Died On This Date (August 11, 1996) Mel Taylor / Drummer For The Ventures
themusicsover Mel Taylor
September 24, 1933 – August 11, 1996
Mel Taylor is best remembered as the second drummer of surf instrumental pioneers, the Ventures. Influenced by Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa and Louis Bellson, Taylor’s early career consisted of playing with Boris Pickett and Herb Alpert before replacing Howie Johnson in the Ventures. The year was 1962 and Taylor would stay with the Ventures on and off for the next thirty years. He passed away as a result of cancer on August 11, 1996.
Isaac Hayes was a Tennessee-born musician, singer, songwriter and producer who had a hand in some of the greatest soul songs ever produced. Hayes began his music career as a session musician for Stax Records in Memphis where he began writing songs for the label’s roster of artists. With songwriting partner, David Porter, Hayes co-wrote such R&B staples as “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” and “Soul Man,” which has been called one of the most influential songs of the 20th century. By the late ’60s, Hayes started making his own albums, which included the monumental, Hot Buttered Soul, Black Moses, and most famously, the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film, Shaft!. Then title song would become one of the most beloved songs of the era. In later years, Hayes found a new audience as the voice of Chef in the popular animated series, South Park. In 1998, “Chocolate Salty Balls” as performed on the show by Chef became a #1 hit in the UK. And in 2002, Hayes was elected into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Isaac Hayes died of an apparent stroke after being found by his wife lifeless on the floor next to his treadmill which was still running. He was 65 years old.
A man of many hats, Tony Wilson is best remembered as co-owner of Factory Records, home the one-time home of Joy Division, New Order and OMD. He also owned The Hacienda, which became the epicenter of the Manchester music scene of the late ’80s and early ’90s. Before his foray into music, Wilson was a journalist and BBC television peronaility, most notably hosting So It Goes and After Dark. Suffering from advance stages of renal cancer, Wilson, age 57, died of a heart attack in a Manchester hospital.
Oystein Aarseth, known to fans as Euronymous, was the founding guitarist of Norwegian black metal band, Mayhem. Formed in 1983, the band went on to become one of the most influential Norwegian bands of the scene. The band was as controversial as it was popular, due in part, to their violent stage show along with the suicide of lead singer, Dead (
