Singer

Died On This Date (March 8, 2012) Jimmy Ellis / Lead Singer Of The Trammps; Had Huge Hit With “Disco Inferno”

Jimmy Ellis
DOB Unkown – March 8, 2012

Jimmy Ellis is best remembered the lead singer for the popular disco group, the Trammps.  Formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1972, the R&B outfit first flirted with success with their unlikely cover of “Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart,” a song originally made famous by Judy Garland some 30 years earlier.  The following year, they released “Love Epidemic,” widely considered their first disco song.  In 1976, they put out what would become their signature tune, “Disco Inferno,” a high-energy dance number that went on to help define the disco era.  The song wasn’t initially a big hit, but when it was re-released as part of the Saturday Night Fever film and soundtrack in 1978, it hit the mainstream and landed at #11 on the pop charts.  The song then took on a life of its own as it was played in heavy rotation at discotheques around the world and virtually every disco-themed party ever since.  Its celebratory refrain can still also be heard at most major sports arenas around the US.   It has also been covered by the likes of Cyndi Lauper and Tina Turner.  In 2005, “Disco Inferno” was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame.  The Trammps’ other hits included “The Night The Lights Went Out” and “Disco Party.”   Jimmy Ellis was 74 when he passed away in a nursing home on March 8, 2012.

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The Trammps

Died On This Date (March 8, 2012) Bugs Henderson / Texas Blues Great

Buddy “Bugs” Henderson
1943 – March 8, 2012

Bugs Henderson was a Dallas, Texas area blues great who, for the better part of the past 50 years has been playing the kind of electric blues that keeps the crowds on their collective feet.  Henderson was just a teenager working in a local record store when he would sneak out of his house to check out the latest bands performing in nearby roadhouses.  By 1966 he was playing in a band, Mouse and the Traps, who scored a regional hit with “Public Execution.”  By the early ’70s, Henderson was an in-demand studio player while establishing himself as a local draw on the stage.  Over the years, he either opened for, or shared the stage with the likes of the Allman Brothers, Leon Russell, Freddie King, Ted Nugent, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, and B.B. King.   Bugs Henderson died from complications of liver cancer on March 8, 2012.  He was 69.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus for the assist.

 

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Bugs Henderson

Died On This Date (February 29, 2012) Davy Jones / The Monkees

Davy Jones
December 30, 1945 – February 29, 2012

Photo by David Plastik – Click To Order Quality Prints – Discount code: 10OFF

Davy Jones was and English actor and singer who is best remembered as the lead vocalist for the Monkees, a widely popular pop-rock group that was originally fabricated to star as a band on an American television series.  The weekly comedy followed the hi-jinks of the fictional rock band as they tried to build a music career in Los Angeles.  The show, which premiered in 1966, starred Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith as the group which was loosely based on the Beatles.  The show launched actual music careers for the musicians, even though in the beginning, they contributed very little musically.  Many of the program’s songs, which were showcased like music videos every week, became hits and future staples of oldies radio.  They included “Daydream Believer,” “Last Train To Clarksville,” and “I Want To Be Free.”  The show won two Emmys in 1967 and continued to be popular in reruns ever since.  In later years, Jones recorded and toured the world with the reunited Monkees.  As an actor, Jones also appeared in numerous stage productions as well as on such TV shows as The Brady Bunch, Love American Style, and My Two Dads.  Davy Jones was 66 when he suffered a fatal heart attack on February 29, 2012.  The Monkees co-creator, Bert Schneider passed away in December of 2011.

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The Best of the Monkees - The Monkees

Died On This Date (February 25, 2012) Louisiana Red / Blues Great

Louisiana Red (Born Iverson Minter)
March 23, 1932 – February 25, 2012

Louisiana Red was an Alabama-born blues musician who counted over 50 albums to his credit.  Red began making records in 1949, with his first label being the legendary Chess Records.  What followed was a series of singles and albums, many of which are essential for any respectable blues collection.  A couple of his key albums were The Lowdown Back Porch Blues and Seventh Son, both released in 1963.  During the late ’50s, Red performed with the great John Lee Hooker in Detroit.  And in 1983, he was awarded a prestigious WC Handy Award.  Louisiana Red was 79 when he passed away on February 25, 2012.

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The Lowdown Back Porch Blues - Louisiana Red

Died On This Date (February 14, 2012) Dory Previn / Renowned Songwriter

Dory Previn
October 22, 1925 – February 14, 2012

Dory Previn was an American singer-songwriter and lyricist who counted several Academy Award nominations to her credit.  Beginning in the late ’50s, Previn, along with her then-husband and songwriting partner, Andre Previn, wrote numerous songs for such films as Pepe, Two for the Seesaw, and Valley of the Dolls.  Their songs have been recorded by such music luminaries as Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, Dionne Warwick, and Sammy Davis, Jr., to name just a handful.  After parting ways with her husband in 1969, Previn launched a successful career as a singer-songwriter.  Over the next decade, she released a half-dozen albums, including 1972’s Reflections in a Mud Puddle, which Newsweek magazine named one of the best albums of the year, while the New York Times lauded it as one of the best singer-songwriters of 1972.   She went on to win two Emmys for music she created for television, and wrote two autobiographies as well as a one-woman play.  Dory Previn passed away on February 14, 2012.  She was 86.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus for the assist.

 

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Dory Previn