Singer

Died On This Date (October 13, 2010) Huddy Combs aka Huddy 6 / NYC Hip Hop Performer

Huddy Combs (Born Andre Hudson)
DOB Unknown – October 13, 2010

Huddy Combs, also known professionally as Huddy 6 was a respected hip hop performer and promoter based out of Harlem, New York.  Combs’ entry into the music business came via Ma$e’s rap group, Harlem World.  He can be heard on their 1999 release, The Movement.  Combs was childhood friend of fellow rapper Cam’ron, and reportedly once saved his life after the latter was shot outside a party.  Huddy Combs was involved in and automobile accident on New York City’s George Washington Bridge in the early hours of October 13, 2010.  He died at the scene.

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Died On This Date (October 12, 1998) Raymond Myles / New Orleans Gospel Legend

Raymond Myles
July 14, 1958 – October 12, 1998

Raymond Myles was acknowledged by his New Orleans’ musical peers as perhaps the greatest gospel talent of his generation. The testimonials to his greatness as a singer, pianist and choir director came from no less than Harry Connick, Jr., Aaron Neville, Dr. John and Allen Toussaint. Myles devoted his life to addressing vital social issues that impacted his community and affected him personally. From his impoverished beginnings in the everyday violence of New Orleans’ housing projects, he became a dedicated public school music teacher whose commitment to young people steered many of them away from ruin during a murderous crack epidemic in New Orleans during the nineties. “But as hard as he tried, Raymond never felt that his community embraced him with what he considered to be God’s unconditional love,” said Leo Sacks, who produced his only full-length studio album, A Taste of Heaven, and is directing a documentary called A Taste Of Heaven: The Heartbreak Life of Raymond Myles, Gospel Genius of New Orleans, now in production (raymondmylesmovie.com). “These feelings of isolation and disconnection reflected a lifetime of struggle with his elders in the black church, a struggle that boiled down to their refusal to fully accept gay worshipers.”  In his short, turbulent life, Myles performed as such prestigious music events as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the Newport Folk Festival. Tragically, his dramatic journey from a childhood of abject poverty to the brink of international music stardom was cut short when he was murdered during a carjacking outside the French Quarter on the night of October 11, 1998.  A career criminal from New Orleans was sentenced to 20 years in Louisiana’s Angola state penitentiary for being an accomplice to the killing.  So beloved was Raymond Myles that when he was laid to rest, only Mahalia Jackson and Louis Armstrong drew more mourners to their Crescent City funerals.



Died On This Date (October 10, 2010) Solomon Burke / Pioneering Soul, Blues & Gospel Singer

Solomon Burke
March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010

Solomon Burke was a beloved and influential singer-songwriter who built a sizable following due to his powerful gospel, soul, and blues voice.  Burke ‘s first adult profession was a preacher, and went on to become a popular gospel radio host and then a singer.  Signed to the prestigious Atlantic Records in 1960, went on to release several critically acclaimed secular records, his most famous perhaps was “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love,” which was covered by the likes of the Rolling Stones, Jerry Garcia, Wilson Pickett, and the Blues Brothers (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd).  During the 2000s, Burke made a comeback of sorts.  He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and won a Grammy in 2003 for his Fat Possum release, Don’t Give Up On Me Baby album.  He was also playing in front of his biggest crowds at concerts and festivals around the world, as well as worldwide audiences on television.  Between 2005 and 2008, Burke released a trilogy of albums for Shout! Factory, Make Due With What You Got, Nashville, and Like A Fire – all are essential listening.  On October 10, 2010, Solomon Burke died unexpectedly at an Amsterdam airport where he had just landed en route to a performance.  Cause of death was not immediately released, but it is believed to have been of natural causes.  He was 70.

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Nashville - Solomon Burke

Died On This Date (October 8, 2010) Albertina Walker / The Queen Of Gospel

Albertina Walker
August 29, 1929 – October 8, 2010

Albertina Walker was a beloved Gospel singer who has been rightfully called the “Queen of Gospel.”  Walker began singing while still a child in Chicago, Illinois, driven by the influence of future friend and mentor, the great Mahalia Jackson.   It was during the early ’50s that she formed her first group, the Caravans, which counted such greats as Shirley Caesar, James Cleveland, and Loleatta Holloway as members.   By the ’70s, Walker was working as a solo act, recording for such respected labels as Savoy and A&M Records.  Over the course of her career, she has won three Dove awards and one Grammy, sold over 500,000 of five separate albums, and sang for two U.S. Presidents as well as Nelson Mandela.  Albertina Walker was 81 when she passed away on October 8, 2010.

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Albertina Walker

Died On This Date (October 5, 2010) Steve Lee / Lead Singer For Swiss Rock Band, Gotthard

Steve Lee
August 5, 1963 – October 5, 2010

Steve Lee was the founding lead singer of Swiss metal band, Gotthard.  Formed in 1992, the band has sold over two million albums and has seen 11 of their releases reach #1 on the Swiss charts.  By most accounts, they are one of the most successful rock bands in Switzerland’s history, the other of course, being Krokus.  Gotthard’s sound has been compared to that of Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, and Deep Purple, while Lee’s voice was as strong as any ’80s and ’90s power balladeer.   While on a holiday motorcycle tour of the United States, Lee and his group pulled off a Nevada highway to change into rain gear.  Shortly thereafter, in what was ruled an accident by local authorities, a truck driver lost control of his vehicle which then crashed into one of the parked bikes, sending it direclty into Lee.  Steve Lee died from injuries sustained in the accident.  He was 47.

Thanks to Alex Bonino for the assist.

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Domino Effect - Gotthard