Died On This Date (September 5, 2013) Larry Thornton / Beloved High School Band Director
themusicsover Walter “Larry” Thornton
June 22, 1932 – September 5, 2013
Larry Thornton was a popular and highly influential high school band director who, for two decades ran the immensely regarded music program at William S. Hart High School in Newhall, California, just north of Los Angeles. Born in Central California’s Kern County, Thornton landed at Newhall’s Placerita Junior High School during the early ’60s. In 1969, he took over the already storied music program at Hart High School. Until his retirement in 1989, Thornton mentored what would become some of the greatest high school marching and stage bands in the state at the time. Under Thornton’s direction, Hart’s Chieftains marching band and Braves stage band won numerous county and statewide competitions. A trumpet player himself, Thornton was a direct influence on one student in particular, Glen Marhevka, who went on to play trumpet for the multi-platinum selling band, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Thornton’s influence was so great that during the late 2000’s, former students formed an appreciation society they called Mr. Thornton’s Opus, in a nod to “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” the 1995 award-winning Richard Dreyfuss film that centered around a remarkable high school band director. During the late 2000’s, Thornton suffered a serious stroke and was diagnosed with cancer in later years. Larry Thornton was 81 when he passed away on September 5, 2013.
Tompall Glaser was one of the original so-called “outlaws” of country music. Alongside the likes of Willie Nelson, 
Jon Brookes is best remembered as the drummer for English alternative rock band, the Charlatans (or Charlatans UK, as they are known in the US). A founding member of the band, Brookes stayed with them until his passing. Formed in 1989, the band had hits with “Weirdo,” “The Only One I Know,” and “Can’t Get Out Of Bed.” They had more than 20 Top 40 hits in the UK. While performing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2010, Brookes collapsed on stage leading doctors to discover a brain tumor. He reportedly had surgery to treat the tumor in July of 2013 but ultimately died as a result of it on August 13, 2013. He was 44. The Charlatans original keyboardist, 
Jody Payne was a country singer and musician who spent decades as Willie Nelson‘s guitarist on album and in concert. Nelson formed his perennial back-up band, the Family in 1973, and Payne was by his side until he retired in 2008. Born in Kentucky, Payne was singing with his sister as far back as five years old. He learned to play the mandolin around that time as well. A gig at his older (yes older) sister’s 1st grade graduation was his first gig. He could be heard singing on a local radio station by the time he was 11. He hit the road with a bluegrass band in 1951, and after being discharged from the Army in 1961, he went on to tour with Merle Haggard, and later recorded with the Emmylou Harris, 