Matthew Africa was a popular hip-hop DJ in the San Francisco bay area. Africa began building his following after he joined U.C. Berkeley radio station, KALX-FM. Over a career that spanned some 20 years, he was revered for his ability to find rare soul and hip-hop vinyl nuggets and introduce them to his audience. He went on to become a popular club, party, and event DJ while fans gobbled up his mix tapes. In recent years, Africa could be heard on AllDayPlay.fm. He also worked as an intellectual property attorney. On September 3, 2012, Matthew Africa and his wife, Ha Le were driving home from Yosemite when, for unknown reasons, he reportedly lost control of his car and ultimately collided with a big rig. While his wife was flown to a hospital with major injuries, Africa died from his injuries at the scene. He was 40.
Dick Clark was a world-famous radio and television pioneer who, because of his longtime championing of pop music, along with his youthful good looks, was dubbed “America’s Oldest Teenager.” Clark was just 17 when he took his first job in the music business – as a sales rep for a New York radio station. By the early ’50s, he was hosting his own radio program, Caravan of Music at WFIL in Philadelphia. In 1956, he took over the station’s TV affiliate’s teen music program, Bob Horn’s Bandstand. Within a year, ABC brought the show, now American Bandstand, into living rooms across the United States. Over the next four decades, American Bandstand, with Clark as host, presented new records and “live” performances by hundreds if not thousands of famous and not-so-famous pop acts the world has ever known. The program, which aired until 1989, became the blueprint for teen music television programming, but none of its followers (except perhaps Soul Train) were ever able to come close to matching its cultural impact. Despite Clark’s clean-cut persona, he was a tireless supporter of the music he presented – whether he was speaking out against censorship, or choosing to play the original R&B records by their Black performers over the “sanitized” versions by White artists which were popular in his early days of radio. In 1972, Clark launched Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve which rang in the new year from Times Square in New York City with a program filled with performances from popular music acts of that particular year. Even after suffering a significant stroke in 2004, Clark returned in 2006, albeit with less screen time, as co-host of the program with Ryan Seacrest. Over the years, Clark ran several other ventures as well – game shows, award shows, restaurants, and live theaters. On April 18, 2012, Dick Clark died after suffering a heart attack. He was 82.
King Stitt (Born Winston Spark) September 17, 1940 – January 31, 2012
King Stitt was, until the time of his passing, recognized as Jamaica’s oldest living deejay. Stitt’s career dated back to the mid ’50s when he began deejaying for the legendary Coxsone Dodd on his Sound System. Before he knew it, Stitt was releasing such influential deejay tracks as “Lee Van Cleef,” “Dance Beat,” and “Fire Corner” with such producers as Clancy Eccles and of course, Dodd himself. In recent years, Stitt was featured in the The Studio One Story documentary and the to-be-released Legends Of Ska concert doc. King Stitt was 71 when he passed away on January 31, 2012. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Errol Scorcher (Born Errol Archer) 1956 – January 19, 2012
Errol Scorcher was a popular Jamaican deejay who built his following while working several soundsystems during the ’70s. In 1978, he joined Prince Jammy’s Tapetown soundsystem which went on to become of Jamaica’s most popular. Scorcher released albums like Rasta Fire, Unity Showcase, and Roach In De Corner. The list of his hit singles includes “Roach In De Corner,” Frog In A Water,” and “Mosquitoes.” On January 19, 2012, Earl Scorcher died after a blood vessel ruptured in his head. He was 55.
Thanks to Henk de Bruin at 2+ Printing for the assist.
Joe Gracey was an Austin, Texas radio disc jockey who, since the early ’70s, championed what was then called progressive country on KOKE-FM. Also referred to as alt country, Americana, outlaw country, redneck rock, or simply Texas music, this hybrid of country, blues, rock, and folk found its home outside the mainstream. And it was Gracey who helped make many of its practitioners – like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kinky Friedman, Townes Van Zandt, Asleep at the Wheel, and Jerry Jeff Walker, household names throughout Texas and beyond. After being named “Radio Trendsetter of the Year” by Billboard magazine in 1974, Gracey helped launch the popular music program Austin City Limits and was the show’s first talent coordinator. He later opened his own recording studio where he recorded Stevie Ray Vaughan. In 1978, he married fellow Texas musician, Kimmie Rhodes for whom he also played and recorded. Other artists with which he collaborated were Willie Nelson, Ray Price, and Calvin Russell, to name a few. Joe Gracey died of cancer on November 17, 2011. He was 61.