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The Dead Musicians Directory
A SITE ABOUT DEAD MUSICIANS AND HOW THEY
GOT THAT WAY
| Sam Cooke | Selena | Lee Morgan |
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Jimmy
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Age 33 Cooke first performed publicly with his brother and two sisters in their
Baptist quartet, the Soul Children . As a teenager he joined the Highway
QCs, before replacing Rebert ‘R.H.’ Harris in the Soul Stirrers. Between
1951 and 1956 Cooke sang lead with this innovative gospel group.
The Soul Stirrers recorded for the Specialty label where the singer's popularity
encouraged producer ‘Bumps’ Blackwell to provide Sam with pop material,
disguised under the pseudonym 'Dale Cook' to avoid offending the gospel
audience. Initially content, the label's owner, Art Rupe, then objected
to the sweetening choir on a follow-up recording, You Send Me, and offered
Cooke a release from his contract in return for outstanding royalties.
The song was then passed to the Keen label, where it sold in excess of
2 million copies. Sam left the label for RCA where Chain Gang (1960), Cupid
(1961) and Twistin' The Night Away (1962), displayed a pop craft later
offset by such grittier offerings as Bring It On Home To Me and Little
Red Rooster. Cooke also founded the Sar and Derby labels. Cooke's own career
remained in the ascendant with (Ain't That) Good News and Good Times but
the purity of such music made his tawdry fate all the more perplexing.
On 11 December 1964, following an altercation with a girl he had picked
up, the singer was fatally shot by the manageress of a Los Angeles motel.
Age:? Died: March 6, 1982 Best known for his tenure as a member of
Ted Nugent's Amboy Dukes, Rusty Day was a figure of legendary proportions
in his native Detroit, a white soul singer whose weight tipped the scales
at over 350 pounds. He and backing
band the Midnighters enjoyed great success on the local club circuit throughout
the mid-1960s, in 1966 issuing the single "I Gotta Move #1; " three years
later Day joined the Amboy Dukes, making his debut with the group on their
third album, Migrations. Running afoul of bandleader Nugent's
strict anti-drug policies, he was dismissed from the Dukes following 1970's
Marriage on the Rocks, soon after joining Cactus. When that band disintegrated,
Day assumed the reins of the group Detroit, previously led by Mitch
Ryder; following their 1974 dissolution, he relocated to Orlando, Florida,
where he was later murdered as a result of a drug deal gone bad. --
Jason
Ankeny, All-Music Guide
Igor Talkov Age Died: 6 October 1991
On the pop scene, singer-songwriter Igor
Talkov had endeared himself to millions of Russians whom his serious and clever
songs helped to survive the crumbling of time-tested values... As thousands of
defenders of democracy celebrated around the White House parliament building in
downtown Moscow, Talkov was there singing his stirringly uplifting songs while
millions of others watched the televised event... Six days later, on October
6, Igor Talkov was shot down backstage at the Yubileiny concert hall in
Leningrad. Who did it and why we still don't know... ~http://www.vor.ru/century/1991m.html |
Age 44 b. 2 April 1939, Washington, DC, d. 1 April 1984 ~Music Central 96 On the day before Marvin's
forty- fifth birthday they quarreled over his father's treatment of his
mother. Marvin lashed out at him, attacking him and beating him.
His father calmly left the room, went down the hall to his own room, and
returned with a gun. He shot Marvin twice in the chest, the second
time at point-blank range. Marvin Gaye died instantly.
