Died On This Date (July 13, 2015) Joan Sebastian /Popular Mexican Singer-Songwriter
themusicsover Joan Sebastian (Born Jose Figueroa)
April 8, 1951 – July 13, 2015
Joan Sebastian was a Mexican singer-songwriter who counted at least 1000 compositions as his own. Over the years, his songs have been made into hits by the likes of Vicente Fernandez, Rocio Durcal and Pepe Aguilar. Sebastian was just a seven-year-old boy living in rural Guerrero when he first began writing songs. As a teen, his mother sent to live in a monastery where he strongly considered a life as a priest, but after enrolling in a seminary, he decided he wanted a career in music. During the late ’60s, Sebastian met actress and singer Angelica Maria who not only asked him to write songs for her, but encouraged him to write songs for himself to record. By 1974, he was living in Mexico City where he recorded his debut album, Pedro Parrandas to modest local acclaim. During the ’90s, Sebastian landed a role in the popular Mexican soap opera, Tu y Yo, but still worked hard to further his music career. In 2000, he released Secreto de Amor which became a smash in Mexico, the United States, and beyond. In the U.S. alone, it sold over 4 million copies and earned him multiple Grammys. He went on to become the most awarded Mexican performer in Grammy history. In 1999, Joan Sebastian was diagnosed with bone cancer. Although he battled it into remission a handful of times over the next several years, it ultimately took his live on July 13, 2015. He was 64.
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Charanjit Singh was a multi instrumentalist from Mumbai, India, who, during the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, found his calling playing guitar and synthesizer on numerous Bollywood soundtracks. In 1982, he released Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat to little fanfare. But when it was reissued in 2010, it was embraced by the acid house community who acknowledged Singh as a pioneer of the genre. The sound he created clearly had an influence on the likes of Aphex Twin and Ceephax. Charanjit Singh was 75 when he died in his sleep on July 5, 2015.
Wendell Holmes was the guitarist, pianist and vocalist for the legendary gospel, R&B, and blues band, the Holmes Brothers. Formed in 1978, the trio built a legion of loyal followers thanks to their heavenly harmonies and overall sound that was once described by the New York Times as “deeply soulful, uplifting and timeless.” Formed in Christchurch, Virginia, the Holmes Brothers moved to Harlem during the ’80s to try their luck in the city’s blues clubs. They signed their first record deal in 1989 and went on to release 12 albums, including three that landed in the top five of the Billboard Blues Album charts. The list of artists they recorded with includes Joan Osborne, Willie Nelson, Peter Gabriel, and Van Morrison. In 2014, they received an National Endowment For The Arts National Heritage Fellowship. Wendell Holmes died from complications due to pulmonary hypertension. He was 71.
