Rock

Died On This Date (June 24, 2010) Pete Quaife / Original Bassist For The Kinks

Pete Quaife
December 31, 1943 – June 24, 2010

Pete Quaife is best remembered as the founding bassist for one of the most influential British Invasion bands, the Kinks.  Formed with Dave Davies in the early ’60s, the band, which soon included Davies’ brother, Ray Davies and drummer, Mick Avory, went on to become one of the biggest hit makers from the UK during the mid to late ’60s.  Quaife performed on such rock staples as “You Really Got Me,” “Stop Your Sobbing,” “Dedicated Follower of Fashion,” and “All Day and All of the Night.”  He also acted as the spokesman for the band during his time with them.  Following a serious car accident in 1966, Quaife left the group as a full-time member but played on a couple of albums until leaving permanently in 1969.  He quickly formed his own band, Mapleoak, but it failed to catch on commercially,  Quaife left the group and retired from the music business in 1971.  He later moved to Canada where he earned a good living as a graphic artist.  Quaife  reunited with the Kinks for an encore at one of their Toronto stops in 1981, and in 1990, he joined them for a live performance at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  In 1998, Quaife was diagnosed with renal failure for which he would undergo kidney dialysis up until his final days.   Pete Quaife was 66 when he passed away on June 24, 2010.

Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the assist.

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The Kinks

Died On This Date (June 24, 2010) JoJo Billingsley / Back Up Singer For Lynyrd Skynyrd

JoJo Billingsley (Born Deborah Jo White)
1952 – June 24, 2010

JoJo Billingsley was a songwriter and vocalist who is perhaps best remembered as a member of the “Honkettes,” the so-nicknamed back-up singers for Lynyrd Skynyrd for nearly four years.  Billingsley joined the group in 1975, touring the world during their peak years.  That all came to a tragic end on October 20, 1977 when she was the only member of the band not killed in a plane crash that took the lives of Ronnie Van Zant, Cassie Gaines, Steve Gaines, Dean Kilpatrick (the band’s road manager) the pilot and co-pilot.  Billingsley has always maintained that she had a dream that the plane would crash just two nights prior and tried to stop the others from taking it.  The accident lead her to devote her life to the Lord as both a singer and later, minister.  In 2006, she reunited with the then-current members of Lynyrd Skynyrd at a their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  She also performed with members of the group at occasional charity or memorial events in recent years.  Jojo Billingsley was 58 when she died of cancer on June 24, 2010.

Thanks to Craig Rosen of Number1Albums for the assist.



Died On This Date (June 22, 1977) Peter Laughner / Pere Ubu Guitarist

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.



Died On This Date (June 19, 2006) Duane Roland / Molly Hatchet

Duane Roland
December 3, 1952 – June 19, 2006

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.

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Flirtin' With Disaster - Molly Hatchet

 

Died On This Date (June 18, 1999) Frank C. Starr / The Four Horsemen & SIN Lead Singer

Frank C. Starr
1958 – June 18, 1999

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, Ken “Dimwit” Montgomery, to a drug overdose in September of 1994, the band suffered another serious blow on November of 1995 when Starr was struck by a drunk driver while riding his motorcycle along Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles. He went into a coma and never recovered and eventually died from those injuries on June 18, 1999.