NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS: MUSICIAN BIRTHDATES, CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

November 1
2004: Terry Knight/Richard Terrance Knapp (61) US rock and roll music producer, promoter, singer, songwriter and radio personality and manager of Grand Funk Railroad. He also founded and fronted The Pack. Between 1970-72, he was the most successful, and controversial, promoter in the rock business, racking up an unprecedented eight gold albums while simultaneously waging a war of words with Rolling Stone.(murdered, found stabbed to death in his apartment in Temple, Texas) b. April 9th 1943.
2004: Mac Dre/Andre Hicks (34) American gangsta rap artist,was one of the originators of hyphy and is generally considered the creator of Thizz music. He worked with well-known artists such as Snoop Dogg, Pisi-P,Warren G, Richie Rich, Keak da Sneak, E-40, Daz Dillinger, Baby Bash, B-Legit, San Quinn, Yukmouth, PSD, Andre Nickatina, Mac Mall, Ray Luv and Too Short. (shot to death while returning to his hotel after a performance in Kansas City, Missouri) b. July 5th 1970... read more
2005: Skitch Henderson/Lyle Russell Cedric Henderson (87) Bandleader, founder of New York Pops Orchestra; he succeeded Toscanini as music director for NBC Television and was the original conductor of the orchestras for The Tonight Show and The Today Show () b.
2008: Yma Sumac/Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo (86) Peruvian soprano; one of the most famous proponents of exotica music, who became an international success, based on the merits of her extreme vocal range, a span of near five octaves. Born in Ichocán, Cajamarca, Peru, at the age of 13, she was invited to appear on Argentinean radio. Soon enough South America was quite enchanted with this amazing voice. In 1943, she recorded around 16 songs in Argentina, most have been released on CD in this last decade. A now classic record, 'Voice of the Xtabay' was recorded in 1950 and sold over 100,000 copies without major publicity. After a massively successful concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 1950, Yma would became world famous and traveled the globe and become a vocal phenomenon. In the 50's, she also appeared in at least 4 films, had worldwide fan clubs and was eventually declared "the 8th wonder of the world." She performed globaly throughout her life and on May 6th 2006, Yma flew to Lima, where she was presented the Orden del Sol award by Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo and the Jorge Basadre medal by the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (cancer) b. September 13th 1922.
2008: Nathaniel Mayer (64) American rhythm & blues singer who started his career in the early 1960s at Fortune Records in Detroit, Michigan. He had a raw, highly energetic vocal style and wild stage show. After a 35 year absence from music, in 2002 Mayer began recording and touring again, realeasing albums with Fat Possum, Alive Records and Norton Records. (stroke) b. February 10th 1944.
2008: Jimmy Carl Black/James Inkanish Jr (70) Cheyenne Native American drummer, vocalist and founding member of the Mothers of Invention; he also worked as a guest vocalist with Muffin Men, with Jon Larsen on the surrealistic Strange News From Mars project, featuring several other Zappa alumni, such as Tommy Mars, Bruce Fowler, Arthur Barrow and several of his own bands. His trademark line was "Hi Boys and Girls, I'm Jimmy Carl Black, and I'm the Indian of the group." (lung cancer) b. February 1st 1938... read more

November 2
1887: Jenny Lind (67) Swedish singer often known as the Swedish Nightingale; She is known for her performances in soprano roles in Sweden and Europe, as well as for an extraordinarily popular tour of America beginning in 1850, and for her philanthropic work. After years of world tours she retired to UK (she died at Wynd's Point, behind the Little Malvern Priory, and is buried in the Great Malvern Cemetery, Worcestershire, UK) b. October 6th 1820.
1966: Mississippi John Smith Hurt (74) US blues singer and guitarist; his first releases had coincided with the Great Depression, his later career could hardly have been better timed. A stellar performance at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival saw his star rise amongst the new "folk revival" audience. He played extensively in colleges, concert halls, coffee houses and the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, as well as recording three further albums. His influence spans several music genres including blues, country, bluegrass, folk and contemporary rock and roll (?) b. March 8th 1892.(date on his grave stone)
1996: Eva Cassidy (33) US vocalist born in Washington, DC; she was known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics. She released her first album "The Other Side", a set of duets with Chuck Brown in 1992 followed by a live solo album "Live at Blues Alley" in 1996. Sadly she was virtually unknown outside of her native Washington DC at the time of her death. Four years later, Eva's music was brought to the attention of British audiences when her version of "Over the Rainbow" was played by Terry Wogan on BBC Radio 2. Following the overwhelming response, a camcorder recording of "Over the Rainbow", taken at the Blues Alley, was shown on BBC Two's Top of the Pops 2. Shortly afterwards, the compilation album Songbird climbed to the top of the UK Albums Charts, almost three years after its initial release. The chart success in the United Kingdom and Ireland led to increased recognition all over theworld (melanoma) b. February 2nd 1963.
2007: Witold "Vitek" Kieltyka (23) Polish drummer and percussionist for the technical death metal band Decapitated. He had been with the band ever since it was founded in 1996, when he was only twelve years of age. He also did work for the heavy metal bands Dies Irae and Panzer X. (Their tour bus collided with a truck carrying wood, he died from serious head injuries) b. January 24th 1984
2009: Beverley O'Sullivan (28) Irish singer (car crash) b.

November 3
1964: John Henry Barbee (58) US blues guitarist, singer; Sunnyland Slim, other bands and solo. Well known for being an amazing storyteller (involved in an auto accident and suffered a heart attack while in jail waiting for the case to come to court).
1990: Mary Martin (76) US actress, singer; born in Weatherford, Texas, he originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She also became popular on Broadway and received attention in the national media singing "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". In 1955 and 1956, she received, first, a Tony Award for Peter Pan, and then an Emmy for appearing in the same role on television. She also received Tony Awards for South Pacific, and, in 1959 for The Sound of Music. Mary made an appearance in 1980 in a Royal Variety Performance in London, performing "Honeybun" from South Pacific (colon cancer) b. December 1st 1913.
1991: Mort Shuman (55) American singer, pianist and songwriter; on his own or teamed with songwriting partner Doc Pomus, his songs were recorded by artists such as Dion, Andy Williams, Bobby Darin, Fabian, The Drifters, and Elvis Presley, among others, most famous songs include "A Teenager in Love", "Turn Me Loose", "This Magic Moment", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "Little Sister", "Can't Get Used to Losing You", "His Latest Flame" and "Viva Las Vegas" (complications due to a liver operation) b. November 3rd 1991.
2002: Lonnie Donegan (71) UK singer, guitar, banjo, songwriter who launched the skiffle craze in the UK, sometimes called the King of Skiffle, he was a large influence on the generation of British musicians who became famous in the 1960s.(heart problems).
2004: Joe Bushkin (87) World renowned jazz pianist, composer; Over the course of his seven-decade career, Bushkin accompanied the Bunny Berigan Boys, Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Judy Garland and many more. (pneumonia).
2006: Paul Mauriat (81) French conductor, arranger; a classically trained musician who decided to pursue a career in popular music. His first major success came in 1962, as a co-writer of the European hit "Chariot." ().
2009: Sotiris Sgouros (80) Greek folk musician, clarinetist and singer () b.
2009: Erik Sædén (85) Swedish bass-baritone and hovsångare () b.

November 4
1931: Charles "Buddy" Bolden/King Bolden (53) New Orleans jazzman and cornet player; the first New Orleans jazz musician to come to prominence, the first important name in jazz history, Buddy's career has long been buried in legend. Many early jazz musicians credited Buddy and the members of his band with being the originators of what came to be known as "jazz", though the term was not yet in common musical use until after the era of Bolden's prominence. At least one writer has labeled him the father of jazz. He is credited with creating a looser, more improvised version of ragtime and adding blues to it; his band was said to be the first to have brass instruments play the blues. He was also said to have taken ideas from gospel music heard in uptown African American Baptist churches. Instead of imitating other cornetists, he played music he heard "by ear" and adapted it to his horn. In doing so, he created an exciting and novel fusion of rag-time, black sacred music, marching-band music and rural blues. He rearranged the typical New Orleans dance band of the time to better accommodate the blues; string instruments became the rhythm section, and the front-line instruments were clarinets, trombones, and Bolden's cornet. He was known for his powerful, loud, "wide open" playing style. Joe "King" Oliver, Freddie Keppard, Bunk Johnson, and many other early New Orleans jazz musicians were directly inspired by his playing. Also one of the most famous Buddy numbers is a song called "Funky Butt", known later as "Buddy Bolden's Blues", which represents one of the earliest references to the concept of "funk" in popular music (He was diagnosed with schizophrenia - dementia praecox, in those days, he was admitted to a mental institution in 1907, where he remained completely forgotten for the rest of his life. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Holt Cemetery, a pauper's graveyard in New Orleans. In 1998 a monument to Buddy Bolden was erected in Holt Cemetery, but his exact gravesite remains unknown) b. September 6th 1877.
1969: Ivory "Deek" Watson (60) Lead singer of the original Ink Spots. Later formed his own group, The the Brown Dots ().
1994: Fred "Sonic" Smith (45) US guitar player, who, in 2003, Rolling Stone magazine included in thier list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and the band Sonic Youth took its name from Fred's nickname "Sonic". Born in .... but bought up in Detroit, as a teenger, he lived for music with speed, energy with a rebellious attitude and formed a rock group Smith's Vibratones, before joining up with his old school pal, Wayne Kramer to form MC5, short for Motor City Five. This influencial band released 3 albums before their break up in 1972, Kick Out the Jams in 1969, Back in the USA in 1970, and High Time in 1971. Fred went on to form Sonic's Rendezvous Band, which released one single, "City Slang". He and his wife, singer Patti Smith collaborated on her 1988 album "Dream of Life", and Patti's 1996 album "Gone Again" features a tribute to Fred. (heart failure) b. September 13th 1949.
2004: Robert Heaton (43) UK drummer with the punk band New Model Army (pancreatic cancer).
2008: Jheryl Busby (59) American record executive; First worked at Stax Records as head of West Coast promotion and marketing. Moved to Motown Records in 1988 as the company's President & CEO. He fostered the growth of younger talent, including Another Bad Creation, Boyz II Men and Johnny Gill. In early 1989, he was able to sign Diana Ross back to Motown and he retained artists such as Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder. When Polygram Records bought Motown he was retained as president. Jheryl was appointed head of the black music division at DreamWorks Records in 1998 till 2001. He was named president of Def Soul Classics in 2004. He also created Umbrella Recordings with producer Mike City (Found dead in the hot tub of his home in Malibu, cause not yet known) b. 1949
2008: Byron Lee (73) Jamaican musician and record producer; best known for his work as leader of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, they turned professional in 1956 and went on to become one of Jamaica's leading ska bands, continuing since and taking in other genres such as calypso, Soca, and Mas. He also purchased the West Indies Records Limited (WIRL) recording studios, renaming it Dynamic Sounds it soon became one of the best-equipped studios in the Caribbean, attracting both local and international recording artists, including Paul Simon and The Rolling Stones (bladder cancer) b. June 27 1935.

November 5
1942: George M. Cohan (64) American musician, actor, writer, composer (abdominal cancer).
1954: Oran 'Hot Lips' Page (46) American jazz trumpeter, singer, bandleader born in Dallas, Texas, better known as Hot Lips Page, and known as a scorching soloist and powerful vocalist. In his early years, he travelled the southwest backing such blues singers as Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Ida Cox. He moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1928 and played with leading bands, including the Walter Page's Blue Devils, Bennie Moten, and Count Basie's original Reno Club orchestra. A popular sessionist he was featured in Artie Shaw's Orchestra and played on many recording sessions, including duets with Pearl Bailey on "The Hucklebuck" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (?) b. January 27th 1908.
1956: Arthur "Art" Tatum, Jr. (47) American jazz pianist (complications of uraemia as a result of kidney failure).
1960: Johnny Horton (35) US country & western singer; was one of the best and most popular honky tonk singers of the late '50s, managing to infuse honky tonk with an urgent rockabilly underpinning. His career may have been cut short by a fatal car crash in 1960, but his music reverberated throughout the next three decades. (car crash).
1964: Buddy Cole (47) US jazz pianist and bandleader; played behind a number of pop singers, including Rosemary Clooney, Jill Corey, and The Four Lads (heart attacks).
1967: Robert Lee McCollum/Robert Lee McCoy/Robert Nighthawk (57) US guitarist & slide guitarist (heart attack).
1970: Albert Ayler (34) American jazz saxophonist, singer and composer (It is said November 5, 1970, he took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and jumped off as the boat neared Liberty Island.He was found dead in New York City's East River on November 25, a presumed suicide. Rumors circulated that he had been murdered, possibly due to his involvement in the black power movement. There was no autopsy).
1986: Billy Nunn (61) lead and bass singer in The Coasters/his own Coasters (heart failure)?
1989: Vladimir Horowitz (86) Ukrainian pianist of world wide fame, he married Wanda Toscanini (he died in New York of a heart attack and was buried in the Toscanini family tomb in Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy).
1989: Lucius "Lu" Watters (77) trumpeter and bandleader in the "West Coast revival" of Dixieland music. This is relational to trad jazz as the musicians tended to be white and had little or no actual connections to New Orleans (?)
1996: Eddie Harris (62) American tenor saxophonist, though he was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-known composition is "Freedom Jazz Dance", recorded and popularized by Miles Davis in the 1960s. Born in Chicago, after college he was drafted into the United States Army. While serving in Europe he was accepted into the 7th Army Band, which also included Don Ellis, Leo Wright, and Cedar Walton. After getting out of the army he worked in New York City before returning to Chicago, where he signed a contract with Vee Jay Records. His first album Exodus to Jazz included his own jazz arrangement of Ernest Gold's theme from the movie Exodus. Eddie also came up with the idea of the reed trumpet, playing one for the first time at The Newport Jazz Festival of 1970. Until the mid 70s he experimented with new instruments of his own invention, the reed trumpet was a trumpet with a saxophone mouthpiece, the saxobone was a saxophone with a trombone mouthpiece, and the guitorgan was a combination of guitar and organ. He continued to record into the 1990s, but his experimentation ended and he mainly recorded hard bop (??) b. October 20th 1934.
2002: Billy Guy/Frank William Phillips (66) US singer comedy singer but better known for being lead singer and baritone singer with The Coasters (?)
2003: Bobby Lee Hatfield (63) American singer, one half of the duo The Righteous Brothers. (He was found dead in hotel room in Michigan 30 minutes before he was due on stage, an overdose of cocaine had precipitated a fatal heart attack).
2005: Frederick Lincoln "Link" Wray (76) singer, guitarist; inspired Bob Dylan, Marc Bolan, Pete Townsend, Bruce Springsteen, countless others, credited with inventing 'fuzz' guitar after punching a hole in a speaker (heart failure).

