Dave McKenna
May 30, 1930 – October 18, 2008
Dave McKenna was a respected swing jazz pianist who worked with, among others, Gene Krupa, Stan Getz, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, and Eddie Condon. A lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox, McKenna was known to listen to Sox games on a transistor radio while performing. He died of cancer at the age of 78.
Thanks to Craig Rosen of Number1Albums
Dee Dee Warwick
September 25, 1945 – October 18, 2008
One of Dee Dee Warwick’s earliest gigs was in the Gospelaires, a singing trio with sister, Dionne Warwick and aunt Cissy Houston. After a 1959 performance at the legendary Apollo Theater, the Warwick sisters were asked to do some session singing, a practice they continued for several years. Dee Dee recorded her first solo record in 1963 with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller at the helm. She continued to make Top 40 R&B hit records throughout the ’60s and early ’70s, with her version of future-Supremes hit, “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” being arguably her best known. Dee Dee suffered from drug addiction through much of her later life, perhaps hampering her career during those years. She passed away at the age of 63.
Victor Mizzy
January 9, 1916 – October 17, 2009
Vic Mizzy is best remembered for the scores he wrote for television and film during the ’50s and ’60s. His credits include Green Acres and The Addams Family on TV, and the Don Knotts films, The Reluctant Astronaut and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. Vic Mizzy, 93, passed away on October 17, 2009.
Tennessee Ernie Ford
February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991
Tennessee Ernie Ford was a multi-faceted entertainer who found success as a country and gospel singer as well as a radio and television personality during the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. Over the course of his career, Ford released numerous country, gospel and pop hits, many defining their genres. One in particular, a cover of Merle Travis’ “Sixteen Tons,” became his signature song after it spent nearly a dozen weeks at the top of the country charts and over two months atop the pop charts. No honest country collection of the era is complete without it. Ford soon became a household name and a familiar face in people’s living rooms thanks to television. He was cast as the semi-regular guest, Cousin Ernie on I Love Lucy and hosted his own Tennesse Ernie Ford Show. Tennessee Ernie Ford was 72 years old when he died of liver failure. It was the 36th anniversary of the release of “Sixteen Tons.”
Louisa “Markswoman” Mark
1960 – October 17, 2009
Known to fans as Markswoman, Louisa Mark was a UK reggae singer who had risen to prominence in London during the mid ’70s. Her 1975 single, “Caught You In A Lie.” Helped her gain recognition as one of the leading females in the lovers rock sub-genre of reggae. First noticed by legendary producer, Lloyd Coxsone, Marks was awarded a recording contract when she was just 15. During her first sessions, she recorded “Caught You In A Lie” which is considered the first Lovers rock record ever released. After high school, she began recording for Trojan Records, and in 1978, she was named reggae’s top female vocalist. Louisa Mark passed away, reportedly of some form of poisoning, on October 17, 2009.
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