Died On This Date (March 20, 2011) Johnny Pearson / Respected English Pianist; Composed “Monday Night Football” Theme
themusicsover Johnny Pearson
June 18, 1925 – March 20, 2011
Johnny Pearson was a British pianist, band leader, arranger, and composer of theme music for several popular TV programs. Pearson learned to play the piano as a child, and at the age of nine was awarded a scholarship to the London Academy of Music. Although he soon became an accomplished classical pianist, he followed his love for jazz after school and toured Europe as part of the Malcolm Mitchell Trio. In 1964, the Pearson-arranged Cilla Black single, “Anyone Had A Heart” topped the UK charts. In 1966, Pearson took over the Top Of The Pops Orchestra, a position he held for the next 15 years. In 1967, he began recording with the Sounds Orchestral group who would release approximately 17 albums through 1977. He also worked with the Carpenters and Dusty Springfield. Throughout a career that spanned some 50 years, Pearson composed music that appeared on such television programs as All Things Great And Small, Monday Night Football, Ren and Stimpy, and The Early Show to name a few. Johnny Pearson was 85 when he passed away on March 20, 2011.
Thanks to Anne Bentley for the assist.
Ralph Mooney was an innovative and influential steel guitar player who launched his career after moving from Oklahoma to California during the 1940s. By the ’50s, he was a staff player for Capitol Records where he played on records by the likes of 
Aashid Himons was a beloved reggae and world music performer who was a fixture of the Nashville club scene for many years. Himons’ career stretched as far back as the ’50s when he, under his given name of Archie Himons was performing doo wop and R&B throughout the New York City and Washington DC areas. For a time, he fronted his own Little Archie & the Majestics. He eventually settled in Nashville where he fronted Afrikan Dreamland who was reportedly the first reggae group to be played on MTV during its infancy. It was during that period that he and the group gained much of its popularity thanks in part to heavy play on college radio stations. On March 19, 2011, Aashid Himons passed away following a long illness. He was 68.
