Died On This Date (July 14, 1973) Clarence White / The Byrds, Kentucky Colonels

Clarence White
June 7, 1944 – July 14, 1973

Clarence White started his professional career as founding guitarist for the Kentucky Colonels, a progressive bluegrass outfit formed with his brothers. The Colonels were making a name for themselves in the Los Angeles area in the early ’60s, but their dreams of fame were soon derailed by the one-two punch of the British Invasion, and Bob Dylan going electric. White quickly found plenty of session working on records by the likes of the Monkees, International Submarine Band, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, after which he landed with the Byrds. His tenure with the Byrds started in 1966 with the California-country years of Gram Parsons, a perfect home for his style of playing. In the years following the Byrds break-up, White went back to session work, working with Randy Newman and Jackson Browne. He also joined a bluegrass “supergroup” called Muleskinner, playing alongside Peter Rowan, David Grisman, Bill Keith and Richard Green. Muleskinner’s contemporary sound would be the foundation of what would later be called “new grass.” Then in the early morning hours of July 14, tragedy struck. While loading gear into his car after a Kentucky Colonels reunion gig, White was struck and killed by a drunk driver. He was just 29.

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Died On This Date (December 6, 1988) Roy Orbison / Rock ‘n Roll Pioneer

Roy Orbison
April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988

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Roy Orbison was one of rock ‘n roll’s true pioneers.  With his uniquely beautiful and almost operatic voice, dark and sometimes melodramatic songs, and a sound that was equal parts country and rockabilly, Orbison would directly inspire such future greats as Bruce Springsteen, Bono, John Lennon and Tom Petty.  When describing his voice, Barry Gibb once called it “the voice of God.” Orbison began learning to play the guitar his father gave him on his 6th birthday.  As he grew older, he found his biggest inspiration in the music of Jimmie Rodgers, Lefty Frizzell, and Hank Williams.  In 1956, he was offered a contract by Sun Records who released his first single, “Ooby Dooby” which sold a respectble 200,000 copies.  Over the course of the next several years, he recorded no less than 20 top 40 singles, including “Only The Lonely,” “In Dreams,” “Crying,” and of course, “Oh, Pretty Woman.”  When the British Invasion hit American soil during the early ’60s, Orbison, like many of rock’s first generation, were ironically pushed aside for the bands who found great inspiration in them.  The ’70s found Orbison’s music embraced by some of the era’s most popular musicians.  Artists like Springsteen, Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons and Nazereth were covering his songs either on record or in concert.  In 1987, Orbison experienced a career revival thanks to a televised tribute and live album that found him sharing the stage with Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Jeff Lynne, Jackson Browne, and Bonnie Raitt.  A year later, he was back in the studio as part of the Traveling Wilburys, a supergroup that included George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan.  Their first release sold over 3 million copies in the U.S. alone.  During that time working with the Wilburys, Orbison was also busy recording what supposed to be his comeback album, Mystery Girl.  Later that year found him making a handful of promotional dates for the Wilburys, putting the finishing touches on his album, and preparing for what he hoped would be his second shot at stardom.  But on December 6, 1988, Roy Orbison, 52, died of a heart attack at his home.  During the year that followed, Mystery Girl was released and it’s first single, “You Got It,” was a smash hit that cracked the top 10 in the U.S.  The album reached #5 in the U.S. and #2 in the UK, putting him back where he was when he started his career, on top.

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Died On This Date (September 19, 1973) Gram Parsons / Country Rock Pioneer

Gram Parsons (Born Cecil Connor)
November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973

Gram Parsons was a highly influential singer-songwriter who helped launch what would later be called country rock and then alt-country or Americana.  Parsons began playing the guitar as a teenager to escape a less than ideal home life.  The first group he played with, the Shilohs, were a folk band in the tradition of the Kingston Trio.  When the band broke up, he and other Boston area folk musicians formed the International Submarine Band with whom he began to develop a sound the borrowed the best from country, folk and rock.  They enjoyed moderate success, primarily getting airplay on the up-and-coming progressive radio stations.   In 1968, Parsons was asked to join the Byrds as a replacement for David Crosby and Michael Clarke.  He started on keyboards but soon switched to guitar, helping guide the group down a more country rock path.  Parsons left the Byrds in the summer of 1968.  He joined back up with the Byrds’ Chris Hillman soon after to form the Flying Burrito Brothers whose debut,  The Gilded Palace of Sin would be a direct influence on the likes of the Eagles, Dwight Yoakam and later, Wilco and Ryan Adams.  By the early ’70s, Parsons was working as a solo artist while recording and performing with good friend, Emmylou Harris.  It was during this period that Parsons’ inner demons were taking control in the form of substance abuse.  He was also spending more and more time in an area he had become fond of, Joshua Tree National Monument in the desert outside of Los Angeles.  He liked to go there and take LSD while searching for UFOs.  It was during one of these trips that Gram Parsons apparently overdosed on morphine and alcohol and died at the age of 26.

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Gram Parsons