Died On This Date (April 29, 2011) David Mason / English Trumpet Player; Soloed On The Beatles’ “Penny Lane”
themusicsover David Mason
1926 – April 29, 2011
David Mason was a classically trained trumpet player who is perhaps best remembered for his iconic solo on the Beatles’ hit, “Penny Lane.” Mason was born in London and studied music at the Royal College of Music where he went on to teach of some 30 years. He eventually became the featured trumpet in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra, among others. In 1967, while the Beatles were working on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Paul McCartney caught a performance by Mason on television. That next day, producer George Martin invited Mason to come down to the studio and play on “Penny Lane,” which would become one of the Beatles most beloved songs. It is Mason’s piccolo trumpet that can be heard prominently in the song that would ultimately make it on to the Magical Mystery Tour album. David Mason died of leukemia on April 29, 2011. He was 85.
Thanks to Scott Miller for the assist.
Dag Stokke was the touring keyboardist for popular Norwegian metal band, TNT. Formed in 1982, the band benefited from heavy video play on MTV in 1985. Stokke came on board in 1987 and performed at the band’s live shows until 1992 and then again from 1996 until the time of his death. Although he wasn’t an official member of TNT, Stokke played on all of their albums between 1992 and 2010. In January of 2011, Stokke learned he was suffering from cancer, and played his final gig with the band that following March 5th. Dag Stokke was 44 when he died of cancer on April 27, 2011.
Phoebe Snow was an American singer-songwriter who is perhaps best remembered for her 1975 hit, “Poetry Man.” Regularly exposed to music while growing up, Snow picked up the guitar at an early age. She was still in her teens when she began playing at amateur nights throughout New York’s storied Greenwich Village folk clubs. It was at one of these venues that Snow was discovered by an executive at Shelter Records who signed her and released her self-titled debut album, Phoebe Snow in July of 1974. The album included her Top 5 hit, “Poetry Man.” The album ultimately reached #4 on the Billboard album charts and earned Snow a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, a cover of Rolling Stone, and several memorable appearances on Saturday Night Live. In 1975, Snow gave birth to her severely brain-damaged daughter Valerie, but instead of placing her in a care facility like most, she opted to care for her herself, which she did until Valerie passed away in 2007. Throughout Snow’s career, she released numerous critical and fan favorite albums and performed with a who’s who of pop royalty. That list includes Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel, Queen, and Bonnie Raitt, to name just a few. In 1997, Snow sang the Rosanne theme during the closing moments of the final episode, and years later, became perhaps the most unlikely person in history to sing at both Camp David (for President Bill Clinton), AND at Howard Stern’s wedding. On January 19, 2010, Phoebe Snow suffered a brain hemorrhage and was placed in a medically induced coma. She briefly regained consciousness but ultimately passed away on April 26, 2011. She was 58.
John Cossette is perhaps best remembered as a longtime producer of the Grammy television broadcast. He carried on the tradition started by his father, Pierre Cossette, who produced the very first broadcast in 1971. Cossette worked on the Grammy show for the better part of the past 20 years, most recently as executive producer. He served in the same capacity for the Latin Grammys as well. Outside of the award show, Cossette produced programming for BET as well as the Broadway, Chicago and London productions of Million Dollar Quartet, which is based on the historic 1956 meeting of 
Poly Styrene was the lead singer and songwriter for the great British punk band, X-Ray Spex. Formed in 1976, the band, despite the fact that they initially released just five singles and one long-player, became one of the most important groups of the original punk movement. After running away from home at 15, Styrene bounced from one music festival to another until she eventually ended up at an early Sex Pistols gig which inspired her to form a punk band. The band’s first album Germ Free Adolescents is by most accounts one of the greatest punk – if not rock – albums ever made. Its “Oh Bondage, Up Yours” is widely recognized as a flash point for punk rock. After the band broke up in 1979, Styrene released a solo album Translucence which had more of a jazzy sound and reportedly inspired the likes of Everything But The Girl. She continued to release music, both solo and with a reformed version of X-Ray Spex, over the next two decades. She also lent her name and voice to various social causes throughout the years. In February 2011, it was announced that Poly Styrene was suffering from breast cancer. She was 53 years old when she died from the disease on April 25, 2011.