a Phil Brodie Band Info Page

"Births & Deaths"
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MAY: Charts ~ MAY: On This Day ~ MAY: Quiz
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MAY
SADLY DEPARTED
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RESPECT - OBITUARIES
2009 .. 2008 .. 2007 .. 2006 .. 2005 .. 2004 .. REQUESTS
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MORE BIRTHDATES & PASSINGS
January . February . March . April . May . June . July
August . September . October . November . December
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MAY BIRTHDAYS

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PASSED ~ RESPECT

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

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

May 3rd
1935: Cecil Irwin (32) US tenor saxophonist, clarinet, big band arranger; mostly known for his membership in several of the great Earl Hines bands of the '20s and '30s (A traffic accident that occurred outside of Des Moines, IA, while he was on tour)
1972: Les Harvey (27) brother of the late Alex Harvey and member of Stone The Crows (electrocuted on stage)
1997: Narciso Yepes (69) Spanish classical guitarist; He was granted many honours including the Gold Medal for Distinction in Arts, conferred by King Juan Carlos I; membership in the Academy of “Alfonso X el Sabio”; an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Murcia, and the National Music Prize of Spain (He died in Murcia)
2001: Billy Higgins (64) American drummer; played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958, then freelanced extensively with hard bop and other post-bop players, including Bo Diddley, Donald Byrd, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Milt Jackson, Jackie McLean, Pat Metheny, Hank Mobley, Thelonious Monk, Lee Morgan, David Murray, Art Pepper, Sonny Rollins, Mal Waldron, and Cedar Walton. He played on over 700 recordings, including recordings of rock and funk (?)

May 4th
1937: Noel Rosa (26) Brazilian composer, songwriter, guitarist and banjo player. One of the greatest names in Brazilian popular music, giving a new twist to samba, combining its Afro-Brazilian roots with a more urban, witty language and making it a vehicle for ironic social commentary. He wrote around 250 successful compositions (tuberculosis).
1979: Leo Addeo (64) US sax, clarinet, orchestrator for Hugo Winterhalter. He was one of RCA's key house arrangers for most of the 1950s and 1960s (?)
1987: Paul Butterfield (44) American blues harmonica player, singer, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band/solo; one of the earliest Caucasian exponents of the Chicago-originated electric blues style.(drug and alcohol overdose).

May 5th
1959: Hal McIntyre (44) saxophone, clarinet; Glenn Miller/own band; American bandleader and a founding member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra (he died in a house fire at his home in Los Angeles)
1972: Reverend Gary Davis (76) American blues and gospel guitarist & singer, his unique finger-picking style influenced many other artists such as the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Wizz Jones, Jorma Kaukonen, Keb Mo, Ollabelle and Resurrection Band. Born in the south, he played around the Carolinas in his earlier days, but in the 1940s, he relocated to New York City. By the 1960s, he had become known as the "Harlem Street Singer" and had acquired a reputation as the person to see if you wanted to learn to play guitar, his students in New York City included Stefan Grossman, David Bromberg, Roy Book Binder, Woody Mann, Nick Katzman, Dave Van Ronk, Tom Winslow, and Ernie Hawkins.. The folk revival of the 1960s re-invigorated his career, culminating in a performance at the Newport Folk Festival and the recording by Peter, Paul and Mary of "Samson and Delilah", also known as "If I Had My Way", originally a Blind Willie Johnson recording that Gary had popularized (heart attack) b. April
1977: Sam Lanin (85) US bandleader; recorded under names Lanin's Arcadians, Lanin's Jazz Band, Lanin's Famous Players, Lanin's Southern Serenaders, Lanin's Red Heads, Sam Lanin's Dance Ensemble, Lanin's Arkansaw Travelers. Also a session leader for an enormous number of jazz recording sessions of the 1920s. Among the ensembles he directed and recorded with were Ladd's Black Aces, The Broadway Bell-Hops, The Westerners, The Pillsbury Orchestra and Bailey's Lucky Seven. He had a rotating cast of noted musicians playing with him, including Phil Napoleon, Miff Mole, Jules Levy Jr. and Red Nichols, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Manny Klein, Jimmy McPartland, Bix Beiderbecke, Eddie Lang, Bunny Berigan, Nick Lucas and Frankie Trumbauer, (sadly died forgotten by many) b. Sept 4th 1891.
1982: Cal Tjader (56) vibraphonist and percussionist with the Dave Brubeck Trio/own mambo bands (he was born on tour, he also died on tour. On the road with his band in Manila, he collapsed from a heart attack)
1986: Billy Mackel (73) American guitarist with the Lionel Hampton Band ()
1992: Jean-Claude Pascal (64) French singer; He won the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg singing "Nous Les Amoureux" We the lovers ()
2004: Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (72) Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, '60s and beyond. He held regular Sunday evening auditions in search of new talent, and it was here that he first found Bob Marley, singing as a part of The Wailin' Wailers (heart attack).
2004: Ritsuko Okazaki (44) Japanese singer-songwriter; she became involved in earnest with anime and composed several songs for Wedding Peach, Fruits Basket and Love Hina. She formed the duo Melocure in 2002 with singer-songwriter Megumi Hinata (died suddenly from septic shock as a result of septicemia).
2006: Naushad Ali (86) Indian music director; regarded as a pioneer of Indian music, one of the foremost music directors and composers for Bollywood films (old age).
2008: Thomas Boggs (63) American drummer, former member of the Box Tops; founder and CEO of Huey's Restaurant Chain around Memphis, USA.(cancer related) b. ??
2008: Jerry Wallace (79) American country music singer, his better-known songs include "Primrose Lane", "Shutters And Boards", "In The Misty Moonlight", "Otoko no Sekai" and "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry" (heart failure). b. Dec 15th 1928.

May 6th
1992: Marlene Dietrich (90) German cabaret singer, chorus girl and film actress in 1920s Berlin, she became a Hollywood movie star in the 1930s, a World War II frontline entertainer, and finally an international stage show performer from the 1950s to the 1970s, eventually becoming one of the entertainment icons of the 20th century. (died peacefully of natural causes in Paris, France).
2002: Otis Blackwell (69) American songwriter, singer, and pianist whose work significantly influenced rock 'n' roll. His compositions include Little Willie John's "Fever", Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless", Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender" (with Winfield Scott), and Jimmy Jones' "Handy Man".[Not be confused with songwriter and producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell].(heart attack)
2004: Barney Kessel (80) American jazz guitarist; A "first call" guitarist at Columbia Pictures, during the 1960s Kessel became one of the most in-demand session guitarists in America, and is considered a key member of the group of first-call session musicians now usually known as The Wrecking Crew (brain tumor).
2006: Grant McLennan (48) Australian singer, songwriter, guitarist;The Go-Betweens/solo. His 1983 composition 'Cattle & Cane' was named by the A.P.R.A as one of the 10 greatest Australian songs of all time.(died in his sleep at home in Brisbane from a heart attack).
2007: Ðorde Novkovic (63) Croatian songwriter; he wrote the song "Don't Ever Cry" for Put, the first Croatian representative in the Eurovision Song Contestand also co-owned and managed the Croatia Records label (stroke).
2008: Franz Jackson (95) American saxophonist and clarinetist of the Chicago jazz school. Notable as one of the last surviving jazz artists to have recorded pre-1940, he was still active well into his 90s in various jazz clubs of Chicago. In 1996, he received the Jazz Master Award from Arts Midwest.() b. Nov 1st 1912.
2009: Randall "Poodie" Locke (56) American stage manager; he had worked as a roadie for singer-songwriter B.W. Stevenson before becoming Nelson's stage manager around the time Willie released his 1975 album, Red Headed Stranger. He appeared in Nelson's 1980 film, Honeysuckle Rose. He opened Poodie's Hilltop Bar and Grill in Spicewood, Texas, in 2002, the bar became a favorite stop for musicians. (heart attack) b. ????
2009: Viola Wills/Viola Mae Wilkerson (69) American pop singer; she was discovered by Barry White in 1965, who signed her to Bronco Records and changed her name to Viola Wills. She started her career at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and, over the following years, in addition to working with Barry White, also performed with Joe Cocker, Smokey Robinson and many other established recording artists of the era. It was while working in London as one of Cocker's backing vocalists, dubbed the "Sanctified Sisters" that she worked on and released her solo debut album of self-penned originals titled Soft Centers, backed by Cocker's session players. Her hits include including "Gonna Get Along Without You Now", "Dare To Dream", "Both Sides Now", "No News Is News", "A House Is Not a Home", "If You Could Read My Mind", "Love Pains", "Let's Love Now", "Take One Step Forward" (by Wills and Noel McCalla), and "Always Something There to Remind Me" (cancer) b. December 30th 1939.
2009: Ean Evans (48) American bassist; he started out at the age of 5 playing the trumpet, before changing to guitar in his early teens and playing with local bands. Influenced by the likes of John Paul Jones, Leon Wilkeson and Geddy Lee he changed to bass, like his bass heroes he enjoyed the aggressive approach to playing. In the 1980s he played bass for a rock band called "...Five Miles High!", before forming his first original band "Cupid's Arrow", which was popular in the Atlanta area. After composing and recording over 50 songs, Ean became a full time studio musician. He went on to play with The Outlaws, recording and world wide touring. He then formed his band "Noon" in which he was guitarist, bass player as well as primary songwriter and vocalist. In August of 2001 he joined Lynyrd Skynyrd replacing bassist Leon Wilkeson who had sadly passed away (cancer) b. 1960/61.

