Died On This Date (August 14, 2006) Johnny Duncan / Country Singer
themusicsover Johnny Duncan
October 5, 1938 – August 14, 2006
Johnny Duncan was a prolific country singer and guitarist who could count 14 studio albums to his name. Born into a talented family that included cousins Eddie Seals, Dan Seals and Jimmy Seals, Duncan knew early on that he wanted to be a professional singer. He got his chance while working as a disc jockey outside of Nashville when he was signed to Columbia Records. Over the years he charted over 30 singles, included several popular duets with Janie Fricke. As a writer, he had songs covered by Charley Pride, Chet Atkins, Conway Twitty and Marty Robbins. Johnny Duncan suffered a fatal heart attack on August 14, 2006. He was 67.
What You Should Own
Lee Hazlewood was a country singer, songwriter, musician and producer whose work with Nancy Sinatra during the ’60s are essential records of the era. Hazlewood settled in Arizona as a disc jockey after being leaving the military in the early ’50s. He soon partnered with Duane Eddy as a songwriter and producer on such hits as “Peter Gunn.” During the mid ’60s, he began working with Nancy Sinatra, writing and producing “These Boots Are Made For Walking,” and many more. Hazelwood all but retired from music during the ’70s, but his songs lived on having been covered by such unlikely artists as Megadeth, Beck, Nick Cave, Lydia Lunch and the Tubes. He died of renal cancer at the age of 78.
George Taylor Morris was a popular FM disc jockey who most recently could be heard on XM Satellite’s classic rock channel, Deep Tracks. Morris began his radio career while still in high school in King City, California, and after graduating, he moved to a station in Lake Tahoe to work as programmer and disc jockey. Over the years, Morris worked at popular stations from Santa Barbara, California to New York City. He is perhaps best remembered for sparking a minor phenomenon while on the air at Boston’s WZLX in 1997. He had been tipped off about several remarkable similarities between The Wizard of Oz and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon. After syncing the opening of the movie up with the album at home one evening, Morris went on the air the next day and discussed the amazing synchronicity of the two, especially when you’re stoned. The word spread around the world almost immediately, despite the fact that the internet was basically in its infancy at the time. Morris went to work at XM in 2001 where he spun classic rock records and hosted the popular “XM Artist Confidential” interview series where he sat down with many of music’s biggest names. George Taylor Morris died of throat cancer at the age of 62.
As a producer, Sam Phillips was one of the key architects of early rock ‘n roll. What he helped create in his Sun Studios would become the foundation on which current popular music was built. Phillips opened his Memphis recording studio in 1950 to make records for his own label, Sun Records. One of his early recordings was