Died On This Date (October 21, 1965) Bill Black / Played Bass For Elvis Presley
themusicsover Bill Black
September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965
As if Bill Black’s remarkable career as the leader of his own rockabilly band, the Bill Black Combo weren’t enough, he also played bass Elvis Presley’s original recording of “That’s Alright Mama” at Sun Studios. Black’s stand-up bass can be heard on several of Presley’s records, such as “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Mystery Train,” and “Hound Dog.” After parting ways with Presley in the late ’50s, Black joined a band that eventually evolved into his Bill Black Combo, with whom he’d score several pop and R&B hits that were described as “dancable shuffles” that were a “mix of pop, country, blues and rock.” They were favored by jukebox operators as they kept the dance floors jumping. Black learned he had a brain tumor in the early ’60s, and even though his band was chosen to open for the Beatles during their historic 1964 US tour, Black was too ill to take part. He died of that tumor at the age of 39. In the late ’70s, Linda McCartney acquired Bill Black’s stand-up bass and gave it to her husband, Paul McCartney for his birthday.
What You Should Own
Ronnie Van Zant was the singer and main songwriter for southern rock powerhouse, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the band he formed in 1964 with fellow high school classmates. The band slugged it out on the road in and around the southeast region of the U.S. until they got their break by getting signed to MCA Records in 1972. The following year, they released their debut album, pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd, which included such future hits and Southern rock staples as “Gimme Three Steps,” “Tuesday’s Gone,” and of course, “Free Bird.” The hits continued to roll in and the band soon found them self touring with such bands as the Who and the Rolling Stones. By late 1977, the band was as popular as any in America, had just completed their Street Survivors album, and were in the middle of what was to be their biggest tour yet. But then one of popular music’s worst tragedies struck. On October 20, 1977, while flying between shows in Greenville, South Carolina and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, their small chartered plane experienced engine trouble causing it to crash outside of Gillsburg, Mississippi. Dead on impact were band members, Ronnie Van Zant (29), 
Cassie Gaines was part of gospel trio who, in 1975 were invited to join Lynyrd Skynyrd as back-up singers. Her brother,