Died On This Date (August 6, 1931) Bix Beiderbecke / Jazz Icon
themusicsover 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.
What You Should Own
Catfish Collins is best remembered as the rhythm guitarist on several influential recordings by P-Funk, Parliament-Funkadelic, and Bootsy’s Rubber Band, which was lead by his brother, Bootsy Collins. During the late ’60s, Collins and his brother, Bootsy, and 
Born in Louisiana but raised in Los Angeles, Willie Egan began playing the piano while still a pre-teen, and by the time he turned 15, he had a record deal and was cutting his first sides. Over the next decade, Egan would release such early R&B gems as “Wow Wow” and “Wear Your Black Dress.” Unfortunately, Egan never broke out as he should have – some blame poor management and sub par distribution of his records. By the late ’60s he was all but forgotten, working as a hospital orderly. In the early ’80s, Egan presumed dead, was located down-and-out in Los Angeles by a British record label head who arranged for him to perform in the UK, sparking a minor comeback. A live album of that event as well as another studio album followed shortly thereafter. On August 5, 2004 Walter Egan passed away after years suffering with cancer.
Luther Perkins was working as a mechanic in Memphis when, in 1954 his co-worker, Roy Cash, introduced him to his brother, 
