Died On This Date (January 8, 1991) Steve Clark / Def Leppard

Steve Clark
April 23, 1960 – January 8, 1991

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Photo by David Plastik – Click To Order Quality Prints – Discount code: 10OFF

Steve Clark is best remembered as a celebrated guitarist in Def Leppard, a New Wave of British Heavy Metal band that became one of the most popular groups of the 1980s.   Clark was just 11 when he first picked up the guitar and within a few years he was emulating such guitar gods as Jimmy Page.  He successfully auditioned for Def Leppard in 1978, and over the next decade helped the band achieve massive fame and fortune thanks to albums like High ‘n Dry, Hysteria, and Pyromania.  Over the years, the band has sold in excess of 65 million albums worldwide.   Unfortunately, Clark suffered from alcoholism, and in late 1990, he was put on a six-month leave from the band to hopefully clean up.  On January 8, 1991 however, Steve Clark, age 30, was found dead on his couch of an accidental overdose of alcohol and prescribed pain medications and antidepressants.

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Died On This Date (January 8, 2008) Clyde Otis / Prolific Songwriter and Label Exec

Clyde Otis
September 11, 1924 – January 8, 2008

clydeotis

Clyde Otis was a successful songwriter, producer and label executive who, over the course of his career, is said to have written or co-written over 800 songs.  He was most closely associated with Brook Benton with whom he collaborated on many hit recordings.  He also worked with the likes of Dinah Washington, Timi Yuro and Sarah Vaughan.  His songs have been recorded by such artists as Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis and Aretha Franklin.  And in 1994, Natalie Cole’s Take A Look, won him a Grammy as producer.  Clyde Otis was 83 when he passed away on January 8, 2008.


Died On This Date (January 8, 2009) Irving Bush / Big Band Trumpeter

Irving Bush
April 7, 1930 – January 8, 2009

irving-bush1Irving Bush was a respected big band trumpeter who, over the course of his lengthy career played with the likes of Nelson Riddle, Harry James, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald, to name a few.  During those early days, he worked as part of the studio orchestras at Warner Bros., MGM, 20th Century Fox and others.  During the early ’60s, he successfully auditioned for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra where he stayed as either a performer or in management over the next three decades.  Irving Bush was 78 when he died of effects from myeloma on January 8, 2009.


Died On This Date (January 8, 2012) Dave Anderson aka Omar Sharriff / Boogie Woogie Blues Pianist & Singer

Omar Sharriff (Born Dave Alexander)
March 10, 1938 – January 8, 2012

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Dave Alexander became one of the world’s premier players of Texas boogie woogie piano.  A self-taught pianist, Alexander began performing at his local church at a very young age.  After serving in the US Navy, he settled in San Francisco where he played with the likes of Big Mama Thornton, Muddy Waters, and Jimmy Witherspoon.  In 1968, Anderson began making his own records, including the critically acclaimed The Rattler and The Raven.  He quickly became a popular draw at the biggest blues festivals around the United States and beyond.  On Thanksgiving Day, 1974, Anderson was the opening at the Band’s historic Last Waltz concert in San Francisco.  That same year, he changed his name to Omar Khayam so began performing as Omar Sharriff or Omar the Magnificent.  He released his last album (as Omar Sharriff) in 2000, but continued to perform well throughout the decade.   On January 8, 2012, Dave Anderson reportedly shot and killed himself in his home.  He was 73.

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Died On This Date (January 8, 2012) Stefano Scodanibbio / Influential Double Bass Player

Stefano Scodanibbio
June 18, 1956 – January 8, 2012

Photo by Heidrun Havran

Stefano Scodanibbio was an Italian born contrabass, or double bass, player who was considered one of the instrument’s finest players in the world.  A composer as well, he wrote more than 50 works throughout his career.  In 1987, Scodanibbio performed a 4-hour non-stop concert of 28 pieces by 25 different composers.  Over the years, Scodanibbio collaborated with the likes of Terry RileyLuigi Nono and Luciano Berio.  Since the 90s, he taught master classes and seminaries at many of the world’s finest music schools.  Stefano Scodanibbio died of motor neurone disease on January 8, 2012.  He was 55.

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