Died On This Date (January 24, 2016) Jimmy Bain / Bassist For Dio, Rainbow & More

Jimmy Bain
December 19, 1947 – January 24, 2016

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Photo by David Plastik – Click To Order Quality Prints – Discount code: 10OFF

Jimmy Bain was a rock bassist who is best remembered for his years playing with Rainbow and Dio.  Born in Highland, Scotland, Bain caught the attention of Ritchie Blackmore when Bain was playing a gig at London’s Marquee.  Blackmore quickly hired him to play on Rainbow’s 1976 metal masterpiece, Rising and on the tour that followed.  That tour, with Bain on bass, was recorded for Rainbow’s popular On Stage album that came out the following year.  After leaving Rainbow in 1978, Bain formed Wild Horses who received  moderate success with two albums.  During the early ’80s, Bain co-wrote songs for Phil Lynott‘s two solo albums and toured as part of his backing band.  In 1983, he joined forces with former Rainbow singer, Ronnie James Dio in the latter’s new band, Dio.  Bain wrote several of the band’s hits, including “Holy Diver” and “Rainbow In The Dark.” He played on The Last In Line and Dream Evil, among other Dio classic albums.  In 1985, Bain founded Hear ‘n Aid which was metal’s effort to raise money for famine relief.  The all-star collective recorded, “Stars,” co-written by Bain, which reportedly raised over $1 million in its first year of release.  Bain continued to record and tour with various members of metal’s elite up until the time of his death.  It was while traveling as a performer on Def Leppard‘s Hysteria On The High Seas cruise on January 24, 2016, that Jimmy Bain passed away unexpectedly  His cause of death was not immediately released and was believed to have been health related.  He was 68.

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Died On This Date (January 8, 1991) Steve Clark / Def Leppard

Steve Clark
April 23, 1960 – January 8, 1991

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Photo by David Plastik – Click To Order Quality Prints – Discount code: 10OFF

Steve Clark is best remembered as a celebrated guitarist in Def Leppard, a New Wave of British Heavy Metal band that became one of the most popular groups of the 1980s.   Clark was just 11 when he first picked up the guitar and within a few years he was emulating such guitar gods as Jimmy Page.  He successfully auditioned for Def Leppard in 1978, and over the next decade helped the band achieve massive fame and fortune thanks to albums like High ‘n Dry, Hysteria, and Pyromania.  Over the years, the band has sold in excess of 65 million albums worldwide.   Unfortunately, Clark suffered from alcoholism, and in late 1990, he was put on a six-month leave from the band to hopefully clean up.  On January 8, 1991 however, Steve Clark, age 30, was found dead on his couch of an accidental overdose of alcohol and prescribed pain medications and antidepressants.

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Died On This Date (November 13, 2009) Maurice Jones / Artist Manager & Promoter Of Live Aid

Maurice Jones
DOB Unknown – November 13, 2009

Maurice Jones began his career as an artist manager, overseeing the career of English rock band, Slade.  He eventually started his own promotion company, helping popularize such bands as Def Leppard, the Eurythmics, AC/DC, and Simple Minds.  In 1984, Jones joined forces with Bob Geldolf and Midge Ure to promote Live Aid, the massive fund raising concerts that were held in Philadelphia and London and seen by an estimated 400 million people world wide.  The concerts featured the biggest acts in popular music at the time.   After the success of Live Aid, Jones went on to create the Monsters Of Rock festival that ran for many years outside of England’s Castle Donnington and other locations from time to time.  The festivals featured the biggest names in hard rock music.  Maurice Jones was 64 when he died of cancer on November 13, 2009.