Singer – Page 161 – The Music's Over

Died On This Date (April 8, 2009) Pop Winans

themusicsover April 8, 2010 1 Comments

David “Pop” Winans
April 20, 1932 – April 8, 2009

Pop Winans was the patriarch of the Winans, a popular Gospel singing family that achieved various levels of success both collectively and individually. He and his wife, Delores recorded and performed together (Mom and Pop Winans) and separately throughout their careers. Son and daughter, Bebe and CeCe Winans scored the biggest hits of the family with their “Addictive Love,” and “I’ll Take You There.” Grammy-nominated Pops Winans passed away on April 8, 2009 in a Nashville hospice facility where he had been since January of that year. He had been recovering from a heart attack and stroke in October of 2008.

Jazz Latin Singer

Died On This Date (April 7, 2010) Graciela Perez-Grillo / The First Lady Of Latin Jazz

themusicsover April 7, 2010 0 Comments

Graciela Perez-Grillo
August 23, 1915 – April 7, 2010

Known as the “First Lady of Latin Jazz,” Graciela Perez-Grillo was pioneering Afro-Cuban jazz singer who got her start in New York City during the 1940s. Perez-Grillo was born in Cuba to a musical family that also included fellow Latin jazz great, Machito. Perez-Grillo won several Grammys and even lead her own big band in 1942, making her the first woman in history to do so. She was best known for songs like “This is Graciela,” and “That’s the Way I Am.” Graciela Perez-Grillo was 94 when she passed away on April 7, 2010.

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Musician Rock Singer

Died On This Date (April 7, 1994) Lee Brilleaux / Dr. Feelgood

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Lee Brilleaux
May 10, 1952 – April 7, 1994

Lee Brilleaux was the lead singer and sometime slide-guitarist for the British pub rock band, Dr. Feelgood. Formed in 1971, Dr. Feelgood worked non-stop until Brilleaux’s death in 1994, never straying far from the basic hard-punching rock ‘n’ roll that endeared them to a strong core of loyalists. Their live shows become something of legend thanks in part to Brilleaux’s passionate singing. Their first few albums were downright smashes in the UK, but failed to catch on in the US. The core of the group was done by the early ’80s as their style of music was pushed aside for punk, but Brilleaux soldiered on, casting new members into the band. By this point he had given up on making it big as a recording artist and devoted his energy to the club circuit. Dr. Feelgood continued to draw large audiences in their homeland up until Brilleaux was diagnosed with cancer in the early ’90s. He passed away on April 7, 1994 at the age of 41.

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Musician Rock Singer Songwriter

Died On This Date (April 6, 1998) Wendy O. Williams / The Plasmatics

themusicsover April 6, 2010 0 Comments

Wendy O. Williams
May 29, 1949 – April 6, 1998

Wendy O. Williams was the dynamic lead singer of shock-punk band, the Plasmatics. Williams was considered one of the most frighteningly controversial singers of her, and most generations due in part to her near nudity and simulated sexual antics on stage. If that got boring, you could always count on exploding gear and chain-sawing of guitars to heat things up. After a young life that included working as a macro-biotic cook, performing in a gypsy dance troupe, stripping, doing live sex shows, and then working in porn, Williams decided to clean up her act and moved to New York where she answered a casting call that lead to the formation of the Plasmatics. The group exploded on to the New York underground scene in 1978. The band’s following continued to grow as they toured the world, causing an uproar in most locales, sometimes leading to arrest on indecency charges. By 1984, Williams had gone solo, her first album, W.O.W being produced by Gene Simmons was virtually a KISS album with all members performing on it in one form or another. The album earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Female Performance. A couple of B-movie bit parts followed, with Williams all but retiring by 1991. In spite of her reckless persona, Williams was deeply devoted to her health, animals and vegetarianism. After her run in show business, she worked as an animal rehabilitator and natural foods activist. On April 6, 1998, the 48 year-old Wendy O. Williams walked into the woods near her house and died of what authorities ruled a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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Country Singer

Died On This Date (April 6, 1998) Tammy Wynette / The First Lady Of Country Music

themusicsover April 6, 2010 2 Comments

Tammy Wynette
May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998

Tammy Wynette was rightfully known as the “First Lady of Country Music” due in part to her domination of the country music charts during the late ’60s and early ’70s. With hits like “Stand By Your Man,” and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” she personified female country singers of the era. Her songs reached the top of the country music charts 17 times and earned her two Grammys. In 1969, Wynette married George Jones, with whom she had several more hits as his duet partner. A couple little know facts about Wynette were that she was a stand-out basketball player in high school, and that she renewed her cosmetology license every year so she’d have something to fall back on. She was also the voice of Hank Hill’s mother on King Of The Hill. As is generally the case with country stars of the ’60s and ’70s, Wynette’s popularity waned in the ’80s, but she found a new popularity in 1991 when she teamed up with British electronic band the KLF on “Justified And Ancient (Stand By The JAMs)”, a number one hit throughout much of the world. A couple of years later, she joined forces with Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn for the great Honky Tonk Angels album. Wynette suffered from numerous health problems throughout her life resulting in over two dozen major surgeries. Her body finally gave in on April 6, 1998, when she died in her sleep from a pulmonary blood clot.

Died On This Date (April 8, 2009) Pop Winans

Died On This Date (April 7, 2010) Graciela Perez-Grillo / The First Lady Of Latin Jazz

Died On This Date (April 7, 1994) Lee Brilleaux / Dr. Feelgood

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Died On This Date (April 6, 1998) Wendy O. Williams / The Plasmatics

Own A Piece Of Rock ‘n Roll History

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Died On This Date (April 6, 1998) Tammy Wynette / The First Lady Of Country Music

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