Americana

Died On This Date (November 22, 2003) Jack Emerson / Nashville Industry Veteran

John “Jack” Emerson
1960 – November 22, 2003

Jack Emerson was a longtime music executive who first made his mark on the industry as co-owner of Praxis International, an independent label and management company. During the company’s 14 years, Emerson helped guide the careers of such roots music luminaries as John Hiatt, the Georgia Satellites, and Webb Wilder.  Later, Emerson joined forces with Steve Earle to launch E-Squared Records who put out releases by the V-Roys, Steve Earle & the Del McCoury Band, and others.  Emerson ultimately ran Jack of Heart Recordings.  He also helped form the Americana Music Association.  Jack Emerson passed away on November 22, 2003 following a courageous battle with lung and respiratory problems. He was 43

Thanks  to Jon Grimson for the assist.



Died On This Date (November 3, 2001) Champ Hood / Uncle Walt’s Band

Champ Hood
DOB Unknown – November 3, 2001

Champ Hood was a respected Texas guitarist who is perhaps best remembered as part of Uncle Walt’s Band (with Walter Hyatt and David Bell.)  Formed in Austin during the early ’70s, Uncle Walt’s Band released a handful of critically acclaimed rock by way of country albums that may very well have been the birth of “Americana” music.  The band ultimately performed on PBS’s landmark concert program, Austin City Limits.  Outside of Uncle Walt’s Band, Hood collaborated with the likes of Lyle Lovett, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Blaze Foley.  Champ Hood died as a result of cancer on November 3, 2001.

Thanks to Tom Buccieri for the assist.

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Died On This Date (August 25, 2000) Jack Nitzsche / Iconic Record Producer

Bernard “Jack” Nitzsche
April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000

jack

Jack Nitzsche was a respected arranger, composer, producer and session musician who was involved in many of the greatest west coast pop recordings of the ’60s and ’70s.  His first significant contribution to pop music came in 1955 when he co-wrote “Needles And Pins” with Sonny Bono.  The song was a hit for Jackie DeShannon and was later recorded by the Searchers, Cher and the Ramones.  By the early ’60s, Nitzsche was working as an arranger for Phil Spector,  orchestrating the celebrated “wall of sound” on hits like Ike & Tina Turner’s “River Deep Mountain High.”  Nitzsche was also part of the famed Wrecking Crew, a group of studio musicians that included Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, and Hal Blaine.  Much like their Motown counterparts, the Funk Brothers, the Wrecking Crew were the faceless band behind many ’60s pop hits coming out of Los Angeles.  They could be heard on records by the likes of the Monkees and the Beach Boys. Nitzsche also worked on classic recordings by the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Buffalo Springfield, Graham Parker and Willy DeVille to name a few.  During the ’70s, Nitzsche created the music for several motion pictures including One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Starman, 9-1/2 Weeks, and An Officer And A Gentlemen, for which won the best song Oscar for “Up Where We Belong.”  Jack Nitzsche died of cardiac arrest at the age of 63.

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Jack Nitzsche

Died On This Date (August 23, 2006) David Schnaufer / Respected Dulcimer Player

David Schnaufer
DOB Unknown – August 23, 2006

David Schnaufer was a folk musician whose instrument of choice, the dulcimer, can be heard on countless country, Americana and bluegrass recordings.  During the ’80s, he moved from Texas to Nashville where he became one of the most in-demand studio players.  Over the years he’s played on records by the likes of the Judds, Kathy Mattea, Hank Williams Jr., Alison Krauss, and Cyndi Lauper.  He was also a member of alt-country band, the Cactus Brothers which included members of Walk The West.   During the mid ’90s, he became a music professor at Vanderbilt University.  David Schnaufer died of lung cancer on August 23, 2010.  Fellow Cactus Brother, Paul Kirby passed away in 2011.



Died On This Date (July 26, 2010) Ben Keith / Steel Guitar Legend; Played With Neil Young

Ben Keith (Born Bennett Schaeufle)
March 6, 1937 – July 26, 2010

Ben Keith was a successful Nashville session player, producer, and singer-songwriter who is perhaps best remembered for his many collaborations with Neil Young.  Keith first began making a name for himself in Nashville during the ’50s and ’60s when he played on numerous country and early rock ‘n roll hits.  That list includes his steel guitar on Patsy Cline’s “I Fall To Pieces.”  During the early ’70s, Keith was invited to play on Young Harvest album that went on to become the most successful album of 1971 and spawned such rock staples as “Old Man” and “Heart Of Gold,” both of which featured Keith’s playing.   That was the beginning of a nearly 40-year musical partnership that found Keith playing on over a dozen Young albums and in countless concerts.  Over the course of his career, Keith also collaborated with a group of some of popular music’s most beloved artists.  That list includes Waylon Jennings, Jewel, Warren Zevon, Willie Nelson, the Band, Johnny Cash, and Ringo Starr.  He also released a handful of his albums.  Ben Keith passed away on July 26, 2010 at the age of 73.  Cause of death was not immediately released.