Died On This Date (September 20, 1997) Nick Traina / Link 80

Nicholas Traina
May 1, 1978 – September 20, 1997

The son of romance writer Danielle Steele, Nick Traina was the lead singer of ska punk band, Link 80.  Traina joined Link 80 when he was just sixteen, after fronting a band that he formed at just thirteen.  Traina suffered much of life with mental issues, being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and manic depression in later years.  He also suffered from drug abuse and had tried to take his own life on three seperate occasions before sadly succeeding on the fourth try.  He was just 19 years old.

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17 Reasons - Link 80

Died On This Date (September 20, 1973) Ben Webster / Jazz Great

Ben Webster
March 17, 1909 – September 20, 1973

Ben Webster was a prominent saxophonist who made his mark playing swing.  He is considered one of the most important players of the idiom.  He got his start in the Young Family Band alongside the great, Lester Young.  It was the 1930s in St. Louis, and Webster was quickly rising to the top of the scene.  Throughout his career, he was part of the best bands and orchestras in history.  They included those lead by Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Carter and Cab Calloway.  In the mid ’60s, Webster moved to Amsterdam where many American jazz musicians were settling at the time.  He continued to play in and around Denmark until his passing in 1973.

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Soulville - Ben Webster Quintet

Died On This Date (September 20, 2009) Chris Puma / Candiria

Chris Puma
DOB Unknown – September 20, 2009

Chris Puma was the founding guitarist for New York City band, Candiria.  Formed in 1992, the band was a quick hit with the local scene due to their unique blending of punk, funk, hip-hop and jazz.  Puma stayed with the band through 1997 and can be heard on their first album, Surrealistic Madness.  Chris Puma passed away on September 20, 2009.  Cause of death was not immediately released.



Died On This Date (September 19, 1973) Gram Parsons / Country Rock Pioneer

Gram Parsons (Born Cecil Connor)
November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973

Gram Parsons was a highly influential singer-songwriter who helped launch what would later be called country rock and then alt-country or Americana.  Parsons began playing the guitar as a teenager to escape a less than ideal home life.  The first group he played with, the Shilohs, were a folk band in the tradition of the Kingston Trio.  When the band broke up, he and other Boston area folk musicians formed the International Submarine Band with whom he began to develop a sound the borrowed the best from country, folk and rock.  They enjoyed moderate success, primarily getting airplay on the up-and-coming progressive radio stations.   In 1968, Parsons was asked to join the Byrds as a replacement for David Crosby and Michael Clarke.  He started on keyboards but soon switched to guitar, helping guide the group down a more country rock path.  Parsons left the Byrds in the summer of 1968.  He joined back up with the Byrds’ Chris Hillman soon after to form the Flying Burrito Brothers whose debut,  The Gilded Palace of Sin would be a direct influence on the likes of the Eagles, Dwight Yoakam and later, Wilco and Ryan Adams.  By the early ’70s, Parsons was working as a solo artist while recording and performing with good friend, Emmylou Harris.  It was during this period that Parsons’ inner demons were taking control in the form of substance abuse.  He was also spending more and more time in an area he had become fond of, Joshua Tree National Monument in the desert outside of Los Angeles.  He liked to go there and take LSD while searching for UFOs.  It was during one of these trips that Gram Parsons apparently overdosed on morphine and alcohol and died at the age of 26.

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Gram Parsons

Died On This Date (September 19, 2008) Earl Palmer / Legendary Session Drummer

Earl Palmer
October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008

Earl Palmer was a session drummer with a resume that reads like a who’s who of popular music.  He has been called the “most recorded drummer in history.”  Over a career that spanned over 50 years, Palmer played on hit recordings by the likes of Little Richard, Fats Domino, Frank Sinatra, Rick Nelson, Ray Charles, the Beach Boys, Neil Young, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, B.B. King, Randy Newman, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello and many many more.   Palmer was recognized for his incomparable contribution to rock ‘n roll by being the first session musician elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.   Earl Palmer passed away in 2008 at the age of 83.