Singer

Died On This Date (May 15, 1999) Barbara Lee / The Chiffons

Barbara Lee
May 16, 1947 – May 15, 1999

chiffonsBarbara Lee was a member of the ’60s girl group, the Chiffons.  Formed while the girls were still in high school in the Bronx, the Chiffons had a #1 hit out of the gate with 1963’s “He’s So Fine.”  The group continued to have notable hits over the next decade or so.   Of historical note, the Chiffons’ record “I Have A Boyfriend” was playing on KLF Radio in Dallas when interrupted with the first announcements of John F. Kennedy’s assassination.  Barbara Lee died of a heart attack on May 15, 1999, the day before her 45th birthday.

 

Died On This Date (May 14, 1998) Frank Sinatra / Chairman Of The Board

Frank Sinatra
December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998

Frank Sinatra was an American singer and actor who first came to the public’s attention in the 1940s when he sang with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey.  He struck out on his own in the early ’50s and signed to Capitol Records.  In 1954, his popularity skyrocketed when he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in From Here To Eternity.  He later started his own label, Reprise Records, where he continued to release records that helped define a genre.  He continued to record and perform into the ’90s.  Sinatra epitomized “cool” throughout his career and to this day is still one of the most iconic names in history.  With a career loaded with awards and accolades, perhaps none compared to the night in 1995 when the Empire State Building was illuminated in blue to celebrate his 80th birthday.  Frank Sinatra passed away on May 14, 1998 after suffering a heart attack.  The lights of the Las Vegas strip were dimmed the next night in his honor.

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Nothing But the Best - The Frank Sinatra Collection (Remastered) - Frank Sinatra

Died On This Date (May 14, 2005) Jimmy Martin / The King Of Bluegrass

Jimmy Martin
August 10, 1927 – May 14, 2005

Jimmy Martin was a guitarist and singer who has been called the “King Of Bluegrass.”  While looking to get his break in 1949, Martin sneaked backstage at the Grand Ole Opry and positioned himself so that passersby could hear him picking.  On such person was the Blue Grass Boys’ Rudy Lyle who was impressed enough to bring Martin to meet his boss, Bill Monroe.  After hearing just two songs, Monroe was so impressed by Martin’s picking and strong tenor voice that he hired him on the spot.  He stayed with Monroe for the better part of the next six years and then soon thereafter formed his own band, the Sunny Mountain Boys.  Martin built a name for himself with his unique voice as well as with his fun and unpredictable lives shows.  In 1971, he performed on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s landmark album Will The Circle Be Unbroken.  Jimmy Martin was 77 when he died of bladder cancer on May 14, 2005.

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Died On This Date (May 14, 1976) Keith Relf / The Yardbirds

Keith Relf
March 22, 1943 – May 14, 1976

At left with Andy Warhol & Jimmy Page

Keith Relf was the lead singer and harmonica player for the Yardbirds, the British blues rock band that launched Page, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. After the breakup of the Yardbirds, Relf worked in such bands as Renaissance and Armageddon as well as produced the likes of Amber, Saturnalia and Medicine Head. Relf’s life was tragically cut short at 33 when he was electrocuted while playing an improperly grounded guitar.

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Five Live Yardbirds - The Yardbirds

Died On This Date (May 13, 1988) Chet Baker / Jazz Icon

Chet Baker
December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988

Trumpet player Chet Baker began to get noticed in the early ’50s first while playing with Charlie Parker, and then soon after, Gerry Mulligan. More than just a jazz player, Baker was a crooner, and a handsome one at that. If jazz had a James Dean, it was Chet Baker. His name is synonymous with the cool jazz of the ’50s and ’60s. But the ’60s were actually unkind to Baker as he battled a major heroin addiction for which he served a one-year term in an Italian prison. He was even kicked out of West Germany and England and then deported from Germany. Back in the US, Baker landed in the San Francisco area where he again found himself serving a small jail term for prescription fraud. And it was around this time that Baker was severely beaten after a gig in what may have been a botched drug deal, the result of which forced him to learn how to play wearing dentures. There is some speculation however, that his heavy drug use actually destroyed his teeth. Baker did his best to make a living well into the early ’80s by the time Elvis Costello selected him to play the trumpet on his 1983 song, “Shipbuilding.” The song (and album Punch The Clock) was a hit in the US and abroad, thereby turning a new generation of fans on to Baker. But the momentum that was building came to a crashing halt when Baker was found dead outside his second-story window at a hotel in Amsterdam. Although his death was officially ruled an accidental fall, the fact there were drugs in his system and no witnesses only fueled the rumors (none proven) that he either committed suicide or was murdered. He was 58.

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The Best of Chet Baker Sings - Chet Baker