Died On This Date (May 4, 1987) Paul Butterfield / Blues Great
themusicsover Paul Butterfield
December 17, 1942 – May 4, 1987
Paul Butterfield was a harmonica player and singer who was an integral part of the growth of blues rock. He was also part of the Chicago scene of the early ’60s that introduced the blues to middle class white kids. He was also one of the few “blues” artists that performed at Woodstock. In his early days, Butterfield, along with friend Elvin Bishop, played with the likes of Muddy Waters, Junior Wells and Howlin’ Wolf. He spent the next two decades performing and recording with various versions of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. In the early ’80s, Butterfield was diagnosed with peritonitis, a serious and painful inflammation of the intestines which would dog him for the rest of his life, and unfortunately, he developed an addiction to herion to help with the pain. His drug use eventually bankrupted him and ultimately took his life when he died of what was ruled an accidentaly overdose on May 4th, 1987. He was 44 years old.
What You Should Own
Roy Carrier was an accomplished accordion player and singer who was part of a musical family that was highly influential to world of Zydeco and Cajun music. He was considered to be one of the last living original Zydeco greats of the 50’s and ’60s. Over a career that began when he was just ten years old, Carrier and his bands drew large crowds at festivals and clubs across the country and beyond. In 1980, he opened the Offshore Lounge (named so since he earned his living on the offshore oil rigs along the Louisiana coast.) The club soon became a beacon for up-and-coming zydeco musicians to jam with, or just learn from the area’s best. During the late ’80s, Carrier said goodbye to the oil business to focus on his music career full time. He began making records in 1987. On May 4, 2010, Roy Carrier lost his battle with lung cancer. He was 63.
Dalida was an Egyptian born pop singer who actually performed and recorded in over ten languages. She was award 55 gold records over her career. When she was in her 20s, Dalida worked as a model and won the Miss Egypt title in 1954. From there she moved to Paris with dreams of being an actress, but after that didn’t pan out, Dalida turned her focus on music. Her singing career exploded after the release of her second single, “Bambino,” which went on the become one of the biggest selling records in French history. Twenty years later, she released what is considered France’s first disco record. Dalida toured fairly regularly up until the mid ’80s, a popular draw in Europe and Asia. Despite all of her success, Dalida stuggled with internal demons leading to her suicide by barbiturates on May 3, 1987.
Hide Matsumoto was the guitarist for popular Japanese hard rock band, X Japan from 1987 to 1997. As a child, Matsumoto learned several instruments, the bass, guitar, clarinet and trumpet. Ater spending most of the ’80s going to cosmetology school and playing in another band or to, Matsumoto helped revive Japan X who had been on hiatus for a few years. He also had some success with a few solo albums during this period. After a night of drinking, Matsumoto was found hanging from a twisted towel in his apartment. His death was officially ruled a suicide, but friends and family insist he died accidentally using a method of pain relief akin to traction for his sore back and shoulder. His funeral drew over 50,000 fans.