Died On This Date (January 23, 1936) John Mills, Jr. / The Mills Brothers
themusicsover John Mills, Jr.
October 19, 1910 – January 23, 1936
John Mills, Jr. along with his three brothers made up the Mills Brothers, a popular jazz vocal quartet throughout most of the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. John Jr. sang bass in the group and played guitar. Their songbook included such hits as “Tiger Rag,” “Dinah,” and “St. Louis Blues.” As the boys were just starting to establish themselves on the world stage, tragedy struck while on their first European tour as John Jr. came down with pneumonia with which he struggled for several months. After they assumed he was well, the group headed back to England where John Jr. once again became sick, only this time resulting in his sudden death on January 24, 1936. The guys eventually regrouped and struck out again with their father, John Sr. filling the vacant slot.
Earl Wild was arguably the greatest jazz and classical pianists of his generation. Wild was just a child when he began learning from masters of the instrument, and by 1939, he was working at NBC. It was that year, that he became the first pianist to play on live television. He has also been credited for being the first to play live over the internet – the year was 1997. Following his time in the US Navy Band during WWII, Wild went to work for ABC Television as the staff pianist and composer. He also conducted master glasses all over the world. On January 23, 2010, Earl Wild died of congestive heart failure. He was 94.
Tommy Tucker was an early R&B singer-songwriter and pianist who gave us the oft-covered 1964 hit, “Hi Heel Sneakers.” The upbeat tune shot all the way to #11 on the pop singles chart. His follow-up, “Long Tall Shorty,” written with Don Covay, was a modest hit. Tucker retired from the music business during the late ’60s and went to work selling real estate and writing for a local newspaper. On January 22, 1982, Tommy Tucker died after inhaling deadly fumes while refinishing his hardwood floors. He was 48 years old.
Born in Scotland, Billy MacKenzie is best remembered as one-half of the post-punk duo, Associates. Formed with Alan Rankine out of the ashes of the Ascorbic Ones, Associates released a handful of moderately successful records between 1981 and 1990. On January 22, 1997, Billy MacKenzie took his own life by ingesting a lethal dosage of antidepressants and other prescribed medicine. He was 39.