Died On This Date (October 3, 2012) Danny Sims / Music Executive; Managed Bob Marley

Danny Sims
DOB Unknown – October 3, 2012

Danny Sims was a successful American music executive who is perhaps best remembered for being instrumental in the success of Bob Marley. Born in Mississippi, Sims eventually settled in New York City, where in 1965, he and business partner, Johnny Nash launched JAD Records.  During that period, Sims traveled back and forth to Jamaica with several American soul singers to record.  One of them was Nash who had a huge hit with “I Can See Clearly Now” in 1972.  Nash was reportedly the first American to record in Jamaica.  In 1967, Sims signed Bob Marley and the Wailers (the Wailers at the time being, Bunny Livingston and Peter Tosh) to their first recording contract.  Sims has been acknowledged for refining Marley and his band mates for the world stage and studio in those early years. Sims recorded hundreds of early tracks with the Wailers , many of which have still yet to be released. In 1972, Sims sold Marley’s contract to Chris Blackwell, and in doing so, unknowingly launched the modern age of reggae music.  Blackwell, of course, helped turn Marley into a superstar by teaching him to think beyond reggae and present himself as a rock star.  Meanwhile, Sims went on to find success with JAD Records (thanks in part to future Marley “rarity” collections)  as well as with his Cayman Publishing company. Sims joined forces with Marley again as his manager, but the singer died of cancer shortly thereafter. Danny Sims as 72 when he died of colon cancer on October 3, 2012.



Died On This Date (May 11, 1981) Bob Marley / Reggae Icon

Bob Marley
February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981

Bob Marley was a Jamaican musician and singer-songwriter who is widely recognized for bringing reggae music to the rest of the world.  He is arguable the most beloved performer of reggae.  His greatest hits album, Legend, is the biggest selling reggae album of all times, selling a staggering 20 million copies.  in 1963, producer Coxsone Dodd discovered Marley in a group that also included Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer.  They would soon become the Wailers.  Over the next several years, Marley would release a string of albums that would help define a sound and movement.  Those classic albums included Catch A Fire, Burnin’, Rastaman Vibration, and of course, Exudus.  In July of 1977, Marley was diagnosed with a form of malenoma in his big toe.  Citing his Rastafarian belief that the body most remain whole, Marley refused to receive any form of surgical treatment.  Instead, he sought more controversial and holistic forms of treatment, but the cancer had already progressed too far.  Bob Marley passed away in a Miami hospital at the age of 36.

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Died On This Date (April 17, 1987) Carlton Barrett / Bob Marley & The Wailers

Carlton “Carly” Barrett
December 17, 1950 – April 17, 1987

carlton-barrettCarlton Barrett was a reggae drummer and songwriter as well as brother of Aston “Family Man” Barrett.  The Barrett brothers started out together, forming a session band first called Soul Mates, then Rhythm Force and finally the Hippy Boys that featured Max Romeo on vocals.  By the early ’70s, the Hippy Boys were officially the house band for the great Lee “Scratch” Perry who renamed them the Upsetters.  Barrett played behind Perry on some of reggae’s greatest instrumentals, such as  “Clint Eastwood” and “Cold Sweat.”  It was around this time that Barrett brothers met Bob Marley who had formed a trio with Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh.  Carlton and Aston were hired to play on several early tracks and soon became permanent members of the Wailers.  Carlton stayed in the Wailers until Marley’s death in 1981.   Carlton Barrett was shot to death outside his home on April 17, 1987.  His wife, her then lover, and another man were implicated in the murder.   She ended up serving just one year for conspiracy.



Died On This Date (January 12, 2009) Gary Kurfirst / Respected Manager and Label Veteran

Gary Kurfirst
July 8, 1947 – January 13, 2009

Gary Kurfirst was a respected artist manager, label executive and concert promoter.  Kurfirst got his first taste of the music industry when he began promoting dances while still in high school.  In 1967, he launched New York City’s Village Theater which soon became world famous as Bill Graham’s Fillmore East.  The following year, he created the New York Rock Festival which featured the likes of the Doors, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.  It has been said that the idea of Woodstock came to be thanks to the New York Rock Festival.  By the ’80s, Kurfirst was a well-established artist manager.  Over the course of his career, he guided the careers of the likes of the Peter Tosh, Toots & the Maytals, Talking Heads, the Ramones, Blondie, Jane’s Addiction, the Eurythmics and the B-52s.  Gary Kurfirst was 61 when he died suddenly of an undisclosed cause while vacationing in the Bahamas.

Thanks to Craig Rosen from Number1Albums for the assist.



Died On This Date (December 28, 2008) Vincent Ford / Wrote Songs For Bob Marley

Vincent Ford
1940 – December 28, 2008

vincent-ford

Vincent Ford was a longtime friend of Bob Marley and is credited as the songwriter for such Marley tunes as “Positive Vibration,” “Roots Rock Reggae,” and most famously, “No Woman, No Cry.” During the ’60s, Ford ran a kitchen in the Trenchtown ghetto of Kingston.  It was called the Casbah and it was where Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh rehearsed in their early days.  Marley also slept on a wooden table there for a while.  It has since become a museum of sorts.  It is believed that in actuality, Marley wrote the Ford-credited songs, but gave Ford the writing credits so he would have income for the rest of his life.  It has been reported that Marley did that for other close friends as well.  At the very least, Ford inspired some of Marley’s lyrics.  Vincent Ford was 68 when he passed away from diabetes and hypertension on December 28, 2008.

Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the assist.