AIR
CRASH VICTIMS
alphabetically
Aaliyah: Age 22
(born: Aaliyah Haughton, New York 16 January 1979; died Marsh Harbour, the
Bahamas 25 August 2001) ,
Aaliyah was at the forefront of the Nineties' mainstream acceptance of R&B
which now sees acts like Destiny's Child and 3LW go straight into the US and
UK pop charts. A teen idol who scored her first transatlantic hit with "Back
and Forth" in 1994 at the age of 15 and remained a chart presence for the
next seven years, she went on to model for the fashion designer Tommy
Hilfiger and made her acting début last year opposite the Chinese martial
arts legend Jet Li in the film
Romeo Must Die... The rhythm 'n' blues singer was killed in a
plane crash after a video shoot in the Bahamas. She was 22.
NASSAU, Bahamas (CNN) -- The small aircraft that crashed...on the island of
Abaco, killing singer Aaliyah and eight others, was overloaded by hundreds
of pounds, officials said Thursday. The extra weight -- and the
way in which it was distributed -- most likely contributed to the plane's
crash shortly after takeoff, said John Frank, executive director of the
Cessna Pilots' Association...Immediately after the crash Saturday at Marsh
Harbour airport, airport employees told CNN that baggage handlers and the
pilot of the Cessna 402 had complained before takeoff that the aircraft was
overloaded with luggage, but the passengers insisted on taking everything
with them.
Aaliyah (Limited Edition)
Books:
Aaliyah: An R&B; Princess in Words and Pictures by
Kelly Kenyatta
Aaliyah: More Than a Woman by Christopher John Farley
Aaliyah
by Tim Footman
The
Bar-Kays':
Jimmy King(b.1949; guitar), Ronnie Caldwell (b. 1948; organ), Phalin Jones (b. 1949;
saxophone),
and Carl Cunningham (b. 1949; drums). The Bar-Kays were employed as Otis
Redding's backing group on tour, and the tragic plane crash in 1967, which took his
life, also claimed King, Caldwell, Jones and Cunningham. James
Alexander, who fortuitously missed the flight, put a new line-up together with Ben Cauley,
the sole survivor of the accident.
 Interview with
Ben Cauley / photo of plane:
Big
Bopper: Age 29
(b. Jape Perry Richardson, 24 October 1930, Sabine Pass, Texas, USA, d.3 February 1959).
After working as a disc jockey in Beaumont, Richardson won a recording contract with
Mercury, releasing two unsuccessful singles in 1957. The following year, under his radio
monicker The Big Bopper, he recorded the ebullient Chantilly Lace, a rock ‘n’
roll classic, complete with blaring saxophone and an insistent guitar run. Backed with the
satiric The Purple People Eater Meets The Witch Doctor, the disc was a transatlantic
hit. The follow up, Big Bopper's Wedding underlined the singer's love of novelty and
proved popular enough to win him a place on a tour with Buddy Holly and Ritchie
Valens. On 3 February 1959, a plane carrying the three stars crashed, leaving no survivors.
David
Box: Age 22
(b. Harold David Box, Sulphur Springs on 11 August 1943; d. 23 October 1964)
After the death of Buddy Holly, the Crickets used various lead singers on their
records. One was David Box who sang lead on the Crickets' recording of "Peggy Sue Got
Married"...The song was among the last Cricket singles to be issued on Coral - and
one of the very best released after Buddy died...David also worked with local band Buddy
and the Kings. Buddy Groves vocal/guitar, Carl Banks
bass and Bill Daniels presumably on drums. Daniels was a qualified pilot
and the quartet hired a Cesna Skyhawk 172 to take them to a gig in Harris County on . The
plane crashed nose first and overturned on the return flight. There were no
survivers.
Stephen Canaday: Age 55
Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Former Ozark Mountain Daredevils member Stephen Canaday was killed Saturday (Sept.
