Died On This Date (March 2, 2008) Jeff Healey / Blues Rock Great
themusicsover Jeff Healey
March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008
Although he lost his site to retinoblastoma at just eight months, Jeff Healey would grow to become one of the greatest blues guitarists the world had ever seen. He could definitely hold his own alongside such greats as Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Buddy Guy. Beginning at age three, Healey would master the unusual style of playing his guitar flat on his lap. He would start his career in various jazz bands but would later dabble in blues rock with the release of his 1988 platinum debut album, See The Light. Throughout the years, he amassed a huge personal record collection that included a reported 25,000+ 78s, mostly made up of his true love, Jazz. Healey died of cancer on March 2, 2008, just a few weeks before the release of his tenth album, Mess Of Blues, his first rock album in eight years.
What You Should Own
Mike Smith was the lead singer of the Dave Clark Five, the second British Invasion group to hit U.S. shores during the early ’60s. They would be the only competition for the Beatles until the Rolling Stones reared their ugly head and music lovers suddenly saw a whole new side to British pop music. After the Dave Clark Five disbanded in 1970, Smith continued to record and produce throughout the eighties and nineties and then enjoyed modest success on the oldies circuit through the early years of the 21st century. In 2003, Smith seriously injured his spinal cord in a fall at his home. The fall left him paralyzed from the waist down and in his arms. He passed away from complications of that fall in 2008, just two weeks shy of being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Dave Clark Five.
David Byron is best remembered as the original lead singer of Uriah Heep, a popular British rock band during the early ’70s. He fronted the band from its inception in 1969 until 1976. He helped propel the band to super-stardom with his impressive vocal range and charismatic stage presence. Songs like “Easy Livin” have become staples of classic rock radio. In 1976, Byron and Uriah Heep parted ways. His attempts to match his early acclaim with the formation of other bands and solo projects proved unsuccessful. In 1980, he refused a request to reunite with Uriah Heep. David Byron was 38 when he died of epilepsy and a liver condition that was reportedly a result of excessive alcohol consumption.
Bobby Bloom was a singer, songwriter and musician who scored a big pop hit with “Montego Bay” in 1970. The song reached #8 in the U.S. and #3 in the U.K. As a songwriter, Bloom co-penned the Bobbie Gentry and Billy Idol hit, “Mony Mony,” as well as “Sunshine,” a hit for the Archies. On February 28, 1974, Bloom was accidentally shot and killed during an altercation over a woman. His assailant was never caught.