Tiny Tim (Born Herbert Khaury)
April 12, 1932 – November 30, 1996
Tiny Tim was a folk singer and musician who found fame during the ’60s with the release of his signature song, “Tiptoe Through the Tulips,” sung in his distinctive falsetto voice and backed only by his ukulele. Tiny Tim started his career as a street performer in and around Harvard during the early ’60s. There he built a cult following which lead to an appearance on Laugh-In which lead to a record deal with Reprise Records. He recorded three albums for Reprise and became an iconic figure thanks to numerous television appearances, like the time he married “Miss Vickie” live on the December 17, 1969 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The stunt drew an estimated audience of over 40 million. Even though he continued to release such novelties as a cover of Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” and “Earth Angel,” Tiny Tim all but vanished during the ’70s and ’80s as his popularity faded. His profile increased occasionally during the ’90s thanks to occasional appearances on the Howard Stern Show. In September of 1996, Tiny Tim suffered a heart attack while performing at a ukelele festival. And despite advice from his doctors, he peformed at a benefit just two months later. Tiny Tim was 64 when he sufffered a fatal heart attack while singing “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” at that event.
Scott Smith is best remembered as the original bassist for the Canadian rock band, Loverboy who had a string of hits during the ’80s. Learning to play the guitar as a child, Smith switched over to bass just as he was hitting his teen years. While in college in 1980, he was asked to join Loverboy. The band’s debut self titled album was a hit, selling over 2 million copies in the U.S. alone and helping the band land tours with such superstar acts as Journey, ZZ Top, and Cheap Trick. The band released a series of hit singles that included “Working For The Weekend,” “Turn Me Loose,” and “The Kid Is Hot Tonight.” The band would become synonomous with ’80s arena rock. The band broke up in the late ’80s, but reunited in 1991. On November 30, 2000, Scott Smith lost his life at sea after being swept overboard by an unexpected wave while sailing with friends off the coast of San Francisco. He was 45 years old.
Munetaka Higuchi
December 24, 1958 – November 30, 2008
Munetaka Higuchi was he founding drummer for Japanese metal band, Loudness. A talented musician from an early age, Higuchi played in several bands while still in high school. In 1981, he and friend, Akira Takasaki, formed Loudness who became the first Japanese heavy metal band to land a recording contract in the United States. Higuchi released a solo album, Destruction, while still in the band, and then left in 1992 to launch a solo career. In 1997, he released Free World, and album that included such guests as Terry Bozzio, Steve Vai, Stanley Clarke, Billy Sheehan and Ronnie James Dio. Higuchi reunited with Loudness in 2001. On November 30, 2008, Munetaka Higuchi died of liver cancer at the age of 49.
George Harrison
February 25, 1943 – November 29, 2001
George Harrison achieved massive fame and success as the lead guitarist for the Beatles. His post-Beatles career, whether as a solo artist or member of the Traveling Wilburys was just as critically acclaimed. Born in Liverpool, London, Harrison was still in grade school when he got his first guitar. Before long, he formed his own skiffle band, the Rebels. Another of his schoolmates, Paul McCartney had a band as well, the Quarrymen, along with John Lennon. Harrison was just 16 when McCartney heard his guitar playing and asked him to join the band. The group would soon morph into the Beatles, made up of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best, who was later replaced by Ringo Starr. Following the unexpected 1962 death of Sutcliffe, it would be Harrison along with Lennon, McCartney and Starr, who would forever change the landscape of popular music. Although Lennon and McCartney were the primary songwriters of the group, Harrison contributed such later hits as “Taxman,” “Within You Without You,” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Following the Beatles’ break-up in 1970, Harrison immediately launched a successful solo career with the release of All Things Must Pass which included his first hit, “My Sweet Lord.” Over the better part of the next two decades, Harrison released a series of critical and commercial successes which included The Concert For Bangladesh, Living In The Material World, Dark Horse, and Cloud Nine. In 1988, Harrison formed the popular “supergroup,” the Traveling Wilburys which included Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty. Harrison also found success in the film industry. In 1978, he started his own production company, HandMade Films. Over the next 15 years, his company released such hits as Life of Brian, Shanghai Surprise and Time Bandits. On December 30, 1999, Harrison was the victim of an attack that was frightening similar to the one that killed John Lennon. In the early morning hours, Harrison and his wife, Olivia Harrison, were startled to hear an intruder loudly calling out George’s name from another room in their house. When he confronted the crazed man, he was stabbed seven times in a struggle that reportedly lasted 15 minutes. The assailant was subdued with the help of Olivia who hit him numerous times with a fireplace poker. George suffered a punctured lung and head injuries. The incident caused him to all but eliminate public appearances from that day forward. In 1997, Harrison discovered he was suffering from lung cancer. He was 58 when he died of the cancer on November 29, 2001.