May 7th
1995: Ray McKinley (84) American jazz drummer, singer and bandleader; Dorsey Brothers, Will Bradley, Glenn Miller, and became leader of the revived Glenn Miller band. He got his start working with local bands in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, before joining Smith Ballew in 1929, when he met Glenn Miller. The two formed a friendship which lasted from 1929 until Miller's death in 1944. They both joined the Dorsey Brothers in 1934. Ray remained with Jimmy until 1939, when he joined Will Bradley, becoming co-leader. His biggest hit with Bradley, as a singer, was "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar," which he recorded early in the year 1940. He joined Glenn Miller's Army Air Force band, which he co-led with arranger Jerry Gray after Miller's disappearance in December 1944. He formed his own band, then n 1956, capitalizing on the popularity of the Glenn Miller Story movie Ray was chosen to be the leader of the revived Glenn Miller band, which he led until 1966. He co-hosted a 13-week CBS-TV summer series with the band on CBS-TV in 1961. Surviving kinescopes of the program, which was broadcast live, show another side of McKinley's talent: On that "Glenn Miller Time" series .. he was a more than adept song and dance man as well. (?) b. June 18th 1910.
1998: Eddie Rabbitt (56) US singer/songwriter; during his career, he scored 26 #1 hits on the country charts and eight Top 40 pop hits.(lung cancer).
2004: Rudi Maugeri (73) Canadian baritone singer; Crew Cuts;also worked as a disc jockey, radio show host and station programmer in both New York and LA.(pancreatic cancer).

May 8th
1967: LaVerne Andrews (55) American contralto singer with The Andrews Sisters. The Andrews Sisters became the best-selling female vocal group in the history of popular music setting records that remain unsurpassed to this day (cancer).
1974: Graham Bond (37) UK keyboard player, one of the great catalytic figures of 60s rock in UK, he has a claim to the title "Father of the British Blues". (suicide, died under the wheels of train at Finsbury Park station, London)
1982: Neil Bogart (39) US record executive. He was a singer in the 1960s before running Cameo-Parkway Records, after which he became an executive at Buddah Records. He is credited with being a key player in the rise of bubblegum pop music during his time working at Cameo-Parkway and Buddah. He founded Casablanca Records in the 70's (cancer).
2008: Eddy Arnold (89) US country music star; with 145 songs on the country charts including 28 number one hits, he ranks among one of the most popular country singers in U.S. history (died in Franklin, Tennessee, just one week short of his 90th birthday).

May 9th
1989: Keith Whitley (34) US country music singer; his career in mainstream country music was brief, but he continues to influence an entire generation of singers and songwriters. His biggest hits include "Don't Close Your Eyes" and "Miami, My Amy" (alcohol poisoning).
2001: James E. Myers (81) American songwriter, actor, producer, and raconteur; maybe best known as the credited co-writer of "Rock Around the Clock" for which he used the pseudonym "Jimmy DeKnight" (leukemia).
2005: Nasrat Parsa (36) Afghani singer; one of the few Afghan singers who had a formal training in classical music. It was these lessons that would prepare him for performing the ghazal that he later became known for in Europe (murdered while on tour in Canada).
2009: Stephen Bruton (60) American songwriter and guitarist; born in Wilmington, Delaware and moved to Texas at the age of two. After graduating from Texas Christian University he mixed with the Fort Worth music scene and was soon playing in Kris Kristofferson's band just as Kris's career was about to take off. Stephen and Kris's collaboration and friendship lasted more than 40 years. Throughout his long career Stephen has also worked with such artists and musicians as NRBQ, T Bone Burnett, Bonnie Raitt, Sonny Landreth, Rita Coolidge, Christine McVie, Elvis Costello, Delbert McClinton and Carly Simon and produced albums for Alejandro Escovedo, Marcia Ball, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Hal Ketchum, Storyville and Chris Smither (throat cancer) b. November 7th 1948
2009: Travis Edmonson (76) American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist who performed both as a soloist and in the group Bud and Travis. At the age of 5, he briefly played the role of Curley on the TV show Our Gang. He began his singing career at age seven as a member of the St. Andrew's Episcopal Church choir, where he sang with his three older brothers. In the early 1950s, he served in the US Army, before beginning his musical career in San Francisco. After singing solo, he joined a quartet, the Gateway Singers with Louis Gottlieb. In 1958, he formed Bud and Travis along with Bud Dashiell, they recorded eight albums in seven years and appeared at many top nightclubs and on television, including a guest appearance on the show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. He was considered a folk music "pioneer" and influencing groups such as the Kingston Trio and was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Tucson Area Music Awards in 1995 for his musical accomplishments (heart failure) b. September 23rd 1932.
2009: Eugene Smith (88) American gospel singer known for his distinct baritone/tenor voice; he met Roberta Martin at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church when he joined the junior chorus led by Martin. That same year, 1933, he became one of the original Roberta Martin Singers. Some of their most popular releases included "Old Ship of Zion", "He Knows How Much You Can Bear", "Yield Not To Temptation", "Only a Look" and "The Lord Will Make a Way". In the early 1940s, Eugene composed the gospel blues song "I Know the Lord Will Make a Way, Oh Yes He Will", which is still popular among congregations today, and in 1949, he also became the business manager and booking agent for the Roberta Martin Singers. After he group disbanded, in 1969 when Roberta Martin died, Eugene still sang in and around the Chicago area, and participated in various programs honoring The Roberta Martin Singers and other singers and musicians from the "Golden Era" of gospel until his death (died in his sleep at his apartment in Chicago, Illinois) b. April 22nd 1921.

May 10th
1979: Carl Martin (73) US multi-musician including conga, percussion, guitar; enjoyed a career that spanned over five decades under several different monikers, including the Four Keys, the Tennessee Chocolate Drops, the Wandering Troubadours and his own trio (?)
1944: Woody Herman Shaw II (44) US jazz trumpet; is often credited with developing an improvisational approach based on larger intervals, like fourths and fifths, instead of the smaller intervals more easily playable on the trumpet (kidney failure). b. Dec 24th 1944
1992: Sylvia Syms/Sylvia Blagman (74) American jazz singer; her major hit was "I Could Have Danced All Night" in 1956. (died on stage of a heart attack). b. Dec 2nd 1917
1999: Shel Silverstein (57) American poet, Grammy Award winning songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books.He composed original music for several films, and displayed a musical versatility in these projects, playing guitar, piano, saxophone, and trombone. (heart attack). b. Sept 25th 1930
2005: David Wayne (47) American singer for the thrash metal band Metal Church, before he formed the band Reverend, with who he remained active with until his death.(complications following a car crash). b. Jan 1st 1958
2006: Soraya/Soraya Raquel Lamilla Cuevas (38) Columbian-American singer/ songwriter/ guitarist; won a 2004 Latin Grammy Award for the self titled album "Soraya" as "Best Album by Songwriter", and a 2005 Latin Grammy Awards nomination for "Female Pop Vocal Album" for her album El Otro Lado de Mi (cancer). b. March 11th 1969
2006: John Josephus Hicks Jr (64) US international jazz pianist, composer; been on the international jazz scene for over 40 years (died of undisclosed causes). b. Dec 21st 1941
2009: Clive Scott (64) British keyboardist and songwriter; he started out with Scott and The Antarctics before fronting the pop/rock group, Jigsaw with Des Dyer. He played keyboard as well as composing and/or co-writing most of the group's recordings. Their merits include the million-selling 1975 hit single "Sky High", reaching top placing on both sides of the Atlantic as well as in Japan. After 13 albums Jigsaw split in the 1981, and Clive worked as a songwriter and record producer for other musicians, together with Ian Levine, including Who Do You Think You Are? which was a hit for Opportunity Knocks winners Candlewick Green in 1974, another song influenced by American soul music. His work has been recorded by Nicki French, Bad Boys Inc, Boyzone, Jon Otis among many others. Most recently, Clive and Ian had written and produced the albums Northern Soul 2007 and Disco 2008, both recorded in Clive's 'Racetrack' Studios in Ascot, Berkshire (He had fallen from a ladder and had brain surgery, died from of a stroke two weeks later) b. 1945

