Died On This Date (September 20, 2012) Robert Whitaker / British Photographer Who Took Beatles “Butcher” Image

Robert Whitaker
1939 – September 20, 2011

Robert Whitaker was a celebrated British photographer whose shots of the Beatles are some of the most iconic images in pop music history.  Whitaker’s career in photography can be traced back to the late ’50s when he was attending college  in Melbourne, Australia.  It was while freelancing in 1964 that he had a chance meeting with Beatles manager, Brian Epstein while the band was in the midst of an Australian tour.  That lead to numerous photo sessions with the band over the next few years, including one on March 25, 1966 where Whitaker captured the infamous image that shows John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney wearing white lab coats and covered with baby doll parts, raw meat, and false teeth.  The photo was selected for the band’s Yesterday and Today cover as seen below, but Capitol records quickly recalled it, but only after several thousand got it.  The cover was changed making original copies of the “Butcher” cover extremely valuable to this day.  Away from the Beatles, Whitaker photographed the likes of Gerry & The Pacemakers, the Seekers, Mick Jagger, and Cream who used his photos of band members within the collage of their Disraeli Gears album cover.  Robert Whitaker continued to work in photography throughout the rest of his life, at times as a photojournalist for TIME and Life magazines.  He was 71 when he passed away on September 20, 2011.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus and Scott Miller for the assist.

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Died On This Date (September 20, 2011) Frank Driggs / Record Producer & Jazz Historian

Frank Driggs
1930 – September 20, 2011

Frank Driggs was a jazz lover who became one of the genre’s most respected historians and collectors.  Because of his reputation, producer legend, John Hammond hired him during the late ’50s to help him put packages together for Columbia Records.  While at the label, Driggs worked on releases by the likes of Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, and the most celebrated, Robert Johnson’s Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings which won Driggs a Grammy in 1991.  He also produced records for Bluebird, Okeh, and MCA, to name a few.  Meanwhile, Driggs was gathering jazz photos, hand bills, ticket stubs and such for his own personal collection which, by the mid 2000s, swelled to over 100,000 images.   After retiring in 1977,  Driggs continued to earn a living by providing photographs for books and documentaries, the highest profile being perhaps Ken Burns’ Jazz series of 2001.  Frank Driggs passed away of natural causes on September 20, 2011.  He was 81.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus for the assist.



Died On This Date (September 19, 2011) Hal Roach / Chicago Jazz Musician

Hal Roach (Born Rochester Coleman)
1929 – September 19, 2011

Hal Roach was a jazz pianist who, for the better part of 36 years, held court at the popular Eli’s The Place For Steak in Chicago.  Roach was just a young child living in Mississippi when he learned to play the piano on a piece of cardboard.  He eventually moved to Chicago with his family, and after serving in the US Army in Korea, Roach focused on his music and soon landed the gig at The Place For Steak.  In 1994, Roach was at the piano when in walked President Bill Clinton who was in town for a fundraiser.  Despite being forewarned by the Secret Service to keep it on the down-low, Roach immediately kicked into “Hail To The Chief.”  Over the course of his career, Roach also entertained the likes of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Liza Minnelli. As reported in the Chicago Tribune, Hal Roach was 82 when he passed away on September 19, 2011.

Thanks to Gary Case for the assist.

Died On This Date (September 16, 2011) Willie “Big Eyes” Smith / Grammy Winning Electric Blues Great

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith
January 19, 1936 – September 16, 2011

Photo by Michael Kurgansky

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith was an influential electric blues triple threat.  Not only was he revered for his singing and harmonica playing, but he was also an award-winning drummer.  Born in Helena, Arkansas, Smith moved to Chicago when he was 17 and initially took up the harmonica.  Inspired by the likes of harpists Sonny Boy Williamson II and Henry Strong, Smith formed his own trio within a year of landing in Chicago.  It was also around this time that he played on Bo Diddley’s recording of “Diddy Wah Diddy.”  Smith soon realized that harmonica players were basically a dime a dozen in Chicago, so he switched to drums and was shortly thereafter hired by Muddy Waters.  He went on to play with Waters on and off for the next two decades, only taking a break during the mid ’60s to earn more consistent money as a cab driver.  Between 1960 and 1980, Smith played on over 80 of Waters’ recordings, many of which ending up on Grammy-winning albums.  In 1980, Smith and other members of Waters’ band splintered off to form the Legendary Blues Band who some may recognize as the band behind John Lee Hooker in the 1980 motion picture, The Blues Brothers, starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.  The Legendary Blues Band recorded seven albums and toured with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan during their run.  It wasn’t until 1995 that Smith began making his own albums.  He continued to record and perform as recently as 2010 when he and former Legendary Blues Band mate and Muddy Waters refugee, Pinetop Perkins released Joined At The Hip for Telarc Records.  The album earned the pair a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album on February 13, 2011.  Perkins passed away a little over a month later.  According to The Celebrity Cafe, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith passed away on September 16, 2011 following a stroke.  He was 75.

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Joined At the Hip: Pinetop Perkins & Willie

Died On This Date (September 13, 2011) Richard Hamilton / Designed The Beatles’ White Album

Richard Hamilton
February 24, 1922 – September 13, 2011

Richard Hamilton was a British artist who specialized in painting and collage. Known as the Father of Pop Art, and Britain’s answer to Andy Warhol, Hamilton made more than one lasting mark on popular music.  During the mid ’60s, he became friends with Paul McCartney who eventually asked him to design the cover of what became the Beatles’ 1968 masterpiece The Beatles, known also as the White Album.   It was Hamilton who came up with the simple yet iconic mostly plain white cover and inside collage.  Prior to that, Hamilton issued a series of prints entitled Swinging London which featured shots of the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger as he was being arrested on drug charges.  Richard Hamilton was 89 when he passed away on September 13, 2011.

Thanks to Scott Miller for the assist.