Died On This Date (July 23, 2011) Fran Landesman / Respected American Lyricist
themusicsover Fran Landesman (Born Francis Deitsch)
October 21, 1927 – July 23, 2011
Fran Landesman was an American poet and lyricist who achieved international acclaim for penning the words to such songs as “The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men” and “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most.” Born in New York City, Landesman eventually settled with her husband in St. Louis, Missouri where they owned and operated the Crystal Palace, a world-renowned night club that hosted the likes of Barbra Streisand, Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen. It was while sitting at the bar listening to the singers that Landesman was inspired to take a stab at writing song lyrics herself. The year was 1952, and it was then and there that she began collaborating with the club’s house pianist on a string of songs, some of which became hits as recorded by others. That list of singers includes R0berta Flack, Rickie Lee Jones, Bette Midler, Sarah Vaughan, Petula Clark, Dudley Moore. Landesman wrote countless songs over the course of her career, over 300 of which since 1994 alone. In 1999, she donated her collection of writings to the University of Missouri, St. Louis but continued to make public appearances – reciting poetry or singing her songs – right up until her final days. Fran Landesman was 83 when she passed away on July 23, 2011.
Thanks to Scott Miller for the assist.
Alex Steinweiss was a graphic artist who came along when record companies were still packaging their releases in plain jackets or books, but when given the task of creating unique packages, he suddenly turned the album cover into an exciting new art form. Beginning in 1939 as Columbia Records’ very first art director and running through his semi-retirement in 1973, Steinweiss reportedly designed in the neighborhood of 2500 album covers. Following his run at Columbia, he went on to design packages for London, Decca and Everest Records, and along the way created the blueprint from which all future album designers would follow. During the 1950s, Steinweiss began incorporating photographs into his cover designs, one of, if not THE first to do so. He also created numerous logos, book covers, posters, magazine covers, and TV show title logos throughout his career. Steinweiss retired from the music business when he realized during the mid-70s, that his retro designs were not what the acts of the booming rock era had in mind for their images. He went on to work with other media, including ceramics and paint. Alex Steinweiss was 94 when he passed away on July 18, 2011.
Taiji Sawada was a respected Japanese musician who is perhaps best remembered for his bass work with popular metal bands, X Japan and Loudness. A gifted musician by his early teens, Sawada dropped out of high school to form his first band, Trash in which he played guitar until switching to bass a couple of years later. He went on to play in a handful of other bands until joining X Japan in 1986. One of Japan’s most influential hard rock bands, X Japan released several singles and one full length album before being signed by Sony Music in 1988. Sawada played on the band’s first three album, including Blue Blood, which is arguably one of the best metal releases of the ’80s. After leaving X Japan, Sawada was asked to join Loudness, playing on just one studio and one live album before departing to form his own band. Over the better part of the next 20 years, he played in numerous bands including D.T.R., Cloud Nine, and the Killing Red Addiction, as well as his own projects. Meanwhile, Sawada reportedly suffered from epilepsy and chronic strokes for many years. On July 11, 2011, he was arrested after an alleged altercation with a flight attendant on a plane en route from Japan to Saipan. Sawada faced federal charges in the United States as a result. While in a holding cell, he allegedly tried to commit suicide by hanging himself with a bed sheet only to be discovered by staff and rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced brain-dead and remained on life support for the next several days. On July 17, 2011, Taiji Sawada passed away after being removed from life support at the request of his family. He was 45.
Gil Bernal was an esteemed jazz saxophonist and vocalist who, over a career that spanned some 60 years, became one of L.A.’s most in-demand session player, and played with a laundry list of the world’s greatest jazz musicians. Born in the Watts section of Los Angeles, Bernal grew up with future jazz greats Big Jay McNeely and