Died On This Date (March 9, 2012) Terry Teene / ’60s Rockabilly Singer
themusicsover Terry Teene (Born Terence Knutson)
1942 – March 9, 2012
Terry Teene was an American singer, musician, and prolific songwriter who reportedly penned over 300 songs during his career. He personally claimed to have played on over 100 additional records and wrote songs under more than 70 different pen names. Noteworthy records of his include “Pussy Galore” (written for, but unused in the James Bond film Goldfinger), “Just Wait Til I Get You Home,” and his biggest hit, 1960’s “Curse Of The Hearse.” The latter went on to become a yearly staple on Dr. Demento’s annual Halloween radio programs. Over the years, Teene shared the stage with Alice Cooper, the Kinks, and Cheap Trick, to name a few. Away from music, Teene enjoyed a successful career as a clown – even writing books and teaching courses on the subject. He also appeared in such films as Man On The Moon and Raging Bull. On March 7, 2012, Terry Teene was seriously injured when he was hit by a tow truck while riding a bicycle. He succumbed to his injuries on March 9, 2012. He was 70.
Thanks to Paul Bearer for the assist.
Tuli Kupferberg was a counter-culture icon who is best remembered as a poet, cartoonist, activist and co-founding singer of the Fugs, a folk rock band formed in 1965. Kupferberg first gained notice during the late ’50s when he published his own Birth magazine which featured such Beat writers as Allen Ginsberg and LeRoi Jones. He wrote several acclaimed books as well, the best known is perhaps 1966’s 1001 Ways To Beat The Draft. In 1964, Kupferberg formed the Fugs, a folk rock band that took well-deserved jabs at the government and society in general. They have been called one of New York’s first underground bands. Since he was in his ’40s at the time, he referred to himself as “the world’s oldest rock star,” a description that would make even more sense when the band reformed in 1985. Their comical “Boobs-A-Lot” has been a staple on Dr. Demento’s radio program for years. The Fugs were introduced to a new generation when their “CIA Man” was prominently featured in 2008’s Coen Brothers film, Burn After Reading. Kupferberg suffered a stroke in 2009, prompting such devotees as Sonic Youth, Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye and 
Spike Jones was a musical genius who specialized in creating satirical versions of popular songs by injecting them with crazy sound effects made by anything from cowbells and whistles to oddball noises out of his own mouth. Although he achieved most of his fame and fortune in the ’40s and ’50s, his timeless novelties continued to reach new generations of fans thanks to such radio personalities as Dr. Demento. Spike Jones died at the age of 53 as a result of many years of heavy smoking.
No matter who you’ve been told was the earliest to use sampling in there songs, it’s likely that Dickie Goodman isn’t on that list even though he was doing it as far back as 1956. It was that year that he released his first big hit, “The Flying Saucer” that was basically a “man on the streets” interview that included snippets of songs by 
Jud Strunk was an American singer-songwriter who flirted with success during the 1970’s. He recorded several records through the course of his career, one of which, “The Biggest Parakeets in Town” continues to get airplay on Dr. Demento’s syndicated radio program. His biggest hit came in 1974 with the release of “A Daisy a Day,” which landed in the Top 20 of Billboard’s pop and country charts. Though his name might not have been a household one, he was a semi-regular guest on such television programs as Laugh-In and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. A licensed pilot, Jud Strunk suffered a heart attack while taking off in his small plane on October 15, 1981. The plane crashed, instantly killing Strunk, age 45, and his passenger.