel (80) American jazz guitarist; A "first call" guitarist at Columbia Pictures, during the 1960s Kessel became one of the most in-demand session guitarists in America, and is considered a key member of the group of first-call session musicians now usually known as The Wrecking Crew (brain tumor).
2006: Grant McLennan (48) Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist, born in Rockhampton, Queensland, then moved to Cairns as a young child. In 1976 Grant began a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Queensland. Then in 1977/78 along with singer-songwriter Robert Forster he co-founded the alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, releasing their first official album 'Send Me A Lullaby' in 1982, after which they relocated to the UK. Their second LP 'Before Hollywood' in 1983 established them as cult favourites in the UK. Grant's composition "Cattle And Cane" was a hit on the British independent charts and also named by the A.P.R.A as one of the 10 greatest Australian songs of all time. After recording six albums, The Go-Betweens disbanded in December 1989. Next, Grant collaborated on two albums with the band Jack Frost, recorded four solo albums, and collaborated with Powderfinger's Ian Haug in Far Out Corporation. In 2000 Grant and Robert reformed The Go-Betweens, and recorded three more albums. Their last studio album, Oceans Apart, won the band their first ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. Their That Striped Sunlight Sound DVD was nominated for Best Music DVD at the 2006 awards (died suddenly of a heart attack) b. February 12th 1958
2007: Ðorde Novkovic (63) Croatian songwriter; he wrote the song "Don't Ever Cry" for Put, the first Croatian representative in the Eurovision Song Contestand also co-owned and managed the Croatia Records label (stroke).
2008: Franz Jackson (95) American saxophonist and clarinetist of the Chicago jazz school. Notable as one of the last surviving jazz artists to have recorded pre-1940, he was still active well into his 90s in various jazz clubs of Chicago. In 1996, he received the Jazz Master Award from Arts Midwest.() b. Nov 1st 1912.
2009: Randall "Poodie" Locke (56) American stage manager; he had worked as a roadie for singer-songwriter B.W. Stevenson before becoming Nelson's stage manager around the time Willie released his 1975 album, Red Headed Stranger. He appeared in Nelson's 1980 film, Honeysuckle Rose. He opened Poodie's Hilltop Bar and Grill in Spicewood, Texas, in 2002, the bar became a favorite stop for musicians. (heart attack) b. ????
2009: Viola Wills/Viola Mae Wilkerson (69) American pop singer; she was discovered by Barry White in 1965, who signed her to Bronco Records and changed her name to Viola Wills. She started her career at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and, over the following years, in addition to working with Barry White, also performed with Joe Cocker, Smokey Robinson and many other established recording artists of the era. It was while working in London as one of Cocker's backing vocalists, dubbed the "Sanctified Sisters" that she worked on and released her solo debut album of self-penned originals titled Soft Centers, backed by Cocker's session players. Her hits include including "Gonna Get Along Without You Now", "Dare To Dream", "Both Sides Now", "No News Is News", "A House Is Not a Home", "If You Could Read My Mind", "Love Pains", "Let's Love Now", "Take One Step Forward" (by Wills and Noel McCalla), and "Always Something There to Remind Me" (cancer) b. December 30th 1939.
2009: Ean Evans (48) American bassist; he started out at the age of 5 playing the trumpet, before changing to guitar in his early teens and playing with local bands. Influenced by the likes of John Paul Jones, Leon Wilkeson and Geddy Lee he changed to bass, like his bass heroes he enjoyed the aggressive approach to playing. In the 1980s he played bass for a rock band called "...Five Miles High!", before forming his first original band "Cupid's Arrow", which was popular in the Atlanta area. After composing and recording over 50 songs, Ean became a full time studio musician. He went on to play with The Outlaws, recording and world wide touring. He then formed his band "Noon" in which he was guitarist, bass player as well as primary songwriter and vocalist. In August of 2001 he joined Lynyrd Skynyrd replacing bassist Leon Wilkeson who had sadly passed away (cancer) b. September 16th 1960.

May 7th
1995: Ray McKinley (84) American jazz drummer, singer and bandleader; Dorsey Brothers, Will Bradley, Glenn Miller, and became leader of the revived Glenn Miller band. He got his start working with local bands in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, before joining Smith Ballew in 1929, when he met Glenn Miller. The two formed a friendship which lasted from 1929 until Miller's death in 1944. They both joined the Dorsey Brothers in 1934. Ray remained with Jimmy until 1939, when he joined Will Bradley, becoming co-leader. His biggest hit with Bradley, as a singer, was "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar," which he recorded early in the year 1940. He joined Glenn Miller's Army Air Force band, which he co-led with arranger Jerry Gray after Miller's disappearance in December 1944. He formed his own band, then n 1956, capitalizing on the popularity of the Glenn Miller Story movie Ray was chosen to be the leader of the revived Glenn Miller band, which he led until 1966. He co-hosted a 13-week CBS-TV summer series with the band on CBS-TV in 1961. Surviving kinescopes of the program, which was broadcast live, show another side of McKinley's talent: On that "Glenn Miller Time" series .. he was a more than adept song and dance man as well. (?) b. June 18th 1910.
1998: Eddie Rabbitt (56) US singer and songwriter; he grow up in New Jersey, but moved to Nashville to start his career as a songwriter in the late 1960s, springboarding to a recording career after penning such hits as "Kentucky Rain" for Elvis Presley in 1970 and "Pure Love" for Ronnie Milsap in 1974. Later in the 1970s, he helped to develop the crossover-influenced sound of country music prevalent in the 1980s with such hits as "Suspicions" and "Every Which Way but Loose." His duets "Friends and Lovers" and "You and I", with Juice Newton and Crystal Gayle respectively, later served as the themes for the soap operas Days of Our Lives and All My Children. In the 1970s and 80s he penned 20 No.1 country hits including "Drivin' My Life Away" and "I Love a Rainy Night," which also topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks (lung cancer) b. November 27th 1941.
2004: Rudi Maugeri (73) Canadian baritone singer and founding member of The Crew-Cuts, who named themselves after the then popular crew cut haircut, one of the first connections made between pop music and hairstyle. They all had been members of the St. Michael's Choir School in Toronto. They were most famous for their recording of a cover version of The Chords, hit record, "Sh-Boom" in 1954. Rudi also worked as a disc jockey, radio show host and station programmer in both New York and L.A. (pancreatic cancer) b. January 21st 1931.
2010: David Fisher (70) American folk singer and guitarist; while still at high school in New Haven, Connecticut, Dave sang with a doo-wop group called the Academics, he released three singles while with them. A year later while at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, Dave started the Highwaymen, originally calling themselves the Clansmen, with Bob Burnett, Steve Trott, Chan Daniels and Steve Butts. They had a Billboard No.1 hit in 1961 with "Michael" which sold over one million copies, and were awarded a gold disc. It was followed by another top 20 hit in 1962 "Cottonfields". They continued for another three years recording two albums and performed countless concerts and television shows. Dave spent the next thirty years in LA where he composed, arranged, edited and supervised music for TV and film for most of the major studios and wrote over a thousand songs, before again performing with a reformed Highwayman as lead tenor, lead guitarist and musical director (?) b. ????
2010: Francisco Aguabella (84) Cuban-American jazz percussionist, born in Matanzas, he
first left Cuba in the 1950s to perform with Katherine Dunham in the Shelley Winters film "Mambo" filmed in Italy. After touring with Katherine Dunham he relocated to America and performed and toured with Peggy Lee for the next seven years. He performed in Europe, Australia, South America, and all over the United States, including the White House. Francisco enjoyed an extensive music performing and recording career with many great jazz artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Frank Sinatra, Eddie Palmieri, Cachao, Lalo Schifrin, Cal Tjader, Nancy Wilson, Poncho Sanchez, Bebo Valdes and numerous others. He also taught Afro-Cuban drumming to undergraduate and graduate students at the University of California, Los Angeles. (lost his life to a cancer-related illness) b. August 28th 1925.

May 8th
1967: LaVerne Sophia Andrews (55) American contralto singer and eldest of The Andrews Sisters, who became the best-selling female vocal group in the history of popular music setting records that remain unsurpassed to this day. Born in Minnesota, LaVerne played piano accompaniment for the silent film showings in exchange for free dancing lessons for herself and her sisters, Maxine and Patricia. They started their career as imitators of an earlier successful singing group, the Boswell Sisters. After singing with various dance bands and touring in vaudeville with the likes of Ted Mack, Leon Belasco, and comic bandleader Larry Rich, they first came to national attention with their recordings and radio broadcasts in 1937, most notably via their major record hit, Bei Mir Bist Du Schön/To Me, You Are Beautiful. Once the sisters found fame and settled in California. During World War II, they entertained the Allied forces extensively in America, Africa and Italy, visiting Army, Navy, Marine and Coast Guard bases, war zones, hospitals, and munitions factories (cancer) b. July 6th 1911.
1974: Graham Bond (36) British keyboard player, one of the great catalytic figures of 60s rock in UK, and has a claim to the title "Father of the British Blues". He gained attention as a jazz saxophonist as a member of the Don Rendell Quintet. After which, he was a member of Blues Incorporated, a group led by Alexis Korner, before forming his Graham Bond Quartet. With a lineup of himself on vocals and organ, Ginger Baker on drums, Jack Bruce on double bass, and, briefly, John McLaughlin on guitar, who was replaced by Dick Heckstall-Smith on sax and the name changed to the Graham Bond Organization. Graham was the main song writer, and also produced their two studio albums, The Sound of '65 and There's a Bond Between Us. The GBO is notable in popular music history for jump-starting the careers of two future Cream members, bassist/singer Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. One song Bruce and Baker originally recorded with Bond, "Train Time," later wound up in the repertoire of Cream. Graham also formed Magus with UK folk-singer Carolanne Pegg, but due to financial problems, the group disbanded around Christmas 1973 without recording. During that same period, he discovered American singer-songwriter-guitarist Mick Lee, and took him under his wing. They played together live, but never recorded. The new band also had plans to include Chris Wood of Traffic, but never materialized due to Bond's untimely death (suicide?? maybe?? He died under the wheels of train at Finsbury Park station, London) b. October 28th 1937.
1982: Neil Bogart (39) US record executive. He was a singer in the 1960s before running Cameo-Parkway Records, after which he became an executive at Buddah Records. He is credited with being a key player in the rise of bubblegum pop music during his time working at Cameo-Parkway and Buddah. He founded Casablanca Records in the 70's (cancer).
1985: Carl Marx (87) German composer and conductor; he composed orchestral works, concerti, chamber music, piano music, works for organ, cantatas, numerous choral works and lieder set to words by German poets. He studied musical composition with Orff, Siegmund von Hausegger and Anton Beer-Waldbrunn among others. In 1928 he became choir director of the Munich Bach Society, and in 1929 was appointed professor of compositional technique at the Akademie der Tonkunst, Munich. From 1939 to 1945 he taught music theory at the Johann Joseph Fux Conservatory in Graz, composed music for Nazi ceremonies and contributed to songbooks for the Hitler Youth. From 1946 until given emeritus status he was professor of composition at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart (He died in Stuttgart) b. November 12th 1897.
1988: Joseph Hilton 'Nappy' Lamare (82) American jazz banjoist, electric bassist, guitarist, and vocalist, born in New Orleans. He started his musical career in New Orleans working with performers such as Monk Hazel, Johnny Wiggs and Sharkey Bonano, to name a few. He perhaps best-known for his work from 1930-1935 with the Ben Pollack band, and from 1935-1943 with the Bob Crosby band (?) b. June 14th 1905.
1995: Teresa Teng (42) Chinese pop singer from Taiwan, her voice and songs are instantly recognized throughout east Asia. Her songs also enjoy huge popularity among Korean, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Indonesian listeners. To date she currently holds the record of being the highest selling Asian artist of all time with sales of over 100 million, slightly higher than that of Michiya Mihashi. Teresa was known for her folk songs and romantic ballads, such as "When Will You Return?" and "The Moon Represents My Heart". She recorded songs not only in her native Mandarin but also in English, Taiwanese, Cantonese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Indonesian (Tragically died from a severe respiratory attack while on holiday in Thailand. Teresa a lifelong sufferer from asthma) b. January 29th 1953.
1996: Celedonio Romero (83) Cuban guitarist, composer and poet, born in Cienfuegos, Cuba. He studied classical guitar at the Conservatory of Málaga and at the Madrid Royal Conservatory and made his concert debut at the age of 22. In 1957 he relocated to Southern California, where with his three sons Angel, Celin and Pepe started a guitar quartet, the Romeros. Celedonio made a large number of recordings, both solo and with the Romeros, and he also wrote over 100 compositions for guitar, including a dozen concertos. He was inducted into the Orden de Isabel la Católica by King Juan Carlos I. He was also made a "Caballero del Santo Sepulcro" / "Knight of the Holy Sepulchre" by Pope John Paul II. (Celedonio died in San Diego, California) b. March 2nd 1913.
2000: Dédé Fortin/André Fortin (37) Canadian singer and guitarist, born on a farm near the village of St-Thomas-Didyme, in the Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, he studied cinema at the Université de Montréal. In 1990 he formed and fronted the band Les Colocs The band marked the history of Quebec music with their sound, infused with brass sounds, first very wild and festive, later more mellow, as well as more inspired by swing, country,blues and african music. Their debut self titled album was released in 1993, which was followed by
1995's 'Atrocetomique' and 'Dehors novembre' in 1998 which won the Félix Award for the Rock Album of the Year. Albums 'Les Années 1992-1995', 'Suite 2116' and 'Live 1993-1998' were released after his death. A movie about his life, "Dédé à travers les brumes" was released on March 13th 2009. (Dédé committed Hara-kiri, a Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment, in his apartment in the Plateau neighborhood of Montreal) b. November 17th 1962.
2008: Eddy Arnold (89) US country music star; with 145 songs on the country charts including 28 number one hits, he ranks among one of the most popular country singers in U.S. history (died in Franklin, Tennessee, just one week short of his 90th birthday).