November 6
1672: Heinrich Schütz (87) German composer worked most of Europe, including in the court of Prince Christian of Denmark and the court of Prince Johann Georg (stroke)
1893: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (53) Russia composer, pianist of often dramatic, richly expressive works, including the symphony Romeo and Juliet, the ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, and the opera Eugene Onegin.(cholera)
1965: Clarence Williams (67) jazz pianist, composer, promoter, theatrical producer ().
1968: Charles Munch (77) French conductor and violinist; In 1967 he founded the Orchestre de Paris. (He died in Richmond, Virginia the following year, while on an American tour with them).
1972: Billy Murcia (21) drummer, New York Dolls (died after choking on coffee after an overdose of Mandrax and alcohol, while on a UK tour).
1987: Zohar Argov (32) popular Israeli oriental Mizrahi style singer (committed suicide by hanging himself in his jail cell after he was arrested for the attempted rape of a woman).
1997: Epick Soundtracks/Kevin Paul Godfrey (37) piano, drums, singer, songwriter; The Swell Maps/Crime and the City Solution/solo. Although working with many heavy bands, his solo records came closest to representing his personality, soft-spoken and rumpled, with a dry humor (died in his sleep, suicide was suspected).
2005: Minako Honda (38) Japanese singer and musical actress; She got famous and popular known as "Japan's Madonna" (complications from myelocytic leukemia).
2006: Jance Garfat (62) US bassist in the pop-country rock band Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, later named Dr.Hook, from 1972 till they disbanded in 1985. At the height of their success Dr Hook were top of the charts in 42 countries, they amassed 60 gold and platinum singles and albums. (tragically killed in a motorcycle accident, while swirving to avoid a dog in Oakland, Ca).
2007: Hank Thompson (82) American country music singer and songwriter whose career spanned seven decades. He sold over 60 million records worldwide. His musical style, characterized as Honky Tonk Swing, was a mixture of fiddles, electric guitar and steel guitar that featured his distinctive, gravelly baritone vocals. Born in Waco, Texas, Hank decided to pursue his musical career after serving in the US Navy in World War II, having a two-sided chart hit in the '40s, "Soft Lips"/"The Grass is Greener Over Yonder". In 1952, Hank with his backing band The Brazos Valley Boys had a huge hit with "Wild Side Of Life", the song became one of the most popular recordings in the genre's history, spending 15 weeks at No.1 Billboard country charts (lung cancer) b. September 3rd 1925.
2007: George Osmond (90) US patriarch of the Osmond singing family (natural causes).
2007: Jimmy Staggs (72) American radio disk jockey; a longtime Chicago, USA radio disc jockey and record store owner.(esophageal cancer)
2009: Jacno/Denis Quilliard (52) French musician, he was a founding member of the first French punk band The Stinky Toys. They took part in the 100 Club Punk Festival in London, sharing the bill with such bands as Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned and Buzzcocks.The Stinky Toys released a self titled album brfore splitting in 1979. In the early 1980s, Jacno teamed up with former Stinky Toys singer Elli Medeiros to form the pop duo Elli et Jacno.They released three albums together before splitting up to cocerntrate on solo careers. Jacno had also released his debut solo album 'Jacno' in 1979, followed by seven more, the last being Tant de Temps in 2006 (cancer) b. July 3rd 1957.

November 7
1960: A.P. Carter/Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter (68) Country musician; despite dying in relative obscurity, A. P. Carter was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. In 1993, his image appeared on a U.S. postage stamp honoring the Carter Family. In 2001 he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor.()
1964: Jasper Taylor (70) American drummer; Young Buffalo Bill's Wild West show/ Original Washboard Band; he joined the military during World War I and served in France with the 365th Infantry Band. The 365th Infantry were nicknamed the "Buffalo Soldiers," the enlisted personnel were almost entirely African-American soldiers from Texas and Oklahoma. In the early 1920s he went to Chicago and worked with the greats ()
1994: Shorty Rogers/Milton Rajonsky (70) American jazz musician; one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played both the trumpet and flugelhorn, and was in demand for his skills as an arranger (fell ill in the early 1990s and died during KLON's West Coast Jazz festival).
2004: Howard Keel/Harry Clifford Leek (85) US singer, actor; starred in many of the classic film musicals of the 1950s, such as Oklahoma and Carousel.(colon cancer)
2008: Jody Reynolds/Ralph Joseph Reynolds (75) American rockabilly singer and guitarist, born in Denver, but grew up in Shady Grove, Oklahoma. Jody released 13 singles in the 60' & 70s, his biggest hit single was 1958's "Endless Sleep" which reached No.5 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. He wrote it in a single afternoon in 1956 while in Yuma, Arizona. (liver cancer) b. December 3rd 1932.

November 8
1998: Lonnie Pitchford (44) American blues diddley bow player, multi-musician and instrument maker from Lexington, Mississippi; he began making his one-stringed diddley bows as a five-year-old, fashioning them mostly out of parts from old electric guitars. He was also an accomplished six-string guitarist, acoustic and electric, and piano player, as well as playing the double bass and harmonica. Lonnie was "discovered" by ethnomusicologist Worth Long, after he had began to attract crowds playing the music of Robert Johnson, songs like "Come On In My Kitchen" and "Terraplane Blues," on his one-stringed didley bow. His albums include All Around Man in 1994, as well as several compilations, including Mississippi Moan, a 1988 release; Roots of Rhythm and Blues: A Tribute to the Robert Johnson Era, released in 1992 and Deep Blues also in 1992. Lonnie was voted as one of Living Blues magazine's "top 40 under 40" new blues players to watch (Aids) b. October 8th 1955.
1999: Lester Bowie (58) US jazz trumpet player and composer; member of the AACM, he co-founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago remaining a member for the rest of his life. He was also a member of Jack DeJohnette's New Directions quartet and played and recorded with Fela Kuti. ( liver cancer, the following year he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame) b. Oct 11th 1941
2003: Guy Speranza (47) US singer; best known as New York-based metal band Riot's original frontman, from 1976-1981. He sung on their first tree albums, 1977's Rock City, 1979's Narita and 1981's Fire Down Under, before leaving the band in 1981. (Pancreatic cancer) b. 1956
2006: Basil Poledouris (61) Greek-American film score composer; his score for Conan the Barbarian is considered by many to be one of the finest examples of motion picture scoring ever written. In 1996 he scored the "The Tradition of the Games" for the Atlanta Olympics Opening Ceremony that accompanied the memorable dance tribute to the athletes and goddesses of victory of the ancient Greek Olympics using silhouette imagery (complications from cancer) b. August 21st 1945
2008: Jerry Fuchs/ Gerhardt Fuchs (34) American indie rock drummer, writer and graphic artist; he attended the University of Georgia, where he studied graphic design and drummed in the local Athens bands The Martians, Vineland, and Koncak before joining the dance-punk group !!!, performing on their album Myth Takes. He also played drums for The Juan Maclean during their live performances, and played live for other DFA Records' outfits including MSTRKRFT, LCD Soundsystem and Holy Ghost!. He then joined Maserati, playing on their albums 'Inventions for the New Season' and 'Passages' and had just completed a U.S. Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver tour this October. Jerry also did graphic design work for the magazine Chunklet and wrote articles as a freelance writer for Entertainment Weekly (He got was caught in a broken elevator in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City, when he attempted to jump out of the car, he accidentally fell 5 stories down the elevator shaft to his death) b. ??.??. 1974

November 9
1951: Sigmund Romberg (64) Hungarian operetta composer; Columbia Records asked him to conduct orchestral arrangements of his music (which he had played in concerts) for a series of recordings from 1945 to 1950 that were issued both on 78-rpm and 33-1/3 rpm discs. These performances are now prized by record collectors (died in New York City)*July 29th 1887.
1968: Jan Johansson (37) Swedish jazz pianist; sadly he is little known outside Scandinavia, and his records are not widely available, though Jazz på svenska (Jazz in Swedish) has sold more than a quarter of a million copies, and is the best selling jazz release ever in Sweden. (died in a car crash on his way to a concert) b. September 16th 1931.
1991: Yves Montand/Ivo Livi (69) Italian-born singer, actor; in Monsummano Terme, Italy, but grew up in Marseille, France. He began a career in show business as a music-hall singer. In 1944 he was discovered by Édith Piaf in Paris and she made him part of her act, becoming his mentor and lover. His recognizably crooner songs, especially those about Paris, became instant classics. During his career, Montand acted in many American motion pictures as well as on Broadway. He was nominated for a Cesar Award for "Best Actor" in 1980 for "I comme Icare" and again in 1984 for "Garçon!" (died from a heart attack) b. October 13th 1921.
1999: Herb Abramson (82) US record producer in Brooklyn, New York City; he produced such performers as Billy Eckstineat, Joe Turner and The Ravens at National Records and founded his first record company Jubilee Records in 1946 with Jerry Blaine producing jazz, R&B and Gospel recordings, he went on to co-found Atlantic records. After leaving Atlantic, he set up his own recording studio A-1 Sound Studios, Hank Crawford, James Moody, Richie Cordell, Johnny Nash and Lloyd Price were among the artists who recorded there. In 1998 Herb received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation (?) b. November 16th 1916.
2003: Davey Goldsworthy (40) UK singer and guitarist and founer member of the Chesterfields, the English indie pop band (killed by a hit & run driver in Oxford, UK) b. 1960

November 10
1973: David "Stringbean" Akeman (57) American banjo player and comedy musician best known for his role on the hit television show, Hee Haw. He is one of the most celebrated performers of "old-time" banjo playing, also called "clawhammer" or "frailing", and he is listed along with Uncle Dave Macon, Grandpa Jones, and Ralph Stanley, as among the great old-time style banjo players (the Akemans returned home after performing a show at the Grand Ole Opry, and were shot dead upon their arrival. Thieves had lain in wait for hours. The Akemans' bodies were discovered the following morning by neighbour and fellow performer, Grandpa Jones aka Louis Marshall Jones) b. June 17th 1916.
1994: Carmen Mercedes McRae (74) US jazz singer, pianist; worked with Count Basie, Mercer Ellington, also a solo artist and was considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century. Drawing inspiration from Billie Holiday, she established her own distinctive voice, she recorded over 60 albums during her career (emphysema) b. April 8th 1920.
1997: Tommy Tedesco (67) American master session musician and renowned jazz and bebop guitarist; described as the most recorded guitarist in history, having played on thousands of recordings, including the Beach Boys, Everly Brothers, The Association, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa, Sam Cooke, Cher, and Nancy and Frank Sinatra. TV themes include Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, Green Acres, M*A*S*H, Batman, and Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special. Film soundtracks include The French Connection, The Godfather, Jaws, The Deer Hunter, Field of Dreams, plus several Elvis Presley films. He was also the guitarist for the Original Roxy cast of The Rocky Horror Show. He was one of the very few sidemen credited for work on animated cartoons for the The Ant and the Aardvark cartoons (Heart disease) b. July 3rd 1930.
2002: Johnny Griffith (67) US keyboardist, member of the Motown Funk Brother house band; played the Steinway grand piano, the Hammond B-3 organ, the Wurlitzer electric piano, the Fender Rhodes, and the celeste and harpsichord. Among the hundreds of Motown recordings he played on are "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye, "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" by Four Tops, and "Stop! In the Name of Love" by The Supremes (?) b. July 10th 1936.
2004: Katy de la Cruz (97) Leading Filipino singer who specialized in jazz vocals and torch songs in a performing career that lasted eight decades. Hailed as "The Queen of Filipino Jazz" and as "The Queen of Bodabil", she was, by the age of 18, the highest paid entertainer in the Philippines, ill health caused her to retire from public life in the 1990s (?) b. February 13th 1907.
2006: Gerald LeVert (40) US R&B soul baritone singer; He was the most sensual, powerful baritone R&B singer of his generation. He sang with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon in the R&B trio LeVert. He was also a part of LSG, an R&B musical group as well as recording solo (died at home in his sleep of a sudden, unexpected heart attack) b. July 13th 1966.
2008: Miriam Makeba (76) South African singer and civil rights activist often referred to as Mama Afrika. When in London she met Harry Belafonte, who assisted her in gaining entry to and fame in the United States. She released many of her most famous hits there including "Pata Pata", "The Click Song" ("Qongqothwane" in Xhosa), and "Malaika". In 1966, she received the Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording together with Harry Belafonte for An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba. The album dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under apartheid. (heart attack) b. March 4th 1932.

