Songwriter

Died On This Date (September 12, 2007) Bobby Byrd / Discovered and Performed With James Brown

themusicsover September 12, 2009 No Comments

Bobby Byrd
August 15, 1934 – September 12, 2007

Bobby Byrd was a young gospel and soul singer when, in 1952 while playing in a baseball game against the prisoners of a Georgia prison, he met inmate, James Brown. Brown was reportedly singing for the other inmates. Byrd was so impressed that he helped arrange for Brown’s parole. Over the next 20 years, Byrd helped guide Brown’s career while singing and writing songs with him. He was the leader of Brown’s back-up group, the Blue Flames. Byrd released his own records in the ’70s. His music has been sampled by the likes of Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, and LL Cool J. Bobby Byrd died of cancer at the age of 73.

Punk Rock Singer Songwriter

Died On This Date (September 11, 2009) Jim Carroll / Proto Punk Great; Wrote “The Basketball Diaries”

themusicsover September 11, 2009 1 Comment

Jim Carroll
August 1, 1950 – September 11, 2009

Jim Carroll was a poet, author, purse snatcher, glue sniffer, male prostitute, heroin addict, post-punk rocker, and one of the greatest basketball players New York City has ever known. His troublesome early life was documented in his own memoirs, written between the ages of 12 and 16. They were later anthologized in best-selling The Basketball Diaries, which was the inspiration of a somewhat fictionalized film of the same name, starring Leonard DiCaprio as Carroll. He published his first book of poetry at the age of 17 and within a few years he was working for Andy Warhol writing script dialog, and later, co- managing his theater. At one point while still a teenager, Carroll became the youngest person ever nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He formed the Jim Carroll Band in 1978 with the help of Patti Smith, and soon released Catholic Boy. It’s “People Who Died” was an instant underground hit and is considered a staple of the New York punk scene of the era. The songs eulogizes his real life childhood friends, the “characters” from The Basketball Diaries. Carroll recorded several more albums of music and spoken word over the next few decades, but in recent years he was mostly writing poetry and fiction. Jim Carroll suffered a fatal heart attack on September 11, 2009.

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Musician Reggae Singer Songwriter

Died On This Date (September 11, 1987) Peter Tosh / Reggae Icon

themusicsover September 11, 2009 2 Comments

Peter Tosh (Born Winston McIntosh)
October 19, 1944 – September 11, 1987

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Peter Tosh was one of the true icons of reggae music. Tosh is best remembered as a founding member of Bob Marley and the Wailers. The group signed to Chris Blackwell’s Island Records who released their first two albums, Catch A Fire and Burnin’ in 1973. Tosh left the Wailers in 1974 after a dispute with Blackwell. He released his 1976 solo debut, Legalize It, on Columbia Records. While Marley’s records focused more on love and peace, Tosh’s tended to speak out against “the system.” In 1978, the Rolling Stones signed him to their own label, Rolling Stones Records where he released the critically acclaimed Bush Doctor, Mystic Man, and Wanted Dread Or Alive, the first one including the hit Tempations cover “Don’t Look Back,” a duet with Mick Jagger. Tosh was also very active in the protest against apartheid in South Africa, performing at several benefit concerts and participating in benefit albums. On September 11, 1987, after returning from the United States where he was won a Grammy for Best Reggae Performance for No Nuclear War, Tosh was in his house waiting for friends to come celebrate his arrival. That party never happened though, as the 42-year-old Tosh was murdered execution-style during a botched home invasion robbery.

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Blues Musician Singer Songwriter

Died On This Date (September 10, 2005) Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown

themusicsover September 10, 2009 1 Comment

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown
April 18, 1924 – September 10, 2005

Although Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown is typically categorized as a blues artist, his music included elements of jazz, country, R&B and Cajun. Besides being a singer and songwriter, Brown was adept at several instruments – the guitar, harmonica, fiddle, drums and viola. Brown got his big break in 1947 when he attended a T-Bone Walker concert in Houston, Texas. When he learned that Walker became sick and could not go on, Brown grabbed a guitar and hopped up on the stage where he proceeded to dazzle the crowd with “Gatemouth Boogie.” That performance sparked a career that spanned almost 60 years. Over the years, Brown performed as many as 300 shows a year and recorded for some of the most respected labels in the business, a list that included Aladdin, Peacock, Verve, Rounder, and Alligator. In 1983, he won the Best Traditional Blues Album Grammy for Alright Again!. Suffering from lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease, Brown was living just outside of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit in August of 2005. His house destroyed, he was moved to his childhood hometown of Orange, Texas where he passed away less than two weeks later. He was 81 years old. Sadly, when Hurricane Ike hit in 2008, Brown’s bronze casket was unearthed and floated away. It was properly re-buried later.

Thanks to Michael Devlin for the assist.

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Cajun/Zydeco Folk Musician Singer Songwriter

Died On This Date (September 10, 1999) Beau Jocque / Acclaimed Zydeco Performer

themusicsover September 10, 2009 2 Comments

Beau Jocque (Born Andrus Espree)
November 1, 1953 – September 10, 1999

Beau Jocque was a Zydeco singer and accordion player who came to prominence in Louisiana during the ’90s. With his band, the Zydeco Hi-Rollers, Jocque injected rock and funk into the Zydeco sound, endearing him to fans throughout the local clubs. A big man, standing 6′ 6″ and weighing in at nearly 275 pounds, Jocque died of a fatal heart attack at the age of 46.

Died On This Date (September 12, 2007) Bobby Byrd / Discovered and Performed With James Brown

Died On This Date (September 11, 2009) Jim Carroll / Proto Punk Great; Wrote “The Basketball Diaries”

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Died On This Date (September 11, 1987) Peter Tosh / Reggae Icon

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Died On This Date (September 10, 2005) Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown

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Died On This Date (September 10, 1999) Beau Jocque / Acclaimed Zydeco Performer

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