Died On This Date (March 20, 2009) Mel Brown / Popular Blues Guitarist
themusicsover Mel Brown
October 7, 1939 – March 20, 2009
Mel Brown was a respected blues guitarist who was perhaps best known for his years playing for Bobby “Blue” Bland. He also played behind, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Etta James, John Lee Hooker and Lightnin’ Hopkins, to name a few. Over the course of his career, Brown released nearly a dozen albums and of course, played on those by numerous others. On March 20, 2009, Mel Brown died of emphysema at the age of 69.
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Philip C. Newbaker, guitarist for Pennsylvania based death metal bands, Mausoleum and Necrotomie died March 20, 2009. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Music pioneer Archie Bleyer served many purposes in the music industry. He was a musician, band leader, recording artist and producer, but will likely be most remembered for his label, Cadence Records. He was leading his own big band by the mid-’30s and throughout the ’40s and ’50s he was leading the orchestra for Arthur Godfrey’s TV show. Bleyer started Cadence Records in 1952 where he helped develop the careers of Andy Williams, Julius LaRosa and the Chordettes. In the mid-’50s he struck gold by signing the Everly Brothers and producing many of their biggest hits. As American musical tastes changed in the early ’60s, Cadence had trouble competing with the bigger labels who were having huge successes with the likes of the Beatles. Bleyer closed Cadence in 1964 and sold the masters to Andy Williams. Archie Bleyer passed away on March 20, 1989 from Parkinson’s Disease.
Gil Evans was a respected jazz pianist, band leader, composer and arranger who was part of an influential group of musicians that paved the way for cool jazz and jazz fusion. Evans’ most celebrated collaborations were with 