Died On This Date (December 18, 2011) Johnny Silvo / Folk Singer

Johnny Silvo (Born John Woods)
1936 – December 18, 2011

Johnny Silvo was a folk singer who fronted the Johnny Silvo Folk Four during the late ’60s.  The group also included Sandy Denny who went on to bigger fame with Fairport Convention.  Silvo continued entertaining crowds and making records until recent years.  He passed away on December 18, 2011.  Cause of death was not immediately released.

Thanks to Paul Bearer for the assist.

Died On This Date (December 18, 2011) Ralph MacDonald / Percussionist & Hit Songwriter

Ralph MacDonald
March 15, 1944 – December 18, 2011

Ralph MacDonald was an in-demand percussionist and hit songwriter who could count two of the biggest R&B songs of the ’70s as his own.  Growing up in a musical family in Harlem, New York, MacDonald first picked up the steelpan as a youngster.  By the time he was 17, he had already played his first big gig at a local Harry Belafonte show.  He continued on with Belafonte for the next ten years until parting ways in 1971.  MacDonald soon became one of contemporary music’s most in-demand session players, performing on countless R&B, jazz and disco records.   The list  of those he recorded with includes George Benson, Paul Simon, Jimmy Buffett, Carole King, Average White Band, the Brothers Johnson, Amy Winehouse, Aretha Franklin, and David Bowie.  MacDonald also released several albums under his own name. His song, “Calypso Breakdown” can be heard on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.  As a songwriter, MacDonald scored to massive c0-writing hits; “Where Is The Love,” the 1971 hit for Roberta Flack, and “Just The Two Of Us,” the Grammy-winning hit for Bill Withers in 1981.  Ralph MacDonald was 67 when he died of lung cancer on December 8, 2011.

Thanks to Paul Bearer for the assist.



Died On This Date (December 18, 2011) Warren Hellman / Founder Of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

Warren Hellman
January 25, 1934 – December 18, 2011

Warren Hellman was a successful private equity investor whose Hellman & Friedman rose to become a multi-billion dollar firm.  He was also a philanthropist and music junkie who founded AND funded San Francisco’s popular Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.  A banjo player himself, Hellman launched the Golden Gate Park event in 2001 to an audience of  just 13,000.  Since then, it has swelled to be one of the world’s greatest music events, drawing as many 500,000 each year over two days.  And the best part, it is FREE to attend as Hellman’s gift back to the city.  The inaugural festival presented just four acts on the main stage and another five on its second.  Performers included Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, and Hazel Dickens.   The 2011 event hosted over 100 performers including Chris Isaak, Bright EyesM. Ward, Steve Earle, Robert Plant, and Del McCoury.  Warren Hellman was 77 when he died from complications of leukemia on December 18, 2011.  Hellman reportedly left a trust fund to finance future festivals.

Do yourself a favor and attend Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival next year!