Died On This Date (March 20, 2009) Mel Brown / Popular Blues Guitarist
themusicsover Mel Brown
October 7, 1939 – March 20, 2009
Mel Brown was a respected blues guitarist who was perhaps best known for his years playing for Bobby “Blue” Bland. He also played behind, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Etta James, John Lee Hooker and Lightnin’ Hopkins, to name a few. Over the course of his career, Brown released nearly a dozen albums and of course, played on those by numerous others. On March 20, 2009, Mel Brown died of emphysema at the age of 69.
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Philip C. Newbaker, guitarist for Pennsylvania based death metal bands, Mausoleum and Necrotomie died March 20, 2009. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Gil Evans was a respected jazz pianist, band leader, composer and arranger who was part of an influential group of musicians that paved the way for cool jazz and jazz fusion. Evans’ most celebrated collaborations were with 
In 1968, Paul Kossoff with Paul Rodgers, Andy Fraser and Simon Kirke formed the band Free. By 1970, Free were touring the world on the success of their third album and its hit “It’s Alright Now.” Just two years after forming, the band called it quits. While Rodgers and Kirke went on to greater fame with Bad Company, Kossoff kicked around releasing solo albums and doing session work. Kossoff never quite got over the break up of Free which likely contributed to his addiction to drugs. Kossoff died on a flight from New York to Los Angeles at just 25 years of age. The cause was ruled drug related heart problems.