Died On This Date (February 24, 1991) Webb Pierce / Country Music Legend

Webb Pierce
August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991

webbWebb Pierce was a popular country singer whose career spanned the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.  Based on chart success, he was the most popular country performer of the 1950s.  His biggest hit, “There Stands The Glass” is considered one country music’s greatest songs and has been recorded by the likes of Willie Nelson, Wanda Jackson, Van Morrison, and Jerry Lee Lewis.  Up until his retirement in 1982, Pierce charted 96 singles.  Besides, “There Stands The Glass,” his most popular were “In The Jailhouse Now,” and “Why Baby Why.”  Pierce was just as well-known for his lavish lifestyle as he was for his music.  He drove two Cadillacs that were lined with silver dollars, wore elaborate Nudie suits, and had a $30,000 swimming pool fashioned after a guitar.  Webb Pierce was 69 when he died of pancreatic cancer on February 24, 1991.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Webb Pierce - Webb Pierce

Died On This Date (February 24, 1988) Memphis Slim / Blues Legend

Memphis Slim (Born John Chatman)
September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988

Photo By Raeburn Flerlage
Photo By Raeburn Flerlage

Memphis Slim was a jump blues pianist and prolific composer who could count over 500 recordings as his own.  He got his start during the early ’30s by playing honky-tonks and dance halls throughout Arkansas and Missouri.  In 1939, he migrated up to Chicago where he started out playing gigs with Big Bill Broonzy.  In 1940, Slim began making his own records.  One of those recordings, “Nobody Loves Me” has been covered (as “Every Day I Have The Blues”) by the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Ella Fitzgerald, and Natalie Cole, to name just a few.   Like so many of the blues greats of the first part of the 20th century, Slim made a nice comeback during the folk and blues revival of the early ’60s.  He was so respected around the world, that the U.S. Senate once named him an Ambassador-At-Large of Good Will.  Memphis Slim was 72 when he died of renal failure on February 24, 1988.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

The Folkways Years, 1959-1973 - Memphis Slim

Died On This Date (February 24, 2005) Goldie Hill / Country Star

Argolda “Goldie” Hill
January 11, 1933 – February 24, 2005

Goldie Hill was one of country music’s first generation of women.  Along with Kitty Wells, she would influence the next generation’s Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn.   Hill got her first break when she was invited to perform on the popular Louisiana Hayride program in 1952.  Later that year, she released her first single, followed by “I Let the Stars Get in My Eyes” which quickly went to the top of the charts.  It was the first by a woman to do so.  Almost as quickly as she became famous, Hill walked away from the music business.  In 1957, she married Carl “Mr. Country” Smith, the former husband of June Carter, and retired to start and raise a family.  She attempted a small comeback during the late ’60s, but nothing of commercial significance came from it.  She soon retired again to show horses.  Goldie Hill passed away from cancer on February 24, 2005.  She was 72.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Goldie Hill

Died On This Date (February 24, 1990) Johnnie Ray / Rock & Roll Pioneer

Johnnie Ray
January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990

johnny-rayJohnnie Ray was a pop singer, songwriter and pianist who helped R&B, jazz and blues transition into rock ‘n roll during the early ’50s.  Ray made his first recordings in 1951, and by the following year, he scored his first hit with “Cry.”  The record sold over 2 million copies, almost instantly turning him into one of rock ‘n roll’s first teen heart throbs.  Ray released several more hits throughout the rest of the decade, helping him a superstar, not only in the U.S., but throughout most of Europe as well.  Ray’s popularity dwindled during the ’60s and ’70s, but he experienced a small renaissance thanks to a reference in Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ 1982 hit, “Come On Eileen,” and use of his image in its video.  An apparent heavy drinker, Johnnie Ray died of liver failure on February 24, 1990.  He was 63 years old.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Johnnie Ray

Died On This Date (February 24, 2009) Antoinette K-Doe / Owned The Mother-In-Law Lounge In New Orleans

Antoinette K-Doe (Born Antoinette Dorsey)
February 3, 1943 – February 24, 2009

kdoeAntoinette K-Doe was a popular New Orleans fixture for many years.  Married to local R&B legend, Ernie K-Doe, she helped keep his memory alive after his death in 2001.  Following his passing, Antoinette ran their popular Mother-in-Law Lounge which had originally opened in 1994.  After Hurricane Katrina hit in August of 2005,  Antoinette was stranded at the club for a week until she could be rescued.  She was then one of the first to return to aid the rebuilding efforts, at times cooking up meals for upwards of 200 volunteers.  The Mother-in-Law lounge reopened one year after Katrina.  On February 24, 2009, Antoinette K-Doe suffered a fatal heart attack.