Died On This Date (December 24, 2000) Nick Massi / The Four Seasons
themusicsover Nick Massi (Born Nicholas Macioci)
September 19, 1927 – December 24, 2000
Nick Massi is best remembered as one of the original Four Seasons, Frankie Valli’s rock vocal group that scored with such hits as “Sherry,” “Rag Doll” and “Dawn (Go Away).” Massi sang bass, played bass guitar, and arranged many of the early songs for the group. He parted ways with the Four Seasons in 1965 and went on to have a successful career as an artist. Nick Massi died of cancer on December 24, 2000.
What You Should Own
Tim Hart is best remembered as a founding member of British electric folk band, Steeleye Span, who released a handful of moderately successful albums while Hart was in the group between 1970 and 1982. He played guitar and sang for the band while writing some of their more traditional sounding songs. In later years, Hart released a handful of solo releases included two children’s albums. In late 2008, he was diagnosed with lung cancer which caused his death on December 24, 2009. Tim Hart was 61 years old when he died.
Eddie Hazel was a pioneering funk guitarist best remembered for his work with Parliament and Funkadelic. Hazel learned to play the guitar as a child growing up on New Jersey. In 1967, he was hired by George Clinton to play back-up for his doo-wop group, the Parliaments. The backing band eventually came to be known as Funkadelic and enjoyed a life both with and without the Parliaments, later known simply as, Parliament. Funkadelic released three albums with Hazel. They are considered milestones of the funk genre. A heavy drinker, Eddie Hazel died on December 23, 1992 from liver failure and internal bleeding caused by stomach issues related to his drinking. He was 42 when he died.
