Songwriter

Died On This Date (December 2, 2009) Eric Woolfson / Alan Parsons Project

Eric Woolfson
March 18, 1945 – December 2, 2009

Eric Woolfson was a much respected Scottish musician, songwriter and singer who is best remembered as one-half of the driving force behind the Alan Parsons Project.  Woolfson started out mostly as a songwriter, penning songs for the likes of Marianne Faithfull, Peter Noone and the Tremeloes.   In the early ’70s, he got into artist management, guiding the careers of Carl Douglas of “Kung Fu Fighting” fame and an up-and-coming producer, Alan Parsons who had previously engineered the Beatles’ Abbey Road and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.  In 1975, the two began collaborating creatively and the Alan Parsons Project was born.  Over the next decade, the group released such popular prog rock albums as I Robot, Pyramid and Eye in the Sky.  Overall, they sold in excess of 40 million albums.  By the early ’90s, Woolfson and Parsons parted ways with Woolfson moving into musical theater.  Woolfson was later diagnosed with cancer and died from the disease on December 2, 2009.  He was 64.

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I Robot - The Alan Parsons Project

Died On This Date (December 2, 2009) Aaron Schroeder / Wrote Several Hits For Elvis

Aaron Schroeder
September 7, 1926 – December 2, 2009

At right with Gene Pitney
At right with Gene Pitney

Aaron Schroeder was a producer and prolific songwriter who reportedly penned upwards of 2000 tunes.  Elvis Presley recorded seventeen of his songs, including the hits “A Big Hunk of Love,” “It’s Now or Never,” and “Stuck on You.”  Other legends to make hits out of Schroeder’s songs were Roy Orbison, Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole, Perry Como and many more.  He also wrote the theme song for the Saturday morning cartoon, Scooby Doo Where Are You?. As a producer, Schroeder worked with, among others, Jimi Hendrix, Gene Pitney and Barry White.    Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, Aaron Schroeder, 84, passed away on December 2, 2009.



Died On This Date (December 1, 1986) Lee Dorsey / New Orleans R&B Great

Lee Dorsey
December 24, 1924 – December 1, 1986

lee-dorsey

Lee Dorsey was a New Orleans R&B singer whose upbeat party sound made him a favorite of the genre.  Before he began his career in music, Dorsey was a successful prizefighter during the 1950s.  By the early ’60s, he was working with legendary New Orleans musician and producer, Allen Toussaint.  Dorsey’s first Toussaint-produced hit came in 1961 with the release of “Ya-Ya,” which made it to #7 on the Billboard singles chart.  After leaving the music business for a few years to work as a car mechanic, Dorsey returned with a vengeance in 1965.  Over the next several years, he released such classic records as “Working In A Coal Mine,” and “Yes We Can.”  In 1980, Dorsey opened for the Clash on their legendary U.S. Tour.  In more recent years, Dorsey’s songs have been covered by the likes of Devo, Petula Clark, the Pointer Sisters, and John Lennon.  Lee Dorsey was 61 when he died of emphysema on December 1, 1986.

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Lee Dorsey

Died On This Date (December 1, 2009) Nat Kipner / Australian Producer & Label Head; First To Sign The Bee Gees

Nat Kipner
DOB Unknown – December 1, 2009

Nat Kipner was an Australian producer and songwriter who also had his own label, Spin Records, during the ’60s.  His was the first label to sign the Bee Gees to a record deal.  He also produced hit records for the band.  As a songwriter, he found success with “Too Little Too Late,” the 1978 #1 duet for Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams.  Nat Kipner was 86 when he died of congenital heart failure on December 1, 2009.



Died On This Date (November 29, 2001) George Harrison / The Beatles

George Harrison
February 24*, 1943 – November 29, 2001

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

George Harrison achieved massive fame and success as the lead guitarist for the Beatles.  His post-Beatles career, whether as a solo artist or member of the Traveling Wilburys was just as critically acclaimed.  Born in Liverpool, London, Harrison was still in grade school when he got his first guitar.  Before long, he formed his own skiffle band, the Rebels. Another of his schoolmates, Paul McCartney had a band as well, the Quarrymen, along with John Lennon.  Harrison was just 16 when McCartney heard his guitar playing and asked him to join the band.  The group would soon morph into the Beatles, made up of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe,  and Pete Best, who was later replaced by Ringo Starr. Following the unexpected 1962 death of Sutcliffe, it would be Harrison along with Lennon, McCartney and Starr, who would forever change the landscape of popular music.  Although Lennon and McCartney were the primary songwriters of the group, Harrison contributed such later hits as “Taxman,” “Within You Without You,” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”  Following the Beatles’ break-up in 1970, Harrison immediately launched a successful solo career with the release of All Things Must Pass which included his first hit, “My Sweet Lord.”  Over the better part of the next two decades, Harrison released a series of critical and commercial successes which included The Concert For Bangladesh, Living In The Material World, Dark Horse, and Cloud Nine.  In 1988, Harrison formed the popular “supergroup,” the Traveling Wilburys which included Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty.   Harrison also found success in the film industry.  In 1978, he started his own production company, HandMade Films.  Over the next 15 years, his company released such hits as Life of Brian, Shanghai Surprise and Time Bandits.  On December 30, 1999, Harrison was the victim of an attack that was frightening similar to the one that killed John Lennon.  In the early morning hours, Harrison and his wife, Olivia Harrison,  were startled to hear an intruder loudly calling out George’s name from another room in their house.  When he confronted the crazed man, he was stabbed seven times in a struggle that reportedly lasted 15 minutes.  The assailant was subdued with the help of Olivia who hit him numerous times with a fireplace poker.  George suffered a punctured lung and head injuries.  The incident caused him to all but eliminate public appearances from that day forward.  In 1997, Harrison discovered he was suffering from lung cancer.  He was 58 when he died of the cancer on November 29, 2001.

*Despite what is reported elsewhere, George Harrison was actually born just before midnight on February 24, 1943.  The wrong date was mistakenly written on his birth certificate.   It was brought to his attention later in life.

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All Things Must Pass (30th Anniversary Edition) [Remastered] - George Harrison