Died On This Date (April 6, 2004) Niki Sullivan / Buddy Holly & the Crickets
themusicsover Niki Sullivan
June 23, 1937 – April 6, 2004
Niki Sullivan will always be remembered as the original guitarist in Buddy Holly & the Crickets. His back-up vocals and guitar playing can be heard on many of Holly’s biggest hits. But just as the band was breaking big, Sullivan suddenly left the group, just two years after he helped form it. He apparently disliked life on the road although his official reason for quitting the band has always remained a mystery. He all but retired from the music business in 1966 and went on to work for Sony in the electronics division. Sullivan died suddenly of a heart attack on April 6, 2004 at the age of 66.
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Vinnie Chas is best remembered as the original bassist for popular Los Angeles glam metal band, Pretty Boy Floyd. The band was one of the top draws along Hollywood’s storied Sunset Strip during a time when bands like Guns ‘N Roses, Ratt and Poison also played the same clubs. Signed by MCA Records during the late ’80s, the band released the moderately successful Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz in 1989. The band broke up in 1991 and Chas went on to play in a band called Rattlin’ Bones. In 2007, Chas and other former members of Pretty Boy Floyd began working together on new band material. Vinnie Chas passed away unexpectedly on April 6, 2010. Cause of death was not immediately released.
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