25, 1999)
when the vintage airplane in which he was riding crashed into a vacant house in
Nashville. Witnesses to the crash attempted to perform CPR and mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation on Canaday, 55, but he died en route to a local hospital. Canaday’s
companion in the plane, computer/software programmer Rick Loudermilk, 52, was pronounced
dead at the scene. Investigating officials could not immediately determine the cause of
the crash but said Canaday may have been shooting low-level aerial photographs from the
North American SNJ-5, a single-engine training plane from the World War II era... Canaday,
55, joined the Ozark Mountain Daredevils in 1977. More recently, he had worked at a
Nashville photographic-supply store and as a tour manager for country singer Lee Roy
Parnell and Nashville folk-rocker Marshall Chapman. -- Brian Mansfield
Bill
Chase: Age 39
(b. 1935; d. 9 August 1974, Jackson, MN)
In 1974, Chase chartered a plane to take him and three band members to a performance in
Jackson, MN. The weather was bad with a low ceiling, and the airport in Jackson had little
communications equipment. The plane went down, but was not found until the next day. There
were no survivors. - Dick Cooper
Chase's entire band lost their lives: (BILL CHASE, JOHN EMMA, WALLY
YOHN and WALTER CLARK).
Patsy Cline: Age
30
(b. Virginia Patterson Hensley, 8 September 1932, Gore, near Winchester,
Virginia, d. 5 March 1963).
Patsy's manager, Randy Hughes, was the son-in-law of Cowboy Copas. In 1963 Randy flew
Patsy to Kansas City for a benefit for the widow of a country disc jockey who had died in
a car crash. The return journey was hampered by storms and poor visibility. On 5 March
1963 Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins
and Randy Hughes were killed when their plane crashed in swamped woodlands in Camden, Tennessee, 85 miles from Nashville.
Identification was difficult as only Patsy's shoulders, the back of her head and right arm
were in one recognizable piece. Another country star, Jack Anglin, of the duo Johnny And
Jack, was killed on the way to her funeral. Patsy's single at the time of her death was,
ironically, Leavin' On Your Mind.
Link to: Patsy
Cline: Original Keys for Singers: Piano/Vocal: (Sheet Music)
Cowboy
Copas: Age 49
(b. Lloyd Estel Copas, 15 July 1913, near Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA, d. 5 March 1963).
Copas was raised on a small ranch and taught himself the fiddle and guitar before he was
10 years old. His son-in-law, Randy Hughes, also managed Patsy Cline and all
three were killed, along with Hawkshaw Hawkins, in a plane crash on 5 March 1963.
A few weeks later, Copas had a posthumous country hit with a record ironically entitled
Goodbye Kisses.
Jim Croce: Age
30
(b. 10 January 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, d. 20 September 1973).
Originally a university disc jockey, Croce played
in various rock bands before moving to New York in 1967 where he performed in folk clubs.
By 1969, he and his wife, Ingrid, were signed to
Capitol Records for APPROACHING DAY. The album's failure led to Croce returning to
Pennsylvania and taking on work as a truck driver and telephone engineer. Meanwhile, he
continued with songwriting and, after sending demo tapes to former college friend and New
York record producer, Tommy West, Croce secured a new deal with the ABC label. Croce's
second album, YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM, provided him with a US Top 10 hit in the
title track and, along with Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels) helped establish Croce
as a songwriter of distinction. In July 1973, he topped the US charts with the narrative
Bad Bad Leroy Brown. Exactly two months later, he died in a plane crash at
Natchitoches, Louisiana. when the chartered Beechcraft D-18 snagged the top
of a pecan tree during take-off. link to buy: Jim
Croce Complete
John Denver:
Age 53
(b. Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., 31 December 1943, Roswell, NM,
d.12 October 1997, CA).