Arlester "Dyke" Christian Age 27 An exuberant late-'60s soul unit featuring the spirited leads of Arlester "Dyke" Christian, a Brooklyn vocalist, they became Dyke & the Blazers in the mid- '60s, and were assisted by the O'Jays' backing band at one point. They made a string of crackling singles for Original Sound, starting with "Funky Broadway" in 1967. Their biggest hits were "We Got More Soul" and "Let a Woman Be a Woman - Let a Man Be a Man," both of which were Top Ten R&B singles in 1969. "Uhh" also did well in 1970, but "You Are My Sunshine" and "Runaway People" were only moderate successes. Things ended for the group when Christian [was fatally shot on the street in Phoenix on March 13, 1971]. ~ Ron Wynn, All-Music Guide
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(AKA:Cornell Gunther) Age 54 d. 26 February 1990 And Nat "Buster" Wilson The Coasters After leaving the Coasters, Cornell embarked "D´s Gents" (with Chuck Barksdale and Johnny Carter from Chicago's the Dells plus the nucleus from Pittsburg's the Altairs), touring as back-up group to Dinah Washington. In late 1963 he formed his own Coasters group in L.A. The spin-off Coasters were heavily engaged in Las Vegas (with a fresh line-up comprising Nat Wilson, Bobby Stregar and McKinley Travis) and even toured Britain in the mid ´60s as "The Fabulous Coasters". Cornell´s group became stage favorites and performed with various line-ups into the ´80s. Cornell´s bass singer Nat "Buster" Wilson was killed in 1980 (by their at that time manager - Wilson´s body was found in 1982). Cornell (who was gay and in later years preferred to spell his name Cornell Gunther) was in the process of making a new comeback, when an unknown shot him in his car in Las Vegas. He died on February 26, 1990 (some files say February 27). The survivors of his group continue to tour and have recently formed a "Cornell Gunter´s Coasters Inc." - Nat "Buster" Wilson was shot in April 1980. His body was dumped near Hoover Dam, and later found in a canyon near Modesto, California. Age 28 New York-based Bloom began his career during the '60s as one of several backroom entrepreneurs, including Anders And Poncia, Artie Ripp and Levine/Resnick, central to the Kama Sutra/Buddah group of labels. He also made several solo recordings, including Love Don't Let Me Down and Count On Me, and later formed a partnership with composer/producer Jeff Barry. Together, they contributed material for the latter-day Monkees, notably Ticket On A Ferry Ride and You're So Good To Me. Bloom's singing career blossomed with the effervescent Montego Bay which reached the US Top 10 and UK Top 3 in 1970. Its adept combination of bubblegum, calypso and rock was maintained on Heavy Makes You Happy and THE BOBBY BLOOM ALBUM, which Barry produced. However, despite this seeming ascendancy, a troubled Bloom was killed in an accidental shooting in 1971. ~Music Central '96 Some sources report that Bloom committed suicide.
Age 53 ORRVILLE, Ala. (APB)
-- One of the nation's most famous Elvis impersonators was killed when
a robber with a sawed-off shotgun stormed into a pawn shop he owned and
blasted him and his ex-wife at close range, authorities said.
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Age 39 b. 27 Nov. 1935, Age 40 As Bob Kuban and the In-Men were preparing for a 20th anniversary reunion scheduled for June 23, 1984 at the Fox, Walter Scott mysteriously disappeared. He was last seen walking out his two story home near St. Peters at 7:05PM, December 27, 1983. On April 10, 1987, his badly decomposed, bound body was found floating face down in a cistern. Scott had been shot in the back. Scott's second wife, JoAnn (Calceterra), pled guilty to hindering prosecution in his murder. She received a five year sentence. And JoAnn's boyfriend (whom she married in 1986), James H.Williams Sr., was found guilty of two counts of capital murder in the deaths of his previous wife, Sharon Williams, and Walter Scott. James Williams received two life terms without the possibility of parole (affirmed by the Missouri Court of Appeals, April 4, 1995). And Walter Scott still sings, "Tough luck for the Cheater(s), Too bad for the fool-hearted clown(s)." ~ Harry Young, November 1995 Walter Scott, who fronted Bob Kuban and the In-Men, a mini-big-band (eight members) rock group from St. Louis that was started by drummer Kuban. They nearly broke into the big time in 1966 with the hit single (here comes the irony) "The Cheater" that got to Number 12 in Billboard. That was all a distant memory when Scott (born Walter Notheis, Jr.) vanished two days after Christmas in 1983. His former wife had been...cheating on him with a guy she then married after divorcing Scott. The sneaky couple were charged with murder after Scott's body was found in 1986...with a fatal bullet wound in the back. ~ Milo Miles, Rock.com Music Editor Walter Scott, the singer of the 1966 national hit song, "The Cheater" was hog-tied, shot in the back, and dumped in a cistern for over three years before his body was discovered. It was the unfaltering persistence of Walter Scott's elderly parents that finally brought the case to trial. People who knew the ultimately convicted murderer, Jim Williams, described him as a congenial, generous person. Scott's second wife, JoAnn, who had married Williams, also faced capital murder charges, yet served only eighteen months in a Missouri correctional facility for "hindering the prosecution". ~re-arranged from --James A. Cox, Editor The Midwest Book Review
Roger Troutman, 47
