Mary Ford (Born Iris Summers)
July 7, 1924 – September 30, 1977
Mary Ford was the wife and musical partner of Les Paul. She sang and played guitar when performing and recording with her famous husband. They were extremely popular in the early ’50s, scoring sixteen top-10 hits and selling over six million records in 1951 alone. Ford married Paul in 1949 and the two almost immediately launched a radio show on NBC. The signed to Capitol records at around the same time and began releasing a string of hits. Their popularity began to wane in the late ’50s, and the two divorced, thus ending their professional relationship in 1964. Ford spent the latter years of her life performing occasionally with her sisters and brother. She died of complications from diabetes on September 30, 1977. She was 53 years old.
Greg Ladanyi was an engineer and producer who worked with some of the biggest acts of the ’70s and ’80s. His talents can be heard on landmark albums by the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, the Church, the Cruzados, David Lindley, and Toto. In 1983, he won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album for Toto IV. In recent years he was working with Greek singer and actress, Anna Vissi. On Friday, September 25, 2009, Ladanyi was injured in an accident while on stage with Vissi. He suffered head injuries that lead to his death on September 29, 2009. He was 57 years old.
Miles Davis was trumpeter who was one of jazz’s must influential musicians of all times. Over the course of his career, he helped launch the careers of some of biggest names in jazz by hiring them for his bands. That list includes John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. In 19444, Davis moved to New York City right after graduating from high school. He became an integral part of the be-bop scene there. He also helped pave the way for other forms of jazz as well, including hard bop, fusion, cool jazz, and free jazz. In 1959, Davis released A Kind Of Blue, which would go on to be his biggest selling album and a key release of all jazz. Over the course of his career, Davis was awarded nine Grammys for now classic albums like Bitches Brew, Aura and Sketches of Spain. Davis suffered from cocaine addiction for many years, and was finally able to kick it in the early ’80s. That decade proved to be a nice renaissance period for him thanks in part to his associating with more contemporary pop artists like Public Image Ltd., Scritti Politti, and Artists United Against Apartheid. Miles Davis passed away on September 28, 1991 at the age of 65. Causes of death was pneumonia, stroke and respiratory failure.
Walter Lee
September 29, 1942 – September 28, 2008
Walter Lee, began his career in music as lead guitarist for the Boston-area rock ‘n roll combo, the Uniques, a band who had some local success after releasing two singles. He was eventually hired by Capitol Records and moved to Detroit where he is credited for bringing Bob Seger to the label. After a handful albums failed to get Seger noticed outside of the Midwest, Capitol was ready to drop him until Lee persuaded the higher-ups to put out an album that captured Seger in his element, live on stage. That album was Live Bullet, and it launched Seger into the stratosphere. The 80’s found Lee running Capitol’s radio promotion department in Hollywood. His leadership as Vice President and GM at the label contributed to such successes as Duran Duran,the Motels, Missing Persons, Iron Maiden, Steve Miller and many more. After leaving Capitol, Lee lead the promotion team at Morgan Creek Records. In recent years, he was a partner at Pro Sports Music, a firm that promoted music through sporting events. Walter Lee died of colon cancer on September 28, 2008.
Rory Storm (born Alan Caldwell)
September 21, 1939 – September 28, 1972
There was a time when Rory Storm & the Hurricanes were more popular than the Beatles. Also from Liverpool at the time, Storm and his band offered up a rollicking show mostly covering the popular American early rock ‘n roll and rockabilly, much like the Beatles were doing at the time. In fact, Storm’s drummer at the time, was Ringo Starr who left him to replace Pete Best in the Beatles. Although the band were a great live act, generally opening for popular American rockers that came through town, they never were able to parlay that into a recording career. They made just two singles during their run. Storm broke up the band in 1967 after original member Ty O’Brien died of complications from appendicitis surgery. He had collapsed on stage, from the appendicitis. Storm went on to become a local disc jockey and ski instructor. In September of 1972, Storm was living back to take care of his mother after his father died. Battling a chest infection, he took sleeping pills to get a good night’s sleep. The next morning, both he and his mother were found dead. It is believed that Storm died of an accidental overdose since there was also alcohol in his system. It was suggested that Storm’s mother, who also had sleeping pills in her system, may have committed suicide after discovering her son dead. Rory Storm was 33 when he died.
Cliff Burton
February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986
Cliff 'em All
Cliff Burton was the bassist for thrash metal band, Mettalica from 1982 to 1986. Burton was still in high school when he formed his first band, EZ-Street. But it was in 1982 that he would be asked to join the band that would eventually become one of the most successful hard rock bands in history. Burton was playing for a band called Trauma and their tour brought them to the famed Whiskey club on the Sunset Strip. In the audience were Metallica’s James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich who were so impressed they asked Burton to join the band and moved to the Bay Area because he didn’t want to relocate to Los Angeles. Burton played on the band’s first three albums, Kell ’em All, Ride the Lightning, and their major label debut, Master of Puppets, which is considered by many to be the album that brought thrash metal into the mainstream. While touring Europe to promote Master of Puppets, the band’s driver lost control of their tour bus, causing it to roll, and thus tossing the sleeping Burton out of a window. The bus landed on Burton who was crushed to death at the age of 24.
