Died On This Date (April 14, 2010) Peter Steele / Lead Singer Of Type O Negative

Peter Steele (Born Petrus Ratajczyk)
January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010

Peter Steele is best remembered as the lead singing bassist for goth metal band, Type O Negative.  Known for his deep voice and towering 6′-7″ frame, Steele helped make Type O Negative one of metal’s most popular underground bands.  The group released several charting albums throughout the ’90s and 2000s, their most recent being 2007’s Dead Again.  Although this isn’t the first time that rumors of his death have surfaced, Peter Steele reportedly died of heart failure on April 14, 2010.  He was 48.

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Bloody Kisses - Type O Negative

Died On This Date (April 14, 1983) Pete Farndon / The Pretenders

Pete Farndon
June 12, 1952 – April 14, 1983

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Pete Farndon was the founding bassist of the Pretenders.   In 1978, Farndon became the first member of the band to be recruited by Chrissie Hynde.  He was soon followed by guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and drummer Martin Chambers.  Together they created a sound that fell somewhere between punk and new wave, giving them equal parts respect and commercial success.   Farndon’s heavy bass and tough image only complimented Hynde’s bad ass image, helping her become rock royalty.   After two back-to-back successes with The Pretenders and The Pretenders II , Fandon’s professional relationship with the band began to sour due to his exsessive drug use.  He was asked to leave the band in 1982.   But it was Honeyman-Scott who died of drug-related causes just two days after Farndon was let go.  Less than a year later, while Farndon was putting together a band with former Clash drummer, Topper Headon, he drowned in his bathtub after an apparent heroin binge.  He was just 30.

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Pretenders (Remastered) - Pretenders

Died On This Date (April 14, 2007) Don Ho / World Renowned Hawaiian Musician

Don Ho
August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007

Don Ho was a popular Hawaiian musician whose middle-of-the-road stylings earned him several top-selling albums and numerous television appearances. When one thought of Hawaii in the late ’60s and ’70s, they no doubt envied the lifestyle as portrayed by Do Ho. He quickly became a live hit in Las Vegas, Reno, Los Angeles and New York, but it wasn’t until the release of “Tiny Bubbles” in 1966, that Ho reached International fame, landing him on the Billboard Album Charts where he stayed for nearly a year. The television parts began rolling in . Ho, usually appearing as himself, was featured in The Brady Bunch, The Fall Guy, Batman, I Dream Of Jeannie, and Charlie’s Angels. He also had his own ABC-TV show called The Do Ho Show. It premiered in October of 1976 but lasted only five months. His later years found him starting Honey Records, the home of his recordings as well as those by fellow Islanders. He made a few more television appearances and did regular performances at his own Hawaiian club, Hoku. Do Ho passed away from heart failure on April 14, 2007 at the age of 77.

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Don Ho: Greatest Hits - Don Ho

Died On This Date (April 14, 1995) Burl Ives / Beloved Folk Singer

Burl Ives
June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995

burlivesPerhaps best known as the narrator and voice of the snowman in the Holiday classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Burl Ives was also an accomplished folks singer whose catalog includes many American standards.  He was also an author and Academy Award-winning actor for his supporting role in Our Man In Havana.   When Ives was in his second year of college, he had an epiphany while sitting in his English glass.  School was a waste of his time, he thought, so out the door he went, never to look back.  Except perhaps, when that same school named a building after him some six decades later.  Ives spent most of the ’30s traveling around the U.S. performing for change whenever he needed funds to move on.   In the ’40s he went to work for CBS Radio who gave him his own program where he performed traditional folk songs for his loyal fans.   From there he moved on to acting, winning roles in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, East of Eden and of course, Our Man in Havana.  In the ’50s he got blacklisted for alleged Communist ties, so he falsely ratted out Pete Seeger and others as Communists in a deal that got him back to work.  And not surprisingly, he was shunned by Seeger and the folk community for many years to come.  In 1964, Ives’ warm and gentle voice starred in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. His “Holly Jolly Christmas” from that program is one of the most popular Christmas songs of all times.  Ives died of cancer at the age of 85.

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Burl Ives

Died On This Date (April 14, 2005) Tom Payne / The Leonards

Tom Payne
July 4, 1960 – April 14, 2005

tommypayne3Tom Payne was the original bassist for Los Angeles based garage rock band, the Leonards.  Originally from the Detroit area, Payne and the band migrated to L.A. in the late 80s to try to get noticed.  However, with a sound closer to the Replacements than Ratt, the group struggled to get noticed along the Sunset Strip.  But they persevered, building a loyal fan base that they can still count on to this day.  In 2004, Tom Payne discovered he had cancer, so he left the band and moved back to Michigan to be with his family.  He died as a result of the cancer on April 14, 2005