May 9th
1919: James Reese Europe (38) American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. Born in Mobile, Alabama, into a musical family, at about ten, his family moved to Washington, D.C., where he studied violin with Enrico Hurlei, the assistant director of the Marine Corps Band. At 22, he moved to New York and began playing piano in a cabaret and in 1905, he joined Joe Jordan to write for The Memphis Students. In 1907, he was the musical director of Cole and Johnson's Shoo-Fly Regiment. James was the leading figure on the African American music scene of New York City in the 1910s. George Gershwin remembered sitting on the curb outside Baron Wilkin's nightclub in Harlem for hours when he was seven years old, listening to James Europe play. In 1910, he founded one of the most unusual African-American organizations of the time The Clef Club playing many of the most elite functions in New York, London, Paris, and on yachts traveling worldwide. During World War I James obtained a Commission in the New York Army National Guard, where he saw combat as a lieutenant with the 369th Infantry Regiment (the "Harlem Hellfighters"). He went on to direct the regimental band to great acclaim entertaining the troops. During this time, his group performed in a series of concerts with some of the greatest marching bands of France, Britain, and Italy. James and his band returned triumphantly to New York on February 12, 1919, and soon began a tour of American cities. The final concert on the tour was at Mechanic's Hall in Boston (During the intermission of his concert at Boston’s Mechanics Hall, James was fatally stabbed in the neck by his drummer Herbert Wright, severing his jugular vein with a pen knife. James was granted the first ever public funeral for an African American in New York) b. February 22nd 1881
1989: Keith Whitley (34) US country music singer; his career in mainstream country music was brief, but he continues to influence an entire generation of singers and songwriters. His biggest hits include "Don't Close Your Eyes" and "Miami, My Amy" (alcohol poisoning).
2001: James E. Myers (81) American songwriter, actor, producer, and raconteur; maybe best known as the credited co-writer of "Rock Around the Clock" for which he used the pseudonym "Jimmy DeKnight". After his work with Billy Haley, he began providing songs to The Jodimars, a group made up of former Comets. In later years, James turned to acting, appearing in small roles in a number of films such as The China Syndrome; he also directed at least two films under his Jimmy DeKnight nom de plume. He also wrote an autobiography based upon his experiences in World War II entitled Hell in a Foxhole, and opened a museum in his home dedicated to "Rock Around the Clock" (leukemia) b. October 26th 1919.
2005: Nasrat Parsa (36) Afghani singer; one of the few Afghan singers who had a formal training in classical music. It was these lessons that would prepare him for performing the ghazal that he later became known for in Europe (murdered while on tour in Canada).
2009: Stephen Bruton (60) American songwriter and guitarist; born in Wilmington, Delaware and moved to Texas at the age of two. After graduating from Texas Christian University he mixed with the Fort Worth music scene and was soon playing in Kris Kristofferson's band just as Kris's career was about to take off. Stephen and Kris's collaboration and friendship lasted more than 40 years. Throughout his long career Stephen has also worked with such artists and musicians as NRBQ, T Bone Burnett, Bonnie Raitt, Sonny Landreth, Rita Coolidge, Christine McVie, Elvis Costello, Delbert McClinton and Carly Simon and produced albums for Alejandro Escovedo, Marcia Ball, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Hal Ketchum, Storyville and Chris Smither (throat cancer) b. November 7th 1948
2009: Travis Edmonson (76) American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist who performed both as a soloist and in the group Bud and Travis. At the age of 5, he briefly played the role of Curley on the TV show Our Gang. He began his singing career at age seven as a member of the St. Andrew's Episcopal Church choir, where he sang with his three older brothers. In the early 1950s, he served in the US Army, before beginning his musical career in San Francisco. After singing solo, he joined a quartet, the Gateway Singers with Louis Gottlieb. In 1958, he formed Bud and Travis along with Bud Dashiell, they recorded eight albums in seven years and appeared at many top nightclubs and on television, including a guest appearance on the show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. He was considered a folk music "pioneer" and influencing groups such as the Kingston Trio and was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Tucson Area Music Awards in 1995 for his musical accomplishments (heart failure) b. September 23rd 1932.
2009: Eugene Smith (88) American gospel singer known for his distinct baritone/tenor voice; he met Roberta Martin at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church when he joined the junior chorus led by Martin. That same year, 1933, he became one of the original Roberta Martin Singers. Some of their most popular releases included "Old Ship of Zion", "He Knows How Much You Can Bear", "Yield Not To Temptation", "Only a Look" and "The Lord Will Make a Way". In the early 1940s, Eugene composed the gospel blues song "I Know the Lord Will Make a Way, Oh Yes He Will", which is still popular among congregations today, and in 1949, he also became the business manager and booking agent for the Roberta Martin Singers. After he group disbanded, in 1969 when Roberta Martin died, Eugene still sang in and around the Chicago area, and participated in various programs honoring The Roberta Martin Singers and other singers and musicians from the "Golden Era" of gospel until his death (died in his sleep at his apartment in Chicago, Illinois) b. April 22nd 1921.
2010: Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (92) American jazz singer and actress born in Brooklyn, New York, Lena joined the mike chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and in 1934 she landed a small role in an all-black Broadway show Dance with Your Gods. In 1935 she became the featured singer with the Noble Sissle Society Orchestra, which performed at many first-rate hotel ballrooms and nightclubs. She left Sissle in 1936 to perform as a solo singer in a variety of New York City clubs before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the films Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather. Due to the Red Scare and her left-leaning political views, she found herself blacklisted and unable to get work in Hollywood. Returning to her roots as a nightclub performer, she headlined clubs and hotels throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. From the late 1950s through the 1960s, Lena was a staple of TV variety shows, appearing multiple times on Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, The Ed Sullivan Show... READ MORE (sadly passed away in the New York–Presbyterian Hospital in New York City) b. June 30th 1917.

May 10th
1979: Carl Martin (73) American multi-musician including conga, percussion, guitar; he enjoyed a career that spanned over five decades under several different monikers, including The Four Keys, the Tennessee Chocolate Drops, the Wandering Troubadours and his own Carl Martin Trio (?) b. April 1st 1906.
1989: Woody Herman Shaw II (44) US jazz trumpet; he grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and began his study of music at the age of 11, later attending Newark Arts High School. Early in his career he was influenced by Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, Fats Navarro, Booker Little, Dizzy Gillespie and Freddie Hubbard. He worked during the 1960s with greats such as Horace Silver, Max Roach, and Art Blakey. During this period he also recorded for Blue Note Records as a sideman with Andrew Hill, Jackie McLean, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, and others. Beginning in the mid-1970s he worked primarily as a leader. In in 1978 was signed to Columbia Records and recorded the albums Rosewood, Stepping Stones, Woody III, For Sure, and United. Rosewood was nominated for 2 Grammies and was voted Best Jazz Album of 1978 in the Down Beat Reader's Poll, which also voted Woody Best Jazz Trumpeter of the Year and No.4 Jazz Musician of the Year. Woody is often credited with developing an improvisational approach based on larger intervals, like fourths and fifths, instead of the smaller intervals which are more easily playable on the trumpet (kidney failure). b. December 24th 1944
1992: Sylvia Syms/Sylvia Blagman (74) American jazz singer; born in Brooklyn, New York, aahe received informal training from Billie Holiday and in 1941 she made her debut at a club called Billy's Stable. In 1948, performing at the Cinderella Club in Greenwich Village, she was seen by Mae West, who gave her a part in a show she was doing. She was signed to Decca Records, her major success was "I Could Have Danced All Night" in 1956. Frank Sinatra produced her 1982 album Syms By Sinatra. In the late 80s and early 90s, Sylvia still performed occasionally at intimate venues such as Eighty Eight’s, Michael’s Pub, and Freddy’s in New York, where sensitive audiences thrilled to her tasteful selections, which included such delights as ‘Skylark’, ‘You Are Not My First Love’, ‘I Want To Be Yours’, ‘Fun To Be Fooled’, ‘I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out To Dry’, ‘It Amazes Me’, and ‘Pink Taffeta’. (died on stage of a heart attack). b. December 2nd 1917
1999: Shel Silverstein (57) American poet, Grammy Award winning songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books.He composed original music for several films, and displayed a musical versatility in these projects, playing guitar, piano, saxophone, and trombone. (heart attack). b. Sept 25th 1930
2005: David Wayne (47) American singer for the thrash metal band Metal Church, before he formed the band Reverend, with who he remained active with until his death.(complications following a car crash). b. Jan 1st 1958
2006: Soraya/Soraya Raquel Lamilla Cuevas (38) Columbian-American singer/songwriter, guitarist, arranger and record producer. A successful Latin music star, she had two number-one songs on Billboard's Latin Pop Airplay charts. She won a 2004 Latin Grammy Award for the self titled album "Soraya" as "Best Album by Songwriter", which she produced, and a 2005 Latin Grammy Awards nomination for "Female Pop Vocal Album" for her album El Otro Lado de Mí (literally "The other side of me"). She was the opening act for the 2005 Billboard Latin Music Awards. Her career spanned ten years, and she recorded five albums (sadly lost her six year brave battle with breast cancer). b. March 11th 1969
2006: John Josephus Hicks Jr (64) US international jazz pianist, composer who had been on the international jazz scene for over 40 years. John studied music at Lincoln University in Missouri and Berklee School of Music in Boston before moving to New York in 1963. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and occasionally in the 1970s worked with Betty Carter and was in one of Woody Herman's groups. From the early 1980s until his death he performed solo and led his own groups including The Keystone Trio. He also played and recorded with jazz artists such as David Murray, Joe Lovano, David "Fathead" Newman, George Mraz, Arthur Blythe, Kenny Barron among many others. John recorded the seventh instalment of the "Live at Maybeck Recital Hall" series of solo concerts, which were recorded for Concord Records.(died of undisclosed causes). b. December 21st 1941
2008: Jessie Jacobs (17) Australian actress, singer; born in Melbourne, Australia, Jessie began acting as a child, known for her roles in children's TV series in Australia including The Saddle Club, Fergus McPhail, and Holly's Heroes. She was in stage productions alongside Lisa McCune and Bert Newton in The Sound of Music. In the months before her death, she had taken a break from acting to focus on music and was planning to attend the Victorian College of the Arts to study bass guitar and establish herself as a musician. She also played the bass in a rock band called The Volten Sins. She is featured on the The Saddle Club soundtrack and on "Friends Forever" and "Princess Veronica Tour EP" with Janelle Corlass-Brown. In 2003 she and Corlass-Brown released a CD single for their song "Trouble" under their characters names Ashley and Melanie (while walking along the platform at Cheltenham station, she tripped and fell onto the tracks and into the path of an oncoming train. Jessie died instantly from her injuries when the train hit her) b. November 15th 1990.
2009: Clive Scott (64) British keyboardist and songwriter; he started out with Scott and The Antarctics before fronting the pop/rock group, Jigsaw with Des Dyer. He played keyboard as well as composing and/or co-writing most of the group's recordings. Their merits include the million-selling 1975 hit single "Sky High", reaching top placing on both sides of the Atlantic as well as in Japan. After 13 albums Jigsaw split in the 1981, and Clive worked as a songwriter and record producer for other musicians, together with Ian Levine, including Who Do You Think You Are? which was a hit for Opportunity Knocks winners Candlewick Green in 1974, another song influenced by American soul music. His work has been recorded by Nicki French, Bad Boys Inc, Boyzone, Jon Otis among many others. Most recently, Clive and Ian had written and produced the albums Northern Soul 2007 and Disco 2008, both recorded in Clive's 'Racetrack' Studios in Ascot, Berkshire (He had fallen from a ladder and had brain surgery, died from of a stroke two weeks later) b. 1945

May 11th
1970: Johnny Hodges (62) American alto and soprano saxophonist and lead player of Duke Ellington's saxophone section. He spent 38 years with Ellington, leaving to lead his own band from 1951 to 1955, returning to the fold shortly before Ellington's triumphant return to prominence via the orchestra's performance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. His playing became the identifying voice of the Ellington orchestra. He also played with Lloyd Scott, Sidney Bechet, Lucky Roberts Chick Webb, many others (heart attack). b. July 25th 1907
1975: "Little" Benny Harris (56) US trumpeter, composer; fixture on 52nd Street in the 40s & 50's taking part in many early bop sessions and playing with Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, John Kirby, Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and many others, composer of "Ornithology," "Crazelogy," "Reets and I", and "Wahoo" (?).b. April 23th 1919
1979: Lester Raymond Flatt (64) American bluegrass musician and guitarist, born in Duncan's Chapel, Tennessee, best known for his membership in the Bluegrass duo The Foggy Mountain Boys, also known as Flatt and Scruggs, along with banjo player Earl Scruggs. Lester's career spanned multiple decades; besides his work with Scruggs, he released multiple solo and collaboration works. He also served as a member of Bill Monroe's band during the 1940s. Flatt and Scruggs were ranked No.24 on CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003. They performed "The Ballad of Jed Clampett", which was used as the theme for the television show The Beverly Hillbillies. He was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985 with Scruggs and Lester was also posthumously made an inaugural inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991 (?) b. June 19th 1914.
1981: Bob Marley (36) Jamacain singer, songwriter, guitarist; Reggae's most transcendent and iconic figure, he was the first Jamaican artist to achieve international superstardom, in the process introducing the music of his native island nation to the far-flung corners of the globe. His music gave voice to the day-to-day struggles of the Jamaican experience, vividly capturing not only the plight of the country's impoverished and oppressed but also the devout spirituality, their source of strength. Bob's best known hits include "I Shot the Sheriff", "No Woman, No Cry", "Could You Be Loved", "Stir It Up", "Jamming", "Redemption Song", "One Love" and, together with The Wailers, "Three Little Birds", as well as the posthumous releases "Buffalo Soldier" and "Iron Lion Zion". The compilation album, Legend in 1984, released three years after his death, is reggae's best-selling album, being 10 times Platinum in the U.S. and selling 20 million copies worldwide. (lung cancer, brain tumour). b. February 6th 1945.
2001: Henry Manners Katzman (89) American pianist, composer, painter and one of the founders of Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), which was established as an alternative to ASCAP, the leading music publisher of the day. BMI's creation allowed for the expansion of American music, and helped pave the way for the eventual rise of rock, soul, and country music. In March 1940, BMI issued their very first contract for "We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together", with music composed by himself and lyrics by Robert Sour. He composed over 65 other popular works, including "Delilah", "Starlight Sonata", famously covered by a young Frank Sinatra, "Keep An Eye On Your Heart", and "Mabel Mabel". He also composed soundtrack music, including "Thumper Song" and "Twitterpated" for the original Bambi animated film. As a pianist, he played with George Gershwin and accompanied Irene Bordony, Fred Allen, and Jan Peerce. He also volunteered with the Veterans Bedside Network, and was a long-time member of the Radio Pioneers (?) b. March 2nd 1912
2003: Noel Redding (57) British bass player born in Folkestone, England; at nine, he played violin at school and then mandolin and guitar. His first public appearances were at the Hythe Youth Club then at Harvey Grammar School where he was a student. His first local band was The Strangers with John "Andy" Andrews. He played in several other local bands, mainly as lead guitarist, before turning professional at 17, and touring in Scotland and Germany, in the clubs with Neil Landon and the Burnettes formed in late 1962 and The Loving Kind formed in November 1965. He was selected by Chas Chandler as the bassist for Jimi Hendrix's band at its inception in 1966, and he left in 1969. He was featured on three seminal albums with Hendrix, 'Are You Experienced?', 'Axis: Bold as Love' and 'Electric Ladyland' Although he appeared in other bands after Hendrix's death, he never achieved a similar level of success. While living in Los Angeles, Noel joined a heavy metal three-piece, Road, before relocating to Clonakilty, Ireland in 1972, where he formed The Noel Redding Band with Eric Bell from Thin Lizzy. Noel recorded and toured sporadically through the years, occasionally doing session work on other artists' albums including recording for Thin Lizzy and Traffic. He performed with the rock band Phish in 1993. He also formed Shut Up Frank with Dave Clarke, Mick Avory of The Kinks and Dave Rowberry of The Animals. They toured extensively and recorded several albums, which are still available on Mouse Records (died at hid home from Shock haemorrhage due to oesophageal varices in reaction to cirrhosis of the liver). b. December 25th 1945
2004: John Whitehead (55) US singer,songwriter, record producer one half of the duo McFadden & Whitehead (murdered by two unknown gunmen while fixing his car on the street outside his Philadelphia home with a friend). b. July 10th 1949
2008: John Rutsey (55) Canadian drummer and co-founding member of Rush; he played drums in Rush from1968 until July 1974. It was during this time that he played on the "Not Fade Away"/"You Can't Fight It" single and the band's eponymous debut LP. He left the band, due to health concerns related to diabetes, which posed problems with extended tours. (died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack) b. 1953
2008: Dottie Rambo/Joyce Reba Luttrell (74) American southern gospel singer, songwriter, and musician, born in Madisonville, Kentucky, she was both a Grammy and Dove award winning artist. Her music is renowned internationally for its simple melodies and articulate, evocative lyrical qualities, often dealing with themes such as heaven, Christian sacrifice, and the born-again Christian experience. Dottie reportedly wrote 2,500 songs. However ASCAP has registered 205 titles in its online database to date and BMI shows an additional 87 songs. Her hits included "We Shall Behold Him", "Holy Spirit Thou Art Welcome (In This Place)", "I Go To The Rock", “Sheltered In The Arms Of God”, “I Will Glory In The Cross”, “He Looked Beyond My Fault”, “Tears Will Never Stain The Streets Of That City”, “For What Earthly Reason”, “If That Isn’t Love”, and many, many more. (tragically died as a result of injuries sustained in a bus accident along Interstate 44 just outside of Mount Vernon, Missouri). b. March 2nd 1934

