Died On This Date (September 14, 2009) Patrick Swayze / Respected Actor and Song & Dance Man

Patrick Swayze
August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009

Patrick Swayze with actress, Norma Louise

Although best remembered as a handsome leading man in many popular films throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Patrick Swayze left his mark on popular music as well.  Besides starring in such music-centric films as Dirty Dancing and Ghost, Swayze achieved success as a song and dance man on stage, starring in such musicals as Guys and Dolls, Goodtime Charley and Chicago.  Thanks to his role in Ghost, Swayze earned a place in the hip-hop cultural via the lyric “I’m Swayze” as in “I’m Ghost,” or “I’m gone.”  In 1987, Swayze earned a Golden Globe nomination for a song he co-wrote and recorded for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, “She’s Like The Wind.”   Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January of 2008, Patrick Swayze succumbed to the disease on September 14, 2009.  He was 57.

What You Should Own

Click to find DVD at amazon.com

Died On This Date (September 14, 1981) Furry Lewis / Country Blues Pioneer

Walter “Furry” Lewis
March 6, 1893 – September 14, 1981

Furry Lewis is one of country blues’ pioneers, making his name as a songwriter and guitarist in the early decades of the 20th century.  He started performing at local parties while still in his teens, and by the late ’20s, he was recording sides for Vocalion Records in Chicago.  Lewis had minor successes during his early years, but still needed to rely on his job as a city street sweeper until his retirement in 1966.  His career rebounded during the folk revival of the ’60s, even being the topic of the Joni Mitchell song, “Furry Sings The Blues” (aparrently he was not a fan).  The ’70s found Lewis touring the country along with Sleepy John Estes and Bukka White as part of a caravan tour.  He also opened for the Rolling Stones a couple of times and performed on the Tonight Show during the ’70s.  Furry Lewis died at the age of 88 as a result of pneumonia.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Furry Lewis