RIP, Tsutomo Katoh (March 15, 2011) Co-Founder Of KORG

Tsutomo Katoh
DOB Unknown – March 15, 2011

Tsutomo Katoh was the co-founder and chairman of Japanese electronic musical instrument giant, Korg Corporation.  Launched with Tadashi Osanai in 1962, Korg went on to become a world leader in the manufacturing and sales of keyboards, synthesizers, recording equipment, audio processors, guitar amps and more.  Tsutomo Katoh passed away on March 15, 2011 after a long battle with cancer. He was 87.

RIP, Lamar Fike (January 21, 2011) Elvis’ Memphis Mafia

Lamar Fike
November 11, 1935 – January 21, 2011

Carrying Elvis Presley on stage

Lamar Fike was one of Elvis Presley’s closest friends and confidants for many years.  He met Presley in 1954, and went to work for him in 1957.  As part of Presley’s storied “Memphis Mafia,” Fike had many responsibilities over the years, including concert lighting duties as well as  arranging transportation for Elvis.  When Presley was drafted by the U.S. Army, Fike reportedly enlisted in order to be close to his boss  while overseas only to be denied due to his large weight.   Fike also worked for Hill and Range music publishers and managed Brenda Lee for a short time.  Lamar Fike died of Lymphoma on January 21, 2011.  He was 75.

RIP, Leonard Skinner (September 20, 2010) Inspired Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Name

Leonard Skinner
DOB Unknown – September 20, 2010

Leonard Skinner was a Jacksonville, Florida high school gym teacher who, during the late 1960s sent a group of his students to the principal’s audience for wearing their hair too long.  A few years later, those school friends, Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins and Gary Rossington, named their newly formed rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd as an inside joke tribute to their former coach at Robert E. Lee High School.  Skinner later became a local real estate agent and shared a mutual admiration for the band.  He even allowed them to use a photo of him inside 1975’s Nuthin’ Fancy.  Suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease in recent years, Leonard Skinner passed away in a Jacksonville health care facility on September 20, 2010.  He was 77.

Died On This Date (August 21, 2005) Robert Moog / Invented Moog Synthesizer

Dr. Robert Moog
May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005

Robert Moog is best known for his groundbreaking invention, the Moog Synthesizer, which helped revolutionize music, and became an essential instrument for electronic music in particular.  A highly educated electrical engineer by trade, Moog founded two electronic instrument companies and was a vice president at Kurzweil during the ’80s.  In 1969, he was awarded his first patent for a synthesizer that utilized a keyboard.  He went on to hold several more related patents.  Moog has twice been recognized by the Grammys for his contributions to popular music.  Since its invention, the Moog Synthesizer was utilized by such musicians as Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, John Cage and Walter Carlos (now Wendy Carlos), whose Switched On Bach and the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange are became landmark recordings.  Robert Moog was 71 when he died of a brain tumor on August 21, 2005.

RIP, Herman Leonard (August 14, 2010) Jazz Photographer

Herman Leonard
1923 – August 14, 2010

Herman Leonard was an American photographer who is revered for the countless iconic photos he took of jazz musicians throughout his career.  After graduating from college, Leonard landed an apprenticeship where he was lucky enough to shoot pictures of Albert Einstein and Harry Truman.  By the early ’50s, he was running his own Greenwich Village studio and freelancing for national magazines.  By then he had turned his focus on the local jazz scene.  His most famous photographs include those of Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Billie Holiday.  In 2005, Leonard and his family were living in New Orleans when they lost their house, his studio and thousands of prints to Hurricane Katrina.  Fortunately, most of his negatives were being housed elsewhere.  His collection is now part of the Smithsonian Museum.  Herman Leonard was 87 when he passed away on August 14, 2010.

