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Posts Tagged ‘Sam Cooke’

Died On This Date (October 26, 2010) James Phelps / Gospel Great

Posted by themusicsover on October 26, 2010

James Phelps
DOB Unknown – October 26, 2010

James Phelps was a pioneering Gospel and R&B singer who, over the course of his long career worked with  Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls, and Otis Redding.  Phelps entered into show business while still in his teens, when he moved from Shreveport to Chicago and began singing in local Gospel groups.  After dabbling in rock ‘n roll and R&B a bit, Phelps returned to Gospel for the rest of his professional life.  In 1965, he scored an R&B hit with “Love is a Five Letter Word.”  James Phelps was 87 when he passed away on October 26, 2010.  He died from complications of diabetes.

Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the assist.



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Died On This Date (October 12, 1998) Raymond Myles / New Orleans Gospel Legend

Posted by themusicsover on October 12, 2010

Raymond Myles
July 14, 1958 – October 12, 1998

Raymond Myles was acknowledged by his New Orleans’ musical peers as perhaps the greatest gospel talent of his generation. The testimonials to his greatness as a singer, pianist and choir director came from no less than Harry Connick, Jr., Aaron Neville, Dr. John and Allen Toussaint. Myles devoted his life to addressing vital social issues that impacted his community and affected him personally. From his impoverished beginnings in the everyday violence of New Orleans’ housing projects, he became a dedicated public school music teacher whose commitment to young people steered many of them away from ruin during a murderous crack epidemic in New Orleans during the nineties. “But as hard as he tried, Raymond never felt that his community embraced him with what he considered to be God’s unconditional love,” said Leo Sacks, who produced his only full-length studio album, A Taste of Heaven, and is directing a documentary called A Taste Of Heaven: The Heartbreak Life of Raymond Myles, Gospel Genius of New Orleans, now in production (raymondmylesmovie.com). “These feelings of isolation and disconnection reflected a lifetime of struggle with his elders in the black church, a struggle that boiled down to their refusal to fully accept gay worshipers.”  In his short, turbulent life, Myles performed as such prestigious music events as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the Newport Folk Festival. Tragically, his dramatic journey from a childhood of abject poverty to the brink of international music stardom was cut short when he was murdered during a carjacking outside the French Quarter on the night of October 11, 1998.  A career criminal from New Orleans was sentenced to 20 years in Louisiana’s Angola state penitentiary for being an accomplice to the killing.  So beloved was Raymond Myles that when he was laid to rest, only Mahalia Jackson and Louis Armstrong drew more mourners to their Crescent City funerals.



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Died On This Date (July 11, 1937) George Gershwin / Iconic Composer

Posted by themusicsover on July 11, 2010

George Gershwin (Born Jacob Gershowitz)
September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937

Although his career spanned just around twenty years due to his untimely death, George Gerswhin, along with his brother Ira Gershwin, created some of the most popular music of all time.  His compositions can, to this day, be heard on Broadway, in classical concert halls, films and television.  Many of his songs have become standards and have been recorded by the biggest names in show business.  That list includes Barbra Streisand, Sting, Janis Joplin, Frank Sinatra, Sam Cooke, Diana Ross, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane and Louis Armstrong.  George Gershwin died at the age of 38 during surgery for what was a brain tumor.  There have been some who disputed that a tumor caused his death.

What You Should Own

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Posted in Blues, Composer, Easy Listening, Jazz, Musician, Pop, Songwriter | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Died On This Date (June 13, 1972) Clyde McPhatter / The Drifters

Posted by themusicsover on June 13, 2010

Clyde McPhatter
November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972

Clyde McPhatter was one of the most influential R&B singers of the ’50s and ’60s, both as leader of the Drifters and later as a solo artist. His hits included “Treasure Of Love,” “A Lover’s Question,” and “I Never Knew.” What separated him from the pack of R&B crooners was his ability to cross over to a white audience, likely due to the fact that white artists liked to cover his songs, which in turn gave them greater success. His ability to reach the pop audience became the blueprint for such followers as Sam Cooke, Ben E. King, and even Smokey Robinson. McPhatter continued to record into the late ’60s, but failed to get the momentum needed to make him the superstar he deserved to be. Years of alcoholism may have played a role in that. He moved to England for a couple of years to try to capitalize on the fan base he still had over there, but came back to the US where he died of a heart attack attributed to the years of alcohol abuse.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Deep Sea Ball - The Best of Clyde McPhatter - Clyde McPhatter

 

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Died On This Date (May 31, 2000) Johnnie Taylor / Soul Singer

Posted by themusicsover on May 31, 2010

Johnnie Taylor
May 5, 1938 – May 31, 2000

Johnnie Taylor was one of those rare talents who could adapt his style to fit whatever the current trend was looking for. He found success with gospel, soul, blues, doo wop, and disco. Taylor’s first break came in 1957 when he replaced Sam Cooke as front man of the Soul Stirrers, the influential gospel group. In 1961, he signed to Cooke’s label, Star Records. But when Cooke was murdered in 1964, Taylor moved back to Memphis where he was signed to the legendary Stax Records where he had a string of R&B hits that primarily showcased his smooth crooning. Then came the mid ’70s, and Taylor found himself on CBS Records where in 1976, he delivered one of disco’s biggest smashes, “Disco Lady.” That song would become the very first single to be certified Platinum by the RIAA. It went on to sell more than two million copies. By the ’80s, disco was dead and so was Taylor’s ascension to the top, so he went back to where it all began and signed with Malaco Records, a label that let him revisit the sound of his early career, the blues. His career stayed active through the late ’90s, but on May 31, 2000, Johnnie Taylor suffered a fatal heart attack.

What You Should Own

The Very Best of Johnnie Taylor - Johnnie Taylor

Posted in Blues, Disco, R&B, Singer | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »