Died On This Date (July 14, 1999) Gar Samuelson / Megadeth Drummer
themusicsover Gar Samuelson
February 18, 1958 – July 14, 1999
Gar Samuelson was the original drummer for thrash metal band, Megadeth. Prior to joining Megadeth, Samuelson played in a jazz fusion band with future Megadeth guitarist, Chris Poland. But metal was Samuelson’s calling, and once he met Megadeth leader, Dave Mustaine, his mind was made up, he had to be in that band. Samuelson played on just two Megadeth albums, Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good, and the classic, Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? and toured with the band during those years. But heavy drug abuse, specifically heroin, led to his firing by the band in 1987. During the mid ’90s, Samuelson was playing alongside his brother in a thrash metal band called Fatal Opera which released two albums. The last years of his life found him in Orange City, Florida where he built and ran a recording studio. Gar Samuelson died on July 14, 1999 of liver failure at the age of 41.
What You Should Own
Known simply as Midnight, John McDonald was the founding lead singer of ’80s progressive metal band, Crimson Glory. Formed in 1982 in Sarasota, Florida, Crimson Glory quickly made their mark as one of the most revered metal acts in the area. Dawning full-face masks in the beginning, the band was soon earning recognition in best-of polls with Midnight being named Most Outstanding Male Vocalist at 1989’s Tampa Music Awards. During the ’90s, Midnight left the band and more or less disappeared from the scene. He died of liver and kidney failure at 47 years old on July 8, 2009.
Paul Hackman was a founding guitarist for Canadian hard rock band, Helix. Formed in 1974 for a battle-of-the-bands contest, the band quickly built a following in their homeland which eventually lead to a deal with Capitol Records in 1984. The band soon released a racy video for “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'” which caused a bit of a stir years later when it was discovered it featured a then 16-year-old Traci Lords dancing around nude. Of course, no one knew she was underage at the time. Several years later, while on a Canadian tour in 1992, the band’s bus veered off a 40-foot embankment, throwing Hackman to his death. He had been asleep behind the driver.
David Taylor was the lead vocalist for ’80s hard rock band, Drive. Formed in Houston, Texas by Rick Chavez and Mercy Valdez, Drive soon found their voice in a young David Taylor, just barely out of his teens. In the mid ’80s, the band moved to Los Angeles, which was quickly becoming the epicenter of the ’80s metal scene. Winning a radio contest with their song “I Need The Nights,” Drive landed on the Best Of The West compilation that was released on Rampage Records. Rampage soon signed the band, and in July of 1988, released their debut, Characters In Time. The album received tremendous reviews from the industry’s top hard rock press, including the coveted 5 “K” rating from Kerrang magazine. The album also received solid airplay from hard rock stations around the country, including Los Angeles powerhouse, KNAC. What separated Drive from the “hair” bands of the Sunset Strip, was their intelligent lyrics, intricate musicianship, and of course, Taylor’s supurb voice that fell somewhere between