Musician

Died On This Date (November 16, 1994) Dino Valenti / Popular ’70s Singer-Songwriter

Dino Valente (Born Chet Powers)
November 7, 1943 – November 16, 1994

dino

Chet Powers was a singer-songwriter who was better known by his professional name, Dino Valenti.  Valenti got his start during the early ’60s in the same Greenwich Village coffeehouses and clubs as Bob Dylan, Josh White and Paul Stookey.  Valenti soon moved to Los Angeles where he penned perhaps his most famous song, “Get Together” (under Chet Powers).  The song would become popularized by Jefferson Starship and the Younbloods.  He soon found himself as a member of San Francisco psychedelic rock band, Quicksilver Messenger Service, but after one of several drug arrests, he was kicked out of the band.  Valenti did return to the band’s fold in later years, contributing several songs.    Valenti underwent brain surgery in 1981, so his future work was limited to local gigs due to the initial brain illness.  He was 57 when he died suddenly in his home on November 16, 1994.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Dino Valenti

Died On This Date (November 16, 2009) Jeff Clyne / British Jazz Bassist

Jeff Clyne
January 29, 1937 – November 16, 2009

Photo by Brian O'Connor

Jeff Clyne was a respected British jazz bassist whose career spanned some four decades.  Over the course of his career, he played with Blossom Dearie, Ronnie Scott, Dudley Moore, Zoot Sims and many more.  Clyne played in several combos during the ’70s.  That list includes Nucleus, Turning Point and Isotope.  He also worked as a jazz educator and bass instructor.  Jeff Clyne was 72 when he died of a heart attack on November 16, 2009.



Died On This Date (November 15, 2003) Speedy West / Pedal Steel Great

Wesley “Speedy” West
January 25, 1924 – November 15, 2003

SpeedyWestSpeedy West was one of country music’s greatest pedal steel guitarists.  He is best remembered for his work with Jimmy Bryant and Tennessee Ernie Ford.  Born and raised in and around Springfield, Missouri, West learned to play the peddle steel at an early age, and after WWII, he and his young family moved to Los Angeles to follow his dream after learning of tremendous opportunities for musicians in the area.   His big break came in 1948 when Spade Cooley hired him to perform in his big swing band.  West soon met Cliffie Stone who was doing A&R for Capitol Records, and by 1949, he was a full time session player.  It was soon after that West began recording with Bryant.  Over the first five years of the 1950s, West played on upwards of 6000 recordings by over 175 artists.  That list includes Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Jo Stafford, and Johnnie Ray.  During the late ’50s, West worked with Bobby Bare, helping he establish his career, and then playing on his records.  Work for country musicians began to dry up in Los Angeles by the early ’60s, so West moved to Tulsa to manage Fender Instruments’ distribution center.  He continued to play, but not nearly as much as he had in California.  West suffered a massive stroke in 1981 that left him unable to play.  He was 79 when he passed away on November 15, 2003.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Speedy West

Died On This Date (November 14, 1984) Keith Hudson / Dub Pioneer

Keith Hudson
1946 – November 14, 1984

keith-hudsonKnown as the “Dark Prince of Reggae,” Keith Hudson was a reggae musician, singer, songwriter and producer who helped usher in the practice of “dub.”  As a child growing up in Kingston, Hudson was a schoolmate of such future legends as Bob Marley, Ken Boothe and Delroy Wilson.  Even at an early age, he gravitated toward the riddems that would eventually be called ska and reggae.  He soon became a disciple of Coxsone Dodd, the legendary Jamaican producer.  In 1960, Hudson produced his first record by a group of musicians who would soon become members of the Skatalites.  His first hit as a producer came in the late ’60s thanks to “Old Fashioned Way,” a record he made with Boothe.  He went on to work with Wilson, Alton Ellis and U-Roy.  He began making his own records during the ’70s and began experimenting with dub.  His albums at the time were critical hits in Jamaica.  His 1975 Pick A Dub is considered a masterpiece and is widely regarded as the very first deliberately thematic dub album.  Hudson moved to New York City not long after the release of Pick A Dub and eventually started his own label.  He was diagnosed with lung cancer during the summer of 1984, and was 38 when he died of it four months later.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Rasta Communication - Keith Hudson

Died On This Date (November 14, 2008) Irving Gertz / Sci-Fi and TV Composer

Irving Gertz
May 19, 1915 – November 14, 2008

gertz

Irving Gertz was a respected composer who came to prominence due to his work on science fiction and fantasy b-films of the ’50s and ’60s.  After serving in the US Army Signal Corps during World War 2, Gertz went to work in Hollywood, creating music for such films as The Leech Woman, and The Alligator People, and such TV shows as Land of the Giants and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.  Irving Getz was 92 when he passed away on November 14, 2008.