Died On This Date (March 15, 2008) Mikey Dread / Reggae Legend

Mikey Dread (Born Mike Campbell)
January 1, 1954 – March 15, 2008

Mikey Dread started his career in music as an engineer at the JBC, the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation.  At the time, the station was broadcasting mostly foreign pop songs, so Dread convinced the higher-ups to give him his own program which he called Dread At The Controls. It eventually became the most popular show on the network. One group of fans of the show were the Clash who invited Dread to England to produce some tracks on their 1980 release, Sandinista! as well as to tour with them through Europe and beyond. Throughout this time he was building his own audience as a respected singer and performer. In his later years, Dread grew disillusioned with the record industry so he quietly retired and went back to school to study electronics and business in his new home city of Miami. This paid off as he was able to regain the rights to his music which he began re-releasing on his own label.  In October of 2007, it was announced that he was being treated for a brain tumor. He passed away surrounded by his family at his Connecticut home on March 15, 2008.

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Died On This Date (March 15, 1959) Lester Young / Jazz Legend

Lester Young
August 22, 1909 – March 15, 1959

lester-young.jpgLester young was one of the most influential musicians to come out o jazz’s golden age. During that era, we had the “King” of Swing, “Count” Basie, and “Duke” Ellington, but Young kept it less regal and more American by being called “The Pres,” a nickname given to him by Billie Holiday. Young recorded with many of his great peers, including Count Basie, Jo Jones, Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole. To some, he was a bit of an eccentric, perhaps because he was not very trusting of anyone outside his inner circle. In fact, he created his own language that only his closest friends could understand. In his final years, Young was barely surviving some bad habits that he had developed, including heavy drinking and minimal eating. This lead to liver disease and serious malnutrition, the major contributors to his death at age 49 when he literally drank himself to death.

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Died On This Date (March 15, 1929) Pinetop Smith / Influential Blues Pianist

Clarence “Pinetop” Smith
June 11, 1904 – March 15, 1929

Pinetop Smith was a blues pianist who blazed the trail for boogie-woogie players to follow.  He launched his career around 1920 when he found work as part of a traveling vaudeville act with whom he sang, told jokes, and played the piano.  It was during this time that he also played for Ma Rainey on occasion.  In 1928, Smith made his first record, “Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie” which was one of the first boogie woogie hits.  He was reportedly the first to use the phrase “shake that thing” on record.  On the eve of his second recording, 24-year-old Pinetop Smith was shot and killed by an unknown assailant and for reasons never known.  Since his death, Smith has been noted as an influence on the likes of Tommy Dorsey, Ray Charles, and of course, Pinetop Perkins.



Died On This Date (March 15, 2010) Ron Lundy / Popular New York City FM Disc Jockey

Fred “Ron” Lundy
June 25, 1934 – March 15, 2010

Ron Lundy was a popular disc jockey in New York City for the better part of thirty years.  He hosted the coveted mid-day slot at such powerhouse stations as WABC and WCBS from the mid ’60s through his retirement during the mid ’90s.    Lundy was 75 when he suffered a fatal heart attack on March 15, 2010.