Died On This Date (June 26, 2010) Benny Powell / Acclaimed Jazz Performer
themusicsover Benny Powell
March 1, 1930 – June 26, 2010
Benny Powell was a New Orleans-born jazz trombonist who is best remembered for his dozen years playing with Count Basie. Powell began playing professionally when he was just 14, and by the time he turned 18, he was playing with Lionel Hampton. In 1951, he joined Basie and can be heard most prominently in “April in Paris.” In later years he was in house band for the Merv Griffin Show and did session work on countless recordings. He also lead his own band for several years. Benny Powell was 80 when he passed away on June 26, 2010. Cause of death was not immediately released.
What You Should Own
Johnny Mercer was a popular songwriter whose many songs made stars out of their singers during the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. He gave us such standards as “Days Of Wine And Roses,” “P.S. I Love You,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “Day In, Day Out,” and “Hooray For Hollywood” to name just a few. Mercer moved to Hollywood in 1935 and became one if the most in-demand songwriters in film. In 1942 he along with Buddy DeSylva and Glen Wallichs started Capitol Records where I used to work. In 1975, Mercer learned he had an inoperable brain tumor which lead to his death on June 25, 1976.
Fred Anderson was an influential Chicago jazz saxophonist who, over the course a career that spanned six decades, earned critical praise in the free jazz and avant garde styles. After teaching himself to play the sax as a child, Anderson moved with his family to Chicago where he began his formal training. By the late ’60s, he was the dean of Chicago’s underground jazz scene. In the early ’80s, Anderson became the owner of the Velvet Lounge, a club that soon found itself at the center of the city’s thriving jazz scene. Over the course of his career, he released several influential albums on such labels and Delmark and Okka. Fred Anderson was 81 when, on June 24, 2010, he died following a heart attack.
Dave Carpenter was a much respected jazz bassist who, most recently was playing in a trio alongside Peter Erskine and Alan Pasqua. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Carpenter first took up the trumpet but switched to bass by his early teens. After graduating from college, he played with three of jazz’s then living greatest talents, 
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.