Died On This Date (March 2, 2009) Richard Pegue / Popular Chicago Disc Jockey

Richard Pegue
July 29, 1944 – March 2, 2009

richard-pegueRichard Pegue was a popular Chicago R&B radio disc jockey for the better part of forty years.  He also penned a handful of R&B songs that managed to get recorded.  Pegue was just eleven when he first took an interest to the broadcast medium, thanks to a reel-to-reel tape recorder that was given to him by his grandmother.  By his teens, he was DJ’ing local parties and dances.  Before long, Pegue was spinning records at radio stations throughout Chicago and Indiana.  During the late ’80s he helped develop the popular “urban oldies” format.  He continued working in radio into the 2000s.  Richard Pegue was 66 when he passed away on March 2, 2009.



Died On This Date (March 2, 1942) Charlie Christian / Jazz Guitar Great

Charlie Christian
July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942

charlie

Charlie Christian was an influential jazz guitarist who, with his electric guitar prowess, helped pave the road for cool jazz, bebop, and ultimately, rock ‘n roll.  Christian became a household name, at least in the jazz world, during the swing era and has since been called the greatest improviser of that time.  His influence stretched far beyond jazz, earning him such disciples a  T-Bone Walker, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran and Jimi Hendrix.  By doing so, he was named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence in 1990.  During the late ’30s, Christian was diagnosed with tuberculosis, causing his health to quickly deteriorate.  Charlie Christian was just 25 when he died of the disease on March 2, 1942.