May 11th
1970: Johnny Hodges (62) American alto and soprano saxophonist and lead player of Duke Ellington's saxophone section. He spent 38 years with Ellington, leaving to lead his own band from 1951 to 1955, returning to the fold shortly before Ellington's triumphant return to prominence via the orchestra's performance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. His playing became the identifying voice of the Ellington orchestra. He also played with Lloyd Scott, Sidney Bechet, Lucky Roberts Chick Webb, many others (heart attack). b. July 25th 1907
1975: "Little" Benny Harris (56) US trumpeter, composer; fixture on 52nd Street in the 40s & 50's taking part in many early bop sessions and playing with Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, John Kirby, Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and many others, composer of "Ornithology," "Crazelogy," "Reets and I", and "Wahoo" (?).b. April 23th 1919
1981: Bob Marley (36) Jamacain singer, songwriter, guitarist; Reggae's most transcendent and iconic figure, he was the first Jamaican artist to achieve international superstardom, in the process introducing the music of his native island nation to the far-flung corners of the globe. His music gave voice to the day-to-day struggles of the Jamaican experience, vividly capturing not only the plight of the country's impoverished and oppressed but also the devout spirituality, their source of strength (lung cancer, brain tumour). b. Feb 6th 1945
2003: Noel Redding (57) UK bass player with Jimi Hendrix Experience /own band/ Phish. He was featured on three seminal albums with Hendrix, 'Are You Experienced?', 'Axis: Bold as Love' and 'Electric Ladyland' (found dead at his home in Ireland). b. Dec 25th 1945
2004: John Whitehead (55) US singer,songwriter, record producer one half of the duo McFadden & Whitehead (murdered by two unknown gunmen while fixing his car on the street outside his Philadelphia home with a friend). b. July 10, 1949
2008: John Rutsey (55) Canadian drummer and co-founding member of Rush; he played drums in Rush from1968 until July 1974. It was during this time that he played on the "Not Fade Away"/"You Can't Fight It" single and the band's eponymous debut LP. He left the band, due to health concerns related to diabetes, which posed problems with extended tours. (died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack) b. 1953
2008: Dottie Rambo (74) American gospel singer, songwriter, and musician; her music is renowned internationally for its simple melodies and articulate, evocative lyrical qualities, often dealing with themes such as heaven, Christian sacrifice, and the born-again Christian experience (as a result of injuries sustained in a bus accident along Interstate 44 just outside of Mount Vernon, Missouri). b. March 2nd 1934

May 12th
1995: Mia Martini/ Domenica Bertè (47) Italian singer and song-writer; She represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 1977 with "Libera" , and in 1992 with "Rapsodia" She recorded her first records as Mimì Bertè, but she soon decided to change her name to Mia Martini. She recorded 17 solo albums, her biggest hit singles were "Piccolo Uomo", which was recorded in several languages, "Almeno tu nell'universo", which has been covered by several Italian singers including Mina and Elisa, and "Minuetto". (found dead under mysterious circumstances in her apartment at Cardano al Campo, near Milan) b. Sept 20th 1947
2001: Pierino Ronaldo "Perry" Como (88) US singer and TV presenter; sold millions of records for RCA and also pioneered a weekly musical variety television show, which set the standards for the genre and proved to be one of the most successful in television history. His combined success on television and popular recordings was not matched by any other artist of the time. Born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, he had shown early musical talent in his teens as a trombone player in the town's brass band and as organist in the local church. In 1933 he joined Freddy Carlone's band in Ohio, and 3 years later moved up to Ted Weems' Orchestra and his first recording dates. Their first recording was a novelty tune called "You Can't Pull the Wool Over My Eyes". In 1942 Perry went to work for the NBC radio program Chesterfield Supper Club, after which he became a very successful performer in theatre and nightclub engagements. In 1945, he recorded the pop ballad "Till the End of Time" (based on Chopin's "Heroic Polonaise"), which reached No. 1 in the US and marked the beginning of a highly successful career. It was followed by 13 more U.S. Pop Charts No.1 singles: "Prisoner of Love" (1946); "Surrender" (1946); "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba" (1947); "A - You're Adorable" (1949); "Some Enchanted Evening" (1949); "Hoop-De-Doo" (1950); "If" (1951); "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes" (1952); "No Other Love" (1953); "Wanted" (1954); "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" (1956); "Round And Round" (1957); and "Catch A Falling Star" (1957).He was the first artist to have ten records sell more than one million copies. won the 1958 Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, male for "Catch a Falling Star." His final Top 40 hit was a cover of Don McLean's "And I Love You So", recorded in 1973. He recorded many albums of songs for the RCA Victor label between 1952 and 1987, and is credited with numerous gold records. Como had so many recordings achieve gold-record status that he refused to have many of them certified.received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 and was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2007 (died quietly in his sleep). b. May 18th 1912
2009: Antonio Vega Tallés (51) Spanish pop singer-songwriter; born in Madrid he formed the band Nacha Pop in 1978, releasing their self titled debut album in 1980. They went on to release eight albums before the band broke up in 1988 and Antonio began a solo career. He released his first of six solo albums "No me iré mañana" in 1991. In 2001, the Nacha Pop song "Lucha de Gigantes" was used in the film Amores Perros (pneumonia) b. December 16th 1957
2009: Dame Heather Begg (76) New Zealand operatic soprano; she won the 1955 Sydney Sun Aria contest and went to London in 1957 to attend the UK's National School of Opera on a musical scholarship, studying with Sister Mary Leo. She became a professional singer and went on to be the principal resident mezzo-soprano at Covent Garden, where she stayed for 10 years, singing with, among others Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras and Plácido Domingo, as well as with fellow New Zealander, Kiri Te Kanawa (leukemia) b. December 1st 1932.

May 13th
1945: Tubby Hall (49) US jazz drummer originally from New Orleans played with King Oliver, Jimmie Noone, Tiny Parham, Johnny Dodds. For some years he played with Louis Armstrong, and is seen in Armstrong's movies of the 1930s. (died in Chicago) b. Oct 12th 1895
1975: James 'Bob' Wills (70) American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by many music authorities one of the fathers of Western swing and called by his fans the "King of Western Swing" (heart problems). b. March 6th 1905
1981: Joan Weber (45) US singer, best known for her 1955 US No.1 hit "Let Me Go, Lover!" (died of heart failure at a mental institution in Ancora, New Jersey). b. Dec 12th 1935
1988: Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr (58) US jazz trumpeter, vocalist; specialized in relaxed, even melancholy music, he rose to prominence as a leading name in cool jazz in the 1950s (Friday 3am: found dead on a street below his second-story room at the Prins Hendrik Hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with serious wounds to his head. Heroin and cocaine were found in his hotel room, and an autopsy also found these drugs in his body. There was no evidence of a struggle, and the death was ruled an accident). b. Dec 23rd 1929
1999: Motohiko Hino (53) Japanese jazz drummer (?) b. Jan 3rd 1946
2006: Johnnie Wilder Jr. (56) US singer & co-founder of the international R&B/funk group, Heatwave (died in his sleep at his home in Clayton, Ohio, cause unknown). b. July 3rd 1949

May 14th
1959: Sidney Bechet (62) US jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, beating cornetist/trumpeter Louis Armstrong to the recordi studios by several months, later playing duets with Armstrong. He was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist of any sort. (died in Paris on his birthday) b. May 14th 1897
1969: Martin Lamble (19) UK drummer with Fairport Convention; He joined the band after viewing the band's first gig and convincing them that he could do a better job than their current drummer Shaun Frater. He played on the band's first three albums (died in a van crash on the M1 motorway while returning from a gig in Birmingham) b. ? ? 1949
1967: George Treadwell (47) US jazz trumpeter; worked with Benny Carter, Ace Harris, Tiny Bradshaw, Cootie Williams, J.C. Heard, as a member of Heard's ensemble, he accompanied Etta Jones and Sarah Vaughan. He also recorded with Dicky Wells and Ethel Waters and managed The Drifters and Ruth Brown and did A&R work in the 1950s as well as working as a songwriter. (?). b. Dec 21st 1919
1976: Keith Relf (33) UK vocalist with The Yardbirds, Medicine Head, Armageddon, & Renaissance; re-discovered such blues masters as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf during the early '60s, leading to him forming the Yardbirds (electrocuted playing his guitar while rehearsing new material for the formation of his new band Illusion). b. March 22th 1943
1998: Frank Sinatra (82) US singer / actor; arguably the most important popular music figure of the 20th century, his only real rivals for the title being Bing Crosby & Elvis Presley (heart attack in Los Angeles, California, following a long battle with coronary heart disease, kidney disease, bladder cancer, and dementia). b. Dec 12th 1915
2006: Lew Anderson (84) US sax player, actor, bandleader; joined the Carlos Molinas Latin Orchestra, where he also wrote the American dance arrangements. Late 1940's, he joined The Honey Dreamers, a singing group that appeared on radio and early television shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, before forming his own 16 piece band (prostate cancer). b. May 7, 1922

