Musicians/Music People Who Died During The Month Of March
Bill Schenley
Boogie-Woogie - Died 3/15/1929. Smith was shot to death
while trying to break up a fight. He recorded "Pinetop's
Boogie Woogie," "I Got More Sense Than That" and "I'm Sober
Now."
John Philip Sousa, composer ("Stars And Stripes Forever") -
Died 3/6/32.
Willie Walker, jazz singer/guitarist ("Dupree Blues") - Died
3/4/33.
Eddie Lang, guitarist/singer - Died 3/26/33. - Lang died
from complications following a tonsillectomy. He was the
pioneer of plectrum guitar playing.
Rufus ("Tee Tot") Payne), guitar/piano player - Died
3/17/39. Payne was a major influence on the musical career
of Hank Williams.
Charlie Christian, guitarist extraordinaire - Died 3/2/42.
Charlie Christian died from tuberculosis. He was inducted
into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame because he was one of the
first great electric guitar players. He recorded "Flying
Home" and "Seven Come Eleven."
Sid Catlett, drummer - Died 3/25/51. Catlett, who died of a
heart attack, worked with Benny Carter, Louis Armstrong,
Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington.
"Uncle" Dave Macon, fiddle player - Died 3/23/52. Uncle
Dave is in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Charlie Parker, THE saxophone player - Died 3/12/55. "Bird"
died of a heart attack.
Fud Livingston, sax/clarinet player/arranger - Died 3/25/57.
Livingston worked with Paul Whiteman, Louis Armstrong and
Jimmy Dorsey.
W.C. Handy, the "Father of the Blues" - Died 3/28/58. He
died of bronchial pneumonia.
Lester Young, sax player - Died 3/15/59. He worked with
Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King
Cole, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday. It was Billie Holiday
who nicknamed Young, "The Prez," and in turn, he nicknamed
her, "Lady Day." He died from cirrhosis of the liver.
Cowboy Copas, singer/guitar player - Died 3/5/63. Copas
died in the same plane crash that killed Patsy Cline and
Hawkshaw Hawkins.
Hawkshaw Hawkins, singer/guitar player - Died 3/5/63.
Hawkins died in the same plane crash that killed
Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas.
Patsy Cline, singer - Died 3/5/63.
Jack Anglin, was one of the Anglin Brothers - Died 3/7/63.
Jack Anglin was killed in a car accident while he was on his
way to Patsy Cline's funeral.
Lizzie Miles, singer- Died 3/17/63. Miles died from a heart
attack. He recorded "State Street Blues," and worked with
King Oliver and Kid Ory.
Tadd Dameron, pianist/composer/arranger - Died 3/8/65.
Dameron died from cancer. He worked with Count Basie, Dizzy
Gillespie and Sarah Vaughn. He also wrote "Embraceable
You."
Fraser Calder, singer - Died 3/12/65. Calder was killed
when his van crashed after performing. He was a member of
The Blues Council ("Baby Don't Look Down").
James Giffen, bass player - Died 3/12/65. Giffen was also a
member of The Blues Council, and was killed in the same
crash Fraser Calder died in
Nelson Eddy, baritone - Died 3/6/67.
Little Willie John, singer/songwriter - Died 3/26/68. He
was convicted of manslaughter and died in prison. Willie
John co-wrote and was the first to record "Fever."
Frank Loesser, piano player/songwriter - Died 3/28/69.
Loesser, who died from cancer, wrote "Praise The Lord And
Pass The Ammunition."
Roy Blackwood, gospel singer - Died 3/21/71. He was a
member of The Blackwood Brothers.
Harold McNair, sax/flute player - Died 3/26/71. McNair, who
worked with Donovan and Melanie, and was a member of Ginger
Baker's Air Force, died from lung cancer.
Frank Kirkland, drummer - Died 3/-/73. He worked with Bo
Diddley, Otis Spann and
Willie Dixon.
Ron "Pigpen" Mckernan, keyboard player - Died 3/6/73.
Pigpen died from liver failure. He was a member of the band
The Grateful Dead
Noel Coward, singer/songwriter - Died 3/26/73. He did "Mad
Dogs And Englishmen."
Bobby Timmons, piano player/composer - Died 3/1/74. Timmons
died from cirrhosis of the liver. He worked with The
Maynard Ferguson's Big Band, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers
and Cannonball Adderley.