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Age 60 ~Music Central 96 In the early hours of Wednesday, May 9, 1979, jazz singer Eddie Jefferson was leaving Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, on Detroit’s north fringe, where he and his young partner, alto saxophonist Richie Cole, had just completed their opening night performance. Eddie may have had an ominous feeling, for he ended the set abruptly and called a cab. Jefferson, his road manager and a woman friend went outside; Cole and a fan followed soon after. An automobile parked in front of the club pulled up to the cab. The driver fired four shotgun blasts, one of which struck Eddie Jefferson in the chest. He staggered twenty-five feet and died. [Police later arrested 41-year-old Ameer Al-Meet Mujahiid, formerly William Perryman, a frustrated dancer and laid-off factory worker who had known Jefferson for about ten years in New York. But after a three-week trial, a jury brought in a verdict of not guilty]. Although the singer had been living in Queens, NY, he was buried in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA, where he still had family. ~Ira Steingroot’s liner notes for Prestige LP There I Go Again
Sabotage
Age 29
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Age 40 Following the painful collapse of the
Beatles,
he came out a wiser but angrier person. Together with his wife Yoko Ono,
he attempted to transform the world through non-musical means. Their bed-in
in Amsterdam and Montreal, their black bag appearances on stage, their
innocent flirting with political activists and radicals, all received massive
media attention. Lennon's solo career began with UNFINISHED MUSIC NO 1—TWO
VIRGINS. The sleeve depicted him and Yoko standing naked. Give Peace a
Chance, Cold Turkey arrived via the Plastic Ono Band, consisting of John,
Yoko, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman and drummer Alan White. Lennon's
incorrigible wit worked when he sent back his MBE to the Queen, protesting
about the Biafran war, Britain supporting the American involvement in Vietnam
and Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. The release of JOHN LENNON—
PLASTIC ONO BAND in January 1971 was a shock to the system for most Beatles’
fans. This stark ‘primal scream’ album was recorded following treatment
with Dr. Arthur Janov. It is as brilliant as it is disturbing. John poured
out much of his bitterness from his childhood and adolescence. Lennon's
Dylanesque Working Class Hero is another stand-out track, in less vitriolic
tone he croons ‘A working class hero is something to be, if you want to
be a hero then just follow me’; the irony is that John was text-book middle-class
and his agony was that he wanted to be working class. 1971 was to be his
most creative year; following the album was another strong single Power
To The People and after his move to New York, IMAGINE was released in October.
The title track, however, remains as one of his greatest songs. The
following year SOMETIME IN NEW YORK CITY was issued; this double set contained
a number of political songs, and was written during the peak of Lennon's
involvement with yippie-radical, Jerry Rubin. The album's strongest
track is yet another song with one of Lennon's statement-like titles; Woman
Is the Nigger Of The World. The following year he embarked on his struggle
against deportation and the fight for his famous ‘green card’. At the end
of a comparatively quiet 1973, John released MIND GAMES, an album that
highlighted problems between him and Yoko. Shortly after Lennon left for
his ‘lost weekend’ and spent many months in Los Angeles in a haze of drugs
and alcohol. During a brief sober moment he produced Nilsson's PUSSYCATS.
At the end of a dreadful year, John released WALLS AND BRIDGES, which contained
more marital material and a surprise US number 1, Whatever Gets You Through
The Night. That month (November 1974), he made his last-ever concert appearance
when he appeared onstage at Madison Square Garden with Elton John. That
night John was reunited with Yoko and in his words ‘the separation failed’.
Following the birth of their son Sean, John became a house husband, while
Yoko looked after their not inconsiderable business interests. Five years
later, a new album was released to a relieved public and went straight
to number 1, Double Fantasy.
Still in a creative frenzy,
the couple were already at work on their next project when, coming home
late from a session, Lennon was hailed by a fan to whom he'd given
an autograph earlier that day
[photo], Mark David Chapman. Lennon turned and Chapman shot him five
times with a .38 revolver. Lennon was rushed to the hospital but pronounced
dead on arrival from a massive loss of blood. Chapman later claimed it
was Lennon's remarks in 1966 on Jesus that drove him to his act, but more
likely he was just a schnook in search of fame. He found it.
South African Musician gunned down in road
rage attack ~ Julian Rademeyer and Lesley Mofokeng |
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Age 33 Prodigiously talented, Morgan played trumpet professionally at the age
of 15 and three years later joined Dizzy Gillespie's big band. During this
same period he recorded with John Coltrane, Hank Mobley and others.
In the late '60s, Morgan's career was damaged for a while by personal problems
but a woman friend helped him recover.
Morgan's death, at only 33, has its
place in jazz lore. A girlfriend of his at the time, Helen More, shot him
on the stage of the New York City nightclub Slug's on Feb. 19, 1972.
