Died On This Date (November 8, 2003) Guy Speranza / Riot
themusicsover Guy Speranza
1956 – November 8, 2003
Guy Speranza was the original lead singer for New York heavy metal band, Riot. Formed in 1973, the band struggled to make it and were on the verge of breaking up when, in 1981 the began to find their audience thanks to what was to be called the New Wave of British Heavy Metal that began to break heavy metal into the mainstream. They began touring with such popular metal acts as AC/DC and Molly Hatchet, and were soon signed to Capitol Records. Speranza sang on Riot’s first three albums, but left the after the release of their Capitol debut in 1981. He later retired from music and moved to Florida where he became an exterminator. Guy Speranza, 47, died of pancreatic cancer on November 8, 2003.
What You Should Own
Jody Reynolds had one of rockabilly’s earliest massive hits with 1958’s “Endless Sleep.” It was one of rock ‘n roll’s first “teen tragedy” songs. The single reached #5 on the Billboard singles chart and sold over 1 million copies. He followed it up with “Fire of Love” later that year. The song charted, but failed to come close to the success of “Endless Sleep.” Reynolds released several more records over the course of his career, but none were ever able to get him back up on top. He retired from the music business during the ’70s, and in 1999, he was elected to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He was 75 when he died of liver cancer on November 7, 2008.
Hank Thompson was a honky tonk and western swing band leader who, over a career that spanned an amazing 60+ years, sold more than 60 million albums. After his discharge from the Navy during WWII, Thompson decided to pursue a career making music. In 1952, he released his first #1 hit, “The Wild Side of Life.” The song sat at the top of the country charts for 15 weeks and has been covered by the likes of 
Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler was was a Green Beret medic who served for the US Army in Vietnam. In 1966, Sadler co-wrote and sang lead on “Ballad of the Green Berets.” Ironically, the pro-military song became a massive hit during an era mostly associated with the anti war movement. The song sat at the top of the charts for five weeks and sold approximately nine million copies. Sadler later became a published author, writing more than 20 adventure books. On November 6, 1989, Barry Sadler died from a serious gunshot wound he suffered a year earlier. While traveling in Guatamala in 1988, he was shot in the head while in a taxi cab. He laid in a coma for several months and ended up suffering brain damage and was partially paralyzed. The shooting was originally reported as a robbery and never officially solved, but some have claimed it was an assassination attempt by those who believed that Sadler was training the Contras.