Tero “Camu Tao” Smith
June 26, 1977 – May 25, 2008
Camu Tao was a Columbus, Ohio rapper and producer. Tao was also part of rap groups S.A. Smash and the Weathermen. He also worked alongside El-P in Central Service Production. Camu Tao died of lung cancer at the age of 30.
Domenic Troiano
January 17, 1946 – May 25, 2005
Born in Italy, but a citizen of Canada since 1955, Domenic Troiano was an in-demand rock guitarist who played with such greats as Ronnie Hawkins, the James Gang, and the Guess Who. Forming his own band in the late ’70s, Troiano had a hit with “We All Need Love,” which was actually more disco than rock. As a session player, he worked on recordings by Joe Cocker, Long John Baldry and James Cotton. Domenic Troiano died of prostate cancer at the age of 59.
Joe “Yo Yo” Jaramillo
October 15, 1948 – March 24, 2000
Joe Jaramillo was an original member of Cannibal & The Headhunters, a group of singers from East Los Angeles who are considered to the first Mexican American group to have a national hit record with “Land Of A Thousand Dances.” The odds of making a record that would become one of the most famous songs in rock history have got to be at least a million to one. And even less likely, is to find yourself sharing the bill with the Beatles on their legendary 1965 US tour. Joe Jaramillo did just that. He was just a 15-year-old kid living in a notorious Los Angeles housing project when “Yo Yo,” his brother Bobby “Rabbit” Jaramillo, and friend Richard “Scar” Lopez discovered they could create a special harmony when singing together. Within a short time, they teamed up with another local singer by the name of Frankie “Cannibal” Garcia to form the group that would soon be called Cannibal & The Headhunters, with Garcia as front man. After passing an audition for local record executive Eddie Davis, Cannibal & The Headhunters signed to his Rampart Records. They were soon in the studio recording “Land Of A Thousand Dances,” a song co-written by Fats Domino which was already a local hit by another artist. But it was their version of the song that shot to Billboard’s top 30 in April of 1965, and they were fast becoming the pride of East LA. Before long, the group found themselves on the road sharing the stage with such superstars as the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Ben E. King, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett and Tom Jones. They were also invited to perform on “Hullabaloo,” a national rock ‘n roll variety show that counted Paul McCartney as one of its fans. The story goes that McCartney saw the boys on “Hullabaloo” and requested that manager Brian Epstein bring them on tour with the Beatles. Jaramillo and the group were soon flying around the country playing before tens of thousands of screaming Beatles fans at each stop. That tour included the Beatles’ legendary Shea Stadium and Hollywood Bowl shows. Legend has it that the Headhunters were exciting the crowds so much, that Epstein asked their manager to have them ease up a bit on stage. Back home after the tour, the guys started to make more records, but were never able to recapture the hysteria that sparked from that first huge hit. By 1967, the group had broken up, with the guys going their separate ways only to reunite on rare occasions. For “Yo Yo” that meant raising a family. Joe Jaramillo passed away as a result of liver disease on May 24, 2000 at the age of 52.
Gene Clark
November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991
Gene Clark is perhaps best known as a founding member of folk rock group, the Byrds. Clark’s early career was mainly devoted to performing in traditional folk groups in and around Kansas City. But after hearing the Beatles in 1964, he decided he needed to rock, so he moved to Los Angeles. Upon arriving in L.A., Clark joined up with Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and later Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke to form the Byrds, who gained a following based on a sound that music critic Richie Unterberger at allmusic.com called “melding the innovations and energy of the British Invasion with the best lyrical and musical elements of contemporary folk music.” Clark wrote most of the Byrds’ biggest hits – songs that would go on to become signature tunes for the entire era, songs like, “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better,” “Set You Free This Time,” “Here Without You,” “She Don’t Care About Time,” and “Eight Miles High.” But life with the Byrds didn’t last long as internal tensions grew over the record company’s decision to have McGuinn sing the “bigger” songs, Clark’s fear of flying, and the band’s resentment that he was making more money from publishing. So he left the band just two years later. Clark spent the rest of his career working solo and partnering with the likes of Carla Olson, Doug Dillard, Bernie Leadon, as well as a brief stint back with Hillman and McGuinn. By the late ’80s, years of drugs and heavy drinking along with a possible undiagnosed bipolar disorder, began to manifest in the form of ulcers which resulted in the loss of much of his stomach and intestines to surgery. Bad health and lawsuits involving the other members of the Byrds plagued his final years. Clark died on May 24, 1991 of what the coroner declared, natural causes brought on by a bleeding ulcer.
Stella Nova (aka Steve New)
May 16, 1960 – May 24, 2010
Stella Nova was an English punk/new wave singer and guitarist who, as Steve New, nearly became the Sex Pistols’ second guitarist before their recently fired bassist, Glen Matlock, invited him to join his new band, the Rich Kids. Born in London, New began playing music while still in grade school. By the late mid ’70s, he was fully entrenched in the city’s vibrant punk scene, which lead to his invitation to audition for the Sex Pistols and ultimate membership in the Rich Kids. Formed in 1977, the band was made up of Matlock, New, Rusty Egan, and front man and future Ultravox singer, Midge Ure. The new wave/power pop band who had more in common with the Small Faces than with the Sex Pistols, built a solid cult following before disbanding two years later. New went to work with the likes of Sid Vicious, Iggy Pop, and Public Image, Ltd. In recent years, he was going by Stella Nova and working as a composer, arranger, and producer. Stella Nova/Steve New was 50 when he died of cancer on May 24, 2010.
Thanks to Anne Bentley for the assist.
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