Died On This Date (April 22, 2010) Gene Lees / Jazz Historian and Lyricist
themusicsover Frederick “Gene” Lees
February 8, 1928 – April 22, 2010
Gene Lees was a respected music critic, biographer and historian who also found success as a songwriter. Already an established journalist in his home country of Canada, Lees became the editor of Down Beat in 1959. He also wrote for the New York Times, Stereo Review, High Fidelity and the Toronto Star, to name a few. Lees wrote liner notes as well. Albums by John Coltrane, Quincy Jones and Stan Getz include his work. He also collaborated on several jazz biographies and wrote a couple of respected historical books on jazz as well. As a lyricist, Lees wrote the words for songs by the likes of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Charles Aznavour and Bill Evans. His songs have been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Diana Krall, Sarah Vaughan, and Queen Latifah, to name a few. Gene Lees was 82 when he passed away in his home on April 22, 2010.
Along with her husband 
Oklahoma singer-songwriter Bob Childers passed away on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 of emphysema and related lung disease. Childers was a the so-called godfather or Red Dirt Music, a hard to define sub-genre of country/Americana that includes elements of country, rock and folk. After touring much of the country’s dive bars and honky tonks through the ’70s, Childers released his debut album at the dawn of the ’80s. Over his career, he wrote over 1500 songs and earned accolades from no less than fellow Oklahoman, Garth Brooks who wrote a song with him. He was even invited to perform at the White House in 1982. 2004 saw the release of Restless Wind – A Tribute To The Songs of Bob Childers, a 3-CD set that included Jimmy Lafave, Cross Canadian Ragweed and The Red Dirt Rangers.
By most accounts, Sandy Denny was THE British folk rock singer of her generation. Having been the only person outside of Led Zeppelin to sing on one of their albums doesn’t hurt that credential. Denny can be heard dueting with Robert Plant on “The Battle Of Evermore.” Putting aside a possible career in nursing, Denny set her sights on music and became the voice of British folk rock band, Fairport Convention. Within two years she and the band parted ways, which in retrospect, was probably not the wisest choice, as neither she nor the band were ever to match the greatness they had achieved together. Other than her involvement with Led Zeppelin, her ’70s solo material never garnered much more than a cult following. Her own personal insecurities along with a growing substance abuse problem kept her from attaining the fame she craved. Her excessive drinking and smoking began to damage her voice, and by her last few albums, heavy string arrangements were added to compensate. Sandy Denny died on April 21, 1978, a month after she fell down some stairs at her parents’ house. Cause of death was determined to be a traumatic mid-brain hemorrhage.