After the two had an argument, More left the club, returned with a gun
and shot him in the heart. Morgan died on the spot.
~Down Beat Age 26 Birthdate: January 14, 1908 Died: September 2, 1934 at 7:30 pm. Russ Columbo spent most of Friday, August 31, 1934, at what would be his last session, recording the songs from Universal's Wake Up and Dream for the Brunswick label. That evening, he attended the preview of this film at the Pantages Theater on Hollywood Boulevard with Carole Lombard. His best friend of ten years, portrait photographer Lansing Brown, Jr., was also in the audience, but not seated near Lombard and Columbo. After appearing in close to a dozen films, Russ finally received top billing. A Universal press release, prepared by John LeRoy Johnston ended with this quote from Columbo: "At 26, I find that I have just about everything I want from life and am pretty happy the way things have turned out for me." On Saturday, September 1, Columbo drove to Santa Barbara for the out of town preview of Wake Up and Dream. That morning he had unsuccessfully attempted to telephone Lansing Brown, who had not given Russ his opinion of the film. Carole Lombard, exhausted from working on three productions in a row, heeded her doctor's advice and went with her secretary Madalynne Fields to Lake Arrowhead to rest. Rumors would later abound that the two had a fight, but this is not true. She and Columbo planned a late supper Sunday evening with Carole's mother, Elizabeth Peters, and brother, Stuart. Feeling a premonition of disaster, Lombard tried calling Columbo upon her arrival at Arrowhead, but found the telephone exchanges closed for the evening. They would never speak again...Lansing Brown kept a pair of antique dueling pistols on his desk. According to statements given at the inquest, Brown was toying with one of the pistols and holding an unlighted match in his left hand. The "trick" was that the hammer would ignite the match, although Brown would later testify that he did not know why he had the match and the gun, other than a sort of odd "habit." Unfortunately, the old relic had both gunpowder and a vintage minie ball. Somehow, the match and the hammer triggered the gun powder, and the bullet was discharged. Detectives later determined that the bullet must have ricocheted off the mahogany desk between the two men, striking Russ Columbo in the left eye, lodging at the back of his brain. He slumped in the chair and immediately lost consciousness. It was 1:45 PM. Although Brown's father later testified that there was no evidence of any quarrel, and no one had been drinking liquor that afternoon, rumor claimed that "servants" heard loud voices shortly before the shot. Brown, Sr., assuming Columbo had died instantly, contacted the police. When the coroner's ambulance arrived to pick up the body, it was discovered that Russ was unconscious, but still alive. He was taken first to Hollywood Receiving Hospital, then transferred to the Hospital of the Good Samaritan. Doctors attempted to save his life by surgery, but it was too late. Carole Lombard rushed down by automobile from Lake Arrowhead after being telephoned by surgeon George W. Patterson, but it was close pal and actress Sally Blane who was at Columbo's bedside when he died at 7:30 PM. He was 26 years old. Burial: Forest Lawn, Glendale CA. Russ was buried on October 17, 1934-this delay was caused by his family's debate on telling Julia Colombo her son was dead. Russ is interred in the Sanctuary of the Vespers of the Great Mausoleum. Unlike the area where Carole Lombard is interred, this hallway is open to the public. Russ rests about a quarter of the way into the Sanctuary on the left side, about 8 feet from the floor. The crypt immediately beneath him is empty. His brother Fiore, who died in 1929, is across from him, but on the top row. The Colombo family ultimately chose not to tell Julia that her son had died, thus creating one of Hollywood's most unusual legends. Julia Colombo died 10 years later, in 1944. ~ Max Pierce |
Age24 As the Notorious B.I.G. was preparing his second album, Shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas. Many in the media speculated that Biggie's camp was responsible for the shooting, accusations that he and his producer, Sean "Puffy" Combs, vehemently denied. However, the wheels had been set in motion for another tragedy. Early on the morning of March 9, the Notorious B.I.G.
was returning to his hotel in Los Angeles after a Soul Train Award party
when another car pulled up beside his car and opened fire, killing him
instantly. Shakur had been killed just six months earlier.
The Notorious B.I.G.'s second album, the double-disc Life After Death,
was released three weeks later, debuting at number one on the charts.
~ Stephen
Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide
James "Soulja Slim" Tapp AGE 25
Details In Soulja Slim Shooting By Nolan Strong
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Age 33
A: It was pot. It was what got Chano Pozo killed.