One of America's most popular performers during the '70s, Denver's rise to fame began when
he was ‘discovered’ in a Los Angeles night club. He initially joined the Back
Porch Majority, a nursery group for the renowned New Christy Minstrels but, tiring of his
role there, left for the Chad Mitchell Trio where he forged a reputation as a talented
songwriter. One of his compositions, Leaving On A Jet Plane, provided an
international hit for Peter, Paul And Mary, and this evocative song was the highlight of
Denver's debut album, RHYMES AND REASONS. He continued to enjoy a high profile
throughout the rest of the decade and forged a concurrent acting career with his role in
the film comedy OH, GOD
with George Burns. However, although Denver became an unofficial musical ambassador
with tours to Russia and China, his recording became less prolific as increasingly he
devoted time to charitable work and ecological interests. A San Francisco television
station reported that Denver may have crashed while trying to switch from one fuel
tank to another. Both tanks were empty, KRON reported. Denver was killed
instantly in the crash of the Long-EZ experimental airplane he was piloting on
October 12 , in Monterey Bay shortly after take off. Denver, an
experienced pilot, had taken delivery of the Y-shaped, futuristic looking plane just a day
before the crash. link to: John
Denver Books
Jane Dornacker: Age 39
Tubes
(b. 10/1/47, d. 10/22/86, NYC, NY)
Jane sang with the Tubes (wrote and sang their quasi-hit "Don't Touch Me
There"), and the performance-art group Leila and the Snakes (late '70s San
Francisco - also featuring Pearl Harbor of Explosions fame)... well regarded
standup comedienne, played Nurse Murch in the movie "The Right Stuff,"
mostly SF Bay Area centered but moved to New York City in the early '80s to
do radio. She was killed in a helicopter crash over the Hudson River
while doing a live traffic report. An audio clip of the broadcast is
available at
http://www.ohms.com/kyuu7.htm. ~Evan Hulka
Carlos
Gardel: Age 44
(Born in France 11 December 1890; Died: 24 June 1935)
Buy
Gardel music here Carlos Gardel arrived in Buenos Aires at the age of
two. As a young man he became known in the clubs and cafés of the barrios
(districts) in Buenos Aires, establishing a famous folk singing duo with José Razzano.
But it was in the 1920s, when he began to specialize in
tango singing,
that he rose to extraordinary fame...[Gardel was one of 17 killed when two Ford Tri
Motor airplanes collided in midair over Medellin, Columbia. ~John Kremer] An orgy
of grief swept from New York to Puerto Rico, and a woman in Havana suicided. Hordes
of people thronged to pay their respects as the singer's body made the journey to its
final resting place in a Buenos Aires cemetery, traveling via Colombia, New York and Rio
de Janeiro. Instantly immortal and preserved forever young, his enduring fame is measured
by the oft heard Argentine expression 'Gardel sings better every day'. Sixty years after
his death, a devoted following keeps the legend blazing, playing Gardel's music daily,
placing a lit cigarette in the hand of the life-sized statue which graces his tomb and
keeping his few films in circulation. ~Lizandro
Llancafilo
Bill
Graham: Age 60
Promoter
Bill Graham was the P.T. Barnum of rock and roll, an unparalleled showman who forever
revolutionized the symbiotic relationship between artists and audiences. A catalyst behind
the rise of the San Francisco psychedelic scene of the late 1960s, he almost single-
handedly pioneered the business of concert promotion, his fusion of theatricality and
professionalism introducing new standards in sound, lighting and stage design. Famed for
mixing acts of various musical and racial backgrounds on his bills, Graham nurtured the
careers of superstars and cult favorites alike, his influence extending from small club
dates to stadium tours and festivals; despite no musical talent of his own, he remains one
of the truly seminal figures of the rock era...On the night of October 25, 1991, he and
Bill Graham Presents staffers Steve Kahn and Melissa Gold were killed in a
helicopter accident; a free concert dubbed "Laughter, Love and
Music" soon followed in their honor, headlined by Crosby, Stills, Nash &
Young, Santana, Aaron Neville and comedian Robin Williams. At the time of his death,
Graham was 60 years old. -- Jason Ankeny, All-Music
Guide. To buy Bill
Graham Presents: My Life inside Rock and Out
Hawkshaw
Hawkins: Age 41
(b. Harold Franklin Hawkins, 22 December 1921, Huntingdon, West VA, d. 5 March
1963).