Bill Drake (Born Philip Yarbrough)
January 14, 1937 – November 29, 2008
Bill Drake was a pioneering radio programmer and disc jockey who, along with his partner Gene Chenault, developed the popular ’60s format of Boss Radio. Beginning his career during the ’50s, Drake joined up with Chenualt by the early ’60s and created a format that was more focused on the immediate hits and the hip personalities of such DJs as the Real Don Steele and Robert W. Morgan. They helped bring fun and excitement to radio with the help of boss radio jingles, less commercials, shorter DJ segments between songs, and of course, more music. Drake also introduced market research into the radio business to make sure his stations were playing what the kids wanted to hear. It was still Top 40 radio, only better for its era. The excitement of the British Invasion in 1964 only helped solidify the format and turn dying radio stations into local powerhouses. One of those stations was Los Angeles based 93 KHJ, where Drake worked until 1973. Bill Drake was 71 when he died of lung cancer on November 29, 2008.
David “Butch” McDade
February 24, 1946 – November 29, 1998
Butch McDade is best remembered as the founding drummer and sometime vocalist for country-rock band, the Amazing Rhythm Aces. With a sound that has been compared to the Eagles, the Amazing Rhythm Aces found moderate popularity during the late ’70s after forming out of the ashes of a band lead by Jesse Winchester who moved to Canada to avoid the Vietnam draft. The band released several albums during the ’70s and ‘8os and won a Grammy for the song, “The End Is Not In Site.” Outside of the Amazing Rhythm Aces, McDade played in the touring bands of, among others, Roy Clark, Leon Russell, and Lonnie Mack. Butch McDade was 52 when he died of cancer on November 29, 1998.
Paul Ryan was a British singer-songwriter and producer who, along with his twin brother, Barry, performed as Paul & Barry Ryan during the ’60s. Paul eventually left the limelight to concentrate on his songwriting. His “Eloise” became a hit for the then-solo, Barry in 1968. The song found a new life when the Damned’s cover of it landed at #3 on the UK singles chart in 1986. Frank Sinatra and Dana Scallon also made hits out of Paul Ryan’s songs. He was 44 when he died of cancer on November 29, 2009.
Bob Keane (Born Robert Kuhn)
January 5, 1922 – November 28, 2009
Bob Keane was the founder of Del-Fi Records, the first label to give a young Ritchie Valens a recording contract. Keane began his music career as a clarinetist who, after a 1938 concert by his jazz band was broadcast on Los Angeles radio station, KFWB, was offered a record deal by MCA Records. A couple of years later, he was dropped by the label so he enlisted in the army. Upon his return home from duty, Keane picked up where he left off, playing in local clubs around Los Angeles. In 1955, Keane and a partner formed the label, Keen Records, and released a single by then unknown soul singer, Sam Cooke. The song was “Summertime,” but it was the b-side “You Send Me” that started to get attention at radio, quickly sending it to #1 on the Billboard pop chart. Unfortunately for Keane, he made an oral agreement with his partner, and before he could collect any of the “You Send Me” earnings, he was out the door. He soon formed his own label, Del-Fi Records and discovered Valens, a young Latino rock ‘n roller from Pacoima, CA. Over the next several months, Keane released hit after hit records by Valens but sadly, the musician was killed the following year in the plane crash that also took the lives of Buddy Holly and JP “The Big Bopper” Richardson. The label continued on, eventually signing a stable of artists that were just as important to the legacy of popular music as Valens had been. That list included the Surfaris, Frank Zappa, Brenda Holloway, and the Bobby Fuller Four. In 1967, Keane shuttered the label and went on to manage his sons’ band. He sold the Del-Fi catalog to the Warner Music Group in 2003. On November 28, 2009, Bob Keane, 87, died of renal failure.
