Died On This Date (January 8, 2013) Tandyn Almer / ’60s Singer-Songwriter; Wrote “Along Comes Mary”
themusicsover Tandyn Almer
July 30, 1942 – January 8, 2013
Tandyn Almer was a mysterious Minneapolis-born singer-songwriter whose biggest contribution to popular music came by way of his “Along Came Mary,” a 1966 Top Ten hit as recorded by the Association. Just a teenager when the music of John Coltrane and Miles Davis caught his ear, Almer, a future member of Mensa, decided to quit high school and move to Chicago to become a jazz musician. By the ’60s, he found himself in Los Angeles, where he set his sights on rock music. Over the next few years, he collaborated, as a songwriter or producer, with such acts as Dennis Olivieri, the Purple Gang, and the Garden Club. During the ’70s, he wrote songs for A&M Records where he co-wrote the Beach Boys‘ “Sail On Sailor,” and “Marcella.” Outside of music, Almer invented the Slave-Master water pipe which was called “the perfect bong” by at least one how-to manual. By the ’80s, Almer was all but out of the music business, and living in Washington D.C. where he wrote songs for an annual comedy review put on by Hexagon, a D.C. based non-profit organization. In recent years, Almer was reportedly in ailing health – suffering from heart and lung disease, until he passed away on January 8, 2013. He was 70.
Thanks to Harold Lepidus at Bob Dylan Examiner for the assist.
Kent Abbott was a guitarist who is best remembered for his tenure with Canadian pop punk bands, Grade and Somehow Hollow. Abbott joined Grade just after the band released what would become their final album, 2001’s Headfirst Straight To Hell. The group disbanded the following year. They have since been recognized as one of hardcore’s influential bands. Although Somehow Hollow formed in 2000, it wasn’t until the break up of Grade that Abbott committed to them full-time. They released Busted Wings And Rusted Halo on Victory Records in 2003, but called it quits in 2004. In later years, Abbott played with the .45 Goodbye. Kent Abbott was 32 when he died on January 7, 2013. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Sammy Johns was a folk and country-rock singer-songwriter who scored a major ’70s pop hit with 1975’s “Chevy Van.” Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Johns was just nine when he picked up the guitar. By the time he was a teenager, he was fronting his own band, the Devilles. After a few records with the Devilles, Johns moved to Atlanta and signed a solo deal with General Records who released his self-titled debut in 1973. The album’s “Chevy Van” took about a year or so to catch on, but when it did, it became one of the biggest singles of the ’70s. Reaching #5 on the Billboard pop charts, the record sold more than 1 million copies in the US alone. It was later covered by Eric Church, Sammy Kershaw, and 
Patti Page was an American singer who has been called the biggest selling female singer of the ’50s. Born into poverty in Oklahoma, Page began singing professionally after she graduating high school in 1945. Her first appearance of note was a 15-minute segment on KTUL radio in Tulsa. That lead to a touring gig with the Jimmy Joy Band who ultimately settled in Chicago where she met 