Died On This Date (March 28, 1974) Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup / Mississippi Blues Great

Arthur Crudup
August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974

arthur-big-boy-crudub

Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup was a Mississippi blues man who, even though his “That’s Alright, Mama” became one of Elvis Presley’s biggest hits, he still had to work most of his life as a laborer and moonshiner to put food on the table.  And even though there are countless other covers of his tunes, he still lived in near poverty for his entire life. Besides Presley, artists like Bob Dylan, Creedance Clearwater Revival, John Lee Hooker, Wanda Jackson, Elton John, Junior Wells and the Stray Cats owe a lot more than just gratitude to Arthur Crudup who had to labor most of his life until he passed away from complications of heart disease and diabetes at 71.



Died On This Date (March 16, 1976) Arthur Gunter / Electric Blues Guitarist

Arthur Gunter
May 23, 1926 – March 16, 1976

arthur-guntherArthur Gunter was an electric blues guitarist from Nashville, TN who recorded for the Excello label throughout the 1950s. During that time he wrote and recorded “Baby, Let’s Play House” which became an international hit for Elvis Presley.  He continued recording and performing until the mid ’60s when he more-or-less retired for the music business.  On March 16, 1976, Arthur Gunter died of pneumonia.



Died On This Date (March 8, 1989) Stuart Hamblen / Early Singing Cowboy

Carl Stuart Hamblen
October 20, 1908 – March 8, 1989

stuart-hamblenStuart Hamblen was country singer and songwriter who later turned to making Christian music.  When he became a singing cowboy during the mid ’20s, he was one of the genre’s earliest stars.  Having his own radio show from 1931 to 1952 certainly helped him achieve fame.  When he transitioned from radio to film, he worked alongside the likes of John Wayne, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.  As a songwriter, his biggest hits were “Open Up Your Heart (And Let The Sunshine In),” and “It’s No Secret.”  The former was sung by Pebbles and Bam Bam in a Flintstones episode, while the latter was covered by Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, and Ernest Tubb to name a few.  Hamblen later became involved in politics, ultimately running for president against Dwight Eisenhower on the Prohibition Party ticket in 1952.  Stuart Hamblen was 81 when he passed away on March 8, 1989.

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Stuart Hamblen

Died On This Date (February 13, 2010) Dale Hawkins / Rockabilly Pioneer; Wrote “Suzie Q”

Delmar “Dale” Hawkins
August 22, 1936 – February 13, 2010

Dale Hawkins was a singer, songwriter and guitarist who launched his career in Louisiana during the mid ’50s.   He was one of the earliest to take the rock and rockabilly of Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly and marry it with the deep Louisiana blues he grew up hearing around him.  It was the birth of swamp rock that would later reach the masses thanks to the likes of Elvin Bishop and Creedance Clearwater Revival.  In 1957, Hawkins released “Susie Q,” a single that took up both sides of the record.  It peaked at #27 on the singles chart but was eventually recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.  The song has been since covered by the likes of the Rolling Stones, Gene Vincent, Johnny Rivers, the Velvet Underground, Bruce Springsteen, and most famously, Creedance Clearwater Revival in 1968.  Hawkins was reportedly the third artist ever to perform on American Bandstand and the first white person to perform at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.  During the late ’50s,  he hosted his own dance show for NBC-TV, The Dale Hawkins Show.  Later, he worked as a producer and label executive, most notably for RCA Records.  He began working as a social worker during the late ’80s.  In 2006, Dale Hawkins learned he had colon cancer which would be the ultimate cause of his death on February 13, 2010.  He was 73 years old.

Thanks to Ed Hardy for the assist.

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Dale Hawkins

Died On This Date (February 9, 1981) Bill Haley / Rock and Roll Pioneer

Bill Haley
July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981

With Elvis Presley

Bill Haley was a popular rockabilly band leader who came to be known as the Father of Rock ‘n Roll thanks, in part, to his “Rock Around the Clock” record of 1954.  Haley was just 13 when he got his first professional gig entertaining at a local auction in Wilmington, Delaware.  In 1951, he formed a band with whom he’d soon come to be known as Bill Haley & His Comets.  Two years later, their “Crazy Man, Crazy” became the first rock ‘n roll song to crack the Billboard singles chart where it peaked at #15.  In April of 1954, Haley released “Rock Around the Clock” to little fanfare.  His next single, a cover of Big Joe Turner’s “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” sold over a million copies and became the first rock ‘n roll song to crack the British charts.  In 1955, the all-but-forgotten “Rock Around the Clock” appeared in the credits for the groundbreaking film, Blackboard Jungle.  In a matter of weeks, the song sat at the top of the U.S. singles chart.  The song found a new audience with the nostalgia fueled youth of the 1970s thanks to prominent placement in the American Graffiti film and Happy Days television series.  Haley remained active on the road well into the ‘7os, but in the spring of 1980, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Bill Haley was 55 when he died in his home on February 9, 1981.  Cause of death was listed as heart failure, but the brain tumor likely played a role.

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20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: Best of Bill Haley & His Comets - Bill Haley & His Comets