Died On This Date (December 28, 2015) Lemmy Kilmister / Motorhead
themusicsover Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister
December 24, 1945 – December 28, 2015
Lemmy Kilmister was the lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter, and only original member of Motorhead, the legendary English rock band he formed in 1975. Over the course of four decades, the band, which was equal parts punk rock and heavy metal, released over 22 albums, which sold upwards of 30 million worldwide. Kilmister was born in Straffordshire, but spent most of his early years in North Wales. After leaving high school early, he worked various menial jobs while learning to play the guitar. When he was 16, he saw one of the Beatles‘ iconic Cavern Club shows and instantly knew he wanted to make music. The next day, he bought Please Please Me and learned to play the guitar while playing along with it. After performing in a series of local bands, Kilmister moved to London where he shared a flat with Noel Redding of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the band’s manager. They hired him to roadie for them throughout the UK in 1967. In 1968, Kilmister joined Hawkwind, a space rock band that would later prove to be highly influential to countless prog rock, metal and punk bands. He sang lead on several Hawkwind records, including their biggest hit, “Silver Machine,” which reached #3 in 1972. He was ultimately fired from Hawkwind after being arrested trying to carry drugs across the Canadian/US border in 1975. He ended up not being charged or convicted of a crime once it was determined that he was holding speed, which was legal in Canada at the time. Kilmister soon formed Motorhead, who quickly found a cult following for its hard, fast, and loud rock – a sound that appealed to the growing punk scene of the UK as well as the older hard rock fans of Hawkwind and such. Motorhead, and particularly Kilmister’s fierce playing and vocal delivery has been credited for laying the foundation for what would be called thrash and speed metal. On the other side of the metal spectrum, Motorhead was arguably flash point of what would later be known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Over the next 40 years, the band’s lineup changed several times, while their music fell in and out of favor as tastes around the world changed. But Kilmister forged on and seemed indestructible in spite of his vices. In 2010, the documentary film, Lemmy was released to both critical and fan acclaim. The poignant film focused on Kilmister’s private life, which was mostly spent either on tour or sitting at the bar at the Rainbow Bar & Grill on the Sunset Strip. The documentary introduced and reintroduced Motorhead to fans around the world, leading to the two critically acclaimed and commercially successful late-career albums, Aftershock (2013) and Bad Magic (2015). And although he suffered a few health setbacks over the past few years, Kilmister seemed as if he’d continue to outlive many of his peers. On December 26, 2015, he reportedly learned he was suffering from a very aggressive form of cancer. Lemmy Kilmister was just eight days past his 70th birthday when the cancer took his life on December 28, 2015.
What You Should Own
Stevie Wright was an English-born singer and songwriter best remembered as the lead singer of Sydney, Australia’s Easybeats. The band, and Wright in particular, are widely regarded as Australia’s first international pop stars. Formed in 1964, the Easybeats quickly rose to the top of the heap of local bands that were direct byproducts of the British Invasion. In fact, the group first found its footing in a tiny hangout in pub basement that was dubbed Beatle Village. Within a year, the Easybeats were signed to Parlophone Records and quickly built a sizable following throughout Australia. By the end of 1965, they were playing to sell-out crowds and sparking their own Beatlemania-like hysteria coined, “Easyfever.” The band’s hits included “She’s So Fine,” “Come And See Her,” “Sorry,” and most notably, “Friday On My Mind,” their only true international hit. After the band split up in 1969, Wright fronted a handful of other bands and launched a solo career. In 1972, he performed as Simon the Zealot in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar. In 1986, Wright reunited with the Easybeats for a brief Australian tour. He ultimately retired in 2009. On December 27, 2015, Stevie Wright died of pneumonia. He was 68.
Joan Sebastian was a Mexican singer-songwriter who counted at least 1000 compositions as his own. Over the years, his songs have been made into hits by the likes of Vicente Fernandez, Rocio Durcal and Pepe Aguilar. Sebastian was just a seven-year-old boy living in rural Guerrero when he first began writing songs. As a teen, his mother sent to live in a monastery where he strongly considered a life as a priest, but after enrolling in a seminary, he decided he wanted a career in music. During the late ’60s, Sebastian met actress and singer Angelica Maria who not only asked him to write songs for her, but encouraged him to write songs for himself to record. By 1974, he was living in Mexico City where he recorded his debut album, Pedro Parrandas to modest local acclaim. During the ’90s, Sebastian landed a role in the popular Mexican soap opera, Tu y Yo, but still worked hard to further his music career. In 2000, he released Secreto de Amor which became a smash in Mexico, the United States, and beyond. In the U.S. alone, it sold over 4 million copies and earned him multiple Grammys. He went on to become the most awarded Mexican performer in Grammy history. In 1999, Joan Sebastian was diagnosed with bone cancer. Although he battled it into remission a handful of times over the next several years, it ultimately took his live on July 13, 2015. He was 64.
