Musician

Died On This Date (February 24, 1991) Webb Pierce / Country Music Legend

Webb Pierce
August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991

webbWebb Pierce was a popular country singer whose career spanned the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.  Based on chart success, he was the most popular country performer of the 1950s.  His biggest hit, “There Stands The Glass” is considered one country music’s greatest songs and has been recorded by the likes of Willie Nelson, Wanda Jackson, Van Morrison, and Jerry Lee Lewis.  Up until his retirement in 1982, Pierce charted 96 singles.  Besides, “There Stands The Glass,” his most popular were “In The Jailhouse Now,” and “Why Baby Why.”  Pierce was just as well-known for his lavish lifestyle as he was for his music.  He drove two Cadillacs that were lined with silver dollars, wore elaborate Nudie suits, and had a $30,000 swimming pool fashioned after a guitar.  Webb Pierce was 69 when he died of pancreatic cancer on February 24, 1991.

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20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Webb Pierce - Webb Pierce

Died On This Date (February 24, 1988) Memphis Slim / Blues Legend

Memphis Slim (Born John Chatman)
September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988

Photo By Raeburn Flerlage
Photo By Raeburn Flerlage

Memphis Slim was a jump blues pianist and prolific composer who could count over 500 recordings as his own.  He got his start during the early ’30s by playing honky-tonks and dance halls throughout Arkansas and Missouri.  In 1939, he migrated up to Chicago where he started out playing gigs with Big Bill Broonzy.  In 1940, Slim began making his own records.  One of those recordings, “Nobody Loves Me” has been covered (as “Every Day I Have The Blues”) by the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Ella Fitzgerald, and Natalie Cole, to name just a few.   Like so many of the blues greats of the first part of the 20th century, Slim made a nice comeback during the folk and blues revival of the early ’60s.  He was so respected around the world, that the U.S. Senate once named him an Ambassador-At-Large of Good Will.  Memphis Slim was 72 when he died of renal failure on February 24, 1988.

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The Folkways Years, 1959-1973 - Memphis Slim

Died On This Date (February 24, 1990) Johnnie Ray / Rock & Roll Pioneer

Johnnie Ray
January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990

johnny-rayJohnnie Ray was a pop singer, songwriter and pianist who helped R&B, jazz and blues transition into rock ‘n roll during the early ’50s.  Ray made his first recordings in 1951, and by the following year, he scored his first hit with “Cry.”  The record sold over 2 million copies, almost instantly turning him into one of rock ‘n roll’s first teen heart throbs.  Ray released several more hits throughout the rest of the decade, helping him a superstar, not only in the U.S., but throughout most of Europe as well.  Ray’s popularity dwindled during the ’60s and ’70s, but he experienced a small renaissance thanks to a reference in Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ 1982 hit, “Come On Eileen,” and use of his image in its video.  An apparent heavy drinker, Johnnie Ray died of liver failure on February 24, 1990.  He was 63 years old.

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Johnnie Ray

Died On This Date (February 24, 2008) Larry Norman / The Father of Christian Rock

Larry Norman
April 8, 1947 – February 24, 2008

larry-normanLarry Norman has been called “The Father of Christian Rock.”  Before jumping into the Christian music arena, Norman was part of the Bay Area scene where he was afforded the opportunity to open for both Jimi Hendrix and the Doors. In 1969, his first Capitol Records release, Upon This Rock, became what many consider the first Christian rock album.  Not without controversy, Norman would live on the fringes of Christian music due in part to his long hair and outspoken political beliefs.   Larry Norman passed away from heart failure on February 24, 2008.

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Only Visiting This Planet (Remastered Bonus Track Version) - Larry Norman

Died On This Date (February 23, 2003) Howie Epstein / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Howie Epstein
July 21, 1955 – February 23, 2003

Before Howie Epstein became a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers he was playing behind John Hiatt in the ’70s (Slug Line, Two Bit Monsters), and Del Shannon in the ’80s.  It was while working on a Petty-produced Del Shannon album, that Epstein was offered a spot in Petty’s band.  He jumped at the chance and made his live debut alongside Petty on September 1, 1982.  Four days later, he was playing in front of one of the biggest rock crowds in history at the legendary US Festival in Southern California.  In 1988, Epstein met and began a romantic and professional relationship with Carlene Carter who was the daughter of June Carter and Carl Smith, and recently divorced from Nick Lowe.  Epstein helped revive Carter’s career which included a Grammy nomination in 1991.  Epstein was also building a solid reputation as a producer, even earning a Best Contemporary Folk Album Grammy for John Prine’s The Missing Years.   Epstein died on February 23, 2003 from the effects of drug abuse, although not from an overdose.