Died On This Date (November 19, 2011) Robert Champion / Florida A&M Drum Major

Robert Champion
1985 – November 19, 2011

Robert Champion was the drum major for the prestigious Florida A&M Marching Band, also known as the Marching 100.  On November 19, 2011, Champion’s unresponsive body was discovered on a chartered bus following the school’s football game in Orlando, Florida.  Reports indicate that he had been vomiting and was having trouble breathing prior to collapsing.  Many close to the investigation have speculated that hazing may have led to his death.  Robert Champion was 26 when he passed away.



Died On This Date (November 18, 2011) Wayne Scott / Singer-Songwriter; Father Of Darrell Scott

Wayne Scott
March 2, 1934 – November 18, 2011

Wayne Scott was a gifted songwriter and musician who could easily hold his own amongst the likes of such respected troubadours as Billy Joe Shaver and Townes Van Zandt.  Scott grew up in Kentucky, and although he was writing songs as far back as his teen years, he worked in car factories and steel mills until at the age of 40, he decided to pursue a career in music.  Over the years, his band of choice included his four sons, including famed chart topping songwriter, Darrell Scott.  Ironically, even though the elder Scott was an extremely prolific songwriter, he chose not to play his songs to his barroom audiences, but rather cover versions of country songs.  And it wasn’t until 2005 when he was 71 years old that Darrell finally convinced him to record an album.  The stunning collection, This Weary Land, is steeped in folk, country, and blues, and was produced by Darrell.  It features such guests as Guy Clark, Tim O’Brien, and Verlon Thompson.  Wayne Scott died on November 18, 2011 from injuries he sustained in a car accident.  He was 77.



Died On This Date (November 17, 2011) Joe Gracey / Austin Radio Legend

Joe Gracey
DOB Unknown – November 17, 2011

Joe Gracey was an Austin, Texas radio disc jockey who, since the early ’70s, championed what was then called progressive country on KOKE-FM.  Also referred to as alt country, Americana, outlaw country, redneck rock, or simply Texas music, this hybrid of country, blues, rock, and folk found its home outside the mainstream.  And it was Gracey who helped make many of its practitioners – like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kinky Friedman, Townes Van Zandt, Asleep at the Wheel, and Jerry Jeff Walker, household names throughout Texas and beyond.  After being named “Radio Trendsetter of the Year” by Billboard magazine in 1974, Gracey helped launch the popular music program Austin City Limits and was the show’s first talent coordinator.  He later opened his own recording studio where he recorded Stevie Ray Vaughan.  In 1978, he married fellow Texas musician, Kimmie Rhodes for whom he also played and recorded.  Other artists with which he collaborated were Willie Nelson, Ray Price, and Calvin Russell, to name a few.  Joe Gracey died of cancer on November 17, 2011.  He was 61.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus for the assist.



Died On This Date (November 15, 2011) Moogy Klingman / Co-Founder of Todd Rundgren’s Utopia

Mark “Moogy” Klingman
September 7, 1950 – November 15, 2011

Moogy Klingman was a keyboardist, singer, and songwriter who is perhaps best remembered as a founding member of Todd Rundgren’s Utopia.  Klingman was still in high school when he was fronting such bands as the Living Few and Glitterhouse.  At 16 he found himself playing in the Blue Flame with Jimi Hendrix and Randy California.  In 1969, Klingman hooked up with Rundgren and began playing keyboards in his band.  He went on to play on several Utopia albums as well as nearly a dozen Rundgren long-players.  He also played on and produced the Bob Dylan/Bette Midler duet, “Buckets of Rain.”  Other artists Klingman worked with include Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, Cyndi Lauper, and Jeff Beck, to name a few.  Moogy Klingman, who had been suffering from cancer, passed away on November 15, 2011.  He was 61.



Died On This Date (November 14, 2012) Laura Kennedy / Bassist For Bush Tetras

Laura Kennedy
DOB Unknown – November 14, 2011

Laura Kennedy is perhaps best remembered as the original bassist for influential New York post punk band, Bush Tetras.  Formed in 1979, the no wave band built a legion of loyalists thanks in part to their early ’80s club hits, “Too Many Creep,” and “Can’t Be Funky/Cowboys In Africa.”  The band is often recognized as the first all female post punk band and for their part in developing a scene that also included Television, Sonic Youth, and Lydia Lunch.  As reported on prefix, Laura Kennedy died on November 14, 2011 as a result of Hepatitis C which she had been living with for nearly two decades.

 

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