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Easy Listening Jazz Singer

Died On This Date (June 22, 1969) Judy Garland

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Judy Garland
June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969

Judy Garland was a star of stage, screen and a record through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years.  Starting out on vaudeville with her sister act, The Gumm Sisters (she was born Francis Gumm), would go on to win an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, an Emmy and several Grammys.  Best known for her iconic role as Dorothy in 1939’s The Wizard Of Oz, Garland also wowed audiences with her standing-room-only concert performances.  She was considered by many to be the greatest female entertainer the US had ever produced.  Despite her years of success and respect, Garland lived in a personal hell, no thanks in part to studio executives who told her she was too fat or unattractive.  That lead to an addiction to weight loss pills and other drugs.  Garland also suffered through financial troubles, often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes.  She reportedly attempted suicide on more than one occasion but finally succumbed to an accidental overdose of barbiturates on June 22, 1969, leaving behind two daughters, Lorna Luft and Liza Minnelli, as well as son, Joey Luft.

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Judy At Carnegie Hall - Judy Garland

 

Composer Easy Listening Jazz Musician Producer

Died On This Date (June 21, 1980) Bert Kaempfert / Successful Composer

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Bert Kaempfert
October 16, 1923 – June 21, 1980

Bert Kaempfert was a German born musician and composer who is best remembered for penning the music for such standards as “Spanish Eyes” (Al Martino), “L.O.V.E” (Nat King Cole), and “Strangers In The Night” (Frank Sinatra).   But his biggest contribution to pop music was likely his hiring of the then unknown Beatles to back Tony Sheridan on “My Bonnie,” “Ain’t She Sweet,” “Cry For A Shadow,” and “When The Saints Go Marching In.”  It was the first time they were put on record.  In 1980, Bert Kaempfert died of a stroke at the age of 56.

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Bert Kaempfert

Easy Listening Jazz Singer

Died On This Date (June 17, 1986) Kate Smith / Iconic American Vocalist

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Kate Smith
May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986

Kate Smith was a popular singer in the 1940s and beyond.  She is best remembered for her powerful version of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.”  Smith’s career began singing on radio in the early ’30s.  She became a big star of the day thanks to her  NBC Radio program, Kate Smith Sings, and subsequent shows on CBS.  In March of 1969, hockey’s Philadelphia Flyers played a recording of Smith’s “God Bless America” before a home game and began a trend of mostly winning games when the song was played.  Smith joined the fun by making special appearances to sing it from time to time.   To this day, royalties from her performance of “God Bless America” are donated to either the Boys or Girls Club.  Kate Smith died of diabetes at the age of 79.

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The Best Of Kate Smith - Kate Smith

 

Composer Easy Listening Jazz Musician

Died On This Date (June 14, 1994) Henry Mancini / Oscar Winning Composer

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Enrico “Henry” Mancini
April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994

manciniHenry Mancini was a Grammy and Academy Award winning pianist, composer and conductor who was best known for his iconic Pink Panther theme and “Moon River” from Breakfast At Tiffany’s.   One of Mancini’s first gigs was as pianist and arranger for the 1946 version of the Glenn Miller Orchestra which, at the time, was being lead by Tex Beneke.   By the early ’50s, Mancini was in Hollywood working for such film companies as Universal Pictures where he worked on music for some 100 films.  He left about six years later and began working with film maker Blake Edwards for whom he’d score almost 30 films.  Mancini also scored numerous televisions shows and recorded nearly 100 albums, making him one of the most popular musicians of the Easy Listening idiom.  Mancini kept working until his death of pancreatic cancer in 1994.

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Midnight, Moonlight & Magic - The Very Best of Henry Mancini - Henry Mancini

 

Easy Listening Jazz Musician

Died On This Date (June 11, 2008) Mickey McMahan / Played Trumpet For Lawrence Welk

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Clinton “Mickey” McMahan
August 23, 1930 – June 11, 2008

Mickey McMahan at center

Mickey McMahan was a trumpeter for both Lawrence Welk and Les Brown.  McMahan joined the Welk show in 1967, and stayed 15 years.  Prior to his years with Welk, McMahan played in Brown’s Band of Renown on The Steve Allen Show as well as at military bases around the world when they were Bob Hope’s USO band.  Mickey McMahan died of neuropathy and an unrelated blood disease on June 11, 2008.  He was 77.

Thanks to longtime Welk staffer Morgana Kennedy for the assist.

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