Died On This Date (September 27, 2013) Lorne Black / Bassist For Great White
themusicsover Lorne Black
DOB Unknown – September 27, 2013
Lorne Black is perhaps best remembered as the original bassist for Los Angeles metal band, Great White. Originally formed as Highway in 1978, the band morphed through a few different names and lineups until finally settling as Great White with Black on bass during the early ’80s. Black played on the band’s debut EP, Out Of The Night as well as their first three LPs, Great White, Shot In The Dark, and Once Bitten while helping them build a sizable following outside their hometown by nearly non-stop gigging. Those early shows included tours supporting Whitesnake and Judas Priest. After parting ways with the band during the late ’80s, Black went on to play in a prog rock band, LBC, do soundtrack work, and record at least one solo album, Who’s Doing Who?. Lorne Black passed away on September 27, 2013. Cause of death was not immediately released.
What You Should Own
Pat Fear is best remembered as the singer and guitarist for the influential Los Angeles-area punk band, White Flag. Formed in 1982 as a sort of antithesis to the angrier local punk outfits, White Flag members took on the parodiable monikers of Jello B. Affro, Mike Mess, and of course, Pat Fear. The band released two seminal albums over the next couple of years, R is for Rocket and S is for Space while performing countless shows throughout California. Over the next three decades, the band released more than a dozen albums as well as numerous EPs and singles. Throughout the band’s run, its lineup included several members who went on to play in other notable bands. The list includes Jim Laspesa (The Muffs, Dave Davies, Bob Cowsill), Greg Hetson (Redd Kross, Circle Jerks), Steven Shane McDonald (Redd Kross), Kim Shattuck (The Muffs, The Pandoras), Ken Stringfellow (The Posies), Eric Erlandson (Hole), A lifelong fan of music, Fear was known to lend his support and even champion other up-and-coming musicians and bands. Two of his early favorites were Os Mutantes and Shonen Knife, both of whom he helped bring to the United States for their first American tours. During breaks from White Flag, Fear worked as a police reservist and bull rider. On September 24, 2013, Pat Fear was found dead in his home at the age of 52. Although his death came as a surprise, reports indicate that he had been in ill health in recent years. Initial coroner findings attribute his death the natural causes.
Larry Thornton was a popular and highly influential high school band director who, for two decades ran the immensely regarded music program at William S. Hart High School in Newhall, California, just north of Los Angeles. Born in Central California’s Kern County, Thornton landed at Newhall’s Placerita Junior High School during the early ’60s. In 1969, he took over the already storied music program at Hart High School. Until his retirement in 1989, Thornton mentored what would become some of the greatest high school marching and stage bands in the state at the time. Under Thornton’s direction, Hart’s Chieftains marching band and Braves stage band won numerous county and statewide competitions. A trumpet player himself, Thornton was a direct influence on one student in particular, Glen Marhevka, who went on to play trumpet for the multi-platinum selling band, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Thornton’s influence was so great that during the late 2000’s, former students formed an appreciation society they called Mr. Thornton’s Opus, in a nod to “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” the 1995 award-winning Richard Dreyfuss film that centered around a remarkable high school band director. During the late 2000’s, Thornton suffered a serious stroke and was diagnosed with cancer in later years. Larry Thornton was 81 when he passed away on September 5, 2013.
Sid Bernstein was a concert promoter who was largely responsible for the onset of the British Invasion by setting up the first US concerts by England’s biggest rock bands at the time. In 1964, Bernstein felt the excitement building for the Beatles so he contacted their manager 
