George McCorkle is perhaps best remembered as a founding guitarist for popular American rock band, the Marshall Tucker Band. Formed in 1972, the group found tremendous success with such albums as Searchin’ For A Rainbow, Together Forever, and their platinum seller, Carolina Dreams. Their sound – equal parts rock, country, R&B, gospel, and jazz – helped define the ’70s rock era and laid the foundation for what would become called Southern rock. Besides his instantly recognizable guitar work in the band, McCorkle’s biggest contribution came by way of his “Fire On The Mountain,” which became their first top 40 hit. After leaving the Marshall Tucker Band in 1984, McCorkle worked as a songwriter and released his own album in 1999. George McCorkle was 59 died of cancer on June 29, 2007.
Kevin “G.G.” Allin
August 29, 1956 – June 28, 1993
G.G. Allin was plain and simple, the most shocking and to many people, the most disgusting performer rock music has ever known. Recording mostly in the punk idiom, Allin was also known to leave his mark on country, spoken word and blues-influenced rock. His violent shows generally involved him rolling around in, and eventually ingesting his own feces and urine. Usually ending up naked, gouging and cutting himself on stage until he became a bloody mess. And if that weren’t sexy enough, he oftentimes coaxed audience members to perform oral sex on him. These antics obviously overshadowed his music which tended to be as raw as the sewage he left in his wake. This ultimate rock ‘n’ roll rebellion endeared him to his cult following, but also enraged local critics and police, landing him in jail no fewer than 50 times. Although barely on punk’s fringe, Allin managed to count Dee Dee Ramone, Wayne Kramer and Thurston Moore as fans. Many suspected that Allin suffered from severe mental disorders made worse by his massive consumption of drugs and alcohol. And as shocking as his on stage personality was, by all appearances, his personal life was just as noteworthy. In 1989 he was arrested for rape and torture of a woman in Michigan. Allin denied all charges, insisting that the burning, cutting and drinking of blood were mutual and consensual, and to some degree, the judge agreed, reducing the charges to felony assault for which he served about a year and a half in prison. Allin went out in as memorable a fashion as he lived. On the night of June 27, 1993, he took the stage at a club in New York City. Just two songs into the set, the club’s power went out sending Allin into the crowd where he proceeded to tear up anything in the club that he could get his hands on. As the crowd spilled out into the streets, so did Allin, only he was naked, and though covered in blood and feces, he attempted to embrace his fans who were reveling in the street. Allin ended up at a friend’s apartment where he died of a heroin overdose in the early hours of June 28. And though dead and gone, the partying friends of his buddy continued to pose for pictures with him until someone realized something was wrong and called the paramedics who pronounced him dead at the scene. He was 36.
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John Entwistle was best known as the bass player for the Who. His loud and fast style of playing was as important to the group as the voice of Roger Daltrey; the songwriting and guitar of Pete Townshend; and the sloppy but essential drumming of Keith Moon. If one of those parts were missing, the magic of the Who would have never happened. Entwistle also played the trumpet, piano, and french horn; wrote great songs and sang. Playing the bass like a lead guitar, would influence such greats as Geddy Lee, Phil Lesh, Flea, Tommy Stinson and Billy Sheehan. He even went as far as being the first known bassist to use Marshall stacks in concert, a practice normally reserved for guitarists. The Rolling Stones’Bill Wyman once described Entwistle as “the quietest man in private but the loudest man on stage.” Entwistle stayed with the Who during their 30+ year run, staying busy during band hiatuses with his own side projects or on tour with Ringo Starr. But he apparently had a difficult time managing his own money and some have said that each time the Who reunited, it was out of the love that Daltrey and Townshend had for him – their way of helping him out of financial straits. It was one day before the start of one of these tours that Entwistle was found dead in his Las Vegas hotel room. It was June 27, 2002, and John Entwistle was dead of what was ruled a heart attack caused by a relatively small amount of cocaine. It should be pointed out that the Who were such a powerful four-piece live band, that it took an added keyboardist and a second guitarist to, in later years, take the place of John Entwistle and original drummer, Keith Moon.
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Stefanie Sargent was the guitarist for Seattle all-girl punk band, 7 Year Bitch. The band formed in 1990 and was signed to indie label, C/Z Records by 1991. Building a fan base due in part to their aggressive shows and songs, they reached a point where they were even sharing the stage with the band that had inspired them, the Gits. Things were going well for the band as they were just about to release their debut album. But just before its release, Stefanie Sargent died of a heroin overdose just days after her 24th birthday.
Marie Castello was the real life “Madam Marie” character in the Bruce Springsteen song “4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).” The 1973 song finds Springsteen asking, “Did you hear the cops finally busted Madam Marie for tellin’ fortunes better than they do,” even though in real life, she never was. Castello began telling fortunes in her small Asbury Park boardwalk shop in 1932, and by the late ’60s, a young Springsteen reportedly visited with her often and would play his guitar outside her shop. According to Springsteen lore, it was during one of those visits that Castello told him he would one day be famous. Springsteen continued to stop by and visit in recent years. Over the years, Castello read fortunes of many famous entertainers who came to town. That list included Ray Charles, Elton John, Woody Allen, Perry Como and Vic Damone. Marie Castello died suddenly of natural causes at the age of 93.
Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the assist.