May 12th
1969: Martin Lamble (19) UK drummer with Fairport Convention; He joined the band after viewing the band's first gig and convincing them that he could do a better job than their current drummer Shaun Frater. He played on the band's first three albums - the self titled 'Fairport Convention', 'What We Did on Our Holidays' and 'Unhalfbricking' (died in a van crash on the M1 motorway while returning from a gig in Birmingham) b. August 28th 1949.
1976: Rudolf Kempe (65) German conductor, born in Dresden, from the age of 14 he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra at Dortmund and then in the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, from 1929. Rudolf directed the Dresden Opera and the Dresden Staatskapelle from 1949 to 1952, making his first records, including Der Rosenkavalier, Die Meistersinger and Der Freischütz. Later from 1965 to 1972 he worked with Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, and from 1967 to his death conducted the Munich Philharmonic, with whom he made international tours and recorded the first quadraphonic set of the Beethoven symphonies. In the final months of his life, Kempe was the chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra () b. June 14th 1910.
1991: Konstantin Sokolsky/Konstantin Kudryavtsev (86) Russian singer, songwriter and composer born in Saint-Petersburg, but for most of his life lived in Riga, Latvia where the family moved to after the revolutionary turmoil of 1917 began in Saint-Petersburg. He started singing in 1928 and became friends with popular composer Oscar Strok, author of tango music, and Konstantin became the first to sing all his new songs. In the same time, he himself wrote lyrics and music for several songs. In the 1930 and 40s, first with the Riga Bonzo theatre and later individually, he went on tours of Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, where he became very popular among different audiences. In Russia, his songs also became popular, he recorded with Bonophon and Bellaccord labels (?) b. December 7th 1904.
1995: Mia Martini/ Domenica Bertè (47) Italian singer and song-writer; She represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 1977 with "Libera" , and in 1992 with "Rapsodia" She recorded her first records as Mimì Bertè, but she soon decided to change her name to Mia Martini. She recorded 17 solo albums, her biggest hit singles were "Piccolo Uomo", which was recorded in several languages, "Almeno tu nell'universo", which has been covered by several Italian singers including Mina and Elisa, and "Minuetto". (found dead under mysterious circumstances in her apartment at Cardano al Campo, near Milan) b. Sept 20th 1947.
2001: Pierino Ronaldo "Perry" Como (88) US singer and TV presenter; sold millions of records for RCA and also pioneered a weekly musical variety television show, which set the standards for the genre and proved to be one of the most successful in television history. His combined success on television and popular recordings was not matched by any other artist of the time. Born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, he had shown early musical talent in his teens as a trombone player in the town's brass band and as organist in the local church. In 1933 he joined Freddy Carlone's band in Ohio, and 3 years later moved up to Ted Weems' Orchestra and his first recording dates. Their first recording was a novelty tune called "You Can't Pull the Wool Over My Eyes". In 1942 Perry went to work for the NBC radio program Chesterfield Supper Club, after which he became a very successful performer in theatre and nightclub engagements. In 1945, he recorded the pop ballad "Till the End of Time" (based on Chopin's "Heroic Polonaise"), which reached No. 1 in the US and marked the beginning of a highly successful career. It was followed by 13 more U.S. Pop Charts No.1 singles: "Prisoner of Love"; "Surrender"; "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba"; "A - You're Adorable"; "Some Enchanted Evening"; "Hoop-De-Doo"; "If"; "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes"; "No Other Love"; "Wanted"; "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)"; "Round And Round"; and "Catch A Falling Star". He was the first artist to have ten records sell more than one million copies and won the 1958 Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance - male, for "Catch a Falling Star." His final Top 40 hit was a cover of Don McLean's "And I Love You So", in 1973. He recorded many albums of songs for the RCA Victor label between 1952 and 1987, and is credited with numerous gold records. Como had so many recordings achieve gold-record status that he refused to have many of them certified.received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 and was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2007 (died quietly in his sleep) b. May 18th 1912
2004: John LaPorta (84) American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist born in Philadelphia, he began studying clarinet at the age of nine and studied methods at the Mastbaum School in Philadelphia. In the early 1940s he joined the Bob Chester Band, then later joined Woody Herman's First Herd as second alto. Following this, John settled in New York and began to study with Lennie Tristano. He taught at the Parkway Music School, then at public schools on Long Island, followed by Manhattan School of Music, and, ultimately, at Berklee College of Music in Boston (complications of a stroke) b. April 13th 1920.
2009: Antonio Vega Tallés (51) Spanish pop singer-songwriter; born in Madrid he formed the band Nacha Pop in 1978, releasing their self titled debut album in 1980. They went on to release eight albums before the band broke up in 1988 and Antonio began a solo career. He released his first of six solo albums "No me iré mañana" in 1991. In 2001, the Nacha Pop song "Lucha de Gigantes" was used in the film Amores Perros (pneumonia) b. December 16th 1957
2009: Dame Heather Begg (76) New Zealand operatic soprano; she won the 1955 Sydney Sun Aria contest and went to London in 1957 to attend the UK's National School of Opera on a musical scholarship, studying with Sister Mary Leo. She became a professional singer and went on to be the principal resident mezzo-soprano at Covent Garden, where she stayed for 10 years, singing with, among others Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras and Plácido Domingo, as well as with fellow New Zealander, Kiri Te Kanawa (leukemia) b. December 1st 1932.
2010: Joëlle van Noppen (30) Dutch singer, member of the Dutch girl group WOW!, and solo cabaret singer (tragically died in a plane crash in Tripoli) b. January 20th 1980

May 13th
1945: Tubby Hall (49) US jazz drummer originally from New Orleans played with King Oliver, Jimmie Noone, Tiny Parham, Johnny Dodds. For some years he played with Louis Armstrong, and is seen in Armstrong's movies of the 1930s. (died in Chicago) b. Oct 12th 1895
1975: James 'Bob' Wills (70) American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by many music authorities one of the fathers of Western swing and called by his fans the "King of Western Swing" (heart problems). b. March 6th 1905
1981: Joan Weber (45) US singer, best known for her 1955 US No.1 hit "Let Me Go, Lover!" (died of heart failure at a mental institution in Ancora, New Jersey). b. Dec 12th 1935
1988: Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr (58) American jazz trumpeter, flugelhorn player and singer, born in Yale, Oklahoma, and was an specialized in relaxed, even melancholy music, who rose to prominence as a leading name in cool jazz in the 1950s. He left school at age 16 in 1946 to join the United States Army. He was posted to Berlin where he joined the 298th Army band. Leaving the army in 1948, he studied theory and harmony at El Camino College in Los Angeles. His earliest notable professional gigs were with saxophonist Vido Musso's band; also with tenor saxophonist Stan Getz; and in 1952 he was chosen by Charlie Parker to play with him for a series of West Coast engagements. Chet Baker his own quartets in thr mid 50s and won the Downbeat Jazz Poll in 1954. Chet's many compositions included "Chetty's Lullaby", "Early Morning Mood", "Two a Day", "So Che Ti Perdero", "Il Mio Domani", "Motivo Su Raggio Di Luna", "The Route", "Freeway", "Blue Gilles", "Dessert", and "Anticipated Blues". In 1983, UK singer Elvis Costello, a longtime fan of Baker, hired the trumpeter to play a solo on his song "Shipbuilding", from the album Punch the Clock. The song was a top 40 hit in the UK, and exposed Baker's music to a new audience. Later, Chet would often feature Costello's song "Almost Blue", inspired by Chet's version of "The Thrill Is Gone" in his live sets, and recorded it on Let's Get Lost. (Friday 3am: Chet's found dead on a street below his second-story room at the Prins Hendrik Hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with serious wounds to his head. Cocaine and Heroin were found in his hotel room, an autopsy also found these drugs in his body. There was no evidence of a struggle, the death was ruled an accident). b. December 23rd 1929
1999: Motohiko Hino (53) Japanese international jazz drummer; Motohiko began his musical career when he was 8 years old, tap-dancing in his father's shows at United States military bases. That was when he first heard jazz and fell in love with it. One of the first jazz albums he appeared on was with the Allan Praskin Quartet in 1971, "Encounter", followed by the album "Masahiko Meets Gary" with the trio Samadhi. As well as playing with many international big jazz names, he also appeared on many recordings, tours and concerts with his brother, international trumpeter Terumasa Hino. (?) b. January 3rd 1946.
2006: Johnnie Wilder Jr. (56) US singer & co-founder of the international R&B/funk group, Heatwave (died in his sleep at his home in Clayton, Ohio, cause unknown). b. July 3rd 1949
2010: Rosa Rio (107) American organist; she began as a silent film accompanist and became a leading organist on network radio and continued to perform until age 107. She was one of the oldest performers in the music industry, along with Swiss-born tenor Hugues Cuenod who was 107 and 106-year-old Johannes Heesters. She was nine when she first played the piano at a silent movie theatre. As a theatre organist, she performed at theatres in Syracuse, Loew's theatres in New York, Saenger's Southeastern theatre chain, Scranton Paramount, Brooklyn Fox Theatre, RKO Albee and the Brooklyn Paramount. On radio, she provided the background organ music for numerous programs, including Bob and Ray, Ethel and Albert, Front Page Farrell, Lorenzo Jones, My True Story, The Shadow, and When a Girl Marries. In TV, she played such shows as As the World Turns and The Today Show. Rosa moved to Connecticut, where she opened a school of music, teaching organ, piano, and voice. In the 80s, she provided scores and Hammond accompaniment for more than 370 silent films released on video by Video Yesteryear. In 1993, she moved to Florida where for the rest of her life she provided accompaniment for silent films at the Tampa Theatre!! (?) b. June 2nd 1902.

May 14th
1959: Sidney Bechet (62) American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, beating cornetist/trumpeter Louis Armstrong to the recording studios by several months, and later playing duets with Armstrong. He was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist of any sort. (died in Paris on his birthday) b. May 14th 1897
1967: George Treadwell (47) American jazz trumpeter; born in New Rochelle, New York, George played in the house band at Monroe's in Harlem in 1941-42, and went on to work with Benny Carter, Ace Harris, Tiny Bradshaw, Cootie Williams, and J.C. Heard as a member of Heard's ensemble, he also accompanied Etta Jones and Sarah Vaughan. He recorded with Dicky Wells and Ethel Waters; he managed The Drifters and Ruth Brown, did A&R work in the 1950s as well as working as a songwriter (?). b. December 21st 1919
1976: Keith Relf (33) English vocalist and musician Richmond, Surrey, known as the lead singer and harmonica player of The Yardbirds. They drew their repertoire from the Chicago blues of Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Sonny Boy Williamson II and Elmore James, including "Smokestack Lightning", "Good Morning Little School Girl", "Boom Boom", "I Wish You Would", "Rollin' and Tumblin'", and "I'm a Man". After the Yardbirds broke up in 1968, Keith formed the acoustic duo, Together, with fellow Yardbird Jim McCarty; followed by Renaissance which featured his sister, Jane Relf; then a hard rock group Armageddon. Relf also produced tracks for bands such as the acoustic, world music, group Amber, Saturnalia and Medicine Head, with whom he played bass guitar. He was posthumously inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 with the Yardbirds (Keith was fatally electrocuted when playing his guitar while rehearsing new material for the formation of his new band Illusion). b. March 22th 1943
1998: Frank Sinatra (82) US singer / actor; arguably the most important popular music figure of the 20th century, his only real rivals for the title being Bing Crosby & Elvis Presley (heart attack in Los Angeles, California, following a long battle with coronary heart disease, kidney disease, bladder cancer, and dementia). b. Dec 12th 1915
2006: Lew Anderson (84) US sax player, actor, bandleader; joined the Carlos Molinas Latin Orchestra, where he also wrote the American dance arrangements. Late 1940's, he joined The Honey Dreamers, a singing group that appeared on radio and early television shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, before forming his own 16 piece band (prostate cancer). b. May 7, 1922

May 15th
1956: Adrian Rollini (52) US saxophonist with many bands and his own; the greatest bass saxophonist of all time, one of the first jazz vibraphonists, and a talented multi-instrumentalist who could make music on such novelty instruments as the "hot fountain pen" (a miniature clarinet with a saxophone mouthpiece) and a "goofus." (There are many rumours about his death; the actual location of his death was the James Archer Smith Hospital in Homestead, Florida. He died after an 18 day stay in the hospital following a severe trauma to his ankle suffered in the early morning hours, apparently from a car related accident in the car park of The Green Turtle Inn at Islamorada Key). b. June 28th 1903
1976: Paul Gonsalves (53) US tenor sax with Sabby Lewis, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie and 24 years with The Duke; he caused a near riot at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, with a stunningly outstanding, mammoth 27 or 28 chorus solo, in the middle of Duke Ellington's performance when combining "Diminuendo" and "Crescendo in Blue". (Died of a drug overdose while in London, UK. Ellington died 9 days later and the bodies of The Duke, Paul Gonsalves and Tyree Glenn, lay side by side in the same New York funeral home). b. July 12th 1920
1992: Barbara Lee (44) US singer; founding member of The Chiffons, a Motown all girl vocal group. The group was originally a trio comprising Barbara, Judy Craig, and Patricia Bennett. They formed at James Monroe High School in The Bronx in 1960. At the suggestion of songwriter Ronnie Mack, Sylvia Peterson was added to the group in 1962. They hit the No.1 spot in the US with their first single "He's So Fine". This was followed by numerous hits including "One Fine Day", "Sweet Talkin' Guy", "I Have A Boyfriend" "A Love So Fine" and "My Sweet Lord". Judy Craig left the Chiffons in 1968, but Barbara, Patrica and Sylvia continued as a trio. Barabara performed and toured until her untimely death (She died from a heart attack just one day short of her 45th birthday). b. May 16th 1947
1993: Marv Earl Johnson (54) American R&B and soul singer most notable for performing on the first record to ever come from Motown. (died of a stroke)
1999: Rob Gretton (46) English manager of the bands 'Joy Division' and 'New Order', partner in Factory Records, proprietor of the Rob's Records label and a co-founder along with Tony Wilson of The Haçienda nightclub in Manchester, England. Rob was portrayed by Paddy Considine in the 2002 film "24 Hour Party People", which documented the rise and fall of Factory Records (heart attack). b. Jan 15th 1953
2000: Geoff Goddard (62) UK songwriter, keyboard player; he wrote songs for Heinz, Mike Berry, Kenny Hollywood, The Outlaws, Freddie Starr, Screaming Lord Sutch,Gunilla Thorne, The Ramblers, & many others and played keyboards on various of his productions, most notably on The Tornados' worldwilde hit Telstar (?). b. Nov 19th 1937
2003: June Carter Cash (73) Grammy award winning country singer, played the guitar, banjo, and autoharp. Second and long term wife of Johnny Cash (complications following heart valve replacement surgery). b. June 23rd 1929
2004: Clint Warwick/Albert Clinton Eccles (63) British bass player; after he played with Danny King & The Dukes, he helped form the early UK rock band The Moody Blues, and was the original bassist in 1964. The Moody Blues released one album with Clint on bass, "Go Now - The Moody Blues" which reached No.1 in the UK charts. The album yielded the hit song, "Go Now", which also reached No.1 in the UK and the Top Ten in the U.S. Clint left the band and his music career in 1966 to become a carpenter and spend time with his family. He was replaced briefly by Rod Clark and then by John Lodge, who is still with the band (He died of liver problems related to years of alcoholism). b. June 25th 1940
2008: Bob Florence (75) American pianist, arranger, and bandleader; He began taking piano lessons at five and initially intended to be a concert pianist, however he stared working as pianist and arranger with jazz man Dave Pell and by the mid-1950s he had formed his own big band working with, amongst others, Herb Geller, Bud Shank, Frank Capp and Bob Enevoldsen. Since that time, Bob worked in various big band projects across the Los Angeles area, working mainly with session musicians and as an accompanist to various singers. Throughout his career Florence worked as an arranger for Harry James, Louie Bellson, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Count Basie and Doc Severinsen. At one time he had three variety shows going... Andy Williams, Dean Martin and Red Skelton, and he had a close musical relationship with singer Vikki Carr. In the thirty years he had known her, he wrote six albums and countless arrangements for her in person performances. Bob was on the road for four years as Vikki's musical director. He also has worked closely with Julie Andrews, doing one CD, writing her several charts and traveled as her accompanist. In 2000 he won a Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, with his album "Serendipity" (?) b. May 20th 1932.
2008: Alexander Mair Courage Jr (89) American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and motion pictures. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he began as an orchestrator/arranger at MGM studios, which included work in such films as Show Boat, The Band Wagon, 'Gigi' and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. He frequently served as an orchestrator on films scored by Andre Previn.. My Fair Lady; Adolph Deutsch.. Funny Face, Some Like It Hot; John Williams..The Poseidon Adventure, Superman, Jurassic Park, and the Academy Award-nominated musical films Fiddler on the Roof and Tom Sawyer; and Jerry Goldsmith.. Rudy, Mulan, The Mummy, et al. Alexander succeeded Arthur Morton as primary orchestrator for Goldsmith in the 1990s .His work for Television he is probably best known for writing the theme music for Star Trek: The Original Series, and some other music for the series, but he also worked as a composer on such TV shows as The Brothers Brannagan, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Judd, for the Defense, and Daniel Boone. In 1988, he won an Emmy Award for his music direction on the special Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas. He also frequently collaborated with John Williams during Williams' tenure with the Boston Pops Orchestra (Alex's health had been declining for several years, he suffered a series of strokes prior to his death) b. December 10th 1919.
2009: Buddy Montgomery (79) American jazz composer, arranger, pianist, vibraphonist; born and raised in Indianapolis, he was the youngest in a family of musical siblings, influenced by his brothers Thomas, Monk and Wes... he first played professionally in 1948, then in 1949 he played with Big Joe Turner, before joining up with Slide Hampton. After two years in the Army, where he had his own quartet, he joined the Mastersounds as a vibraphonist with his brother Monk. He led the Montgomery-Johnson Quintet with Ray Johnson from 1955 to 1957. He played briefly with Miles Davis in 1960. In 1969 he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he taught jazz music locally. Early in the 1980s he moved to Oakland; there he released more solo material and played with the Riverside Reunion Band, Charlie Rouse, David Fathead Newman and Bobby Hutcherson (?) January 30th 1930.
2009: Wayman Tisdale (44) American jazz bass guitarist and professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. Iinfluenced greatly by funk bands of the 1970s, he launched his musical career with "Power Forward" in 1995 on the Motown Label. Primarily a bass player, he recorded eight albums, with the 2001 album "Face to Face" climbing to No. 1 on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart. In 2002, he was awarded the Legacy Tribute Award by the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. His most recent release, Rebound, was written and released after he had been diagnosed with cancer (cancer) b. June 9th 1964

