RIP, Titus Glover aka Baatin (July 31, 2009) Rapper In Slum Village

Baatin (Born Titus Glover)
March, 1974 – July 31, 2009

Coming to prominence in the Detroit’s underground rap scene of the ’90s, Baatin was part of the popular rap group, Slum Village.  The group released several albums throughout it’s career, including a couple for Capitol Records.  Baatin left the group in 2002 due to undisclosed health reasons.  He passed away at the age of 35 on July 31, 2009.  Cause of death has not been released.

On This Date (July 31, 1964) Jim Reeves

Jim Reeves
August 20, 1923 – July 31, 1964

When Jim Reeves graduated from college, he played semi-pro baseball until he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1944.  An ankle injury put the brakes on his baseball career while still in the farm system.  Reeves soon turned his sights on music and by the late ’40s was making records and was part of Moon Mulican’s band.  Reeves later made his solo radio debut on the highly influential program, Louisiana Hayride, reportedly as a last minute replacement for Hank Williams.  He eventually signed with RCA Records where, with the help of producer, Chet Atkins he released a string of hits including “Four Walls” and “He’ll Have To Go.”  His smooth voice and style came to exemplify the “Nashville Sound.”   Jim Reeves died when the small plane he was piloting crashed in bad weather over Tennessee.  He was 40 years old.

On This Date (July 31, 1986) Teddy Wilson / Respected Jazz Pianist

Teddy Wilson
November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986

Teddy Wilson was a much respected jazz pianist who came from the great music city of Austin, TX.  His smooth-as-silk style could be heard on recordings by the likes of Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman and Billie Holiday.  One of Wilson’s first professional gigs was playing alongside Bennny Goodman and Gene Krupa in the Benny Goodman Trio, later a quartet with the addition of Lionel Hampton.  When he joined the trio, Wilson became the first known African-American to perform professionally in public with a previously all-white group.  With the help of legendary producer,  John Hammond, Wilson recorded some 50 hit records throughout the late ’30s.  By the ’40s, he was leading his own sextet, and by the ’50s, he was teaching at Julliard.   Wilson spent the last couple of decades of his life quietly enjoying his life close to home until his passing of natural causes on 1986.

On This Date (July 31, 2008) Lee Young / Jazz Drummer

Lee Young
March 7, 1914 – July 31, 2008

Lee Young was a respected jazz drummer and record producer and A&R man who is credited for discovering Steely Dan.  He was also the younger brother of famed jazz saxophonist, Lester Young.  Throughout his career, he’s played with Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Lionel Hampton, and Benny Goodman.  He was the drummer in the Nat King Cole Trio during the ’50s.  Lee Young passed away in his home at the age of 94.

On This Date (July 30, 1993) Don Myrick / Earth, Wind & Fire

Don Myrick
1948 – July 30, 1993

Don Myrick at far right

Saxophonist Don Myrick was the section leader for the Phenix Horns, Esq and lent his talents to hit recordings by Earth, Wind & Fire and Phil Collins during the ’70s and early ’80s.  Prior to his seven years with Earth, Wind & Fire, Myrick played witht he likes of Bobby “Blue” Bland, Stanley Turrentine, Grover Washington Jr., and Carlos Santana.  In 1978, Myrick won a Best Instrumental Grammy for his superb playing on Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Runnin’.”  Myrick also had a drug problem that lead to his tragic death in 1993.  While serving a warrent on a drug investigation, an LAPD officer knocked on Myrick’s apartment door.  After no answer, the officer entered the home with a key provided by the property manager to find Myrick standing there with what he believed to be a weopen in his hand.  The officer immediately shot and killed Myrick who was actually holding a barbeque lighter.  A search of the apartment apparently turned up a small amount of crack cocaine.  Two years later, Myrick’s widow was awarded $400,000 in a wrongful death suit against the City of Los Angeles.

