Died On This Date (May 2, 1998) Hide Matsumoto / Japanese Rock Star
themusicsover Hideto Matsumoto
December 13, 1964 – May 2, 1998
Hide Matsumoto was the guitarist for popular Japanese hard rock band, X Japan from 1987 to 1997. As a child, Matsumoto learned several instruments, the bass, guitar, clarinet and trumpet. Ater spending most of the ’80s going to cosmetology school and playing in another band or to, Matsumoto helped revive Japan X who had been on hiatus for a few years. He also had some success with a few solo albums during this period. After a night of drinking, Matsumoto was found hanging from a twisted towel in his apartment. His death was officially ruled a suicide, but friends and family insist he died accidentally using a method of pain relief akin to traction for his sore back and shoulder. His funeral drew over 50,000 fans.
Will Owsley was a respected singer-songwriter, producer and musician who is best remembered as Amy Grant’s touring guitarist for more than 15 years. Over the course of his career, he also worked with Shania Twain, the Neville Brothers, Faith Hill and Wynonna Judd. Owsley also released a handful of albums under his own name, including 1999’s Owsley, which earned him a Grammy nomination for its engineering. During the early ’90s, he formed the power pop band, the Semantics with Zak Starkey and Millard Powers. Will Owsley died on April 30, 2010 of an apparent suicide.
At the time of his death of a heart attack in 1999, Darrell Sweet was co-founder and drummer for the Scottish hard rock band, Nazareth. By the 1975 release of Hair Of The Dog, Nazareth were bona fide international superstars. And as if the title track weren’t great enough, Hair Of The Dog also begat rock’s definitive version of “Love Hurts,” perhaps the greatest power ballad of its generation. On April 30, 1999, Darrell Sweet died of a heart attack he suffered at the New Albany Amphitheater where the band was scheduled to perform later that evening. He was 51.
Tommy Caldwell was best known as the bassist the Marshall Tucker Band from 1973 until his death in 1980. The charismatic performer was the crowd-pleaser of the band. He also sang backup and wrote some of their songs, including “Melody Ann,” their only song on which he sang lead. His final performance with the band came on the night of April 19, 1980 which was later released as Live On Long Island. Caldwell died just ten days later from injuries he suffered in a jeep accident.