November 11
1972: Berry Oakley (24) American bassist and one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band. He was known for his long, melodic bass runs underneath Duane Allman and Dicky Betts' furious guitar soloing. "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "Whipping Post" from the At Fillmore East live album capture Oakley at his best (died in a motorcycle accident at the same intersection as his friend and former band member Duane Allman, who had died a year earlier) b. April 4th 1948.
1977: Greta Keller (74) Austrian cabaret singer and actress; For over 45 years, her voice a legend-in radio shows, films, revues, concerts and musicals, but above all her records circled the globe. First called 'The Great Lady Of Chanson' in her native Vienna, it followed her to London and America. Her voice featured in the Oscar-winning movie, Cabaret, singing the song, "Heirat", she also appeared on Stage with Marlene Dietrich in "Broadway", in which she sang and danced. (?) b. February 8th 1903.
1993: Erskine Hawkins (79) US trumpet player and big band leader; dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is most remembered as the composer of the jazz standard, "Tuxedo Junction" (1939), which became a popular hit during World War II. In 1978 he became one of the first five artists inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame (?) b. July 26th 1914.
1998: Paddy Clancy (76) Irish folk singer best known as a member of the group The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. The group achieved phenomenal success in America after an appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" which led to a contract with Columbia Records. They performed together for about eight years until Makem left the group to pursue a solo career in 1969. (cancer) b. March 7th 1922.
2004: Pete Jolly/Peter Ceragioli Jr (72) US jazz keyboardist, accordionist, pianist; best known for his performance of various television themes, his music can be heard on television programs such as Get Smart, The Love Boat, I Spy, Mannix, M*A*S*H, and Dallas, as well as hundreds of movie soundtracks. With the Pete Jolly Trio, and also as a solo artist, he recorded several albums, the last in 2000, a collaboration with Jan Lundgren. He also worked with other notable jazz artists, including Art Pepper, Buddy DeFranco, and Red Norvo, and for many years with EZ music arranger and director Ray Conniff.
(complications of bone marrow cancer) b. June 4th 1932.
2007: John Petersen (62) US drummer with The Beau Brummels appearing on their hits including "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little", and appeared with the band in the 1965 science-fiction/comedy movie Village of the Giants. In late 1966, he left the Beau Brummels for the band Tikis, who were in the process of changing their name to Harpers Bizarre. The group broke up in 1970, but John returned for a reunion album in 1976 and also occasionally reunited with the Beau Brummels. In 1975, he played with and recorded on the band's self-titled album. He went on to become a successful producer (heart attack) b. January 8th 1945.
2009: Tom Merriman (??) American music composer and jingle writer based in Dallas, Texas, who in 1955 created the first production company specializing in radio station advertising campaigns and jingles. Merriman led the Liberty Network Band, and arranged and/or produced music for Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. In addition, Merriman created many national advertising jingles, corporate musical shows, Las Vegas shows, and theme park ride music. The companies that since 1967 have born his initials have had several incarnations; the latest is TM Studios (Sadly died after several months of declining health) b. ????

November 12
1983: Preston Jackson/James Preston McDonald (81) American trombonist; played and-or recorded with Tig Chambers, Al Simone, Eli Rice, and Art Sims, Bernie Young and his Creole Jazz Band, Richard M. Jones, Dave Peyton, Erskine Tate, Benny Waters, Louis Armstrong, Half Pint Jaxon, Carroll Dickerson, Jimmy Bell, Jimmie Noone, Roy Eldridge, Walter Barnes, Johnny Long, Johnny Dodds and Zilner Randolph's W.P.A. Band among others as well as having his own band (?) b. January 3rd 1902.
2003: Tony Thompson (48) International session drummer with Rod Stewart, David Bowey, Diana Ross, Debbie Harry, Sister Sledge, Mick Jagger & manymore. He is best known for his work with Chic. In 2005 Tony and the Chic band members were inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame.(died within a month of being diagnosed with kidney cancer, just 3 days before his 49th birthday) b. November 15th 1954.
2008: Mitch Mitchell (61) UK drummer of the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience, was the last surviving member of the power trio which proved one of the most influential bands in the history of rock music. As well as playing in the Jimi Hendrix Experience and he played and/or recorded with the likes of Martha Velez, Junior Brown, Greg Parker, Bruce Cameron, Roger Chapman, Billy Cox, Buddy Miles, Jack Bruce among others (He had just finished an eighteen city, coast to coast tour across American, and was due to fly back home to the UK, but was found dead that morning in his hotel bedroom at Portland, Oregon, USA. Officals say he died of natural causes) b. July 9th 1947.

November 13
1967: Harriet Cohen CBE (61) British pianist born in London, Harriet studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music under Tobias Matthay, having won the Ada Lewis scholarship at the age of 12. She was particularly associated with J. S. Bach's music: a few composers wrote music specifically for her, particularly her lover, Sir Arnold Bax, who wrote most of his piano pieces for her, including music for David Lean's 1948 film version of Oliver Twist. He also composed Concertino for Left Hand for her after she lost the use of her right hand in 1948. The Harriet Cohen International Music Award was introduced in her honour in 1951 (?) b. December 2nd 1895.
1973: Jerry Lee Lewis Jr (19) US drummer in his father's band (car accident)
1987: Harold Vick (51) US hard bop and soul jazz saxophonist and flautist probably better known for his work with musicians like Grant Green, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, Shirley Scott, and a host of others (?).
1992: Ronnie Bond (49) UK drummer; The Troggs ()
1996: Bill Doggett (80) US pianist; created one of rock's greatest instrumental tracks "Honky Tonk" (heart attack)
2002: "Sir" Roland P. Hanna (70) jazz pianist; a style diverse enough to fit into swing, bop, and more adventurous settings. He was given knighthood, thus the "Sir", from the President of Liberia in 1970 in recognition for a series of concerts held to benefit Liberian children. (hear attack)
2004: John Balance (42) UK musician and artist; he was the founder and half of the experimental music group Coil. He was responsible for vocals, lyrics, chants, synthetics and various esoteric sound-making instruments and devices (lost his balance & tipped over the banisters at his home while under the influence of alcohol)
2004: Ol' Dirty Bastard /Russell Tyrone Jones (35) US rap artist with Wu-Tang Clan (collapsed and died at a Manhattan recording studio in New York after complaining of chest pain)
2007: Erik Kurmangaliev (47) Russian-Kazakh opera singer, actor and a leading public figure in Russia's perestroika music scene.; debuted in 1980 at the Leningrad Philharmonia. He later performed in Alfred Shnitke's Second Symphony and "Dr. Faust" cantata during his career. His career reached his peak when he teamed up with director Roman Viktyuk in the early 1990s, when he appeared in the Russian language version of David Hwang's M. Butterfly. He made his last appearance in film appearance in Rustam Khamdanov's "Vocal Parallels" (liver infection) b. December 31st 1959

November 14
1873: Carl Flesch (71) Hungarian violinist,teacher; He published a number of instructional books, including the 1923 'Die Kunst des Violin-Spiels' (he died in Lucerne)
1968: Hilton Jefferson (65) banjoist, jazz alto sax; working for the big bands of Chick Webb, Fletcher Henderson, McKinney's Cotton Pickers and Duke Ellington (?)
1992: George Rufus Adams (52) US jazz musician who played tenor saxophone, flute and bass clarinet. He was also known for his idiosyncratic singing. He is best known for his work with Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Roy Haynes and in the quartet he co-led with pianist Don Pullen (?).
1992: Theodore Riley (68) jazz trumpet player and bandleader; worked with Fats Domino, Champion Jack Dupree, The Dookie Chase Orchestra, Roy Brown's Band, The Olympia Brass Band, The Williams Brass Band, and The Royal Brass Band ()
2004: Gene Anthony Ray (41) actor, dancer, singer; 'Leroy' in the film & TV's Fame (stroke/aids)
2007: Bud Mills (40) US drummer for death metal band Insanity; he created the 1-1 drum beat that was faster than the fastest thrash beat used at the time. (esophageal cancer)

November 15
1987: Ray Pablo Falconer (26) UK Reggae producer in the 1970s and 1980s. Brother to Earl Falconer from UB40, he produced most of singles and albums for that band. (car crash) b. ???
1991: Jacques Morali (45) French music producer, who is best remembered for being the creator and driving force behind the disco group, Village People. Also between 1974 and 1982 he wrote, co-wrote and produced over 65 albums, including hits like "Brazil", "The Best Disco In Town", "Life Is Music", "African Queens", "Quiet Village" and "American Generation" (aids) b. July 4th 1947.
1997: Saul Chaplin (85) American composer and musical director; he worked on stage, screen and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley. In film, he won four Oscars for collaborating on the scores and orchestrations of An American in Paris, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and West Side Story as well as a nomination for High Society. Other films included Can-Can, I Could Go On Singing, The Sound of Music, STAR!, Man of La Mancha and That's Entertainment and the list goes on (suffered a bad fall and died as a result of his injuries) b. February 19th 1912.
2003: Wesley Webb "Speedy" West (79) Country Music Hall of Fame US pedal steel guitarist and record producer. Top session player until a stroke left him partilly paralized in 1981, just between 1950 and 1955 alone, he played on over 6,000 recordings with a total of 177 different artists, including Frankie Laine, Jo Stafford, and Paul Weston's Orchestra, Billy May's Orchestra, Betty Hutton, Helen O'Connell, Doris Day, Johnnie Ray, Ella Mae Morse, Spike Jones, Jean Shepard, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and many others. (long term heart problems) b. January 25th 1924.
2009: Derek B/EZQ/Derek Boland (44) British rapper, a pioneering figure on the UK hip hop scene in the '80s. He started DJing in a mobile unit around London at 15, before joining local pirate radio stations and finally starting WBLS, his own station, (not the one in New York). He was soon working as an A&R man for the Music Is Life label, where he recorded the track 'Rock The Beat' when a proposed compilation ran short of tracks. He used the pseudonym, EZQ, and also did his own DJing under the Derek B name. The song went on to be released as a single, and was followed by other releases including 'Good Groove' "Bad Young Brother" and "We've Got The Juice". He later released the album Bullet From a Gun while with Rush Artist Management. Derek B was the first UK rapper to achieve pop success, and appeared on BBC Television's Top of the Pops Derek was also successful as a producer and remixer, working with the Cookie Crew and Eric B and Rakim. He also helped write the 1988, Liverpool F.C. anthem, "Anfield Rap" (heart attack) b. January 15th 1965.

November 16
1978: Jimmy Nottingham (52) American big band trumpeter, Flugelhorn; his first pro job was with Cecil Payne in 1943. Also played with Willie Smith, Charlie Barnet, Lucky Millinder, Count Basie and Herbie Fields. While working for CBS for over 20 years he played jazz in his spare time with Budd Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, and Clark Terry (?) b. Dec 15th 1925
1982: Al Haig (58) Freelance US jazz pianist; started out playing with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker in 1944, and performed with Eddie Davis and His Beboppers, the Eddie Davis Quintet, Stan Getz, he was part of the celebrated nonet on the first session of Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool. He was known for his distinctive and pioneering bebop style (?) b. July 19th 1924.
1984: Vic Dickenson (78) African-American jazz trombonist. His career started out in the 1920s and led him through musical associations with such legends as Jimmy Rushing, Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, Sidney Bechet, Earl Hines, Pee Wee Russell, Benny Carter, Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Gerry Mulligan, Billie Holliday. At one time he was a member of "The World's Greatest Jazz Band," which was the house band at The Roosevelt Grill in NYC. Also a soloist of wide acclaim known for the distinctive sound he coaxed out of the trombone (Died in New York) b. August 6th 1906
1993: Lucia Poppová (54) Slovak operatic soprano, who began her career as a soubrette soprano, and later moved into the light-lyric and lyric coloratura soprano repertoire and then the lighter Richard Strauss and Wagner operas. Her career included performances at Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, and La Scala. Popp was also a highly-regarded recitalist and lieder singer (brain cancer) b. November 12th 1939.
1994: Chester "Chet" William Powers, Jr /Dino Valente/Jesse Oris Farrow (56) US singer, guitarist and songwriter. In the early 1960s he went under the name of Dino Valente, and while involved in the Greenwich Village folk music scene, he wrote "Get Together", a quintessential 1960s love-and-peace anthem. Moving west, he became a member of the band Big Sur and the San Francisco psychedelic rock group Quicksilver Messenger Service (died in Santa Rosa, California) b. November 7th 1937.
1999: Grady Owen (?) US guitarist and singer - songwriter; a one time member of Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps after which he worked solo and with a number of other acts, including Johnny Carroll, Howard Reed and the Levee Singers. Several of his songs have been recorded by Sonny James and other singers. Gene Vincent recorded some of Grady's songs, including "Lovely Loretta," Grady himself can be heard singing one of his own song's "I Don't Feel Like Rockin' Tonight" on the recently released album "Gene Vincent -- the lost Dallas Sessions," from Dragon Street Records (?) b. ??
2000: Russ Conway/Trevor Stanford (75) English pop music pianist, composer; his piano instrumentals dominated the UK Singles Chart during 1959, including two self penned No.1 hits "Side Saddle" and "Roulette". He maintained a chart presence in the early 1960s, with other hits including
"China Tea", "Party Pop", "More Party Pops", "More And More Party Pops", "Snow Coach", "Lucky Five" and "Lucky Five". Russ became a fixture on light entertainment TV shows and radio for many years afterwards. He wrote the music for the West End musical "Mr Venus" but his career was blighted by ill-health, and in his later life he was noted for his charity work. (cancer) b. September 2nd 1925.
2000: Joe C/Joseph Calleja (26) American rapper who became popular as part of Kid Rock's band.He was first featured on the demo "Cool Daddy Cool" in 1995. He also appeared on television, including a guest role on The Simpsons and as a celebrity deathmatch competitor on MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch in 2000. In his songs he claims to be "3 foot 9 with a 10 foot dick". (He suffered and died from the effects of a digestive condition called Celiac disease, which caused him constant pain and his stunted growth, he died in his sleep) b. November 9th 1974.
2000: DJ Screw/Robert Earl Davis, Jr (29) US, DJ, and hiphop rapper with Screwed Up Click; was a central figure in the Houston hip hop scene. His innovation included the trademark technique of slowing down the basic tracks of a cut when he remixed it. This process is called "screwing" a song. Slowing down the song was supposed to recreate the effect of recreationally using Promethazine with Codeine (died of a heart attack. His cause of death was rumored to be either a codeine overdose or the result of long-term buildup of codeine in his system. However, Screwed Up Click member Z-Ro stated that Screw's death came from someone putting methamphetamine into his codeine, and he believes that it was someone very close to the Click who sabotaged him) b. July 22nd 1971.
2001: Tommy Flanagan (71) US jazz pianist particularly remembered as an accompanist of Ella Fitzgerald. He played on a number of critically acclaimed recordings, such as John Coltrane's Giant Steps, Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus, The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, Art Pepper's Straight Life. During his career, he was nominated for four Grammy Awards, two for Best Jazz Performance as a Group and two for Best Jazz Performance ~ Soloist (arterial aneurysm). b. March 16th 1930
2007: Grethe Kausland (60) Norwegian singer and performer; as a child star she was one of Norway's most popular singers, her debut single “Teddyen min” in 1955, sold more than 100.000 records. She sung and performed on stage,TV and films (lung cancer) b. July 3rd 1947.
2009: Jeff Clyne (72) British jazz bass and double bassist; born in London, he worked with Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott in their group 'The Jazz Couriers' for a year from 1958, and was part of the group of musicians who opened Ronnie Scott's Club in November 1959. He was a regular member of Hayes' groups from 1961. Jeff accompanied and or recorded with Blossom Dearie, Stan Tracey, Ian Carr, Gordon Beck,, Dudley Moore, Zoot Sims, Norma Winstone, John Burch and Marion Montgomery. He was a member of Nucleus, Isotope, Gilgamesh, Giles Farnaby's Dream Band and Turning Point in the 1970s and often worked with drummer Trevor Tomkins. (heart attack) b. January 29th 1937.

