Mark Sandman
September 24, 1952 – July 3, 1999
Mark Sandman was the one of indie rock’s earliest heroes. From 1989 until his death in 1999, he sang lead and played bass for the Boston based band, Morphine. What made Morphine unique and endeared them to fans was the fact they had no guitar in the band. The trio was made up of bass, saxophone and drums, giving them a murky low end sound as deep as their name would suggest. Sandman also moonlighted as a member of popular Boston blues band, Treat Her Right. Over the course of his career, Sandman released five proper Morphine albums. On July 3, 1999, Mark Sandman, 46, suffered a fatal heart attack while performing on stage with Morphine at a concert just outside of Rome.