The story was that this guy gave him some bad quality stuff and Chano beat
him up for that. Chano had a reputation as a tough street fighter from
Havana so the guy went and got a gun and did him in.
Drummer and vocalist Pozo's first appearance in the USA was at a Carnegie Hall concert in September 1947, at which he played with Dizzy Gillespie. Thereafter he worked regularly with Gillespie, making a number of records which were enormously influential on many jazzmen who responded to the intriguing Latin-American rhythms he used. In December 1948, before the two men could fully exploit what was clearly a potentially exciting musical relationship... The effect of Chano Pozo to the attitudes
of Jazz musicians in the whole USA was permanent. Unfortunately, Chano
was killed in 1948 on a dispute for drugs. "Cabito", a veteran of the Second
World War killed him because Chano slapped his face. Chano's real name
was Luciano Pozo y Gonzalez. He was Cuban born and a member of the Black
Cuban Abakua secret society. He descended from Nigerian slaves brought
to Cuba to work the sugarcane fields. His contribution to Latin-Jazz
is enormous and permanent. You must listen only to two of his compositions
to
Lem Winchester Lem Winchester had great potential as a vibraphonist but it was all cut short by a tragic accident. Influenced by Milt Jackson but developing a sound of his own, Winchester actually played tenor, baritone and piano before choosing to stick exclusively to vibes. A police officer in Wilmington, DE, he made a big impression at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival and was soon recording regularly with such major players as Oliver Nelson, Benny Golson and Tommy Flanagan. Winchester resigned from the police force in 1960 so as to be a musician full-time, but then on January 13, 1961 he unsuccessfully demonstrated a trick with a revolver! — Scott Yanow Roy Lee Centers Age 29
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Age 23 The tragic shooting death of Tejano singer
Selena spawned a reaction within the Latino community that can be compared to
the reactions to the deaths of Elvis Presley and John Lennon. An
enormously popular singer in Latino communities across North America, her music
crossed cultural boundaries to touch the lives of young and old alike. A
flamboyant, sexy stage performer, sometimes hailed as the Latina Madonna, Selena
was nonetheless considered a role model for off-stage she was family oriented,
active in anti-drug campaigns and AIDS awareness programs. She was born
Selena Quintanilla to Mexican-American parents in Lake Jackson, TX. Before her
birth, her father Abraham had been a member of Los Dinos. When Selena began
performing at the age of ten, her father became her manager and Los Dinos
In the spring of that year she
was working on her first English-language album, when she went to a motel
room in Corpus Christi, TX, to fire 34-year-old Yolanda Saldivar, the woman who
managed Selena's boutique in San Antonio, and the founder of the Selena
fan club. A few days before the confrontation Selena's father had unearthed
paperwork proving that Saldivar had been embezzling from the fan club. Saldivar
and Selena argued and as the singer left, she was shot in the back. Selena
didn't die right away and managed to stagger into the lobby where she named
Saldivar as the killer. An hour later, Selena died in a local hospital.
It was a death that rocked the entire Latino music industry.
Saldivar was convicted for the murder of Selena in
November, 1995 and sentenced to at least 30 years in prison.
A special service was held in the Los Angeles Coliseum where she was to give a
concert. Less than a month later, Texas governor George W. Bush declared April
16, "Selena Day," in her honor. Dreaming of You, her final album, was
released posthumously in the early summer. It became the first Tejano
album to reach number one in America and was double platinum by the end of the
year.
