Died On This Date (February 18, 2013) Damon Harris / The Temptations
themusicsover Damon Harris (Born Otis Harris, Jr.)
July 17, 1950 – February 18, 2013
Damon Harris was a 3-time Grammy Award winning member of the legendary Motown group, the Temptations. At just 20 years old, Harris was the youngest member of the outfit when he took Eddie Kendrick’s place in 1971. He had previously sang in a popular Temptations cover band called the Young Tempts who actually scored a minor hit with their version of “I’ve Been Good to You.” It was under the moniker, the Young Vandals however, after Motown filed an injunction over their name. During his four years with the Temptations, Harris sang on such hits as “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,” “Masterpiece,” and “Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are),” among others. He also sang lead on “Love Woke Me Up This Morning” from 1972’s All Directions. After leaving the Temptations in 1975, Harris reformed the Young Tempts, but this time as Impact, who charted with a handful of R&B and disco records through the latter part of the ’70s. In 1978, he released Silk, the only album under his own name. Harris retired from music in order to go to college during the ’80s, but by the ’90s he was back fronting a Temptations revival group and briefly touring with a reunited incarnation of the actual group. During the late ’90s, Harris learned he was suffering from prostate cancer so turned his life’s focus on the fight against the disease by forming The Damon Harris Cancer Foundation. Damon Harris ultimately died from the cancer on February 19, 2013. He was 62. Fellow Temptations Paul Williams, David Ruffin, Ali-Ollie Woodson, and Melvin Franklin have passed away as well.
Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number 1 Albums for the assist.
A fixture of the New York metal scene, Pat Egan was a beloved music industry veteran who spent the past 10 years at iconic Metal label, Relapse Records. He was, most recently, their Director of Retail Sales and Marketing. In his capacity at Relapse, Egan was directly involved in the successes of Mastodon, Baroness, and High On Fire, to name a few. His passion for the job and metal music in particular made him a favorite within the retail community as well as with artists and management companies. Egan began his music career at Long Island retail giant, Looney Tunes where he ultimately served as store manager. He later worked at the Pavement, KOCH and Energy labels before landing at Relapse. Most, if not all who came in contact with Egan praised him. Pat Egan was hospitalized in late 2012 with pneumonia, but never fully recovered before passing away on February 18, 2013.
Kevin Ayers was an English musician who was largely responsible for the birth of the British psychedelic movement of the ’60s. Born in Kent, Ayers was in college when he immersed himself in the storied Canterbury scene where a collective of progressive rock, avant-garde and free jazz commingled to create something new and exciting. He soon found himself playing alongside Robert Wyatt in the Wilde Flowers. In 1966, the band morphed into Soft Machine with Ayers starting out on bass and shared vocals but later switching to guitar. Soft Machine quickly grew a strong local following, often performing with 
Mindy McCready was a hugely successful country music singer whose debut album, 1996’s Ten Thousand Angels sold over 2 million copies. Born in South Florida, McCready began singing when she was just three years old. When she was just 18, she moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music. Quickly signed to BNA Records, McCready’s debut album was released to much fanfare and ultimately yielded four hit singles with “Guys Do It All The Time” reaching #1. That was followed by four more albums and several hit country singles. In all, McCready landed on the Country Singles chart twelve times and sold over 3 million albums. During McCready’s later years, she was involved in a few rocky relationships that continually fed the tabloids with troubling stories of abuse and drug addiction. In 2008, she was hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt, and in 2010, was again hospitalized for a possible drug overdose that appeared to have been unintentional. Over the years, McCready had legal issues that were mostly attributed to substance abuse. In 2010, she appeared on the Celebrity Rehab reality program after which she was said to be looking forward to getting back into the studio. In April of 2012, McCready gave birth to her second child, and in January of 2013, the boy’s father, producer David Wilson, was found in his home of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. On February 17, 2013, Mindy McCready reportedly took her own life. She was 37.
Tony Sheridan was an early English rock and roll singer, guitarist and songwriter who is most often recognized for his work with the pre-fame Beatles. He holds the honor of being only one of two non-Beatles to ever be credited on one of the groups recordings – the other being 