May 16th
1953: Jean-Baptiste "Django" Reinhardt (43) Belgium gypsy jazz guitar virtuoso; he grew up in a Gypsy caravan, traveling around France. He was severely burned in a fire in 1928, leaving two fingers of his left hand useless, but adapted his guitar style to the disability. Django began playing professionally at the age of 12. He was a founding member of the Hot Club Quintet along with jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli, playing American jazz in French clubs. He went on to be one of the most renowned jazz guitarists of all time, his unique sound made him an international star, and he is credited with being among the first to elevate the guitar from a rhythm instrument to a solo instrument. Virtually every guitarist from all genre cite Django as an influence from Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi to George Benson to Willie Nelson and Jimi Hendrix named his band the Band of Gypsys in honor of Django's music.
(died when walking from the Avon train station after playing in a Paris club that he collapsed outside his house from a brain hemorrhage). b. January 23rd 1910
1981: Ernie Freeman (58) American session pianist; born in Cleveland, Ohio, Ernie learnt play the piano at very young age and played several different string instruments including the guitar and violin. He started working in local the nightclubs. In 1939 he and his sister Evelyn formed their own band and they became "The Evelyn Freeman Ensemble". Next Ernie worked with Woody Herman in the 40's before joining the Ernie Fields Orchestra, playing the piano. In 1951 he also began playing with the Billy Hadnott Sextet, but left in 1954 to form his own combo with Plas Johnson, Earl Palmer and Irving Ashby. In 1955 they released their first record, "No No Baby". Throughout the 1950s he played on numerous early rock and R&B sessions in LA, California, particularly on the Modern, Specialty and Aladdin labels, as well as for white artists such as Duane Eddy and Bobby Vee. He played piano on The Platters' "The Great Pretender" in 1955. Ernie released a number of instrumental records of his own, including No.5 R&B chart hit "Jivin' Around" in 1956 and his cover version of Bill Justis' "Raunchy", his biggest solo success, which reached No.4 on the pop chart and No.1 on the R&B chart in 1957. In 1961, Ernie together with Earl Palmer, Plas Johnson and René Hall, began recording as B. Bumble and the Stingers. He continued a successful session career in the 1960s, appearing on material such as Frank Sinatra's Grammy Award winning "Strangers in the Night" in 1967; Connie Francis's "Jealous Heart", and "Addio, mi' amore"; Petula Clark's "This is My Song" and "For Love" and also worked with Dean Martin. From 1960 to 1964 he arranged virtually every session for Snuff Garrett at Liberty Records including artists Bobby Vee, Johnny Burnette and Gene McDaniels. In 1970 he contributed string arrangements to Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water album, before his retirement (?). b. Aug 16th 1922.
1990: Sammy Davis Jr (64) US dancer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, playing vibraphone, trumpet, and drums; impressionist, comedian, convert to Judaism, and Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor. He was a member of the 1960s Rat Pack, which was led by his old friend Frank Sinatra, and included fellow performers Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. As a child, he learned how to dance from his father and his "uncle" Will Mastin, who led the dance troupe his father worked for. Sammy joined the act as a young child and they became the Will Mastin Trio. After his years in the army, he rejoined the dance act which played at a wide variety of spots around Portland, Oregon, and began to achieve success on his own as he was singled out for praise by critics and released 2 albums. In 1956 he appear in the Broadway show Mr. Wonderful, after which he was a headliner at The Frontier Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada for many years. During his early years in Las Vegas, he and other African-American artists like Nat King Cole and Count Basie could entertain on the stage, but often could not reside at the hotels at which they performed, and most definitely could not gamble in the casinos or go to the hotel restaurants and bars. After he achieved superstar success, Davis refused to work at venues which would practice racial segregation. His demands eventually led to the integration of Miami Beach nightclubs and Las Vegas casinos. Davis was particularly proud of this accomplishment. He has appeared in 4 stage musicals, dozens of TV shows and 36 films. He was nominated 4 times for a grammy award, winning the lifetime acheivement award in 2001 and in 2002 his song "What Kind of Fool Am I?" was inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame. Other awards include Emmys, Tony Award, Golden Globe, NAACP awards and Kennedy Center Honors; he is on International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, the Las Vegas Walk of Stars and The Hollywood Walk of Fame. Sammy was portrayed by Don Cheadle in the HBO movie The Rat Pack, a made-for-TV movie about the pack of entertainers. Cheadle won a Golden Globe award for his performance. David Raynr also portrayed Sammy in the miniseries Sinatra, a TV movie about the life of Frank Sinatra (throat cancer). b. December 8th 1925
1993: Marv Johnson (54) US soul singer, songwriter, pianist; he began his career singing with a doo-wop group, The Serenaders, in the mid 1950s. Berry Gordy discovered him while he was performing at a carnival. His recording of Gordy's song "Come To Me" became the label's first single in May 1959, it reached number 30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Between 1959 and 1961, he had 9 Billboard Hot 100 singles including two top tenners; "You Got What It Takes", which reached number 10 and "I Love The Way You Love", which reached number 9. He scored his final Top 40 single in 1960 with "(You've Got To) Move Two Mountains". After issuing his final Motown singles in 1968, he remained with Motown throughout the 1970s working on promotion and sales. He also wrote songs for Tyrone Davis and Johnnie Taylor. He continued singing into the 1990s, releasing a solo album on the London based Motor City Records label (died of a stroke in Columbia, South Carolina) b. Oct 15th 1938.
1995: Lola Flores/ María de los Dolores Flores Ruiz (72) Spanish singer, dancer and actress of gipsy descent; she became a famous dancer and singer of Andalusian gipsy folklore at a very young age, featuring in films from 1939 to 1987. Her greatest success was in folklore shows with Manolo Caracol, who was her artistic partner until 1951. In 2007, the biography Lola la pelicula was made. The movie describes her early life, starting in 1931 until 1958 (breast cancer) b. January 21st 1923
2001: Brian Pendleton (57) UK rhythm guitarist, lead guitar, vocals; Pretty Things/So What; he was an incredibly talented and underrated guitarist, like too many musicians died virtually forgotten. (lung cancer). b. April 13th 1944
2010: Ronnie James Dio/Ronald James Padavona (67) American heavy metal singer , songwriter and muli-musician. He performed with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid. Ronnie was widely hailed as one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal, renowned for his consistently powerful voice and for popularizing the "devil's horns" hand gesture in metal culture. Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he initially played the trumpet and French horn and recorded several ... READ MORE ... (stomach cancer) b. July 10th 1942.
2010: Hank Jones (91) American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer and 5 times Grammy Award nominee, also in 1989, the National Endowment for the Arts honored Hank with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award. He was also honored in 2003 with the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award. In 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. On April 13, 2009, the University of Hartford presented Hank Jones with a Doctorate Degree for his musical accomplishments. Hank recorded over sixty albums under his own name, and countless others as a sideman including Milt Jackson - The Jazz Skyline; Curtis Fuller - New Trombone; Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else; John Coltrane - Bags & Trane; Wes Montgomery - So Much Guitar!; Ella Fitzgerald - Rhythm Is My Business; Dexter Gordon - Ca' Purange, Bob Stewart - Welcome to the Club and Joe Lovano - Joyous Encounter (?) b. July 31st 1918

May 17th
1990: Frank Wright (54) US free jazz musician, electric bass, saxophone; known for his frenetic style of tenor saxophone, never recorded even a single record under his own name for a major label; he was "underground" his entire career (?). b. July 9th 1935
1992: Lawrence Welk (89) American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, born in the German-speaking community of Strasburg, North Dakota. Just after his 21st birthday, he left the family farm to pursue a career in music. During the 1920s, he performed with the Luke Witkowski, Lincoln Boulds, and George T. Kelly bands, before starting his own orchestra. He led big bands in North Dakota and eastern South Dakota, including the Hotsy Totsy Boys and later the Honolulu Fruit Gum Orchestra. His band was also the station band for popular radio station WNAX, South Dakota. During the 1930s, he led a traveling big band, specializing in dance tunes and "sweet" music. Initially, the band traveled around the country by car. They were too poor to rent rooms, so they usually slept and changed clothes in their cars. In the early 1940s, the band began a 10-year stint at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago, regularly drawing crowds of nearly 7,000. He went on to host the popular Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982. His style came to be known to his large number of radio, television, and live-performance fans as "champagne music" (pneumonia). b. March 11th 1903
1996: Johnny 'Guitar' Watson (61) US blues guitarist whose long career influenced the development of blues, soul music, rhythm & blues, funk, rock music, and hip-hop music.
(died of a heart attack while on tour in Yokohama, Japan). b. February 3rd 1935
1996: Kevin Gilbert (29) US multi instrumentalist, songwriter, who played trumpet, keyboards, guitars, drums and bass, as well as singing vocals. His talents also extended to producer. He toured with Eddie Money before winning the 1988 Yamaha Ssoundcheck International Rock Music Competition with his progressive rock group Giraffe (autoerotic self-asphyxiation). b. Nov 20th 1966
1999: Bruce Fairbairn (49) Canadian musician and international record producer from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was active as a producer from 1976 to 1999 and is considered one of the best of his era. His most successful productions are Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi and Permanent Vacation by Aerosmith. He was originally a trumpet player and then started a career as a record producer for Canadian rock band Prism. He won the Canadian music industry Producer of the Year Juno Award 3 times. He produced albums for many famous international artists such as Loverboy, Blue Öyster Cult, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Scorpions, Van Halen, Chicago, The Cranberries, INXS, KISS and Yes. His style was notable for introducing dynamic horn arrangements into rock music productions. (died of unknown causes at his home in Vancouver). b. December 30th 1949
2002: Sharon Sheeley (62) US songwriter; one of the first and most successful female songwriters of the early rock & roll era, whose work brought success to artists like Ricky Nelson, Brenda Lee, Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, David Gates, Hal Blaine Herb Alpert and her former fiancé, Eddie Cochran. She wrote "Love Again" and "Cherished Memories" for Cochran, and the 1959 hit "Somethin' Else" with Eddie's brother Bob Cochran. Sharon was a surviver of the Eddie Cochran/Gene Vincent car crash 1960. Her other songwriting credits included "Hurry Up", recorded by Ritchie Valens. She collaborated with musician/songwriter, Jackie DeShannon on a string of hits, including Brenda Lee's "Dum Dum" and "Heart In Hand," and Irma Thomas's "Breakaway". She also co-wrote songs with Chris Curtis of The Searchers, including "Night Time" recorded by Paul and Barry Ryan (cerebral hemorrhage). b. April 4th 1940
2010:Yvonne Loriod (86) French pianist, composer and teacher, born in Houilles, Yvelines, She studied at the Paris Conservatoire. At the age of 25, she was appointed professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. She went on to become a nationally-acclaimed recording artist and concert pianist, and premiered most of Olivier Messiaen's works for the piano, (Who she married in 1961) starting in the 1940s, both she and her sister Jeanne often performed as the soloists in his Turangalîla-Symphonie. Yvonne also orchestrated part of Messiaen's final orchestral work, Concert à quatre (?) b. January 20th 1924
2010: Bobbejaan Schoepen (85) Belgian singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and a pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music. A 'total performer', he was also a guitarist, comedian, actor, and professional whistler, as well as the founder and former director of the amusement park, Bobbejaanland. Born in Boom, Antwerp, he worked his way up from a working-class environment to become one of the 200 richest people in Belgium. His musical career flourished from 1948 until the first half of the 1970s. He sold more than five million copies from his repertoire of nearly 600 songs, which extended from Twang, cabaret, instrumental film music, chansons, country, to folk and vocal music. In July 2008 he was inducted as the first European into the “Whistler’s Hall of Fame”, by the US International Whistlers Convention (cardiac arrest) b. May 16th 1925
2010: Carla Zilbersmith (47) Canadian actress, singer, comedian and 14 years as artistic director and coordinator of the drama department at College of Marin. Born in Vancouver, she graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and attended graduate school at New York University. In 2007 Carla was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and she set up one-woman 90 minute stage show and inspired others with how she faced death. John Zaritsky filmed a documentary of Carla's traveling show, Academy Award winner Zaritsky said he describes "Leave Them Laughing" as a " 'musical comedy about dying' because it includes numerous jokes by Carla about dying and becoming disabled and also it has loads of songs that she wrote and performs in the documentary". The films of her last brave travels to Australia, Britain and Mexico demonstrate the ferocity of her intention to suck the last molecules of pleasure from her life (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) b. December 15th 1962.

May 18th.
1911: Gustav Mahler (50) Austrian late-Romantic composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer, he acted as a bridge between the 19th century Austro-German tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century. While in his lifetime his status as a conductor was established beyond question, his own music gained wide popularity only after periods of relative neglect which included a ban on its performance in much of Europe during the Nazi era. After 1945 his music was re-discovered and championed by a new generation of listeners; Gustav then became one of the most frequently performed and recorded of all composers, a position he has sustained into the 21st century (New York in November 1910, Gustav threw himself into a busy Philharmonic season of concerts and tours. Around Christmas 1910 he began suffering from a sore throat, which persisted. On 21 February 1911, with a temperature of 104 °F, he insisted on fulfilling an engagement at Carnegie Hall, sadly this was his last concert, he died not long after of bacterial endocarditis) b. July 7th 1860.
1980: Ian Curtis (23) English vocalist and lyricist of the band Joy Division. Critics and fans continue to write and discuss at length Ian's music, possible motivations and inspirations. Born in Stretford in Lancashire, in 1976, he met two young musicians, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, at a Sex Pistols gig. They formed a band called Warsaw before changing its name to Joy Division in 1978. Ian became known for his quiet and awkward demeanour, as well as a unique dancing style reminiscent of the epileptic seizures he experienced, sometimes even on stage. His last live performance was on 2 May 1980 at Chamberlain Hall of Birmingham Uni, a show that included Joy Division's first and only performance of the song "Ceremony" (He tragically hung himself reportedly while listening to Iggy Pop's 'The Idiot') b. July 15th 1956
1984: John Hardee (75) US jazz blues tenor saxophonist played with Tiny Grimes and then recorded as a bandleader for Blue Note between 1946 and 1948, later played with Clyde Bernhardt, Cousin Joe, Russell Procope, Earl Bostic, Billy Kyle, Helen Humes, Billy Taylor, and Lucky Millinder, before becoming a teacher (?). b. Dec 20th 1919
1999: Augustus Pablo/Horace Swaby (44) Jamaican musician; Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer and keyboardist, active from the 1970s onwards. He was perhaps the first person to use the melodica as a viable musical instrument. He was known for his devotion to the spiritual Rastafari movement (collapsed lung). b. June 21st 1954
2004: Clint Warwick/Albert Clinton Eccles (63) The original UK bassist for rock band, The Moody Blues, releasing one album with them, their debut No.1 hit album 'Go Now - The Moody Blues'. The album yielded the hit song, "Go Now", which reached #1 in the UK and the Top Ten in the U.S. (liver disease). b. June 25th 1940
2004: Elvin Ray Jones (76) American drummer; one of the most influential jazz drummers of the post-bop era. He was a member of the John Coltrane quartet, appearing on such albums as A Love Supreme. He led several small groups, some under the name The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. He recorded with both of his brothers, jazz musicians Hank and Thad Jones. His later career saw him working with many of the younger jazz artists of today, including Bill Frisell (heart failure) b. September 9th 1927
2007: Yoyoy Villame/Roman Tesorio Villame (74) Filipino singer, composer, lyricist, and comedian; after many jobs become a bus driver of the Meneses-Butalid Liner fleet, where he had a bus numbered 13 that plied the Tagbilaran-Ubay-Talibon route. At the bus company, with some fellow drivers, he formed the MBs Combo, a rondalla band where he sang and played the mandolin. He was soon invited to parties and eventually as an entertainer in fiestas, baptism, weddings, funerals and special events. The owner of the bus company took notice of Villame’s efforts and set up a music studio named Kinampay Records, after a local dish, just for him. Villame's first recording "Magellan" in 1972 became the top-selling record in the Visayas-Mindanao region. Yoyoy went on to make more than 25 albums and won several sales awards, among them a double platinum for his album "Tirana My Dear" and a platinum for "McArthur and Dagohoy" in 1991. He also won Best Novelty for "Piyesta ng mga Isda" in the 1993 Awit Awards. His long list of hits and his entertaining style of music earned him the title of "King of Philippine Novelty Songs" (cardiac arrest) b. November 18th 1932.
2009: Dolla/Roderick Anthony Burton II (21) American rap artist; he was a member of Da Razkalz Cru, who signed to Elektra Records in 2003 and released the single "So Fly". That same year, he met Akon and P. Diddy, the latter of whom hired Dolla as a model for his Sean John line of clothes; Dolla appeared on billboards for the clothing line and modeled across the United States. Dolla signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik label in May 2007. He made his debut with the single "Who The Fuck Is That", which was his biggest hit, reaching No. 82 on the Billboard Hot 100. (shot outside the Beverly Center, Los Angeles) b. November 25th 1987.

