Died On This Date (February 1, 2012) Mike Kelley / Influential Visual Artist & Musician
Mike Kelley
1954 – February 1, 2012
Mike Kelley was a respected visual artist as well as a founding member of Detroit underground noise rock band, Destroy All Monsters. Formed while Kelley was an art student in 1973, the band built a sizable cult following even though they never released a proper album. Kelley left the group in order to attend California Institute of the Arts in 1976. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth released a 3-CD anthology of the band in 1994. Perhaps Kelley’s most notable contribution to popular music however, came by way of the iconic cover art he created for Sonic Youth’s 1992 album, Dirty (see below). Mike Kelley was 57 when he apparently took his own life on February 1, 2012.
What You Should Own


![Dirty (Deluxe Edition) [Remastered] - Sonic Youth](https://i0.wp.com/ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/images/web/linkmaker/badge_itunes-lrg.gif?w=640)
Born in St. Louis, MO, David Peaston grew up to be a successful Gospel and R&B singer during the ’90s. After starting out as a teacher, Peaston moved to New York City during the early ’80s in order to pursue a career in music. After winning several televised singing competitions, he was signed to Geffen Records who released his first single, “Two Wrongs (Don’t Make It Right,” which reached #3 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1989. Several charting singles and popular albums followed. His mother, Martha Bass, was part of the Clara Ward Singers, while his sister, Fontella Bass has enjoyed tremendous success as a singer as well. David Peaston died from complications of diabetes on February 1, 2012. He was 54.
Don Cornelius was the creator, writer, producer, and host of the extremely influential American dance program, Soul Train. Launched in October of 1961 after Cornelius noticed a void of nationally broadcast television shows that catered to the African-American audience, Soul Train ran until March of 2006. Cornelius hosted the program from its inception until 1993. Soul Train has been praised for influencing countless African-American kids while bringing black music into the white neighborhoods. Over the years, the show featured lip-synched performances by everyone from 
King Stitt was, until the time of his passing, recognized as Jamaica’s oldest living deejay. Stitt’s career dated back to the mid ’50s when he began deejaying for the legendary 
Leslie Carter was an aspiring pop singer and songwriter who happened to be the sister of world-famous singers, Nick Carter and Aaron Carter. Singing since a young age, Carter was signed to Dreamworks Records in 1999 and released the moderately successful single, “Like Wow” in 2001. The song received a fair amount of airplay and was featured on the Shrek soundtrack. Carter and Dreamworks parted ways before her debut album, Leslie Carter, could be released. In 2006, Carter relaunched her career with a new band, The Other Half, who had a more rock-leaning sound than her early pop days. The band broke up in 2009. Carter was also featured with her family on their own House Of Carters reality show in 2006. Leslie Carter was 25 when she passed away on January 31, 2012. Cause of death was not immediately released.