Harry Womack, bass - Died 3/9/74. His wife stabbed him to
death. He was a member of The Valentinos .
Sam Donahue, sax player - Died 3/22/74. He worked with Gene
Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton and Harry
James.
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, guitar/harmonica
player/singer/songwriter - Died 3/28/74. He died from a
heart attack He wrote "That's Alright (Mama)."
Mantovani, orchestra leader - Died 3/29/74. He recorded
"Around The World" and "Red Sails In The Sunset."
T-Bone Walker, guitar player - Died 3/16/75. Walker died
from bronchial pneumonia. He recorded "Call It Stormy
Monday" and "The T-Bone Shuffle."
Paul Kossoff, guitar player - Died 3/19/76. Kossoff died
from heart failure brought on by excessive drug use. He
was a member of the bands Free and Back Street Crawler .
Duster Bennett, harmonica/guitar player/singer - Died
3/26/76. He was killed in a car accident. Bennett worked
with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Fleetwood Mac, Alexis
Korner and B.B. King.
Joe Marsala, sax/clarinet player/leader - Died 3/3/78.
Marsala was the brother of Marty Marsala (trumpeter) and was
married to Adele Girard (harpist). He worked with Buddy
Rich, Eddie Condon and Shelly Manne.
Bill Kenny, singer - Died 3/25/78. He was the lead vocalist
for the Ink Spots ("If I Didn't Care").
Roy Montrell, guitar player - Died 3/16/79. Montrell worked
with Bobby Mitchell, Roy Milton, Lloyd Price and Fats
Domino. He died from an overdose of heroin.
Jon-Jon Poulos, drummer - Died 3/26/80. Poulos, who was the
drummer for The Buckinghams ("Kind Of A Drag" and "Susan"),
suffered a heart attack brought on by excessive cocaine use.
Dick Haymes, singer - Died 3/29/80. Dick Haymes sang with
Harry James, Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. He died from
cancer.
Edith Wilson, blues singer - Died 3/30/81. She recorded
"Nervous Blues." She also was the voice of Aunt Jemima for
the Quaker Oats Company.
John Belushi, comedian/actor/singer - Died 3/5/82. Belushi
was a singer for the Blues Brothers. He died of an overdose
of heroin and cocaine. He also worked with the Dead Boys
and Fear.
Samuel George, drummer/singer - Died 3/17/82. He was
stabbed to death during a fight. George was a member of the
Capitols, who did the song "Cool Jerk."
Randy Rhoads, guitar player - Died 3/19/82. Rhoads was a
member of Quiet Riot ("Last Call For Rock & Roll") and
recorded with Ozzy Osbourne on "Crazy Train." He was
killed when the wing of a plane nicked Osbourne's tour bus.
Arthur Godfrey, singer/banjo/uke player (novelty/polka) -
Died 3/16/83. He recorded "Too Fat Polka" and he played
"Just Like Gene Autry; A Foxtrot" on Moby Grape's "Wow" LP
(on vinyl, the only way to hear this song correctly is to
change the speed from 331/3 to 78 RPM.
Wallace Jones, trumpet player - Died 3/23/83. He worked
with Duke Ellington, Willie Bryant, Snub Mosley and Benny
Carter.
Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, arranger/songwriter/record company
executive - Died 3/9/85. Blackwell had a heart attack while
suffering from pneumonia. He wrote "Good Golly Miss Molly"
and "Rip It Up," and was the co-founder of Specialty
Records.
Bob Shad, producer - Died 3/13/85. Shad died from a heart
attack. He worked with Charlie Parker, Ted Nugent, Janis
Joplin and Lightnin' Hopkins.
Zoot Sims, sax player - Died 3/23/85. He worked with Benny
Goodman, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton and Gerry Mulligan, and
was the brother of trombonist Ray Sims.
Jeanine Deckers (Sister Luc-Gabrielle/Luc Dominique/Soeur
Sourire), singer/guitar player - Died 3/31/85. Deckers, AKA
"The Singing Nun," killed herself by taking an overdose of
sleeping pills in a suicide pact with her lesbian lover.
She is best known for her recording of "Dominique."
Richard Manuel, singer/piano player/drummer - Died 3/4/86.
Manuel hung himself. He was a member of The Band and had
worked with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Tom
Petty, Joan Baez and Emmylou Harris.