May 19th
1969: Coleman Hawkins (64) US saxophonist, bandleader born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, educated in Chicago; he was the first important tenor saxophonist and he remains one of the greatest of all time, strongly associated with the swing music and big band era, he began playing professionally in the early 1920s joining the Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds in 1921, who he toured with through 1923, when he settled in New York City, where he joined Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, staying until 1934, sometimes doubling on clarinet and bass sax. His playing changed significantly during Louis Armstrong's tenure with the Henderson Orchestra during 1924-25. In 1934, he accepted an invitation to play with Jack Hylton's band in London, and toured Europe as a soloist until 1939, memorably working with Django Reinhardt and Benny Carter in Paris in 1937. He was important in the development of bebop in the 1940s and continued to be influenced by the avant-garde jazz of the 1950s and '60s. In the '40s he led a combo at Kelly's Stables on Manhattan's 52nd Street with Thelonious Monk, Oscar Pettiford, Miles Davis, and Max Roach as sidemen. He was leader on what is generally considered the first ever bebop recording session with Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach in 1944. Later he toured with Howard McGhee and recorded with J. J. Johnson and Fats Navarro. He also toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic. In 1948 Coleman recorded Picasso, an early piece for unaccompanied saxophone. After which he divided his time between New York and Europe, making numerous freelance recordings. The 1960s, saw him appearing regularly at the Village Vanguard in Manhattan (pneumonia) b. November 21st 1904
1978: Teddy Hill (68) US bandleader; he played a variety of instruments, including soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet and drums. He formed his own band in 1934, which soon found work over the NBC radio network. Over several years it featured such major young musicians as Roy Eldridge, Bill Coleman, Frankie Newton and Dizzy Gillespie. He was also well known for managing Minton's Playhouse in Harlem, a nightclub where experimental jam sessions eventually led to the birth of the lingua franca of jazz: bebop. (?) b. December 7th 1909
1986: Jimmy Lyons (54) American alto saxophonist; best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. During the 70s he also had his own group, taking performance opportunities at the loft jazz movement around Studio Rivbea. His group and the Cecil T Unit continued a parallel development through the 1970s and 1980s, often involving the same musicians, such as trumpeter Raphe Malik and bassist William Parker (lung cancer) b. December 1st 1931.
1989: Ron Wilson (44) US drummer, best known as one of the original members of The Surfaris, an early surf rock group of the '60s, introducing a vigorous cadence-laced drumming style which made their music much more energetic than other surf bands. His energetic drum solo made 'Wipe Out' the best-remembered instrumental of the period (?) b. June ?? 1945.
2001: Mike Sammes (73) UK musician and vocal session arranger. From 1955 to the 1970s, he was responsible for much of the backing vocals on pop music recorded in Britain. Also the founder of 'The Mike Sammes Singers' (?) b. Feb 19th 1928.
2001: Susannah McCorkle (55) US jazz singer; she studied modern languages at the University of California, in her home town of Berkeley and began singing professionally after hearing recordings of Billie Holiday in the late 1960s. While in the UK, she made two albums before moving back to the US, settling in New York. With her linguistic skills, she translated lyrics of Brazilian, French, and Italian songs, notably those for her Brazilian album 'Sabia'. She released 21 albums, her two early 1990s albums "No More Blues" and "Sábia", were enormously successful and made her name known to the wider world. (surviving breast cancer, Susannah suffered for many years from depression and took her own life by leaping off the balcony of her 16th-floor apartment on West 86th Street in Manhattan) b. January 4th 1946.
2003: Joe 'Guitar' Hughes (65) US red hot blues guitarist, singer from Houston, Texas. An inventive and versatile performer, Hughes was equally happy with slow blues, Texas shuffles and old R&B hits (heart attack) b. Sept 29th 1937.
2006: Freddie Garrity (65) English lead singer with his band The Dreamers, known for his happy zany stage acts and 'Do The Freddie' dance. His trademark was his habit of leaping up and down during performances. This, combined with his almost skeletal appearance and horn-rimmed glasses, made him an eccentric figure in the UK pop scene of the 1960s. (heart problems) b. Nov 14th 1936... Read More

May 20th
1964: Rudy Lewis (28) US singer with The Clara Ward Singers before becoming lead singer of The Drifters from 1960 to 1964 (he was found dead in his bed on the morning they recorded 'Under The Boardwalk', Johnny Moore, stepped into the breach. Some accounts say the cause was a drug overdose, while others who knew him say that Lewis, who was a binge eater, choked to death in his sleep). b. Aug 23th 1936.
2000: Jean-Pierre Rampal (78) French flute virtuoso; one of history's greatest flute players, and among the most recorded classical artists of all time. He was devoted to chamber music, founding the French Wind Quintet (Quintette à Vent Française) in 1945 and the Ensemble Baroque de Paris in 1953 (died in Paris of heart failure) b. Jan 7th 1922.
2001: Renato Carosone (81) Italian pianist, singer; among the greatest figures of Italian music scene in the second half of the 20th century, regarded as the father of Neapolitan singing, bringing elements of jazz and swing into traditional, Italian songbook . His song "Torero" remained for 14 weeks at No.1 on the US hit parade was translated into 12 languages and no fewer than thirty cover versions were recorded in the USA alone. (complications from a long-term respiratory illness) b. January 3rd 1920.
2004: Tony Stough (50) US guitarist with Plush,The Edge and Wabash (Liver problems) b.?
2010: Gesang Martohartono (92) renowned Indonesian singer-songwriter from central Java, and he composed the song Bengawan Solo, a tune which has become famous throughout Indonesia, Japan, and much of Asia. In 1991, a group of appreciative Japanese war veterans arranged for a life-sized statue of Gesang to be erected in a Surakarta park, to mark their respects for the composer of the tune that had managed to cross the cultural barriers of wartime. Gesang is regarded as the leading exponent and senior figurehead of the Solonese kroncong style of Javanese music (?) b. October 1st 1917

May 21st
1973: Vaughn Monroe (61) US baritone singer, trumpet player and big band leader. He recorded extensively for RCA Victor until the 1950s and his signature tune was "Racing with the Moon" . He recorded hit song "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" but turned down "Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer" (?) b. Oct 7th 1911.
1996: Paul Delph (39) US singer, songwriter, producer, engineer and much in demand studio musician born in Cincinnati, Ohio, he relocated to LA for his musical career. Artists Paul worked with include Bryan Adams, Jon Anderson, Roy Thomas Baker, Toni Basil, Bob Esty, Peter Banks, Peabo Bryson, Richard Burmer, Mike Chapman, Ava Cherry, Alice Cooper, Michael Des Barres, Rhett Davies, Roberta Flack, John Goodsall, Sam Harris, Phyllis Hyman, Alfonso Johnson, Johnny Mandel, Martin Page, The Pointer Sisters, Suzi Quatro, Robbie Robertson, Jimmie Spheeris, Donna Summer, Bernie Taupin, Chester Thomson, Gino Vannelli, The Weather Girls, Gary Wright and Alee Willis. Paul's final album, 'A God That Can Dance', released in 1995, chronicles his struggle with HIV/AIDS (complications of HIV/AIDS) b. February 28th 1957.
1999: Karnail "Bugz" Pitts (21) American rapper and hip hop artist; was a former member of the rap group D12. "Detroit, Detroit" and "These Streets" were his street singles. (Shot to death when he tried to help a friend in Detroit's Belle Isle Park) b. Jan 5th 1978.
2006: Billy Walker (77) US country singer, guitarist; active member of the Grand Ole Opry until his death. (car accident in Fort Deposit, Alabama, on his way back to Nashville after a performance in Foley, Alabama. His wife Bettie, bassist, and guitarist, were also killed in the crash. Walker's grandson, Joshua Brooks, survived the crash) b. Jan 14th 1929... read more
2006: Charles Lilly Jr (44) US bassist to Billy Walker (car crash- as above) b. July 14th 1961
2006: Daniel Patton (40) US guitarist to Billy Walker (car crash- as above) b. Nov 15th 1945
2008: Michelle Meldrum (39) US rock guitarist; co-founder and lead guitarist in Phantom Blue, later moved to Sweden and founded the multi-national hard rock band, Meldrum. (cystic growth on the brain) b. Sept 28th 1968.

May 22nd
1965: Christopher Stone (82) First disc jockey in the UK; In 1906 Stone published a book of Sea songs and ballads and became the London editor of The Gramophone, He approached the BBC himself with the idea for a record programme, which the corporation initially dismissed, he managed to convince them though and on July 7, 1927 he started playing records on air. His relaxed, conversational style was exceptional at a time when most of the BBC's presentation was extremely formal, and his programmes became highly popular as a result. He did wear a dinner jacket and tie when he presented though. In 1934 Stone joined the commercial station Radio Luxembourg and was barred at the time by the BBC. He went on to work for various radio stations pioneering music space on radio (?) b. Sept 19th 1882
1989: Steven DeGroote (35) South African classical pianist; excelled in his career playing with nearly all the major orchestras around the world.(he was hospitalized with tuberculosis and pneumonia. He died in Johannesburg from multiple organ failure) b. ? ? 1953
2009: Zé Rodrix/José Rodrigues Trindade (61) Brazilian composer, instrumentalist and singer. He was well known in his native country for performing and recording with musical ensembles Sá, Rodrix e Guarabyra, Som Imaginário and Momento Quatro. From 1973 he also persued a solo career releasing 10 albums the last being 18 Anos Sem Sucesso - with Joelho de Porco in 1988(died in the São Paulo city's Hospital das Clínicas) b.November 25th 1947

May 23rd
1973: Isador Simon "Sid" Phillips (65) English jazz clarinetist and bandleader, born in London. He learned violin and piano as a child, and played reeds in his teens in his brother's European band. He also worked as a publisher and director for the Edison-Bell Gramophone Company. Sid's first recordings under his own name were made in 1928, and he continued to record as a leader into the 1970s. In 1930 he began writing arrangements for Bert Ambrose, and joined Ambrose's ensemble in 1933, remaining there until 1937. Late in the 1930s Sid played in the US on radio and freelance in clubs. He served in the RAF during World War II, then put together his own quartet in 1946 and wrote several pieces for the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He led a Dixieland jazz band of his own formation from 1949, and his sidemen included George Shearing, Colin Bailey, Tommy Whittle, and Kenny Ball. One of Sid's popular songs, "Boogie Man", appears on the Galaxy News Radio Station on the popular Role-Playing Shooter Game, Fallout 3 (?) b. June 14th 1907.
1991: Will Sin/William Sinnott (30) Scottish bass player and keyboardist in alternative dance act - experimental electronic music band, The Shamen. He wrote several agit-pop style songs for the albums 'In Gorbachev We Trust' and 'Phorward', before developing a more tribal influenced sound for the instrumental pieces such as "Lightspan" and "Evil is Even" on the album En-Tact (Will tragically drowned off the coast of La Gomera, in the Canary Island while filming the group's videos). b. December 23rd 1960
1991: Wilhelm Kempff (95) German pianist and composer, born in Jüterbog, Brandenburg, but grew up in nearby Potsdam. In 1917, he made his first major recital, consisting of major works, including Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata and Brahms Variations on a theme of Paganini. Wilhelm toured very widely in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Although his repertory included Bach, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms, he was particularly well-known for his interpretations of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, both of whose complete sonatas he recorded at least once. He still performed at the age of 80 with his friend Leonard Bernstein in New York City (?) b. November 25th 1895.
1994: Joe Pass (65) American jazz guitarist; his extensive use of walking basslines, melodic counterpoint during improvisation, and use of a chord-melody style of play opened up new possibilities for jazz guitar and had a profound influence on future guitarists. He was a sideman or recorded with Louis Bellson, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Della Reese, Johnny Mathis, Benny Carter, Milt Jackson, Herb Ellis, Zoot Sims, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and many others and worked on TV shows including the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Merv Griffin Show, The Steve Allen Show, and others. (?) b. Jan 13th 1929
2001: Tommy Eyre (51) UK keyboardist, sessionist, producer and arranger; he appeared on records with dozens of artists such as Joe Cocker, John Martyn, Alex Harvey, Greg Lake, Gary Moore, B.B. King, John Mayall, Tracy Chapman and was keyboardist for Wham!. Appeared on many chart-toppers including Joe Cocker's 'With A Little Help From My Friends' and Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street' ... READ MORE ... (lost his battle with cancer) b. July 5th 1949.
2008: Bruce "Utah" Phillips (73) American folk singer and political activist; a labor organizer, folk singer, storyteller, poet and the "Golden Voice of the Great Southwest", he became an elder statesman for the folk music community, and a keeper of stories and songs that might otherwise have passed into obscurity (heart failure) b. May 15th 1935.
2008: Earl Root (46) American heavy metal guitarist with Aesma Daeva; a key contributor to the mid west Metal Scene, he helped form the first Milwaukee Metal Fest, and for 27 years he ran The Root of all Evil Radio show at KFAI, where he helped promote, interview and break many new underground acts. (complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma) b. 1962
2010: Beaver/Beverley Jean Morrison (59) New Zealand singer; Beaver was a long running member of the ground-breaking Blerta musical and theatrical co-operative, and later of the similar troupe Red Mole. She appeared in New Zealand films "Skin Deep" and "Should I Be Good", about the Mr Asia drug syndicate, and performed the 1987-1990 theme song to the TVNZ soap opera Gloss. Beaver spent much of her time as a session musician and backup vocalist for many leading stars and also formed her own band, The Beaver Band. Her 1988 album "Live at Ronnie Scott's" was voted New Zealand's "Best Jazz Album" that year. Over her career Beaver did a number of short stints with the like of Hammond Gamble, Jimmy and the Jets, and was also a member of Paul Walker's make-shift band, the All-Stars when they played at the Windsor Castle in 1984 (sarcoma) b.1950.

