Died On This Date (March 22, 1991) Dave Guard / The Kingston Trio

Donald “Dave” Guard
November 19, 1934 – March 22, 1991

dave-guardDave Guard was an influential American folk singer, best remembered as a founding member of the Kingston Trio.  Formed in 1957, the group helped launch the folk revival of the ’60s while becoming one of the first groups to enjoy big sales on the LP format.  Their first hit single, “Tom Dooley” is considered one of the most important songs of the era.  Artists like Brian Wilson, Joan Baez, Lindsey Buckingham, Jimmy Buffet, and Tim Buckley have all been cited as having been influenced by the Kingston Trio.  Guard left the group in 1961 and formed the Whiskeyhill Singers who released one album and sang a handful of songs on the soundtrack for How The West Was One.  After the Whiskeyhill Singers, Guard kept busy working with other artists while writing and recording music.  He all but retired from the public eye during the final two decades of his life, making only a few local public appearances and Kingston Trio semi-reunions.  On March 22, 1991, Dave Guard died of lymphoma.  He was 56 years old.

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The Kingston Trio

Died On This Date (March 18, 2010) Fess Parker / Actor; Made Several Cowboy Records

Fess Parker
August 16, 1924 – March 18, 2010

Fess Parker was a popular actor who is best remembered for playing Davy Crockett in a Disney television series, and later, Daniel Boone in another series.  Parker flirted with a music career by releasing a handful of folk albums during the ’60s.  They included Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Abe Lincoln and Other Great American Heroes and Fess Parker Sings.  Later in life, Parker devoted his time to running the award-winning Fess Parker Family Winery.  Fess Parker was 85 when he died of natural causes on March 18, 2010.



Died On This Date (March 13, 2010) Jean Ferrat / “The French Bob Dylan”

Jean Ferrat
December 26, 1930 – March 13, 2010

Jean Ferrat was a French singer songwriter who first achieved success throughout the French-speaking world during the 1960s.  He has been called “The French Bob Dylan” due to his thought-provoking lyrics.  Throughout his long career, he released nearly two dozen albums with his 1963 release, Nuit et Brouillard, earning him a coveted Grand Prix du Disque.  His songs have been recorded by many French entertainers as well.  Jean Ferrat passed away on March 13, 2010 following a lengthy illness.  He was 79.

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Jean Ferrat

Died On This Date (March 12, 2010) Lesley Duncan / British Singer-Songwriter

Lesley Duncan
August 12, 1943 – March 12, 2010

lesley-duncanLesley Duncan was a moderately successful English folk singer during the late ’60s and ’70s.  After working on her own during the early part of her career, Duncan hooked up with Elton John in 1970 to sing a duet of her “Love Song” which appeared on his Tumbleweed Connection album.  It remains one of just a handful of songs John recorded that was penned by someone outside of his and Bernie Taupin’s creative circle.  Duncan went on to provide backing vocals on such albums as John’s Madman Across The Water, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and the Alan Parsons Project’s Eve.  During the ’70s, she lent her vocal talents to recordings by Dusty Springfield, among many others.  Lesley Duncan was 66 when she died on March 12, 2010 of causes believed to be related to cerebrovascular disease.

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Died On This Date (March 6, 2009) George McKelvey / ’50s Folk Singer Turned Comedian

George McKelvey
July 22, 1936 – March 6, 2009

georgeGeorge McKelvey was a comic, actor and folk singer who achieved success during the ’60s and ’70s after he switched from music to stand-up comedy.  As a folk singer, he did have a moderate hit with the timely and satirical  “My Radiation Baby, My Teenage Fallout Queen” of 1964.  After switching to comedy, he became a popular support act for the likes of the Righteous Brothers, Tower of Power and Glenn Yarbrough.  George McKelvey, 72, died of a stroke on March 6, 2009.