Died On This Date (November 5, 1972) Miss Christine Frka / The GTOs, Frank Zappa
themusicsover Miss Christine (Born Christine Frka)
1950 – November 5, 1972
Miss Christine was one of the infamous, GTO’s, a small collection of groupies that provided companionship for many of the world’s most famous rock stars while visiting Los Angeles during the ’60s and’70s. They were so named by Frank Zappa who also bankrolled their short lived music career that consisted of a performance or two and one album, 1969’s Permanent Damage, that was produced by Zappa and Lowell George. It is Frka who appears on the cover of Zappa’s Hot Rats album seen here. Some of Frka’s more famous love interests were Alice Cooper and Todd Rundgren. Christine Frka was 22 when she died of a drug overdose on November 5, 1972.
George M. Cohan was a popular songwriter, composer, producer, singer and actor who was one of the biggest draws on Broadway during the ’40s. Cohan took to entertaining early, performing as a dancer in family productions along the Vaudeville circuit. He began writing and selling songs at the turn of the century, his first hit being “Give My Regards to Broadway.” He became one of the most prolific writers in what became to be known as Tin Pan Alley in New York City. Some estimates put his output at as many as 1500 songs. During that time he also produced many popular Broadway shows. During the ’30s, Cohan turned his sights on film and began appearing in popular movies of the day. And they were just song-and-dance roles, but serious drama parts. In 1942, Yankee Doodle Dandy, a musical adaptation of his life was released. Playing Cohan in the film was James Cagney, who one the Best Actor Academy Award that year. On November 5, 1942, George M. Cohan died of cancer at the age of 64.
Robert Lee McCollum was a blues guitarist who for some reason changed his name at least twice during his music career. During the mid ’30s, he went by Robert Lee McCoy and landed in St. Louis where he played and recorded with 
Stacy Rowles was a respected trumpet and flugelhorn player and a singer, who made a name for herself throughout the Los Angeles jazz scene. The daughter or noted composer and pianist, Jimmy Rowles, she started playing the piano at age six, but eventually moved over to the trumpet. Throughout her career, Rowles played with Maiden Voyage, Jazz Tap Ensemble and the Jazz Birds. She made a handful of her own albums for Concord and Delos Records, including 1984’s Tell it Like it Is, which some consider to be her best. Stacy Rowles, 54, died on November 5, 2009 of injuries sustained in an earlier car accident.