May 24th
1963: Elmore James/Elmore Brooks (45) US blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader, born in the old Richland community in Holmes County, Mississippi; known as The King of the Slide Guitar, he had a unique guitar style, noted for the use of loud amplification and his stirring voice. Elmore began playing music at 12, using a one-string instrument 'diddley bow'. In his teens he was playing at local dances under the names Cleanhead and Joe Willie James, before playing with the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson, and the legendary Robert Johnson. His solo hits include "It Hurts Me Too", "The Sky Is Crying", "My Bleeding Heart", "Stranger Blues", "Look On Yonder Wall", "Done Somebody Wrong", and "Shake Your Moneymaker". Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa are among many musicians who cite Elmore as an influence, he is also mentioned in The Beatles' song "For You Blue", and The Grateful Dead, John Primer, Billy Gibbons and Eric Clapton are a few who have recorded Elmore James' covers. (died in Chicago of his third heart attack) b. January 27th 1918
1970: Cliff Jackson (67) US jazz pianist; played with Lionel Howard's Musical Aces in 1924 He led his own ensemble, the Krazy Kats, for recordings and he played extensively as a solo pianist in nightclubs in New York. During this time he also accompanied singers such as Viola McCoy, Lena Wilson, Sarah Martin, and Clara Smith. He recorded with Bob Fuller, Elmer Snowden, Sidney Bechet, Eddie Condon, Garvin Bushell, J.C. Higginbotham, Joe Thomas and others (heart failure). b. July 19th 1902
1974: The Duke/Duke Ellington/Edward Kennedy Ellington (75) American jazz pianist, bandleader, songwriter, composer; the most important composer in the history of jazz as well as being a bandleader who held his large group together continuously for almost 50 years. Born in Washington DC, The Duke called his music "American Music" rather than jazz, and liked to describe those who impressed him as "beyond category." These included many of the musicians who were members of his orchestra, some of whom are considered among the best in jazz in their own right, but it was Ellington who melded them into one of the most well-known jazz orchestral units in the history of jazz. He often composed specifically for the style and skills of these individuals, such as "Jeep's Blues" for Johnny Hodges, "Concerto for Cootie" for Cootie Williams, which later became "Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me" with Bob Russell's lyrics, and "The Mooche" for Tricky Sam Nanton and Bubber Miley. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's "Caravan" and "Perdido" which brought the 'Spanish Tinge' to big-band jazz. Several members of the orchestra remained there for several decades. After 1941, he frequently collaborated with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his "writing and arranging companion." Ellington recorded for many American record companies, and appeared in several films. He led his band from 1923 until his death in 1974 and among his very many honors and inductions he earned 13 Grammy awards from 1959 to 2000, nine while he was alive. Also he is one of only five jazz musicians ever to have been featured on the cover of Time, the other four being Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Wynton Marsalis, and Dave Brubeck (sadly we lost him to cancer). b. April 29th 1899
1991: Gene Clark (49) US singer, songwriter, born in Tipton, Missouri, influenced by Hank Williams tunes, Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers he began learning the guitar at 9 years old. Soon, he started writing his own songs, and at 13, he cut his first record with a local rock & roll combo, Joe Meyers and the Sharks. Next, inspired by the Kingston Trio and playing with several folk groups he was soon working with the New Christy Minstrels. Longing to perform his own songs and now turning to a more rocky genre, he left and moved to LA, where he met up with Jim "Roger" McGuinn. In 1964 they started assembling a band that would, in time, come to be known as the Byrds. Gene became the Byrds' dominant songwriter, penning most of their best-known originals, including "Feel a Whole Lot Better," "Here Without You," and "Eight Miles High," and was one of the group's strongest vocal presences. After leaving The Byrds he released 2 solo albums "Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers" and "The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark" before rejoining The Byrds just for a short time. He again went solo releasing another 12 albums over his career, the last studio album being 'So Rebellious a Lover' 1987. In 1979 he formed a band with ex-Byrds Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman for a couple of years. Gene was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in January 1991 along with the other original members (heart attack) b. November 17th 1944
2008: Jimmy McGriff (72) American jazz and blues organist; a hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who developed a distinctive style of playing the Hammond B-3 organ (multiple sclerosis) b. April 3rd 1936.
2009: Jay Walter Bennett (45) American musician, singer-songwriter, engineer, producer, best known for his work with the band Wilco. Born in Urbana, Illinois, Jay was a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, piano, organ, mellotron, banjo, bass, drums, synthesizer and harmonica. He was a founding member of the band Titanic Love Affair, recording three albums with them in the early 1990s: Titanic Love Affair, No Charisma and Their Titanic Majesty's Request, before joining the alternative rock band Wilco in late 1994, were he was a member for 7 years recording 3 albums with the band "Being There", "Summerteeth" and "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". Due to conflicts with front man Jeff Tweedy, Jay left Wilco in 2004 for a solo career. He released five solo albums, "The Palace at 4am", 2004's "Bigger Than Blue, "The Beloved Enemy", "The Magnificent Defeat" and he also released "Whatever Happened I Apologize" in 2008 on rockproper.com. Jay was also a sought-after studio musician, having played on albums with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Allison Moorer, and Billy Joe Shaver, and produced Blues Traveler's release,¡Bastardos! (died unexpectedly in his sleep. Details have yet to be revealed) b. November 15th 1963.
2010: Petr Muk (45) Czech pop singer and composer, famous in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Petr was a member of the bands, Oceán from 1985 to 1993 and Shalom from 1992 to 1996, before embarking on his solo career. In addition to his albums of original songs, the last being "V bludišti dnu" released earlier this year, 2010, he also released a tribute EP to the English band Erasure in 2004. (Petr was found dead by his wife in his home in Prague. The circumstances surrounding his death have not yet been disclosed) b. February 4th 1965.
2010: Stella Nova/Steve New (50) English guitarist & singer, known for his work with British punk rock and New Wave bands in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was once known as Steve New, during the time he was guitarist of punk band Rich Kids. Stella started playing with the London Jazz Orchestra at the age of 14. He came to attention with his connections with the city's punk scene at the age of 15 after being asked to audition for the Sex Pistols as a second guitarist alongside Steve Jones. When Pistols' bass player Glen Matlock was ousted from the band, he invited Atella to join his new group Rich Kids alongside Rusty Egan and former Slik singer Midge Ure. He later played with Sid Vicious, Public Image Ltd, Iggy Pop, Chrissie Hynde, Kim Fowley, and a solo Glen Matlock. Stella was also the composer, musician, and producer in Beastellabeast (sadly lost his fight with cancer) b. May 16th 1960.
2010: Anneliese Rothenberger (83) German opera singer, born in Mannheim, Germany. In 1947 Günther Rennert offered her a job at the Hamburg Opera House, where she sang in Rennert's now famous production of Alban Berg's Lulu twenty years later, a role she would also perform at the Munich Opera Festival, under the direction of Christoph von Dohnányi. 1954 saw her make her debut at the Salzburg Festival, and she appeared in Rolf Liebermann's Schule der Frauen, three years later. From 1954 she became a guest singer at the Vienna State Opera. She debuted in New York in 1960, when she sang there in Der Rosenkavalier. Her performance prompted Lotte Lehmann to call her 'the best Sophie in the world'. She appeared alongside Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Sena Jurinac for the filmed performance of Der Rosenkavalier at the Salzburg Festival. Anneliese appeared in many contemporary operas by Henze, Britten, Hindemith, Carl Orff, Pfitzner, and Menotti and in 2003, she received the ECHO Award for lifetime achievement (?) b. June 19th 1926.

May 25th
1965: Sonny Boy Williamson ll /Aleck "Rice" Miller/Aleck Ford(65) American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, born on the Sara Jones Plantation near Glendora, Mississippi in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi.; much of his best work exhibits a solidly swinging beat and a rich dialogue between blues harp, guitar, piano, and percussion. His use of space, his timing, and his tone place him among the greatest of the blues-harp players. His hits include "Fattenin' Frogs for Snakes", "Don't Start Me To Talkin'", "Keep It To Yourself", "Your Funeral and My Trial", "Bye Bye Bird", "Nine Below Zero", "Help Me", and the infamous "Little Village", with dialogue 'unsuitable for airplay' with Leonard Chess. His song "Eyesight to the Blind" was performed by The Who as a key song in their rock opera Tommy (died in his sleep). birthdate ... Sonny Boy claimed to have been born on December 5th 1899, but one researcher, David Evans, claims to have found census record evidence that he was born around 1912. His gravestone has his birthdate as March 11th 1908.
1981: Rosa Ponselle (84) American operatic sopranoin born in Meriden, Connecticut; by 1914, her reputation as a singer led to a long-term engagement at the San Carlino theater, one of the largest movie houses in New Haven, near the Yale campus. Rosa was already an established singer in vaudeville after her debut in The Girl from Brighton, a 1912 Broadway musical. She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered by music critics to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the past 100 years (after a long battle with bone marrow cancer) b. January 22nd 1897.
1981: Roy Brown (56) American jump blues singer and songwriter who brought a soul singing style, from gospel music, to the emerging genre of rock and roll. Roy and his band "The Mighty Men" were spectacular and exciting performers, which opened the doors for the likes of Little Richard some 10 years later. From the mid 1940s and through the 50s he had a string of hits including "Good Rocking Tonight", "Hard Luck Blues", "Rockin' at Midnight," "Miss Fanny Brown," "Boogie at Midnight," "Cadillac Baby," "Hurry Hurry Baby," "Ain't No Rockin' No More," "Black Diamond," and "Gal From Kokomo". After a long dry spell, he performed as part of Johnny Otis' troupe at the 1970 Monterey Jazz Festival and a 1973 LP began to rebuild his long-lost momentum. His role as a crucial link between postwar R&B and rock's initial rise is still underappreciated by many (heart attack) b. September 10th 1925.
1990: Gary Usher (51) US surf rock songwriter, producer, singer; he gained notice in the early '60s, writing and producing a number of hits for various surf rock artists. He was the earliest outside collaborator of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, co-writing more than ten songs with Brian, he also worked with the likes of The Byrds, Dick Dale, Gram Parsons, The Ship and was the force behind a number of "studio created" bands, including The Hondells and Sagittarius. (?) b. December 14th 1938
1994: Sonny Sharrock/Warren Harding Sharrock (53) US free playing jazz guitarist, one of the earliest guitarists ever to attempt free playing, known for his incisive, heavily chorded attack, his bursts of wild feedback, and for his use of saxophone-like lines played loudly on guitar.During the late 1980s, he recorded and performed extensively with the New York-based improvising band Machine Gun, as well as leading his own bands. He is well known for the soundtrack to the Cartoon Network program Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, one of the last projects he completed in the studio before his death. (heart attack) b. August 27th 1940.
1996: Bradley James Nowell (28) American lead singer and guitarist of the Californian band Sublime. In 1982, Bradley joined a band called Second Sight as a guitarist while in the 9th grade at Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach, California, after which he played in the punk band Hogan's Heroes they later changed their name to Sloppy Seconds. In 1988, Bradley met Bud Gaugh, and together with their mutual frind Eric Wilson founded the Sublime. (He died of a heroin overdose while on a short tour just before the release of Sublime's self-titled major label debut album) b. February 22nd 1968.
2006: Desmond Dekker/Desmond Adolphus Dacres (65) Jamaican ska and reggae singer and songwriter. Together with his backing group, The Aces, consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard,, he had one of the first international Jamaican hits with "Israelites". Other hits include "007 (Shanty Town)" in 1967 and "It Mek" in 1969. Before the ascent of Bob Marley, Desmond was one of the most popular musicians within Jamaica, and one of the best-known musicians outside it. In the 1970s he spent most of his time touring and moved to the UK, In the early 1980s, as the 2 Tone movement died out, he saw his fortunes dwindle and he was declared bankrupt in 1984. Only a single live album was released in the late 80s, but a new version of "Israelites" reawakened public interest in 1990, following its use in a Maxell advertisement. He re-recorded some old singles, and worked with The Specials for 1992's King of Kings', which used hits from his s musical heroes, including Derrick Morgan. He also collaborated on a remix version of "Israelites" with reggae artist Apache Indian (died of a heart attack at his home in Kent, UK) b. July 16th 1941.
2008: Camu Tao/Tero Smith (30) American rapper and producer who was signed to the Definitive Jux label. He was a part of the duo S.A. Smash with fellow rapper Metro, a part of the rap group Weathermen, and the Central Services production team with El-P. He was also a member of the music collective Cardboard City, and part of Columbus, Ohio's MHz crew with Copywrite, RJD2, Jakki Tha MotaMouth & Tage Proto, and with Cage, half of the Nighthawks, who made one album during a single three-day session (lung cancer) b. June 6th 1977.
2010: Robert Muczynski (81) American composer born in Chicago, Illinois, who worked in traditional and American styles, with rhythmic influences from jazz. He studied composition at DePaul University receiving a Bachelor of Music degree and the Master of Music degree. He would later teach at DePaul University, Chicago; Loras College; Dubuque, Iowa; and Roosevelt University, Chicago, before settling in Tucson in the 1960s where he joined the faculty of the University of Arizona as composer-in-residence and chairman of the composition department; he held both a positions until his retirement in 1988. At age 29 he made his Carnegie Hall debut, performing a program of his own compositions for piano. Among the more than fifty published compositions, his Sonata for Flute and Piano, his Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, and Time Pieces for clarinet and piano have entered the repertoire and remain frequently performed in recitals, as has much of his solo piano music and his works appear on programs in the US, Europe, the Far East, Australia and Mexico (?) b. March 19th 1929.
2010: Siphiwo Ntshebe (35) South African opera singer, born in the seaside city of Port Elizabeth. At 13 he joined the township men's choir and at 16 he performed with an orchestra in Port Elizabeth. After matriculating at Khwezilomso High School in the adjacent Zwide township, he studied music at the then University of Port Elizabeth. He won another music scholarship to study at Brisbane University in Australia and in 2004 was awarded a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music in London. In 2006 he performed in Berlin for the handover of the Fifa World Cup for South Africa 2010. Thereafter, he performed for the Duke of Edinburgh, for Nelson Mandela and Prince Albert in Monte Carlo, at the South African High Commission in London, with the choir of Christ's College, Cambridge at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, at the Royal Festival Hall in London and ... READ MORE ... (tragically passed away after contracting meningitis just days before he was due to perform at the opening ceremonies for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Johannesburg) b. June 28th 1974.

May 26th
1933: Jimmie Rodgers/Yodeling Cowboy (35) US singer, guitar, banjo, songwriter; known as "The Singing Brakeman" and "America's Blue Yodeler", he was the first country music superstar, a status that resulted in another commonly used nickname, "The Father of Country Music". When the Country Music Hall of Fame was established in 1961, Rodgers was one of the first three (with Fred Rose and Hank Williams) to be inducted. He was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and, as an early influence, to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. "Blue Yodel No. 9" was selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. (lung hemorrhage due to tuberculosis) b. September 8th 1897.
1968: Little Willie John (30) US singer/songwriter; he had a string of R&B hits, debuting with the soulful "All around the World" in 1955. Other hits included "I'm Shakin'", "Suffering With The Blues", "Talk To Me", "Need Your Love So Bad", "Sleep". His biggest hit "Fever" was more famously covered by Peggy Lee in 1958. A cover version of his self penned hit "I Need Your Love So Bad" by the original early Fleetwood Mac group was also a big hit in Europe. In all, Willie made the Billboard Top 100 a total of 14 times. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. While appealing against his manslaughter conviction he recorded what was intended to be his comeback album "Nineteen Sixty Six", but due to contractual wrangles, and the failure of his appeal, it was not released until 2008 (died in prison; the official cause of death is listed as a heart attack, though some report he died of pneumonia or asphyxiation) b. November 15th 1937.
1977: William Powell (35) US singer, original member and singer of the Ohio-based soul/R&B group, The O'Jays. William and his friends Walter Williams, Bill Isles, Bobby Massey and Eddie Levert formed the group in Canton, Ohio in 1958 while attending Canton McKinley High School. Originally known as The Triumphs, and then The Mascots, the friends debuted with "Miracles" in 1961, which was a moderate hit in the Cleveland area. In 1963 they took the name "The O'Jays", in tribute to radio disc jockey Eddie O'Jay, and released "Lonely Drifter", which charted nationally. They went on to record 10 albums and having 9 chart hits. William along with the group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004 and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. (cancer) b. January 20th 1942.
1989: Phineas Newborn, Jr. (57) American jazz pianist; hailing from Whiteville, Tennessee he was one of the most technically skilled pianists in jazz during his prime. He worked with Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, and many others as well as leading his own band. His later career was intermittent due to his ongoing health problems, leading to financial problems and he faded from view. His plight and death spurred the founding of the Jazz Foundation of America, a group dedicated to helping with the medical bills and other financial needs of retired jazz greats. (died from a growth on his lungs and was buried in Memphis National Cemetery in a pauper's grave) b. December 14th 1931.
1990: Chris McGregor (53) South African bandleader and pianist; he grew up in the then Transkei, now part of the Eastern Cape Province, where he was exposed to the music of the local amaXhosa people. He attended the the South African College of Music and became active in vibrant Cape jazz scene of the the mid 1950s. As well as his solo career, he is well known for his foundation and leadership of the now-legendary Blue Notes, a South African sextet which included collaborators Dudu Pukwana, Nick Moyake, Louis Moholo, Johnny Dyani and Mongezi Feza. Equally as notable was Chris's creation of the Brotherhood of Breath in 1969, which branched out from his work as The Blue Notes. (?) b. December 24th 1936
1898: Waldo Semon (99) the US chemist, who, in 1926 discovered plasticized PVC, vinyl for all our LP's and 45 records. In all, he held 116 patents, and was inducted into the Invention Hall of Fame in 1995 at age 97 (?) b. September 10th 1898.
2006: Dino Sete Cordas (Seven-String Dino)/Horondino Jose da Silva (88) Brazilian guitar player renowned as the greatest influence and pioneer of the seven-string guitar, a musical instrument in which he developed his own language and techniques, and one of the greatest choro instrumentalists ever (pneumonia) b. May 5th 1918.
2008: Howlin' Dave/Dante David (52) Filipino radio disc jockey and proponent of Pinoy rock; credited with introducing Filipino radio listeners to Filipino rock music in the early 1970s, and to new wave and punk rock in the 1980s (stroke) b. July 16th 1955.
2010: Judy Lynn Kelly (74) American country music singer and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Idaho in 1955. Lynn was born in Boise, Idaho. As a teenager she joined a nationwide tour of Grand Ole Opry performers. She was hired to fill in for Jean Shepard, who had become ill during the tour. Lynn retired from the music business in 1980 to become a Christian minister (She died of heart failure at her home in Jeffersonville) b. April 16th 1936.

