Andrew Love was a tenor saxophone player, who along with Wayne Jackson on trumpet, made an indelible mark on popular music as the Memphis Horns . They have been called the greatest horn section soul music has ever known and played on virtually every Stax record that required a horn section. Their signature sound can be heard on iconic Stax recordings from the likes of Isaac Hayes, Sam and Dave, and Otis Redding, to name a few. If that weren’t enough, they can also be heard on Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” Dusty Springfield’s “Son Of A Preacher Man,” and Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds.” They were also featured in U2’s film, Rattle And Hum. Throughout their career, Love and Jackson played on more than 80 gold and platinum albums and upwards of 50 Number One singles. In February of 2012, the Memphis Horns were awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Andrew Love was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2002 and ultimate died from it on April 12, 2012. He was 70 years old.
Jimmy Ellis is best remembered the lead singer for the popular disco group, the Trammps. Formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1972, the R&B outfit first flirted with success with their unlikely cover of “Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart,” a song originally made famous by Judy Garland some 30 years earlier. The following year, they released “Love Epidemic,” widely considered their first disco song. In 1976, they put out what would become their signature tune, “Disco Inferno,” a high-energy dance number that went on to help define the disco era. The song wasn’t initially a big hit, but when it was re-released as part of the Saturday Night Fever film and soundtrack in 1978, it hit the mainstream and landed at #11 on the pop charts. The song then took on a life of its own as it was played in heavy rotation at discotheques around the world and virtually every disco-themed party ever since. Its celebratory refrain can still also be heard at most major sports arenas around the US. It has also been covered by the likes of Cyndi Lauper and Tina Turner. In 2005, “Disco Inferno” was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. The Trammps’ other hits included “The Night The Lights Went Out” and “Disco Party.” Jimmy Ellis was 74 when he passed away in a nursing home on March 8, 2012.
Whitney Houston August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012
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Whitney Houston was an R&B singer who, by most accounts was one of the biggest female pop stars of all time. Born in Newark, New Jersey to a musical family that also included mother, Cissy Houston and cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick. Her godmother was none other than Aretha Franklin. Following an early career that included fashion modeling and back-up singing for the likes of Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson, andLou Rawls, Houston found herself taken in by legendary hit maker, Clive Davis, who signed her to his Arista Records and released her self-titled debut in February, 1985. The album, which spawned several hit singles, went on to sell an astonishing 25 million albums worldwide. Her follow-up album, Whitney, became the first album by a female artist in history to debut at #1 on the Billboard album charts. Over the next several years, Houston released hit after hit. In 1992, she starred opposite Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard. The romantic-thriller was the 2nd highest grossing film worldwide that year, while Houston’s soundtrack went on to sell over 45 million copies thanks to such hits as “I’m Every Woman, “Run To You,” and of course, her cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” which sold over 12 million copies itself. The soundtrack reached #1 in virtually every country that does such tracking. On January 7, 1991, while the United States was locked in the Persian Gulf War, Houston performed what many consider the greatest version of the “Star Spangled Banner” that the Super Bowl has ever known. It was quickly released as a single and became the first and only time the national anthem was a massive pop hit. Houston donated her share to the American Red Cross. The following year, Houston married former New Edition member and rap star, Bobby Brown. The two had a daughter together but divorced in 2006. After several years of personal set-backs, Houston returned with a new album, I Look To You, in 2009. The album hit #1 in the US and went on to sell over 3.5 million copies worldwide. It was her first #1 album since The Bodyguard. In September of 2011, Houston announced that she was going to produce and star in a remake of the 1976 film, Sparkle. On February 11, 2012, while in Los Angeles for the Grammys, Whitney Houston was found dead in her Beverly Hilton Hotel room bathtub. Officials later ruled that she accidentally drowned as a result of a heart condition and chronic drug use. She was 48.
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Born in St. Louis, MO, David Peaston grew up to be a successful Gospel and R&B singer during the ’90s. After starting out as a teacher, Peaston moved to New York City during the early ’80s in order to pursue a career in music. After winning several televised singing competitions, he was signed to Geffen Records who released his first single, “Two Wrongs (Don’t Make It Right,” which reached #3 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1989. Several charting singles and popular albums followed. His mother, Martha Bass, was part of the Clara Ward Singers, while his sister, Fontella Bass has enjoyed tremendous success as a singer as well. David Peaston died from complications of diabetes on February 1, 2012. He was 54.
Don Cornelius September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012
Don Cornelius was the creator, writer, producer, and host of the extremely influential American dance program, Soul Train. Launched in October of 1961 after Cornelius noticed a void of nationally broadcast television shows that catered to the African-American audience, Soul Train ran until March of 2006. Cornelius hosted the program from its inception until 1993. Soul Train has been praised for influencing countless African-American kids while bringing black music into the white neighborhoods. Over the years, the show featured lip-synched performances by everyone from James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin, to Michael Jackson, Ice Cube and Prince. Two popular segments of the show were the “Soul Train Scrabble Board” where two dancers tried to un-scramble letters to identify a significant person in African-American culture, and the oft-imitated “Soul Train Line” where the dancers formed two lines and then strutted their stuff with a partner down the middle. In 1987, Cornelius launched the Soul Train Awards, a nationally broadcast program that honored the year’s best artists in R&B, Soul, Jazz and Hip-Hop. The show ran until 2000. Throughout the years, Cornelius was honored and/or parodied in countless sit-coms, rap songs, and films. In the early hours of February 1, 2012, police responded to the home of Don Cornelius where they found him dead of what initially appeared to have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 75.