Died On This Date (February 17, 1982) Thelonious Monk / Jazz Legend
themusicsover Thelonious Monk
October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982
Thelonious Monk was a highly influential jazz pianist and composer who was one of bebop’s earliest practitioners. Monk was just six years old when he first took to the piano, and for the most part, taught himself to play. As a teen, he hit the road playing the organ for a traveling evangelist. He made his recording debut with Coleman Hawkins in 1944, leading Hawkins to champion Monk throughout the jazz world. Over the next three decades, Monk worked with the biggest names in jazz while recording some of the genre’s most celebrated recordings. That list includes “Round Midnight,” “Straight No Chaser,” and “Blue Monk.” Monk all but retired from music during the mid ’70s, possibly due to his struggles with mental illness. He reportedly suffered from schizophrenia and manic depression. He may have also suffered brain damage after being misdiagnosed and prescribed the wrong medication. Either way, his physical health began to deteriorate during the final decade of his life. Thelonious Monk ultimately died of a stroke at he age of 61.
What You Should Own
Mickey Granberg was a longtime executive at the American trade group, National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM). Beginning in 1961, Granberg and her husband were invaluable leaders of the organization. During her early years, she was an English professor at Temple University while she worked at NARM in the evenings. She eventually ran the group, making her one of the highest ranking women in the music industry for many years. In 1989, Granberg retired after nearly 40 years, but continued on as an adviser for another ten years. Mickey Granberg was 83 when she passed away on February 17, 2010.
Kathryn Grayson was an MGM contract performer who starred in several of their musical films during their golden age of the ’40s and ’50s. Due to her beautiful soprano, she was a featured singer in such films as Show Boat, Kiss Me Kate, and Anchors Aweigh. Grayson also performed in several operas such as La Boheme and Madama Butterfly. She also played Queen Guenevere in the 1962 Broadway version of Camelot, replacing Julie Andrews and then going on the successful U.S. tour of the production. Kathryn Grayson was 88 when she died of natural causes on February 17, 2010.