On This Date (July 30, 1995) Biggie Tembo / The Bhundu Boys

Biggie Tembo
September 30, 1958 – July 30, 1995

Biggie Tembo was the charismatic lead singer and primary songwriter for the Zimbabwe band, Bhundu Boys.  Formed in 1981, the Bhundu Boys were very popular thanks to their unique style that married the local “chimurenga” music with elements of American rock, disco and country.  During the mid ’80s, their music began turning on new fans beyond Africa.  Both Elvis Costello and Eric Clapton raved about them, and Madonna invited them to open her Wembley Stadium.  Due to internal politics, Tembo left the band in 1990.  He committed suicide five years later.

On This Date (July 30, 2003) Sam Phillips / Legendary Record Producer

Sam Phillips
January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003

As a producer, Sam Phillips was one of the key architects of early rock ‘n roll.  What he helped create in his Sun Studios would become the foundation on which current popular music was built.   Phillips opened his Memphis recording studio in 1950 to make records for his own label, Sun Records.  One of his early recordings was Jackie Brenston’s “Rocket 88,” that many consider the first rock ‘n roll record ever.  Other future legends he worked with were B.B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, Rufus Thomas and Howlin’ Wolf, whom he considers his greatest discovery.   Of course most consider his OTHER “discovery” to be his greatest – Elvis Presley.   Phillips recorded some of the biggest early records by some of the greatest names in rock history.  They included hits by Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Ike Turner,  and Roy Orbison.  Sam Phillips died of respiratory failure at the age of 80.

On This Date (July 29, 1988) Pete Drake

Roddis “Pete” Drake
October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988

L-R: Pete Drake, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Peter Frampton, Billy Preston

Pete Drake was an in-demand Nashville producer and pedal steel guitarist during the ’60s and ’70s.  In 1950, Drake formed an Atlanta based  band that included Joe South, Doug Kershaw, Jerry Reed and Roger Miller.  He later moved to Nashville where he played on hits by the likes of Bob Dylan, Lynn Anderson,  Tammy Wynette, Joan Baez, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.  While in Nashville he developed a unique device to play his guitar through – it was called a “talk box” and it would reach the masses in later recordings  by Peter Frampton and Joe Walsh.  Drake died of lung cancer on July 29, 1988.  Pete Drake passed away of natural causes on July 29, 1988.

On This Date (July 29, 1996) Jason Thirsk / Pennywise

Jason Thirsk
December 25, 1967 – July 29, 1996

Jason Thirsk had been the bassist for southern California pop-punk band, Pennywise until, for reasons unknown, he left the band.  Thirsk had been suffering from alcoholism and battling depression in those days, and had been in and out of rehab.  It has been reported that he was in a deep depression about parting ways with the band, leading him to shoot and kill himself at the age of 28.

On This Date (July 29, 1974) Mama Cass Elliot / The Mamas & The Papas

Cass Elliot (Born Ellen Cohen)
September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974

Mama Cass, as she was known, is best remembered as one of the singing women of ’60s folk rock band, The Mamas & The Papas.  She, along with Michelle Philips, John Phillips and Denny Doherty made records that are considered to be staples of the psychedelic pop scene of the late ’60s and early ’70s.  Such hits included “California Dreaming” and “Monday Monday.”   Born in Baltimore, Elliot moved to New York City to pursue a career on Broadway.  After appearing in a few musicals, Elliot set her sites on the local folk music scene, eventually falling in with Doherty who would later recruit the Phillips’ to form The Mamas & The Papas.  The group worked together until 1971, afterwhich Elliot released solo records, including the hit, “Dream A Little Dream of Me.”  She was also a popular personality on television, appearing regularly on such programs as Hollywood Squares, The Mike Douglas Show and Match Game.    Contrary to the popular myth that she choked to death on a sandwich, Mama Cass died of a heart attack in her sleep following a London performance.  She was just 32.  The Who’s Keith Moon died in the same room four years later.