May 27th
1840: Niccolò Paganini (57) Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer; he started learning the mandolin from his father, and moved to the violin by the age of seven. His musical talents were quickly recognized, earning him numerous scholarships for violin lessons. By age 18, Paganini was appointed first violin of the Republic of Lucca, but a substantial portion of his income came from freelancing. He went on to become one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His astounding technical prowess amazed audiences, many fanciful legends arose to explain his remarkable abilities, one of the more popular held that he was in league with demonic powers. His fame as a violinist was matched only by his reputation as a gambler and womanizer. In performance Paganini enjoyed playing tricks, like tuning one of his strings a semitone high (scordatura), or playing the majority of a piece on one string after breaking the other three. His techniques included harmonics, double stops, pizzicato with the left and the right hand, and near-impossible fingerings and bowings (cancer of the larynx) b. October 27th 1782
1992: Uncle Charlie Osborne (101) American fiddle player who had a unique style of playing the fiddle with his left hand, on a right-handed fiddle; played numerous shows at the Carter Family Fold in Scott County, one occasion Johnny Cash was Uncle Charlie's "opening act". He occasionally gave advice to Tennessee Ernie Ford on his music and could be heard regularly on WOPI radio station in Bristol, Tennessee. In the 1980s, Governor Chuck Robb came to his home and presented him with an award recognizing his contributions to Virginia life and culture. Also, in the mid eighties, he and his brother Emmett began playing heavily with their half-brother, George Osborne, a former country & western singer. Their weekly or semi-weekly jam sessions became the stuff of legends (died after a short illness). b. December 26th 1890.
1995: C W "Stubb" Stubblefield (64) US music promoter, barbecue restaurateur; In the 70’s and 80’s, the Sunday Night jams held in his small restaurant hosted such musicians as Jessie "Guitar" Taylor, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Ely, Terry Allen, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters, Tom T. Hall, B. B. King and George Thorogood. He was inducted into the "The Buddy Holly Walk of Fame"/ "The West Texas Walk of Fame" situated at Lubbock, Texas in 1996 (?) b. March 7th 1931.
1996: Albert "Pud" Brown (79) US jazz clarinetist and saxophonist; born in Delaware, raised him in Shreveport, Louisiana, fluent on saxophone by age five and touring throughout North America by the age of seven. He went on to play with Phil Lavant, Lawrence Welk, Les Brown, Coleman Hawkins, Doc Cheatham, Danny Barker, Kid Ory, Percy Humphrey, Louis Armstrong and many others. As well as being active as an educator in local schools, he was a member of Clive Wilson's Original Camelia Brass Band in the 1980s, and a regular at the French Quarter's Palm Court Jazz Cafe until his death (?) b. January 22nd 1917
1996: Ivan Sutton (82) British concert promoter; he started as a tea taster, an occupation interrupted by tuberculosis that led to a year in hospital and sanatorium. During this period of enforced rest he discovered classical music, while listening to a wind-up gramophone. In 1943 he started the City Music Society, engaging distinguished performers from the very beginning. Three years later he persuaded the Goldsmiths' Company to allow their fine hall to be used for a series of evening concerts. The first featured the Philharmonia String Quartet, Denis Matthews and the Zorian Quartet. By 1947 lunchtime recitals had a permanent home at the Bishopsgate Institute. Over half a century on, the society still presents series in these two splendid halls, Ivan Sutton in that time having organised 1,745 concerts.(?) b. Dec 27 1914.
1997: Willie Woods (60) US guitarist with the legendary Jr Walker's All Stars; he was an original member along with sax player Junior Walker, drummer Tony Washington, guitarist Willie Woods, and keyboardist Vic Thomas. They started out as the 'Rhythm Rockers before changing to The All Stars.The group was spotted by Johnny Bristol, and he recommended them to Harvey Fuqua, in 1961, who had his own record labels. Once the group started recording on the Harvey label, their name was changed to Junior Walker & the All Stars. When Fuqua's labels were taken over by Berry Gordy, Jr. Walker & The All Stars became members of the Motown Records family, recording for Motown's Soul imprint. They went on to release 17 albums and produced 25 hit singles (lung cancer) b.?
2003: Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (77) Italian composer; noted for his experimental work, in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia for voices and orchestra and his series of numbered solo pieces titled Sequenza and also for his pioneering work in electronic music. In 1988 he was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, London (he died in a hospital in Rome) b. October 24th 1925.
2004: Ronald Bertram Smith (82) English classical pianist, composer and teacher, born in London. He entered the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 16, after leaving the academy he studied privately in Paris with Marguerite Long. Ronald was a champion of piano works from the romantic period; most notably those of Charles-Valentin Alkan, of whom he also wrote a biography. He also taught the piano for many years at The King's School, Canterbury (died in Saltwood) b. 3 January 3rd 1922
2007: Izumi Sakai/Sachiko Kamachi (40) Japanese singer-songwriter; born in Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan, and grew up in Hadano, Kanagawa. In 1991, she joined the five-member pop group Zard as lead vocalist and wrote the lyrics to all of Zard's songs except Onna de Itai and Koionna no Yuuutsu. Sakai produced 42 singles as well as 11 albums and 5 compilations in her lifetime. In addition to "Makenaide," she produced two other singles that sold over a million copies. Six of her albums as well as her first three compilations also surpassed the one-million mark, an unprecedented record. In record sales, Izumi is considered one of the most successful Japanese singers. In total CDs sold currently exceeds 30 million making Zard the eighth best-selling act in Japan (died after a long battle with cancer) b. February 6th 1967.
2009: Tega/Ortega Henderson (25) American rap artist and member of rapper Nelly's St. Lunatics crew. (gunshot wounds.. the aspiring Mc, died 11 days after he was rushed to intensive care at a Missouri hospital following the shooting tragedy) b.??
2010: Jackson Kaujeua (56) Namibian musician, composer, gospel singer, and a veteran of the Namibian struggle for independence. He sang in various Namibian languages and English. Jackson was a member of the Herero ethnic group in !Huns, a village near Keetmanshoop. Later, he broke off an education as a priest at the mission school of Otjimbingwe after he came in touch with the songs of gospels singers like Mahalia Jackson, whose human rights-related lyrics inspired him. In 1973 he started studying music at the Dorkay Art & Music College for talented Non-Whites in South Africa. However, he was soon expelled from the country for anti-apartheid activism, and went into exile in 1974. After a short time in Botswana, the SWAPO-resistance movement, with which he was associated with until his death, helped him to move to the UK, where he soon became the lead singer of the group Black Diamond. International success followed with songs such as "Winds of Change". Having lived as a teacher in an Angolan refugee camp for a short time in 1979, he returned to Namibia only after independence in 1990, where he celebrated great successes with his music, especially with !Gnubu !Nubus. (sadly died from kidney disease) b. July 3rd 1953.
2010: David Sanger (63) British classical organist, educated at Eltham College and the Royal Academy of Music. His career was launched when he won first prize in two international competitions: St Albans, England in 1969 and Kiel, Germany in 1972. Since then, he toured as a solo recitalist. His discography spans the music of several centuries, and includes the complete organ works of Franck, the complete organ symphonies of Louis Vierne, and works by Liszt and Lefébure-Wély. He also recorded the complete organ music of Bach for Meridian Records. His debut on the organ was with Polydor with Bach and Franck recorded in Munich. He toured many countries as recitalist, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Italy, France, Russia, Iceland, the United States, Mexico and South Korea, as well as giving many recitals in the British Isles, notably at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, The Royal Festival Hall, the City of London Festival, the Bath Festival, the Chester Festival, the West-Riding Cathedrals' Festival, and many similar occasions. He gave Master Classes in many places including Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo, and was 'Headmaster' of the Church Music Seminar in Bergen for fourteen years. David was frequently partnered by Hans Fagius from Sweden for Organ Duet Concerts (suspected suicide, he was found dead at a house in Embleton, near Cockermouth, Cumbria. Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the death. He was on bail, charged with eight counts of gross indecency against boys aged under 16, committed in the late 1970s) b. April 17th 1947

May 28th
1981: Mary Lou Williams/Mary Elfrieda Scruggs (71) American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, born in Atlanta, Georgia, she grew up in East Liberty, Pittsburgh. In 1924, aged 14 she was taken on the Orpheum Circuit. The following year she played with Duke Ellington in his early band, the Washingtonians. One morning at 3am, while jamming with McKinney's Cotton Pickers at Harlem's Rhythm Club, the great Louis Armstrong entered the room and paused to listen to her. Mary went on to write 100's of compositions and arrangements, and recorded more than one hundred records. She wrote and arranged for such famed bandleaders as Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and she was friend, mentor, and teacher to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie (sadly died of bladder cancer) b. May 8th 1910.
1985: Roy Plomley (71) English radio broadcaster, producer, playwright and novelist. In 1942, he devised the BBC Radio series Desert Island Discs. Each show consisted of an interview with a celebrity, interpersed by the guest's choice of music. He presented 1,791 editions of the programme stretching over 43 years. He was voted BBC Radio Personality of the Year in 1979. He came to notice as an announcer, and later producer, for the International Broadcasting Company (IBC), starting on Radio Normandy in April 1936 and moving on at the end of that year to the IBC's Paris-based station, Poste Parisien. This came to an end when commercial broadcasting from the continent was brought to a halt by World War II. Roy and his new wife stayed on in Paris, only narrowly escaping back to the UK via a circuitous route through the chaos and panic of the Fall of France, losing all their possessions in the process, as German occupying forces approached the French capital in the June of 1940 (pleurisy) b. January 20th 1914.
1988: Melvin "Sy" Oliver (77) American arranger, bandleader, trombonist with Zack White and his Chocolate Beau Brummels, Alphonse Trent, Tommy Dorsey before forming his own band. He joined Jimmie Lunceford's band in 1933 and contributed many hit arrangements to the band, including "My Blue Heaven" and "Ain't She Sweet". In 1939, he became one of the first African Americans with a prominent role in a white band when he joined Tommy Dorsey as an arranger. He led the transition of the Dorsey band from Dixieland to modern big band. He become known for his "growling" horn playing. (?) b. Dec 17th 1910.
1993: Isaiah "Doc" Ross (67) US blues and boogie man, a true one-man band, he played harmonica, acoustic guitar, bass drum and high-hat simultaneously. Once best known for the recordings he made for Sun Records in the 1950s, notably "The Boogie Disease" and "Chicago Breakdown", until he won a Grammy for his 1981 LP Rare Blues, and subsequently enjoyed a resurgence and much critical acclaim towards the end of his career (?) b. Oct. 21st 1925.
1993: Duncan Browne (46) UK singer, songwriter, his biggest hit in the UK was the song "Journey", as televised on Top of the Pops in 1972 (cancer) b. March 25th 1947.
2001: Tony Ashton (55) English rock pianist, keyboardist, singer, composer, producer and artist born in Blackburn, Lancashire. Tony was invited to join the Liverpool group the Remo Four as organist/vocalist. The group spent some time being the resident band at Hamburg's legendary Star club in Germany, followed by a US tour accompanying the Beatles. They recorded some singles but their best work came in 1966 when they released their album Smile. Before their break-up in 1968, they backed George Harrison on his album Wonderwall. Tony formed a new group with Remo drummer Roy Dyke and bass player Kim Gardner. They called themselves Ashton, Gardner and Dyke. The trio recorded three albums, but gained recognition in the UK in 1971, when the single "Resurrection Shuffle" reached No.3 on the UK Singles Chart. In August 1976, when Purple split, Jon Lord and Ian Paice and Tony formed of Paice, Ashton, Lord (P.A.L.), a band rooted in funk, jazz and rock. The line-up was completed by future Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden and bass player Paul Martinez. They recorded Malice In Wonderland in Munich. During the 80s Tony co-hosted a TV show with Rick Wakeman called "GasTank". Every week, there were guests ranging from Phil Lynott to Ian Paice who sat in with the show's in-house band led by Ashton and Wakeman. The 90's sees Tony as an artist and playing the big festivals with Bernie Marsden, before becoming seriously ill in 1999. (cancer) b. March 1st 1946.
2004: Derek Frigo (36) US guitarist with Enuff Z' Nuff before moving to Los Angeles to work on new material and learn how to produce and engineer music. (drug overdose) b. ??
2010: Slim Bryant (101) American country singer, songwriter and guitarist born in Atlanta, Georgia. After spending nearly 18 years working with Georgia fiddler Clayton McMichen as part of his band the Georgia Wildcats, Slim and most of the band separated from McMichen and moved to Pittsburgh in 1940. He is considered by many to be the father of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, country music scene, having performed on the first television program to air in that city, a musical variety show broadcast live on WDTV from Syria Mosque in Oakland, PA, in 1949. He was the last surviving musician to have recorded with the legendary country singer Jimmie Rodgers, who died in 1933. In 1932, Rodgers recorded Slim's song Mother, the Queen of My Heart, with Slim accompanying him on guitar. Rodgers not only gave him writing credit, but had them list his name first, which is something many big stars refuse to do. He also recorded nine other songs with Jimmie. He gained legendary status on KDKA-TV in the 1950's.With his back-up group, the Wildcats, he wrote and recorded such novelty songs as Eeny Meeny Dixie Deeny, the closest he ever came to having a "hit" on the Billboard charts, and the Iron City Beer jingle that became a fixture in the 50's (?) b. December 7th 1908

May 29th
1951: Fanny Brice (59) A popular and influential American comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress and entertainer, remembered best for her many stage, radio and film appearances and her recordings. She was the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show. After her death she was depicted on stage and film by Barbra Streisand as Funny Girl. (She died of a cerebral hemorrhage and is interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles) b. Oct 29th 1891.
1989: John Cipollina (64) lead guitarist, Quicksilver Messenger Service (emphysema)
1989: Giuseppe Patanè (57) Italian opera conductor born in Naples, where he made his debut in 1951. He was principal conductor at the Linz opera from 1961–1962 and on the roster of the Deutsche Oper in West Berlin from 1962 to 1968. His first appearance at La Scala in Milan came in 1969, and he also conducted at the opera houses of San Francisco, London and New York City and chief conductor of the Münchner Rundfunkorchester from 1985 until 1989 (Giuseppe collapsed suddenly from a heart attack while conducting a performance of 'Il barbiere di Siviglia' at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, sadly he died later in hospital) b. January 1st 1932.
1992: Ollie Halsall/Peter John Halsall (43) UK guitar virtuoso in the bands Patto, Boxer & worked with Kevin Ayers. He is also notable as one of the few players of the vibraphone in rock music. His best known recordings are his works on the album The Rutles, where he plays many of the instruments and provides backing and lead vocals of Dirk McQuickly. His role in the accompanying film, however, went to Eric Idle and Ollie only featured in the cameo role as Leppo, the 5th Rutle who became lost in Hamburg (heart attack) b. March 14th 1949 More
1997: Jeff Buckley (30) US singer-songwriter, guitarist, son of Tim Buckley; before world tours and fame, he gained popularity in the early 90s playing covers at venues in Manhattan's East Village, such as Sin-é, and he gradually focused more on his own material. Known for his guitaring and vocal range of 4 octaves, he was considered by critics to be one of the most promising artists of his generation Born in Anaheim, California, he began playing while in high school, before moving to L.A. to study music; while he was there, he performed with several jazz and funk bands, as well as playing with Shinehead, a leader in the dancehall reggae movement. A few years later, he moved to New York, forming Gods & Monsters with the experimental guitarist Gary Lucas. He began a solo career and was soon sined Columbia Records, releasing the Live at Sin-e EP in November of 1993; his album debut, 1994's Grace, received huge rave reviews. The following 2 years were filled wil extensive world touring, after which he moved to Memphis, were he began working on his 2nd album My Sweetheart the Drunk. Since Jeff's death, there have been many posthumous releases of his material, including a collection of four-track demos and studio recordings for his unfinished second album My Sweetheart the Drunk (After a recording session, he tragically drowned while swimming in Wolf River, a slackwater channel of the Mississippi Rive. He had waded in wearing boots, all of his clothing, and singing the chorus of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" when he was caught by the wake of a passing tugboat, not drug related) b. November 17th 1966.
2009: Jonny Dollar/Jonny Sharp (45) British music producer; he produced Massive Attack's Blue Lines in 1991, which included the poll-topping single 'Unfinished Sympathy. He also worked with Neneh Cherry and on Gabrielle's number one album Rise. He is also is credited with helping to shape the "Bristol sound," in which hip hop-influenced downtempo electronic music is punctuated by breakbeats and samples.(cancer) b.??