In 1942, he performed on radio in Manila when stationed in the Phillippines. After
his discharge, he signed with King Records and did well with Sunny Side Of The Mountain,
which became his signature tune. In 1948 he became one of the first country artists
to appear on network television. He had US country hits with Pan American, I Love You A
Thousand Ways, I'm Just Waiting For You and Slow Poke In 1963 Hawkins released his
best-known recording, Justin Tubb's song Lonesome 7-7203. The song entered the US country
charts three days before Hawkins died on 5 March 1963 in a plane crash which
also claimed Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas. Lonesome 7-7203 was his only number 1
record in the US country charts. His wife, country singer Jean Shepard, was pregnant
at the time and their son was named Harold Franklin Hawkins II in his memory. Barnes
and Noble on Hawkins
Buddy
Holly: Age 22
(Charles Hardin Holley, 7 September 1936, Lubbock, Texas, d. 3 February 1959).
Holly was one of the first major
rock ‘n’ roll groundbreakers, and one of its most influential artists. Holly was
an initial inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. On the afternoon of
1 February his tour played in Green Bay, Wisconsin but an evening show was cancelled owing
to bad weather. The 2 February date at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa went ahead.
It was following this show that Holly, Valens and the Big Bopper chartered a small plane
to take them to the next date in Moorhead, Minnesota, rather than travel on the tour bus,
which had a defective heater and had previously broken down several times. Owing to the
snowy weather the plane crashed
minutes after takeoff, killing
all three stars and the pilot. (The tour actually continued after their deaths,
with Bobby Vee, Jimmy Clanton and Frankie Avalon filling in). Death certificate
/ C.A.B. Accident
Investigation Report Front
page of newspaper for sale / To read more link to:
Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography of Buddy Holly by John Goldrosen, John Beecher (Contributor)
Behind the Music: The Day the Music Died by
Martin Huxley, Quinton Skinner --(Buddy Holly book)
The Day the Music
Died: The Last Tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens --by Larry Lehmer
Walter Hyatt: Age 46
Uncle Walt's Band
(B. 1950 , D. May 11, 1996)
Former Austinite Hyatt was one of the unfortunate souls aboard the Valujet flight that
crashed into the Everglades. The 46 year-old singer-songwriter, who had been
living in Nashville since the mid-'80s, was best known as the titular center of Uncle
Walt's Band, the early '70s combo featuring Hyatt, Champ Hood and David Ball. Hyatt was an
inspiration to, among others, Lyle Lovett, who returned the favor in 1989 by producing
Hyatt's "King
Tears"
album for MCA. Hyatt's most recent album, "Music
Town," is on Sugar Hill Records; proceeds from the sale of that record (as
well as two Uncle
Walt's Band reissues) will benefit Hyatt's wife and three daughters. Donations
in his memory should be sent to the Second Presbyterian Church, c/o Hyatt Family
Fund, 3511 Belmont Blvd., Nashville, TN 37215. ~By Jason Cohen
Lynyrd
Skynyrd
Ronnie Van Zant:
(d. 20 October 1977)
With their tally of gold discs increasing each year and a series of sell-out tours, the
band suffered an irrevocable setback in late 1977. On 20 October, Van Zant, Steve
Gaines, his sister and backup singer, Cassie and manager Dean Kilpatrick were
killed in a plane crash en route from Greenville, South Carolina to Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. (The twin-engine Convair 240 plane short of fuel crashed into
a swamp in Gillsburg, MS). Gary Rossington, Allen Collins,
