Died On This Date (June 1, 2015) Richard Watson / Guitarist; Grandson of Doc Watson
themusicsover Richard Eddy Watson
DOB Unknown – June 1, 2015
Richard Watson was an accomplished guitarist who was born into American folk music royalty. His father was the last Merle Watson, after whom the yearly MerleFest music festival is named, and his grandfather was the late great Doc Watson. A regular fixture at MerleFest throughout the years, Richard joined countless acts on stage. He regularly performed with Doc as well, both at the festival and beyond, until Doc passed away in 2012. In 1991, Richard produced Third Generation Blues by him and his grandfather for the Sugar Hill label. Richard Watson was 49 when he passed away on June 1, 2015. Cause of death was not immediately released.
What You Should Own
Dennis Sheehan had been U2‘s tour manager since 1982. Joining the European tour prior to the release of War, Sheehan went on to become not only a trusted colleague of the band, but a dear friend as well. Throughout his career, Sheehan also worked with Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Led Zeppelin, 
Dean Schachtel was a beloved music industry veteran who spent the latter part of his career working as the GM for Wendy Dio and 
Ben E. King was an American R&B singer whose signature song, “Stand My Me,” is one of the few records to hit the Top 10 in two separate decades – the first being upon release in 1961, the second in 1986 when it was used as the theme song for the very popular film of the same name. In 1958, King was a member of a Harlem doo wop group known as the Five Crowns when the manager of the Drifters recruited them to replace recently fired members of the Drifters. With the Drifters, King scored several hits over the next two years. That list includes “This Magic Moment,” “Save The Last Dance For Me,” and “There Goes My Baby.” He left the group for a solo career in 1960 and went on to release some of the biggest hits of the era including, “Spanish Harlem,” “There Goes My Baby,” and of course, “Stand By Me.” Those three songs are considered to be vital parts of the foundation that shaped rock and roll. Like many R&B acts during the mid ’60s, King’s brand of music was pushed aside by the British Invasion. Even though he continued to record and tour, he wouldn’t hit the charts again until the re-release of “Stand By Me,” 20 years later. His career enjoyed even another bump when hip hop artists began sampling his songs during the ’90s and beyond. He continued to tour into his 70s. Ben E. King was 76 when he passed away on April 30, 2015. Cause of death was not immediately released