Eddie Higgins was a respected jazz pianist who came to prominence while entertaining crowds in jazz clubs throughout Chicago during the ’50s and ’60s. It has been said that many headlining acts did not want to take the stage after Higgins brilliantly warmed up the crowd. Although known primarily as a soloist, Higgins has played with such jazz giants as Coleman Hawkins and Freddie Hubbard. Eddie Higgins died of lung and lymphatic cancer at the age of 77.
Singer Jesse Fortune was a Chicago blues mainstay since the 1950s. Known as “Fortune Tellin’ Man,” had a minor hit with “Too Many Cooks” in 1962. Discovered byWillie Dixon, Fortune went on to record with such luminaries as Buddy Guy and Big Walter Horton. While performing on a Chicago club stage on August 31, 2009, Jesse Fortune collapsed and later died at an area hospital. Cause of death was coronary atherosclerosis. He was 79 years old.
Although he started his career as a drummer in the late ’20s, Lionel Hampton went on to become one of jazz’s premier vibraphonists, playing with Benny Goodman, Buddy Rich, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrongand Quincy Jones to name just a few.By the early ’40s, Hampton was fronting his own group, the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, who would become one of the most popular big bands of the ’40s and ’50s. Over the years, his band would feature several performers who achieved their own fame. That list includes Dinah Washington, Charles Mingus, and Wes Montgomery. Hampton continued to perform and record through the ’80s, but a stroke in 1991 lead to his retirement. He died of congestive heart failure at the age of 94.
Best known in bluegrass circles as the banjo player in Patent Pending, Jim Steptoe passed away unexpectedly in his home on August 30, 2009. Patent Pending formed in 1979 and became a popular draw in the Washington DC area. No cause of death has been released.
Marie Knight was a respected gospel singer who is best remembered for her work with Sister Rosetta Tharpe during the ’40s. Touring and recording with Tharpe throughout the ’40s and ’50s, Knight scored gospel hits with “Up Above My Head” and “Didn’t It Rain.” In 2002, Knight released Let Us Get Together, her first album in over 25 years. Marie Knight died of pneumonia in a Harlem nursing home at the age of 84.
Thomas “Papa Dee” Allen
July 18, 1931 – August 30, 1988
Papa Dee Allen was a pianist, vibist and soprano saxophonist who is best remembered as a percussionist for American R&B/Funk/Rock band, War. The band was immensely popular thanks to such classic staples as “Low Rider,” “Cisco Kid” and “Spill The Wine.” Allen wrote one of the bands other big hits, “The World Is A Ghetto.” While performing with the band in concert, Papa Dee collapsed and never recovered. He was 57 when he passed away.
Holmes Sterling Morrison
August 28, 1942 – August 30, 1995
Sterling Morrison was a founding guitarist of the Velvet Underground. While studying at Syracuse University, Sterling struck up a friendship with fellow English student, Lou Reed. Over the next couple of years they drifted apart but then reconnected in New York City where they, along with John Cale, formed the band. In 1971, Morrison earned a Ph.D in midievel studies and decided he no longer wished to continue with VU. Living in Texas and primarily focussing on academia during the early ’80s, Morrison played around town casually for the most part, but also found time to captain a Houston based tug boat. In 1992, the Velvet Underground reformed to tour Europe, opening many dates with U2. But due to inner-turmoil within the band, the short-lived reunion was over by the end of the tour. Morrison learned he had non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 1994, and died from it the following year. He was 53 years old.
Chris Connor (Born Mary Loutsenhizer)
November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009
Chris Connor was a jazz vocalist who moved to New York City in 1948 to broaden her career beyond the night clubs of Kansas City where she was raised. Her first significant job came when she was hired by Claude Thornhill to sing in his vocal group, the Snowflakes. She toured and recorded with Thonhill until 1952, and about a year later found herself singing in Stan Kenton’s band. With Kenton, she finally hit the Billboard charts, singing on such songs as “And The Bull Walked Around, Ole,” “All About Ronnie” and “Jeepers Creepers.” Connor left Kenton in 1953 for a solo career, signing to Atlantic Records in 1956. At Atlantic, she worked with the likes of Herbie Mann, Zoot Sims and Doc Severinson. Connor continued to record until her 2003 album, Everything I Love. She died of cancer in a New Jersey hospital at the age of 81.
