Died On This Date (March 23, 2013) Larry Robinson / Southern California Singer-Songwriter
Edward Lawrence Robinson
DOB Unknown – March 23, 2013
Larry Robinson was a beloved San Diego-area singer-songwriter who, over the course of his career, released six albums, three of which as a member of the Dorados during the ’90s. Americana in vein, Robinson’s songs spoke of a California that unfortunately, many are too young to have known. During the ’60s, he played in the band, Things To Come who once shared the Whiskey A Go-Go stage with the Byrds. On March 22, 3013, 64-year-old Larry Robinson was bound and severely beaten during a robbery of Pete’s Music Store where he worked part-time in Temecula, California. He died of his injuries the next day . His assailant or assailants remained unidentified in the weeks following his death.
For more on Larry Robinson, please visit Easy Ed’s blog at nodepression.com


Bebo Valdés was a highly regarded Latin jazz musician, composer and bandleader whose name is synonymous with the golden age of Cuban music. Making his name in Havana during the ’40s, Valdés went on to become the pianist and house arranger at the city’s legendary Tropicana Club from 1948 to 1957. It was there during the ’50s that he became a key figure in the development of mambo. In 1960, Valdés defected to Mexico and then moved to the United States and later settled in Sweden. In 2000, he was featured in the acclaimed Latin jazz documentary, Calle 54, which brought his career a well-deserved second chapter in which he was able to entertain a whole new generation of young fans. Throughout his career, he was awarded with seven Grammys, his most recent two in 2010. Bebo Valdés was 94 when he passed away on March 22, 2013.
Buddy McRae was a founding member of influential Bronx, New York, doo-wop group, the Chords. Formed from the ashes of a vocal group that McRae started while still in elementary group in 1951, the Chords were no street-corner vocal combo. They were rehearsed and polished enough to get noticed by local record companies. In 1954, Atlantic Records’ legendary A&R man,
Bobby Smith, or as he sometimes went by, Bobbie Smith, was the lead singer of the Spinners since their inception in 1954. Born and raised in Ferndale, Michigan, Smith joined the group while they were still known as the Domingoes. They eventually changed their name to the Spinners based on a suggestion by Smith who, as a car buff, liked the use of the word for high-end hub caps. By 1961, the group was signed to 
Jason Molina was a singer-songwriter from Northeast Ohio who is probably best remembered as the founder and front man of Magnolia Electric Co. Launching his career as a bassist for various metal bands in and around Cleveland, Molina formed a musical collective he called Songs: Ohia in 1996. The lineup changed regularly with Molina as its only constant. For the next several years, Songs: Ohia released numerous albums culminating in the critically acclaimed, Magnolia Electric Co. Musically, Songs: Ohia leaned indie rock/lo-fi, but when Molina took the name of Magnolia Electric Co. for his band in 2003, he moved more toward alt-country. He released several more albums and EPs throughout the next decade. In 2009, Jason Molina retired from music due to health issues, and on March 16, 2013, he reportedly died of organ failure. He was 39.