Died On This Date (June 14, 1995) Rory Gallagher / Irish Blues Rock God
themusicsover Liam Rory Gallagher
March 2, 1948 – June 14, 1995
Rory Gallagher was an Irish blues rock guitar great who sold more than 30 million albums and is considered one of the greatest musicians Ireland has ever produced. Gallagher first began making waves with his mid ’60s blues rock trio, Taste. The band began building a solid reputation in London and soon found themselves opening for such bands as Cream and Blind Faith. By the early ’70s, Taste had broken up and Gallagher was now leading a trio under his own name, making some of his best and most popular albums. In 1972, the trend-setting Melody Maker magazine named him Top Musician Of The Year. It was during this period that Gallagher was being strongly considered for the Rolling Stones, Deep Purple AND Canned Heat. By the ’80s however, Gallagher was falling deeper into drug and alcohol addiction, and his musical output suffered from it. He made his final performance in January of 1995, and was in such bad health, he soon needed a liver transplant. Unfortunately, an infection developed following the surgery, and he died at the age of 47.
What You Should Own
Matthew Fletcher was the drummer and primary songwriter for late ’80s British pop band, Talulah Gosh, which morphed into twee punk band, Heavenly in 1989. Both bands had solid fan bases thanks in part to their “Ramones meets Ronettes” sound. Heavenly released three albums for the hip label, Sarah Records, and were about to release their fourth when Sarah closed. Matthew Fletcher committed suicide shortly before the release of that album. He was just 25.
Esbjorn Svensson was a contemporary Swedish jazz pianist and leader of his own Esbjorn Svensson Trio, or E.S.T. Svensson was born into a musical family, to a classical pianist mother and a jazz loving father. A rock fan, Svensson first took a stab a playing in a couple of garage bands before settling into a life of jazz. By 16 he was taking lessons at a music college before studying at Stockholm University. He formed the E.S.T in 1993 and soon recorded their first album. Their fan base continued to grow, and by 1999 they were on the international stage thanks to their breakthrough album, From Gagarin’s Point Of View. In May of 2006, E.S.T. became the first European jazz combo to grace the cover of America’s DownBeat Magazine. Tragedy struck on June 14, 2008 when after vanishing during a scuba diving excursion outside of Stockholm, his friends found him unconscious on the seabed. He later died at a hospital from injuries he sustained during the mishap.