Michael Peters was a much-respected choreographer for such high profile music videos as Lionel Richie’s “Hello,” Donna Summer’s “Love To Love You Baby,” Pat Benatar’s “Love Is A Battlefield,” and of course, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and “Beat It,” in which he portrayed one of the gang leaders. In 1982, Peters won a Tony Award for his choreography work on the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. He died of AIDS related causes at the age of 46.
Mathis “Jimmy” Reed
September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976
Jimmy Reed was an influential electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter during the ’50s and ’60s. Throughout a career that began with him busking in Mississippi, Reed released several hit records, including “Bright Lights Big City,” “Big Boss Man,” and “You Don’t Have To Go.” His songs have been covered by such greats as the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and Hank Williams Jr. Unfortunatly, Reed’s career qucikly to a nosedive due to his heavy alcoholism and bouts with epilepsy. The fact that his label, Vee-Jay Records, was on its last leg didn’t help either. This perhaps kept him from attaining legendary status and world fame like many of his contemporaries. Jimmy Reed was 50 when he passed away on August 29, 1976.
DJ AM (Born Adam Goldstein)
March 30, 1973 – August 28, 2009
DJ AM was found dead in his New York apartment at 5:20 local time on Augutst 28, 2009. Cause of death was not initially released, but on September 29, 2009, the coroner’s report was released. In it, it was concluded that Goldstein died of acute intoxication, or accidental overdose of various drugs including cocaine, Xanax and OxyContin. DJ AM first came to prominence in the late ’90s rock band, Crazy Town, whose “Butterfly” was a radio hit in 2001. A popular DJ with celebrities, he’s been known to play parties for the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Madonna and Will Smith. In recent years DJ AM was collaborating with Travis Barker of Blink 182. The two survived a horrific private plane crash on September 19, 2008. Four others were killed in the crash. In 2005, DJ AM was engaged to Nicole Richie but the engagement was later called off.
Hilly Kristal
September 23, 1931 – August 28, 2007
Hilly with Little Steven
Opened in 1973, Hilly Kristal’s CBGB became the epicenter of the punk and new wave movement thanks to his early bookings of such acts as Blondie, Talking Heads, New York Dolls, Patti Smith, Television and the Ramones. After moving to New York City after serving in the Marines, Kristal became manager of the storied Village Vanguard jazz club where he booked such acts as Miles Davis. In 1968, he co-founded the Central Park’s Schaefer Music Festival which, over the next decade, hosted the likes of the Who, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, the Doors and Aerosmith. In 1973, he opened CBGB – OMFUG, which stood for “Country, BlueGrass, Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers.” He closed the club during a much publicized rent dispute in 2006. Hilly Kristal died of lung cancer at the age of 75.
Sean McCabe was the frontman for the vampire-themed hardcore punk band, Ink & Dagger. Hailing from Philadelphia, the group gained a bit of notoriaty during the mid ’90s, partly due to their outrageous stage antics. On many occasions donning face paint, the band would incorporate fake blood into their shows. Legend has it that McCabe and band once threw up all over a Christmas tree during a show. Shortly after recording what would be the band’s last album, Sean McCabe was found dead in a hotel room, having apparently choked on his own vomit. In 2006, the surviving members of the band sued Microsoft for using three of their songs without permission on their Amped snowboarding X-box game. The suit was settled with an apparent pay out to the band and McCabe’s estate.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990
Stevie Ray Vaughan was a Texas rock and blues artist who exploded on to the scene thanks, in part to a firey performance at the July 17, 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival whose audience included David Bowie and Jackson Browne. After meeting backstage, Bowie hired Vaughan to play guitar on Lets Dance which became his best selling album, and Browne offered his recording studio at no charge for him to record his demos. Not long after, a tape of Vaughan’s Montreux set found its way to legendary scout, John Hammond Sr. who got him a deal with Columbia Records. Quickly building a reputation as one of the greatest electric guitar slingers popular music has ever known, Vaughan’s albums became bestsellers and his concert performances became stuff of legend. Unfortunately, his long-time drug addications were also catching up with him, both creatively and physically. In September of 1986, Vaughan collapsed while on tour in Germany. After checking himself into rehab, he was clean and sober by the end of the year. Over the next few years, Vaughan won a Grammy, headlined the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and performed and George Bush Sr.’s inauguration party. While on tour with Eric Clapton in August of 1990, Vaughan opted to take a helicopter in order to avoid local traffic after his Alpine Valley (Troy, WI) show. Due to multiple factors including heavy fog, the pilot crashed the helicopter into a nearby hillside shortly after takeoff, killing Vaughan, the pilot and three of Clapton’s associates on impact. Stevie Ray Vaughan was 35 at the time of his death.
