Died On This Date (August 11, 2009) Kitty White / Jazz & Gospel Singer; Sang With Elvis In “King Creole”
themusicsover Kitty White (Born Kitty Bilbrew)
July 7, 1923 – August 11, 2009
Kitty White was a jazz, pop and gospel singer who is best remembered for singing “Crawfish” with Elvis Presley in 1958’s King Creole film. Throughout her long career, White recorded for such labels as Mercury, EmArcy, Capitol and Pacific Jazz. Kitty White passed away after suffering a stroke at the age of 86.
What You Should Own
Don Helms’ signature steel guitar can be heard on over 100 
John Wynn was a beloved banjo and mandolin picker who also could make the instruments. After first learning to play the banjo after meeting his future wife back in the ’50s, Wynn began playing in a band called the Stump Jumpers. A cabinet maker by trade, Wynn made his first mandolin during the early ’70s, mainly due to the economics of raising five children at the time. That soon turned into a successful business for Wynn. He was recently inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Hall of Fame as a Pioneer of Bluegrass. John Wynn was 72 when he passed away on August 11, 2010.
Mel Taylor is best remembered as the second drummer of surf instrumental pioneers, the Ventures. Influenced by 
Isaac Hayes was a Tennessee-born musician, singer, songwriter and producer who had a hand in some of the greatest soul songs ever produced. Hayes began his music career as a session musician for Stax Records in Memphis where he began writing songs for the label’s roster of artists. With songwriting partner, David Porter, Hayes co-wrote such R&B staples as “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” and “Soul Man,” which has been called one of the most influential songs of the 20th century. By the late ’60s, Hayes started making his own albums, which included the monumental, Hot Buttered Soul, Black Moses, and most famously, the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film, Shaft!. Then title song would become one of the most beloved songs of the era. In later years, Hayes found a new audience as the voice of Chef in the popular animated series, South Park. In 1998, “Chocolate Salty Balls” as performed on the show by Chef became a #1 hit in the UK. And in 2002, Hayes was elected into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Isaac Hayes died of an apparent stroke after being found by his wife lifeless on the floor next to his treadmill which was still running. He was 65 years old.