Died On This Date (April 22, 2003) Felice Bryant / Wrote Many Pop Hits

Felice Bryant
August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003

Along with her husband Boudleaux, Felice Bryant, wrote such early pop hits as “Bye Bye Love,” “Rocky Top,” and “All I Have To Do Is Dream,” the last two being big hits for the Everly Brothers. The future Mr. & Mrs. Boudleaux met in 1945 and so began a successful songwriting partnership (and marriage) that would last some forty years. During that time, they wrote songs for a virtual who’s who of popular music. That list includes Tony Bennett, the Grateful Dead, Dean Martin, Ray Charles, Nazareth, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Elvis Costello, Simon & Garfunkel, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Sarah Vaughan. Together they penned over 1500 recorded songs which obviously landed them into several songwriter halls of fame. Felice Bryant passed away from natural causes on April 22, 2003.



Died On This Date (March 10, 2010) Micky Jones / Lead Singer & Guitarist For Man

Micky Jones
June 7, 1946 – March 10, 2010

Micky Jones was the founding lead singer and influential guitarist for ’70s Welsh rock band, Man.  They were one of the acts that helped popularize what became known as British “pub rock,” a back-to-basics trend in rock that was also being cultivated by the likes of Brinsley Schwarz, Graham Parker, and Dave Edmunds.   As time passed, Man’s sound grew more psychedelic, often drawing comparisons to the Grateful Dead or Quicksilver Messenger Service.  In fact, it could be argued that they were the world’s first jamband.  Though relatively unknown in the U.S., the band had several moderate hits in the U.K. and were very popular concert draws.  The original group split up in 1976, but Jones reformed a variation of it in 1980 and continued to make a solid living along the pub rock circuit through the ’90s.  In 2005, Micky Jones was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which lead him to permanently leave the group for treatment.  The cancer ultimately took his life on March 10, 2010.  He was 63.



Died On This Date (March 8, 1973) Ron “Pigpen” McKernan / Grateful Dead

Ron McKernan
September 8, 1945 – March 8, 1973

Member of the 27 Club

Ron “Pigpen” Mckernan is best remembered as a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he mostly played the keyboards.  It was during his early days singing and performing at San Francisco area coffeehouses and record stores that he met Jerry Garcia, which lead to his membership in the Zodiacs, which begat Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, which begat the Warlocks, which ultimately became the Grateful Dead.  It was McKernan who sang such early concert staples and “Turn on Your Lovelight” and “In The Midnight Hour,”  including its legendary 48-minute version at Woodstock.  An abuser of alcohol, McKernan was diagnosed with congenital biliary cirrhosis in 1970.  His health worsened over the next couple of years and his final concert with the Dead was on June 17, 1972.  He ultimately died of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage on March 8, 1973 at the age of 27.

What You Should Own

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American Beauty (Bonus Track Version) [Remastered] - Grateful Dead

Died On This Date (January 19, 2006) Wilson Pickett / Soul Legend

Wilson Pickett
March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006

The great Wilson Pickett was a soul performer and songwriter who would be responsible for some of the genre’s greatest recordings.  He began his career in Gospel, but with a flair for showmanship akin to Little Richard and James Brown, it wasn’t long before he made the jump to secular R&B.  In 1965, Pickett began recording a series of hits that included, “In the Midnight Hour,” “Land of 1000 Dances,” “Ninety Nine and a Half Won’t Do,” and “Mustang Sally.”  His songs have been recorded by the greatest acts in rock music.  That list includes Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Aerosmith, Los Lobos, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Grateful Dead, to name just a few.  Pickett continued to make records well into the ’90s, though his hit-making days ended back in the mid ’70s.  And he made concert performances up all the way up until 2004, only to step down due to health reasons.  On January 19, 2006, 64 year-old Wilson Pickett died of a heart attack.

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Wilson Pickett

Died On This Date (October 25, 1991) Bill Graham / Legendary Concert Promoter

Bill Graham (Born Wolodia Grajonca)
January 8, 1931 – October 25, 1991

Bill Graham was a world famous concert promoter who played a key part in the growth of ’60s American rock ‘n roll.  As a Jewish child born in Berlin, Graham barely escaped the Nazis by being placed in an orphanage by his mother.  Fortunately, that orphanage relocated him to France before the Halocaust.  Graham moved to New York City where he received his schooling after which he served in the Korean War and eventually ended up in San Francisco.  In 1965, he landed his first show businees job, managing the San Francisco Mime Troupe which lead to him booking and promoting shows at the Fillmore Auditorium.  Graham had a knack for finding acts that appealed to the city’s growing counter-culture scene and in doing so helped the scene itself grow.  Some of the acts he featured in those early years were Janis Joplin, Country Joe & the Fish, the Fugs, Jefferson Airplane and of course, the Grateful Dead.   By the late ’60s, Graham was the most popular rock concert promoter in the country.  Besides the Fillmore and Winterland in San Francisco, he was booking the Fillmore East in New York City.  He also promoted tours by the Rolling Stones as well as such concert events as Live Aid and Human Rights Now tour for Amnesty Now.  On October 25, 1991, 60-year-old Bill Graham was flying home after a Huey Lewis concert in nearby Concord, California.  The helicopter he was in crashed shortly after takeoff, killing Graham, his girlfriend, and the pilot.  Reports indicate that less-than-ideal weather caused the pilot to crash into an electrical tower.