Died On This Date (September 22, 2007) Larry Fuller / Bluegrass Great

Larry Fuller
1949 – September 22, 2007

Larry Fuller was a bluegrass guitar picker who was well known in and around the Kentucky music community.  Fuller began his music career during the 1970s when he was working as a coal miner.  A job injury in 1986 forced him out of the mines and into music full time.  A traditionalist, Fuller’s music was rooted deep in the mountain music he grew up hearing around him.  Larry Fuller’s life came to a tragic end when he died in a fire that engulfed his tour bus.  For reasons unknown, Fuller was inside the bus as it was parked in his driveway around 2 am.  He was 58 years old.

Died On This Date (September 22, 2008) Connie Haines / Prolific Big Band Singer

Connie Haines (Born Yvonne JaMais)
January 20, 1921 – September 22, 2008

With Frank Sinatra
With Frank Sinatra

Connie Haines was a prolific big band singer whose voice could be heard on over 200 recordings.  She was just four years old when she began performing publicly, and by the time she reached her early teens, she was a regular on local radio programs.   Throughout her career, Haines performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, Harry James and Frankie Laine.  She died of myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease, at the age of 87.



Died On This Date (September 22, 1996) Ilari Peltola aka Claude / Smack

Ilari “Claude” Peltola
1966 – September 22, 1996

Ilari Peltola was known as simply, Claude when he was the lead singer of Finnish rock band, Smack.  Smack were a glam-punk band who were active between 1982 and 1990.  The band, who were not dissimilar to the New York Dolls, were very popular in and around Finland, but never achieved much more that a cult following here in the US, despite moving to Los Angeles in 1989.  In 1990, Peltola left the band to move back to Finland where he formed a new band, the Fishfaces. He died of heart failure on September 22, 1996.

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On You - Smack

Died On This Date (September 21, 2009) John “Bootsie” Wilson / The Silhouettes

John Wilson
July 18, 1940 – September 21, 2009

Photo courtesy of Elaine Lewis

John “Bootsie” Wilson was a one-time singer for doo-wop vocal group, the Silhouettes.  Wilson joined the group in 1962 when original lead singer, Bill Horton left.  The group had one big hit with their 1958 single, “Get A Job,” which the group re-recorded with Wilson on lead in 1968.   No oldies collection is complete without that song.  It has been featured in numerous popular films over the years, including Stand By Me, American Graffiti,  and Trading Places.  After Wilson left the group, he became a minister.  He was the last surviving member of the Silhouettes when he passed away in his home at the age of 69.  Cause of death was not immediately released.

Thanks to Elaine Lewis at TheSilhouettes.org for the assist.



Died On This Date (September 21, 2006) Boz Burrell / King Crimson, Bad Company

Raymond “Boz” Burrell
August 1, 1946 – September 21, 2006

Boz Burrell is best remembered as a singer for King Crimson during the early ’70s and as the bassist for Bad Company from 1973 until 1999 (on and off).   But before all that, Burrell was pegged to replace the Who’s Roger Daltrey when the other band members decided to fire him in the mid ’60s.  That never came to be, and Burrell went on to record several singles on his own.  Boz Burrell suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 60.

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