Died On This Date (July 8, 2011) Kenny Baker / Bluegrass Fiddler
themusicsover Kenny Baker
June 26, 1926 – July 8, 2011
Kenny Baker was a legendary bluegrass fiddle player who is perhaps best remembered for the 25 years he served in Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. He was called the “Greatest Fiddler in Bluegrass.” Baker learned to play the fiddle at a young age, and after working in the coal mines of Kentucky and serving in U.S. Navy, he decided to make a career out of playing the instrument. He was soon hired on by country great, Don Gibson who took him on the road. Along one of Gibson’s tours, Baker met Monroe who asked him to join his band, with whom he made his first records December of 1957. By the time he left Monroe in 1984, Baker had played with him more than any other musician before or since. He went on to record numerous albums, both his own and as a sideman for many years on such iconic roots labels as County and Rounder. His most recent, Darkness On The Delta, came out in 2004. Kenny Baker passed away on July 8, 2011 as a result of a stroke he suffered earlier that week. He was 85 years old.
What You Should Own
Alphonzo “Fonce” Mizell was an American record producer and songwriter who, as part of the Corporation production team at Motown, penned and produced virtually every Jackson 5 hit between 1969 and 1971. That list includes “ABC,” “I Want You Back,” and “The Love You Save.” Mizell was also an accomplished musician dating back to his childhood when he, his brother, Larry Mizell and a school friend performed and recorded demos as a doo-wop group, the Nikons. After high school, Mizell attended Howard University where he studied the trumpet under the great Donald Byrd. Around this time, the Mizell brothers founded their own record label, Hog Records where they produced and released just one record, the Moments’ “Baby, I Want You,” which has been known to go for as much as $2500 to collectors. Fonce eventually went to work for Berry Gordy at Motown where, besides the Jackson 5, he worked on hits by the likes of 
Charlie Craig was a respected Nashville songwriter whose Grammy nominated catalog includes hits he penned for the likes of Dolly Parton, 
Ruth Roberts was a song and jingle writer who is best remembered for co-writing the catchy and iconic New York Mets anthem, “Meet The Mets.” Written in 1961, the tune was initially intended to encourage New Yorkers to welcome the new team to a city that was already home to the storied New York Yankees. The song however, became the team’s anthem and proudly lived on for the next 50 years. Roberts, who was also an excellent pianist, wrote numerous other hits as well. She began selling her songs while still in high school, often at the famous songwriting mecca, the Brill Building in New York City. Her hits included “The First Thing Ev’ry Morning,” recorded by