Died On This Date (June 18, 2007) Hank Medress / The Tokens
themusicsover Hank Medress
November 19, 1938 – June 18, 2007
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.
What You Should Know
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.
