Songwriter

Died On This Date (April 12, 2010) Lisa Hodapp / Florida Punk Legend

Lisa Hodapp
DOB Unknown – April 12, 2010

Lisa Hodapp was a popular Fort Lauderdale-area punk musician during the ’80s and ’90s.  She first came to prominence as singer and bassist for area punk legends, Morbid Opera.  Later she played guitar in the all-girl group, the Gargirls.  And in recent years, Hodapp fronted her own band, Fraulien.  She also found time through all that to earn a degree in law.  Lisa Hodapp was 49 when she died of cancer on April 12, 2010.



Died On This Date (April 10, 1958) Chuck Willis / Early R&B Great

Chuck Willis
January 31, 1928 – April 10, 1958

Chuck Willis had a relatively short career as a singer and songwriter of Blues, R&B and early Rock ‘n’ Roll. He recorded for Columbia, Okeh and Atlantic Records over a career that lasted less than ten years before he unexpectedly died. But what a career he had. His hits included “It’s Too Late (She’s Gone),” covered by no less than Otis Redding, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Derek & the Dominoes and Jerry Garcia; “I Feel So Bad,” covered by Elvis Presley; “C.C. Rider,” also recorded by Elvis as well as Bruce Springsteen; and “Oh What A Dream,” later recorded by Ruth Brown and Conway Twitty.   Willis suffered from stomach ulcers for many years which likely contributed to his sudden death of peritonitis at just 30.



Died On This Date (April 10, 1986) Linda Creed / Wrote Many Philly Soul Hits

Linda Creed (aka Linda Epstein)
December 6, 1949 – April 10, 1986

linda2Linda Creed was a successful songwriter best known for several chart-topping hits closely associated with the Philly Sound of the 1970s.  Her break came in 1970 when Dusty Springfield recorded her “Free Girl.”  Soon she was working alongside producer Thom Bell at Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records.    From that point on, Creed wrote or co-wrote a string of soul hits that included “Betcha By Golly Wow,” “You Are Everything,” “Stop Look Listen (To Your Heart)” and “The Rubber Band Man.”  Her songs were recorded by the likes of the Stylistics, the Spinners, and Phyllis Hyman.  Creed was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 24 but still had the strength to co-write “The Greatest Love Of All” for the 1977 film, The Greatest.”  In 1986, the song was turned into a massive hit when re-recorded by Whitney Houston.  Linda Creed died of cancer on April 10, 1986.



Died On This Date (April 10, 2008) Auntie Nona Beamer / Hawaiian Musician & Educator

Wynona “Auntie Nona”  Beamer
August 15, 1923 – April 10, 2008

Besides being an authority on all that is Hawaii, Nona Beamer was a much respected musician, songwriter, author and hula teacher. Born in Honolulu, Beamer temporarily moved to the mainland while attending college in Colorado and New York. When she settled back in Hawaii, Beamer worked mostly as a teacher of Hawaiian culture or “Hawaiiana,” a term she is credited for coining. She also taught hula for over thirty years in a studio she took over from her mother. In later years, she co-founded the Aloha Music Camp with her son, Keola Beamer, a Grammy nominated slack-key guitarist. Although in her 80s, Beamer continued to perform with her musically talented family up until a few months before she passed away in her sleep at the age or 84.



Died On This Date (April 9, 1988) Brook Benton / Soul Great

Brook Benton
September 19, 1931 – April 9, 1988

Brook Benton was an R&B singer from South Carolina who began his career in the late ’40s when he moved to New York and began writing songs for the likes of Clyde McPhatter and Nat King Cole. It wasn’t until 1959 that Benton scored a hit of his own with the release of “It’s Just A Matter Of Time” which shot up the #3 on the Billboard singles chart.  Benton’s last major hit came in 1970 with the release of “Rainy Night In Georgia.” He passed away on April 9, 1988 from spinal meningitis at the age of 56, but not before charting 49 songs on the Billboard singles chart.

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Brook Benton