November 17
1979: John Glascock (28) English bass player and electric guitarist with The Juniors, Head Medicine, The Gods, Toe Fat, Chicken Shack, Carmen, his last band being Jethro Tull. He played on the Jethro Tull albums Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!, Songs from the Wood, Heavy Horses, Live - Bursting Out, and Stormwatch (congenital heart defect) b. May 2nd 1951
1981: Bob Eberly (65) US big band singer and was the brother of another well-known big-band singer, Ray Eberle. He is known for singing with Jimmy Dorsey's band and is most well-known for singing "Green Eyes". (?) b. July 24th 1916.
1987: Irene Wicker/The Singing Lady (80) US singer and actress; The Kellogg Company sponsored "The Singing Lady," beginning in 1931. The show was billed as the nation's first radio network program for children. The show itself was always hosted by Irene Wicker, who was known for her melodic and soothing voice (?) b. November 24th 1905.
1995: Alan Hull (50) English lead singer, songwriter and founding member of the Tyneside folk rock band, Lindisfarne, he also played rhythm guitar and keyboards. He was hailed as the most innovative songwriter since Bob Dylan. His most famous songs include "Lady Eleanor", "Fog on the Tyne", and "Run for Home" (died suddenly of what was determined to be a heart thrombosis) b. February 20th 1945.
2001: Michael Karoli (53) German guitarist, violinist and composer. He was a founding member of the influential krautrock band Can. His main role was that of the guitarist, later also providing vocals. He was a constant member of the band, playing with it between 1968 and its break-up in 1979. He also joined the band for its two reunions, in 1986 and 1991 (cancer) b. April 29th 1948.
2003: Arthur Conley (57) US horn player, vocalist, songwriter; born in McIntosh County, Georgia and grew up in Atlanta. He first recorded in 1959 as the lead singer of Arthur & the Corvets. With this group, he released three singles in 1963 and 1964, "Poor Girl", "I Believe", and "Flossie Mae". He launched a solo career, and is well known for his 1967 hit, "Sweet Soul Music". It shot to the number two spot on both the pop and R&B charts, earning Conley the number eleven male artist ranking for 1967. The song paid homage to other soul singers like Lou Rawls, Wilson Pickett and James Brown. He e relocated to England in 1975, and spent several years in Belgium, after which he settled in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in spring 1977, where he promoted new music (died in Ruurlo, The Netherlands after a long battle with intestinal cancer) b. January 4th 1946.
2003: Don Gibson (75) American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson penned and recorded such country standards as "Oh Lonesome Me", "Blue Blue Day", "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You" and enjoyed a string of country hits from 1957 into the early 1970's. He was nicknamed "The Sad Poet," because he frequently wrote songs that told of loneliness and lost love. was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973, and in 2001, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (natural causes) b. April 3rd 1928.
2006: Ruth Brown/Ruth Weston (78) American blues singer born in Portsmouth, Virginia; known as "Queen Mother of the Blues", you can hear her influence in everyone from Little Richard to Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin and in today's divas like Christina Aguilera. She had a series of hit songs for fledgling Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean". For these contributions, Atlantic became known as "The house that Ruth built". She used her influence to press for musicians' rights regarding royalties and contracts, which led to the founding of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Her performances in the Broadway musical Black and Blue earned Ruth a Tony Award, and the original soundtrack won a Grammy Award. (stroke and heart attack) b. January 12th 1928
2007: Hy Lit/Hyman Litsky (73) American radio disc jockey; Philadelphia-area DJ since the 1950s, with WIBG-AM, WDAS-AM/FM, WKBS-TV, WSNI/WPGR. He also hosted the nationally syndicated "Hy Lit Show," from WKBS-TV in Philadelphia which aired in more than 30 markets nationwide (suffered with Parkinson's disease, but died of kidney and heart failure at Paoli Memorial Hospital from what his son termed "bizarre complications" after a knee injury) b. May 20th 1934.

November 18
1971: Herman 'Junior' Parker (39) American blues singer and harmonica player also known as Little Junior Parker or "Mr Blues"; he is best remembered for his unique voice which has been described as "honeyed," and "velvet-smooth". He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. His biggest influence as a harmonica player was Sonny Boy Williamson, with whom he worked before moving on to work for Howlin' Wolf in. He was also a member of Memphis's ad hoc group, the Beale Streeters, with Bobby 'Blue' Bland and B.B. King (died after a series of brain operations) b. May 27 1932.
1994: Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (86) US jazz singer, bandleader; one of the great entertainers, a household name by 1932, and never really declined in fame. A talented jazz singer and a superior scatter, his gyrations and showmanship on-stage at the Cotton Club sometimes overshadowed the quality of his always excellent bands. Calloway's Orchestra featured performers that included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. He continued to perform until his death (died after having suffered a major stroke six months previously) b. December 25th 1907
1999: Paul Frederic Bowles (88) American expatriate composer, author, and translator. Following a cultured middle-class upbringing in New York City, during which he displayed a talent for music and writing, he pursued his education at the University of Virginia before making various trips to Paris in the 1930s. He studied music with Aaron Copland and in New York wrote music for various theatrical productions, as well as other compositions. He achieved critical and popular success with the publication in 1949 of his first novel The Sheltering Sky, set in what was known as French North Africa, which he had visited in 1931. In 1947 Bowles settled in Tangier, Morocco, except for winters spent in Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) during the early 1950s, Tangier was his home for the remainder of his life. (heart attack) b. December 30th 1910.
1999: Doug Sahm (57) US musician, proficient on dozens of musical instruments; he was a child prodigy in country music, but became a significant figure in blues, rock and other genres, he is said to have been offered a permanent spot on the Grand Ole Opry, but his mother wanted him to finish junior high. Today he is considered one of the most important figures in what is identified as Tex-Mex. He was the founder and leader of the 1960s hippie band The Sir Douglas Quintet, and later with Augie Meyers, Freddy Fender and Flaco Jimenez - The Texas Tornados (heart attack) b. November 6th 1941
2002: Bill Brunskill (82) UK trumpet player born in London; originally a guitarist but after working as a military policeman during WW2, Bill took up the trumpet and became interested in the New Orleans traditional Jazz sound and the playing of such men as Muggsy Spanier and Bunk Johnson. Some of his East End contemporaries included clarinetists Cy Laurie and Monty Sunshine. In 1952. Bill's group, fronted by guitarist Tony Donegan, appeared at a Royal Festival Hall concert, along with visiting American Bluesman Lonnie Johnson. In 1955, Bill formed a group that played Sunday afternoons at Cy Laurie's Club in London's West End, a group designed for young musicians to 'sit in' and gain experience playing in public. Guitarist 'Diz' Disley once featured such a rough and ready session in one of his satirical Melody Maker cartoons entitled " Bill Brunskill's Workshop". Bill began another long engagement at the 'Lord Napier' in the South London surburb of Thornton Heath which went on to be a mecca for visitng jazz musicians (?) b. February 2nd 1920.
2003: Michael Kamen (55) American composer, especially of film scores, orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician.He wrote eleven ballets, a saxophone concerto, and provided scores for films such as The Dead Zone, For Queen & Country, Polyester, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Highlander, X-Men, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Licence to Kill, the Lethal Weapon series, the first three films of the Die Hard series, Mr. Holland's Opus, Splitting Heirs and many others. Other successes include his work with Pink Floyd, David Gilmour and Roger Waters (he is one of the few people to have been invited to work with both former Pink Floyd members, after their split), as well as Queen, Eric Clapton, Roger Daltrey, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, David Bowie, Metallica, Eurythmics, Queensrÿche, Rush, Herbie Hancock, The Cranberries, Bryan Adams, Jim Croce, Sting, and Kate Bush (heart attack) b. April 15th 1948
2007: John Hughey (73) US pedal steel guitar player, credited with developing the "crying sound" steel guitar technique; John spent over 20 years playing, touring and recording with Conway Twitty, 12 years with Vince Gill and also as a session pedal steel player, he recorded with Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Marty Stuart and around 140 other artists (heart complications) b. Dec 27th 1933
2007: Chickie Williams/Jessie Wanda Crupe (88) US country music singer and wife of Doc Williams; The Williams' were popular performers, although the couple and their band the Border Riders recorded, performed live and appeared on the radio for over five decades (?) b. 1919.
2009: Johnny Almond (63) British jazz and rock musician; born in Enfield, Middlesex, he learnt the drums from his father at a very early age, but soon learnt the saxophone, alto saxophone became his first instrument, but he also played tenor sax and eventually mastered seven others instruments, including keyboard and the vibraphone. Johnny played professionally in several bands as a teenager, he led his own jazz combo, played with Tony Knight's Chess Men, and Zoot Money's Big Roll Band before joining the Alan Price Set, after which he joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in June of 1969 appearing on the albums Turning Point and Empty Rooms. He is probibly best known for his work with fellow multi-instrumentalist Jon Mark forming the Mark-Almond Band. They recruited bassist Rodger Sutton and keyboardist Tommy Eyre. The group built something of a following through touring, with their live shows often featuring lengthy instrumental jams. They recorded several albums in the early 70's. Then released To the Heart in 1976 and Other People's Rooms in 1978. Since the late '70s, Johnny has worked primarily as a session musician, but more lately in the 21st century, his solo albums from 1969-1970 have become popular in Japan and Europe (cancer) b. July 20th 1946.

