Died On This Date (September 6, 2007) Luciano Pavarotti / Crossover Opera Legend

Luciano Pavarotti
October 12, 1935 – September 6, 2007

Luciano Pavarotti was an immensely popular operatic singer who successfully crossed over to pop music during the 1990s.  In the early part of the decade, he joined Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras to perform and record as The Three Tenors.  Their album together went on to become the biggest selling classical album in history.  Over the years he has sung with such pop acts as U2, Vanessa Williams and Mercedes Sosa.  He is the only opera singer to ever perform on Saturday Night Live.  Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer while in the midst of his “farewell tour” of 2006.  He died of the disease on September 6, 2007.

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Pavarotti's Greatest Hits - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Luciano Pavarotti & Zubin Mehta

Died On This Date (September 6, 1978) Tom Wilson / Acclaimed Producer

Tom Wilson
March 25, 1931 – September 6, 1978

With Bob Dylan.  Photo by Don Hunstein
With Bob Dylan. Photo by Don Hunstein

Working as a record producer through the late ’50s and most of the ’60s, Tom Wilson earned a place alongside such better-known contemporaries as Phil Spector and George Martin.  After graduating from Harvard, Wilson started up Transition Records, where he signed Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor.  In the early ’60s, he moved over to Columbia Records as house producer.  While there, he produced such masterpieces as Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’, Another Side Of Bob Dylan, and Bringing It All Back Home. He also produced seminal albums by the likes of Simon and Garfunkel, Frank Zappa, Eric Burdon and the Velvet Underground.  Tom Wilson suffered a fatal heart attack on September 6, 1978.  He was 47.



Died On This Date (September 6, 1994) Nicky Hopkins / Remarkable Session Keyboardist

Nicky Hopkins
February 24, 1944 – September 6, 1994

Keyboardist Nicky Hopkins has been called one of the greatest rock session players of all time.  Because he suffered from Chron’s disease since childhood, it was difficult for Hopkin’s to be part of a touring band, so he decided he make his mark as a studio musician instead.  After cutting his chops with Screaming Lord Sutch and Cyril Davies during the hay day of British R&B of the ’60s, went on to become one of the most favored session men in London.  Over the course of his career, he’s played on records by the likes of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, the Kinks, and John Lennon, as well as those by such American artists as Steve Miller and Jefferson Airplane.  Nicky Hopkins died at the age of 50 due to complications from intestinal surgery.



Died On This Date (September 6, 1990) Tom Fogerty / Creedence Clearwater Revival

Tom Fogerty
November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990

Tom Fogerty is best remembered as the founding guitarist for Creedance Clearwater Revival alongside his younger brother, John Fogerty.  Prior to his days in CCR, Fogerty had a group, Spider Webb & The Insects that were signed to Del-Fi Records, but broke up before they could release any records.  In the mid ’60s, Fogerty joined up with his brother in the Golliwogs who eventually changed their name to Creedance Clearwater Revival.  CCR went on to become one of America’s most popular rock bands, releasing such huge hits as “Bad Moon Rising,” “Proud Mary” and “Fortunate Son.”  Over the course of just five years, the band released a series of albums that are now considered classic rock staples.  In spite of the band’s success, Fogerty quit the band in 1971 partly due to his strained relationship with his brother.   Fogerty’s solo debut album of 1971 was a minor hit which reached #78 on the Billboard charts.  Tom Fogerty died of AIDS at the age of 48.  He had been infected with HIV from a blood transfusion.

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Creedence Clearwater Revival

Died On This Date (September 6, 1984) Ernest Tubb / Country Music Pioneer

Ernest Tubb
February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984

Ernest Tubb was one of country music’s greatest pioneers.  With a career that spanned almost 50 years, Tubb ushered in what would be called “honky tonk” with his 1941 hit, “Walking The Floor Over You.”  The son of a sharecropper, Tubb spent much of his youth working the fields of Texas, learning to sing and play the guitar during his off hours.  His early music jobs consisted of singing at radio stations in San Antonio and San Angelo, Texas.  In the mid ’30s, he struck up a friendship with the widow of Jimmie Rodgers, one of his all-time idols.  It was she that helped him get his first deal with RCA Records.  Tubb was never accused of having the best singing voice, but he certainly put together some of the greatest bands country music has ever known.  1n 1947, Tubb opened Ernest Tubb Record Shop in downtown Nashville.  That store, along with locations in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and Fort Worth, Texas are still thriving businesses, catering mostly to the classic country fan.  Ernest Tubb died of empysema at the age of 70.

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Ernest Tubb: The Definitive Collection - Ernest Tubb