Died On This Date (August 9, 1974) Bill Chase, Wally Yohn, John Emma, Walter Clark / Chase

Bill Chase
October 20, 1934 – August 9, 1974

Wally Yohn
DOB Unknown – August 9, 1974
John Emma
DOB Unknown – August 9, 1974
Walter Clark
DOB Unknown – August 9, 1974

Bill Chase, John Emma, Wally Yohn and Walter Clark were members Chase, an early ’70s jazz rock band whose sound was not dissimilar to Chicago or Blood, Sweat & Tears.  Formed in the late ’60s by Bill Chase, a trumpet player who had previously played with Stan Kenton, Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson, the band released their debut album in 1971.  That album, Chase earned them a Best New Artist Grammy nomination.  Known for their rousing live shows, the band toured the world, in many cases blowing the headlining act off the stage.  They recorded a few more albums and had some personnel changes over the next couple of years.  While working on their fourth album in August of 1974, the band were en route to perform at a fair in Minnesota. Bad weather caused the plane to crash, killing Bill Chase, Wally Yohn, Walter Clark and John Emma as well as the pilot and a female passenger.



Died On This Date (August 8, 1975) Cannonball Adderley / Jazz Great

Julian “Cannonball” Adderley
September 15, 1928 – August 8, 1975

Somewhat of a child prodigy, Cannonball Adderley was already turning heads with his sax playing while still a teenager in Tallahassee, Florida.  He along with his brother, Nat Adderley was even competent enough to sit in with Ray Charles as far back as the early ’40s.  After relocating to New York City in the mid ’50s, Adderley was well on his way to becoming one of jazz’s most revered alto saxophonists.  Throughout his career he performed or recorded with such legends as Oscar Pettiford, Miles Davis, Yusuf Lateef and Bill Evans.  Adderley also had a brief career as an actor, first performing with his band in Clint Eastwood’s Play Misty For Me, and later acting opposite David Carradine in an episode of Kung Fu.   On August 8, 1975, Cannonball Adderley died of a stroke at the age of 46.

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Somethin' Else (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition Remastered) - Cannonball Adderley

Died On This Date (August 8, 2010) Jack Parnell / Bandleader For The Muppets

Jack Parnell
August 6, 1923 – August 8, 2010

Jack Parnell was an English jazz drummer, pianist and bandleader who began playing is instruments at the age of five.  During WWII, he played in the RAF band.  He composed many television theme songs throughout his career, and in 1973, he became the first British musician to win an Emmy for his work on a Barbra Streisand special.   Over the course of his career, Parnell played with the likes of Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis Jr.  From 1976 to 1981, Parnell served as the off-camera bandleader for The Muppets program.  Jack Parnell was 87 when he passed away on August 8, 2010.


Died On This Date (August 7, 1984) Little Esther Phillips / Early R&B Vocalist

Esther Phillips
December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984

Esther Phillips was one of the premier female R&B singers of the 1950s.  It was R&B impresario Johnny Otis,  who first recognized Phillips’ talent when, at 14, she won a talent show at his night club.  Otis produced her earliest recordings and put her in his traveling R&B show under the name of Little Esther.   Phillips recorded several hits in the early ’50s, but an addiction to drugs slowed her descent down and eventually sidelined her in 1954.  She mounted a comeback once cleaned up in the early ’60s and began releasing hit records again.  One recording in particular, a version of the Beatles’ “And I Love Him” prompted the Fab Four to fly her to England to perform.  The disco era was kind to Phillips as she was able to adapt her sound to appease a new generation of dancing fans.  She had some of her biggest successes during that time.   Unfortunately, she could never quite shake her addictions.  She died at the age of 48 of liver and kidney failure attributed to many years of alcohol and heroin dependency.

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Esther Phillips

Died On This Date (August 6, 1931) Bix Beiderbecke / Jazz Icon

Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke
March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931

Bix Beiderbecke was primarily a cornetist who was considered one of the premier jazz talents of the 1920s, or the Jazz Age.  When it came to the cornet, Beiderbecke had perhaps just one equal, and that was Louis Armstrong. Over a career that roughly lasted just six years, Beiderbecke recorded many songs that would go on to become standards.  That list includes “Georgia On My Mind,” “Riverboat Shuffle,” and “Copenhagen.”  He also recorded with such greats as Hoagy Carmichael, Joe Venuti and Jimmy Dorsey.  A heavy drinker, Beiderbecke died of what was presumed to be alcohol withdrawal.  The official cause was brain edema and lobar pneumonia.  Beiderbecke was just 28 years old.

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Bix Beiderbecke, Vol. I - Singin' the Blues - Bix Beiderbecke