November 19
1828: Franz Peter Schubert (31) Austrian composer. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies, including the famous "Unfinished Symphony", liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music. He is particularly noted for his original melodic and harmonic writing. (Sadly died prematurely of "typhoid fever", a diagnosis which was vague at the time; several scholars suspect the real illness was tertiary syphilis) b. January 31st 1797.
1974: George Brunies (72) American trombonist; By the age of 8 he was already playing alto horn professionally in Papa Jack Laine's band. A few years later he switched to trombone. He played with many jazz, dance, and parade bands in New Orleans. He never learned to read music, but could quickly pick up tunes and invent a part for his instrument. Moving to Chicago in the early 20's he joined a band of his New Orleans friends playing at the Friar's Inn, this was the band that became famous as the New Orleans Rhythm Kings (?) b. February 6th 1902.
1977: William "Sonny" Criss (50) American alto saxophonist; his first major break came in 1947, on a number of jam sessions arranged by jazz impresario Norman Granz. He developed his own, concise, bluesy tone and then went on to play in various bands including Buddy Rich's band and Howard McGhee's, which also featured Charlie Parker, and bands led by Johnny Otis, Stan Kenton and Billy Eckstine to mention a few (stomach cancer) b. October 23rd 1927
1983: Tom Evans (36) UK bassist, guitar, vocals, songwriter; started his music career as a member of "The Inbeateens" in 1961, he soon progressed to a Liverpool mod/soul group called Them Calderstones. In 1967, he joined a Welsh band called The Iveys who later changed their name to Badfingers (Evans & Molland argued on the telephone, reportedly about the publishing royalty of the song "Without You." Following the argument, Evans sadly hanged himself in the garden at his home in an eerie replay of fellow band mate Pete Ham's 1975 death scene) b. June 5th 1947
1992: Bobby Russell (51) American songwriter; wrote hits including "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,"; "Used To Be" from the film The Grasshopper; and "Little Green Apples," which won him a Song of the Year Grammy Award in 1968. He also wrote and performed a major hit in 1971 about a suburban father nursing a hangover while his children raise Cain on a Saturday morning, appropriately called "Saturday Morning Confusion." (coronary artery disease) b. April 19th 1941
2003: Greg Ridley (56) UK bassist - Spooky Tooth, Humble Pie; he entered music using the name Dino, part of a local band called "Dino & the Danubes", and playing guitar and bass in other local bands before he and his friend Mike Harrison formed the V.I.P.s, which later became Spooky Tooth. He co-founded one of the first super-groups in 1969, Humble Pie which originally consisted of himself on bass, Steve Marriott former lead singer, songwriter and lead guitarist of Small Faces, Peter Frampton former lead singer and guitarist of The Herd, and seventeen-year-old drummer Jerry Shirley (pneumonia) b. October 23rd 1947.
2004: Terry Melcher (62) US singer-songwriter, record producer, and managed much of his mother Doris Day's affairs. in the early 60's he and Bruce Johnston formed the vocal duet Bruce & Terry. The duo also created another band together, The Rip Chords. He had joined Columbia Records working with The Byrds he produced their song, Turn, Turn, Turn, and helped produce Mr. Tambourine Man. He later worked with Paul Revere, Wayne Newton, Frankie Laine, Jimmy Boyd, Pat Boone, Glen Campbell, Mark Lindsay and The Mamas & The Papas. He was instrumental in signing another near-legendary L.A. band, the Rising Sons led by Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for co-writing the song Kokomo with The Beach Boys.(skin cancer) b. February 8th 1942
2007: Paul Brodie (73) Canadian saxophonist with 50 albums to his credit; co-founded the World Saxophone Congress in Chicago. In 1994, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour, for having "shown true mastery of his art through his ability to reach all ages with his music" (died while undergoing heart surgery at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto) b. April 10th 1934.
2007: Kevin DuBrow (52) American rock singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot from 1973 until his death. During Quiet Riot's commercial heyday in the 1980s, he was known for his on-stage charisma, gravelly bluesy voice, and suspenders. He recorded 10 albums with his band and 4 solo albums (cocaine overdose) b. October 29th 1955

November 20
1973: Allan Sherman/Allan Copelon (48) US comedy singer, parodist, satirist, and TV producer; his biggest chart hit was a spoof of summer camp entitled "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh," reaching #2 on the national Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks in late 1963. The lyrics were sung to the tune of one segment of Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours". He released 10 albums, 2 best of's and a box set. In 1971 he was the voice of the Cat in the Hat from the television special. His last film before his death was Dr. Seuss on the Loose (emphysema) b. November 30th 1924.
1998: Roland Alphonso/The Cheif Musician (67) Jamaican tenor saxophonist; he joined the band Clue J & The Blues Blasters and backed many sessions of Coxsone Dodd in a typical Jamaican R&B style. By 1960, he was recording for many other producers such as Duke Reid, Lloyd "The Matador" Daley and King Edwards. During this period he played in many different bands, such as The Alley Cats, The City Slickers, and Aubrey Adams & The Dew Droppers. In 1963, after few months spent in Nassau, Bahamas, he took part in the creation of The Studio One Orchestra, the first session band of the freshly opened recording studio of Coxsone. This band soon adopted the name of The Skatalites. He played on numerous records coming out from Jamaican studios, especially for Bunny Lee, and he toured with many bands. He was awarded Officer of the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in 1980. The Skatalites reformed in 1983, he toured and recorded with them constantly until his death (?) b. January 12th 1931.
2004: Jenny Ross (42) English keyboardist and vocals with post-punk/techno band "Section 25" best known for their classic Techno single "Looking from a Hilltop." She was also known by her married name, Jennifer Cassidy (cancer) b. 1962
2005: James King (80) American singer, widely regarded as the finest American heldentenor of the post-war period. He started singing as a baritone, as a tenor he won the American Opera Auditions in Cincinnati in 1961 and made his debut as Don Jose in Bizet's Carmen with the San Francisco Opera. He sang the French and Italian repertoire with the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1962 to 1965 and world-wide at most of the major opera houses, being a particular favorite at the Vienna State Opera, where he last appeared as Florestan in Beethoven's Fidelio, in 1997 (heart attack) b. May 22nd 1925.
2005: Chris Whitley (45) US guitarist, because of his unique style of playing, he used many alternate tunings for his guitars. He appeared in the concert film documentary Hellhounds on my Trail - The Afterlife of Robert Johnson. As well as his solo work he has also recorded with Shawn Colvin, Cassandra Wilson, Rob Wasserman, Little Jimmy Scott, Mike Watt, Johnny Society, Joe Henry, Michael Shrieve, Chocolate Genius, DJ Logic, Ely Guerra, Goat, Dave Pirner (of Soul Asylum), Clint Mansell and Jeff Lang (lung cancer) b. August 31st 1960
2007: Ernest 'Doc' Paulin (100) American jazz trumpet player with the Paulin Brass Band and played with such greats as Kid Ory, Danny Barker, Papa Celestine and Harold Dejean, to name a few. He made a great contribution to New Orleans music with his drafting of young musicians into his band. His band was featured in Always for Pleasure, an award-winning film about New Orleans culture (died at a daughter's home in suburban Marrero in Jefferson Parish) b. June 22nd 1907

November 21
1953: Lawrence James "Larry" Shields (60) US jazz clarinetist; born in Uptown, New Orleans, Larry started playing clarinet when he was 14 years old and played with Papa Jack Laine's bands. He was one of the early New Orleans musicians to go to Chicago, first heading north in the summer of 1915 to join Bert Kelly's band, then with Tom Brown's band. He joined the Original Dixieland Jass Band in November of 1916. The following year that band made the first jazz phonograph records, propelling Larry's playing to national prominence. Relocating to New York in 1921, he played with Paul Whiteman and various other bands in New York City, before moving to Los Angeles, California where he stayed throughout the 1920s, leading his own band and appearing in some Hollywood films. In the 1930s Larry returned to Chicago and joined the reformed Original Dixieland Jazz Band. He then worked for a while at "Nick's" in New York before returning to play in New Orleans and later in California (He died in Los Angeles) b. September 13th 1893.
1992: Severino Gazzelloni (73) Italian flute player born in Roccasecca, Severino was the principle flautist in the RAI orchestra for 30 years and dedicatee of many works. Composers including Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez, Bruno Maderna and Igor Stravinsky wrote pieces for him. He was also a flute teacher, the jazz player Eric Dolphy and classical flautist Abbie de Quant are among his pupils. Dolphy honored Severino by naming a composition for him which he included in his 1964 Out to Lunch! album (died in Cassino) b. January 5th 1919.
1995: Peter Grant (60) manager for The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin and Bad Company, and a record executive for Swan Song Records. He is widely credited with improving pay and conditions for musicians in dealings with concert promoters (heart attack)
1995: Matthew Ashman () Guitarist, Adam And The Ants/ Bow Wow Wow (complications caused by diabetes)
2002: Hadda Brooks (86) US jazz singer, pianist, composer; she began to mutate from swing jazz and boogie-woogie into the sort of rhythm & blues that helped lay the foundation for rock & roll (heart failure)
2009: Allen Shelton (73) American banjo player, born in Reidsville, North Carolina. In the 1950s, he performed together with Hack Johnson and the Tennesseans, and later, with Jim Eanes and Mac Wiseman. He joined Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys, and began recording for Columbia Records on December 7, 1960. In 1966, Jim & Jesse had an offer to record with the Nashville Symphony and Allen left the band in protest and retired from music business. About ten years later he found himself once more on the road with Jim & Jesse and making more records. He made his first solo album on Rounder Records in 1976. (leukemia) b. July 2nd 1936.

November 22
1997: Michael Hutchence (37) Australian singer-songwriter, most famous for his work with rock band INXS; raised primarily in Hong Kong, at the age of eight he made his professional debut singing in a commercial for an area toy company. He gained a reputation as a enigmatic, sensual frontman, although his close friends and family always maintained he was much more introverted than his on stage persona. A talented lyricist, he co-wrote almost all of INXS' songs with Andrew Farriss, who has attributed his own success as a songwriter to Hutchence's 'genius.' (His naked body was found behind the door to his room. He had apparently hanged himself with his own belt and the buckle has broken away and his body was found kneeling on the floor, facing the door) b. January 22nd 1960.
2008: MC Breed/Eric Breed (36) American rapper; a Flint, Michigan-based rapper best known for his singles "Ain't No Future in Yo Frontin", which peaked at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100 [2], and "Gotta Get Mine", featuring 2Pac, that made it to #6 on the Hot Rap Singles. (kidney failure) b. 1972
2009: Haydain Neale (39) Canadian singer-songwriter, from Hamilton, and the lead singer of the award winning band, Jacksoul. Jacksoul was one of Canada’s most successful contemporary soul groups, with a string of hits that included 'Can’t Stop' and 'Still Believe in Love'. The group won the Juno Award for R&B/soul recording of the year twice, in 2001 and 2007. Haydain, whose vocal style was compared to Seal, also received an Urban Music Award for songwriter of the year in 2004 and a SOCAN award in 2005, and was named president of the Songwriters Association of Canada in 2006. Haydain has only just recovered after in August 2007, a car collided with his Vespa scooter, leaving him in a coma with head injuries. After a long and slow recovery and bravely battling cancer, he just managed to finish their new album, Soulmate, co-produced by himself and Ron Lopata, the album he started almost three years ago, will be released by Sony Music Canada on December 1st. It contains 10 new songs written before singer Haydain Neal's accident. (lung cancer) b. September 3rd 1970.