Lil Hardin-Armstrong
February 3, 1898 – August 27, 1971
Lil Hardin was an accomplished jazz pianist, singer, bandleader and prolific composer. She was also Louis Armstrong’s second wife. As a composer, she can count the following standards as her own, “Don’t Jive Me,” “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue,” “Just For A Thrill,” and “Bad Boy.” The latter two becoming hits for Ray Charles and Ringo Starr, respectively. Hardin performed and recorded well into the ’60s with many of jazz’s greatest names. When Louis Armstrong passed away in July of 1971, Hardin was devastated. Even though they had been divorced, Hardin took part in the funeral as if she were still family. Roughly six weeks later, while performing at a televised memorial to Armstrong, Lil Hardin collapsed at the piano and died later that evening. She was 73 years old.
Scott “La Rock” Sterling
March 2, 1962 – August 27, 1987
Scott “La Rock” Sterling was a social worker and DJ when he met rapper KRS-One in 1986. The two along with D-Nice, formed rap group Boogie Down Productions in 1986. The group helped usher in what would later be called ganster rap with their gritty songs that married dancehall reggae with hip hop. Their debut hit album, Criminal Minded is considered a cornerstone of the genre. Scott Sterling died in a hospital operating room shortly after being shot by alleged hoods in the South Bronx. He was just 25.
Brian Epstein
September 19, 1934 – August 27, 1967
Although he also managed among others, Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas and Gerry & the Pacemakers, Brian Epstein is best remembered as manager of the Beatles. Many give him credit for the early success of the band. Epstein first met the Beatles after the Cavern Club show on November 9, 1961. By late January of 1962, Epstein was officially the band’s manager. He helped facilitate many of the band’s earliest successes, but by January of 1966, the Beatles decided not to renew their contract which was due to expire the following year. Epstein was notoriously addicted to drugs, and on August 27, 1967, he died of what was ruled and accidental overdose. He was 32 years old. In later years, Paul McCartney claimed that “if anyone was the fifth Beatle, it was Brian.” And John Lennon once said that Eptstein’s death was the beginning of the end of the Beatles.
Ellie Greenwich
October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009
Ellie Greenwich was a prolific songwriter, writing or co-writing some of the most enduring pop songs of the ’60s and ’70s. Either on her own or with such songwriting partners as her one-time husband, Jeff Barry, Greenwich penned such gems as “Be My Baby” (The Ronettes), “Then He Kissed Me” (The Crystals), “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” (Darlene Love), “Hanky Panky” (Tommy James & The Shondells), “River Deep, Mountain High” (Ike & Tina Turner), and “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” (Manfred Mann). In later years, Greenwich co-formed Tallyrand Music to publish her recent discovery, Neil Diamond. Ellie Greenwich died of a heart attack on August 26, 2009. She was 68 years old.
No doubt effected by the lynchings he witnessed as a child, Lee Hays grew up to become a voice of the people, first as a union activist and later as a folk singer who co-founded the Weavers in 1948. With the Weavers, Hays co-wrote such classic folk songs as “If I Had A Hammer,” “Wimoweh” and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine.” Because of his connections with radical groups during his days as an activist, the group was targeted as “communist sympathizers” during the McCarthy era. In 1950, they were blacklisted, and when brought before the House Committee Of Un-American Activities, Hays pleaded the 5th when questioned about his perceived connections with communism. No longer able to perform publicly, the Weavers disbanded in 1952. Hays performed and recorded periodically over the years, most notably on children’s albums as part of Alan Arkin’s the Baby Sitters. The Weavers reunited in later years for special concert events. Lee Hays died of heart disease attributed to diabetes on August 26, 1981. He was 67.
