Died On This Date (April 6, 1998) Wendy O. Williams / The Plasmatics

Wendy O. Williams
May 29, 1949 – April 6, 1998

Wendy O. Williams was the dynamic lead singer of shock-punk band, the Plasmatics. Williams was considered one of the most frighteningly controversial singers of her, and most generations due in part to her near nudity and simulated sexual antics on stage. If that got boring, you could always count on exploding gear and chain-sawing of guitars to heat things up. After a young life that included working as a macro-biotic cook, performing in a gypsy dance troupe, stripping, doing live sex shows, and then working in porn, Williams decided to clean up her act and moved to New York where she answered a casting call that lead to the formation of the Plasmatics.  The group exploded on to the New York underground scene in 1978.  The band’s following continued to grow as they toured the world, causing an uproar in most locales, sometimes leading to arrest on indecency charges. By 1984, Williams had gone solo, her first album, W.O.W being produced by Gene Simmons was virtually a KISS album with all members performing on it in one form or another. The album earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Female Performance. A couple of B-movie bit parts followed, with Williams all but retiring by 1991.  In spite of her reckless persona, Williams was deeply devoted to her health, animals and vegetarianism. After her run in show business, she worked as an animal rehabilitator and natural foods activist.  On April 6, 1998, the 48 year-old Wendy O. Williams walked into the woods near her house and died of what authorities ruled a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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Died On This Date (April 6, 1998) Tammy Wynette / The First Lady Of Country Music

Tammy Wynette
May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998

Tammy Wynette was rightfully known as the “First Lady of Country Music” due in part to her domination of the country music charts during the late ’60s and early ’70s. With hits like “Stand By Your Man,” and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” she personified female country singers of the era. Her songs reached the top of the country music charts 17 times and earned her two Grammys. In 1969, Wynette married George Jones, with whom she had several more hits as his duet partner. A couple little know facts about Wynette were that she was a stand-out basketball player in high school, and that she renewed her cosmetology license every year so she’d have something to fall back on. She was also the voice of Hank Hill’s mother on King Of The Hill. As is generally the case with country stars of the ’60s and ’70s, Wynette’s popularity waned in the ’80s, but she found a new popularity in 1991 when she teamed up with British electronic band the KLF on “Justified And Ancient (Stand By The JAMs)”,  a number one hit throughout much of the world. A couple of years later, she joined forces with Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn for the great Honky Tonk Angels album. Wynette suffered from numerous health problems throughout her life resulting in over two dozen major surgeries. Her body finally gave in on April 6, 1998, when she died in her sleep from a pulmonary blood clot.

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Died On This Date (April 6, 2004) Niki Sullivan / Buddy Holly & the Crickets

Niki Sullivan
June 23, 1937 – April 6, 2004

Niki Sullivan will always be remembered as the original guitarist in Buddy Holly & the Crickets. His back-up vocals and guitar playing can be heard on many of Holly’s biggest hits. But just as the band was breaking big, Sullivan suddenly left the group, just two years after he helped form it. He apparently disliked life on the road although his official reason for quitting the band has always remained a mystery. He all but retired from the music business in 1966 and went on to work for Sony in the electronics division. Sullivan died suddenly of a heart attack on April 6, 2004 at the age of 66.



Died On This Date (April 6, 1984) Ral Donner / ’50s Rock ‘n Roller

Ral Donner
February 10, 1943 – April 6, 1984

raldonner1Ral Donner was a singer who came on to the scene in the early 1950s and for better or worse had an uncanny resemblance, both physically and vocally to Elvis Presley. That fact both helped and cursed him for the rest of his life. There was always interest in him as a singer, but much of the time it was only because people wanted to check out this guy that was so much like Elvis. At times, many even thought he was Elvis. Donner was having moderate success by the second half of the ’50s, even performing on Allan Freed’s Big Beat Show and later at the Apollo Theater. His biggest hit came in the early ’60s when he recorded a relatively unknown Elvis track called “The Girl of My Best Friend” which became a Top 20 hit. Donner’s career pretty much petered out by the mid-’60s, recording occasionally for smaller labels. But then in 1977, Elvis Presley passed away, ironically spawning a revived interest in Donner since he sounded so much like the King. Donner performed tributes to Elvis in the coming years, but unlike the many others, he kept them tasteful by relying on his musical abilities instead of costumes and gimmicks. Perhaps his ultimate honor came in 1981 when he was selected to impersonate Elvis as narrator of the This Is Elvis documentary. Ral Donner passed away of cancer on April 6, 1984.



Died On This Date (April 6, 2010) Vinnie Chas / Bassist For Pretty Boy Floyd

Vinnie Chas
DOB Unknown – April 6, 2010

Vinnie Chas is best remembered as the original bassist for popular Los Angeles glam metal band, Pretty Boy Floyd.  The band was one of the top draws along Hollywood’s storied Sunset Strip during a time when bands like Guns ‘N Roses, Ratt and Poison also played the same clubs.  Signed by MCA Records during the late ’80s, the band released the moderately successful Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz in 1989. The band broke up in 1991 and Chas went on to play in a band called Rattlin’ Bones.  In 2007, Chas and other former members of Pretty Boy Floyd began working together on new band material.  Vinnie Chas passed away unexpectedly on April 6, 2010.  Cause of death was not immediately released.