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Died On This Date (August 6, 2009) John Hughes / Director; Made Hit Soundtracks

John Hughes
February 15, 1950 – August 6, 2009

John Hughes is best remembered as a writer or director of some of the most popular coming-of-age films of the ’80s.  He was also responsible for introducing many new bands to American audiences thanks to their prominent placement in his films and soundtracks.   Too most, John Hughes films were the first place they heard what would now be called “alternative” rock when it was still in it’s infancy.  Movies like The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink, Sixteen Candles, and Ferris Beuller’s Day Off featured future hits like Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me,” Yello’s “Oh Yeah,” Spandau Ballet’s “True,” and OMD’s “If You Leave.”  And so golden was his touch, that MCA Records gave him his own boutique record label at the time.   John Hughes died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 59.

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RIP, John Aylesworth (July 28, 2010) Co-Created “Hee Haw”

John Aylesworth
DOB Unknown – July 28, 2010

John Aylesworth was a television writer and producer who’s biggest mark on popular music came with the hit country music infused program, Hee Haw.  Aylesworth moved from Canada to the U.S. in the late ’50s and quickly found himself as a writer for the popular music program, Your Hit Parade.   He went on to write for other music programs like Hullabaloo and specials for Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Judy Garland, to name a few.  During the late ’60s, Aylesworth and partner, Frank Peppiatt developed a show that married the best elements of Laugh-In to those of The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hee Haw was born.   The show, hosted by Buck Owens and Roy Clark, went on to become one of the most popular programs for many years thanks to its down home humor and weekly performances by the biggest names in country music.   John Aylesworth was 81 when he died from complications of pneumonia on July 28, 2010.

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Died On This Date (July 15, 1990) Trouble T Roy / Heavy D

Trouble T Roy (Born Troy Dixon)
October 19, 1967 – July 15, 1990

Trouble T Roy was a hip-hop dancer best known for his work with Heavy D & the Boyz for three years during the late ’80s.  While on tour with the group in July of 1990, Trouble T Roy accidentally fell from a theater balcony while horsing around with other members of the group.  He died at an area hospital from his head injuries.  He was just 22.

Died On This Date (June 9, 2008) Ragamuffin / Our Rock ‘n Roll Cat

Ragamuffin
March 1989 – June 9, 2008

Ragamuffin was a really cool cat whose connection to popular music goes back to the Spring of 1989 when bands like Guns ‘n’ Roses, Poison and his favorite treat, Ratt ruled the boulevards near his first home in Glendale, California. Even within those first few weeks of his life, it was quite apparent that Ragamuffin was taken with the music that constantly played throughout his apartment, and in particular, the dancehall reggae of such artists as Yellowman, Buju Banton, and Luciano. He therefore became known as Ragamuffin, a form of dancehall whose sound is primarily made up of electronic music. in 1995, Ragamuffin moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, the so-called birthplace of Rock & Roll and home to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. While in Cleveland, Ragamuffin lived through the most snowfall in Cleveland history. Back in Southern California in 1999, Ragamuffin reached an international audience when he was featured in a short essay called “The Cat Doctor,” in the best selling book, Chicken Soup For The Cat & Dog Lover’s Soul. Throughout his long and healthy life, Ragamuffin survived the torment of three dogs, the 1994 Northridge earthquake, a hot drive across the country, and countless hairballs. Sadly, Raggamuffin’s health began to deteriorate as he neared 20 years old. He was laid to rest on June 9, 2008.

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Died On This Date (May 31, 2010) Brian Duffy / Renowned Photographer

Brian Duffy
June 15, 1933 – May 31, 2010

Brian Duffy was a respected London-born fashion photographer who made a handful of contributions to the history of popular music as well.  He is perhaps best known for his cover shots for three David Bowie albums, the most iconic being Aladdin Sane.  Throughout the ’50s and ’60s, Duffy worked with a who’s who of the top fashion models and celebrities, helping to create the “swinging London” ideal of the era.  Over the course of his career, he photographed the likes of Sammy Davis Jr., John Lennon, Black Sabbath, and Deborah Harry.  Brian Duffy was 76 when he succumbed to lung disease on May 31, 2010.