November 23
1979: Judee Sill (35) US pianist, guitarist, singer-songwriter born in Oakland, California; she rebelled against her mother's remarrage to animator Ken Muse, eventually turning to petty crime and serving time in the early 60s. Around this time she became a heroin addict, eventually kicking the habit as she started to pursue a musical career. Her song "Lady-O" became a hit for the Turtles in 1969, and she caught the attention of David Crosby and Graham Nash, and playing with them as an opening act. She was signed to David Geffen's Asylum Records, and became part of the "Laurel Canyon Sound" made famous by Joni Mitchell and Carole King. Two albums, Judde Still in 1971 and Heart Food in 1972 were critically acclaimed, with a song from the first, "Jesus Was a Cross-Maker" getting her airplay and being covered by the Hollies. She also recorded demos for a third album in 1974, which were released with other rarities on the 2005 two-disc collection Dreams Come True. Many of her songs reflected her interests in Christian spirituality and metaphysics. After a series of car accidents and back surgery which left her in constant physical pain, she struggled with drug addiction and dropped out of the music scene (heroin & cocaine drug overdose) b. October 7th 1944.
1979: Henry Coker (59) American jazz trombonist (?)
1983: Tom Evans Songwriter Harry Badfinger (suicide by hanging himself)
1985: Joe Turner () US blues songwriter ()
1992: Roy Acuff (89) US country singer, fiddle, songwriter. The first living artist elected to the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1962 ()
1994: Tommy Boyce (55) songwriter, one half of Boyce & Hart, best known for The Monkees songs. Boyce and Hart wrote in excess of 300 songs and sold more than 42 million records as a partnership. (he struggled with depression, suffering a brain aneurysm, he shot himself while in the sitting room of his house)
1995: Junior Walker/ Autry DeWalt II / Autry De Walt Mixon (64) American singer, saxophonist; he formed his own band the 'Jumping Jacks' when he was only 14 years old. His friend, drummer Billy Nix, started his own group the 'Rhythm Rockers', now and again, the 2 musicians would play in each others bands. Billy aquired a regular gig at a local TV station in South Bend, Indiana, and asked Junoir to join him and his keyboardist, Fred Patton permanently. Shortly after, local singer Willie Woods joined the group. When Billy got drafted into the US Army, Jr.Walker, Fred and Willie moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, where they were joined by drummer Tony Washington and soon Victor Thomas replaced Fred on piano. This new line up called themseves the 'All Stars'. Junior got his big break in 1961, when Johnny Bristol saw the band he recommended them to Harvey Fuqua, who signed them to his record label and changed their name to Junior Walker & the All Stars. When Harvey's labels were taken over by Motown's Berry Gordy, Jr. Walker & The All Stars became members of the Motown Records family, recording on Motown's Soul label. In 1966, Billy "Stix" Nicks once again met up with Junior, and joined band. Their first and signature hit was "Shotgun", written by Junior, it reached No.4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the R&B chart in 1965, and was followed by many other hits, such as "I'm a Road Runner", "Pucker Up Buttercup", "Shake and Fingerpop", "Come See About Me", and "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)?". In 1979, Junior Walker went solo and was signed to Norman Whitfield's.. Whitfield Records label. He also played the sax on the group Foreigner's "Urgent" in 1981. In 1983, Junior re-signed with Motown and was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1995, a few months before he died. Junior's song, "Shotgun", was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 (cancer) b. June 14th 1931.
1996: Art Porter Jr (35) US jazz saxophonist; pro musician at 9 yrs, Art Porter Sr. helped Bill Clinton pass legislation that would allow a minor to play in a night club if a parent or guardian was present. This became known as the Art Porter Bill. (drowned off the coast of Thailand when the boat he was on sprang a leach & sank)
2001: O.C. Smith/Ocie Lee Smith (69) US singer with Sy Oliver, Count Basie and solo; recorded a cover of the Bobby Russell song "Little Green Apples", which shot to number 2 on the billboard pop charts and won Smith a 1969 Grammy Award for "Best Song". He became Dr. O.C. Smith, pastor of the City of Angels Science of Mind Centre in Los Angeles, and he continued to preach until his death (Heart attack)
2005: Chris Whitley (45) US singer songwriter (lung cancer)
2006: Anita O'Day/Anita Belle Colton (87)US jazz singer sometimes nicknamed "Jezabel of Jazz"; admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appearances shattered the traditional image of the "girl singer". Refusing to pander to any female stereotype, O'Day presented herself as a "hip" jazz musician, wearing a band jacket and skirt as opposed to an evening gown.(pneumonia)
2007: Frank Guarrera (83) Italian-American lyric baritone who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera, singing with the company for a total of 680 performances. He performed 35 different roles at the Met, mostly from the Italian and French repertories, from 1948 through 1976. His most frequent assignments at the house were as Escamillo in Georges Bizet's Carmen, Marcello in Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème, Valentin in Charles Gounod's Faust, and Ping in Puccini's Turandot. He was also an admired interpreter of Mozart roles, establishing himself in the parts of both Guglielmo and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. Most of the roles he portrayed were from the lyric repertoire, such as the title role in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, but he also sang some heavier roles at the Met like Amonasro in Aïda, Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West and Il conte di Luna in Il trovatore (diabetes) b. December 3rd 1923.
2008: Richard Sidney Hickox CBE (60) UK conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music; founded the City of London Sinfonia in 1971, remaining music director until his death, and also founded the Richard Hickox Singers & Orchestra in the same year. He was the director of music at the Endellion Music Festival from 1972 to 2008. In 1972 at the age of only 24 he was appointed Martin Neary's successor as organist and master of music at St. Margaret's, Westminster, subsequently adding the directorships of the London Symphony Chorus, and Bradford Festival Chorus. In 1990, he co-founded the baroque orchestra Collegium Musicum 90 with Simon Standage. He was Associate Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1985 until his death. He was also Chorus Director of the London Symphony Chorus from 1976 to 1991, with whom he premiered The Three Kings by Peter Maxwell Davies in 1995. He also premiered that composer's A Dance on the Hill in 2005 (heart attack) b. March 5th 1948.
2008: Richard "Richey" James Edwards Welsh guitarist, the former co-lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers has been officially 'presumed dead'. (He disappeared on February 1st 1995 READ MORE) b. December 22nd 1967.
2008: Robert Lucas (46) American singer and guitarist former member of Canned Heat blues-rock band, He was one of four singers to have fronted the band during its more than 40 year history and had two stints fronting the band. In his solo career and has recorded seven solo albums and has performed with Big Joe Turner, George Smith, Pee Wee Crayton, Lowell Fulsom, Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson, and Percy Mayfield among others. He has been recognised by blues fans and critics worldwide as one of the most inspired singer, player and songwriter talents of the past decade (drug overdose) b. July 25th 1962.
2009: Richard Meale (77) Australian composer; he studied piano with Winifred Burston at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, as well as clarinet, harp, history and theory, before studying at the University of California, Los Angeles and other American institutions. He is best known for the 1986 opera Voss, with libretto by David Malouf based on the novel of the same title by Patrick White. Malouf also collaborated with Meale on his second operatic project, Mer de glace (1986–91), a tableaux-like juxtaposition of some ideas of the novel Frankenstein alongside the real dealings of Mary Shelley with Shelley and Byron. From 1969 to 1988 he was part of the music faculty of the University of Adelaide, South Australia. In 2000, Meale was conferred Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of New England in New South Wales (?) b. August 24th 1932.
2009: Joe Papa (?) American singer and drummer who joined up with Paul Lemos and the pioneering experimental band Controlled Bleeding when the band decided they would add some vocals to their music. Since the bands demise, Joe Papa, has worked on different side projects with former members, including founding a band The Breastfed Yak, along with Paul Lemos and Ruins drummer, Tatsuya Yoshida, immersing themselves in free jazz madness. Their debut CD, was Get Your Greasy Head Off The Sham was released in 2003. (heart attack) b ????.
2009: Pim Koopman (56) Dutch progressive rock drummer, born in Hilversum, he co-founded the band Kayak in 1972, along with Ton Scherpenzeel, Johan Slager and Max Werner. He left the band in 1976 and went on to become a record producer, and was successful with acts such as Maywood, Petra Berger, Valensia and Robby Valentine. He returned to Kayak for the reunion in 1999 and had been playing drums in Kayak until his death. His last album with the band 'Letters From Utopia' was released on Sept 16th 2009. As well as his musical talents, he was the composer of six entries to the Eurovision Song Contest: “Jouw lach" performed by Dick Rienstra in 1977, "Later" by Brigitte in 1984, "Déja Vu" and "Champagne" by Willeke Alberti in 1994, "De wereld is van jou" by Gina de Wit and "Met of zonder jou" by Clau-Dya's in 1996. He has been involved with two other bands, 'Diesel' and 'The President' which was a collaboration with Okkie Huysdens. (?) b. March 11th 1953

November 24
1985: Big Joe Turner (74) US singer; although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and Roll", his career as a performer stretched from the 1920s into the 1980s.He started singing on street corners for money, then leaving school at age fourteen to begin working in Kansas City's club scene, first as a cook, and later as a singing bartender, he became known as The Singing Barman, and worked in such venues as The Kingfish Club and The Sunset, where he and his piano playing partner Pete Johnson became resident performers. (heart attack) b. May 18th 1911.
1991: Eric "The Fox" Carr/ Paul Caravello (41) American drummer, best known for his work with the rock band Kiss, replacing Peter Criss in 1980, remaining a member until he became ill in 1991. He had been playing in cover bands throughout the 1970s.. His Kiss persona, was first made up as "The Hawk," but later adopted the persona of "The Fox", he was also part of the band's stage makeup removal of their live on MTV in 1983. He also played guitar, bass guitar, piano and sang background vocals, he sung lead vocals on "Black Diamond" and "Young and Wasted" live with Kiss. He sang lead on the remake of "Beth" in the studio on the album Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. In 1989 he sang lead vocal on a self-penned, studio track titled "Little Caesar,". His last live performance with Kiss was November 9, 1990 in New York City, at Madison Square Garden (heart cancer) b. July 12th 1950.
1991: Freddie Mercury/Farrokh Bulsara (45) Zanzibar-born British musician, best known as the lead singer, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Queen, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. He came to England at the age of 17 and earned a Diploma in Art and Graphic Design at Ealing Art College, later using these skills to design the Queen crest. Freddie remained a British citizen for the rest of his life. He was a fan of Aretha Franklin, The Who, Jim Croce, Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, and The Beatles, but his favourite performer was singer-actress Liza Minnelli. Following graduation, he joined a series of bands and sold second-hand clothes in the Kensington Market in London. He also held a job at Heathrow airport. In April 1970, he joined with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor who had previously been in a band called Smile. Despite reservations from the other members, Freddie chose the name "Queen" for the new band. As a performer, he was known for his four-octave vocal range and onstage theatricality and flamboyant performances. As a songwriter, he composed many international hits, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", which many rate the greatest song of all time, "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Don't Stop Me Now", "We Are the Champions", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy". In addition to his work with Queen, Freddie also led a solo career and was occasionally a producer and guest musician, piano or vocals for other artists. He who was of Indian Parsi descent and grew up in India, has been referred to as "Britain's first Asian rock star." (Freddie died of bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS., his death greatly increasing awareness of the disease) b. Sept 5th 1946.
1993: Albert Collins (61) US legendary blues guitarist, singer; he had many nicknames, such as "The Ice Man", "The Master of the Telecaster" and "The Razor Blade". He began recording in 1960 and released singles, including many instrumentals such as the million selling "Frosty". In the spring of 1965 he moved to Kansas City, Missouri and made a name for himself. His genius was acknowledged by the music world in 1983, when he won the W. C. Handy Award for his album Don't Lose Your Cool, which won the award for best blues album of the year. The Fender Custom Shop created an accurate replica of the "Ice Man"'s namesake '66 Custom Telecaster in 1990, which featured a double-bound swamp ash body, a custom-shaped maple neck sporting a separate laminated maple fingerboard with 21 vintage frets, a custom-wound Seymour Duncan '59 humbucker in the neck position and a Fender Texas Special Tele single-coil in the bridge (lung and liver cancer) b. October 1st 1932
2001: Melanie Janene Thornton (34) American-German pop singer who found fame in Germany and fronted the Eurodance group La Bouche, who formed hits such as Be My Lover and Sweet Dreams in the mid-1990s. She forged a moderately successful solo career in Germany before her death. Her hits include Love How You Love Me, Wonderful Dream, Memories and Heartbeat ( died in a plane crash of the Crossair Flight 3597 near Bassersdorf by Zurich in Switzerland) b. May 13th 1967
2004: Wong Jim (64) Cantopop lyricist and writer based primarily in Hong Kong. He was also a well known in Asia as a columnist, actor, film director, scriptwriter and talk show hosts. He took part in creative directing positions within the entertainment industry in Hong Kong. He was also an alumnus of La Salle College. Many fans like to call him "Uncle Jim" (lung cancer) b. March 16th 1941
2006: Walter Booker (72) American jazz bass and double bassist; recorded and toured with Ray Bryant, Betty Carter, Chick Corea, Stan Getz, Art Farmer, Milt Jackson, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, before joining the Cannonball Adderley Quintet with who he stayed with til 1975. He then built, and ran the Boogie Woogie Studio in NYC, a mecca for musicians from all over the world, and through the 1980s, he played and recorded with Nat Adderley, Nick Brignola, Arnett Cobb, Richie Cole, John Hicks, Billy Higgins, Clifford Jordan, Pharoah Sanders, Sarah Vaughan, and Phil Woods. (?) b. December 17th 1933
2006: Juhani "Juice" Leskinen (56) Finnish singer-songwriter;one of the most prominent Finnish singer-songwriters of the late 20th century. From the early 1970s onward he released nearly 30 full-length albums, as well as writing song lyrics for dozens of Finnish artists (after suffering from renal insufficiency, cirrhosis and diabetes) b. February 19th 1950.
2007: Casey Calvert (26) American guitarist for the emo/post-hardcore band Hawthorne Heights. The band, who were originally named A Day in the Life, have released three studio albums on Victory Records since changing their name to Hawthorne Heights of which Casey recorded on the first two, "The Silence in Black and White" which reached platinum and the gold selling "If Only You Were Lonely" (the autopsy states Casey died of Combined Drug Intoxication) b. October 20th 1981.
2008: Michael Lee/Michael Gary Pearson (39) British world renowned drummer; toured and recorded with former Led Zeppelin musicians Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, also played drums with Little Angels, The Cult, Echo & The Bunnymen, the reformed version of Thin Lizzy, ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Guns 'N' Roses, Lenny Kravitz, Holosade, Alaska, Sweet Janes and many more. Most recently he had toured with Jeff Martin and played drums on Jeff's new solo album, "Exile and the Kingdom". He also performed with The Cult founders Billy Duffy and Ian Astbury on their Ceremony tour and cooperated on the 2006 album Gillan's Inn (cause of death not yet established) b. November 19th 1969.
2008: Kenny MacLean (52) Scottish/Canadian bassist best known as a former member of the Canadian New Wave group, the multi-platinum selling band Platinum Blonde. He had been a SOCAN member for over 28 years and written and recorded tracks for many prominent Canadian artists and has worked with noted producers including Terry Brown, David Foster, Bernard Edwards and Carter. He had been working on his 3rd solo album, which he had completed just before his death entitled "Completely at Toronto's Mod Club", it was released on Friday November 21st 2008 (heart related problem) b.?January 9th 1956?
2009: Amy Black (36) British mezzo-soprano opera singer of Hedon, near Hull, she studied at the Royal Academy of Music, toured with the European Opera, as well as spending seasons with the English National Opera. She gave many concerts and recitals in the UK and many other places around the world, most recently performing in the role of Mercedes in Carmen for both the Scottish Opera and English National Opera. Amy underwent heart surgery in June for a defect in her aortic valve but had recently resumed performing. She often sang before Hull FC rugby league matches at the KC Stadium. A founder member of the London Theatre Voices, a quartet of friends who met while singing for the ENO, she was also known as the star of Classics in the Park, held at Brantingham, Yorkshire. Amy spent the six months working on the musicals “On the Town” with June Whitfield and “Kismet”, singing along side Michael Ball at The London Coliseum in the West End and was recently flown out to Qatar to entertain the legendary Tenor Placido Domingo (Amy’s body was discovered lying in a ditch outside a market garden close to her home. The police are investigating this sudden, tragic death, but have confirmed they are not treating it as suspicious) b. 1973.

