Died On This Date (April 21, 1970) Earl Hooker / Blues Guitar Great
themusicsover Earl Hooker
January 2, 1929 – April 21, 1970
Earl Hooker was born into a family that already had one great bluesman, cousin John Lee Hooker. Hooker taught himself to play the guitar at ten years old, and was soon living in Chicago where he honed his skills at a music school. In Chicago, Hooker began making a name for himself by playing alongside the likes of Bo Diddley on street corners. By the early ’50s, Hooker was living in Memphis playing with Ike Turner and Sonny Boy Williamson II. Hooker died at the age of 41 as a result of tuberculosis.
What You Should Own
By most accounts, Sandy Denny was THE British folk rock singer of her generation. Having been the only person outside of Led Zeppelin to sing on one of their albums doesn’t hurt that credential. Denny can be heard dueting with Robert Plant on “The Battle Of Evermore.” Putting aside a possible career in nursing, Denny set her sights on music and became the voice of British folk rock band, Fairport Convention. Within two years she and the band parted ways, which in retrospect, was probably not the wisest choice, as neither she nor the band were ever to match the greatness they had achieved together. Other than her involvement with Led Zeppelin, her ’70s solo material never garnered much more than a cult following. Her own personal insecurities along with a growing substance abuse problem kept her from attaining the fame she craved. Her excessive drinking and smoking began to damage her voice, and by her last few albums, heavy string arrangements were added to compensate. Sandy Denny died on April 21, 1978, a month after she fell down some stairs at her parents’ house. Cause of death was determined to be a traumatic mid-brain hemorrhage.
Nina Simone was a vocalist whose style defied categorization. She might have been a jazz singer to one, but another would call her soul. To another, gospel, and yet to another, R&B. but above all, she was just great, having been nominated for a Grammy 15 times. With over 40 studio and live albums to her credit, and as a civil rights activist, she made an indelible contribution to African-American culture. Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys have all cited her as a major influence. Simone passed away in her home on April 21, 2003 after a long illness.
