Died On This Date (April 15, 2005) John Fred / Had Hit With “Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)”
themusicsover John Fred Gourrier
May 8, 1941 – April 15, 2005
John Fred was one of the earliest practitioners of “blue-eyed soul.” His biggest hit, “Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)” was in fact a parody of the Beatles’ “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.” Released in 1968, it became an immediate smash and has since sold over 5 million copies. John Fred & the Playboy Band suddenly broke far beyond his beloved Gulf Coast region. Unfortunately, because of the song, he was unfairly branded a novelty and never had another hit. And it wasn’t until many years and legal battles later, that he was able to collect full legal rights to and royalties from the song. Fred became a fixture in Baton Rouge as he stayed active in the local music scene, hosted his own radio show, and even coached the high school basketball and football team. He released his final album in 2002, but fell ill just a couple of yeas later resulting in a kidney transplant. His health continued to fail until his 2005 death due in part to complications from that transplant. In 2007, he was inducted into the The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.
Rose Maddox was a country singer, musician and songwriter who performed with her siblings as Maddox Brothers and Rose during the late ’30s and early ’40s. When her brothers went off to serve their country in WWII, Rose continued as a solo act and later rejoined the boys upon their return. And even though they were considered a “hillbilly” band, they were most popular in California, likely due to its growing population of Southern immigrants. They have been called the “greatest hillbilly band of all time,” while Rose has been referred to as the “grandmother of rockabilly.” After the group disbanded in the late ’50s, Rose signed to Capitol Records as a solo act. She scored several Top 20 hits including a #4 hit duet with 
Robert Brookins began singing at the tender age of four, and never looked back. After winning a Motown talent search in 1974, he joined a group called Afterbach whose debut was produced by Earth Wind & Fire’s Maurice and Verdine White. Brookin’s vocals were featured on George Duke’s self titled release of 1986. He soon signed to MCA Records for whom he recorded a handful of acclaimed R&B albums. Over his career he worked with the likes of Stephanie Mills, Deniece Williams, the Whispers, Jeffrey Osbourne, and Bobby Brown. Robert Brookins died of a heart attack at the age of 46.
Peter Steele is best remembered as the lead singing bassist for goth metal band, Type O Negative. Known for his deep voice and towering 6′-7″ frame, Steele helped make Type O Negative one of metal’s most popular underground bands. The group released several charting albums throughout the ’90s and 2000s, their most recent being 2007’s Dead Again. Although this isn’t the first time that rumors of his death have surfaced, Peter Steele reportedly died of heart failure on April 14, 2010. He was 48.