Howard Greenfield, songwriter - Died 3/4/86. He co-wrote
(w/Neil Sedaka) "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" and "Calendar
Girl." He also co-wrote (w/Carole King) "Crying In The
Rain," and "My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own" and "Everybody's
Somebody's Fool" (w/Jack Keller). Greenfield, who died from
a brain tumor, also co-wrote the television themes for "The
Flying Nun" and "Bewitched."
Sonny Terry, harmonica player - Died 3/11/86. Terry died
of natural causes. He performed and recorded with Brownie
McGhee for over thirty years ("White Boy Lost In The
Blues"). Oddly, off-stage or out of the studio, the two
men seldom spoke to each other. Terry despised Brownie
McGhee.
Mark Dinning, singer - Died 3/22/86. Dinning, who was a
"one-hit-wonder" with his cover of "Teen Angel," died of a
heart attack.
O'Kelly Isley Jr., was a member of the Isley Brothers
("Shout") - Died 3/31/86. He died of a heart attack.
Danny Kaye, singer (jazz/pop/novelty) - Died 3/3/87. Danny
Kaye died from hepatitis and internal bleeding. He also
worked with Louis Elison
Norman Harris, guitar player/producer/arranger/songwriter -
Died 3/21/87. Harris, who died of a heart attack, produced
the Spinners, the Delfonics and the Trammps.
Dino Martin, singer (?) - Died 3/21/87. Martin was killed
while he was piloting an Air National Guard jet. He
recorded with Dino, Desi & Billy ("I'm A Fool"). He was
also the son of entertainer Dean Martin.
Divine, singer - Died 3/7/88. Divine recorded "Jungle
Jezebel" and "Shoot Your Shot." He died of a combination of
weight and sleep apnea.
Andy Gibb, singer - Died 3/10/88. He died of an
inflammatory heart virus. He was the brother of the
BeeGees. ( Pop )
Dannie Richmond, drummer/sax player - Died 3/15/88. He
worked Charles Mingus, Chet Baker, Paul Williams, the
Mark-Almond band, Joe Cocker and Elton John.
Billy Butterfield, trumpet player - Died 3/18/88. He worked
with Bob Crosby, Artie Shaw, Les Brown, Benny Goodman and
Eddie Condon.
Gil Evans, pianist/arranger - Died 3/20/88. Gil Evans
worked with, and influenced so many different musicians.
Here are just a few: Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Flora
Purim, Hiram Bullock, David Sanborn, Van Morrison, Airto
Moreira, Sting, Jaco Pastorius, Johnny Coles, Robbie
Robertson, Kenny Burrell, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, Cecil
Taylor, Gerry Mulligan, Dave Lambert, John Carisi, Charlie
Parker, Pearl Bailey, Billy Butterfield, Cannonball
Adderley, Astrud Gilberto and Steve Lacy. He died in
Cuernavaca, Mexico, where Charles Mingus had died . about
ten years before.
Stuart Hamblen, singer/songwriter - Died 3/8/89. Hamblen
recorded "This Ole House" and "My Mary." He was also an
actor.
Rick Grech, bass player - Died 3/17/90. Grech died of
kidney and liver failure. He was a member of Traffic and
Blind Faith .
Andy Wood, singer - Died 3/19/90. Wood, who was the
front-man for Malfunkshun, died from an overdose of heroin
Al Sears, saxophonist - Died 3/23/90. He worked with Duke
Ellington, Johnny Hodges, Elmer Snowden and Lionel Hampton.
Dexter Gordon, sax player - Died 3/25/90. He died from
cancer. Gordon worked with Lionel Hampton,
Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro. He was
also in a few movies, "'Round Midnight" and "Unchained,"
where he played . saxophone players.
Frank Esler-Smith, keyboard player - Died 3/1/91.
Esler-Smith, who was a member of Air Supply, died of
pneumonia.
Henry Glover, engineer/producer/trumpet player - Died
3/7/91. Glover, who died of a heart attack, also worked
with Sarah Vaughan, Muddy Waters and Doc Watson.
Al Klink, sax/clarinet player - Died 3/7/91. He worked with
Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey.