Billy Powell and Leon Wilkenson were all seriously injured but eventually recovered. That
same month, Lynyrd Skynyrd's new album
STREET SURVIVORS was withdrawn as the sleeve featured a macabre design of the band
surrounded by flames. To read more link to: Lynyrd
Skynyrd: An Oral History
Dino Martin: Age 35
(Born: July 20, 1953 in Encino, CA ,Died: March 21, 1987 in Mount San Gorgonio, CA)
Entertainer Dean Martin's son Dino Martin, who as member of '60s pop group Dino, Desi
and Billy had a hit called "I'm
a Fool," killed in the crash [while flying] an Air National Guard [Phantom Fighter] jet in California's San Bernardino
Mountains. ~Washington Post
Glenn
Miller: Age 40
(Born: Mar 1, 1904 in Clarinda, IA, Died: Dec 15, 1944 in English Channel)
Only Glenn Miller's decision to enlist in the Army stopped his orchestra's success. He did
the near-impossible and organized the finest military jazz band ever heard, his
Army Air Force Band. By 1944, when it had relocated to London, it featured clarinetist
Peanuts Hucko, pianist Mel Powell, drummer/singer Ray McKinley, trumpeter Bobby Nichols
and sometimes a string section and a vocal group. Their version of "St.
Louis Blues March" became famous and this group's broadcasts and radio
transcriptions are well worth searching for. Glenn Miller flew across the English
Channel in December 1944 with plans of setting up engagements on the Continent.
His plane was shot down (quite possibly in error by the Allies) and lost. ~AMG or
December 15, 1944 a cold, wet and foggy afternoon, Glenn Miller departed an
RAF-Base, in England in a Norseman C-64
aircraft. The flight was to take Glenn Miller and other passengers to Paris.
However, the flight never made it. It is believed the aircraft encountered
icing conditions over the English Channel and crashed. Glenn Miller and his band had
been performing for Allied Troops prior to the crash and was planning on putting on a show
in Paris, France. ~AVSTOP.com
Grace Moore:
Age 46
(born:5 Dec. 1901; died 26 Jan. 1947) Photo of Grace
Grace Moore was a figure out of another era, almost a geological age's distance, in
popular entertainment-an opera singer who found success on the silver screen and even
charted some hit records. Her story is also one of the most compelling tales of success,
defeat, redemption, and tragedy in the history of American entertainment. Born to the
family of a travelling salesman (and later department store owner) in Tennessee, she
developed a love of music, and, fueled by a magnificent voice, bluffed her way onto the
Broadway stage. From an eventual star's berth at the Met, she jumped to motion pictures
with the advent of the talkies, was destroyed at one studio by the pressures for success
and then rescued, and given a whole second career on screen and the concert stage by the
politics at another studio, only to die in an air crash a decade later.~Bruce
Eder AMG Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 26, 1947, Grace Moore boarded a KLM DC3 to
fly to Stockholm. The aircraft taxied out to the runway and was cleared to takeoff.
The aircraft rotated and climbed to an altitude of about 150 feet. The aircraft
stalled, crashed to the ground and exploded. On the evening before her death,
Grace Moore had sung to a packed audience of more than 4000 people.~avstop.com
Rick
Nelson: Age 45
(b. Eric Hilliard Nelson, 8 May 1940, Teaneck, New Jersey, d. 31 December 1985, De
Kalb, Texas).
One of his greatest moments as a pop singer occurred in the spring of 1961 when he issued
the million-selling Travelin Man’ backed with the exuberant Gene Pitney composition
Hello Mary Lou. Shortly after the single topped the US charts, Nelson celebrated his 21st
birthday and announced that he was changing his performing name from Ricky to Rick.
