Died On This Date (April 23, 1975) Pete Ham / Badfinger
themusicsover Pete Ham
April 27, 1947 – April 23, 1975
Member of the 27 Club
Pete Ham was the singer and by some accounts, primary songwriter for the British rock band, Badfinger who were signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records in 1968. As a songwriter, Ham is perhaps best know for “Without You,” a song he co-wrote with Tom Evans and which was once called “the killer song of all time” by Paul McCartney. It went on to be a #1 hit for Harry Nilsson, a #3 hit for Mariah Carey, and go to #28 for Clay Aiken. The song was recorded more than 180 times through history. Badfinger had six albums and no fewer than four hit singles, but by the early ’70s the band were caught up in a legal nightmare with their former management that left the members broke. It all became too much for Pete Ham who hanged himself in his garage on April 23, 1975 at the age of 27. In his heart breaking suicide note, he mentioned the love of his girlfriend and included the post script, “Stan Polley is a soulless bastard.” Stan Polley was Badfinger’s manager who was accused by many of his clients of corruption. He would later plead nolo contendere to unrelated embezzlement and money laundering charges.
What You Should Own
Known amongst fans of gospel music as the “Godfather Of Gospel,” the Rev. Timothy Wright pleased crowds and with his uplifting songs, usually backed by a powerful choir. He died of undisclosed causes on April 23, 2009 at the age of 61. Wright released several albums over his career, two of which were nominated for Grammys, and one reached the Top 20 on Billboard’s Gospel chart. In July of 2008, Wright’s car was struck by a wrong-way driver, sending him to the hospital with life threatening injuries and killing his wife and teenage grandson.
Oklahoma singer-songwriter Bob Childers passed away on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 of emphysema and related lung disease. Childers was a the so-called godfather or Red Dirt Music, a hard to define sub-genre of country/Americana that includes elements of country, rock and folk. After touring much of the country’s dive bars and honky tonks through the ’70s, Childers released his debut album at the dawn of the ’80s. Over his career, he wrote over 1500 songs and earned accolades from no less than fellow Oklahoman, Garth Brooks who wrote a song with him. He was even invited to perform at the White House in 1982. 2004 saw the release of Restless Wind – A Tribute To The Songs of Bob Childers, a 3-CD set that included Jimmy Lafave, Cross Canadian Ragweed and The Red Dirt Rangers.
