Gerald Wiggins
May 12, 1922 – July 13, 2008
Gerald Wiggins was a much respected classically trained jazz pianist who, over the course of his long career accompanied the likes of Louis Armstrong, Benny Carter, Lena Horne, Lou Rawls, Nat King Cole, and Eartha Kitt. Television junkies may remember him for his cameos on 227 and Moesha. Wiggins passed away at a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 86.
Cullen Galyean
1939 – July 13, 2010
Cullen Galyean was an influential bluegrass picker who was equally proficient at the guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass and banjo on which he earned a reputation as one of the top players during the ’60s. By the time he was 16, Galyean was playing professionally in a bluegrass outfit called the Mountain Ramblers. Throughout his career, he was featured on records by the likes of the Virginia Mountain Boys, the Mountain Ramblers, and the Foot Hill Boys. Galyean reportedly played on the first album ever released in Australia, thus likely sparking that country’s bluegrass movement. Cullen Galyean was 71 when he passed away on July 13, 2010.
Philippe Wynne
April 3, 1941 – July 13, 1984
Philippe Wynne is best remembered as a one-time lead singer for the Spinners during the band’s hit-making years of the ’70s. Prior to the Spinners, Wynne briefly sang in Bootsy Collins’ Pacesetters and James Brown’s JBs. With the Spinners, Wynne sang lead on such hits as “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love,” “One Of A Kind Love Affair,” and “The Rubberband Man.” Wynne left the group in 1977 and briefly sang in George Clinton’s Parliament. Phillipe Wynne died the day after he suffered a heart attack while performing on stage in Oakland, California. He was 43.
Manohari Singh
March 8, 1931 – July 13, 2010
Manohari Singh was an award winning Indian saxophonist who was prominently featured on many Bollywood films over the past 50 years. Since 1958’s Sitaron se aage, Singh contributed his talents to such films as Chalte Chalte and Veer Zaara. Manohari Singh suffered a fatal heart attack on July 13, 2010. He was 79.
Minnie Riperton
November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979
Minnie Riperton was the five-octave voice behind one of soul music’s greatest ballads, “Loving You.” After studying music as a child, Riperton began her career while still in high school when she joined a Chicago group, the Gems, who then signed to Chess and released a few records. At around this time, Riperton was also singing back up on recordings by the likes of Etta James and Fontella Bass. After graduating, Riperton got a job as a receptionist at Chess who subsequently signed her to a solo contract, but under the name, Andrea Davis. Later fronting a soul band called the Rotary Connection, Riperton met her future husband, composer Richard Rudolph. They would later have a daughter, Maya Rudolph, a future actress and cast member of Saturday Night Live. After a few years fronting Rotary Connection, Riperton and Rudolph took some time off and later moved to Los Angeles where they hooked up with Stevie Wonder who co-produced Riperton’s breakthrough album, 1974’s Perfect Angel which included the world wide smash hit, “Loving You.” But within two years, Riperton was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy which couldn’t stop the spread of the disease. Even with her health failing, Riperton continued to work up until recording what would be her final album, 1979’s Minnie. She died of cancer later that year at the age of 31.
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