Died On This Date (May 3, 1987) Dalida / Egyptian Pop Star
themusicsover Dalida (Born Iolanda Gigliotti)
January 17, 1933 – May 3, 1987
Dalida was an Egyptian born pop singer who actually performed and recorded in over ten languages. She was award 55 gold records over her career. When she was in her 20s, Dalida worked as a model and won the Miss Egypt title in 1954. From there she moved to Paris with dreams of being an actress, but after that didn’t pan out, Dalida turned her focus on music. Her singing career exploded after the release of her second single, “Bambino,” which went on the become one of the biggest selling records in French history. Twenty years later, she released what is considered France’s first disco record. Dalida toured fairly regularly up until the mid ’80s, a popular draw in Europe and Asia. Despite all of her success, Dalida stuggled with internal demons leading to her suicide by barbiturates on May 3, 1987.
Jon Blank was the bassist for Washington DC area metal band, Rezin. In recent months he was playing on a project for Scott “Wino” Weinrich. A band on the rise, Rezin has been building a fan base along the mid-Atlantic coast due to their live shows and airplay on area hard rock stations. Blank died of a an apparent drug overdose on May 2, 2009.
Hide Matsumoto was the guitarist for popular Japanese hard rock band, X Japan from 1987 to 1997. As a child, Matsumoto learned several instruments, the bass, guitar, clarinet and trumpet. Ater spending most of the ’80s going to cosmetology school and playing in another band or to, Matsumoto helped revive Japan X who had been on hiatus for a few years. He also had some success with a few solo albums during this period. After a night of drinking, Matsumoto was found hanging from a twisted towel in his apartment. His death was officially ruled a suicide, but friends and family insist he died accidentally using a method of pain relief akin to traction for his sore back and shoulder. His funeral drew over 50,000 fans.
Rob McConnell was a decorated jazz trombonist and composer who lead one of Canada’s most celebrated big bands, the Boss Brass. McConnell began his career during the 1950s, at one point playing with Maynard Ferguson. Over the course of his long career, he released over two dozen albums, earning himself three Grammys along the way. Rob McConnell was 75 when he died of cancer on May 1, 2010.
Erika Roman was a popular radio personality at Orlando’s Power 95.3 FM where she hosted the morning show. Born in New York City, Roman began her radio career while still in college where she was a co-host at Stonybrook University’s WUSB. She also worked at Fever Records where she promoted their artists at night clubs and other events while still in college. Later, Roman went to work as a co-host with Ed Lover and Dr. Dre on Hot 97’s morning show. In 2006, Roman went to work at Power 95.3 in Orlando. Roman was killed on May 1, 2009 in a single car accident while trying to avoid a discarded piece of furniture in the road. She was 31.