May 15th.
1956: Adrian Rollini (52) US saxophonist with many bands and his own; the greatest bass saxophonist of all time, one of the first jazz vibraphonists, and a talented multi-instrumentalist who could make music on such novelty instruments as the "hot fountain pen" (a miniature clarinet with a saxophone mouthpiece) and a "goofus." (There are many rumours about his death; the actual location of his death was the James Archer Smith Hospital in Homestead, Florida. He died after an 18 day stay in the hospital following a severe trauma to his ankle suffered in the early morning hours, apparently from a car related accident in the car park of The Green Turtle Inn at Islamorada Key). b. June 28th 1903
1976: Paul Gonsalves (53) US tenor sax with Sabby Lewis, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie and 24 years with The Duke; he caused a near riot at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, with a stunningly outstanding, mammoth 27 or 28 chorus solo, in the middle of Duke Ellington's performance when combining "Diminuendo" and "Crescendo in Blue". (Died of a drug overdose while in London, UK. Ellington died 9 days later and the bodies of The Duke, Paul Gonsalves and Tyree Glenn, lay side by side in the same New York funeral home). b. July 12th 1920
1992: Barbara Lee (44) US singer; a member of The Chiffons a Motown all girl Vocal Group (died, one day short of her 45th birthday, of a heart attack). b. May 16th 1947
1993: Marv Earl Johnson (54) American R&B and soul singer most notable for performing on the first record to ever come from Motown. (died of a stroke)
1999: Rob Gretton (46) UK manager of Joy Division and New Order, partner in Factory Records, proprietor of the Rob's Records label and a co-founder of The Haçienda nightclub in Manchester, England (heart attack). b. Jan 15th 1953
2000: Geoff Goddard (62) UK songwriter, keyboard player; he wrote songs for Heinz, Mike Berry, Kenny Hollywood, The Outlaws, Freddie Starr, Screaming Lord Sutch,Gunilla Thorne, The Ramblers, & many others and played keyboards on various of his productions, most notably on The Tornados' worldwilde hit Telstar (?). b. Nov 19th 1937
2003: June Carter Cash (73) Grammy award winning country singer, played the guitar, banjo, and autoharp. Second and long term wife of Johnny Cash (complications following heart valve replacement surgery). b. June 23rd 1929
2004: Clint Warwick/Albert Clinton Eccles (63) British bass player; after he played with Danny King & The Dukes, he helped form the early UK rock band The Moody Blues, and was the original bassist in 1964. The Moody Blues released one album with Clint on bass, "Go Now - The Moody Blues" which reached No.1 in the UK charts. The album yielded the hit song, "Go Now", which also reached No.1 in the UK and the Top Ten in the U.S. Clint left the band and his music career in 1966 to become a carpenter and spend time with his family. He was replaced briefly by Rod Clark and then by John Lodge, who is still with the band (He died of liver problems related to years of alcoholism). b. June 25th 1940
2008: Bob Florence (75) American pianist, arranger, and bandleader; He began taking piano lessons at five and initially intended to be a concert pianist, however he stared working as pianist and arranger with jazz man Dave Pell and by the mid-1950s he had formed his own big band working with, amongst others, Herb Geller, Bud Shank, Frank Capp and Bob Enevoldsen. Since that time, Bob worked in various big band projects across the Los Angeles area, working mainly with session musicians and as an accompanist to various singers. Throughout his career Florence worked as an arranger for Harry James, Louie Bellson, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Count Basie and Doc Severinsen. At one time he had three variety shows going... Andy Williams, Dean Martin and Red Skelton, and he had a close musical relationship with singer Vikki Carr. In the thirty years he had known her, he wrote six albums and countless arrangements for her in person performances. Bob was on the road for four years as Vikki's musical director. He also has worked closely with Julie Andrews, doing one CD, writing her several charts and traveled as her accompanist. In 2000 he won a Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, with his album "Serendipity" (?) b. May 20th 1932.
2009: Buddy Montgomery (79) American jazz composer, arranger, pianist, vibraphonist; born and raised in Indianapolis, he was the youngest in a family of musical siblings, influenced by his brothers Thomas, Monk and Wes... he first played professionally in 1948, then in 1949 he played with Big Joe Turner, before joining up with Slide Hampton. After two years in the Army, where he had his own quartet, he joined the Mastersounds as a vibraphonist with his brother Monk. He led the Montgomery-Johnson Quintet with Ray Johnson from 1955 to 1957. He played briefly with Miles Davis in 1960. In 1969 he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he taught jazz music locally. Early in the 1980s he moved to Oakland; there he released more solo material and played with the Riverside Reunion Band, Charlie Rouse, David Fathead Newman and Bobby Hutcherson (?) January 30th 1930.
2009: Wayman Tisdale (44) American jazz bass guitarist and professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. Iinfluenced greatly by funk bands of the 1970s, he launched his musical career with "Power Forward" in 1995 on the Motown Label. Primarily a bass player, he recorded eight albums, with the 2001 album "Face to Face" climbing to No. 1 on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart. In 2002, he was awarded the Legacy Tribute Award by the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. His most recent release, Rebound, was written and released after he had been diagnosed with cancer (cancer) b. June 9th 1964

May 16th
1953: Jean-Baptiste "Django" Reinhardt (43) Belgium gypsy jazz guitar virtuoso;one of the most renowned jazz guitarists of all time, his unique sound made him an international star, and he is credited with being among the first to elevate the guitar from a rhythm instrument to a solo instrument.(stroke). b. January 23rd 1910
1981: Ernie Freeman (58) successful US session pianist; worked particularly on the Modern, Specialty, and Aladdin labels, as well as for white artists such as Duane Eddy, Connie Francis, Pet Clarke, Bobby Vee, Frank Sinatra, Simon and Garfunkel (?). b. Aug 16th 1922
1990: Sammy Davis, Jr. (64) US dancer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, playing vibraphone, trumpet, and drums; impressionist, comedian, convert to Judaism, and Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor. He was a member of the 1960s Rat Pack, which was led by his old friend Frank Sinatra, and included fellow performers Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford.
.(throat cancer). b. Dec 8th 1925
1993: Marv Johnson (54) US soul singer, songwriter, pianist; he began his career singing with a doo-wop group, The Serenaders, in the mid 1950s. Berry Gordy discovered him while he was performing at a carnival. His recording of Gordy's song "Come To Me" became the label's first single in May 1959, it reached number 30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Between 1959 and 1961, he had 9 Billboard Hot 100 singles including two top tenners; "You Got What It Takes", which reached number 10 and "I Love The Way You Love", which reached number 9. He scored his final Top 40 single in 1960 with "(You've Got To) Move Two Mountains". After issuing his final Motown singles in 1968, he remained with Motown throughout the 1970s working on promotion and sales. He also wrote songs for Tyrone Davis and Johnnie Taylor. He continued singing into the 1990s, releasing a solo album on the London based Motor City Records label (died of a stroke in Columbia, South Carolina) b. Oct 15th 1938.
1995: Lola Flores/ María de los Dolores Flores Ruiz (72) Spanish singer, dancer and actress of gipsy descent; she became a famous dancer and singer of Andalusian gipsy folklore at a very young age, featuring in films from 1939 to 1987. Her greatest success was in folklore shows with Manolo Caracol, who was her artistic partner until 1951. In 2007, the biography Lola la pelicula was made. The movie describes her early life, starting in 1931 until 1958 (breast cancer) b. January 21st 1923
2001: Brian Pendleton (57) UK rhythm guitarist, lead guitar, vocals; Pretty Things/So What; he was an incredibly talented and underrated guitarist, like too many musicians died virtually forgotten.(lung cancer). b. April 13th 1944

