Died On This Date (October 5, 2009) Mike Alexander / Bassist For English Thrash Band, Evile

Mike Alexander
June 22, 1977 – October 5, 2009

mikeMike Alexander was the founding bassist for English thrash metal band, Evile.  The group originally formed in 2000 as a cover band called Metal Militia, and then morphed into Evile in 2004.  They soon signed to Earache Records and are now considered the spark of the current thrash metal revival.  Over the years they’ve shared the stage with the likes of Machine Head and Megadeth.  They released their debut album for Earache in 2007 and their second in September of 2009.   While touring to promote the new album, Mike Alexander collapsed the morning after a show in Sweden.  He was taken to a local hospital where he died of a pulmonary embolism at the age of 32.

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Enter the Grave - Evile

Died On This Date (October 4, 1970) Janis Joplin / Rock Icon; 27 Club

Janis Joplin
January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970

Member of the 27 Club

Janis Joplin was a pioneering female rock ‘n roll star in an era that saw very few of them.  Born and raised in east Texas, Joplin had a rebellious streak from an early age.   As the rock ‘n roll stereotype goes, she was an outcast who found solace in music of her idols, in this case, Lead Belly, Bessie Smith and Big Mama Thornton.   Joplin left Texas for San Francisco in 1963.    Building a name for herself throughout the scene due to her passionate bluesy singing style,  Joplin was hired by local psychedelic rock favorites, Big Brother and the Holding Company to be their lead singer.   Signed to Columbia Records, the group soon became a breakout act of the San Francisco scene.  Thanks to a few key festival performances, television appearances and such dynamic records as “Ball and Chain” and “Piece of my Heart,” Joplin was universally being touted as one of rock’s greatest voices.   Sadly though, she was waging a battle against hard drugs and alcohol, and to some, each performance seemed like it might be her last.    The band broke up in December of 1970, with Joplin embarking on a solo career.  All the while battling her demons, Joplin recorded what would be her swansong album, Pearl.  The album contained the two rock classics, “Me and Bobby McGhee,” and “Mercedes Benz,” but would not come out until after her death.  On October 4, 1970, when she failed to arrive at the recording studio to work on some finishing touches for Pearl, her band’s road manager drove over to her hotel and found lifeless body.  Janis Joplin was dead of a heroin overdose at the age of 27.

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Pearl - Janis Joplin

Died On This Date (October 4, 1994) Danny Gatton / Rock Guitar Great

Danny Gatton
September 4, 1945 – October 4, 1994

Danny Gatton was a guitar player’s guitar player.  His playing was admired by no less than Slash, Eric Clapton, Les Paul and Willie Nelson.  He’s been in the touring bands for Robert Gordon and Roger Miller, and he’s gone lick for lick on stage with the likes of Alvin Lee, Jimmie Vaughan and Roy Buchanan.  And Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at #63 on their 2003 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.   Sadly though, Danny Gatton ended his own life by shooting himself in his garage at the age of 49.   

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88 Elmira St. - Danny Gatton

Died On This Date (October 4, 2008) Al Gallodoro / Jazz Musician

Al Gallodoro
June 20, 1913 – October 4, 2008

Al Gallodoro was a jazz saxophonist whose career began in the 1920s and spanned nearly eight decades until just prior to his death in 2008.  He is best remembered for his association with Paul Whiteman, playing in his orchestra from 1936 to 1940.  He went on to play bass clarinet in NBC’s Symphony Orchestra.  Gallodoro made his final appearance on September 20, 2008 and then passed away 2 weeks later at the age of 95.



Died On This Date (October 4, 2009) Mercedes Sosa / Famous Argentine Folk Singer

Mercedes Sosa
July 9, 1935 – October 4, 2009

Performing with Shakira
Performing with Shakira

Mercedes Sosa was a popular Argentine folk singer whose countless fans spanned Latin America and beyond.  She was both revered and vilified for being a voice of conscience throughout Latin America.  When she was just 15, Sosa won a local talent contest which awarded her with her first recording contract.  She went on to become one of the pioneers of the nueva cancion movement of the 1960’s.  Nueva cancion had much in common with the folk music coming out of America at the time in that it was progressive and political at times.  It is considered a foundation for Latin music’s rock en espanol.   In the late ’70s, Sosa was arrested on stage due to her leftist political beliefs and banished from her own country, so she moved to Paris.   Over the years, Sosa collaborated with the likes of Sting, Joan Baez, Shakira, and Luciano Pavarotti. She was a three-time Latin Grammy winner in the category of Best Folk Album.  Mercedes Sosa died of kidney disease and other ailments on October 4, 2009.  She was 74 years old.

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30 Años - Mercedes Sosa