On This Date (July 29, 2008) Jack Sanbower / Respected Bluegrass Picker

Jack Sanbower
September 14, 1960 – July 29, 2008

Known as “Maryland’s Five String King,” Jack Sanbower and his No Leeway Band have been entertaining bluegrass fans for over 15 years.  Teaching himself to play the banjo, guitar and bass at an early age, Sanbower quickly built a name for himself throughout the northeast due to his fierce picking on the 5-string banjo.  In 1990, Sanbower formed the No Leeway Band who, over the next 15 years, dazzled audiences along the east coast bluegrass circuit and recorded close to a dozen albums for the Buck Hallow label.  In 2006, Sanbower joined Rattlesnake Hill, quickly becoming their on-stage focal point for his rapid fire picking and lively antics.   But the fun would not last long as Sanbower soon became diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus.  He died as a result of the cancer on July 29, 2008.  He was 47.

On This Date (July 28, 1996) Marge Ganser / The Shangri-Las

Marge Ganser
1947 – July 28, 1996

Left to right: Betty Weiss, Mary Anne Ganser, Marge Ganser, Mary Weiss

Marge Ganser was one of the four singers in the ’60s girl group, the Shangri-Las.  She, along with identical twin, Mary Anne Ganser,  and another set of sisters, Mary Weiss and Betty Weiss, recorded such hits as “Leader Of The Pack” and “Remember (Walking In The Sand).”  Even though Mary Weiss was the lead singer, the outspoken Marge was seen as the leader of the group.  After record label problems and a downturn in their popularity, the Shangri-Las called it quits in 1968.  Marge Ganser later went to work for the telephone company and died of breast cancer on July 28, 1996.

Died On This Date (July 28, 1995) Eddie Hinton / Muscle Shoals Guitarist

Eddie Hinton
June 15, 1944 – July 28, 1995

Eddie Hinton was one of those great unknowns. As a session guitarist within the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section, his brilliance can be heard on hits by the likes of Wilson Pickett, Arthur Conley, Aretha Franklin, Joe Tex, Solomon Burke, Percy Sledge, The Staple Singers, The Dells, Johnnie Taylor, Elvis Presley, the Box Tops, Boz Scaggs, and Otis Redding. And as a songwriter, he penned a few hits as well, including “Breakfast In Bed” which has been recorded by the Pretenders, Dusty Springfield and UB40. During the early ’80s however, Hinton’s career and personal life took a drastic turn for the worse, at one point, leading him to a life on the streets. But with the help of friends, he was able to rebound and get back to doing what he did best – writing, recording and touring. Things were going pretty smooth for Hinton until July of 1995. He had just come of the road and was finishing up a new album when he suffered a fatal heart attack on July 28. He was 51.

On This Date (July 28, 2008) Suzanne Tamim / Lebanese Pop Star

Suzanne Tamim
September 23, 1977 – July 28, 2008

Suzanne Tamim was one of Lebanon’s most celebrated pop stars when she was found murdered in her Dubai apartment on July 28, 2008.  The beauty queen got her professional start thanks to an appearance on a Lebanese talent program in 1996.  She went on to record a few popular albums.  Her lifeless body was found in her apartment, he throat having been slit.  Two alleged assailants were subsequently arrested, tried and sentenced to death by hanging.

On This Date (July 28, 2008) Papa Wendo / Father of Congolese Rumba

Papa Wendo (Born Antoine Kolosoy)
April 25, 1925 – July 28, 2008

“Papa” Wendo Kolosoy was a Congolese musician who successfully blended cha-cha, rumba, and tango, endearing him to world music fans around the globe.  He was affectionately called the “Father of Congolese Music.”  Kolosoy began singing when he was in his early teens working as a sailor along the Congo River – he used his talents to entertain the the other passangers.  By the mid ’50s he was one of the most popular Congolese musicians throughout Africa and beyond.  In 1965, Kolosoy began a long hiatus claiming his dislike at politicians using music and musicians to advance their agendas.    Kolosoy returned to music in 1997 after a change in political power in the Congo.  Papa Wendo passed away on July 28, 2008 at the age of 83.