A performance at Madison Square Garden in late 1971 underlined Nelson's difficulties at
the time. Although he had recently issued the accomplished RICK SINGS NELSON, on which he
wrote every track, the audience were clearly more interested in hearing his early '60s
hits. Nelson responded by composing the sarcastic Garden Party, which reaffirmed his
determination to go his own way. The single, ironically, went on to sell a million and was
his last hit record. On 31 December 1985, a chartered plane carrying him to a
concert date in Dallas caught fire and crashed near De Kalb, Texas. To buy the out
of print: Teenage
Idol Travellin' Man The Complete Biography of Rick Nelson by Bashe, P
Passion Fruit's:
Maria Serrano-Serrano, and Nathaly van het Ende: Age 27
(November 24, 2001)
Plane crash kills 24 in Switzerland ---
By ERNST E. ABEGG - Associated
Press Writer
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -
Workers combing through a muddy wood found the flight recorders from
a Swiss airliner that crashed near Zurich, killing at least 10
people and leaving 14 others missing and feared dead, officials said
Sunday. Nine people survived, two in critical condition...Three
women from a German dance-music group, Passion Fruit, were also on
board and at least one was believed to have survived, Scheding said.
[A pop-music trio called
Passion Fruit - two Dutch women and a German woman of Spanish
origin, all 27 - was also on the plane. Maria Serrano-Serrano and
Nathaly van het Ende were killed, but Debby St. Marteen survived,
said the band's manager, Georg Bergheim.]
The plane crashed as it approached a nighttime landing strip...The
runway is considered more difficult to approach than two others used
previously, and the agreement with Germany allowed the use of those
two runways in bad weather. Officials said the pilot did not request
permission to switch runways. Rain mixed with snow was falling and
visibility was poor when the Jumbolino went down just after 10 p.m.
Airport officials said communication was normal until the plane
suddenly disappeared from radar. The nine survivors walked from the
wreckage and were met by rescue workers, said Zurich airport's chief
medical officer, Remo Reichlin. Guenther said four were "well,
considering the circumstances," three were in stable condition and
two in critical condition.
(Spanglish Love Affairs) Joe Dan Petty: Age 52
Grinderswitch
(Died 8 Janurary 2000, Macon, GA)
Longtime Allman Brothers Band guitar tech and former Grinderswitch bassist Joe Dan Petty
was killed in a plane crash Saturday (1/8/00) near the Herbert Smart Airport in
Macon, Georgia... The accident occurred about 2:45 in the afternoon after the pilot
reported fuel line problems and was attempting to land the aircraft in an opening.
Also aboard the plane was an unidentified second person, thought to be a friend of Joe
Dan's and fellow pilot. It's not clear who was piloting the plane at the time of the
accident. Joe Dan received his pilot's license about a year ago and had owned the
plane for two years... Grinderswitch: Working in the commercial shadow of
better-known acts, they counted as fans members of the Marshall Tucker Band and a lot of
other musicians who felt they deserved a break. The group failed to emerge as much more
than a top regional act and an opener for the Allmans and Charlie Daniels, among
others, despite recording seven album between 1972 and 1982, first for Capricorn and later
for Atlantic. -- Bruce Eder, All Music Guide.
Otis
Redding: Age 26
(September 1941, Dawson, Georgia, USA, d. 10 December 1967). Photo of Otis
The son of a Baptist minister, Redding assimilated gospel music during his childhood and
soon became interested in jump blues and R&B. He remained something of a cult
figure until 1965 and the release of the magnificent OTIS BLUE in which original
material nestled beside the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction and two songs by a further
mentor, Sam Cooke. Redding's version of the Temptations' My Girl then became a UK hit,
while the singer's popularity was further enhanced by the visit of the Hit The Road Stax
revue in 1967. A triumphant appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival suggested that
Redding was about to attract an even wider following but tragedy struck on 10 December
1967. The light aircraft in which he was travelling plunged into Lake Monona, Madison,
Wisconsin, killing the singer, his valet, the pilot and four members of the
Bar-Kays. The wistful (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay, a song Redding recorded just
three days earlier, became his only million-seller and US pop number 1. To get the
book Otis
Redding: From Memphis to the Mainstream, Vol. 8
Jim Reeves: Age
40
(James Travis Reeves, b. 20 August 1923, Galloway, Texas, USA, d. 31 July 1964).
