Tommy Edwards
February 17, 1922 – October 22, 1969
Tommy Edwards was an R&B singer who had a #1 hit in 1958 with “It’s All In the Game.” The record went on to sell over 3.5 million records worldwide. His subsequent singles never achieved near the success of “It’s All In the Game.” Tommy Edwards died after suffering a brain aneuryrsm at the age of 47.
Sandy West
July 10, 1959 – October 21, 2006
Sandy West was the founding drummer for the influential all-girl rock band, the Runaways. Born and raised near the beaches of Southern California, West picked up the drums at the age of nine. She met record producer, Kim Fowley in 1975 and told him of her desire to form an all-girl rock band. He put her in contact with another like-minded teen, Joan Jett. They soon found Lita Ford and Cherie Currie, and the Runaways were born. Although the band stayed together for less than four years, their influence on rock ‘n roll cannot be denied. With songs like “Cherry Bomb,” and “Rock & Roll,” the band was soon signed to Mercury Records and opening for such acts as Cheap Trick, Tom Petty, and Van Halen. The Runaways disbanded in just four short years, so West went on to front her own band and play in other local groups, none sparking the kind of fame she experienced with the Runaways. She also never benefited financially from the band’s popularity. On October 21, 2006, Sandy West, 47, died of a brain tumor that was borne from lung cancer.
Elliott Smith
August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003
Elliott Smith was a celebrated contemporary folk and indie rock singer-songwriter who quietly gained a legion of fans in the late ’90s. After several years in a rock band, Smith went solo in 1994, first recording for hip indie labels, Cavity Search and Kill Rock Stars, and then major, Dreamworks Records. In 1997, his “Miss Misery” was nominated for an Academy Award after it appeared Good Will Hunting. Elliott Smith died after being stabbed twice in the chest. Initial reports indicated that he committed suicide, but autopsy reports were inconclusive and his case is still considered open by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums
Richard Shannon Hoon
September 26, 1967 – October 21, 1995
Shannon Hoon was the lead singer of ’90s alternative rock band, Blind Melon. The band formed in Los Angeles in 1991 and were quickly awarded a recording contract with Capitol Records. Meanwhile, Hoon was raising his profile on the Los Angeles scene by befriending Axl Rose, and subsequently singing back up on Guns N Roses’ Use Your Illusion albums and making a cameo in their “Dont Cry” video. This helped spark a frenzy for Blind Melon by the time their debut self-titled album dropped in September of 1992. The album eventually became a hit thanks to the hit song “No Rain” and the video that made a pop icon out of its “Bee Girl” character. The band were now touring with the likes of Lenny Kravitz, Soundgarden and Ozzy Osbourne while Blind Melon was on it’s way to multi-platinum status. Unfortunately, Hoon’s actions were becoming more and more erratic due to his heavy drug usage. After the release of their second album, Soup, in 1995, Blind Melon once again, hit the road. Hoon had been attempting to rehab at that time, but fell beck into his bad habits while on the tour. He died of a cocaine overdose on the band’s tour bus following a show in Houston. He was 28 years old.
Bill Black
September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965
As if Bill Black’s remarkable career as the leader of his own rockabilly band, the Bill Black Combo weren’t enough, he also played bass Elvis Presley’s original recording of “That’s Alright Mama” at Sun Studios. Black’s stand-up bass can be heard on several of Presley’s records, such as “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Mystery Train,” and “Hound Dog.” After parting ways with Presley in the late ’50s, Black joined a band that eventually evolved into his Bill Black Combo, with whom he’d score several pop and R&B hits that were described as “dancable shuffles” that were a “mix of pop, country, blues and rock.” They were favored by jukebox operators as they kept the dance floors jumping. Black learned he had a brain tumor in the early ’60s, and even though his band was chosen to open for the Beatles during their historic 1964 US tour, Black was too ill to take part. He died of that tumor at the age of 39. In the late ’70s, Linda McCartney acquired Bill Black’s stand-up bass and gave it to her husband, Paul McCartney for his birthday.
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