Died On This Date (October 27, 1990) Xavier Cugat / Iconic Band Leader
themusicsover Xavier Cugat
January 1, 1900 – October 27, 1990
Xavier Cugat was a musician, singer, songwriter, band leader, cartoonist, and actor whose various careers ran some 65 years. Born in Spain, he moved with his family to Cuba where he was trained on the violin. In 1915, his family moved again, this time settling in New York City. His first band of note, the Gigolos, was a popular Tango band in New York. During the ’30s, Cugat became the leader of the house band at New York’s fames Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. It was around this time he got into acting, so he spent much of the next three decades flying back and forth between New York and Los Angeles to work at th hotel and make movies. He also did some time as the cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times. Cugat made several hit records during the ’40s, most of them popular Latin dance tunes of the day. Xavier Cugat died of heart failure at the age of 90.
What You Should Own
Hoyt Axton was country singer songwriter and actor who came to prominence as a folk singer in the ’60s and then again as country singer in the ’70s. Even though he released several successful albums and acted in and performed on numerous television shows and films, it was Axton’s skills as a songwriter that separated him from the pack. Over the years, his songs were made into hits by the likes of Ringo Starr (“No-No Song”) Steppenwolf (“The Pusher”) and of course, Three Dog Night (“Never Been To Spain” and most famously, “Joy to the World” aka “Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog”). His songs have also been covered by 
Roger Miller was a popular country singer songwriter who landed several hits during the ’70s and ’80s. His most popular hits were “Dang Me,” “Old Friends” (with Willie Nelson), and “King of the Road.” As a songwriter, he’s penned hits for Brooks and Dunn, Ricky Van Shelton, and Alan Jackson. Over the course of his career, Miller has been awarded with an impressive 11 Grammys which was a record until 
The great Richard Harris was an actor’s actor who was famous for his roles in such films as Camelot, A Man Called Horse, and more recently, Unforgiven and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Harris also had a recording career that included the 1968 album, A Tramp Shining, which yielded a #2 pop single, Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park.” Richard Harris was 72 years old when he died of Hodgkin’s Disease on October 25, 2002.
Banjo Fred Starner was a banjoist and folk singer who helped document the hobo culture of America. Taking a cue from