Doc Pomus, songwriter - Died 3/14/91. Doc Pomus died from
lung cancer. He wrote "A Teenager In Love," "Save The Last
Dance For Me" and "Viva Las Vegas." He is a member of the
Songwriters Hall of Fame, The Blues Hall of Fame, The New
York Music Hall of Fame and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Bill Gazzarri, nightclub owner - Died 3/16/91. He owned
"Gazzarri's" on the Sunset Strip. The Doors, the Byrds and
Van Halen are among the many bands that started out there.
Chris Austin (mandolin/guitar/fiddle player/singer), Kirk
Capello (keyboardist), Joey Cigainero (synth player), Paula
Kaye Evans (singer), Terry Jackson (bass player), Michael
Thomas (guitarist), Tony Saputo (drummer) and Jim Hammon
(road manager) were all killed in a plane crash on 3/16/91.
They worked for Reba McEntire.
Max Lipscomb, singer - Died 3/17/91. He was a member of
Gene Vincent's Blue Caps.
Leo Fender, world's greatest guitar designer - Died 3/21/91.
Fender, who died from Parkinson's disease, designed both the
Telecaster and the Stratocaster guitars.
Dave Guard, singer/banjo player - Died 3/22/91. Guard died
from lymphoma. He was best known as a member of the
Kingston Trio ("Tom Dooley"). He also worked with Tim
Buckley and John Stewart.
Mary Osborne, jazz guitarist - Died 3/4/92. She died from
liver cancer.
Violet Brady Petty, singer/piano player - Died 3/22/92. She
was a member of her husband's band, The Norman Petty Trio
("Mood Indigo" and "Almost Paradise"). She also worked with
Buddy Holly.
Lynn Phillips, guitarist - Died 3/93. He died of a heart
attack. Phillips was a member of Flash Cadillac & The
Continental Kids.
Carlos Montoya, guitarist - Died 3/5/93. -
Billy Eckstine, singer - Died 3/8/93. He had a stroke.
Billy Eckstine recorded "Always," "My Foolish Heart" and "I
Apologize." He was a member of The Earl Hines Orchestra and
worked with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro,
Miles Davis and Art Blakey.
June Valli, singer - Died 3/12/93. She did "Apple Green"
and the original "Crying In The Chapel."
Johnny Cymbal, singer - Died 3/16/93. Cymbal, who recorded
"Mr. Bass Man" and "Little Miss Lonely," died of a heart
attack.
Walter Kent, songwriter - Died 3/94. He wrote "I'll Be Home
for Christmas."
Eden Ahbez, songwriter - Died 3/4/95. Ahbez died after
being struck by a car. He wrote Nat King Cole's "Nature
Boy" and "Land of Love (Come My Love and Live with Me)."
Eazy E (Eric Wright ), rap singer - Died 3/27/95. He died
from the complications from AIDS. He was a member of NWA
("Express Yourself").
Baltimora, singer - Died 3/28/95. He died from the
complications of AIDS. He recorded "Tarzan Boy."
Paul Rothchild, producer - Died 3/30/95. Rothchild, who
produced Janis Joplin, Arthur Lee & Love, The Paul
Butterfield Blues Band, The Doors, Tim Buckley and many
others, died from lung cancer.
Selena (Selena Quintanilla-Perez), singer - Died 3/31/95.
Selena was shot to death by the president of her fan club.
Minnie Pearl, novelty song singer/comedian - Died 3/4/96.
She died after a stroke.
George Burns, actor/comedian/singer - Died 3/9/96. He
recorded "Young At Heart" and "I Wish I Was Eighteen Again."
Burns also appeared in the film "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart
Club Band."
Joseph Pope, singer- Died 3/16/96. Pope, who sang with The
Tams ("What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am"), died from
heart failure
Terry Stafford, singer - Died 3/17/96. He recorded
"Suspicion."
Don Murray, drummer- Died 3/22/96. Murray died while in
surgery. He was a member of the Turtles ("Happy Together").
J. D. Miller, guitar player/producer/songwriter/record
company executive - Died 3/23/96. Miller died from the
complications of quadruple bypass surgery. He wrote "It
Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels."
Howie Wyeth, drummer/keyboard player - Died 3/27/96. Wyeth
died from a heart attack. He worked with James Moody, Don
McLean, Link Wray, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan,
Leslie West and others.
Raymond Edwards, bass singer - Died 3/4/97. Miller, who was
a member of the Silhouettes ("Get A Job"), died from
prostate cancer.