MC Big L Police have apprehended a suspect in connection with the murder of underground Harlem MC Big L (Lamont Coleman). According to New York Police Officer Theresa Farello, Gerard Woodley, 29, was arrested 10:20 a.m. Thursday in a Bronx apartment and charged with second- degree murder. "The suspect had an ongoing dispute with Coleman's brother," Officer Farello told BLAZE Online. Gerard, who also is a native of Harlem, is wanted on a federal warrant for drug trafficking. He will be arraigned in a Manhattan Criminal Court and held without bail. As we last reported, Big L, a member of the Bronx hip hop crew Diggin' in the Crates, (a group of MCs and producers that include Fat Joe, Lord Finesse, Diamond D and Showbiz and A.G.), was gunned down February 15 near his home in Harlem, NY. An upcoming album by DITC, will posthumously feature Big L on several songs. ~Blaze While Woodley was originally held without bail, a police spokesperson said her records showed that he is currently out on bail after having only posted 1 dollar. The police spokesperson added that Woodley is due back in court on July 5 for a pre-trial hearing, but only for a control date, which means the case is going to be adjourned to a new date. As in the case of Tupac and of Biggie Smalls, L`s killer remains free. ~http://www.bigl4life.cjb.net/ Age 55 Born 1948
R&B legend
Whitehead slain JOHN WHITEHEAD, half of the duo that penned some of the most popular R&B hits of the '60s and '70s, was shot to death behind his West Oak Lane home last evening, police said. Sources said police were questioning potential suspects, but no arrests as of late last night. Whitehead, 55, and his partner Gene McFadden, were best known for the hit "Ain't No Stoppin Us Now," which sold more than 8 million copies and earned the duo a Grammy nomination. They also wrote a slew of other classics, including "Backstabbers" for the O'Jays, and "I'll Always Love My Mamma." The songwriter was shot in the head and another man critically wounded about 5 p.m. on Dallas Street near 19th, several sources said. The other victim, who was rushed to Albert Einstein Medical Center, was identified by family as a mechanic who was a close friend. He was listed in stable condition this morning, police said. Whitehead, the father of 11 children, was in the alley behind his home repairing a hose on his SUV with the mechanic, said Aaliyah Medley-Castro, 27, his step-grandaughter. "He was fixing his car and some guys came up and opened fire," Medley-Castro said. She said the mechanic had earlier had "an altercation" with the same men. Family and friends, including McFadden, flocked to the brick rowhouse, where Whitehead's wife of 15 years, Elnor, sat sobbing with relatives in a second-floor bedroom. A steady stream of mourners offered their condolences. The mood was solemn, as they talked quietly, a visitor said. Whitehead's awards, a half-dozen gold and platinum plaques, cover a foyer wall. His living room is filled with family pictures. "He was very lovable. He will light up a room. He made everyone laugh," his step-grandaughter said, adding that he had no enemies. His manager, the singer Billy Paul, said the music community heard about the slaying at the Philly Music Awards, held last night at the Electric Factory. Whitehead was to be a presenter, but never showed up, Paul said. "I don't know what happened. He was always a jovial guy. We were going to take off and get McFadden tonight," said Paul, explaining that McFadden was going through some personal problems that they hoped to help him with. He wouldn't elaborate. Details were sketchy, and police released little information about the shootings. McFadden and Whitehead were natives of North Philadelphia. As young men they formed a group called the Epsilons. They were discovered by Otis Redding, and toured with him until the late '60s, according to their Web site. Their first hit, "Backstabbers" for the O'Jays, became No. 1 in one week. Paul said Whitehead was still writing and touring over the past couple of years. "He was working. They just got back from New York," Paul said, adding that they toured London and Detroit last year. He said he last spoke with Whitehead Monday night. "He was worried about McFadden and like, we're out here trying to get heads or tails what happened. "How we left it was, we said meet you at 8:15 at Electric Factory. He never showed up and it's not like him to not show up." Kenny Gamble, co-founder of Philadelphia International Records, called Whitehead a creative wonder. "The last time I saw him was maybe about a couple of months ago. He was in my office. We were talking about the old days and also about writing some new songs... He was very optimistic about the future." Veteran DJ Jerry Blavat remembered Whitehead as "a nice guy, always upbeat, always happy." McFadden & Whitehead recently performed at Atlantic City's Borgata on a concert promoted by Blavat, who recalled Whitehead as "a creative songwriter." A longtime friend who asked not to be named said, "Oh, I'm devastated. He was a friend of mine. I can't f------ believe it." "He was a straight-up dude. There was no reason to kill him," said his friend of 36 years. "He's been singing all his life." Whitehead not target of
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Age 25 Tupac Shakur became the unlikely
martyr of gangsta rap, becoming the tragic symbol of hardcore rap. The son of
two Black Panther members, Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in New York City. His
parents had separated before he was born, and his mother moved him and his
sister around the country for much of their childhood. At the outset of his
career, it didn't appear that he would emerge as one of the definitive rappers
of the '90s, especially since he was a second-string rapper for Digital
Underground, joining after they had their biggest hit. But in 1992, he
delivered an acclaimed debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, which quickly followed with
a star-making performance in the urban drama, Juice. Over the course, of one
year his profile raised substantially, as he became as well-known for his
run-ins with the law as he did for his music. By 1994, 2-Pac was rivaling Snoop
Doggy Dogg as the most controversial figure in rap, as he was spending as much
time in prison as he was in the recording studio. His burgeoning outlaw
mythology helped his 1995 album Me Against the World enter the charts at number
one, and it also opened himself up to charges of exploitation. Yet, as the
single "Dear Mama" illustrated, he was capable of sensitivity as well as
violence. Unfortunately, the gangsta lifestyle he captured in his music soon
overtook his own life. Signing with Death Row Records in late1995, Shakur
released the double-album All Eyez on Me in the spring of 1996, and the record,
as well as its hit single "California Love," confirmed his superstar status.