Paul Burlison
February 4, 1929 – September 27, 2003
Paul Burlison was a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio, a rockabilly band who would heavily influence rock ‘n roll bands for generations to come. He formed the band with brothers, Dorsey Burnette and Johnny Burnette in the early ’50s, and by 1956, they were in New York City recording for the Coral label. And although their records were never quite hits, they became popular and thus influential due to many television appearances during their short run. They appeared on American Bandstand, Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour, The Tonight Show and Kraft Music Hall, but despite the remarkable promotional blitz, it never resulted in many record sales. The band called it quits in 1957 and Burlison all but retired from the music business, only to make a comeback during the rockabilly revival of the ’80s. It wasn’t until 1997 that Burlison made his first solo album, Train Kept A-Rollin’. Guests on the album included Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Cesar Rojas, David Hidalgo, Mavis Staples, and the second generation of Burnettes, RockyBurnette and Billy Burnette. Paul Burlison died of cancer at the age of 74.
George “Wydell” Jones
October 5, 1936 – September 27, 2008
George “Wydell” Jones was not only the lead vocalist of doo wop singing group, the Edsels, he wrote their most famous song, “Rama Lama Ding Dong.” The song, even though recorded in 1957, became a hit for the group in 1961, reaching #21 on the Billboard singles charts. The popularity of the song landed the Edsels on American Bandstand that same year. George “Wydell” Jones passed away in his home a week before his 72nd birthday.
Dimwit was the drummer for Vancouver hardcore punk band, D.O.A. in the late ’70s and early ’80s. They are often referred to as the founders of hardcore. In 1989, he helped form the Four Horsemen, a band that had more in common with the Cult and Zodiac Mindwarp than Black Flag or the Exploited. The Four Horsemen landed a deal with Rick Rubin’s Def American who released their Rubin produced Nobody Said It Was Easy in 1991. Although the band were poised for greatness, grunge soon hit and the band was left in its wake. Dimwit died of a heroin overdose on September 27, 1994.
Alison Steele (Born Ceil Loman)
January 26, 1937 – September 27, 1995
Alison Steele was a popular disc jockey at New York’s WNEW, one of the country’s first FM stations to switch to a progressive album-track oriented format during the ’60s. For many years, Steele hosted the night shift, becoming known as “The Nightbird” to her many fans, most of whom were young male adults attracted to her sexy smoky voice. Jimi Hendrix’s “Night Bird Flying” was inspired by Steele. In later years Steele worked as a correspondent for CNN and did numourous voice-overs for television and radio. Alison Steele died of stomach cancer at the age of 58.
Mary Ford was the wife and musical partner of Les Paul. She sang and played guitar when performing and recording with her famous husband. They were extremely popular in the early ’50s, scoring sixteen top-10 hits and selling over six million records in 1951 alone. Ford married Paul in 1949 and the two almost immediately launched a radio show on NBC. The signed to Capitol records at around the same time and began releasing a string of hits. Their popularity began to wane in the late ’50s, and the two divorced, thus ending their professional relationship in 1964. Ford spent the latter years of her life performing occasionally with her sisters and brother. She died of complications from diabetes on September 30, 1977. She was 53 years old.
Greg Ladanyi was an engineer and producer who worked with some of the biggest acts of the ’70s and ’80s. His talents can be heard on landmark albums by the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, the Church, the Cruzados, David Lindley, and Toto. In 1983, he won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album for Toto IV. In recent years he was working with Greek singer and actress, Anna Vissi. On Friday, September 25, 2009, Ladanyi was injured in an accident while on stage with Vissi. He suffered head injuries that lead to his death on September 29, 2009. He was 57 years old.
Miles Davis was trumpeter who was one of jazz’s must influential musicians of all times. Over the course of his career, he helped launch the careers of some of biggest names in jazz by hiring them for his bands. That list includes 
There was a time when Rory Storm & the Hurricanes were more popular than the Beatles. Also from Liverpool at the time, Storm and his band offered up a rollicking show mostly covering the popular American early rock ‘n roll and rockabilly, much like the Beatles were doing at the time. In fact, Storm’s drummer at the time, was Ringo Starr who left him to replace Pete Best in the Beatles. Although the band were a great live act, generally opening for popular American rockers that came through town, they never were able to parlay that into a recording career. They made just two singles during their run. Storm broke up the band in 1967 after original member Ty O’Brien died of complications from appendicitis surgery. He had collapsed on stage, from the appendicitis. Storm went on to become a local disc jockey and ski instructor. In September of 1972, Storm was living back to take care of his mother after his father died. Battling a chest infection, he took sleeping pills to get a good night’s sleep. The next morning, both he and his mother were found dead. It is believed that Storm died of an accidental overdose since there was also alcohol in his system. It was suggested that Storm’s mother, who also had sleeping pills in her system, may have committed suicide after discovering her son dead. Rory Storm was 33 when he died.
Paul Burlison was a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio, a rockabilly band who would heavily influence rock ‘n roll bands for generations to come. He formed the band with brothers, 
George “Wydell” Jones was not only the lead vocalist of doo wop singing group, the Edsels, he wrote their most famous song, “Rama Lama Ding Dong.” The song, even though recorded in 1957, became a hit for the group in 1961, reaching #21 on the Billboard singles charts. The popularity of the song landed the Edsels on American Bandstand that same year. George “Wydell” Jones passed away in his home a week before his 72nd birthday.
Alison Steele was a popular disc jockey at New York’s WNEW, one of the country’s first FM stations to switch to a progressive album-track oriented format during the ’60s. For many years, Steele hosted the night shift, becoming known as “The Nightbird” to her many fans, most of whom were young male adults attracted to her sexy smoky voice. 
The Music's Over 