Died On This Date (June 21, 2010) Larry Jon Wilson / ’70s Country Singer-Songwriter
themusicsover Larry Jon Wilson
October 7, 1940 – June 21, 2010
Larry Jon Wilson was a country music singer, songwriter and guitarist who found some success during the ’70s when he released four albums. After teaching himself to play the guitar, Wilson didn’t get serious as a songwriter until the age of 30. Throughout his early career, he built himself a following throughout the clubs of Nashville. Wilson all but retired from the music industry during the ’80s, only to return for occasional shows during the latter years of the decade. In 2008, Wilson made a comeback with the release of Larry Jon Wilson, on hipster label, Drag City Records. Larry Jon Wilson died from a stroke on June 21, 2010. He was 69 years old.
What You Should Own
Lawrence Payton had the tenor voice of the great soul group, the Four Tops. He also worked at times, as their producer. With the Tops, Payton was one of the Motown’s signature groups, recording hit after hit for the label beginning in 1964. Such hits included, “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” “Standing In The Shadows Of Love,” and “I Can’t Help Myself.” The group and Motown parted ways in 1972, with the Tops signing to ABC Dunhill Records where they had a brief resurgence with “Keeper Of the Castle,” and “Aint No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got).” They continued to record moderately successful records through the ’70s and reunited with Motown in time to celebrate the label’s 25th anniversary in 1983 after which they recorded a few more albums and toured with the Temptations. The Four Tops continued touring and recording until the passing of Lawrence Payton in 1997. He died of cancer on June 20, 1997, but not before be elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
Charles Smith was co-founder of and guitarist for the great disco/funk group, Kool & The Gang. Along with the other members of the group, Smith’s background was in jazz, but married it with funk, dance, R&B and pop to become one of the biggest acts of the ’70s thanks to such hits as “Jungle Boogie,” “Hollywood Swinging,” “Ladies Night,” and “Celebration.” Smith is credited for writing or co-writing some of the group’s biggest hits. He died after a long undisclosed illness on June 20, 2006.
Bobby Helms was a country singer who came into his own in the mid ’50s. Signing to Decca Records in 1956, Helms’ career skyrocketed the following year, earning two #1 country hits with “Fraulein” and “My Special Angel.” And then on December 23 of that same year, Decca released a third Helms single that would go on to be one of the most played songs every year at Christmas time. That song was “Jingle Bell Rock,” one of the greatest Christmas classics of all time. Helms spent most of the next three decades recording and touring. Helms died of emphysema and asthma at the age of 63.