Died On This Date (January 29, 1992) Willie Dixon / Blues Giant

Willie Dixon
July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992

willie-dixonWillie Dixon is best remembered as one of the few main architects of the Chicago blues sound.  As a singer, bassist and prolific songwriter, Dixon was one of themost influential figures of the era.  He was also considered one of the key bridges between blues and rock ‘n roll.  Dixon wrote such blues staples as “Little Red Rooster,” “Hoochie Coochie Man,” and “I Ain’t Superstitious” and has been covered by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Cream, the Faces, Bob Dylan, Queen, the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones.    In later years, Dixon worked to secure royalties and copyrights for blues artists who had been exploited int the past.  He suffered from diabetes for many years and succumbed to heart failure at the age of 76.

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The Chess Box: Willie Dixon - Willie Dixon

Died On This Date (December 20, 2009) Brittany Murphy / Actress & Pop Singer

Brittany Murphy
November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009

Brittany Murphy is best remembered as a young American actress who appeared in such films as Girl Interrupted, Riding In Cars With Boys, and 8 Mile, opposite Eminem.  But she also had a bit of a music career as well.  By the time she was nine, Murphy landed a singing role in Les Miserables, and at 14, she was co-starring in the short-lived sit-com, Drexell’s Class.   In June of 2006, Murphy was invited to sing lead on dance producer Paul Oakenfold’s 2006 hit, “Faster Kill Pussycat.”  The frenetic single was a smash, topping the Billboard Dance Singles chart as well as reaching the top 10 on the UK charts.  She can also be heard singing Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Boogie Wonderland” and Queen’s “Somebody To Love” in the hit animated film, Happy Feet that same year.  Murphy also devoted her time to entertaining American soldiers as part of at least one USO tour.  On December 20, 2009, Brittany Murphy, 32, reportedly went into cardiac arrest in the shower of her Los Angeles home and was pronounced dead-on-arrival at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.



Died On This Date (November 24, 1991) Freddie Mercury / Queen

Freddie Mercury (Born Farrokh Bulsara)
September 5, 1946 – November 24, 1991

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Born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Freddie Mercury would become one of rock’s most beloved and dynamic performers as the lead singer of Queen.  When Mercury was 17, he and his family fled Zanzibar to London due to the Zanzibar Revolution.  Mercury had been performing in bands since his school days, and he wasn’t about to stop when he got to London.  When he graduated from college in the late ’60s, he played in a handful of bands until he joined up with Brian May and Roger Taylor and later John Deacon, in what would soon be called Queen.  The band became one of the biggest musical acts during the ’70s and ’80s thanks in part to Mercury’s operatic voice and jaw dropping showmanship.  One show in particular, Queen’s comeback of sorts during the Live Aid concerts of 1985, has been called the greatest live performance in the history of rock music.  Mercury wrote many of the band’s biggest hits, including “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “We Are The Champions,” “Killer Queen,” and arguably their greatest, “Bohemian Rhapsody.”  In the spring of 1987, Mercury was reportedly diagnosed with AIDS, though it wouldn’t be officially announced publicly until November 23, 1991.  Freddie Mercury died the next day of bronchial pneumonia as a result of AIDS.

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A Night At the Opera - Queen