Died On This Date (December 10, 2011) David Astor / Created “For Teenagers Only” Music TV Program
themusicsover David Astor
September 26, 1919 – December 10, 2011
David Astor’s contribution to popular music was the regional teen dance program he created and hosted for many years. In 1956, Portland, Maine television viewers were introduced to The Dave Astor Show: For Teenagers Only, a weekly dance program that Astor developed and hosted on WMGE. The American Bandstand type show, which aired every Saturday at 5pm, was an instant hit with the city’s youth and stayed on the air until 1971. The show featured area high school kids singing, lip-synching, and/or dancing to popular hits played by a student band – if they maintained good grades, of course. David Astor passed away on December 10, 2011. He was 92.
Thanks to Henk de Bruin at 2+ Printing for the assist.
Dustin Hengst was the drummer for the popular Boston-area pop-punk band, Damone. Formed in 2001, Damone quickly built a local following that was hungry for their skate punk attitude and crunchy guitars. Within a couple of year, the band was signed to RCA Records and was sharing the stage with the likes of the Ataris and the Juliana Theory. They released their well-received debut, From The Attic in 2003. They were eventually let go by RCA but bounced back with their solid Island/Def Jam release of Out Here All Night in 2006. Hengst left the group in 2008. He also played behind the band, Bleu. On December 9, 2011, Dustin Hengst, 39, died in a Texas hospital where he had reportedly been struggling with health related issues for a few weeks. Cause of death was not immediately released.
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Bee Spears was a Nashville bassist who is perhaps best remembered for his long tenure in Willie Nelson’s band. Born into and raised by a musical family, Spears was just 19 when he began playing, and occasionally singing, with Nelson. The year was 1968, and Spears went on to stand by Nelson’s side for more than 40 years. Even when Nelson transitioned from “Nashville” to “Outlaw,” it was Spears that remained the constant. Besides playing on such Nelson landmark albums as Stardust and Red Headed Stranger, Spears can be heard on tracks by the likes of 