May 30th
1953: Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (67) African American actor and singer; appeared in over twenty motion pictures, his most famous is for playing "Sam" in the 1942 film Casablanca. In the 1920s he played as a drummer in a band which toured Europe. From the 1930s to the 1950s he worked in motion pictures and Broadway musicals, and played Bill Jackson on the television situation comedy Beulah during its final 1952–1953 season. (?) b. April 3th 1886
1956: Valaida Snow (51) US trumpeter, vocalist; she learned to play cello, bass, banjo, violin, mandolin, harp, accordion, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, sing and dance at professional levels by the time she was 15. She was named "Little Louis" after Louis Armstrong, who used to call her the world's second best jazz trumpet player besides himself. While touring Denmark in 1941, she was arrested and sent to a Nazis Concentration camp where she was held until May of 1942 before being released on a prisoner exchange. She never emotionally recovered from the experience (brain hemorrhage) b. June 2nd 1904
1976: Melvin 'Lil Son' Jackson (58) US electric blues artist, singer, guitarist; played early on in a gospel group called the Blue Eagle Four. He released "Freedom Train Blues" in 1948, which became a nationwide hit in the U.S. and recorded for Imperial Records between 1950 and 1954, both as a solo artist and with a backing band. His 1950 tune "Rockin' and Rollin" was recast by later musicians as "Rock Me Baby". He was hurt in a car crash in the middle of the 1950s and gave up his music career. B. B. King covered Melvins "I Got to Leave This Woman", on his 2000 album, Makin' Love Is Good for You (cancer) b. August 16th 1915.
1977: Paul Desmond/Paul Emil Breitenfeld (52) US jazz alto saxophonist born in San Francisco; known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for penning that group's greatest hit, "Take Five". In addition to his work with Brubeck he led several of his own groups and did significant collaborations with artists such as Gerry Mulligan, Jim Hall and Chet Baker. He was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1977. (Sadly Paul succumbed to lung cancer following one last tour with Dave Brubeck) b. November 25th 1924.
1980: Carl Radle (37) American bass player born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and maybe best known for his association with Eric Clapton, starting in 1969 with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, Derek and the Dominos, he took part in Joe Cocker's famous Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour. He worked on all of Eric's solo projects and was a member of Clapton's touring band from 1970 until 1979. Carl also can be seen in the famous concert film, The Concert for Bangladesh. By the time The Concert for Bangladesh album was released in 1972, Radle had recorded albums with Dave Mason, J. J. Cale, George Harrison, The Colours, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, and Buddy Guy among others. He can also be seen in Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz, a "rock-umentary" about The Band. (sadly died from a kidney infection, the effects of alcohol and narcotics). b. June 18th 1942
1986: Hank Mobley (55) American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer; born in Eastman, Georgia, but was raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, near Newark. Early in his career, he worked with Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach. He took part in one of the landmark hard bop sessions, alongside Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Doug Watkins and trumpeter Kenny Dorham. The results of these sessions were released as Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers. During the 1960s, he worked chiefly as a leader, recording over 20 albums for Blue Note Records between 1955 and 1970., including Soul Station and Roll Call , He performed with many of the most important hard bop players, such as Grant Green, Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Clark, Wynton Kelly and Philly Joe Jones, and formed a particularly productive partnership with trumpeter Lee Morgan (pneumonia) b. July 7th 1930.
1987: Melvin Edward Alton “Turk” Murphy (71) American jazz trombonist; he was most renowned for playing traditional and dixieland jazz in San Francisco. In 1952, he headed his own band, "Turk Murphy's Jazz Band," which included pianist Wally Rose, clarinetist Bob Helm, banjo player Dick Lammi, and tubaist Bob Short. They played at the Italian Village at Columbus and Lombard, in San Francisco’s North Beach. As well as releasing dozens of albums the band appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show twice in 1959 and 1965. Among other venues, Melvin's band played his nightclub "Earthquake McGoons," which opened in 1960 and moved twice before closing in 1984 and in January of 1987, Melvin played Carnegie Hall (?) b. December 16th 1915
1993: Herman Blount/ Run Ra Jazz (79) An innovative US jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy", musical compositions and performances. His music touched on virtually the entire history of jazz, from ragtime to swing music, from bebop to free jazz; he was also a pioneer of electronic music, space music and free improvisation, and was one of the first musicians, regardless of genre, to make extensive use of electronic keyboards (stroke) b. May 22nd 1914.
1995: Antonio Flores (33) Spanish singer and songwriter born in Madrid; his first album, "Antonio", was released on 1980 and included the hit No dudaría and a cover from Joaquín Sabina's Pongamos que hablo de Madrid. He released 3 more albums Al caer el sol in 1984,
Gran Vía in 1988 and Cosas mías in 1995. Four albums were released posthumous (drug overdose only two weeks after the death of his mother) b. November 14th 1961.
2000: Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke (86) US saxophonist, singer and bandleader born in Fort Worth, Texas. Gordon started playing saxophone when he was nine, going from soprano to alto to tenor saxophones and staying with the latter. His first professional work was with bandleader Ben Young in 1935. He is probably remembered best for his association and best-selling hit records with Glenn Miller's popular big band from 1938 to 1942. One of his famous solos can be heard on "In The Mood" and Gordon sings on another popular Glenn Miller recording, "Chattanooga Choo Choo". He took over leadership of the Glenn Miller Orchestra after the death of Glenn in World War II (respiratory failure). b. February 12th 1914
2003: Mickie Most/Michael Peter Hayes (64) English singer and record producer, with a string of No.1 singles with his own RAK Records, and with acts such as The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, and Suzi Quatro (mesothelioma). b. June 20th 1938
2009: Waldemar Matuška (76) Czech singer; brought up in in Prague, he played various musical instruments with many different bands. In 1960 he recorded his first song Suvenýr (Souvenir). Later he became an actor in the theatre Semafor and also won the Zlatý Slavík (Golden Nightingale) music poll twice, in 1962 and 1967, and placed second several times. He also sang with Helena Vondrácková, Marta Kubišová, Jitka Zelenková, Hana Hegerová, Karel Gott and others. As his popularity grew he started acting in movies and writing songs for movies. He relocated to America in 1986. In Czechoslovakia, the Communist party banned all his songs, destroyed recordings of Jsem svým pánem ('I'm My Own Master'), deleted his opening song in the television series Chalupári (just the melody remained) and changed the title of the series Rozpaky kuchare Svatopluka. After the 1989 Velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia, his songs were returned to their proper place in the television series. Waldemar continued to perform in America, mostly for emigrants from Czechoslovakia. (pneumonia and heart failure, asthma may have contributed to his death) b. July 2nd 1932.
2010: Ali-Ollie Woodson/Ollie Creggett (58) American R&B singer, songwriter, keyboardist and occasional actor, born in Detroit, Michigan, but was raised in Town Creek, Alabama. Legendary, Bill Pinkney started Ali on the road at the age of 19, giving him a job as a keyboardist and then a vocalist for The Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters in the early 1970s. Ali became the lead singer of Motown's Temptations from 1984 to 1986, and again from 1988 to 1996. While in the group, he co-wrote, co-produced, and sang lead and played keyboards on the 1984 Temptations single "Treat Her Like a Lady," which was a No.2 hit on the U.S. R&B charts. His last Temptations album was 1995's "For Lovers Only", after which he began his solo career ... READ MORE ... (Ali sadly passed away after battling leukemia for eighteen months) b. September 12th 1951.

May 31st
1809: Franz Joseph Haydn (77) Austrian composer; master of keyboard, vocals, chamber, concerto, opera, choral, symphonic, orchestral and called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet". Intended for the priesthood, he was recruited at age eight to the choir at St. Stephen's Church, Vienna, where he learned violin and keyboard. Haydn was hired by Prince Paul Anton in 1761, and worked for most of his years of service, 1762–1790, as the Esterházy family Kapellmeister () b. March 31st 1732
1967: Billy Strayhorn (51) American composer, pianist, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader Duke Ellington. An extravagantly gifted composer, arranger and pianist, some considered him a genius; he toiled throughout most of his maturity in the gaudy shadow of his employer, collaborator and friend, Duke Ellington. He began his musical career, studying classical music for a time at the Pittsburgh Music Institute, writing a high school musical, forming a musical trio that played daily on a local radio station, and, while still in his teens, composing (with lyrics) the songs "Life Is Lonely", later renamed "Lush Life", "My Little Brown Book", and "Something to Live For". He was then introduced to the music of pianists like Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson at age 19. These musicians guided him into the realm of jazz where he remained for the rest of his life. His first jazz exposure was in a combo called the Mad Hatters who played around Pittsburgh. He met Duke Ellington in December 1938, after an Ellington performance in Pittsburgh, Billy told, and then showed the Duke how he would have arranged one of Duke's own pieces, after which Billy worked for Ellington for the next quarter century as an arranger, composer, occasional pianist and collaborator until his early death. (cancer of the esophagus) b. November 20th 1915
1994: Herva Nelli (35) Italian soprano born in born in Florence; Herva made her debut in 1937 with the Salmaggi Opera in New York City. In 1947, she sang in a concert version of "Otello" with Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony. Over the next seven years she sang with the orchestra in several Verdi operas and went to Italy with Toscanini for the postwar reopening of La Scala opera house. Herva made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1953 in "Aida" and sang many leading roles there. Her final performance was in 1962, in "Norma" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. After which she concerntrated on a catering career gaining a particular reputation as a chef. (leukemia) b. January 9th 1909.
2000: Tito Puente Sr./Ernesto Antonio Puente Jr. (67) American musician; an influential Latin jazz and mambo musician, often credited as "El Rey" of the timbales and "The King of Latin Music". He is best known for Latin jazz compositions and dance-oriented mambo over his 50 year career. After serving three years in the Navy during World War II he was discharged with a Presidential Commendation for serving in nine battles. He next went Juilliard School of Music, where he studied conducting, orchestration and theory. In the '50s, he helped to bring Afro-Cuban and Caribbean sounds, like mambo, son, and cha-cha-cha, to mainstream audiences. Later, he included pop music, bossa nova and fusion of Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres that became known as "salsa". He and his music appear in many films such as The Mambo Kings and Fernando Trueba's Calle 54. In 1979 Tito won the first of five Grammy Awards for albums A Tribute to Benny Moré, On Broadway, Mambo Diablo, and Goza Mi Timbal. In 1990, he was awarded the "James Smithson Bicentennial Medal." and also awarded a Grammy at the first Latin Grammy Awards, winning Best Traditional Tropical Album for Mambo Birdland. He was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. (heart problems). b. April 20th 1923
2000: Johnnie Taylor (63) US gospel, blues and soul to pop, doo-wop and disco singer with the Five Echoes, the Soul Stirrers and the Highway QCs. Born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas. His singing was strikingly close to that of Sam Cooke, and he was hired to take Sam's place in Cooke's gospel group, the Soul Stirrers, in 1957. In 1966, he signed to Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was dubbed "The Philosopher of Soul". Whilst there he recorded with the label's house band, Booker T. & the MGs. His hits included "I Had a Dream", "I've Got to Love Somebody's Baby" (both written by the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter) and "Who's Making Love?", which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the R&B chart in 1968. In 1976 his number one hit "Disco Lady," sold over two million copies. Signing with Malaco Records in the 1984 he recorded a total of 12 albums for the label over the next 15 years, ranking as one of their best-selling artists. Johnnie was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1999 and continued touring and recording up until his death (heart attack). b. May 5th 1937
2000: Joe Puma (72) US jazz guitarist; played with such bands as Louie Bellson, Artie Shaw, Eddie Bert, Herbie Mann, Mat Mathews, Chris Connor, and Paul Quinichette; he also recorded extensively as a leader. In the 1960s he worked with Morgana King, Bobby Hackett, Gary Burton, and Carmen McRae, and between 1972 and 1977 he and Chuck Wayne led an ensemble. He performed and taught into the late 1990s (cancer). b. Aug 13. 2000
2004: Robert Quine (61) US guitarist; on leaving Berklee School of Music, Richard Hell invited him to join his new band The Voidoids. Their two albums Blank Generation and Destiny Street feature Quine's distinctive guitar work. After which recorded with Lydia Lunch, Jody Harris and Material. In the early 1980s, former Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed asked Robert to join his group. He appeared on Reed's The Blue Mask, acclaimed as one of Reed's best albums, also did a world tour, which is documented on the video A Night with Lou Reed -1983 and the album Live in Italy released 1984. He went on to play, record and/or tour with many musicians including Tom Waits, John Zorn, Ikue Mori, Marc Ribot, Marianne Faithfull, Brian Eno, Scritti Politti, Lloyd Cole, Odds, Jody Harris, Matthew Sweet and Lester Bangs. (depressed after the death of his wife Alice in August 2003, he committed suicide by a heroin overdose) b. December 30th 1942
2004: Étienne Roda-Gil (62) French songwriter and screenwriter; after university studies in 1968, he met singer Julien Clerc and began a successful collaboration which lasted until 1980. They did, however, collaborate on the album Utile in 1992, which won the Prix Vincent Scotto. In 1979, he collaborated with Gérard Lenorman on the album Boulevard de l'océan. Others he worked with included Johnny Hallyday, Claude François, Juliette Gréco, Barbara and Louis Bertignac. In 1989 he received the grand prix of songwriting from Sacem... La Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique (died in Paris) b. Aug 1st 1941.
2009: Danny La Rue OBE/Daniel Patrick Carroll (81) Irish-born British female impersonator and singer; His family moved to England when he was six and he was brought up at Earnshaw Street in Soho, central London, but moved to County Devon during the London Blitz. After serving in the British Royal Navy, he became known for his skill as a "comic in a frock" as he preferred to be called, in Britain and was featured in theatre productions, and in film, television, and records. Among his celebrity impersonations were Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Marlene Dietrich, and Margaret Thatcher. At one point he had his own nightclub in Hanover Square, and also performed on London's West End. In the 1960s he was among Britain's highest-paid entertainers. In 1968 his version of "On Mother Kelly's Doorstep" reached number 33 in the UK singles chart. In the 1970s he owned the Swan at Streatley hotel. In 1982 he played Dolly Levi in the musical Hello, Dolly!, and he was until his death still a regular performer in traditional Christmas pantomime shows in Britain. Danny was made an OBE in the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours List. Other highlites and honors included Royal Variety Performance appearances in 1969, 1972 and 1978, Variety Club of Great Britain Showbiz Personality of the Year in 1969, Theatre Personality of the Year in 1970, Entertainer of the Decade in 1979 and the Brinsworth Award from the EABF for his outstanding contribution to the entertainment profession and the community (prostate cancer) b. July 26th 1927.
2010: Rubén Juárez (62) Argentine singer-songwriter and bandoneónist, born in Ballesteros, and raised in Avellaneda. His corresponding studies of the guitar during his youth led him to integrate various rock bands into his repetoire. Years later he met the guitarist Héctor Arbello around the time that they both played together with Julio Sosa. They formed a band and toured around the country. When the bandoneonist Aníbal Troilo went to watch him the first time, Rubén asked him to be his artistic godfather. On 2 June 1969 he recorded his first song with the label Odeón Para vos, canilla, and that was an immediate success. After a year, he was recruited by Nicolás Mancera to sing on his TV program Sábados Circulares. Since that time, he had acted in Argentina and abroad, and recorded songs with artists like Armando Pontier, Charly García, Pedro Aznar, Leopoldo Federico, Raúl Garello, Litto Nebbia, the guitarist Roberto Grela and José Colángelo. In later years he worked with the master Raúl Luzzi (Sadly lost his battle with prostate cancer) b. November 5th 1947.
2010: Benjamin Lees/Benjamin Lisniansky (86) American composer of classical music, born in Harbin, China, and raised in San Francisco.In 1972, he was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra to write the music to the text of E.B. White’s “The Trumpet of the Swans.” In 1985, he was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to write a piece that would commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust, Symphony No. 4 ‘Memorial Candles’. Symphony No. 5, commemorating the arrival of Swedish immigrants to Delaware in the 17th century, was recorded, along with his Symphony No. 2 and Symphony No. 3, for Albany Records and earned him a 2004 Grammy nomination. A recording of his Violin Concerto by Elmar Oliveira on Artek Records was also nominated for a Grammy in 2009. His music has been performed around the world over the years at venues such as Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and in Monaco at a performance celebrating the 500th anniversary of the kingdom. In 2009 Naxos Records released a new recording of his String Quartets Nos. 1, 5 and 6, performed by the Cypress String Quartet (heart failure) b. January 8th 1924.

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