Died On This Date (January 30, 1980) Warren Smith / Rockabilly Pioneer
themusicsover Warren Smith
February 7, 1932 – January 30, 1980
Warren Smith was a rockabilly pioneer who, in 1956, had a hit with his first record, “Rock & Roll Ruby.” It was recorded by Sam Phillips for his Sun Records and ended up outselling the Sun debuts from Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. Smith continued to record for Sun through the ’50s, but only saw moderate success, likely due to the fact that the label was putting all of its promotional muscle behind his more famous label mates. During the ’60s, Smith switched gears and released several country records for Liberty Records. Smith’s career faltered due to drug and alcohol issues, but he found himself back in demand during the rockabilly revival of the late ’70s. On January 30, 1980, Warren Smith, age 47, died of a heart attack on the eve of what would have been his comeback tour of Europe.
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Willie Dixon is best remembered as one of the few main architects of the Chicago blues sound. As a singer, bassist and prolific songwriter, Dixon was one of themost influential figures of the era. He was also considered one of the key bridges between blues and rock ‘n roll. Dixon wrote such blues staples as “Little Red Rooster,” “Hoochie Coochie Man,” and “I Ain’t Superstitious” and has been covered by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Cream, the Faces, Bob Dylan, Queen, the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones. In later years, Dixon worked to secure royalties and copyrights for blues artists who had been exploited int the past. He suffered from diabetes for many years and succumbed to heart failure at the age of 76.