Al Alberts was a popular singer who came to fame as a founding member and lead singer of the 1950s pop vocal group, the Four Aces. Formed with friend Dave Mahoney in 1950 after the two got out of the navy, the Four Aces released a series of million selling singles, including “Three Coins in the Fountain,” and their signature song, “Love is a Many Splendored Thing,” which won an Academy Award for best song in 1955. Alberts was also a television star of the day, hosting his own talent show, Al Alberts Showcase. Andrea McArdle of Annie fame, Teddy Pendergrass and Sister Sledge all performed on the program to help launch their careers. The show ran from 1962 until Alberts’ retirement in 1994. Al Alberts, 87, died of apparent kidney failure on November 27, 2009.
Bess Lomax Hawes
January 21, 1921 – November 27, 2009
Bess Lomax Hawes was a folk musician, educator and folklorist. As the daughter and sister of noted folk historians, John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax, Hawes was never far from the American folk music that she would eventually build her life around. After graduating from college during the ’40s, Dawes moved to New York City where she immersed herself in the thriving folk scene. She became a guitarist and singer for the politically charged Almanac Singers, a folk group that included Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and future husband, Butch Hawes. During WWII, Hawes worked as a radio programmer for the United States Office of War Information. During the ’50s, she moved to the Los Angeles area where she continued to play local clubs and began teaching at a college that would later become California State University, Northridge. In later years, Hawes worked for the Smithsonian Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts. As a songwriter, her most famous song was 1948’s “M.T.A.,” co-written with Jacqueline Steiner. It later became a hit for the Kingston Trio. Bess Lomax Hawes was 88 when she died following a stroke on November 27, 2009.
Jerry Brackenridge was a highly respected sales and marketing executive who spent most of his long music career within the EMI family of companies. In 1971, Brackenridge was first hired to work in the mailroom at Capitol-EMI where he steadily worked his up way through the ranks until eventually landing in the position of Vice President of Field Sales. Over the course of his 38-year career with EMI, Brackenridge handled sales and marketing for such EMI labels as Capitol, EMI-America, Blue Note, Angel, Rhino, Virgin and dozens more. His hard work and loyalty to his job helped build the careers of such artists as the Bob Seger, Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones, Garth Brooks, Radiohead, Coldplay, and countless more. He left the company in 2002. Jerry Brackenridge, 66, died of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on November 27, 2009.
Barbara Acklin
February 28, 1944 – November 27, 1998
Barbara Acklin was a popular soul singer and successful songwriter during the ’60s and ’70s. After singing in church and then Chicago area nightclubs while still a teenager, Acklin was hired by Chess Records to sing backup for the likes of Etta James and Fontella Bass. In 1966, Acklin was hired as a receptionist for Brunswick Records where she had to chance to hand a song she had co-written to Jackie Wilson. That song was “Whispers (Gettin’ Louder)” which Wilson made into a top 5 R&B and #11 pop hit. That was enough to land Acklin a recording contract with Brunswick. Acklin released several charting singles over the next decade, including “Show Me the Way” (a duet with Gene Chandler), “Love Makes a Woman,” and “Am I the Same Girl,” which was later covered by Dusty Springfield, the Manhattan Transfer, and Swing Out Sister. Acklin’s biggest hit as a songwriter came with the release of “Have You Seen Her,” a song she co-wrote with Eugene Record and turned into a chart topping hit by his group, the Chi-Lites. Barbara Acklin was 54 when she died of pneumonia.
Mat Arluck was the guitarist for Chicago metal band, Sweet Cobra. Diagnosed with cancer three years ago, the respected guitarist who also played in Cooler By The Lake and Closing In, still was playing up until about year prior to his passing. Arluck also played bass for Stabbed By Words. The 39-year-old passed away at his parents house on November 26, 2009.
John Rostill was an English musician and songwriter who is perhaps best remembered as a bassist for one of England’s most successful rock groups, the Shadows. With 69 UK charting singles (including 17 #1s) they have been recognized as England’s third most successful charted singles act in history. Only Cliff Richard and Elvis Presley sit above them. They are also credited for being one of the very first and most influential rock bands to come to prominence in the years leading up to the Beatles. After playing around London, at times backing such visiting acts as the Everly Brothers, Rostill was hired by the Shadows as a replacement for Brian Locking. He played with the band from 1963 to 1968. After the group broke up in 1968, Rostill performed in Tom Jones’ touring band during the early ’70s. He was also a successful songwriter, having been recorded by Presley and Olivia Newton-John (“Let Me Be There,” “If You Love Me, Let Me Know,” and “Please Mr. Postman”). By late 1973, the Shadows had reformed and Rostill was about to join back with them when tragedy struck. On November 26, 1973, John Rostill, 31, was accidentally electrocuted while working in his home studio.
