Died On This Date (January 19, 2010) C.T. Tucker / Beloved New Jersey Blues Musician
C.T. Tucker (Born Christopher Harshorne)
DOB Unknown – January 19, 2010

C.T. Tucker was a popular northwestern New Jersey R&B band leader and restaurateur. His band, Blue Sparks From Hell, formed in 1977 and played upwards of 250 shows a year while occasionally sharing the bill with the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mel Tillis, Doc Watson, Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters. The band was a local favorite thanks to its lively shows that incorporated blues, R&B and swing. During the ’90s, Tucker opened Tucker’s Breakfast King which served breakfast and lunch during the day, and then re-opened as a venue in the evenings. Acts such as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Loudon Wainwright III graced its stage. In later years, Tucker and his wife ran an animal casting business which provided critters for film and television. On January 19, 2010, C.T. Tucker died of lymphoma at the age of 57.
Thanks to Diane Schaer for the assist.


Eric Ferris was a rising star in the record industry. He began his career in 1998 as an assistant at Creative Artist Agency (CAA), then moved over to the label side as an assistant at Virgin Records where he worked his way up to VP of Marketing. He helped build the careers of such artists as Lenny Kravitz, N.E.R.D., the Rolling Stones and Smashing Pumpkins. He later moved on the Hollywood Records to be their Sr. VP of Marketing. He passed away on January 18, 2008 from neuro-endocrine cancer.
Kate McGarrigle, along with her sister Anna McGarrigle, made up the popular Canadian folk duo, Kate and Anna McGarrigle. They began singing and playing in folk groups during the ’60s, but went off on their own during the early ’70s, releasing their debut album in 1975. Over the course of their career together, they released ten albums, two of which won Juno Awards (Canada’s answer to the Grammys). Their songs have been recorded by the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Billy Bragg, and Emmylou Harris. They have also collaborated with Nick Cave. Having been married once to Loudon Wainwright III, Kate is the mother of popular contemporary singer-songwriters, Martha Wainwright and Rufus Wainwright, with whom she made her final television appearance on a 2008 episode of Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…. Diagnosed with cancer in 2006, Kate McGarrigle died of clear cell sarcoma on January 18, 2010. She was 63.

Like Fat Possum label mate, 