Bobby Chouinard, drummer - Died 3/8/97. Chouinard died from
a heart attack. He worked with Billy Squire, Robert Gordon,
Cher, and Ted Nugent.
Notorious B.I.G. ( Christopher Wallace ), rap
artist/producer - Died 3/9/97. Wallace was killed in a
drive-by shooting.
Ronnie Barron, keyboard player - Died 3/21/97. He worked
with Dr. John, John Mayall, Sonny & Cher, Eric Burdon, Louis
Prima, Canned Heat, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, B.B.
King and Kim Carnes.
Harold Melvin, singer/band leader - Died 3/24/97. He was
the leader of Harold Melvin And The Bluenotes ("If You Don't
Know Me By Now"). Melvin died in his sleep.
Stacy Guess, guitar/trumpet player - Died 3/11/98. Guess, a
member of the Pressure Boys and Squirrel Nut Zippers, died
from an overdose of heroin.
Kasey Cisyk, singer - Died 3/29/98. She recorded the
original "You Light Up My Life" and sang background vocals
for Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Carole King and David
Sanborn. Cisyk died from breast cancer.
Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (Dusty
Springfield), singer - Died 3/2/99.
Eddie Dean, singer/songwriter/actor - Died 3/4/99. Dean
died from emphysema. He co-wrote "One Has My Name" and
"Hillbilly Heaven."
Mike Anthony, guitar player - Died 3/3/99. He worked with
The 5th Dimension, Bernadette Peters, Tommy Tedesco, Harry
Nilsson and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
Ernest Gold, composer - Died 3/17/99. Gold, who scored the
music for the movies "Exodus" and "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad
World," died from a stroke.
Bob Cato, designed LP covers - Died 3/19/99. He died from
the complications of Alzheimer's disease. Cato did album
covers for Janis Joplin, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan and the
Band.
Lillian McMurry, songwriter/producer/record company
executive - Died 3/18/99. McMurry was the founder of
Trumpet Records and was the first person to record Elmore
James and Sonny Boy Williamson (II). She wrote "Sonny
Boy's," and "Red Hot Kisses."
Freaky Tah (Raymond Rogers), rap artist - Died 3/28/99.
Rogers, a member of Lost Boyz, was shot to death.
Joe Williams, singer - Died 3/29/99. Williams, who died
from a lung infection, recorded "Every Day I Have The
Blues." He also worked with Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins
and Lionel Hampton.
Diamond Teeth Mary (Mary Smith McClain), singer - Died
3/42000. Mary was also known as the "Queen of the Blues."
Walter Dana, band leader/record company
executive/songwriter/piano player - Died 3/4/00. Walter
Dana is credited for introducing polka music to the United
States. He was the founder of Dana Records and he wrote
"Who Stole The Kishka?" and "Ballroom Polka."
Frank ``Pee Wee'' King, songwriter/guitar player - Died
3/00. He co-wrote the "Tennessee Waltz," and "Slow Poke."
and he and introduced electric instruments and horns to the
Grand Ole Opry. Some of his band members were Eddy Arnold,
Ernest Tubb, Cowboy Copas and Minnie Pearl.
Dr Collela Mazee, guitarist/band leader - Died 3/7/00. He
was the leader of The Collela Mazee's Victoria Band.
Ed McCurdy, singer/songwriter/actor - Died 3/23/00.
McCurdy, who wrote "Sesame Street Cues" and "Last Night I
Had the Strangest Dream," died from a heart attack. Johnny
Cash, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Simon and
Garfunkel recorded his songs. He also worked with Ramblin'
Jack Elliott.
Al Grey, trombonist - Died 3/24/00. He worked with Dizzy
Gillespie, Benny Carter, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton.
Ian Dury, singer - Died 3/27/00. He was a member of
Blockheads ("Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll"). He died from
liver/colon cancer.
Glenn Hughes, singer - Died 3/4/01. Hughes was a member of
the Village People.
Portia Nelson, singer - Died 3/6/01. Nelson was the first
to record "Fly Me To The Moon," which was then called "In
Other Words."
Michael Smith, drummer - Died 3/6/01. He was a member of
the band Paul Revere & The Raiders.