November 25
1974: Nick Drake (26) UK singer songwriter, his primary instrument was the guitar, though he was also proficient at piano, clarinet, and saxophone. Not appreciated in his lifetime, but since his death his work has grown steadily in stature, to the extent that he now ranks among the most influential English singer-songwriters of the last 50 years, his songs have been covered by many greats and in 2004, 30 years after his death, he gained his first chart hit when two singles, "Magic" and "River Man", were released to coincide with the compilation album 'Made to Love Magic', later that year, the BBC aired a radio documentary about Nick, narrated by Brad Pitt (drug overdose while suffering from a depressive illness) b. 19 June 1948
1995: Don Goldie/Donald Elliott Goldfield (65) American versatile jazz trumpet player, a talented soloist with a wide range who became especially visible in the late '50s working with Jack Teagarden. After leaving Teagarden's group, Goldie led his own band for a time, and by the late '60s was working with Jackie Gleason in Miami Beach, as well as playing gigs of his own. Goldie had cut albums for Chess Records' Argo offshoot and the Verve label in the early '60s, and in the 1970s reemerged with his own Jazz Forum label, for which he cut a string of eight LPs. He released his final LP, Don Goldie's Dangerous Jazz Band, on the Jazzology label in 1982 (commited suicide) b. February 3th 1930
1997: Barbara/Monique Andrée Serf (67) French female singer; she appeared on TV variety shows, toured Japan, Canada, Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Her album "Seule" was one of France's top grossing releases of 1981. In 1982, she was awarded the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque in recognition of her contribution to French culture. An icon of French musical history, she has been honored with her image on a French postage stamp. A number of books have been written about her life and her records still sell in large numbers to this day (respiratory problems) b. November 24th 1997.
2006: Valentin Elizalde (27) Mexican singer also known as "El Gallo de Oro", The Golden Rooster; his biggest Banda hits included "Vete Ya," "Ebrio de Amor", "Vencedor", " Vete Con El", "Vuelve Cariñito", "Como Me Duele", " Mi Virgencita", and "Soy Así.". He will be remembered as one of the best Mexican singers of our time. (gunned down in an ambush; 28 bullets were found in his body. Some of his songs were narcocorridos, and it appears he was murdered by drug trafficking gangs)b. February 1st 1979.

November 26
1956: Tommy Dorsey (51) American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was the younger brother of Jimmy Dorsey. His lyrical trombone style became one of the signature sounds of his band and of the Swing Era. The biographical film of 1947, "The Fabulous Dorseys" describes sketchy details of how the brothers got their start from-the-bottom-up into the jazz era of one-nighters, the early days of radio in its infancy stages, and the onward march when both brothers ended up with Paul Whiteman before 1935 when The Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra split into two. (died by choking in his sleep after a heavy meal following which he had taken sleeping pills. Jimmy Dorsey (out of whose band Tommy had walked two decades earlier) led his brother's band until his own death of throat cancer the following year) b. November 10th 1905.
1973: John Rostill (31) UK bass guitarist and composer, recruited by The Shadows to replace Brian Locking. He worked with several artists before joining The Shadows, including The Interns, The Flintstones and a stint in the backing group of Zoot Money. After The Shadows break up at the end of the 1960s, he toured with Tom Jones. He was also was a prolific songwriter, contributing to the Shadows' output from the start, both as a solo composer and as part of the mid-sixties "Marvin/Welch/Bennett/Rostill" team , and later going on to write for other artists such as Olivia Newton-John (electrocuted in his home recording studio) b. June 16th 1942.
1978: Frank Rosolino (52) American jazz trombonist; he became famous in the early 50's playing in the most popular of Stan Kenton's progressive big bands, before settling in L.A., where he worked with everybody in the business: Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars, Terry Gibbs, Shorty Rogers, Benny Carter, Buddy Rich, Dexter Gordon, Carl Fontana, Jean "Toots" Thielemans, Stan Levey, Shelly Manne, Pete Christlieb, Bobby Knight, Conte Candoli, Med Flory, Donn Trenner, Mel Tormé, Louis Bellson, Tutti Camarata, Marty Paich, Zoot Sims, and Quincy Jones (suffering with depression after his wife's death, he committed suicide after shooting his children, Justin, 9; and Jason, 7; Jason was blinded, but survived, and was adopted by his mother's cousin, Claudia Eien, and her husband) b. August 20th 1926.
2002: Polo Montañez (47) Cuban singer and songwriter; formed his own ensemble of family and friends and quickly became the house act at a resort in the nearby touristic community of Las Terrazas, and in 1999, he signed with European record label Lusafrica after being discovered by one of their directors that was staying at the resort. He had his biggest success in March 2000 with his first CD "Guajiro Natural" and the song "Un montón de Estrellas". He became known as the Guajiro Natural (Natural Countryman) because of his humble personality and songs about the peasant life in Cuba. (died in hospital, as a result of a tragic car accident) b. June 5th 1955.
2003: Soulja Slim/James Tapp Jr (26) US rapper; known for his U.S. #1 hit "Slow Motion" with fellow rapper Juvenile. He was one of Master P's No Limit soldiers, who made his solo debut in 1998 with "Give It 2 'Em Raw". Following a prison stint for armed robbery, he reappeared 3 years later with "Streets Made Me". The following year he released "Years Later...A Few Months After", which would prove to be the last (on his way to do a show he was shot three times in the face, and once in the chest, in front of his mother's home in the 8th Ward, New Orleans) b. September 9th 1977.
2009: Pieternella "Pia" Beck (84) Dutch jazz singer and considered one of the best pianists the Netherlands has ever known. She began her career shortly after the end of WWII playing the piano and singing in the Miller Sextet. A few years later she started her own combo. Her first composition, Pia's Boogie, became a hit. She regularly toured Europe and had her own stage in the town of Scheveningen near The Hague. In the 1950 and 60s she made regular appearances in the United States. New Orleans and Atlanta conferred honorary citizenships on her (Died of a heart attack at her home in the Costa del Sol, Spain, where she had lived since 1965) b. September 18th 1925.

November 27th
1932: Evelyn Preer (36) American actress and singer; a notable pioneering African-American stage and screen actress and a blues singer of the 1910s through the early 1930s. As well as her many film roles an accomplished vocalist and during stints in cabaret and musical theatre was occasionally backed by such legendary and diverse musicians as Duke Ellington and Red Nichols. (after giving birth to her first and only child, she developed post-parturition complications and died of double pneumonia) b. July 16th 1896.
1973: Jimmy Widene (?) US guitarist with Hank Snow (shot dead, his body was left in an alley)b.?
1973: Frank Christian (86) American New Orleans jazz trumpeter; started working with bandleader Papa Jack Laine about 1908 and became a mainstay in Papa Jack's bands. He also worked in the bands of Tom Brown, Johnny Fischer, and led his own band. He worked in Chicago, New York and toured on Vaudeville with Gilda Gray and played in various theatre and dance bands before retiring to his home town of New Orleans (?) b. September 3rd 1887
1981: Lotte Lenya (81) Austrian singer and actress; In 1956 she won a Tony Award for her role as Jenny in Marc Blitzstein's English version of The Threepenny Opera, the only time an Off-Broadway performance has been so honored. She went on to record a number of songs from her time in Berlin, as well as songs from the American theater. Her voice had grown a lot deeper than during her first success as a performer. When she was to sing the soprano part in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and opera, the part needed transposition to substantially lower keys (cancer) b. October 18th 1898
1998: Barbara Acklin (55) American singer and songwriter; Her biggest hit was "Love Makes a Woman" in 1968 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Other hits included "Show Me the Way to Go," and her first single, "Raindrops,". She was also a background singer on Chess Records sessions with artists like Etta James and Fontella Bass. Besides her singing career she was proficient as a songwriterand she co-wrote "Have You Seen Her", a major hit for The Chi-Lites and several of their other biggest songs: "Oh Girl", "Stoned Out Of My Mind" and "Toby" as well as her own releases. Her distinctive voice also featured occasionally on background vocals on some of The Chi-Lites' records (pneumonia ) b. ?.?.1943
2005: Joe Jones (79) American R&B singer, songwriter and arranger; he is credited with discovering The Dixie Cups. (he is not to be confused with guitarist Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones) As a singer, his greatest hit was the Top Five 1960 R&B hit "You Talk Too Much" that also reached #3 on the Pop chart. He claimed to have written a few songs, including some New Orleans Mardi Gras classic, but his claims have not be proven (complications from quadruple bypass surgery) b. August 12th 1926
2006: Alan "Fluff" Freeman (79) English/Australian disc jockey, TV & radio personality; presented late-evening programmes on Radio Luxembourg in the 1960s and early 1970s. He also worked for the BBC and then Capital Radio from 1979 to 1988, returned to the BBC on BBC Radio 2, he revived both Pick of the Pops and The Rock Show, in the 1990s. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1998. In May 2000 he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement award at the Sony Radio Academy Awards. He originally wanted to be an opera singer, but decided his voice was not strong enough. In 1952 he was invited to audition as a radio announcer and commenced working for 7LA in Tasmania, known as the teenager's station, before moving to radio station 3KZ in Melbourne. He came to UK in 1957.(died peacefully at his home in Twickenham, London, after a brief illness) b. July 6th 1927
2006: Don Butterfield (83) American tuba player; born in Centralia, Washington started in the late 1940s playing for the CBS and NBC radio networks. He played in orchestras, including the American Symphony, Radio City Music Hall Orchestra and on albums by Jackie Gleason. In the 1950s, he switched to jazz, backing such artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Sinatra, Charles Mingus, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jimmy Smith and Moondog. He fronted his own sextet for a 1955 album on Atlantic Records and played the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. In the 1970s he worked as a session musician. He played on recordings for a variety of artists and on television and film soundtracks, including The Godfather Part II. (stroke-related illness) b. January 4th 1923.
2006: Tony "Panama" Silvester (65) US Panama born singer; relocated in Harlem New York, he co-founded a trio called the Poets in 1964, with singers Donald McPherson and Luther Simmons Jr., but they soon changed their name to the Insiders and signed with RCA. After a couple of singles, they changed their name once again in 1966, to the Main Ingredient, taking the name from a Coke bottle. They had hits with "You've Been My Inspiration", "I'm So Proud", "Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)" and "Black Seeds Keep on Growing," but sadly in 1971 McPherson, was suddenly taken ill and died unexpectedly of leukemia. Eventually Cuba Gooding Sr took his place. "Everybody Plays the Fool," become the group's biggest hit. After some solo releases Tony, Gooding and Simmons reunited as the Main Ingredient in 1979, and recorded two more albums, 1980's Ready for Love and 1981's I Only Have Eyes for You. The trio reunited for a second time in 1986, recording "Do Me Right". Simmons was replaced by Jerome Jackson on the 1989 Polydor album I Just Wanna Love You. In the wake of Aaron Neville's Top Ten revival of "Everybody Plays the Fool," Gooding resumed his solo career and issued his third album in 1993. Tony and Simmons re-formed the Main Ingredient in 1999 with new lead singer Carlton Blount; this line-up recorded Pure Magic in 2001 (died after a six-year struggle with multiple myeloma) b. October 7th 1941.
2007: Cecil Payne (84) American Jazz baritone saxophonist, also played the alto saxophone and flute. He began his professional recording career with J. J. Johnson in 1946. He has played with many jazz greats, in particular Dizzy Gillespie and Randy Weston, in addition to his solo work as bandleader. He was still recording regularly for Delmark Records in the 1990s, when he was in his seventies, and indeed on into the new millennium (?) b. December 14th 1922.
2009: Al Alberts/Al Albertini (87) American singer born in Chester, Philadelphia. As a teenager, Al appeared on the radio program the Horn and Hardart Children's Hour. After graduating from South Philadelphia High, he went to Temple University and into the US Navy, where he met Dave Mahoney. They went on to found The Four Aces. The Four Aces recorded the song "Three Coins in the Fountain", the song hit the No.1 spot twice in 1954, and won the Academy Award. Their biggest hit "Love is a Many Splendored Thing", the theme to a 1955 movie was at No.1 for four weeks, this track also won the Academy Award for best song. Al also popularized the song "On the Way to Cape May", on record , and later on his television show and specials. Al went on to became a TV personality in Philadelphia where he also hosted a one-hour Saturday afternoon talent show, called Al Alberts Showcase (kidney failure) b. August 10th 1922
2009: Jacques Braunstein (78) Romanian- Venezuelan economist, publicist and jazz disc jockey, born in Bucharest. He studied violin at six and at 13 took up the acoustic bass. He moved to Brazil with his family before settling in Caracas, Venezuela in the early 1950s, becoming a Venezuelan citizen in 1955. He studied at the Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning two post-graduate degrees in economics and chemical industry. Jacques founded his radio show Idioma del Jazz in 1955 and the Caracas Jazz Club in 1956 and August 12th 1956, he promoted the first official jazz concert in Venezuela at Caracas National Theatre inviting the clarinetist and saxophonist John LaPorta to play. Over the years he organized many concerts with notables jazz groups led by the likes of Nat Adderley, Jeff Berlin, Eddie Bert, Randy Brecker, Gary Burton, Charlie Byrd, Chick Corea, Paco de Lucía, Paquito D'Rivera, Bill Evans, Maynard Ferguson, Miroslav Vitouš, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Barney Kessel, Tito Puente, and Paul Winter, among others. For many years, he also worked as a foreign correspondent for magazines such as Billboard, Down Beat and Paris Match. He was honored by the U. S. Embassy in Venezuela on the 50th anniversary of his weekly jazz radio show, in virtue of his public profile, his love of jazz, his dedication and becoming an ambassador of good will for the radio listeners during more than 2500 continuous editions from 1955 through 2005 (heart failure) b. August 30th 1931.
2009: Bess Lomax Hawes (88) American folklorist and musician, born in Austin, Texas. Bess learnt piano, guitar and folk music from a very early age, from her father, twice president of the American Folklore Society. In the early 1940s she moved to New York City, where she was active on the folk scene. She was an on-and-off member of the Almanac Singers and married singer Baldwin "Butch" Hawes; another fellow Almanac member, Woody Guthrie, taught her mandolin. She wrote campaign songs for Walter A. O'Brien and co-wrote, with Jacqueline Steiner, "M.T.A.," a hit for the Kingston Trio. In the 1950s she moved to California, she taught guitar, banjo, mandolin and folk singing, as well as playing at local clubs and folk festivals such as the Newport Folk Festival and the Berkeley Folk Festival. In 1975, Bess worked in administration at the Smithsonian Institution, where she was instrumental in organizing the Smithsonian's 1976 Bicentennial Festival of Traditional Folk Arts on the National Mall. Bess was given an Honorary Doctorate from the University of North Carolina and the National Medal of Arts awarded in 1993 by President Bill Clinton. Her memoir, Sing It Pretty, was published by Illinois University Press in 2008 (stroke) b. January 21st 1921.
2009: Geneviève Joy (90) French classical and modernist pianist, born in the small commune of Bernaville in the Somme. Geneviève was a piano prodigy who was accepted in to the world-renowned Conservatoire de Paris in 1932 at the age of 12. At the end of World War II in 1945, she formed a critically-acclaimed duo-piano partnership with Jacqueline Robin which lasted for forty-five years, until 1990. Her husband composer Henri Dutilleux, dedicated his Piano Sonata to her, Geneviève recorded the sonata for Erato Records in 1988 (died in her sleep) b. October 4th 1919

