Died On This Date (February 7, 2009) Blossom Dearie
themusicsover Blossom Dearie
April 29, 1926 – February 7, 2009
Blossom Dearie was a bebop jazz vocalist and pianist who became popular during the 1950s. After a brief time working in New York City, Dearie moved to Paris in 1952 and formed a vocal group. She made her first recordings in France before moving back to the United States in the late ’50s. She soon signed to Verve Records who released her first six albums. Dearie’s popularity began to grow in the U.S. thanks in part to regular early appearances on television’s The Today Show. She also recorded a song that became popular from it’s use in a Hires Root Beer ad campaign. Over the course of her long career, she released many popular albums for the biggest jazz and pop labels in the industry. Dearie continued to be a popular club draw in New York City and London well into the 2000s. Later generations were exposed to her songs thanks to placements in such films as The Squid and the Whale and Kissing Jessica Stein. Blossom Dearie was 84 when she passed away on February 7, 2009.
What You Should Own
Vince Guaraldi was a jazz pianist who is best remembered for his beloved theme music for The Peanuts cartoons. Guaraldi spent the early years of his professional career playing and recording with Cal Tjader. He made is recording debut on The Cal Tjader Trio and then launched his solo career in 1959. In 1962, his “Cast Your Fate to the Wind,” which was actually a B-side, won a Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition. Thanks to the success and sound of that song, Guaraldi caught the attention of the producer of a Peanuts documentary. He was soon hired to compose the music for 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s “Linus and Lucy” has since become one of the most recognized pieces of music in the world and the de facto theme song of the entire Peanuts franchise. In all, Guaraldi scored 16 Peanuts specials and a Peanuts animated feature film. On February 6, 1976, Vince Guaraldi died of a heart attack in between his sets at a nightclub near his home. He was 47.
Sir John Dankworth was a highly regarded English jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and composer. Dankworth gravitated toward music while still a child, so he took piano, violin, and finally, clarinet lessons. As a teen, attended the Royal Academy of Music, and by the late ’40s, he was an up-and-coming star of the British jazz scene. During his early years, he played with the likes of 
Louis Jordan was a jazz pioneer who achieved great fame during the 1940s. He was one of a few black musicians of the era that was equally popular with both black and white audiences. According to Billboard magazine, Jordan ranked fifth on their list of the most successful African-American recording artists of all time. That figure is based solely on record sales and chart history. A talented singer as well and dynamic musician and bandleader, Jordan recorded duets with some of the era’s biggest stars. That list includes 
Known as “rey de los tambores,” or King of the Drums, Tata Guines was an Afro-Cuban conga drum master. Born in Cuba, he came to the United States in the 1950s and worked with such greats as