Maude Rutherford, singer/dancer - Died 3/8/01. She sang,
"I'm a Little Blackbird Looking For A Bluebird," and is
credited with bringing the Charleston to Broadway. She
worked with Josephine Baker, Fats Waller and Pearl Bailey.
Richard Stone, composer - Died 3/9/01. Stone, who died from
pancreatic cancer, wrote the music for such cartoons as
"Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries," "Pinky & The Brain,"
"Freakazoid" and "Animaniacs."
Benny Martin, fiddle player/songwriter - Died 3/13/01.
Martin was a member of the Foggy Mountain Boys, and he wrote
"Me And My Fiddle." He also worked with Lester Flatt and
Earl Scruggs, Kitty Wells, Vince Gill and Ricky Skaggs.
Ann Sothern, composer/singer/actress/comedian - Died
3/15/01. Ann Sothern sang "The Last Time I Saw Paris." She
also wrote some of the music used on her television show.
Sothern, who had been married to bandleader Roger Pryor and
actor Robert Sterling, died from a heart attack
Robert "Huckleberry Hound" Wright, drummer - Died 3/18/01.
Wright, who died from a heart attack, worked with Magic Sam
and Bo Diddley.
John Phillips, singer/songwriter/producer/guitar/mandolin
player - Died 3/18/01. Papa John, who died from a heart
attack, was the founder and leader of The Journeymen that
became The Mamas And Papas. He produced Scott McKenzie,
Janis Joplin, The Electric Flag, Otis Redding and Jimi
Hendrix. He also worked with Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane,
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
Earl Beal, singer - Died 3/22/01. He was a member of the
Silhouettes.
Jesse Burnett Jr., singer - Died 3/23/01. He was a member
of the Jarmels ("A Little Bit Of Soap").
John Lewis, pianist/composer - Died 3/29/01. Lewis died
from prostate cancer. He was the composer and musical
director for the Milt Jackson Quartet, later renamed The
Modern Jazz Quartet ("Django" and "Vendome"). He also
worked with Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis.
Do'Reen ( Doreen Waddell), singer - Died 3/1/2002. Do'Reen
was a member of Soul II Soul. She was killed while crossing
a highway. Three cars struck her.
Dave Mann, pianist/composer - Died 3/1/02. Mann co-wrote,
"There, I've said It Again," and was Harry S Truman's
official White House pianist for eight months.
Ivan Khunt, organ player - Died 3/1/02. Khunt died from
lung cancer. [note: I never heard of Ivan Khunt . but an
organ player with a name like Khunt . Man, I just had to
include him].
Harlan Howard, singer/songwriter - Died 3/3/02. Harlen
Howard was a great songwriter who wrote over 4000 songs;
including: "Busted," "Heartaches By The Number" and "I Fall
To Pieces" (w/Hank Cochran). He also wrote one of my
favorite songs . "The Chokin' Kind."
Mark Vann, banjo player - Died 3/4/02. Vann, who died from
melanoma, worked with Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs and Waylon
Jennings.
Mati Klarwein, designed album covers - Died 3/6/02. A
Surrealist painter, he designed album covers for Santana,
Miles Davis and Earth, Wind And Fire and did illustrations
for Jimi Hendrix and Jerry Garcia.
Shirley Scott, piano/keyboard player - Died 3/10/02. Scott
died from heart disease. She had worked with Eddie
"Lockjaw" Davis, Dexter Gordon and Stanley Turrentine.
Abe Mulkey, singer/songwriter/guitar player - Died 3/10/02.
He worked with Lefty Frizzell, Hank Williams Jr., Merle
Haggard, Bob Wills and Buck Owens.
Jim Clark, singer - Died 3/11/02. He was shot to death by
his wife . who then killed herself
Marshall Leib, guitar player - Died 3/15/02. He was a member
of The Moondogs, The Teddy Bears (w/Phil Spector) and was a
touring member of The Hollywood Argyles. He also worked
with Duane Eddy.
Hank Ballard, singer/songwriter/band leader - Died 3/2/2003.
Ballard died from throat cancer. He wrote "The Twist."
Recording with The Midnighters, he did "Annie Had A Baby"
and "Work With Me Annie." He also worked with James Brown.
Adam Faith, singer/actor/producer - Died 3/7/03. Faith, who
died from a heart attack, worked with Leo Sayer, Roger
Daltrey and Lonnie Donegan. He also recorded "What Do You
Want" and "Made You."