His first singing work was with Moon Mullican's band in Beaumont, Texas and he
worked as an announcer and singing disc jockey at KGRI in Henderson for several years.
(Reeves bought the station in 1959). In November 1952 Reeves moved to KWKH in
Shreveport, where his duties included hosting the "Louisiana
Hayride." A land deal took him via private plane (he was a skilled
amateur pilot) to Batesville, Arkansas, on July 30, 1964, with pianist Dean Manuel. On
July 30, while approaching Nashville on his return, the plane ran into a rainstorm
and disappeared from radar. Outside his Brentwood home, Marty Robbins heard
something crash. It took two days to find the wreckage and the bodies. To get the
book:Like
a Moth to a Flame: The Jim Reeves Story
Randy
Rhoads: Age 25
(b. Randall William Rhoads, 6 Dec 1956, Santa Monica, CA, d. 19 March 1982).
Possibly one of the greatest hard rock guitarists America ever produced, Randy Rhoads
would, had his life not been so tragically curtailed in a freak airplane accident, be
talked about in the same breath as Eddie Van Halen or even Jimmy Page. Randy Rhoads was the talented heavy
metal guitarist who helped put Ozzy Osbourne back on the charts in the early 1980's.
Whilst en route to Florida for further live shows the tour bus made an unscheduled stop
where the driver's friend had a small aeroplane. After taking up a couple of band
members for a joy ride, Rhoads and a make-up girl were persuaded to enlist.
The pilot, high on cocaine, seemingly aimed the aircraft at the empty tour bus and
all passengers were killed. Barnes
and Noble on Randy Rhoads
Stan Rogers:
Age 33
(Born:November 29, 1949 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Died: June 2 , 1983)
Stan Rogers came from Hamilton, Ontario, a six-foot-four poet who started out as a rock
bassist before turning to folk music. With his rich voice, he used his music
to call to life all of the wonder and mysticism of his native Canada. His
singing is occasionally mistaken for that of Gordon Lightfoot, but it's huskier and
earthier than Lightfoot's, and his repertoire -- made up of song cycles drawn from
throughout Canada -- is also more tradition-oriented and more mystical. Rogers died in a
fire aboard an Air Canada flight in Cincinnati, OH, in June 1983, leaving behind a
half-dozen albums. -- Bruce
Eder, All-Music Guide On June 2, 1983, Rogers was headed home from the Kerrville
Folk Festival in Texas. A fire started in the restroom on Air Canada flight 797. It
was forced to land in the Greater Cincinatti Airport. Rogers was one of 23 people
who died of smoke inhalation. He was 33. ~Stephen Ide
([email protected]) This article ran in The Patriot Ledger
Melanie Thornton: Age 34
La Bouche
(b. May 1967, South Carolina; died November 24,
2001, Switzerland)
ZURICH (Reuters) - U.S.-born pop singer Melanie Thornton, on tour to
publicize her solo album "Ready to Fly,'' died on Saturday night in a Swiss
plane crash near Zurich, police said Sunday. "It is true that Miss
Thornton was on the passenger list. She is not among the survivors,'' Zurich
police spokesman Karl Steiner told Reuters. Nine people survived out of the
33 aboard the Crossair jet and police said 24 were presumed dead. Melanie's
latest single, "Wonderful Dream,'' is the song of a new Coca-Cola commercial
and was due to be in stores starting Monday. Thornton, born in May 1967 in
South Carolina, was for many years the voice of the group La Bouche with
whom she had worldwide sales successes with songs such as ``Sweet Dreams,''
''Fallin' In Love'' and ``Be My Lover.'' But their second album
flopped and Thornton left the group in February 2000 for an independent
career. Although born in the
United States, her singing career started
in Germany under the auspices of Franc Farian, who has launched many pop
bands. She had arrived with just $15 in her pockets to join her sister in
Germany in 1992. It was said, "She became successful enough to book
New York clubs, and
L.A. venues." With her singing partner Lane McCray, she celebrated
world-wide successes with La Bouche and they sold more than 10 million units
and obtained gold and platinum awards in over 15 countries.
