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Musician Producer

Died On This Date (March 30, 2013) Phil Ramone / Legendary Record Producer

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Phil Ramone
January 5, 1941 – March 30, 2013

phil-ramonePhil Ramone was a successful record producer who, over a career that spanned some five decades, was awarded 15 Grammys, one Emmy, and countless other accolades.  A child prodigy born in South Africa, Ramone, was playing the violin at age three, and performing for Queen Elizabeth II before he hit his teens.   During the ’40s, he moved to the United States where he attended The Julliard School before becoming a U.S. citizen in 1953.  In 1959, Ramone opened his own studio, A & R Recording and quickly built a name for himself due to his use of the latest technologies.  Artists he went to produce landmark albums with include Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin,  Frank Sinatra, Quincy Jones, Chicago and Barbra Streisand.  And albums he produced for Ray Charles, Billy Joel, and Paul Simon each went on to earn Album Of The Year awards at the Grammys.  Ramone also recorded Marilyn Monroe‘s notorious rendition of “Happy Birthday To You” to President John F. Kennedy.  He was also considered one of the industry’s top innovators.  In 1982, his digitally recorded version of Billy Joel’s 52nd Street became the first album to be released on compact disc in Japan.  He was also largely responsible for Surround Sound for movies.  Phil Ramone was 72 when he passed away on March 30, 2013.  Cause of death was not immediately released.

Thanks to Paul Bearer for the assist.

Gospel Singer

Died On This Date (August 12, 2012) Willa Ward / Gospel Music Icon

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Willa Ward
December 13, 1920 – August 12, 2012

Willa Ward was a singer who was part of one of the most influential gospel groups of all time, the Ward Singers.  Formed in the early ’40s, the group, which initially included Ward’s mother, Gertrude Ward and sister, Clara Ward, became the world’s first, and at the time, biggest crossover spiritual groups.  The Ward Singers released over 80 records during what is considered the golden age of gospel, the mid ’40s to late ’50s.  Songs like “How I Got Over You” (one of Gospel’s first million sellers) and “Surely God Is Able,” and lively concerts helped them pack arenas and large theaters around the United States.  They are said to have directly influenced Aretha Franklin and Little Richard.  In the late ’50s, Ward left the group to sing pop music.  Over the course of her career, she sang back up for the likes of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Patti LaBelle, and Chubby Checker.  Willa Ward was 91 when she passed away on August 12, 2012.

Thanks to Henk de Bruin for the assist.



Pop R&B Singer

Died On This Date (February 11, 2012) Whitney Houston / Pop Music Icon

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Whitney Houston
August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012

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Whitney Houston was an R&B singer who, by most accounts was one of the biggest female pop stars of all time.  Born in Newark, New Jersey to a musical family that also included mother, Cissy Houston and cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick.   Her godmother was none other than Aretha Franklin.  Following an early career that included fashion modeling and back-up singing for the likes of Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson, and Lou Rawls, Houston found herself taken in by legendary hit maker, Clive Davis, who signed her to his Arista Records and released her self-titled debut in February, 1985.  The album, which spawned several hit singles, went on to sell an astonishing 25 million albums worldwide.  Her follow-up album, Whitney, became the first album by a female artist in history to debut at #1 on the Billboard album charts.  Over the next several years, Houston released hit after hit.  In 1992, she starred opposite Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard. The romantic-thriller was the 2nd highest grossing film worldwide that year, while Houston’s soundtrack went on to sell over 45 million copies thanks to such hits as “I’m Every Woman, “Run To You,” and of course, her cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” which sold over 12 million copies itself.  The soundtrack reached #1 in virtually every country that does such tracking.  On January 7, 1991, while the United States was locked in the Persian Gulf War, Houston performed what many consider the greatest version of the “Star Spangled Banner” that the Super Bowl has ever known.  It was quickly released as a single and became the first and only time the national anthem was a massive pop hit.  Houston donated her share to the American Red Cross.  The following year, Houston married former New Edition member and rap star, Bobby Brown.  The two had a daughter together but divorced in 2006.  After several years of personal set-backs, Houston returned with a new album, I Look To You, in 2009.  The album hit #1 in the US and went on to sell over 3.5 million copies worldwide.  It was her first #1 album since The Bodyguard.  In September of 2011, Houston announced that she was going to produce and star in a remake of the 1976 film, Sparkle.  On February 11, 2012, while in Los Angeles for the Grammys, Whitney Houston was found dead in her Beverly Hilton Hotel room bathtub.  Officials later ruled that she accidentally drowned as a result of a heart condition and chronic drug use.   She was 48.

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Died On This Date (February 1, 2012) Don Cornelius / Creator & Host Of “Soul Train”

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Don Cornelius
September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012

Don Cornelius was the creator, writer, producer, and host of the extremely influential American dance program, Soul Train.  Launched in October of 1961 after Cornelius noticed a void of nationally broadcast television shows that catered to the African-American audience, Soul Train ran until March of 2006.  Cornelius hosted the program from its inception until 1993.  Soul Train has been praised for influencing countless African-American kids while bringing black music into the white neighborhoods.  Over the years, the show featured lip-synched performances by everyone from James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin, to Michael Jackson, Ice Cube and Prince.  Two popular segments of the show were the “Soul Train Scrabble Board” where two dancers tried to un-scramble letters to identify a significant person in African-American culture, and the oft-imitated “Soul Train Line” where the dancers formed two lines and then strutted their stuff with a partner down the middle.  In 1987, Cornelius launched the Soul Train Awards, a nationally broadcast program that honored the year’s best artists in R&B, Soul, Jazz and Hip-Hop.  The show ran until 2000.  Throughout the years, Cornelius was honored and/or parodied in countless sit-coms, rap songs, and films.   In the early hours of February 1, 2012, police responded to the home of Don Cornelius where they found him dead of what initially appeared to have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  He was 75.

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Producer Record Label Songwriter

Died On This Date (January 8, 2008) Clyde Otis / Prolific Songwriter and Label Exec

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Clyde Otis
September 11, 1924 – January 8, 2008

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Clyde Otis was a successful songwriter, producer and label executive who, over the course of his career, is said to have written or co-written over 800 songs.  He was most closely associated with Brook Benton with whom he collaborated on many hit recordings.  He also worked with the likes of Dinah Washington, Timi Yuro and Sarah Vaughan.  His songs have been recorded by such artists as Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis and Aretha Franklin.  And in 1994, Natalie Cole’s Take A Look, won him a Grammy as producer.  Clyde Otis was 83 when he passed away on January 8, 2008.


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