Kenny Sinclair, singer - Died 3/16/03. Sinclair died from
prostate cancer. He was a member of The Six Teens,The
Elgins, The Bagdads and The Olympics, and he worked with
Rosie & the Originals and Brenton Wood.
Priscilla Paris, singer - Died 3/5/2004. She was one of The
Paris Sisters ("I Love How You Love Me").
Peggy DeCastro, singer - Died 3/6/04. She was a member of
The DeCastro Sisters ("Teach Me Tonight").
Robert Manardo, singer - Died 3/6/04. Manardo was a member
of the Falcons. He died from cancer.
John Mayer, composer/violinist - Died 3/9/04. Mayer, a
member of Indo-Jazz Fusions, was killed in a car accident.
Alf Bicknell, Beatles chauffeur - Died 3/9/04. He was the
inspiration for their song "Baby You Can Drive My Car."
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, pianist - Died 3/9/04. He played
in The Max Roach Quartet and did arrangements for Marvin
Gaye, Harry Belafonte and Melvin Van Peebles. He died of
cancer.
Kyle Tullis, bass player - Died 3/9/04. Tullis, who died
from liver and bone cancer, worked with Gram Parsons, Steve
Wariner, Lorrie Morgan, Larry Coryell, Dolly Parton, Johnny
Rodriguez, Emmylou Harris, Vern Gosdin, Marshall Chapman and
The Oak Ridge Boys.
Dave Blood, bass player - Died 3/10/04. Blood killed
himself. He had been a member of The Dead Milkmen ("Punk
Rock Girl").
Edmund Sylvers, singer - Died 3/11/04. Sylvers, who died of
lung cancer, was a member of The Sylvers ("Boogie Fever").
Mary Ann Fisher, singer - Died 3/12/04. She recorded "Wild
As You Can Be" and toured with Ray Charles.
Vilayat Khan, sitarist - Died 3/13/04. He is considered to
be one of the greatest sitar players of his generation.
Hank Marr, organ/keyboard player - Died 3/16/04. Marr
worked with Nancy Wilson, Della Reese, Sonny Stitt, Gene
Ammons and Lou Rawls.
J.J. Jackson, MTV VJ - Died 3/17/04. Jackson died from a
heart attack.
Verdie "Flash" Terry, singer/guitar player - Died 3/18/04.
Terry recorded "Enough Troubles Of My Own." He also worked
Curtis Mayfield. He died after suffering a stroke.
Wallace Foster Davenport, trumpet player - Died 3/18/04. He
worked with Count Basie, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
Johnny Bristol, singer/songwriter/producer - Died 3/21/04.
He did, "Someday We'll Be Together" (w/Jackie Beavers) and
"Hang On In There, Baby" (w/Alton McClain). He also worked
with Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Marvin
Gaye and Diana Ross & The Supremes.
Jan Berry, singer/songwriter/producer - Died 3/26/04. Berry
died from a seizure, probably caused by an automobile
accident almost forty-years earlier.
Judy Argo, cabaret singer - Died 3/29/04. She worked with
Gerry Mulligan and Ray Brown.
Timi Yuro, singer extraordinaire - Died 3/30/04. Timi Yuro
died from a cancerous brain tumor. She worked with Johnny
Ray, Phil Spector, Frank Sinatra and Willie Nelson. Her
version of "Hurt" is one of the finest pop songs ever
recorded.
James Neibaur
stra...@ma.rr.com wrote on 4/3/04 4:16 PM:
(snip long annotated list)
Thanks, Bill, this was very interesting (and sad) to read.
JN
Robert Feigel (aka Bob)
wrote:
That's one hell of a long list - and so many just during March 2004!!!
Is March a particularly bad month for musicians/music people, or does
it just look that way because we've lost so many this March? b
"When weaving nets, all threads count." - Charlie Chan
********
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
Todd N. Verklarung
> Paul Kossoff, guitar player - Died 3/19/76. Kossoff died
> from heart failure brought on by excessive drug use. He
> was a member of the bands Free and Back Street Crawler.
This was actually Kossoff's second death. His first "death"
occurred on a transatlantic plane flight; his heart stopped but
he was revived. Happened a couple of years before the final one,
and I don't remember if it was in a month of March or not.
Todd(a.o)