Eddie Kirkland
August 16, 1923 – February 27, 2011
Eddie Kirkland was a Jamaican born, American raised blues singer and musician who, thanks to his nearly non-stop touring life was dubbed “The Gypsy Of The Blues.” Kirkland was still a young teen when he ran away from home hidden in the truck of a traveling medicine show. When the show ultimately packed it in, he went back to school and then joined the army. Following his discharge after WWII, he moved to Detroit and met up with John Lee Hooker. He went on to work with Hooker, often providing the second guitar on his records and serving as an occasional road manager. He left to pursue a solo career in 1962. Throughout the years, Kirkland also performed with the likes of Otis Redding, Muddy Waters and Foghat, and made several records for such labels as King, Volt and Fortune Records. He continued to record and tour well in to the 2000s. On February 27, 2011, Eddie Kirkland was killed when the car which he was driving on a Florida highway was reportedly struck by a bus. He was 87.
Rick Coonce is perhaps best remembered as a long time drummer for popular Los Angeles rock band, the Grass Roots. The Grass Roots sold millions of albums and charted several times on both sales and radio charts during the late ’60s and early ’70s. Records like “Lets Live For Today,” “Midnight Confessions,” and “Temptation Eyes” are considered staples from the era. Coonce provided the back beat for the band during their hit period of 1967 to 1971. After leaving the group in 1971, he moved to Canada where he continued to record and perform with other bands. Rick Coonce was 64 when he passed away on February 26, 2011. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Diane Izzo was a respected Chicago-raised singer-songwriter who, upon the release of her 1999 debut, One, was called one of the best to come out of that city in recent years. She never released another album, but left behind several worth in unreleased songs. On February 25, 2011, Diane Izzo passed away after a brave battle with cancer. She was 43.
Darryl Morden was a music journalist whose media included radio, print, television and the internet. Over the course of his career, his features could be found in such respected outlets as the Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Buzzine, examiner.com, and Launch/Yahoo. At one point, Morden was the head writer and producer of American Top 4o with Casey Kasem, and later Shadoe Stevens. He also created, produced and edited the World Chart Show, the first of its kind dedicated to world-wide audience. Darryl Morden died of cancer on February 25, 2011.
Eddie Serrato was the original drummer for the legendary Michigan garage band, ? and the Mysterians. It is he you can hear playing on their classic hit, “96 Tears.” Formed when Serrato was recruited from a local Mexican band in 1962, ? and the Mysterians went on to be called by some as the world’s first punk band – if not exactly that, they were without a doubt one of the first Latin rock bands to score a #1 pop hit in America. The success of that record – which has been covered live or recorded by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Iggy Pop, Garland Jeffreys, and Aretha Franklin – was enough to get the band a nationally televised performance on American Bandstand. The group released several more moderately successful records throughout the rest of the ’60s, many of which were co-written by Serrato. He left the band 1968, with ? and various configurations of the Mysterians, both with and without him, continuing to perform well into the 2000s. Serrato himself went on to produce Tejano music during the latter part of his life. On February 24, 2011, Eddie Serrato died of a heart attack at a local hospital where he had been recuperating from an undisclosed surgery. He was 65.
Clare Armory was a vocalist and dancer for New York City underground experimental noise merchants, Excepter. Formed in 2002, the group built a sizable following thanks in part to their noise-riddled improvisational live shows and recordings. Many fans and critics considered them to be at the top of the Brooklyn noise heap which also included the likes of Animal Collective. Excepter released several records over the past few years on such labels as the highly regarded experimental Load Records, and Animal Collective’s own Paw Tracks label. Clare Armory was 35 when she passed away from cancer on February 24, 2011.
Terry Clements is perhaps best remembered as the longtime guitarist for folk legend, Gordon Lightfoot. He joined up with Lightfoot in 1970 and continued to play with him for some 40 years. Clements was just five years old when he picked up the guitar, and over the years his playing would be influenced by the likes of Doc Watson, Ricky Skaggs, and Dick Dale. After high school, he served in the US Navy for a couple of years and then returned to his music career, first playing with Golden Sunflower while working as a session player for Lou Adler, and later joining forces with Lightfoot with whom he stayed until the final years of his life. Terry Clements was 63 when he died on February 20, 2011. The cause was attributed to a stroke he had recently suffered.
Phil Vane is best remembered as the two-time vocalist for pioneering UK grindcore band, Extreme Noise Terror. Formed with Vane in 1985, the band is credited for being the founding fathers of the grindcore sub-genre, crustgrind. Although now common, ENT were one of the earliest such bands to feature dual lead singers, with Vane being one of them. In 1987, the band was offered its first of four sessions on 
The Music's Over 