Died On This Date (February 20, 2013) Cleotha Staples / The Staple Singers
themusicsover Cleotha Staples
1934 – February 20, 2013
Cleotha Staples, along with her siblings, Mavis, Pervis and Yvonne, and their father, Pops Staples, made up one of the most influential soul groups of the 20th Century. Formed in Chicago by Pops in 1948, the Staple Singers got their start singing in churches in and around Chicago. In 1957, they released their first hit single, “Uncloudy Day.” In 1970, the group signed with Stax Records and began releasing a string of hits that ran through much of the decade. Their hits included “I’ll Take You There,” “Respect Yourself,” and “Let’s Do It Again.” In 1976, they performed an epic version of “The Weight” with the Band in the latter’s legendary swan song film, The Last Waltz. In 1999, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cleotha was the oldest of the Staples sisters, and it is her beautiful soprano that can be heard on their classic recordings. She suffered from Alzheimer’s disease through most of the 2000s, and passed away on February 20, 2013. She was 78.
Magic Slim was Chicago by way of Mississippi blues man who released some 40 albums over a career that spanned seven decades. Slim initially learned to play the piano, but moved to the guitar after a cotton gin accident took one of his fingers. In 1955, he went to Chicago to check out the local scene. By the mid ’60s he was back for good and offering up a house-rockin’ good time to all who went to see him. By now he was fronting his own band, Magic Slim and the Teardrops and slugging it out at the local juke-joints. He recorded several singles throughout the ’60s and early ’70s until releasing his first album, Born Under a Bad Sign, in 1977. Over the next 35 years, he released albums for such legendary blues labels as Alligator, Wolf, and Blind Pig. During the ’90s, Slim settled in Lincoln, Nebraska where he regularly played with his son, Shawn “Lil’ Slim” Holt. Over the course of his career, Slim was recognized with Band of the Year honors at the W.C. Handy Awards six times. Magic Slim was 75 when he passed away on February 20, 2013. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Damon Harris was a 3-time Grammy Award winning member of the legendary Motown group, the Temptations. At just 20 years old, Harris was the youngest member of the outfit when he took 
Kevin Ayers was an English musician who was largely responsible for the birth of the British psychedelic movement of the ’60s. Born in Kent, Ayers was in college when he immersed himself in the storied Canterbury scene where a collective of progressive rock, avant-garde and free jazz commingled to create something new and exciting. He soon found himself playing alongside Robert Wyatt in the Wilde Flowers. In 1966, the band morphed into Soft Machine with Ayers starting out on bass and shared vocals but later switching to guitar. Soft Machine quickly grew a strong local following, often performing with 
Mindy McCready was a hugely successful country music singer whose debut album, 1996’s Ten Thousand Angels sold over 2 million copies. Born in South Florida, McCready began singing when she was just three years old. When she was just 18, she moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music. Quickly signed to BNA Records, McCready’s debut album was released to much fanfare and ultimately yielded four hit singles with “Guys Do It All The Time” reaching #1. That was followed by four more albums and several hit country singles. In all, McCready landed on the Country Singles chart twelve times and sold over 3 million albums. During McCready’s later years, she was involved in a few rocky relationships that continually fed the tabloids with troubling stories of abuse and drug addiction. In 2008, she was hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt, and in 2010, was again hospitalized for a possible drug overdose that appeared to have been unintentional. Over the years, McCready had legal issues that were mostly attributed to substance abuse. In 2010, she appeared on the Celebrity Rehab reality program after which she was said to be looking forward to getting back into the studio. In April of 2012, McCready gave birth to her second child, and in January of 2013, the boy’s father, producer David Wilson, was found in his home of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. On February 17, 2013, Mindy McCready reportedly took her own life. She was 37.