May 17th
1990: Frank Wright (54) US free jazz musician, electric bass, saxophone; known for his frenetic style of tenor saxophone, never recorded even a single record under his own name for a major label; he was "underground" his entire career (?). b. July 9th 1935
1992: Lawrence Welk (89) US accordionist, bandleader, TV personality; his long-running TV variety show was a huge success in its time, & remains an enduring favorite in re-runs (pneumonia). b. March 11th 1903
1996: Johnny 'Guitar' Watson (61) US blues guitarist whose long career influenced the development of blues, soul music, rhythm & blues, funk, rock music, and hip-hop music.
(died of a heart attack while on tour in Yokohama, Japan). b. February 3rd 1935
1996: Kevin Gilbert (29) US multi instrumentalist, songwriter, who played trumpet, keyboards, guitars, drums and bass, as well as singing vocals. His talents also extended to producer. He toured with Eddie Money before winning the 1988 Yamaha Ssoundcheck International Rock Music Competition with his progressive rock group Giraffe (autoerotic self-asphyxiation). b. Nov 20th 1966
1999: Bruce Fairbairn (49) Canadian record producer and musician who was prominent during the 1980s and 1990s, notable for the introduction of dynamic horn arrangements in the context of hard-rock bands such as Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Yes, Loverboy and many more (found dead at his Vancouver home). b. Dec 30th 1949
2002: Sharon Sheeley (62) US songwriter; one of the first and most successful female songwriters of the early rock & roll era, whose work brought success to artists like Glen Campbell, Ricky Nelson, Brenda Lee, and her former fiancé, Eddie Cochran, also a surviver of the Eddie Cochran/Gene Vincent car crash 1960. (cerebral hemorrhage). b. April 4th 1940

May 18th.
1980: Ian Curtis (23) UK vocalist and lyricist of the band Joy Division. Critics and fans continue to write and discuss at length Curtis's music, possible motivations and inspirations. (hung himself reportedly while listening to Iggy Pop's 'The Idiot'). b. July 15th 1956
1984: John Hardee (75) US jazz blues tenor saxophonist played with Tiny Grimes and then recorded as a bandleader for Blue Note between 1946 and 1948, later played with Clyde Bernhardt, Cousin Joe, Russell Procope, Earl Bostic, Billy Kyle, Helen Humes, Billy Taylor, and Lucky Millinder, before becoming a teacher (?). b. Dec 20th 1919
1999: Augustus Pablo/Horace Swaby (44) Jamaican musician; Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer and keyboardist, active from the 1970s onwards. He was perhaps the first person to use the melodica as a viable musical instrument. He was known for his devotion to the spiritual Rastafari movement (collapsed lung). b. June 21st 1954
2004: Clint Warwick/Albert Clinton Eccles (63) The original UK bassist for rock band, The Moody Blues, releasing one album with them, their debut No.1 hit album 'Go Now - The Moody Blues'. The album yielded the hit song, "Go Now", which reached #1 in the UK and the Top Ten in the U.S. (liver disease). b. June 25th 1940
2004: Elvin Ray Jones (76) American drummer; one of the most influential jazz drummers of the post-bop era. He was a member of the John Coltrane quartet, appearing on such albums as A Love Supreme. He led several small groups, some under the name The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. He recorded with both of his brothers, jazz musicians Hank and Thad Jones. His later career saw him working with many of the younger jazz artists of today, including Bill Frisell (heart failure) b. Sept 9th 1927
2007: Yoyoy Villame (74) Filipino singer, composer, lyricist, and comedian; his long list of hits and his entertaining style of music earned him the title of "King of Philippine Novelty Songs." (cardiac arrest) b. Nov 18th 1932
2009: Dolla/Roderick Anthony Burton II (21) American rap artist; he was a member of Da Razkalz Cru, who signed to Elektra Records in 2003 and released the single "So Fly". That same year, he met Akon and P. Diddy, the latter of whom hired Dolla as a model for his Sean John line of clothes; Dolla appeared on billboards for the clothing line and modeled across the United States. Dolla signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik label in May 2007. He made his debut with the single "Who The Fuck Is That", which was his biggest hit, reaching No. 82 on the Billboard Hot 100. (shot outside the Beverly Center, Los Angeles) b. November 25th 1987.

May 19th
1969: Coleman Hawkins (64) USSaxophonist, Bandleader, Jazz Musician; the first important tenor saxophonist and he remains one of the greatest of all time, strongly associated with the swing music and big band era, he began playing professionally in the early 1920s and was important in the development of bebop in the 1940s. He continued to be influenced by the avant-garde jazz of the 1950s and '60s. (pneumonia) b. Nov 21st 1904
1978: Teddy Hill (68) US bandleader; He played a variety of instruments, including drums, clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophone. He formed his own band in 1934, which found steady work over the NBC radio network. Over several years it featured such major young musicians as Roy Eldridge, Bill Coleman, Frankie Newton and Dizzy Gillespie. Well known for managing Minton's Playhouse in Harlem, a nightclub where experimental jam sessions eventually led to the birth of the lingua franca of jazz: bebop. (?) b. Dec 7th 1909
1986: Jimmy Lyons (54) American alto saxophonist; best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. During the 70s he had his own group, taking performance opportunities at the loft jazz movement around Studio Rivbea. His group and the Unit continued a parallel development through the 1970s and 1980s, often involving the same musicians, such as trumpeter Raphe Malik and bassist William Parker (lung cancer) b. Dec 1st 1931.
1989: Ron Wilson (44) US drummer, best known as one of the original members of The Surfaris, an early surf rock group of the '60s, introducing a vigorous cadence-laced drumming style which made their music much more energetic than other surf bands. His energetic drum solo made 'Wipe Out' the best-remembered instrumental of the period (?) b. June ?? 1945.
2001: Mike Sammes (73) UK musician and vocal session arranger. From 1955 to the 1970s, he was responsible for much of the backing vocals on pop music recorded in Britain. Also the founder of 'The Mike Sammes Singers' (?) b. Feb 19th 1928.
2003: Joe 'Guitar' Hughes (65) US red hot blues guitarist, singer from Houston, Texas. An inventive and versatile performer, Hughes was equally happy with slow blues, Texas shuffles and old R&B hits (heart attack) b. Sept 29th 1937.
2006: Freddie Garrity (65) English lead singer with his band The Dreamers, known for his happy zany stage acts and 'Do The Freddie' dance. His trademark was his habit of leaping up and down during performances. This, combined with his almost skeletal appearance and horn-rimmed glasses, made him an eccentric figure in the UK pop scene of the 1960s. (heart problems) b. Nov 14th 1936

May 20th
1964: Rudy Lewis (28) US singer with The Clara Ward Singers before becoming lead singer of The Drifters from 1960 to 1964 (he was found dead in his bed on the morning they recorded 'Under The Boardwalk', Johnny Moore, stepped into the breach. Some accounts say the cause was a drug overdose, while others who knew him say that Lewis, who was a binge eater, choked to death in his sleep). b. Aug 23th 1936.
2000: Jean-Pierre Rampal (78) French flute virtuoso; one of history's greatest flute players, and among the most recorded classical artists of all time. He was devoted to chamber music, founding the French Wind Quintet (Quintette à Vent Française) in 1945 and the Ensemble Baroque de Paris in 1953 (died in Paris of heart failure) b. Jan 7th 1922.
2001: Renato Carosone (81) Italian pianist, singer; among the greatest figures of Italian music scene in the second half of the 20th century, regarded as the father of Neapolitan singing, bringing elements of jazz and swing into traditional, Italian songbook . His song "Torero" remained for 14 weeks at No.1 on the US hit parade was translated into 12 languages and no fewer than thirty cover versions were recorded in the USA alone. (complications from a long-term respiratory illness) b. Jan 3rd 1920.
2004: Tony Stough (50) US guitarist with Plush,The Edge and Wabash (Liver problems) b.?

