Died On This Date (March 7, 2013) Peter Banks / Founding Guitarist Of Yes
themusicsover Peter Banks
July 15, 1947 – March 7, 2013
Once called “The Architect Of Progressive Music,” Peter Banks was the original guitarist for prog rock pioneers, Yes. Raised in North London, Banks first learned the guitar when his father gave him an acoustic one as a child. By his teens, he was also playing the banjo. The first band of note he played in was the Syn, which also counted future Yes members, Chris Squire and Steve Howe as members. The band’s biggest claim to fame was opening for Jimi Hendrix‘s legendary Marquee Club show that was witnessed my just about every member of England’s rock royalty of the day. After the Syn broke up in 1967, Banks joined Mabel Greer’s Toy Shop who eventually morphed into Yes, a name suggested by Banks as temporary, until a better one presented itself. Banks was a member of the band until 1970, playing on their self-titled debut as well as Time And A Word. In later years, he joined the band on stage on occasion and participated in a 1997 tribute album to them. He was also involved in later album and documentary projects. Banks went on to play in Flash, Empire, and Harmony Of Diversion as well as do session work well into the 2000s. On March 7, 2013, Peter Banks died of heart failure. He was 65.
Thanks to Harold Lepidus of Bob Dylan Examiner for the assist.
What You Should Own
Paul deLay was a Portland, Oregon blues treasure. Over a career that he launched during the early ’70s, deLay dazzled blues fans throughout the western United States and beyond. After starting out in a band called Brown Sugar, deLay formed the Paul deLay Blues Band in 1976. During the early ’90s, he spent a few years in prison on drug related charges, but that didn’t stop the music. He shined as part of the Walla Walla prison band until he was released and able to re-join his own band who had forged on without him as the No deLay Band. DeLay released several albums throughout his long career, with his 2007 effort, Last Of The Best hitting the Top 10 of the Billboard blues chart. He also received a 
Stompin’ Tom Connors was a Canadian country and folk singer-songwriter who reportedly penned over 300 songs and released some 50 albums totaling over 4 million copies sold. At the age of 15, Connors left home to hitchhike across Canada, writing songs on his guitar along the way. During his last stop, he was short on cash to buy himself a beer, so the hotel’s barkeep said he’d give him the beer if he’d sing a few songs. That turned into a 13-week run at the hotel, a weekly spot on the local radio station, and several recordings. Throughout his career, Connors wrote and recorded numerous popular songs. His “The Consumer” was used as the theme song for a popular CBC program, while his “The Hockey Song” became an arena favorite throughout the NHL. In 1978, Connors retired to his farm in protest over policies of the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission. He reactivated his career in 1988 and continued to perform and record up until his final years. Connors is ranked # 13 on The Greatest Canadian list and was pictured on a 2009 Canadian postage stamp. Stompin’ Tom Connors was 77 when he died of natural causes on March 6, 2013.