Kyu Sakamoto:
born 10 December 1941 . died August 12, 1985
His most popular song, "Ue o muite arukō" ("I look up when I walk"-"Sukiyaki."
remains the only Japanese song to
reach number one on the Billboard pop charts in the United States, Kyu
Sakamoto was a Japanese singer and actor, best known outside of Japan for
his international hit song "Sukiyaki", which was sung in Japanese and sold
over 13 million copies. It reached number one in the United States Billboard
Hot 100 in June 1963. He died in the deadliest single-aircraft
accident in history: crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123.
Graeme 'Shirley' Strachan: Age 49
Skyhooks
(Born: Malvern Australia 2/1/52; Died August 29, 2001)
Australian rock legend Shirley Strachan, front man for Skyhooks has died
in a helicopter accident. Graeme 'Shirley' Strachan was piloting the
helicopter near Kilroy, northwest of Brisbane when the helicopter crashed
into Mount Alexander at around 4pm this afternoon. The Australian
music community is both saddened and shocked with the news of one of the
country's great larrikans. Skyhooks earned their place in Australian
rock history, releasing their debut album Living In The 70's in 1974 and
immediately having 6 of the 10 tracks banned from Australian commercial
radio. It sold 4x platinum, unheard of in its day... ~by
Paul Cashmere
Ritchie Valens: Age 17
(b. Richard Steve Valenzuela, 13 May 1941, Los Angeles, California, USA, d. 3 February
1959, Iowa). Valens was the first major Hispanic-American rock star, the artist who
popularized the classic '50s hit La Bamba. Valens also performed solo and was heard
by Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records, who took him into
Gold Star Studios to record several songs. (Keane also shortened the singer's name from
Valenzuela to Valens and added the ‘t’ to Richie). In October 1958 the
single Donna/’La Bamba’ was issued. It was actually the ballad Donna, written by
Valens about his high school friend Donna Ludwig, that was, contrary to popular belief,
the side of the record which was the bigger hit, reaching number 2. La Bamba, the b-side,
only reached number 22 in the USA but is the more fondly-remembered song. It was on 3
February 1959 when he, Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper were killed in an airplane crash following a concert in
Clear Lake, Iowa. Newspaper
Story To buy the book: Ritchie
Valens: The 1st Latino Rocker
Stevie Ray Vaughan: Age
35
Born: Oct 3, 1954 in Dallas, TX; Died:
Aug 27, 1990 in East Troy, WI
Sure, Robert Cray had the nascent groundswell's first Top 40 hit
with March 1987's "Smoking Gun" (off of Strong
Persuader), but it was Vaughan who sold millions of records and had the ability to galvanize arena-sized audiences with his incendiary performances. And in
the final hours of his life, it was Vaughan who--by Eric
Clapton's admission-- emerged the victor in a good-ol'-fashioned cutting contest on a Wisconsin amphitheater stage, leaving the other world-class
participants--Clapton, Cray, Buddy Guy, and Vaughan's brother
Jimmie--all wondering to what heights he would eventually take his virtuosity. The question was answered when the helicopter
carrying Vaughan to Chicago after the concert slammed
into a fog-shrouded hill near the amphitheater in the wee hours of August 27, 1990. He was dead--instantly--at 35. ~by Ted Drozdowski
To buy the book: Stevie
Ray Vaughan: Caught in the Crossfire, Vol. 1 |