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

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

May 23rd
1991: Will Sin/William Sinnott (30) Scottish bass player and keyboardist in alternative dance act - experimental electronic music band, The Shamen. He wrote several agit-pop style songs for the albums 'In Gorbachev We Trust' and 'Phorward', before developing a more tribal influenced sound for the instrumental pieces "Lightspan" and "Evil is Even" on the album En-Tact (drowned off the coast of La Gomera, in the Canary Island while filming the group's videos). b. Dec 23rd 1960
1994: Joe Pass (65) American jazz guitarist; his extensive use of walking basslines, melodic counterpoint during improvisation, and use of a chord-melody style of play opened up new possibilities for jazz guitar and had a profound influence on future guitarists. He was a sideman or recorded with Louis Bellson, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Della Reese, Johnny Mathis, Benny Carter, Milt Jackson, Herb Ellis, Zoot Sims, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and many others and worked on TV shows including the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Merv Griffin Show, The Steve Allen Show, and others. (?) b. Jan 13th 1929
2001: Tommy Eyre (51) UK keyboardist, sessionist, producer and arranger; he appeared on records with dozens of artists such as Joe Cocker, John Martyn, Alex Harvey, Greg Lake, Gary Moore, B.B. King, John Mayall, Tracy Chapman and was keyboardist for Wham!. Appeared on many chart-toppers including Joe Cocker's 'With A Little Help From My Friends' and Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street' (cancer) b. July 5th 1949.
2008: Bruce "Utah" Phillips (73) American folk singer and political activist; a labor organizer, folk singer, storyteller, poet and the "Golden Voice of the Great Southwest", he became an elder statesman for the folk music community, and a keeper of stories and songs that might otherwise have passed into obscurity (heart failure) b. May 15th 1935.
2008: Earl Root (46) American heavy metal guitarist with Aesma Daeva; a key contributor to the mid west Metal Scene, he helped form the first Milwaukee Metal Fest, and for 27 years he ran The Root of all Evil Radio show at KFAI, where he helped promote, interview and break many new underground acts. (complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma) b. 1962

May 24th
1963: Elmore James (45) US blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader; known as The King of the Slide Guitar & had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice (died of his third heart attack in Chicago). b. Jan 27th 1918
1970: Cliff Jackson (67) US jazz pianist; played with Lionel Howard's Musical Aces in 1924 He led his own ensemble, the Krazy Kats, for recordings and he played extensively as a solo pianist in nightclubs in New York. During this time he also accompanied singers such as Viola McCoy, Lena Wilson, Sarah Martin, and Clara Smith. He recorded with Bob Fuller, Elmer Snowden, Sidney Bechet, Eddie Condon, Garvin Bushell, J.C. Higginbotham, Joe Thomas and others (heart failure). b. July 19th 1902
1974: Duke Ellington (75) US jazz pianist, bandleader, songwriter, composer; the most important composer in the history of jazz as well as being a bandleader who held his large group together continuously for almost 50 years (cancer). b. April 29th 1899
1991: Gene Clark (49) US singer, songwriter, founder member of The Byrds and member of The New Christy Minstrels (heart attack). b. Nov 17th 1944
2008: Jimmy McGriff (72) American jazz and blues organist; a hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who developed a distinctive style of playing the Hammond B-3 organ (multiple sclerosis) b. April 3rd 1936.
2009: Jay Walter Bennett (45) American musician, singer-songwriter, engineer, producer, best known for his work with the band Wilco. Born in Urbana, Illinois, Jay was a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, piano, organ, mellotron, banjo, bass, drums, synthesizer and harmonica. He was a founding member of the band Titanic Love Affair, recording three albums with them in the early 1990s: Titanic Love Affair, No Charisma and Their Titanic Majesty's Request, before joining the alternative rock band Wilco in late 1994, were he e was a member for 7 years recording 3 albums with the band "Being There", "Summerteeth" and "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". Due to conflicts with front man Jeff Tweedy, Jay left Wilco in 2004 for a solo career. He released five solo albums, "The Palace at 4am", 2004's "Bigger Than Blue, "The Beloved Enemy", "The Magnificent Defeat" and he also released "Whatever Happened I Apologize" in 2008 on rockproper.com. Jay was also a sought-after studio musician, having played on albums with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Allison Moorer, and Billy Joe Shaver, and produced Blues Traveler's release,¡Bastardos! (died unexpectedly in his sleep. Details have yet to be revealed) b. November 15th 1963.

May 25th
1965: Sonny Boy Williamson ll /Aleck "Rice" Miller (65) US blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter; Much of his best work exhibits a solidly swinging beat and a rich dialogue between blues harp, guitar, piano, and percussion. His use of space, his timing, and his tone place him among the greatest of the blues-harp players. His hits include "Fattenin' Frogs for Snakes", "Don't Start Me To Talkin'", "Keep It To Yourself", "Your Funeral and My Trial", "Bye Bye Bird", "Nine Below Zero", "Help Me", and the infamous "Little Village", with dialogue 'unsuitable for airplay' with Leonard Chess. His song "Eyesight to the Blind" was performed by The Who as a key song in their rock opera Tommy (died in his sleep). b. December 5th 1899
1990: Gary Usher (51) US surf rock songwriter, producer, singer; he gained notice in the early '60s, writing and producing a number of hits for various surf rock artists. He was the earliest outside collaborator of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, co-writing more than ten songs with Brian, he also worked with the likes of The Byrds, Dick Dale, Gram Parsons, The Ship and was the force behind a number of "studio created" bands, including The Hondells and Sagittarius. (?) b. December 14th 1938
1994: Sonny Sharrock/Warren Harding Sharrock (53) US free playing jazz guitarist, one of the earliest guitarists ever to attempt free playing, known for his incisive, heavily chorded attack, his bursts of wild feedback, and for his use of saxophone-like lines played loudly on guitar.During the late 1980s, he recorded and performed extensively with the New York-based improvising band Machine Gun, as well as leading his own bands. He is well known for the soundtrack to the Cartoon Network program Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, one of the last projects he completed in the studio before his death. (heart attack) b. August 27th 1940.
2006: Desmond Dekker/Desmond Adolphus Dacres (65) Jamaican ska and reggae singer and songwriter. Together with his backing group, The Aces, consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard,, he had one of the first international Jamaican hits with "Israelites". Other hits include "007 (Shanty Town)" in 1967 and "It Mek" in 1969. Before the ascent of Bob Marley, Desmond was one of the most popular musicians within Jamaica, and one of the best-known musicians outside it. In the 1970s he spent most of his time touring and moved to the UK, In the early 1980s, as the 2 Tone movement died out, he saw his fortunes dwindle and he was declared bankrupt in 1984. Only a single live album was released in the late 80s, but a new version of "Israelites" reawakened public interest in 1990, following its use in a Maxell advertisement. He re-recorded some old singles, and worked with The Specials for 1992's King of Kings', which used hits from his s musical heroes, including Derrick Morgan. He also collaborated on a remix version of "Israelites" with reggae artist Apache Indian (died of a heart attack at his home in Kent, UK). b. July 16th 1941.
2008: Camu Tao/Tero Smith (30) American rapper and producer who was signed to the Definitive Jux label. He was a part of the duo S.A. Smash with fellow rapper Metro, a part of the rap group Weathermen, and the Central Services production team with El-P. He was also a member of the music collective Cardboard City, and part of Columbus, Ohio's MHz crew with Copywrite, RJD2, Jakki Tha MotaMouth & Tage Proto, and with Cage, half of the Nighthawks, who made one album during a single three-day session (lung cancer) b. June 6th 1977.

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

May 27th
1840: Niccolò Paganini (57) Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer; he started learning the mandolin from his father, and moved to the violin by the age of seven. His musical talents were quickly recognized, earning him numerous scholarships for violin lessons. By age 18, Paganini was appointed first violin of the Republic of Lucca, but a substantial portion of his income came from freelancing. He went on to become one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His astounding technical prowess amazed audiences, many fanciful legends arose to explain his remarkable abilities, one of the more popular held that he was in league with demonic powers. His fame as a violinist was matched only by his reputation as a gambler and womanizer. In performance Paganini enjoyed playing tricks, like tuning one of his strings a semitone high (scordatura), or playing the majority of a piece on one string after breaking the other three. His techniques included harmonics, double stops, pizzicato with the left and the right hand, and near-impossible fingerings and bowings (cancer of the larynx) b. October 27th 1782
1992: Uncle Charlie Osborne (101) American fiddle player who had a unique style of playing the fiddle with his left hand, on a right-handed fiddle; played numerous shows at the Carter Family Fold in Scott County, one occasion Johnny Cash was Uncle Charlie's "opening act". He occasionally gave advice to Tennessee Ernie Ford on his music and could be heard regularly on WOPI radio station in Bristol, Tennessee. In the 1980s, Governor Chuck Robb came to his home and presented him with an award recognizing his contributions to Virginia life and culture. Also, in the mid eighties, he and his brother Emmett began playing heavily with their half-brother, George Osborne, a former country & western singer. Their weekly or semi-weekly jam sessions became the stuff of legends (died after a short ilness). b. December 26th 1890.
1995: C W "Stubb" Stubblefield (64) US music promoter, barbecue restaurateur; In the 70’s and 80’s, the Sunday Night jams held in his small restaurant hosted such musicians as Jessie "Guitar" Taylor, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Ely, Terry Allen, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters, Tom T. Hall, B. B. King and George Thorogood. He was inducted into the "The Buddy Holly Walk of Fame"/ "The West Texas Walk of Fame" situated at Lubbock, Texas in 1996 (?) b. March 7th 1931.
1996: Albert "Pud" Brown (79) US jazz clarinetist and saxophonist; born in Delaware, raised him in Shreveport, Louisiana, fluent on saxophone by age five and touring throughout North America by the age of seven. He went on to play with Phil Lavant, Lawrence Welk, Les Brown, Coleman Hawkins, Doc Cheatham, Danny Barker, Kid Ory, Percy Humphrey, Louis Armstrong and many others. As well as being active as an educator in local schools, he was a member of Clive Wilson's Original Camelia Brass Band in the 1980s, and a regular at the French Quarter's Palm Court Jazz Cafe until his death (?) b. January 22nd 1917
1996: Ivan Sutton (82) British concert promoter; he started as a tea taster, an occupation interrupted by tuberculosis that led to a year in hospital and sanatorium. During this period of enforced rest he discovered classical music, while listening to a wind-up gramophone. In 1943 he started the City Music Society, engaging distinguished performers from the very beginning. Three years later he persuaded the Goldsmiths' Company to allow their fine hall to be used for a series of evening concerts. The first featured the Philharmonia String Quartet, Denis Matthews and the Zorian Quartet. By 1947 lunchtime recitals had a permanent home at the Bishopsgate Institute. Over half a century on, the society still presents series in these two splendid halls, Ivan Sutton in that time having organised 1,745 concerts.(?) b. Dec 27 1914.
1997: Willie Woods (60) US guitarist with the legendary Jr Walker's All Stars; he was an original member along with sax player Junior Walker, drummer Tony Washington, guitarist Willie Woods, and keyboardist Vic Thomas. They started out as the 'Rhythm Rockers before changing to The All Stars.The group was spotted by Johnny Bristol, and he recommended them to Harvey Fuqua, in 1961, who had his own record labels. Once the group started recording on the Harvey label, their name was changed to Junior Walker & the All Stars. When Fuqua's labels were taken over by Berry Gordy, Jr. Walker & The All Stars became members of the Motown Records family, recording for Motown's Soul imprint. They went on to release 17 albums and produced 25 hit singles (lung cancer) b.?
2009: Tega/Ortega Henderson (25) American rap artist and member of rapper Nelly's St. Lunatics crew. (gunshot wounds.. the aspiring Mc, died 11 days after he was rushed to intensive care at a Missouri hospital following the shooting tragedy) b.??

