Died On This Date (June 14, 1969) Wynonie Harris / Jump Blues Singer
themusicsover Wynonie Harris
August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969
Wynonie Harris was popular jump blues and R&B singer during the late ’40s, earning himself fifteen Top 10 hits during a six year span from 1946 to 1952. He is generally credited for helping lead jazz and blues into rock ‘n roll. Influenced early on by singers, Big Joe Turner and Jimmy Rushing, Harris started making a name for himself during the Great Depression. In 1940, he moved to Los Angeles where he began to be known as “Mr. Blue.” Harris stayed active both recording and performing into the mid ’60s. He died of esophageal cancer on June 14, 1969.
Clyde McPhatter was one of the most influential R&B singers of the ’50s and ’60s, both as leader of the Drifters and later as a solo artist. His hits included “Treasure Of Love,” “A Lover’s Question,” and “I Never Knew.” What separated him from the pack of R&B crooners was his ability to cross over to a white audience, likely due to the fact that white artists liked to cover his songs, which in turn gave them greater success. His ability to reach the pop audience became the blueprint for such followers as 
At 105 years old, Huey Long was the last surviving member of Doo Wop legends, the Ink Spots. Long’s career began back in 1925 as a banjoist for one of Houston’s most popular Dixieland bands of the ’20s, Frank Davis’ Louisiana Jazz Band. He later moved to Chicago and switched to the more popular guitar. In 1944, he was asked to join the Ink Spots with whom he stayed for the next 40 years. Long passed away of natural causes on June 10, 2009.
