Died On This Date (June 22, 1977) Peter Laughner / Pere Ubu Guitarist
themusicsover Peter Laughner
August 22, 1952 – June 22, 1977
Peter Laughner was a founding guitarist for Cleveland cult faves, Pere Ubu. Helping form the band in 1975, Laughner and company are considered to be one of the foundations of Cleveland’s alternative rock scene. His tenure with the band didn’t last long due to his struggles with drug addiction. Laughner was also a contributor to the legendary Creem magazine. He died of pancreatic at the age of 24.
Guitarist Duane Roland, a founding member of the rock band Molly Hatchet, who had a big hit with their 1979 album, Flirtin’ With Disaster. He stayed with the band until 1990. In later years, Roland played with the Southern Rock Allstars and Gator Country. He died of natural causes in his home at the age of 53.
Frank C. Starr was a charismatic lead vocalist for hard rock bands, Alien, SIN, and most famously, the Four Horsemen. Raised on Long Island, NY, Starr eventually landed in Los Angeles to take his shot at the big time. After a short run in a band called Alien, Starr began to make a name for himself fronting a band called SIN through the mid ’80s, but struggled to get noticed in the same Sunset Strip scene that gave us Guns ‘n Roses, Ratt, and Great White. After the band called it quits in 1984, Starr landed in the Four Horsemen, a rock band that took its cue more from ’70s rockers like Lynyrd Skynyrd or AC/DC than such contemporaries as Poison or Faster Pussycat. After self-releasing a four-song EP in 1989, the band were snatched up by Rick Rubin’s Def American label and went into the studio with Rubin producing. The resulting album Nobody Said It Was Easy, garnered enough critical praise and fan support to land them on the road touring with the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Black Crowes as well as regular video rotation on MTV. But all this wasn’t enough to translate into significant album sales. At the same time, word was getting around that Starr was developing a reputation for his drug use and subsequent run-ins with the law, reportedly leading to a stint in jail on drug charges forcing the label to drop the band. But all were false claims according to the band, the only reason they were dropped was because of poor record sales. The sudden rise of grunge as well as some internal fighting seemed to be the end of the Four Horsemen, but after some personnel changes, they regrouped and began working on a new album in 1994. But after losing original drummer, 
Hank Medress will always be remembered as the singer of American pop classic, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” but his contributions to popular music go much deeper. As a singer or producer, he’s worked directly with such artists as Neil Sedaka, the Chiffons, the Happenings and Tony Orlando. He was also instrumental in the creation of New York Dolls singer, David Johanson’s popular 80’s alter ego, Buster Poindexter. Medress died of lung cancer on June 18, 2007 at the age of 68.
Karl Mueller played bass for Minneapolis alternative rock band, Soul Asylum who came out of the same scene that gave us Husker Du and the Replacements. But while the latter were building critical and commercial success, Soul Asylum seemed to have a hard time getting out of their shadows. But that all changed in 1992 with the release of Grave Dancers Union. The first single, “Runaway Train” became a worldwide hit thanks to a striking video that put focus on the plight of runaway teens. The video struck a chord and suddenly, Soul Asylum became household names. The band even performed at Bill Clinton’s Inaugural Ball. The band was on a lengthy hiatus by the end of the ’90s, and were beginning to work up new material when Mueller was diagnosed with throat cancer in May of 2004. He would succumb to the cancer on June 17, 2005 at the age of 41.