Died On This Date (August 17, 1993) Phil Seymour / Dwight Twilley Band
themusicsover Phil Seymour
May 11, 1952 – August 17, 1993
Phil Seymour was a singer, songwriter and musician who gained a following during the new wave era thanks to such power pop classics as “Precious To Me” as well as “I’m On Fire” from his days fronting the Dwight Twilley Band. Seymour grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he met Dwight Twilley, another aspiring musician at a 1967 screening of the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night. The struck up a friendship and a musical partnership that would eventually get them signed to Shelter Records who in 1975, released their first single, “I’m On Fire” which reached #16 on the Billboard singles chart. They would record just two classic albums together before Seymour went of on his own. Before the release of the first of his two solo albums, Seymour did session work, playing drums on power pop icons 20/20’s debut album, as well as singing backing vocals on Tom Petty‘s “American Girl” and “Breakdown.” During the early ’80s, Seymour released two albums, Phil Seymour (featuring “Precious To Me”) and Phil Seymour 2 before the death of label head, Neil Bogart derailed his record company as well as Seymour’s career. In 1984, he joined the Textones, a Los Angeles band fronted by Carla Olson that was alt-country twenty years before the genre had a name. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with lymphoma not long after recording an album and touring with the band. Phil Seymour died as a result of the cancer at the age of 41.
What You Should Own
John Hughes is best remembered as a writer or director of some of the most popular coming-of-age films of the ’80s. He was also responsible for introducing many new bands to American audiences thanks to their prominent placement in his films and soundtracks. Too most, John Hughes films were the first place they heard what would now be called “alternative” rock when it was still in it’s infancy. Movies like The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink, Sixteen Candles, and Ferris Beuller’s Day Off featured future hits like Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me,” Yello’s “Oh Yeah,” Spandau Ballet’s “True,” and OMD’s “If You Leave.” And so golden was his touch, that MCA Records gave him his own boutique record label at the time. John Hughes died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 59.
Rick Garberson was the drummer for Akron, Ohio based post-punk band, the Bizarros, who formed in early 1976. Hailing from the city that gave us Devo, Pere Ubu and Chrissie Hynde, the Bizarros were an integral part of the scene and were in fact, the first local band to be signed by a national label, Mercury imprint, Blank Records. Garbeson died of carbon monoxide poisoning on July 15, 1979.
