Died On This Date (February 21, 2015) Clark Terry / American Jazz Great
themusicsover Clark Terry
December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015
Clark Terry was an American jazz trumpeter who is widely considered one of the most influential and popular jazz musicians of his time. Terry launched his career during the early ’40s, just in time to serve in the US Navy Band during World War II. After his discharge, Terry went on to perform with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and later, Quincy Jones, among others, as well as leading his own bands. As one of the most recorded artists jazz music has ever known, Terry appeared on nearly 1000 known recordings. Throughout his career, he wrote over 200 jazz songs, performed for seven US Presidents, and put on several jazz festivals and jazz camps. In 1991 he was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Award, and in 2010, he became one of only five trumpet players to receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. A lifetime student of jazz as well as a respected educator, Clark held sixteen honorary doctorates. He was even knighted in Germany. Clark Terry was 94 when he passed away on February 21, 2015.
What You Should Own
Born in New York City, Lesley Gore was just 16 years old when she recorded her first, and biggest hit, “It’s My Party,” a song that helped define her generation. Several major hits followed including, “You Don’t Own Me,” “Judy’s Turn To Cry,” and “She’s A Fool.” In 1965, Gore received a Grammy nomination for “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows,” and another nominations came 1981, but this time as a co-writer for “Out Here On My Own,” from the immensely popular Fame soundtrack. Gore acted in several television shows throughout her career as well, most notably, portraying Pussycat, one of Catwoman’s cohorts, in two episodes of Batman. Gore continued to tour well into the ’90s and released what would become her final album, the critically acclaimed Ever Since, in 2005. Lesley Gore lost her battle with cancer on February 16, 2015. She was 68.
Steve Strange is perhaps best remembered as the front man for the popular ’80s new wave band, Visage. Like many young people in the UK during the mid ’70s, Strange couldn’t resist the pull of punk rock. After witnessing a Sex Pistols show in 1976, he began setting up gigs for punk bands in and around his Welsh neighborhood. Soon thereafter, he formed his own punk band, the Moors Murderers that counted future Pretenders leader Chrissie Hynde and future Clash drummer, Topper Headon, as members during it’s rather short lifespan. Strange soon moved to London where he worked for 