Thanks to Craig Rosen at  Number 1 Albums for the info.

RIP, George Russell (July 27, 2009) Respected Modern Jazz Musician

George Russell
June 23, 1923 – July 27, 2009

George Russell was just seven years old when he walked on a stage for the first time and sang “Moon Over Miami” with Fats Waller.  Growing up to be a respected muscian and theorist, he is said to have influenced Miles Davis and John Coltrane.  Throughout his career, he’s played with the likes of Benny Carter, Bill Evans, Art Pepper and Eric Dolphy.  Russell died of Alzheimer’s Disease at the age of 86.

On This Date (July 27, 2008) Graeme Crallan / White Spirit; Tank

Graeme Crallan
1958 – July 27, 2008

Grame Crallan on left

Graeme Crallan was a British heavy metal drummer who first came to prominence during the “new wave” of British Metal of the mid ’70s. In 1975, he and future Iron Maiden guitarist, Janick Gers formed White Spirit who released one Deep Purple influenced album in 1980.  They parted ways about a year later.  A few years later, Crallan joined another metal band, the more aggressive Tank who’s fate was not much different than that of White Spirit’s.  Graeme Crallan died of head injuries he sustained when he collapsed and fell while walking along a London street.  The cause of his collapse is unknown.

On This Date (July 27, 2001) Leon Wilkeson / Lynyrd Skynyrd

Leon Wilkeson
April 2, 1952 – July 27, 2001

Leon Wilkeson was an up-and-coming bassist in and around Jacksonville, Florida when he was asked to join Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1972.  Although he didn’t play on the band’s debut album due to his own apprehension, he played with them for the better part of the next 30 years.  With his help, Lynyrd Skynyrd became one of the biggest rock bands of the ’70s.  In 1977, tragedy struck when the band’s plane crashed killing band members, Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and road manager Dean Kilpatrick.  Wilkeson was one of the few passangers who survived.  The band undertandably dissolved by reformed with the surviving members in 1987.  Leon Wilkeson died of emphysema and liver disease on July 27, 2001.

On This Date (July 26, 1992) Mary Wells

Mary Wells
May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992

Mary Wells was an American R&B singer whose voice helped usher in the Motown sound with such earl hits as 1964’s “My Guy.” Although Wells’ only #1 hit, it will go down in history as the song that broke the Beatles’ 1964 chart-topping streak. After a few moderate hits, Wells left Motown in 1965 and made a comparatively small amount of recordings until she all but retired in 1970. The late ’80s found Wells launching a much-welcomed comeback, releasing a couple well-received albums. But then in 1990, Wells was diagnosed with larynx cancer for which she had to spend what was left of her money on treatment. Thankfully friends and fans like Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart and more donated large sums of money to help her out. On July 26, 1992, while in a hospital getting treated for pneumonia, Wells passed away from the effects of the cancer at the age of 49.

On This Date (July 26, 1990) Brent Mydland / Grateful Dead

Brent Mydland
October 21, 1952 – July 26, 1990

Brent Mydland was the keyboardist for the Grateful Dead for an eleven year period that would see the band’s highest charting successes.  Born a military child in Munich, Germany, Mydland moved with his family to San Francisco as an infant.  As a child, Mydland learned to play the flute, accordion and piano.  After graduating from high school in 1971, played in bands in and around the Bay area, ultimately landing in the Bob Weir Band in 1978.  A year later he replaced Keith Godchaux in the Grateful Dead.  He also played in Weir’s other side project, Bobby and the Midnites.  Mydland wrote several of the Dead’s 80s period songs including such fan favorites as “Tons Of Steel,” “I Will Take You Home,” and “Hell In A Bucket.”  Mydland significantly contributed to the band vocally as well, both as lead in some songs, and as a prominent harmony vocalist, adding a new flair to many of the bands older songs in concert.  Brent Mydland died of a drug overdose at the age of 37 on July 26, 1990.  He was replaced by Vince Welnick who committed suicide in 2006.