James Alan Hull
February 20, 1945 – November 17, 1995
Alan Hull was the lead singer and primary songwriter for British folk rock band, Lindisfarne. Formed in 1970, Lindisfarne had a handful of UK hit singles including, “Lady Eleanor,” “Meet Me On The Corner,” and “Fog On The Tyne.” Hull stayed active with different formations of Lindisfarne through the ’70s and then continued on basically as a solo artist up until his death. Alan Hull, 50, died suddenly of heart thrombosis while working on a new album.
Dino Valente (Born Chet Powers)
November 7, 1943 – November 16, 1994
Chet Powers was a singer-songwriter who was better known by his professional name, Dino Valenti. Valenti got his start during the early ’60s in the same Greenwich Village coffeehouses and clubs as Bob Dylan, Josh White and Paul Stookey. Valenti soon moved to Los Angeles where he penned perhaps his most famous song, “Get Together” (under Chet Powers). The song would become popularized by Jefferson Starship and the Younbloods. He soon found himself as a member of San Francisco psychedelic rock band, Quicksilver Messenger Service, but after one of several drug arrests, he was kicked out of the band. Valenti did return to the band’s fold in later years, contributing several songs. Valenti underwent brain surgery in 1981, so his future work was limited to local gigs due to the initial brain illness. He was 57 when he died suddenly in his home on November 16, 1994.
Anthony “Lonnie” Donegan
April 29, 1931 – November 3, 2002
Lonnie Donegan was one of the most popular performers of the ’50s and early ’60s skiffle scene of the UK. Skiffle was a raved up version of traditional folk, blues, jazz and country influences from the US. British Invasion bands like the Beatles rose out of the skiffle scene and claim Donegan as a direct influence. Donegan began playing guitar at the age of 14, and in 1952, he formed his first band, the Tony Donegan Jazz Band. He switched to “Lonnie” a few years later and began playing in bands that were evolving into skiffle music by adding such instruments as banjo and washboard. His first recording was a 1956 rave up of Lead Belly’s “Rock Island Line” which became a massive hit, selling in excess of three million copies. Donegan continued to release UK high-charting records into the early ’60s, but his sound never really caught on in the U.S. He struggled to stay relevant during the ’70s and ’80s even with such fans as Elton John, Brian May and Ronnie Wood paying tribute to his work. His last shots of major exposure came in 2000 when he appeared on Van Morrison’s acclaimed The Skiffle Sessions album, and peformed at the Glatonbury Festival. On November 3, 2002, Lonnie Donegan, 71, suffered what would be his final of at least three heart attacks in his later years, this last one being fatal.
Hoyt Axton was country singer songwriter and actor who came to prominence as a folk singer in the ’60s and then again as country singer in the ’70s. Even though he released several successful albums and acted in and performed on numerous television shows and films, it was Axton’s skills as a songwriter that separated him from the pack. Over the years, his songs were made into hits by the likes of Ringo Starr (“No-No Song”) Steppenwolf (“The Pusher”) and of course, Three Dog Night (“Never Been To Spain” and most famously, “Joy to the World” aka “Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog”). His songs have also been covered by Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez and John Denver. Axton, 61, died of a heart attack on October 26, 1999.
George “Banjo Fred” Starner
August 6, 1937 – October 25, 2009
Banjo Fred Starner was a banjoist and folk singer who helped document the hobo culture of America. Taking a cue from Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, Starner not only set out to be a voice of the unheard, but also helped raise money for various humanitarian causes along the way. Starner taught himself to play the guitar and banjo while in college during the ’50s and was soon playing the folk festival circuit. He later became a college professor, and in 1969, found himself performing and working as a deck hand on the Clearwater, a boat launched by Seeger in New York’s Hudson River to educate people about the environment. By the late ’80s, Starner was living in Los Angeles where he continued to teach, write songs, and perform. It was while in Southern California that he began putting more focus on the hobo culture in both his songs, and his studies. From time to time he even performed at modern hobo encampments and for events sponsored by the American Hobo Association. Starner passed away of pneumonia and sarcoidosis in a medical facility at the age of 72.