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!



Died On This Date (December 17, 2011) Cesaria Evora / Popular Cape Verdean Singer

Cesária Évora
August 27, 1941 – December 17, 2011

Known to fans as the “Barefoot Diva,” Cesária Évora, was a gifted singer from the island nation of Cape Verde which sits off the cost of Western Africa.  Singing traditional Cape Verde songs in the native language of Portuguese since a young age, it wasn’t until Évora caught the ear of a French producer in 1988 that she was invited to Paris to cut a record.  The result, La Diva Aux Pieds Nus, was released later that year to praise from adoring friends back home and new ones in Paris.  Over the next several years, she built a sizable following in France and beyond, while critics compared her remarkable voice to that of Billie Holiday.  By the mid ’90s, Évora had fans around the world and had been nominated for no fewer than three Grammys.  She was awarded one for Best World Music Album for 2003’s Voz d’Amor.  Évora continued to perform until suffering a heart attack in May of 2010.  In September of 2011, it was announced that she was retired from singing due to poor health.  On December 17, 2011, Cesária Évora died of what was reported as cardiorespiratory insufficiency and hypertension. She was 70.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Voz d'Amor - Césaria Évora

Died On This Date (December 17, 2011) Sean Bonniwell / The Music Machine

Thomas “Sean” Bonniwell
August 16, 1940 – December 17, 2011

Sean Bonniwell was the founder and front man of the influential ’60s garage band, the Music Machine.  Initially called the Ragamuffins when formed in 1965, the group quickly changed their name and went on to help define a fuzzy offshoot of psychedelic rock that would eventually lead to punk rock and what is known today as garage rock.  In 1966, the Music Machine released their debut album, (Turn On) The Music Machine which included the Top 20 hit, “Talk Talk,” and its follow-up single, “The People In Me.”  The group soon disbanded with Bonniwell going on to secure a deal with Warner Bros. Records as Sean Bonniwell Music Machine.  He released what would essentially be the Music Machine’s last album in 1967, and put out one last album as T.S. Bonniwell on Capitol Records before retiring from the music business.  After reportedly selling everything and driving around the United States for a number of years, Bonniwell released his autobiography, Talk Talk (later re-released as Beyond The Garage) in 1996.  He returned to music in 2000 as a guest vocalist on the debut self-titled album by the Larksmen.   Sean Bonniwell was 71 when he passed away on December 17, 2011.  Cause of death was not immediately released.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus for the assist.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Turn On - The Music Machine

Died On This Date (December 16, 2011) Slim Dunkin / Rapper with 1017 Brick Squad, Brick Squad Monopoly

Slim Dunkin (Born Mario Hamilton)
DOB Unknown – December 16, 2011

Slim Dunkin was an up-and-coming rapper who was part of the hip-hop collective, 1017 Brick Squad / Brick Squad Monopoly.  Formed in Atlanta in 2008, the group also includes Waka Flocka Flame, Wooh Da Kid, OJ Da JuicemanFrenchie, and Gucci Mane, who has since become the CEO and leader of the group.  Dunkin can be heard on several Waka Flocka Flame recordings as well as his own, and had just completed a 20-song mixtape.  During the evening hours of December 16, 2011, Slim Dunkin was working in an Atlanta recording studio when he reportedly got into an argument with another individual.  The altercation escalated to the point where Dunkin was believed to have been shot in the chest.  He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.  The presumed assailant remained unidentified in the immediate aftermath.

Thanks to Paul Bearer for the assist.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Menace II Society (Hosted By Waka Flocka & DJ Holiday) - Slim Dunkin