Songwriter

Died On This Date (July 18, 2001) Mimi Fariña / ’60s Folk Great

Mimi Fariña (Born Margarita Baez)
April 30, 1945 – July 18, 2001

MimiMimi Fariña was a folk singer-songwriter who came of age during the ’60s folk revival in America.  A few years younger than sister, Joan Baez, Fariña performed at many of the same clubs and festivals, including the legendary Newport Folk Festival.  In 1963, she met writer and singer-songwriter, Richard Fariña, and within a year, they were married.  Together the recorded a couple of noteworthy albums as Mimi & Richard Fariña for revered label, Vanguard Records, also home to Morgana Kennedy.  On the night of Mimi’s 21st birthday, Richard left the party on his motorcycle only to be killed in an accident.  Vanguard released a third album of “rarities.”  By the ’70s, Fariña was performing and recording but her attention turned more toward activism.  In 1974, she founded Bread and Roses, an organization that puts together free concerts for people bound to hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons.  Over the years she’s had such artists as Bonnie Raitt, Odetta, Pete Seeger and Carlos Santana perform at such shows.   By the ’80s, Fariña was rarely performing or recording as she becoming more and more involved with Bread And Roses and other human rights organizations and events.  Mimi Fariña passed away of neuroendocrine cancer in 2001.  She was 56.

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Mimi and Richard Farina: The Complete Vanguard Recordings - Mimi and Richard Farina

Died On This Date (July 17, 2009) Gordon Waller / Peter & Gordon

Gordon Waller
June 4, 1945 – July 17, 2009

gordon01Gordon Waller and Peter Asher were the popular ’60s duo, Peter and Gordon.  Since Asher’s sister, Jane Asher dated Paul McCartney at the time, Peter and Gordon were lucky enough secure unrecorded Lennon-McCartney songs for their own use. One of those songs, “A World Without Love” became their biggest hit.  They broke up in 1968 after which Waller recorded a handful of solo albums and appeared in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  Peter and Gordon reunited a few times in later years.  Gordon Waller went into cardiac arrest on July 16, 2009 and died the next day.

What You Should Own

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The Ultimate Peter & Gordon - Peter & Gordon

Died On This Date (July 17, 1983) Roosevelt Sykes / Blues Great

Roosevelt Sykes
January 31, 1906 – July 17, 1983

Photo by Doug Fulton
Photo by Doug Fulton

Nicknamed “Honeydripper,” Roosevelt Sykes was a blues piano player that had a style as big as his frame.  Beginning his career at the age of 15, Sykes quickly got crowds dancing to and cheering for his thundering style of boogie piano.  Sykes began making records in the ’20s, and would record for such storied labels as Decca, Bluebird and Okeh Records.  Spending much of his time on the road, Sykes tended to play for male audiences at work camps up and down the Mississippi River, which no doubt solidified his reputation for sexually explicit lyrics.  In 1929, Sykes released what would become his signature song, “44 Blues.”  It signaled the beginning of a more sophisticated period of his career.  Sykes eventually settled in New Orleans where he passed away on July 17, 1983.

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Roosevelt Sykes

Died On This Date (July 17, 1974) Don Rich / Played With Buck Owens

Don Rich (Born Donald Ulrich)
August 15, 1941 – July 17, 1974

donrichNot many can say they opened for Elvis Presley, but then not many were as gifted as Don Rich.  Just 17 and playing the clubs in and around Tacoma, Washington when Elvis came to town for a show.  Young Rich, who had been playing the guitar and fiddle since he was a child, landed the gig and within a year he was one of the hottest draws in town.  One of those admirers to catch a show was Buck Owens who hired Rich to play fiddle for him when he came to town.  Rich put his music career on hold to go to college, but was soon reunited with Owens down in Central California where he became one of the architects of the “Bakersfield Sound.”  For the better part of the next fifteen years, Rich recorded and toured with Owens, playing both fiddle or lead guitar.   Rich even wrote some of Owens’ biggest hits and regularly performed on television with the Buckaroos.  On July 17, 1974, hopped on his motorcycle after a Bakersfield recording session to meet his family for vacation along California’s central coast.  Rich was killed when he lost control of his bike and crashed into highway guard rail.  He was 32 at the time of his death.

What You Should Own

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Click to find at amazon.com

Country Pickin' - The Don Rich Anthology - Don Rich & the Buckaroos

Died On This Date (July 17, 1996) Chas Chandler / The Animals; Managed Jimi Hendrix

Chas Chandler
December 18, 1938 – July 17, 1996

Chas Chandler wore many hats throughout his music career. During the early ’60s, he co-founded the Animals with Alan Price and Eric Burdon, playing bass for the band.  After the group broke up, he got into artist management, his famous client being Jimi Hendrix.  Later, he produced records for Slade and Nick Drake while running his own recording studio and eventually starting his own label, Barn Records.  In his later years, Chandler helped develop the Newcastle Arena, which opened in 1995.  Chandler died of a heart condition on July 17 of the following year.