May 28th
1985: Roy Plomley (71) English radio broadcaster, producer, playwright and novelist. In 1942, he devised the BBC Radio series Desert Island Discs. Each show consisted of an interview with a celebrity, interpersed by the guest's choice of music. He presented 1,791 editions of the programme stretching over 43 years. He was voted BBC Radio Personality of the Year in 1979. He came to notice as an announcer, and later producer, for the International Broadcasting Company (IBC), starting on Radio Normandy in April 1936 and moving on at the end of that year to the IBC's Paris-based station, Poste Parisien. This came to an end when commercial broadcasting from the continent was brought to a halt by World War II. Roy and his new wife stayed on in Paris, only narrowly escaping back to the UK via a circuitous route through the chaos and panic of the Fall of France, losing all their possessions in the process, as German occupying forces approached the French capital in the June of 1940 (pleurisy) b. January 20th 1914.
1988: Melvin "Sy" Oliver (77) American arranger, bandleader, trombonist with Zack White and his Chocolate Beau Brummels, Alphonse Trent, Tommy Dorsey before forming his own band. He joined Jimmie Lunceford's band in 1933 and contributed many hit arrangements to the band, including "My Blue Heaven" and "Ain't She Sweet". In 1939, he became one of the first African Americans with a prominent role in a white band when he joined Tommy Dorsey as an arranger. He led the transition of the Dorsey band from Dixieland to modern big band. He become known for his "growling" horn playing. (?) b. Dec 17th 1910.
1993: Isaiah "Doc" Ross (67) US blues and boogie man, a true one-man band, he played harmonica, acoustic guitar, bass drum and high-hat simultaneously. Once best known for the recordings he made for Sun Records in the 1950s, notably "The Boogie Disease" and "Chicago Breakdown", until he won a Grammy for his 1981 LP Rare Blues, and subsequently enjoyed a resurgence and much critical acclaim towards the end of his career (?) b. Oct. 21st 1925.
1993: Duncan Browne (46) UK singer, songwriter, his biggest hit in the UK was the song "Journey", as televised on Top of the Pops in 1972 (cancer) b. March 25th 1947.
2001: Tony Ashton (55) UK keyboardist, vocals in Ashton Gardner & Dyke, also played in The Remo Four; the rock band Family as well as in Paice-Ashton-Lord with Deep Purple alumni Ian Paice and Jon Lord. (cancer) b. March 1st 1946.
2004: Derek Frigo (36) US guitarist with Enuff Z' Nuff before moving to Los Angeles to work on new material and learn how to produce and engineer music. (drug overdose) b. ??

May 29th
1951: Fanny Brice (59) A popular and influential American comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress and entertainer, remembered best for her many stage, radio and film appearances and her recordings. She was the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show. After her death she was depicted on stage and film by Barbra Streisand as Funny Girl. (She died of a cerebral hemorrhage and is interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles) b. Oct 29th 1891.
1989: John Cipollina (64) lead guitarist, Quicksilver Messenger Service (emphysema)
1992: Ollie Halsall/Peter John Halsall (43) UK guitar virtuoso in the bands Patto, Boxer & worked with Kevin Ayers. He is also notable as one of the few players of the vibraphone in rock music. His best known recordings are his works on the album The Rutles, where he plays many of the instruments and provides backing and lead vocals of Dirk McQuickly. His role in the accompanying film, however, went to Eric Idle and Ollie only featured in the cameo role as Leppo, the 5th Rutle who became lost in Hamburg (heart attack) b. March 14th 1949 More
1997: Jeff Buckley (30) US singer-songwriter, guitarist; before world tours and fame he gained popularity in the early 90s playing covers at venues in Manhattan's East Village, such as Sin-é, and he gradually focused more on his own material. Known for his guitaring and vocal range of 4 octaves, he was considered by critics to be one of the most promising artists of his generation (drowned while swimming in Wolf River, he was wearing boots, all of his clothing, and singing the chorus of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" when he was caught by the wake of a passing tugboat, not drug related) b. Nov 17th 1966.
2009: Jonny Dollar/Jonny Sharp (45) British music producer; he produced Massive Attack's Blue Lines in 1991, which included the poll-topping single 'Unfinished Sympathy. He also worked with Neneh Cherry and on Gabrielle's number one album Rise. He is also is credited with helping to shape the "Bristol sound," in which hip hop-influenced downtempo electronic music is punctuated by breakbeats and samples.(cancer) b.??

May 30th
1953: Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (67) African American actor and singer; appeared in over twenty motion pictures, his most famous is for playing "Sam" in the 1942 film Casablanca. In the 1920s he played as a drummer in a band which toured Europe. From the 1930s to the 1950s he worked in motion pictures and Broadway musicals, and played Bill Jackson on the television situation comedy Beulah during its final 1952–1953 season. (?) b. April 3th 1886
1956: Valaida Snow (51) US trumpeter, vocalist; she learned to play cello, bass, banjo, violin, mandolin, harp, accordion, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, sing and dance at professional levels by the time she was 15. She was named "Little Louis" after Louis Armstrong, who used to call her the world's second best jazz trumpet player besides himself. While touring Denmark in 1941, she was arrested and sent to a Nazis Concentration camp where she was held until May of 1942 before being released on a prisoner exchange. She never emotionally recovered from the experience (brain hemorrhage) b. June 2nd 1904
1976: Melvin 'Lil Son' Jackson (58) US electric blues artist, singer, guitarist; played early on in a gospel group called the Blue Eagle Four. He released "Freedom Train Blues" in 1948, which became a nationwide hit in the U.S. and recorded for Imperial Records between 1950 and 1954, both as a solo artist and with a backing band. His 1950 tune "Rockin' and Rollin" was recast by later musicians as "Rock Me Baby". He was hurt in a car crash in the middle of the 1950s and gave up his music career (cancer) b. August 16, 1915
1977: Paul Desmond/Paul Emil Breitenfeld (52) US jazz alto saxophonist; known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for penning that group's greatest hit, "Take Five", possessed an idiosyncratic wit, he was one of the most popular musicians to come out of the West Coast's "cool jazz" scene (lung cancer). b. Nov 25th 1924
1980: Carl Radle (37) US bass player, best known for his long association with Eric Clapton, starting in 1969 with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, Derek and the Dominos, he took part in Joe Cocker's famous Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour. He worked on all of Eric's solo projects and was a member of Clapton's touring band from 1970 until 1979 (kidney infection, the effects of alcohol and narcotics). b. June 18, 1942
1987: Melvin Edward Alton “Turk” Murphy (71) American jazz trombonist; He was most renowned for playing traditional and dixieland jazz in San Francisco. b. Dec 16th 1915
1993: Herman Blount/ Run Ra Jazz (79) An innovative US jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy", musical compositions and performances. His music touched on virtually the entire history of jazz, from ragtime to swing music, from bebop to free jazz; he was also a pioneer of electronic music, space music and free improvisation, and was one of the first musicians, regardless of genre, to make extensive use of electronic keyboards (stroke). b. May 22nd 1914
2000: Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke (86) US saxophonist, singer, and bandleader, probably remembered best for his association and best-selling hit records with Glenn Miller's popular big band from 1938 to 1942. He took over leadership of the Glenn Miller Orchestra after the death of Glenn Miller in World War II (respiratory failure). b. Feb 14th 1914
2003: Mickie Most/Michael Peter Hayes (64) English singer and record producer, with a string of No.1 singles with his own RAK Records, and with acts such as The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, and Suzi Quatro (mesothelioma). b. June 20th 1938
2009: Waldemar Matuška (76) Czech singer; brought up in in Prague, he played various musical instruments with many different bands. In 1960 he recorded his first song Suvenýr (Souvenir). Later he became an actor in the theatre Semafor and also won the Zlatý Slavík (Golden Nightingale) music poll twice, in 1962 and 1967, and placed second several times. He also sang with Helena Vondrácková, Marta Kubišová, Jitka Zelenková, Hana Hegerová, Karel Gott and others. As his popularity grew he started acting in movies and writing songs for movies. He relocated to America in 1986. In Czechoslovakia, the Communist party banned all his songs, destroyed recordings of Jsem svým pánem ('I'm My Own Master'), deleted his opening song in the television series Chalupári (just the melody remained) and changed the title of the series Rozpaky kuchare Svatopluka. After the 1989 Velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia, his songs were returned to their proper place in the television series. Waldemar continued to perform in America, mostly for emigrants from Czechoslovakia. (pneumonia and heart failure, asthma may have contributed to his death) b.July 2nd 1932.

