Died On This Date (April 15, 2010) George Melvin / Respected Jazz Keyboardist
themusicsover George Melvin
May 24, 1947 – April 15, 2010
George Melvin was a gifted jazz and R&B keyboardist who, over the course of his career, graced recordings by the likes of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Ray Charles, Miles Davis and the Moments to name a few. Melvin launched his career while still in his late teens, mainly focusing on the Hammond B-3 organ, thanks to the tutelage of the great Richard “Groove” Holmes. In later years, Melvin was a constant fixture of the Charlottesville, Virginia music scene. George Melvin died from complications of diabetes on April 15, 2010. He was 63.
Peter Steele is best remembered as the lead singing bassist for goth metal band, Type O Negative. Known for his deep voice and towering 6′-7″ frame, Steele helped make Type O Negative one of metal’s most popular underground bands. The group released several charting albums throughout the ’90s and 2000s, their most recent being 2007’s Dead Again. Although this isn’t the first time that rumors of his death have surfaced, Peter Steele reportedly died of heart failure on April 14, 2010. He was 48.
Don Ho was a popular Hawaiian musician whose middle-of-the-road stylings earned him several top-selling albums and numerous television appearances. When one thought of Hawaii in the late ’60s and ’70s, they no doubt envied the lifestyle as portrayed by Do Ho. He quickly became a live hit in Las Vegas, Reno, Los Angeles and New York, but it wasn’t until the release of “Tiny Bubbles” in 1966, that Ho reached International fame, landing him on the Billboard Album Charts where he stayed for nearly a year. The television parts began rolling in . Ho, usually appearing as himself, was featured in The Brady Bunch, The Fall Guy, Batman, I Dream Of Jeannie, and Charlie’s Angels. He also had his own ABC-TV show called The Do Ho Show. It premiered in October of 1976 but lasted only five months. His later years found him starting Honey Records, the home of his recordings as well as those by fellow Islanders. He made a few more television appearances and did regular performances at his own Hawaiian club, Hoku. Do Ho passed away from heart failure on April 14, 2007 at the age of 77.
Tom Payne was the original bassist for Los Angeles based garage rock band, the Leonards. Originally from the Detroit area, Payne and the band migrated to L.A. in the late 80s to try to get noticed. However, with a sound closer to the Replacements than Ratt, the group struggled to get noticed along the Sunset Strip. But they persevered, building a loyal fan base that they can still count on to this day. In 2004, Tom Payne discovered he had cancer, so he left the band and moved back to Michigan to be with his family. He died as a result of the cancer on April 14, 2005