Died On This Date (August 13, 2012) Brent Grulke / Creative Director For South By Southwest
Brent Grulke
DOB Unknown – August 13, 2012
Brent Grulke was the creative director for the South By Southwest (SXSW) music conference for the past 30 years, and by all accounts was the driving force in making it the world-renowned annual event it is today. In charge of booking acts, Grulke’s passion for music brought the conference from a regional event that launched with around 200 performers vying for the attention of record companies, to a must-attend gathering that now draws 2000 performers from around the world. To the delight of music fans (disgust of some traditionalists), SXSW has become an event that also includes popular artists who have new music to pitch. In recent years, it has played host to Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, and Lil’ Wayne, to name just a few superstar acts. Prior to his tenure at SXSW, Grulke worked as a tour manager, producer, and label executive, as well as an editor for the Austin Chronicle. Brent Grulke was 52 when he died of a heart attack on August 13, 2012.
Thanks Craig Rosen at Number 1 Albums for the assist.

Von Freeman was an influential jazz saxophonist who was revered the world over by fans of hard bop. Even though his skills matched that of say, 

Ranking Trevor was a Jamaican singer who, during the 1970s, helped popularize the usage of “toasting” which was an early form of rap that eventually gave birth to hip-hop. Ranking Trevor launched his career as a deejay while in his early teens, and by the time he turned 15, he had already cut his first record. Most of Ranking Trevor’s recordings were made at the legendary Channel One studio. His most famous were “Caveman Skank” and “Three Piece Chicken and Chips,” both of which charted in England. Because of his popularity in the UK, he lived there through most of the ’70s and ’80s, but ultimately settled back in Jamaica during the ’90s. On August 7, 2012, Ranking Trevor died from injuries he sustained when he was thrown from his motorcycle during an apparent accident with an automobile. The date of Ranking Trevor’s birth vary from source to source, but most put his age at 60 at the time of his death.
Marvin Hamlisch was a New York City born composer who is one of just two people (the other being Richard Rodgers) to have won an Emmy, an Oscar, a Tony, a Grammy, and a Pulitzer Prize. His total count was four Emmys, three Oscars, one Tony, four Grammys, one Pulitzer Prize, plus two Golden Globes. A child prodigy, Hamlisch was just seven when he was accepted to Julliard’s pre-college division. Years later, his first job was as Barbra Streisand’s rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl. His movie score credits include The Way We Were, The Sting, Ordinary People, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Sophie’s Choice. For Broadway, he composed the award-winning score for A Chorus Line among others. A songwriter as well, Hamlisch wrote hits for Lesley Gore and Carly Simon. Marvin Hamlisch was 68 when, on August 6, 2012, he died following a brief illness. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Johnnie Bassett was an American electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter who, over the course of a career that spanned some 60 years, worked as a band leader as well as an in-demand session player for many of music’s biggest names. The list of those that the self-taught guitarist played with includes B.B.King, 