Died On This Date (February 18, 2013) Kevin Ayers / Influential English Singer-Songwriter; Soft Machine
themusicsover Kevin Ayers
August 16, 1944 – February 18, 2013
Kevin Ayers was an English musician who was largely responsible for the birth of the British psychedelic movement of the ’60s. Born in Kent, Ayers was in college when he immersed himself in the storied Canterbury scene where a collective of progressive rock, avant-garde and free jazz commingled to create something new and exciting. He soon found himself playing alongside Robert Wyatt in the Wilde Flowers. In 1966, the band morphed into Soft Machine with Ayers starting out on bass and shared vocals but later switching to guitar. Soft Machine quickly grew a strong local following, often performing with Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. In early 1967, they released their first single, “Love Makes Sweet Music” b/w “Feelin’ Reelin’ Squeelin’,” making it one of the first British psychedelic singles ever released. It pre-dated Pink Floyd’s debut single by a month. Soft Machine followed with their self-titled debut in December of 1968, and although the Chas Chandler/Tom Wislon produced effort is widely considered a classic, it failed to excite more than die-hard fans of the movement until many years later. After an extensive U.S. tour supporting Jimi Hendrix, Ayers sold his guitar to Noel Redding and planned to retire to the beaches of Ibiza forever. Before leaving however, Hendrix gave him an acoustic guitar and made him promise to not give up songwriting. Whether it was the beautiful locale or the guitar, Ayers found fast inspiration for songs that would make up his solo debut, Joy of a Toy. The album was released in 1969 on Harvest Records, also home to Pink Floyd at the time. His follow-up album, Shooting at the Moon, included future star in his own right, Mike Oldfield, on bass. Ayers continued to perform and record until once again retreating to seclusion during the late ’70s. He briefly resurfaced to record and release 1988’s Falling Up which trumpeted his “comeback” with mostly glowing reviews only to see him go underground again soon thereafter. By the late ’90s, he was living a reclusive life in southern France, but in 2005, he began to create music again, and with the encouragement upon learning that young bands like the Go-Betweens and Teenage Fanclub were enthusiastically citing him as an influence, he completed and released The Unfairground in 2007. Members of Roxy Music, Teenage Fanclub, and Neutral Milk Hotel, among others, appear on the album. It was another critical triumph. Kevin Ayers was 68 when he passed away on February 18, 2013. Cause of death was not immediately released.
What You Should Own
Mindy McCready was a hugely successful country music singer whose debut album, 1996’s Ten Thousand Angels sold over 2 million copies. Born in South Florida, McCready began singing when she was just three years old. When she was just 18, she moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music. Quickly signed to BNA Records, McCready’s debut album was released to much fanfare and ultimately yielded four hit singles with “Guys Do It All The Time” reaching #1. That was followed by four more albums and several hit country singles. In all, McCready landed on the Country Singles chart twelve times and sold over 3 million albums. During McCready’s later years, she was involved in a few rocky relationships that continually fed the tabloids with troubling stories of abuse and drug addiction. In 2008, she was hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt, and in 2010, was again hospitalized for a possible drug overdose that appeared to have been unintentional. Over the years, McCready had legal issues that were mostly attributed to substance abuse. In 2010, she appeared on the Celebrity Rehab reality program after which she was said to be looking forward to getting back into the studio. In April of 2012, McCready gave birth to her second child, and in January of 2013, the boy’s father, producer David Wilson, was found in his home of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. On February 17, 2013, Mindy McCready reportedly took her own life. She was 37.
Tony Sheridan was an early English rock and roll singer, guitarist and songwriter who is most often recognized for his work with the pre-fame Beatles. He holds the honor of being only one of two non-Beatles to ever be credited on one of the groups recordings – the other being 
Straight outta the Bronx, Tim Dog was not shy about proclaiming his disdain for West Coast rap with his 1991 hit, “Fuck Compton.” The popular N.W.A.-targeting “diss” song appeared on his 1991 debut, Penicillin on Wax and sparked wax responses from the likes of DJ Quik, Compton’s Most Wanted, and Dr. Dre among others. The song ultimately landing on XXL Magazine’s Top 25 Diss Tracks Of All Time. Dog followed up with Do Or Die two years later along with two other albums in the mid 2000s. Earlier in his career, Dog recorded with Ultramagnetic MCs as well as Ultra with Kool Keith. On the business side, Dog held high-ranking positions at Rap Legends Recordings, Our Turn Records, Big Xity Entertainment, and BMC Management. In 2012, Dog was the subject of a Dateline NBC episode due to his 2011 involvement in an online dating scam for which he was sentenced to five years probation. On February 14, 2013, Tim Dog died from a seizure reportedly triggered by a long battle with diabetes. He was 46.
Shadow Morton was a much-respected record producer whose contributions to popular music include producing and writing hits for the Shangri-Las. He was particularly adept at composing songs loaded with teen melodrama that became staples of the era. His song-writing hits for the Shangri-Las include “Leader of the Pack,” “Give Him a Great Big Kiss,” and “Remember (Walking in the Sand)” which happens to be the first song he ever wrote. With just those four songs alone, it’s easy to argue that without Morton, the ’60s girl-group phenomenon might never have happened. In 1967, he produced “Society’s Child,” a hit for Janis Ian. He also is credited for discovering Vanilla Fudge and producing their first three albums, which included their hit, “You Keep Me Hanging On.” The production of Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” is also given to Morton. During the ’70s, Morton worked with the New York Dolls, producing their second album, Too Much Too Soon. Shadow Morton died of cancer on February 14, 2013. He was 72.