Died On This Date (October 30, 2009) Norton Buffalo / Rock Harmonica Great

themusicsover October 30, 2009 0 Comments

Norton Buffalo
September 28, 1951 – October 30, 2009

Norton Buffalo was a San Francisco Bay area singer, songwriter and musician who is mostly associated with the Steve Miller Band with whom he played harmonica for over three decades.  His career started taking off during the ’70s when he first started playing with the likes of Elvin Bishop and Clover.  In the following years, he performed or recorded with a who’s who of rock, blues and country artists.  That list includes Bonnie Raitt, Commander Cody, Jerry Garcia, the Doobie Brothers, Mickey Hart, Merl Saunders, and of course, Steve Miller.  He can be heard on nearly 200 albums.  Buffalo also appeared in a few films, mostly as a musician.  Buffalo released a handful of his own albums as well.  He can be seen in 1979’s The Rose alongside Bette Midler, and Heaven’s Gate with Kris Kristofferson.  Buffalo was diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to his brain in September of 2009.   He succumbed to the cancer on October 30, 2009 at the age of 58.

Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the assist.

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