Died On This Date (July 19, 2010) Andy Hummel / Big Star

Andy Hummel
DOB Unknown – July 19, 2010

Andy Hummel was an American bassist who is best remembered as a founding member of Big Star. Formed with Alex Chilton, Jody Stephens, and Chris Bell in 1971, Memphis, Tennessee’s Big Star set out out to make music that took the best pop elements of the British Invasion but added a dash of Memphis soul.  In 1972, Big Star released #1 Album which, although it was a commercial failure, was highly influential to the Replacements, R.E.M., Wilco, Whiskeytown the Flaming Lips, and Teenage Fanclub. After the release of the band’s Radio City, Hummel left the group to pursue his education and focus on a more “traditional” life.  In March of 2010, Hummel reunited with the surviving member of Big Star and several others that they influenced at the South By Southwest music conference to pay tribute to Chilton who had recently passed away.  On July 19, 2010, Andy Hummel died after a long bout with cancer.

Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums

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Click to find at amazon.com
Click to find at amazon.com

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Died On This Date (July 19, 1975) Lefty Frizzell / Country Great

William “Lefty” Frizzell
March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975

Lefty Frizzell was a country singer and songwriter, popular in the 1950s and one of the leaders of the honky tonk movement.  His singing and playing style were a major influence on the likes of George Jones, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson.  Frizzell kept very busy throughout most of the ’50s, either recording or touring the honky tonk circuit, and even as rock ‘n roll was dominating the Ameican phsyche by 1959, Frizzell was still scoring hits with his traditional country sound, including the Grammy nominated “Long Black Veil.”  By the ’70s, Frizzell had moved to Bakersfield, California and became the first Country artist to perform at the Hollywood Bowl.  But unfortunately, Frizzell’s battle with alcohol was starting to catch up with him, both physically and by damaging his business and personal relationships due to his heavy mood swings and angry tirades.   Lefty Frizzell died on July 19, 1975 after suffering a stroke.

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Died On This Date (July 19, 2002) Alan Lomax / Music Historian

Alan Lomax
January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002

Alan Lomax was an ethnomusicologist who, like his sister, Bess Lomax, followed in the footsteps of his father, John A. Lomax by documenting folk music around the world in the form of field recordings.  After he got out of college during the ’30s, the younger Lomax went to work archiving folk music at the Library of Congress.  Around this time, he traveled through the southern states of America to record the local blues and folk musicians.  While visiting a Louisiana prison, he discovered Lead Belly.   Besides making field recordings, Lomax interviewed countless music pioneers.  That list includes Muddy Waters, Jelly Roll Morton, and Woody Guthrie.  He also penned numerous best selling folk music history book.  During the ’50s, Lomax traveled Europe in search of its hidden folk music.  In all, he is said to have recorded thousands of songs.  Alan Lomax was 87 when he passed away on July 19, 2002.

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The Alan Lomax Collection: Prison Songs, Vol. 1 - Murderous Home - Alan Lomax & Various Artists