Singer

Died On This Date (December 20, 1999) Hank Snow / Country Great

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Clarence “Hank” Snow
May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999

hank-snow Hank Snow was a prolific country star who, during a 30-year stretch of his career, logged in more than 70 country-charting singles, including at least seven that reached number one. Over the course of a career that spanned six decades, he sold more than 80 million albums. His songs have been covered by such greats as Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson, and the Rolling Stones. After running away from an abusive home at 12, Snow went to work as a cabin boy on a fishing boat, learned to play the guitar he ordered from a department store catalog, and by 16, he was playing his first his first gigs. He signed with RCA Records in 1936 and released records for them for the next 45 years. After moving to Nashville, it was Snow who convinced the Grand Ole Opry to let a young Elvis Presley grace their stage for the first time in 1954. He continued to use Presley as his opening act and later introduced him to Col. Tom Parker. Hank Snow was 85 when he passed away at his home on December 20, 1999.

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Early Rock Folk Musician Pop Singer Songwriter

Died On This Date (December 20, 1973) Bobby Darin / Celebrated Pop Singer

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Bobby Darin (Born Walden Cassotto)
May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973

bobby-darin Bobby Darin was a pop singer and actor who scored numerous charting hits during a career that spanned from the mid ’50s until his death in 1973. He was of the Frank Sinatra mold in that he could interpret songs no matter what the genre and could also hold his own as an actor. He is best known for the hits, “Splish Splash,” “Beyond The Sea,” “If I Was A Carpenter,” and “Mack The Knife,” which sold over a million copies and earned him a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1960. He was also named Best New Artist that same year. As an actor, he is best remembered for his Academy Award Nominated supporting role in 1963’s Captain Newman, MD. He continued to record and act through the ’60s, but his health was starting to go south by the time the ’70s hit. On December 20, 1973, Bobby Darin, died from complications immediately following heart surgery. He was just 37.

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Blues Musician R&B Singer

Died On This Date (December 19, 2000) Pops Staples

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Roebuck “Pops” Staples
December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000

thestaplesingers Pops Staples was the leader and father of renowned gospel and R&B group, the Staple Singers. His daughters Mavis, Cleotha and Yvonne, as well as son Pervis, all performed alongside him in the group. Staples grew up in Mississippi, where he was influenced by listening to or playing with local bluesmen like Robert Johnson, Son House and Charley Patton. He formed the Staple Singers in the late ’40s and began making records with them in early ’50s. One of their earliest songs, “This May Be The Last Time” became a hit for the Rolling Stones in later years. By the ’60s, the group were recording for Stax Records and churning out more pop-leaning hits like “Respect Yourself” and their biggest single, “I’ll Take You There.” During the ’80s, Staples performed as a solo act, mostly going back to his blues roots. His Father, Father album of 1995 won him a Best Contemporary Blues Album Grammy, and in 1999, the Staple Singers were inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. Pops Staples was 85 when he died on December 19, 2000 from head injuries sustained in a fall.

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Blues Musician Singer

Died On This Date (December 19, 1997) Jimmy Rogers / Played With Muddy Waters

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Jimmy Rogers (Born James Lane)
June 3, 1924 – December 19, 1997

Jimmy Rogers was a blues musician and singer who helped develop the Chicago blues sound as a guitarist in Muddy Waters’ band. Rogers first learned to play the harmonica as a child, and by his teen years, he added the guitar and was well on his way to a career in music. He made his first record in 1948, and within a year, he was playing with Waters with whom he worked while continuing to make his own records on Chess. Rogers left Waters in 1954 and worked as a solo act, but joined up with Howlin’ Wolf in later years. He all but retired from the music business during the ’60s, working as a cab driver and later running his own clothing store. He worked with Waters on a reunion album in 1977 and made a complete comeback during the ’80s On December 19, 1997, Jimmy Rogers died of colon cancer at the age of 73.

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Musician Rock Singer Songwriter

Died On This Date (December 18, 2000) Kirsty MacColl / English Singer-Songwriter

themusicsover December 18, 2009 2 Comments

Kirsty MacColl
October 10, 1959 – December 18, 2000

Photo by Charles Dickins

Kirsty MacColl was a gifted English singer-songwriter who came to international acclaim during the late ’80s. She was married to famed record producer, Steve Lillywhite during this time. In 1978, MacColl was signed by Stiff Records based on her backing vocal tracks on a record by punk band, Drug Addix who Stiff ultimately passed on. Stiff released her first single, “They Don’t Know,” in the UK the following year to critical praise and plenty of radio play, but unfortunately, a distributor strike hindered the record getting to market, so it never sold to its potential. The song became a hit in the U.S. when covered by Tracy Ullman in 1983. In the mid ’80s, MacColl found herself stuck without a record contract when Stiff went out of business, so she went to work as a session singer, appearing on records by the likes of the Smiths, Talking Heads, and Big Country, and most famously, singing a duet with Shane MacGowan on the Pogues’ “Fairytale Of New York,” which reached #2 on the UK singles chart. MacColl continued to release well-received albums throughout the ’90s. In December of 2000, MacColl was vacationing with her sons along the coast of Mexico. On December 18, they were diving with a trained professional in a designated dive area of Cozumel when a powerboat sped into the no-boat area and headed straight toward the group. MacColl saw that one of her sons was in the boat’s direct path so she pushed him out of the way, but was hit and killed instantly. There has been strong speculation that a wealthy Mexican businessman may have been at the wheel of the boat but that another passenger was paid a large sum of money to take the blame which eventually lead to nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Many feel justice for Kirsty MacColl has yet to be served.

Died On This Date (December 20, 1999) Hank Snow / Country Great

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Died On This Date (December 20, 1973) Bobby Darin / Celebrated Pop Singer

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Died On This Date (December 19, 2000) Pops Staples

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Died On This Date (December 19, 1997) Jimmy Rogers / Played With Muddy Waters

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Died On This Date (December 18, 2000) Kirsty MacColl / English Singer-Songwriter

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