Charlie “Bird” Parker
August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955
If jazz had a Mount Rushmore, Charlie “Bird” Parker would be front and center. Parker was a highly influential saxophonist and band leader who launched his career in 1937. And when jazz branched off into bebop during the 1940s, Parker rose to the top. Many of Parker’s songs have since become jazz standards, and just his image alone, has become synonymous with “hip.” Unfortunately as his fame and fortune grew, so did his use of drugs, alcohol, and ultimately, heroin. On March 12, 1955, Charlie Parker died of pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer, reportedly brought on by years of substance abuse. And even though he was just 34, the coroner apparently wrote down that he was in his 50s or 60s.
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