While his celebrity was at its peak, he was publicly fighting with his rival the
Notorious B.I.G. and there were tensions brewing at Death Row. At the time
of his murder in September 1996, there were indications that Shakur was
considering leaving Death Row, and maybe even rap, behind. None of those
theories can ever be confirmed, just as the reasons behind his shooting remain
mysterious.
 Age 52 One of two men who were shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in the incident, Braithwaite had recently returned to his homeland after living in Chicago for more than 20 years. Police are investigating the case.The death marks the second Wailer homicide, following the fatal shooting of co-founding member Peter Tosh at his Kingston home in 1987. Braithwaite was a member of the original Wailers, formed in Kingston in the early 1960s with Marley, Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Beverly Kelso. He sang on the 1965 hit "It Hurts To Be Alone." Though he left the group in 1966, he had reportedly come back to his Caribbean homeland in hopes of reviving his singing career. His death leaves only Wailer and Kelso as surviving members of the original quintet. [Bob Marley died of brain, lung and liver cancer in 1981].~ Stephen Peters
Camoflauge born Jason Johnson (5/21/03, 7 a.m. ET) -- Georgia-based
rapper Camoflauge was shot and killed on Monday (May 19), as he walked with
his young son in front of his label, Pure Pain Records, on 37th Street in
Savannah, Georgia. The rapper's son wasn't hurt in the shooting which
occurred at 4:30 p.m. Camoflauge, whose birth name is Jason Johnson, was 21
years-old. He was pronounced dead at Memorial Health University Medical Center. Click here for: The motive AGE 32
Musician gunned down in road rage
attack
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Age 33 (b. c.1936, Queens, New York, Ed. note: Still researching conflicting reports that Sheppard was shot dead on 24 January 1970. Or that he wasn't robbed and beaten to death, his body found in his car on the Long Island Expressway) The Heartbeats were around from 1955 to 1959. They grew up from the
st.albans area of queens new york. Originally formed as a quartet they
were known as The Hearts. Not knowing there was a female group with the
same name. At the time James Sheppard had his own group and was not a member
of The Hearts. The lead singer was Al Crump. The Hearts congregated in a
park in st.albans queens often engaging in "Battle of the groups" contest against other vocal groups. One day The Hearts faced
off with James Sheppard's group. It turned out The Hearts won. Then
after it was all over they asked James Sheppard to join the group. The
Heartbeats performed at local functions around the area until Wally Roker
met jazz musician "Illinois Jaquet". They auditioned for Jaquet, then were
introduced to his brother Russell who recorded the group as "The Heartbeats
Quintet". They recorded for a label called "Network". Tormented b/w After
Everybody's Gone.~
John Vigilante
Age 76 by Andrew Jacobs A jazz musician who was found dead in his Queens home on Thursday night was killed by a gunshot wound to the head, police said. Jaki Byard, 76, a prolific pianist who once toured Europe with Charles Mingus, was killed by a single bullet that entered through his nose, the New York City Medical Examiner said on Friday. Paramedics, responding to a 911 call, found Mr. Byard dead at 11:45 PM at the home on Hollis Avenue that he shared with two of his daughters, the police said. Investigators said he was last seen by his family at 6 PM on Thursday and that he was killed about four hours later. Detective Joseph Pentangelo, a Police Dept. spokesman, said no weapon had been recovered and that investigators had no motive or suspects in the slaying. There were no signs of robbery, forced entry or a struggle, Detective Pentangelo said. ~Editor's note: I'm guessing assisted suicide. Age 28 Lost Boyz Jam Master Jay Age 37 b. Jason Mizell Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay gunned down
in N.Y. recording studio
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Age 58 d.10 November 1973 Bluegrass festival, statue to honor Stringbean By Kimberly N. Martin Central Kentucky Bureau
GRAY HAWK -- Music lovers knew him as Stringbean, but to his family David
Akeman was just String.
