Jack Cooke was a bluegrass bassist and singer best remembered for his time playing in Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys. Cooke first came to prominence as part of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys with whom he played from 1956 to 1960. He played on some of Monroe’s biggest hits, including the classic, “Big Mon.” After leaving Monroe, he fronted his own band for a few years until getting the call to join Stanley in 1970. He played in the Clinch Mountain Boys up until early 2009. Cooke received a Grammy in 2002 as part of the Jim Lauderdale & Ralph Stanley album, Lost in the Lonesome Pines. Jack Cooke, 72, passed away at a local hospital on December 1, 2009.
Tiny Tim (Born Herbert Khaury)
April 12, 1932 – November 30, 1996
Tiny Tim was a folk singer and musician who found fame during the ’60s with the release of his signature song, “Tiptoe Through the Tulips,” sung in his distinctive falsetto voice and backed only by his ukulele. Tiny Tim started his career as a street performer in and around Harvard during the early ’60s. There he built a cult following which lead to an appearance on Laugh-In which lead to a record deal with Reprise Records. He recorded three albums for Reprise and became an iconic figure thanks to numerous television appearances, like the time he married “Miss Vickie” live on the December 17, 1969 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The stunt drew an estimated audience of over 40 million. Even though he continued to release such novelties as a cover of Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” and “Earth Angel,” Tiny Tim all but vanished during the ’70s and ’80s as his popularity faded. His profile increased occasionally during the ’90s thanks to occasional appearances on the Howard Stern Show. In September of 1996, Tiny Tim suffered a heart attack while performing at a ukelele festival. And despite advice from his doctors, he peformed at a benefit just two months later. Tiny Tim was 64 when he sufffered a fatal heart attack while singing “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” at that event.
George Harrison
February 24*, 1943 – November 29, 2001
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George Harrison achieved massive fame and success as the lead guitarist for the Beatles. His post-Beatles career, whether as a solo artist or member of the Traveling Wilburys was just as critically acclaimed. Born in Liverpool, London, Harrison was still in grade school when he got his first guitar. Before long, he formed his own skiffle band, the Rebels. Another of his schoolmates, Paul McCartney had a band as well, the Quarrymen, along with John Lennon. Harrison was just 16 when McCartney heard his guitar playing and asked him to join the band. The group would soon morph into the Beatles, made up of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best, who was later replaced by Ringo Starr. Following the unexpected 1962 death of Sutcliffe, it would be Harrison along with Lennon, McCartney and Starr, who would forever change the landscape of popular music. Although Lennon and McCartney were the primary songwriters of the group, Harrison contributed such later hits as “Taxman,” “Within You Without You,” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Following the Beatles’ break-up in 1970, Harrison immediately launched a successful solo career with the release of All Things Must Pass which included his first hit, “My Sweet Lord.” Over the better part of the next two decades, Harrison released a series of critical and commercial successes which included The Concert For Bangladesh, Living In The Material World, Dark Horse, and Cloud Nine. In 1988, Harrison formed the popular “supergroup,” the Traveling Wilburys which included Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty. Harrison also found success in the film industry. In 1978, he started his own production company, HandMade Films. Over the next 15 years, his company released such hits as Life of Brian, Shanghai Surprise and Time Bandits. On December 30, 1999, Harrison was the victim of an attack that was frightening similar to the one that killed John Lennon. In the early morning hours, Harrison and his wife, Olivia Harrison, were startled to hear an intruder loudly calling out George’s name from another room in their house. When he confronted the crazed man, he was stabbed seven times in a struggle that reportedly lasted 15 minutes. The assailant was subdued with the help of Olivia who hit him numerous times with a fireplace poker. George suffered a punctured lung and head injuries. The incident caused him to all but eliminate public appearances from that day forward. In 1997, Harrison discovered he was suffering from lung cancer. He was 58 when he died of the cancer on November 29, 2001.
*Despite what is reported elsewhere, George Harrison was actually born just before midnight on February 24, 1943. The wrong date was mistakenly written on his birth certificate. It was brought to his attention later in life.
Paul Ryan was a British singer-songwriter and producer who, along with his twin brother, Barry, performed as Paul & Barry Ryan during the ’60s. Paul eventually left the limelight to concentrate on his songwriting. His “Eloise” became a hit for the then-solo, Barry in 1968. The song found a new life when the Damned’s cover of it landed at #3 on the UK singles chart in 1986. Frank Sinatra and Dana Scallon also made hits out of Paul Ryan’s songs. He was 44 when he died of cancer on November 29, 2009.
Barbara Acklin
February 28, 1944 – November 27, 1998
Barbara Acklin was a popular soul singer and successful songwriter during the ’60s and ’70s. After singing in church and then Chicago area nightclubs while still a teenager, Acklin was hired by Chess Records to sing backup for the likes of Etta James and Fontella Bass. In 1966, Acklin was hired as a receptionist for Brunswick Records where she had to chance to hand a song she had co-written to Jackie Wilson. That song was “Whispers (Gettin’ Louder)” which Wilson made into a top 5 R&B and #11 pop hit. That was enough to land Acklin a recording contract with Brunswick. Acklin released several charting singles over the next decade, including “Show Me the Way” (a duet with Gene Chandler), “Love Makes a Woman,” and “Am I the Same Girl,” which was later covered by Dusty Springfield, the Manhattan Transfer, and Swing Out Sister. Acklin’s biggest hit as a songwriter came with the release of “Have You Seen Her,” a song she co-wrote with Eugene Record and turned into a chart topping hit by his group, the Chi-Lites. Barbara Acklin was 54 when she died of pneumonia.
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Jack Cooke was a bluegrass bassist and singer best remembered for his time playing in Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys. Cooke first came to prominence as part of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys with whom he played from 1956 to 1960. He played on some of Monroe’s biggest hits, including the classic, “Big Mon.” After leaving Monroe, he fronted his own band for a few years until getting the call to join Stanley in 1970. He played in the Clinch Mountain Boys up until early 2009. Cooke received a Grammy in 2002 as part of the Jim Lauderdale & Ralph Stanley album, Lost in the Lonesome Pines. Jack Cooke, 72, passed away at a local hospital on December 1, 2009.
Barbara Acklin was a popular soul singer and successful songwriter during the ’60s and ’70s. After singing in church and then Chicago area nightclubs while still a teenager, Acklin was hired by Chess Records to sing backup for the likes of 