Died On This Date (November 29, 1998) Butch McDade / Amazing Rhythm Aces

David “Butch” McDade
February 24, 1946 – November 29, 1998

Butch McDade is best remembered as the founding drummer and sometime vocalist for country-rock band, the Amazing Rhythm Aces.  With a sound that has been compared to the Eagles, the Amazing Rhythm Aces found moderate popularity during the late ’70s after forming out of the ashes of a band lead by Jesse Winchester who moved to Canada to avoid the Vietnam draft.  The band released several albums during the ’70s and ‘8os and won a Grammy for the song, “The End Is Not In Site.”  Outside of the Amazing Rhythm Aces, McDade played in the touring bands of, among others, Roy Clark, Leon Russell, and Lonnie Mack.  Butch McDade was 52 when he died of cancer on November 29, 1998.

Died On This Date (November 29, 1992) Paul Ryan / English Singer-Songwriter

Paul Ryan
October 24, 1948 – November 29, 1992

L-R: Paul Ryan, Barry Ryan

Paul Ryan was a British singer-songwriter and producer who, along with his twin brother, Barry, performed as Paul & Barry Ryan during the ’60s.  Paul eventually left the limelight to concentrate on his songwriting.  His “Eloise” became a hit for the then-solo, Barry in 1968.  The song found a new life when the Damned’s cover of it landed at #3 on the UK singles chart in 1986.  Frank Sinatra and Dana Scallon also made hits out of Paul Ryan’s songs.  He was 44 when he died of cancer on November 29, 2009.

 



Died On This Date (November 28, 2009) Bob Keane / Founder of Del-Fi Records

Bob Keane (Born Robert Kuhn)
January 5, 1922 – November 28, 2009

At right with Ritchie Valens

Bob Keane was the founder of Del-Fi Records, the first label to give a young Ritchie Valens a recording contract.   Keane began his music career as a clarinetist who, after a 1938 concert by his jazz band was broadcast on Los Angeles radio station, KFWB, was offered a record deal by MCA Records.  A couple of years later, he was dropped by the label so he enlisted in the army.  Upon his return home from duty, Keane picked up where he left off, playing in local clubs around Los Angeles.  In 1955, Keane and a partner formed the label, Keen Records, and released a single by then unknown soul singer, Sam Cooke.  The song was “Summertime,” but it was the b-side “You Send Me” that started to get attention at radio, quickly sending it to #1 on the Billboard pop chart.  Unfortunately for Keane, he made an oral agreement with his partner, and before he could collect any of the “You Send Me” earnings, he was out the door.  He soon formed his own label, Del-Fi Records and discovered Valens, a young Latino rock ‘n roller from Pacoima, CA.  Over the next several months, Keane released hit after hit records by Valens but sadly, the musician was killed the following year in the plane crash that also took the lives of Buddy Holly and JP “The Big Bopper” Richardson.  The label continued on, eventually signing a stable of artists that were just as important to the legacy of popular music as Valens had been.  That list included the Surfaris, Frank Zappa, Brenda Holloway, and the Bobby Fuller Four.  In 1967, Keane shuttered the label and went on to manage his sons’ band.  He sold the Del-Fi catalog to the Warner Music Group in 2003.  On November 28, 2009, Bob Keane, 87, died of renal failure.

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Died On This Date (November 27, 2009) Al Alberts / The Four Aces

Al Alberts
August 10, 1922 – November 27, 2009

Photo: Getty Images

Al Alberts was a popular singer who came to fame as a founding member and lead singer of the 1950s pop vocal group, the Four Aces.  Formed with friend Dave Mahoney in 1950 after the two got out of the navy, the Four Aces released a series of million selling singles, including “Three Coins in the Fountain,” and their signature song, “Love is a Many Splendored Thing,” which won an Academy Award for best song in 1955.  Alberts was also a television star of the day, hosting his own talent show, Al Alberts ShowcaseAndrea McArdle of Annie fame, Teddy Pendergrass and Sister Sledge all performed on the program to help launch their careers.  The show ran from 1962 until Alberts’ retirement in 1994.  Al Alberts, 87, died of apparent kidney failure on November 27, 2009.

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Died On This Date (November 27, 1998) Barbara Acklin / ’60s Soul Singer

Barbara Acklin
February 28, 1944 – November 27, 1998

barbaraacklinBarbara Acklin was a popular soul singer and successful songwriter during the ’60s and ’70s.  After singing in church and then Chicago area nightclubs while still a teenager, Acklin was hired by Chess Records to sing backup for the likes of Etta James and Fontella Bass.    In 1966, Acklin was hired as a receptionist for Brunswick Records where she had to chance to hand a song she had co-written to Jackie Wilson.  That song was “Whispers (Gettin’ Louder)” which Wilson made into a top 5 R&B and #11 pop hit.  That was enough to land Acklin a recording contract with Brunswick.  Acklin released several charting singles over the next decade, including “Show Me the Way” (a duet with Gene Chandler), “Love Makes a Woman,” and “Am I the Same Girl,” which was later covered by Dusty Springfield, the Manhattan Transfer, and Swing Out Sister.   Acklin’s biggest hit as a songwriter came with the release of “Have You Seen Her,” a song she co-wrote with Eugene Record and turned into a chart topping hit by his group, the Chi-Lites.  Barbara Acklin was 54 when she died of pneumonia.

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