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Age 32 (b. May 28, 1946 - d. August 24, 1978 in Houston) Sutherland was shot dead by his wife. Age 36 On Good Friday Carlton Barrett was brutally murdered as he opened the gate to his home. Here we remember and pay tribute to one of the greatest drummers to emerge from the island of Jamaica. Carlton "Carly" Barrett was the originator of the one drop rhythm, a percussive drumming style. An essential member of the Wailers since 1969, Carly co-wrote "Talkin' Blues" and performed on every Wailer album since. With Carly's beats and his brother Aston's bass, the Wailer rhythm section planted the seeds of today's international reggae. The Barrett brothers came to prominence with their band the Hippy Boys. They began working with Lee "Scratch" Perry, and recorded an international hit, "Return of Django," under the name the Upsetters. The brothers teamed up with the Wailers in 1969-70 for several singles: "My Cup (Runneth Over)," Duppy Conqueror," Soul Rebel," and Small Axe." These songs became part of a double LP set that Perry released: Soul Rebels and Soul Revolution, and formed the early foundation of the one drop sound. ~Text Copyright 1997, Island Trading Company Inc. Age 43 b.30 Dec 1939 The Bronx, NY, Felix Pappalardi was a member of the rock-group Mountain who hit in 1970 with "Mississippi Queen". Guided by the wizardry of Pappalardi, Mountain pioneered techniques that would become industry standards. Beginning with his renowned production work with Cream and then with Mountain, Pappalardi demonstrated a genius for approaching music in a totally new and fascinating way. He earned an impressive reputation and garnered a tremendous amount of praise from his peers. Bud Prager recalls Jimi Hendrix saying "I wish Felix would produce one of my albums. . . . Felix knows things I don't. He could help me make better records."~©1995-98 iMusic, Inc. His girlfriend shot him to death during an argument on April 17th
of 1983. Leslie West: "We were in Indiana. We were leaving for
the show and Corky got a phone call at the hotel and he had to run
back inside and that was his wife calling to tell us the police were
going to call us. And the police were going to ask us a few questions.
We were suspects, believe it or not, at first, 'cause he was suing us.
But that was quickly dismissed once they had his wife. That was really
a sad day."
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Age 42 debut with "Simmer Down." Tosh played guitar, melodica, piano, and organ on many of their early tracks, and even played behind American pop star Johnny Nash's Columbia Records sessions in the late '60s, when Nash had hired the Wailers as songwriters. By 1973, Tosh felt the need to pursue a solo career because of the mass of material he had written and his dissatisfaction with Island Records boss Chris Blackwell. Legalize It was his debut in 1976, remaking many of his earlier Jamaican recordings and giving the marijuana movement its most potent anthem in the title track, which Tosh would perform not once but twice in his '70s live concerts. A firm opponent of the hypocritical "shitstem," Tosh was a favorite target of Babylon's legal forces. Police in Jamaica beat him nearly to death on at least three occasions, and he bore the scars till his death. Equal Rights, 1977's follow-up, provided a key line that echoed 15 years later in the mouths of LA rioters: "I don't want no peace, I want equal rights and justice!" The Rolling Stones, impressed by Tosh's ferocious and unflinching posture, signed him to their fledgling label and released Bush Doctor in 1978, another series of hymns and harangues. Mystic Man (1979) and Wanted: Dread & Alive (1981) kept a militant attitude while trying to cross over to the mainstream that Marley had conquered, without achieving anything near Marley's success. Following 1983's Mama Africa and a live album from that tour, Tosh disappeared for four years, seeking advice from traditional medicine men in Africa and trying to extricate himself from various recording agreements when he found his records released in South Africa against provisions in his contracts. In 1987, shortly after the release of No Nuclear War, Tosh was assassinated at his home in Kingston. Only one of the three gunmen responsible was arrested; he was sentenced to hang after a brief trial. Like Marley, Tosh left at least ten children and no will. A brilliant documentary Peter Tosh: Red X-Stepping Razor was released in 1992, and there is hope that at least one more album will come out of the vaults.
~
Roger Steffens, All-Music Guide
AKA born:
Francis
Blackwell Scrapper Blackwell was best known for his
work with pianist
Leroy
Carr during the early and mid-'30s, but he also
recorded
many solo sides between 1928 and 1935. A distinctive stylist whose
work was closer to jazz than blues, Blackwell was an exceptional player
with a technique, built around single- note picking, that anticipated
the electric blues of the 1940s and 1950s. He abandoned music for
more than 20 years after
Carr's
death in 1935, but re-emerged at the end of the 1950s and began
his career anew, before his life was taken in an apparent robbery attempt...In
1962... soon after finishing his work on his first Prestige/Bluesville
long-player
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