Died On This Date (May 24, 2010) Stella Nova aka Steve New / The Rich Kids

Stella Nova (aka Steve New)
May 16, 1960 – May 24, 2010

Stella Nova was an English punk/new wave  singer and guitarist who, as Steve New, nearly became the Sex Pistols’ second guitarist before their recently fired bassist, Glen Matlock, invited him to join his new band, the Rich Kids.   Born in London, New began playing music while still in grade school.  By the late mid ’70s, he was fully entrenched in the city’s vibrant punk scene, which lead to his invitation to audition for the Sex Pistols and ultimate membership in the Rich Kids.  Formed in 1977, the band was made up of Matlock, New, Rusty Egan, and front man and future Ultravox singer, Midge Ure.  The new wave/power pop band who had more in common with the Small Faces than with the Sex Pistols,  built a solid cult following before disbanding two years later.  New went to work with the likes of Sid Vicious, Iggy Pop, and Public Image, Ltd.  In recent years, he was going by Stella Nova and working as a composer, arranger, and producer.   Stella Nova/Steve New was 50 when he died of cancer on May 24, 2010.

Thanks to Anne Bentley for the assist.

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Died On This Date (April 17, 2009) Sable Starr / 1970s Super Fan and Scenester

Sable Starr (Born Sable Shields)
1958 – April 17, 2009

sable-starrFollowing in the tradition of Miss Pamela, Sweet Sweet Connie and Cynthia Plaster Caster, Sable Starr loved rock music and at times the rock musicians that moved her.  She ruled ’70s Los Angeles and no doubt left many a-broken heart in her wake.  Some may refer to her as a “groupie” but Starr transcended that by being part of a select club who have been memorialized in song.  Iggy Pop’s “Look Away,” written about Johnny Thunders’ relationship with Starr includes the lines, “I slept with Sable when she was 13 / Her parents were too rich to do anything / She rocked her way around L.A. / ‘Til a New York doll carried her away / Look away Look away.”  By the time Sable was in her early teens, she was holding court in Hollywood’s hippest spots, from Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco to the Whiskey a Go-Go; from the Rainbow to the Sunset Hyatt.  She befriended the likes of Iggy Pop, Marc Bolan, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, David Bowie and Johnny Thunders with whom she moved to New York around 1973.  What she thought was to be a long life with Thunders quickly fell apart mostly due to his escalating drug use.  Their  relationship ended with her slitting her wrist and being brought to Bellevue.  She was soon living back with her parents in Los Angeles.  She eventually dropped out of the scene, went back to school and lived a mostly “normal” life.  In later years, Starr moved to Las Vegas and worked as a dealer at a casino.  She died of cancer on April 17, 2009 at the age of 51.



Died On This Date (March 6, 2010) Mark Linkous / Sparklehorse

Mark Linkous
September 9, 1962 – March 6, 2010

Mark Linkous was the multi-instrumentalist leader of alternative rock group, Sparklehorse, who became an critics’ darling cult band after the release of their debut album, Vivadixiesubmarine- transmissionplot, in 1995.  Prior to that, he was a member of the Dancing Hoods, who he co-founded  in the mid ’80s.  In 1996, while on tour with Radiohead, Linkous overdosed Valium, antidepressants and alcohol, causing him to lay unconscious with his legs pinned underneath him for fourteen hours.  He literally died for two minutes when rescuers tried to straighten his legs which had been cut off from circulation for the duration of his unconsciousness.   The incident left him with permanent damage to his legs.  In 2009, Linkous collaborated on a Dark Night of Soul with famed indie producer Danger Mouse and iconic film director, David Lynch.  The multi-media project also includes performance by  Flaming Lips, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, Frank Black, Iggy Pop and more.  He was recently working on a new album due out in late 2010.  On March 6, 2010, Mark Linkous died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  He was 47.

Thanks to Craig Rosen of Number1Albums

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Good Morning Spider - Sparklehorse

Died On This Date (February 24, 1994) Dinah Shore / Star of Song & Television

Dinah Shore (Born Frances Shore)
February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994

Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

Dinah Shore was a popular jazz and pop singer as well as a familiar face on television for decades.  During Shore’s singing career of the ’40s and ’50s, she was unique in that she performed as a solo artist rather than sing for bands like those fronted by Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and such.  During that time she released nearly 100 hits and was a popular attraction at USO shows for the military.  During the ’50s, Shore successfully transitioned over to television, hosting her own variety shows through the early ’90s.  Her Dinah! program of the ’70s played host to such rock figures as David Bowie and Iggy Pop as well as to a notorious appearance by Andy Kauffman’s alter ego, Tony Clifton.  Dinah Shore was 77 when she died of ovarian cancer on February 24, 1994.

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Dinah Shore

Died On This Date (February 12, 2000) Screamin’ Jay Hawkins / Influential R&B Pioneer

Jalacy “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins
July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000

screamin-jay-hawkinsScreamin’ Jay Hawkins was a somewhat outrageous blues and rock ‘n roll singer and musician whose biggest hit, “I Put a Spell On You,” and spooky stage theatrics influenced the likes of Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath.  Even Bruce Springsteen has borrowed from Hawkins by coming out of a coffin to kick off his shows around Halloween.  After serving in WWII where he was reportedly captured and tortured, Hawkins came home to the U.S. where he became a middleweight boxing champ, and later, a recording artist.  In 1956, he released “I Put a Spell On You,” which went on to become a radio staple each year in October and has since been recorded or performed by the likes of  Creedance Clearwater Revival, Ray Charles, Iggy Pop, Marylin Manson, and more recently, She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward).   In later years, Hawkins collaborated with Dread Zeppelin and the Fuzztones.  He’s also shared the stage with the Clash, the Rolling Stones and Fats Domino.  On February 12, 2000, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, age 70, died following surgery for an aneurysm.  It has been estimated that he left behind as many as 75 children to many different mothers.

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Cow Fingers and Mosquito Pie - Screamin' Jay Hawkins