Musician

Died On This Date (May 25, 2003) Jeremy Michael Ward / The Mars Volta

Jeremy Michael Ward
May 5, 1976 – May 25, 2003

Member of the 27 Club

Jeremy Michael Ward was best known for his work with progressive alternative rock band, The Mars Volta, with whom he worked as a sound technician.  The band’s  2003 De-Loused in the Comatorium benefited from Ward’s obvious talent.  When not working with the band or its splinter projects, Ward was a pen and ink artist.  On May 25, 2003, roughly one month after the release of De-Loused, Jeremy Michael Ward was found dead in his apartment of an apparent heroin overdose.  He was 27 years old.

Died On This Date (May 25, 1965) Sonny Boy Williamson II

Sonny Boy Williamson II (Born Rice Miller)
December 5, 1899 or May 11, 1908 – May 25, 1965

There’s likely only one person who could say they played alongside not only Robert Johnson, but also Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Eric Burden, and Robbie Robertson; that person was Sonny Boy Williamson II. Born on a plantation, Williamson worked along with his father as a sharecropper until he decided to head out on his own in the early ’30s with a harmonica along for the ride. He would meet up and play with the likes of Elmore James, Robert Lockwood Jr., and the great Robert Johnson. Besides having tremendous skills on the harmonica, Williamson learned a few tricks to dazzle his audiences, like playing it with no hands or playing it while nestled between his upper lip and nose. I should point out that around this time, there was another harmonica-playing Sonny Boy Williamson gaining popularity throughout the blues world. So to distinguish the two, this one (Rice Miller) was referred to as “Number 2” or “The Second,” even though he claimed to have started using the stage name first. Williamson made his first recordings for Trumpet Records in 1951, but when the label went bankrupt in 1955, his contract became the property of the renowned Chess Records who helped him achieve much greater success. By the ’60s he was being embraced by the new British blues-rock artists as a main influence affording him the opportunity to record with the Animals and the Yardbirds. Williamson recorded some 70 songs during his career, many of which are considered blues staples and have been covered by Aerosmith, the Who, Led Zeppelin, Van Morrison, Nick Cave, the New York Dolls, and the Allman Brothers to name but a few. Sadly, as Williamson was gaining a new fame and fortune, he was found dead in his room on May 25, 1965 of an apparent heart attack.

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Died On This Date (May 25, 2005) Domenic Troiano / Respected Rock Guitarist

Domenic Troiano
January 17, 1946 – May 25, 2005

DomBorn in Italy, but a citizen of Canada since 1955, Domenic Troiano was an in-demand rock guitarist who played with such greats as Ronnie Hawkins, the James Gang, and the Guess Who.  Forming his own band in the late ’70s, Troiano had a hit with “We All Need Love,” which was actually more disco than rock.  As a session player, he worked on recordings by Joe Cocker, Long John Baldry and James Cotton.  Domenic Troiano died of prostate cancer at the age of 59.

Died On This Date (May 24, 1974) Duke Ellington / Jazz Icon

Edward “Duke” Ellington
April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974

Duke Ellington was a jazz composer, band leader and pianist who is considered by many to be the greatest jazz musician of all times. So influential he was, that many of his band members went on to become legends themselves. After learning to play the piano as a child, Ellington launched his music career in 1917 when he started gigging around his Washington DC neighborhood. By the time he was 24, he had already made at least eight records, giving him the opportunity to broaden his touring base across the US and eventually to Europe. By the ’30s and ’40s, Ellington was releasing hit after hit, including “Take The A Train,” “Mood Indigo,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “In A Sentimental Mood,” and “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If You Aint Got That Swing.” Ellington continued to tour and make records into his 70s, including the one album he made with Frank Sinatra, Francis A. & Edward K. In 1965, Ellington was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize but did not receive one. He did however, win eleven Grammy awards, receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and France’s Legion Of Honor Award along with countless other recognitions. Duke Ellington died of lung cancer and pneumonia on May 24, 1974. Over 12,000 people attended his funeral.

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Died On This Date (May 24, 1991) Gene Clark / The Byrds

Gene Clark
November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991

Gene Clark is perhaps best known as a founding member of folk rock group, the Byrds. Clark’s early career was mainly devoted to performing in traditional folk groups in and around Kansas City. But after hearing the Beatles in 1964, he decided he needed to rock, so he moved to Los Angeles. Upon arriving in L.A., Clark joined up with Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and later Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke to form the Byrds, who gained a following based on a sound that music critic Richie Unterberger at allmusic.com called “melding the innovations and energy of the British Invasion with the best lyrical and musical elements of contemporary folk music.” Clark wrote most of the Byrds’ biggest hits – songs that would go on to become signature tunes for the entire era, songs like, “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better,” “Set You Free This Time,” “Here Without You,” “She Don’t Care About Time,” and “Eight Miles High.” But life with the Byrds didn’t last long as internal tensions grew over the record company’s decision to have McGuinn sing the “bigger” songs, Clark’s fear of flying, and the band’s resentment that he was making more money from publishing. So he left the band just two years later. Clark spent the rest of his career working solo and partnering with the likes of Carla Olson, Doug Dillard, Bernie Leadon, as well as a brief stint back with Hillman and McGuinn. By the late ’80s, years of drugs and heavy drinking along with a possible undiagnosed bipolar disorder, began to manifest in the form of ulcers which resulted in the loss of much of his stomach and intestines to surgery. Bad health and lawsuits involving the other members of the Byrds plagued his final years. Clark died on May 24, 1991 of what the coroner declared, natural causes brought on by a bleeding ulcer.

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