Raised by parents who were Pentacostal ministers, Eddie Lusk was exposed to gospel music at a very young age. And although he, himself became ordained in 1968, he couldn’t resist the call of the blues music he heard around him on Chicago’s south side. A pianist since childhood, Lusk went on to play with some of the biggest names in contemporary blues. That list includes Luther Allison, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy and Koko Taylor. Lusk learned he was suffering from colon cancer in 1992. That revelation apparently lead him to jump to his death into the Chicago River on August 26, 1992.
Eddie Higgins was a respected jazz pianist who came to prominence while entertaining crowds in jazz clubs throughout Chicago during the ’50s and ’60s. It has been said that many headlining acts did not want to take the stage after Higgins brilliantly warmed up the crowd. Although known primarily as a soloist, Higgins has played with such jazz giants as Coleman Hawkins and Freddie Hubbard. Eddie Higgins died of lung and lymphatic cancer at the age of 77.
Singer Jesse Fortune was a Chicago blues mainstay since the 1950s. Known as “Fortune Tellin’ Man,” had a minor hit with “Too Many Cooks” in 1962. Discovered by 
Although he started his career as a drummer in the late ’20s, Lionel Hampton went on to become one of jazz’s premier vibraphonists, playing with 
Best known in bluegrass circles as the banjo player in Patent Pending, Jim Steptoe passed away unexpectedly in his home on August 30, 2009. Patent Pending formed in 1979 and became a popular draw in the Washington DC area. No cause of death has been released.
Marie Knight was a respected gospel singer who is best remembered for her work with Sister Rosetta Tharpe during the ’40s. Touring and recording with Tharpe throughout the ’40s and ’50s, Knight scored gospel hits with “Up Above My Head” and “Didn’t It Rain.” In 2002, Knight released Let Us Get Together, her first album in over 25 years. Marie Knight died of pneumonia in a Harlem nursing home at the age of 84.
Papa Dee Allen was a pianist, vibist and soprano saxophonist who is best remembered as a percussionist for American R&B/Funk/Rock band, War. The band was immensely popular thanks to such classic staples as “Low Rider,” “Cisco Kid” and “Spill The Wine.” Allen wrote one of the bands other big hits, “The World Is A Ghetto.” While performing with the band in concert, Papa Dee collapsed and never recovered. He was 57 when he passed away.
Chris Connor was a jazz vocalist who moved to New York City in 1948 to broaden her career beyond the night clubs of Kansas City where she was raised. Her first significant job came when she was hired by Claude Thornhill to sing in his vocal group, the Snowflakes. She toured and recorded with Thonhill until 1952, and about a year later found herself singing in 
Michael Peters was a much-respected choreographer for such high profile music videos as Lionel Richie’s “Hello,” Donna Summer’s “Love To Love You Baby,” Pat Benatar’s “Love Is A Battlefield,” and of course, 
DJ AM was found dead in his New York apartment at 5:20 local time on Augutst 28, 2009. Cause of death was not initially released, but on September 29, 2009, the coroner’s report was released. In it, it was concluded that Goldstein died of acute intoxication, or accidental overdose of various drugs including cocaine, Xanax and OxyContin. DJ AM first came to prominence in the late ’90s rock band, Crazy Town, whose “Butterfly” was a radio hit in 2001. A popular DJ with celebrities, he’s been known to play parties for the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Madonna and Will Smith. In recent years DJ AM was collaborating with Travis Barker of Blink 182. The two survived a horrific private plane crash on September 19, 2008. Four others were killed in the crash. In 2005, DJ AM was engaged to Nicole Richie but the engagement was later called off.
Scott “La Rock” Sterling was a social worker and DJ when he met rapper KRS-One in 1986. The two along with D-Nice, formed rap group Boogie Down Productions in 1986. The group helped usher in what would later be called ganster rap with their gritty songs that married dancehall reggae with hip hop. Their debut hit album, Criminal Minded is considered a cornerstone of the genre. Scott Sterling died in a hospital operating room shortly after being shot by alleged hoods in the South Bronx. He was just 25.
Ellie Greenwich was a prolific songwriter, writing or co-writing some of the most enduring pop songs of the ’60s and ’70s. Either on her own or with such songwriting partners as her one-time husband, Jeff Barry, Greenwich penned such gems as “Be My Baby” (The Ronettes), “Then He Kissed Me” (The Crystals), “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” (Darlene Love), “Hanky Panky” (Tommy James & The Shondells), “River Deep, Mountain High” (