November 28
1935: Erich Moritz von Hornbostel (58) Austrian ethnomusicologist; remembered for his pioneering work in the field of ethnomusicology, and for the Sachs-Hornbostel system of musical instrument classification which he co-authored with Curt Sachs (?) b. February 25th 1877.
1972: Jimmy Lytell (67) American clarinetist; his first professional experience came at age twelve, and by the beginning of the 1920s he was recording with early jazz ensembles. He played in the Original Indiana Five in 1921 and the Original Memphis Five between 1922-25, and also played in the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1922-24. After the 1920s he rarely performed in jazz settings, spending more time as a studio and orchestra musician. He worked as a staff musician for NBC during this time. From 1949 into the late 1950s he appeared in the New Original Memphis Five revival band (?) b. December 1st 1904
1992: Wayne Bennett (57) US blues guitarist; He worked with prominent blues musicians such as Bobby Bland, Boxcar Willie, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker and Elmore James, as well as with renowned jazz musicians, including Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Stitt and Dexter Gordon. In 1990, he played on Willy DeVille's album Victory Mixture, also played with such R & B acts as the Chi-Lites, the Lost Generation, the Hues Corporation; among many others and even cut his own record in 1968, an instrumental called "Casanova, Your Playing Days are Over" on the Brunswick label () b. December 13th 1931
1993: Jerry Edmonton/Jerry McCrohan (47) Canadian drummer; he and his brother performed in a group called The Sparrows. John Kay and Goldy McJohn joined this group in Toronto in 1965 and, after some more changes in personnel and relocating to California, the group was renamed Steppenwolf. When Steppenwolf temporarily broke up on Valentine's Day 1972, he and Goldy McJohn formed a band "Seven" after which they formed "Manbeast" before Steppenwolf reconvened in 1974 for three albums before breaking up again in 1976 (car crash) b. October 24th 1946.
2001: Kal Mann (84) American lyricist; he co-wrote Elvis Presley's "Teddy Bear," Bobby Rydell's "Wild One", and Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist Again." Charlie Gracie's "Butterfly and "Fabulous", just to mention a few of hits many hits. He wrote some songs such as "Limbo Rock" credited under the pseudonym Jon Sheldon (Alzheimer's disease) b. May 6th 1917.
2002: Dave "Snaker" Ray (59) US blues singer and guitarist who was most notably associated with Spider John Koerner and Tony Glover recording 6 albums. In the 80,s he and Glover released 3 albums and in 1998, he and Glover joined with Camile Baudoin and Reggie Scanlan of The Radiators to form The Back Porch Rockers band, which released the album "By The Water" in 2000 (cancer)*August 17th 1943.
2005: Tony Meehan (62) UK drummer, one of the founder members of the British group The Shadows, along with Jet Harris, Hank B. Marvin and Bruce Welch. He played drums on all the early Cliff Richard and The Shadows hits and also played on the early hits the Shadows had as an instrumental group. In 1961 he went to work as an arranger/producer and occasional session drummer for Joe Meek and from early 1962 on at Decca Records. He subsequently teamed up again with Jet Harris (who had also left the Shadows and moved to Decca) and as a duo they had great success notably on the track, "Diamonds" which also included Jimmy Page on acoustic rhythm guitar. "Diamonds" was a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart (died from head injuries after a fall) b. March 2nd 1943.
2007: Frédéric "Fred" Chichin (53) French singer guitarist born in Clichy, France, he was the lead member of the band Les Rita Mitsouko, along with Catherine Ringer, whom he met in 1979. Prior to this he had also been active in the rock bands Fassbinder, Taxi Girl and Gazoline (heart failure, following complications of the cancer the doctors had diagnosed two months earlier) b. May 1st 1954.
2007: Ashley Titus/Mr. Fat (36) South African rapper and TV presenter; started making hip hop in the 1980s, as well as hosting a hip hop show on Bush Radio. In the 1990s he rapped for Cape Flats-based hip hop group Brasse vannie Kaap, who won an audience that crossed both musical and racial boundaries, attracting hip hop and rock fans of various ethnic backgrounds; they were also noted for their prominent use of the Afrikaans language in their music. With BVK, he also became known for his strong community involvement, musical focus on Cape Flats issues, and attempts to reach out to youth imprisoned in local jails. The 1990s also saw Titus present a magazine show simply named Hip Hop for the MK89 music channel. (heart problems) b. December 28th 1970.

November 29
1924: Giacomo Puccini (73) Italian composer, organist; his operas, including La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire. Some of his arias, such as "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi, "Che gelida manina" from La bohème, and "Nessun dorma" from Turandot, have become part of popular culture. (throat cancer led his doctors to recommend a new and experimental radiation therapy treatment, he died of complications from the treatment; uncontrolled bleeding led to a heart attack the day after surgery) b. December 22nd 1858
1954: Oliver "Dink" Johnson (62) American multi musician; played drums with Jelly Roll Morton, clarinet with the Five Hounds of Jazz and recorded exstensivley mainly on piano. He worked around Mississippi and New Orleans, before moving to the western United States in the early 1910s. He played around Nevada and California, often with his brother Bill. Most prominently he played with the Original Creole Orchestra, mainly on drums. He made his first recordings in 1922 on clarinet with Kid Ory's Band. For many years he was based in LA, where he led a band in the 1920s. He made more recordings in the '40s and '50s, mostly on piano, also doing some one-man band recordings, he played all three of his instruments through over dubbing (died in Portland, Oregon) b. October 28th 1892.
1999: Curtis Knight/Curtis McNear (54) US singer; worked and recorded with Jimi Hendrix in the early 60's and introduced Hendrix to Ed Chalpin who had him sign a contract that gave Hendrix only 1% of any royalties that his recordings earned. In the 70s Curtis moved to London, England where he formed the group "Curtis Knight & Zeus", and toured throughout Europe, relying on his "Hendrix" connection for many years.(?) b. 1945.
2001: George Harrison (58) UK rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, author, film producer and sitarist best known as the lead guitarist and youngest member of The Beatles. Following the band's demise, he had a successful career as a solo artist and later as part of the Traveling Wilburys super group where he was known as both Nelson Wilbury and Spike Wilbury. (lung cancer) b. February 25th 1943
2007: Jim Nesbitt (76) US country comic singer; his first hit "Please Mr. Kennedy" reached No.1, he recorded over 200 tunes including "A Tiger In My Tank", "New Frontier" "Lookin' For More In '64" (died after battling a heart condition for several years) b. December 1st 1931.
2007: Tom Gerald Terrell (57) was a music journalist, photographer, deejay, promoter, and NPR music reviewer. He made his mark as a radio personality and concert promoter, impacting the music scene as a programmer for WHFS and WPFW, and was an early force behind d.c. space, its non-profit offshoot, District Curators Inc., and the Nightclub 9:30. Blessed with a honey baritone "radio voice" and encyclopedic music knowledge, his pioneering radio shows included "Stolen Moments" on WPFW, and "Sunday Reggae Splashdown" and "Café C'est What" on WHFS. His perceptive music journalism was carried in the Unicorn Times, the Washington City Paper, JazzTimes, Vibe, Essence, Emerge, Savoy, JAZZIZ, Trace, Village Voice, MTV Magazine, Down Beat Magazine, and Global Rhythms, to name a few.
He was a life-long musicologist who recognized talent and trends long before they became popular, and, until his death from , worked to promote new acts in jazz, funk, rock, hip-hop, and world music (prostate cancer) b. July 16, 1950

November 30
1964: Don Redman (64) US jazz man, began playing the trumpet at the age of 3, joined his first band at 6 and by age 12 he was proficient on all wind instruments ranging from trumpet to oboe as well as piano. In 1922 he joined the Fletcher Henderson orchestra, mostly playing clarinet and saxophones. He soon began assisting in writing arrangements, and did much to formulate the sound that was to become big band Swing. Notable musicians in his own band included Sidney De Paris, trumpet, Edward Inge, clarinet, and singer Harlan Lattimore, who was known as "The Colored Bing Crosby". He also did arrangements for other band leaders and musicians, including Paul Whiteman, Isham Jones, and Bing Crosby. Most consider him first great arranger in jazz history (died in New York) b. July 29th 1900.
1988: Charlie Rouse (64) American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist; well known for his work with the highly influential Thelonious Monk's quartet, a period which lasted from 1959 to 1970. He was later a founding member of the group Sphere, which began as a tribute to Monk. He also worked with Mal Waldron's quintet. In 2007 the asteroid "(10426) Charlierouse" was officially named to honor him by its discoverer, the American planetary scientist and astronomer Joe Montani, an ardent fan of Monk and Rouse (lung cancer) b. April 6th 1924.
1995: Stretch/Randy Walker (23) US rapper and hip hop producer from New York City, New York. He starred in the film Who's the Man? but is perhaps most famous for his close affliation with Tupac Shakur during the early 1990s, and was part of the hip hop group "Live Squad" (murdered) b.April 8th 1972.
1996: Tiny Tim/Herbert Buckingham Khaury (64) US singer, ukulele; most famous for his rendition of 'Tiptoe Through The Tulips' sung in his distinctive high falsetto/vibrato voice. He was generally thought of as a novelty act, though his records display a wide knowledge of American songs. In August 1970 he performed at the "Isle of Wight Festival 1970" in front of a crowd of 600,000 people. His performance, which included English folk songs and rock and roll classics, was a huge hit with the multinational throng of hippies. At the climax of his set, he sang "There'll Always Be an England" through a megaphone which brought the huge crowd to its feet. This can be seen in the 1995 movie of the event, "Message to Love". In 2000, the Rhino Handmade label released the posthumous Tiny Tim Live at the Royal Albert Hall. This recording had been made in 1968 at the height of Tiny Tim's fame, but Reprise Records never released it. It sat on the shelf until its limited Internet release some 32 years later. The limited-numbered CD sold out and was reissued on Rhino's regular label (he suffered a heart attack on stage at The Woman's Club of Minneapolis and was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center where he died after doctors tried to resuscitate him for an hour and fifteen minutes) b. April 12th 1932.
1999: Charlie Byrd (74) American jazz and classical guitarist; played a classical guitar with nylon strings using fingerstyle. He collaborated on the famous 1962 album Jazz Samba with Stan Getz, a recording which pushed bossa nova into the mainstream of American music. During the late 1950s he toured Europe with Woody Herman as part of a United States State Department "goodwill tour". He also led his own groups that at times featured his brother Joe Byrd, and other distinguised musicians. In 1997 he was deemed a "Maryland Art Treasure" by the Community Arts Alliance, in 1999 he was knighted by the government of Brazil as a Knight of the Rio Branco (lung cancer) b. September 16th 1925.
1999: (or Dec 1st) Don "Sugarcane" Harris (61) US Blues, jazz and rock violinist and guitarist; was given the nickname "Sugarcane" by LA bandleader Johnny Otis. He started an act called Don and Dewey in the mid 1950s. In the 1960s he played exclusively the electric violin, as a sideman with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and Frank Zappa, most recognized for his appearances on the Mothers of Invention albums Hot Rats, Burnt Weeny Sandwich, and Weasels Ripped My Flesh. His lead vocal and blues violin solo on a cover of Little Richard's "Directly From My Heart to You" on Weasels, and his extended solo on the lengthy "Little House I Used To Live In" on Weeny are considered highlights of those albums. The 70's sees him fronting the Pure Food and Drug Act (pulmonary disease) b. June 19th 1938.
2009: Munetaka Higuchi (49) Japanese drummer born in Nara Nara, during his high school years Munetaka played in seven different bands, before forming the band Lazy with friend Akira Takasaki. The musical pair next formed the metal band Loudness in 1981. During his time with Loudness, Munetaka released his first solo album, Destruction, in 1983. He left Loudness to concertrate on his solo career and work on side projects, including Sly, Bloodcircus, Rose of Rose, and the Rock 'n' Roll Standard Club Band. In 1997, as "Munetaka Higuchi & Dream Castle", he released the album Free World. The band featured many famous musicians from the jazz and rock/metal spheres, like Steve Vai, Stanley Clarke, Billy Sheehan, Ty Tabor, Terry Bozzio, T. M. Stevens, Ronnie James Dio, Richie Kotzen and others. The album was released in February 1997 in Japan. He returned to Loudness in 2001, maintaining his high profile in the metal genre. (liver cancer) b. December 24th 1958.