Died On This Date (July 6, 1979) Van McCoy / Had Hit With “The Hustle”
themusicsover Van McCoy
January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979
Van McCoy was a musician, producer, arranger and prolific songwriter who has penned upwards of 700 songs during his career. But, he is perhaps best remembered for just one, “The Hustle,” which was massive disco hit of 1975 and to this day, arguably defines the era. McCoy began singing in the church choir as a child and by his early teens, he and his brother were performing as a doo wop duo. While in college, McCoy started his own record label to release his first single, “Hey Mr. DJ.” He was soon hired by Scepter Records as an A&R rep and songwriter. Over the years, he penned hits for Gladys Knight & The Pips (“Giving Up”), Barbara Lewis (“Baby, I’m Yours”), the Shirelles (“Stop The Music”) and Jackie Wilson (“I Get The Sweetest Feeling”) to name just a few. Van McCoy died of a heart attack at the age of 39.
What You Should Own
New Orleans born, Ernie K-Doe was best known for his huge #1 hit, “Mother-In-Law,” released in 1961. A colorful performer, K-Doe was a popular draw in and around Louisiana for many years. During the ’80s, K-Doe hosted a popular New Orleans radio program. Ernie K-Doe passed away in 2001 at the age of 65.
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.
Harry James was a popular band leader and trumpet player whose career started in the mid ’30s. After performing with Ben Pollack, James joined 
David Fanshawe was a revered English ethnomusicologist and sometime composer who created music for television shows and more. After high school, he began to study music in college while working as a film editor and traveling the world during holidays. While on these excursions, many times hitchhiking, Fanshawe took along a tape recorder to capture the traditional folk songs of the people he encountered along the way. This continued, but much more extensively upon his graduation. Meanwhile, Fanshawe was also composing music, much of it for English television and film scores. Many of his pieces incorporated the field music he recorded during his travels. Samples of these recordings can also be heard in such American films as Gangs Of New York and How To Make an American Quilt. In all, Fanshawe’s collection grew to over 2000 hours of music and over 6000 photographs. David Fanshawe was 67 when he died of a stroke on July 5, 2010.