Died On This Date (December 27, 2008) Delaney Bramlett / Rock’s Unsung Hero

Delaney Bramlett
July 1, 1939 – December 27, 2008

Delaney Bramlett was one of popular music’s greatest unsung heroes.  During a career that spanned four decades, he either produced, played with, or wrote songs for a who’s who of rock music.  As a producer, Bramlett collaborated with the likes of Eric Clapton, the Staple Singers and Etta James.  His songs have been recorded by Sonic Youth, Luther Vandross, Ray Charles, and Usher.  His “Never Ending Song Of Love” has been covered by over 100 artists.  It was Bramlett who taught George Harrison how to play the slide guitar, eventually leading to a jam that evolved into “My Sweet Lord.”  Over the course of his career, he collaborated with an astonishing list of musicians that included Janis Joplin, John Lennon, Joe Cocker, and Jimi Hendrix to name just a few.  The most remarkable thing about his career however, is that ABBA made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while he hasn’t.  On December 27, 2008, 69-year-old Delaney Bramlett died from complications of gall bladder surgery.

Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the assist.

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Home (Bonus Track Version) - Delaney & Bonnie

Died On This Date (December 27, 1978) Chris Bell / Big Star

Chris Bell
January 12, 1951 – December 27, 1978

chris-bell

Member of the 27 Club

Chris Bell was a guitarist, singer and brilliant songwriter who is best remembered as a founding member of the highly influential power pop band, Big Star.  Formed during the early ’70s in Memphis, Tennessee with friend, Alex Chilton, Big Star set out make music that took the best pop elements of the British Invasion and added a dash of Memphis soul.  In 1972, Big Star released #1 Album, which although it was a commercial failure, was highly influential to the Replacements, R.E.M., Wilco, Whiskeytown the Flaming Lips, and Teenage Fanclub.  One song from the album, the Bell-Chilton penned, “In The Street,” was re-recorded by Cheap Trick in 1999 and used as the theme song for That ’70s Show.  Bell left the band following the release of #1 Album and set out on a solo career.  He did however, make several contributions to Big Star’s subsequent albums.   Although he recorded numerous songs during his solo years, none made it to album until after his death.  On December 27, 1978, Chris Bell, age 27, was killed when he lost control of his car and crashed into a light pole while driving home from his father’s Memphis restaurant.  In 1992, a collection of his unreleased recordings came out under the name, I am the Cosmos.

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#1 Record Radio City (Bonus Track Version) - Big Star

Died On This Date (December 27, 1978) Bob Luman / Early Rockabilly Star

Bob Luman
April 15, 1937 – December 27, 1978

Bob Luman was a rockabilly star who began releasing records in the late ’50s.  Over the course of his career he scored several pop and country hits including “All Night Long,” “Let’s Think About Living,” and his biggest, “Lonely Women Make Good Lovers” which was made into a hit again by Steve Wariner in 1984.  He also performed on the popular Louisiana Hayride radio program and in the film, Carnival Rock.  Luman was a member of the Rockabilly and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame.  Bob Luman was 41 when he died of pneumonia on December 27, 1978.



Died On This Date (December 27, 1981) Hoagy Carmichael / Influential Composer

Hoagy Carmichael
November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981

Hoagy Carmichael was a highly influential composer and musician who, over the course of a career that spanned from 1918 to 1981 wrote three of the most recorded songs in history.  They are “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” and “Heart and Soul.”  Over the years, he collaborated with the likes of Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Johnny Mercer to name just a few.  His songs have been recorded by the likes of George Harrison, Ray Charles, Bing Crosby, NOFX, Jan and Dean, and Jamie Foxx with Alicia Keyes.  Perhaps one of his biggest honors came in 1961, when he was immortalized as “Stoney Carmichael” in an episode of The Flintstones.  On December 27, 1981, Hoagy Carmichael died of heart failure at the age of 82.

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Hoagy Carmichael