David Mason
1926 – April 29, 2011
David Mason was a classically trained trumpet player who is perhaps best remembered for his iconic solo on the Beatles’ hit, “Penny Lane.” Mason was born in London and studied music at the Royal College of Music where he went on to teach of some 30 years. He eventually became the featured trumpet in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra, among others. In 1967, while the Beatles were working on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Paul McCartney caught a performance by Mason on television. That next day, producer George Martin invited Mason to come down to the studio and play on “Penny Lane,” which would become one of the Beatles most beloved songs. It is Mason’s piccolo trumpet that can be heard prominently in the song that would ultimately make it on to the Magical Mystery Tour album. David Mason died of leukemia on April 29, 2011. He was 85.
Thanks to Scott Miller for the help
Dag Stokke was the touring keyboardist for popular Norwegian metal band, TNT. Formed in 1982, the band benefited from heavy video play on MTV in 1985. Stokke came on board in 1987 and performed at the band’s live shows until 1992 and then again from 1996 until the time of his death. Although he wasn’t an official member of TNT, Stokke played on all of their albums between 1992 and 2010. In January of 2011, Stokke learned he was suffering from cancer, and played his final gig with the band that following March 5th. Dag Stokke was 44 when he died of cancer on April 27, 2011.
Phoebe Snow was an American singer-songwriter who is perhaps best remembered for her 1975 hit, “Poetry Man.” Regularly exposed to music while growing up, Snow picked up the guitar at an early age. She was still in her teens when she began playing at amateur nights throughout New York’s storied Greenwich Village folk clubs. It was at one of these venues that Snow was discovered by an executive at Shelter Records who signed her and released her self-titled debut album, Phoebe Snow in July of 1974. The album included her Top 5 hit, “Poetry Man.” The album ultimately reached #4 on the Billboard album charts and earned Snow a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, a cover of Rolling Stone, and several memorable appearances on Saturday Night Live. In 1975, Snow gave birth to her severely brain damaged daughter Valerie, but instead of placing her in a care facility like most, she opted to care for her herself, which she did until Valerie passed away in 2007. Throughout Snow’s career, she released numerous critical and fan favorite albums and performed with a who’s who of pop royalty. That list includes Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel, Queen, and Bonnie Raitt, to name just a few. In 1997, Snow sang the Rosanne theme during the closing moments of the final episode, and years later, became perhaps the most unlikely person in history to sing at both Camp David (for President Bill Clinton), AND at Howard Stern’s wedding. On January 19, 2010, Phoebe Snow suffered a brain hemorrhage and was placed in a medically induced coma. She briefly regained consciousness but ultimately passed away on April 26, 2011. She was 58.
John Cossette is perhaps best remembered as a longtime producer of the Grammy television broadcast. He carried on the tradition started by his father, Pierre Cossette, who produced the very first broadcast in 1971. Cossette worked on the Grammy show for the better part of the past 20 years, most recently as executive producer. He served in the same capacity for the Latin Grammys as well. Outside of the award show, Cossette produced programming for BET as well as the Broadway, Chicago and London productions of Million Dollar Quartet, which is based on the historic 1956 meeting of 
Poly Styrene was the lead singer and songwriter for the great British punk band, X-Ray Spex. Formed in 1976, the band, despite the fact that they initially released just five singles and one long-player, became one of the most important groups of the original punk movement. After running away from home at 15, Styrene bounced from one music festival to another until she eventually ended up at an early Sex Pistols gig which inspired her to form a punk band. The band’s first album Germ Free Adolescents is by most accounts one of the greatest punk – if not rock – albums ever made. Its “Oh Bondage, Up Yours” is widely recognized as a flashpoint for punk rock. After the band broke up in 1979, Styrene released a solo album Translucence which had more of a jazzy sound and reportedly inspired the likes of Everything But The Girl. She continued to release music, both solo and with a reformed version of X-Ray Spex, over the next two decades. She also lent her name and voice to various social causes throughout the years. In February 2011, it was announced that Poly Styrene was suffering from breast cancer. She was 53 years old when she died from the disease on April 25, 2011.
Huey Meaux, known to many in the music business as “The Crazy Cajun,” was a successful record producer and studio owner. Before getting into the music business, Meaux worked as a barber. He eventually opened SugarHill Studios in Houston, Texas where he discovered the young talents of 
Tom King was the founder and lead guitarist of the Outsiders, a Cleveland, Ohio rock band that scored a huge hit with 1966’s “Time Won’t Let Me.” King co-wrote the song which went on to define the era and is generally included in any respectable ’60s rock compilation. Originally formed in 1958 as Tom King and the Starfires, the band ultimately signed to Capitol Records and changed their name to the Outsiders at the request of the label to sound more like the British Invasion bands of the mid ’60s. Unlike many of their peers, the band quickly became one of the scenes best live acts thanks to their years performing R&B standards as the Starfires. After a series of line-up changes and singles that didn’t perform as well as King had hoped, the band broke up in 1968. The group reformed with different line-ups in later years. In ailing health, Tom King passed away in a nursing home on April 23, 2011. He was 68.
Norio Ohga is best remembered as the president of Sony from 1982 to 1995. He also happened to be a professionally trained opera singer and musician. After writing a letter to the electronics giant to complain about the inferior sound quality of their cassettes, Ohga was offered a job. He rose through the ranks until he ultimately served as president and CEO. Under his watch, he helped develop the compact disc which went on to revolutionize the music industry and made Sony into the huge entertainment company it is today. Also while president, Ohga oversaw the purchase of Sony Pictures and the creation of CBS/Sony Records, now Sony Music. Norio Ohga was 81 when he passed away on April 23, 2011.
Dutch Tilders was a blues musician born in the Netherlands but who who moved to Australia with his family while still in his teens. Tilders was playing the harmonica by the time he landed his first gig at the age of 15, but soon switched to the guitar. He went on to release several albums while performing with the likes of Taj Mahal, John Mayall, 
Hazel Dickens was a popular Appalachian bluegrass and folk singer, songwriter and musician who was revered for her beautiful voice as well as for her socially driven lyrics that tended to touch on feminism and pro-union causes. Born into a a poor mining family in West Virginia, Dickens became friends with Pete Seeger’s brother and fellow musician Mike Seeger, who prompted her desire to get involved with the highly active Baltimore-Washington folk music scene of the ’60s. She and Seeger’s wife, Alice Gerard went on to perform and record as Hazel & Alice. By the mid ’70s, Dickens was working as a solo artist. Four of her early recordings can be heard in the award-winning mining documentary, Harlan County, USA. She also appeared in the film as well as Matewan and Songcatcher. Although she stopped putting out albums in the mid ’80s, Dickens could still be found performing live for many years to come, even as recently as at Austin’s SXSW music conference in March of 2011. Hazel Dickens passed away on April 22, 2011. She was 75.
The Music's Over 