Tommy Dorsey
November 10, 1905 – November 26, 1956
Tommy Dorsey was a trombonist and band leader who came to prominence during jazz’s swing era. He was also the younger brother of another jazz great, Jimmy Dorsey with whom he found success as the Dorsey Brothers. Beginning his career in the Scranton Sirens at just 15, Dorsey backed such performers and Rudy Vallee and Paul Whiteman. He formed his first band in 1935 and began touring nationally. But as many big bands did in the aftermath of WW2, Dorsey broke up his band due to economics of the times. Dorsey also released numerous hit records during his career, including 17 that topped the charts. His biggest hit was “I’ll Never Smile Again” which featured Frank Sinatra on vocals. Tommy Dorsey, 51, died while choking in his sleep on November 26, 1956. Reports indicate that after eating a big meal, he took some sleeping pills and retired to bed. The dosage was apparently strong enough to not allow him to wake up while he choked to death.
Rob Partridge was a UK music industry veteran who founded and ran the Coalition Group, a powerful management and PR firm. Partridge began his career in the mid ’70s when he worked as a journalist Music Week. By the late ’70s, he was the head of the publicity department at Island Records where he worked directly with such greats as Bob Marley, Marianne Faithfull, U2, Steve Winwood and Robert Palmer. He left Island in 1990 to form a PR firm which would eventually be called the Coalition Group after he opened a management division of the company. Over the years, Partridge represented the likes of Johnny Marr, Tom Waits, Bloc Party, and Billy Bragg. In recent years, Rob Partridge had been suffering from cancer. He died as a result of it at the age of 60.
DJ Peachez (Born Terika Grooms)
DOB Unknown – November 25, 2009
DJ Peachez was a popular DJ for Richmond, VA radio station, iPower WCDX 92.1. After graduating with honors from James Madison University where she began DJing at the school’s station as a freshman, DJ Peachez was hired by WCDX in 2006. Colleagues have said she was an inspiration to young women with dreams of being a DJ. She was also a popular draw at clubs throughout the area. DJ Peachez reportedly died after recently being hospitalized for meningitis.
Nick Drake was an English singer-songwriter who in spite of selling in the neighborhood of just 5000 copies of each of his albums when released, went on to become one of the most influential and respected artists of his generation. Drake came to relative prominence during the British folk movement of the late ’60s and early ’70s. Oft compared to the likes of Syd Barrett, Donovan and Van Morrison, Drake released just three albums between 1969 and 1972. They barely registered a blip back then, and the fact that Drake resisted performing live or granting interviews did nothing to help them find their audience. Suffering from depression and insomnia for much of his life, Drake let those demons populate his dark songs. During Drake’s final month’s, he became very reclusive, avoiding friends and family. Mental illness had obviously taken hold of Drake’s spirit. On November 25, 1974, Nick Drake, 26, died of an overdose of antidepressants in his parents home. Local officials ruled it a suicide, though many close to him and with him during his final days strongly believe it was an accidental overdose. Interest in Drake’s music continued to grow throughout the ’80s and ’90s as popular artists like Lucinda Williams, Elliott Smith, REM’s Peter Buck, and Robert Smith and of the Cure began citing him as an influence. His songs also began finding new fans from numerous film and TV placements, including the usage of “Pink Moon” in a popular Volkswagen commercial in 2000.
Freddie Mercury (Born Farrokh Bulsara)
September 5, 1946 – November 24, 1991
Born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Freddie Mercury would become one of rock’s most beloved and dynamic performers as the lead singer of Queen. When Mercury was 17, he and his family fled Zanzibar to London due to the Zanzibar Revolution. Mercury had been performing in bands since his school days, and he wasn’t about to stop when he got to London. When he graduated from college in the late ’60s, he played in a handful of bands until he joined up with Brian May and Roger Taylor and later John Deacon, in what would soon be called Queen. The band became one of the biggest musical acts during the ’70s and ’80s thanks in part to Mercury’s operatic voice and jaw dropping showmanship. One show in particular, Queen’s comeback of sorts during the Live Aid concerts of 1985, has been called the greatest live performanc in the history of rock music. Mercury wrote many of the band’s biggest hits, including “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “We Are The Champions,” “Killer Queen,” and arguably their greatest, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” In the spring of 1987, Mercury was reportedly diagnosed with AIDS, though it wouldn’t be officially announced publicly until November 23, 1991. Freddie Mercury died the next day of bronchial pneumonia as a result of AIDS.
