Died On This Date (April 17, 1983) Felix Pappalardi / Producer For Cream, Bassist For Mountain

Felix Pappalardi
December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983

Felix Pappalardi wore many hats during his music career.  As a producer,  he worked with the likes of Joan Baez, the Youngbloods, and most famously, Cream.  As an arranger, he worked on albums by Tom Paxton and Fred Neill.  As a musician, he played bass for Mountain.  And as a songwriter, he co-wrote one of Cream’s biggest hits, “Strange Brew.” It has been reported that Pappalardi had to retire early because he became partially deaf due to the loudness of Mountain shows.  On April 17, 1983, Felix Pappalardi was gunned down by his wife, Gail, in what she claimed was an accident.  She was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

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Climbing! - Mountain

Died On This Date (November 16, 1994) Dino Valenti / Popular ’70s Singer-Songwriter

Dino Valente (Born Chet Powers)
November 7, 1943 – November 16, 1994

dino

Chet Powers was a singer-songwriter who was better known by his professional name, Dino Valenti.  Valenti got his start during the early ’60s in the same Greenwich Village coffeehouses and clubs as Bob Dylan, Josh White and Paul Stookey.  Valenti soon moved to Los Angeles where he penned perhaps his most famous song, “Get Together” (under Chet Powers).  The song would become popularized by Jefferson Starship and the Younbloods.  He soon found himself as a member of San Francisco psychedelic rock band, Quicksilver Messenger Service, but after one of several drug arrests, he was kicked out of the band.  Valenti did return to the band’s fold in later years, contributing several songs.    Valenti underwent brain surgery in 1981, so his future work was limited to local gigs due to the initial brain illness.  He was 57 when he died suddenly in his home on November 16, 1994.

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Dino Valenti