Connie “Pee Wee” Crayton
December 18, 1914 – May 18, 1985
Pee Wee Crayton was a brilliant Texas blues guitarist stylistically similar to T-Bone Walker but a bit more soul leaning. One of his first recordings landed at the top of the Billboard R&B charts in 1948. Crayton continued to record and tour well into the ’70s. In recent years, Morgana Kennedy at Vanguard Records exposed Crayton’s music to new fans around the world. He died of a heart attack on May 18, 1985.
Dolla (Born Roderick Burton II)
November 25, 1987 – May 18, 2009
Dolla was an up-and-coming Atlanta based rapper who was signed to Akon’s Kovict Muzik label in 2007. He has released a handful of popular hip hop singles since his signing. Songs to his credit include “Who The Fuck Is That?” (with T-Pain and Tay Dizm), “Make A Toast,” and “Feelin’ Myself” from the Step Up soundtrack. Dolla was also a member of rap group, Da Razkalz Cru. He was allegedly shot and killed on May 18th, 2009 after an altercation outside the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. He was just 21. Police later arrested Aubrey Berry at Los Angeles International Airport, charging him with the murder of Dolla.
Kevin Gilbert was a much respected songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who, over the course of his career, collaborated with the likes of Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Eddie Money. He was also a member of the moderately successful early ’90s prog rock band, Toy Matinee. Around that time, Gilbert and Toy Matinee band mate, Bill Bottrell would get together with a group of songwriters for weekly sessions they called “The Tuesday Music Club.” To one such session he brought then-girlfriend, Sheryl Crow, which eventually lead to Crow’s debut album of the same name. Gilbert co-wrote several of he multi-million seller’s songs. In later years, he recorded several albums, both solo and as part of other groups. He also found plenty of work creating music for television. Kevin Gilbert was 29 when he died of what some believe was autoerotic asphyxiation.
Johnny “Guitar” Watson
February 3, 1935 – May 17, 1996
Johnny “Guitar” Watson was a dynamic electric guitarist whose profound influence can be heard in blues, rock, soul, R&B, funk and hip-hop. Given his first guitar at eleven, Watson would soon be called a “prodigy” and would be exchanging licks with Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Albert Collins. And this all before he turned 15. By his late teens, he was living in Los Angeles and making a name for himself throughout the Southern California juke joints. The crowds quickly grew as music lovers gathered to catch a glimpse of this fancy dresser with the showy aggressive style of guitar playing. And apparently that guitar playing wasn’t his only source of income, respected author Peter Guralnick has claimed that Watson was an actual pimp. Watson’s influence can readily be heard throughout the hip-hop community through samples on tracks by the likes of Snoop Dogg, Redman, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, and Mary J. Blige. Watson suffered a fatal heart attack on May 17, 1996 while on stage in Japan.
Sammy Davis, Jr. was an all-around entertainment icon who could wow audiences with his singing, dancing, comedy, impressions and his skills on the vibraphone, trumpet and drums. And if that weren’t enough, he was and Emmy and Academy Award winning actor. Closely associated with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford, or the Rat Pack, he exemplified all that was cool in the ’60s. And in spite of the poor treatment he as an African-American received from casinos and nightclubs, he rose to the top, with devoted friend Sinatra coming to his defense whenever necessary. In 1954, Davis was in a serious car accident that resulted in his the loss of his left eye, which was replaced by a glass one. It was around this time that Davis became romantically involved with actress, Kim Novak. It has been reported that then head of Columbia Pictures, Harry Cohn, who was afraid the relationship would negatively impact the career of his most valuable starlet, arranged for the mob to kidnap Davis in order to scare him out of the relationship. In spite of all the setbacks thrown at him throughout his career, Davis continued to be one of the hardest working entertainers over the next three decades. But his toughest obstacle came in the form of throat cancer. Discovered in its early stages, the doctors told him that he could saved with surgery, but Davis opted against it, saying he would rather die than lose his voice. Davis sadly did die as a result of throat cancer on May 16, 1990. I am honored to have attended his funeral.