Songwriter

Died On This Date (March 9, 2007) Brad Delp / Lead Singer For Boston

Brad Delp
June 25, 1951 – March 9, 2007

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

Brad Delp was the unmistakable voice of Tom Scholz’s arena-rock band Boston, one of the break-out acts of the 1970s.  Born in 1951, Delp was one of countless teenagers who, after witnessing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, knew that rock ‘n roll was to be his life’s calling.  Delp first began working with Scholz in the latter’s 1969 band, Mother’s Milk.  The group was soon renamed Boston and released its self-titled debut in 1976.  With hits like “More Than A Feeling,” “Peace of Mind,” and “Foreplay/Long Time,” the album propelled the group into the international spotlight and, with over 17 million copies sold, became the biggest selling debut album in history.  It still stands as one of the iconic releases of the era.  It’s quick follow-up, Don’t Look Back sold an astonishing four million in just its first month, and went on to sell seven million.  The group’s Third Stage followed in 1986, and in 1991, Delp left the group to form RTZ.  Delp and Scholz reunited in Boston in 1994, but as would be expected, they never achieved the success of their first releases.  It should be noted that Delp wrote or co-wrote several of Boston’s songs over the years.  In later years, he performed in various groups or projects.  On March 9, 2007, Brad Delp shocked friends, family, and fans by taking his own life when, on the eve of his wedding, he lit two charcoal barbecues in a sealed bathroom.  He was 55 when he died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

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Boston - Boston

Died On This Date (March 9, 2005) Chris LeDoux / Country Star and Rodeo Champ

Chris LeDoux
October 2, 1948 – March 9, 2005

At right with Chris LeDoux (Center)

Chris LeDoux was a country music star who, unlike most, was the real deal.  Prior to his quick rise to fame thanks to a helping hand from admirer, Garth Brooks, LeDoux was a champion rodeo rider.  He is likely the only World Bareback Riding Champ to sell over six million albums.  LeDoux began his riding career in 1970, and soon began self-recording songs about life on the circuit.  His tunes quickly struck a chord with fellow riders, ranchers and cowboys for their authenticity and heart.  He was soon selling thousands of tapes out of his truck at rodeos and such.  The story goes that he manufactured over one million cassettes on a dual-tape machine in his barn, with his mother setting the egg timer for twenty minutes to remind her to go out and flip over the tapes.  Things dramatically changed in 1989, when a lyric in Brooks’ hit “Much To Young To Feel This Damn Old” pointed out that the only thing that kept the aging narrator going in a world of younger riding competitors was “a worn out tape of Chris LeDoux.”  That brought tremendous attention to LeDoux who had never met Brooks.  He was soon signed to Liberty Records, also Brooks’ label at the time.  Over the next decade, LeDoux released several popular country albums for Liberty and played to large theaters and arenas full of adoring fans.  Like Brooks, he brought the electricity and flash of rock ‘n roll to the country setting.  On March 9, 2005, Chris LeDoux died of cancer of the bile duct.  He was 56 years old.

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Western Underground - Chris LeDoux

Died On This Date (March 8, 1973) Ron “Pigpen” McKernan / Grateful Dead

Ron McKernan
September 8, 1945 – March 8, 1973

Member of the 27 Club

Ron “Pigpen” Mckernan is best remembered as a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he mostly played the keyboards.  It was during his early days singing and performing at San Francisco area coffeehouses and record stores that he met Jerry Garcia, which lead to his membership in the Zodiacs, which begat Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, which begat the Warlocks, which ultimately became the Grateful Dead.  It was McKernan who sang such early concert staples and “Turn on Your Lovelight” and “In The Midnight Hour,”  including its legendary 48-minute version at Woodstock.  An abuser of alcohol, McKernan was diagnosed with congenital biliary cirrhosis in 1970.  His health worsened over the next couple of years and his final concert with the Dead was on June 17, 1972.  He ultimately died of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage on March 8, 1973 at the age of 27.

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American Beauty (Bonus Track Version) [Remastered] - Grateful Dead

Died On This Date (March 8, 2009) Willie King / Contemporary Blues Musician

Willie King
March 18, 1943 – March 8, 2009

willie-king Willie King was a contemporary Mississippi blues musician who reluctantly began his career in music late in life.  Prior to that, he worked as a sharecropper, moonshiner and traveling salesman.  It wasn’t until the Civil Rights movement that he began writing topical blues songs.  And it wasn’t until 1999 that he started making records.  He ultimately released six albums and was profiled in Martin Scorsese’s The Blues: Feels Like Going Home documentary.  Willie King suffered a fatal heart attack on March 8, 2009.  He was 65 years old.

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Willie King

Died On This Date (March 8, 2009) Hank Locklin / Country Music Legend

Lawrence “Hank” Locklin
February 15, 1918 – March 8, 2009

hank-locklinHank Locklin was a successful country performer and songwriter who is said to have sold over 15 million records.  He was also a member of the Grand Ole Opry for the better part of 50 years and was his oldest member when he died.  His songs have been recorded by the likes of Dolly Parton, Dean Martin, and Willie Nelson.  His more than 70 hit singles included “Please Help Me I’m Falling,” “Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On,” and “Geisha Girl.”  Locklin worked nearly up to the time of his death – he was 88 when he released 2006’s By The Grace of God: The Gospel Album.  Hank Locklin, 91, passed away on March 8, 2009.

Thanks to Chris Harris at McCoury Music for the assist.

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RCA Country Legends: Hank Locklin - Hank Locklin