May 31st
1809: Franz Joseph Haydn (77) Austrian composer; master of keyboard, vocals, chamber, concerto, opera, choral, symphonic, orchestral and called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet". Intended for the priesthood, he was recruited at age eight to the choir at St. Stephen's Church, Vienna, where he learned violin and keyboard. Haydn was hired by Prince Paul Anton in 1761, and worked for most of his years of service, 1762–1790, as the Esterházy family Kapellmeister () b. March 31st 1732
1967: Billy Strayhorn (51) American composer, pianist, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader Duke Ellington. An extravagantly gifted composer, arranger and pianist, some considered him a genius; he toiled throughout most of his maturity in the gaudy shadow of his employer, collaborator and friend, Duke Ellington. He began his musical career, studying classical music for a time at the Pittsburgh Music Institute, writing a high school musical, forming a musical trio that played daily on a local radio station, and, while still in his teens, composing (with lyrics) the songs "Life Is Lonely", later renamed "Lush Life", "My Little Brown Book", and "Something to Live For". He was then introduced to the music of pianists like Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson at age 19. These musicians guided him into the realm of jazz where he remained for the rest of his life. His first jazz exposure was in a combo called the Mad Hatters who played around Pittsburgh. He met Duke Ellington in December 1938, after an Ellington performance in Pittsburgh, Billy told, and then showed the Duke how he would have arranged one of Duke's own pieces, after which Billy worked for Ellington for the next quarter century as an arranger, composer, occasional pianist and collaborator until his early death. (cancer of the esophagus) b. November 20th 1915
2000: Tito Puente Sr./Ernesto Antonio Puente Jr. (67) American musician; an influential Latin jazz and mambo musician, often credited as "El Rey" of the timbales and "The King of Latin Music". He is best known for Latin jazz compositions and dance-oriented mambo over his 50 year career. After serving three years in the Navy during World War II he was discharged with a Presidential Commendation for serving in nine battles. He next went Juilliard School of Music, where he studied conducting, orchestration and theory. In the '50s, he helped to bring Afro-Cuban and Caribbean sounds, like mambo, son, and cha-cha-cha, to mainstream audiences. Later, he included pop music, bossa nova and fusion of Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres that became known as "salsa". He and his music appear in many films such as The Mambo Kings and Fernando Trueba's Calle 54. In 1979 Tito won the first of five Grammy Awards for albums A Tribute to Benny Moré, On Broadway, Mambo Diablo, and Goza Mi Timbal. In 1990, he was awarded the "James Smithson Bicentennial Medal." and also awarded a Grammy at the first Latin Grammy Awards, winning Best Traditional Tropical Album for Mambo Birdland. He was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. (heart problems). b. April 20th 1923
2000: Johnnie Taylor (63) US gospel, blues and soul to pop, doo-wop and disco singer with the Five Echoes, the Soul Stirrers and the Highway QCs. Born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas. His singing was strikingly close to that of Sam Cooke, and he was hired to take Sam's place in Cooke's gospel group, the Soul Stirrers, in 1957. In 1966, he signed to Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was dubbed "The Philosopher of Soul". Whilst there he recorded with the label's house band, Booker T. & the MGs. His hits included "I Had a Dream", "I've Got to Love Somebody's Baby" (both written by the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter) and "Who's Making Love?", which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the R&B chart in 1968. In 1976 his number one hit "Disco Lady," sold over two million copies. Signing with Malaco Records in the 1984 he recorded a total of 12 albums for the label over the next 15 years, ranking as one of their best-selling artists. Johnnie was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1999 and continued touring and recording up until his death (heart attack). b. May 5th 1937
2000: Joe Puma (72) US jazz guitarist; played with such bands as Louie Bellson, Artie Shaw, Eddie Bert, Herbie Mann, Mat Mathews, Chris Connor, and Paul Quinichette; he also recorded extensively as a leader. In the 1960s he worked with Morgana King, Bobby Hackett, Gary Burton, and Carmen McRae, and between 1972 and 1977 he and Chuck Wayne led an ensemble. He performed and taught into the late 1990s (cancer). b. Aug 13. 2000
2004: Robert Quine (61) US guitarist; on leaving Berklee School of Music, Richard Hell invited him to join his new band The Voidoids. Their two albums Blank Generation and Destiny Street feature Quine's distinctive guitar work. After which recorded with Lydia Lunch, Jody Harris and Material. In the early 1980s, former Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed asked Robert to join his group. He appeared on Reed's The Blue Mask, acclaimed as one of Reed's best albums, also did a world tour, which is documented on the video A Night with Lou Reed -1983 and the album Live in Italy released 1984. He went on to play, record and/or tour with many musicians including Tom Waits, John Zorn, Ikue Mori, Marc Ribot, Marianne Faithfull, Brian Eno, Scritti Politti, Lloyd Cole, Odds, Jody Harris, Matthew Sweet and Lester Bangs. (depressed after the death of his wife Alice in August 2003, he committed suicide by a heroin overdose) b. Dec 30th 1942
2004: Étienne Roda-Gil (62) French songwriter and screenwriter; after university studies in 1968, he met singer Julien Clerc and began a successful collaboration which lasted until 1980. They did, however, collaborate on the album Utile in 1992, which won the Prix Vincent Scotto. In 1979, he collaborated with Gérard Lenorman on the album Boulevard de l'océan. Others he worked with included Johnny Hallyday, Claude François, Juliette Gréco, Barbara and Louis Bertignac. In 1989 he received the grand prix of songwriting from Sacem... La Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique (died in Paris) b. Aug 1st 1941.
2009: Danny La Rue OBE/Daniel Patrick Carroll (81) Irish-born British female impersonator and singer; His family moved to England when he was six and he was brought up at Earnshaw Street in Soho, central London, but moved to County Devon during the London Blitz. After serving in the British Royal Navy, he became known for his skill as a "comic in a frock" as he preferred to be called, in Britain and was featured in theatre productions, and in film, television, and records. Among his celebrity impersonations were Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Marlene Dietrich, and Margaret Thatcher. At one point he had his own nightclub in Hanover Square, and also performed on London's West End. In the 1960s he was among Britain's highest-paid entertainers. In 1968 his version of "On Mother Kelly's Doorstep" reached number 33 in the UK singles chart. In the 1970s he owned the Swan at Streatley hotel. In 1982 he played Dolly Levi in the musical Hello, Dolly!, and he was until his death still a regular performer in traditional Christmas pantomime shows in Britain. Danny was made an OBE in the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours List. Other highlites and honors included Royal Variety Performance appearances in 1969, 1972 and 1978, Variety Club of Great Britain Showbiz Personality of the Year in 1969, Theatre Personality of the Year in 1970, Entertainer of the Decade in 1979 and the Brinsworth Award from the EABF for his outstanding contribution to the entertainment profession and the community (prostate cancer) b. July 26th 1927.

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