Eric Carr (Born Paul Caravello)
July 12, 1950 – November 24, 1991
Eric Carr was a multi-instrumentalist, but primarily a drummer who goes down in rock ‘n roll history as the first replacement for Peter Criss in Kiss. Upon Criss’ official departure from Kiss in 1980, the band held auditions for a replacement. Although he submitted is application a day after the deadline and was the very last to try-out, Carr was selected to continue on with the band under the guise of “The Fox.” Over the course of his career with Kiss, Carr played on such albums as Creatures of the Night, Lick It Up, Animalyze, and Asylum. Carr also sang lead on a handful of songs during Kiss live shows, as well as on a re-recording of “Beth” which had originally sung by Criss. On November 21, 1991, Eric Carr, age 41, died of a brain hemmhorage that resulted from heart cancer which he had been suffering from for some time.
George Harrison achieved massive fame and success as the lead guitarist for the Beatles. His post-Beatles career, whether as a solo artist or member of the Traveling Wilburys was just as critically acclaimed. Born in Liverpool, London, Harrison was still in grade school when he got his first guitar. Before long, he formed his own skiffle band, the Rebels. Another of his schoolmates, Paul McCartney had a band as well, the Quarrymen, along with 
Bob Keane was the founder of Del-Fi Records, the first label to give a young 
Bess Lomax Hawes was a folk musician, educator and folklorist. As the daughter and sister of noted folk historians, John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax, Hawes was never far from the American folk music that she would eventually build her life around. After graduating from college during the ’40s, Dawes moved to New York City where she immersed herself in the thriving folk scene. She became a guitarist and singer for the politically charged Almanac Singers, a folk group that included 
Barbara Acklin was a popular soul singer and successful songwriter during the ’60s and ’70s. After singing in church and then Chicago area nightclubs while still a teenager, Acklin was hired by Chess Records to sing backup for the likes of Etta James and Fontella Bass. In 1966, Acklin was hired as a receptionist for Brunswick Records where she had to chance to hand a song she had co-written to 
John Rostill was an English musician and songwriter who is perhaps best remembered as a bassist for one of England’s most successful rock groups, the Shadows. With 69 UK charting singles (including 17 #1s) they have been recognized as England’s third most successful charted singles act in history. Only Cliff Richard and 
Rob Partridge was a UK music industry veteran who founded and ran the Coalition Group, a powerful management and PR firm. Partridge began his career in the mid ’70s when he worked as a journalist Music Week. By the late ’70s, he was the head of the publicity department at Island Records where he worked directly with such greats as 
DJ Peachez was a popular DJ for Richmond, VA radio station, iPower WCDX 92.1. After graduating with honors from James Madison University where she began DJing at the school’s station as a freshman, DJ Peachez was hired by WCDX in 2006. Colleagues have said she was an inspiration to young women with dreams of being a DJ. She was also a popular draw at clubs throughout the area. DJ Peachez reportedly died after recently being hospitalized for meningitis.
Nick Drake was an English singer-songwriter who in spite of selling in the neighborhood of just 5000 copies of each of his albums when released, went on to become one of the most influential and respected artists of his generation. Drake came to relative prominence during the British folk movement of the late ’60s and early ’70s. Oft compared to the likes of 
Born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Freddie Mercury would become one of rock’s most beloved and dynamic performers as the lead singer of Queen. When Mercury was 17, he and his family fled Zanzibar to London due to the Zanzibar Revolution. Mercury had been performing in bands since his school days, and he wasn’t about to stop when he got to London. When he graduated from college in the late ’60s, he played in a handful of bands until he joined up with Brian May and Roger Taylor and later John Deacon, in what would soon be called Queen. The band became one of the biggest musical acts during the ’70s and ’80s thanks in part to Mercury’s operatic voice and jaw dropping showmanship. One show in particular, Queen’s comeback of sorts during the Live Aid concerts of 1985, has been called the greatest live performanc in the history of rock music. Mercury wrote many of the band’s biggest hits, including “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “We Are The Champions,” “Killer Queen,” and arguably their greatest, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” In the spring of 1987, Mercury was reportedly diagnosed with AIDS, though it wouldn’t be officially announced publicly until November 23, 1991. Freddie Mercury died the next day of bronchial pneumonia as a result of AIDS.
