Died On This Date (October 12, 1998) Raymond Myles / New Orleans Gospel Legend

Raymond Myles
July 14, 1958 – October 12, 1998

Raymond Myles was acknowledged by his New Orleans’ musical peers as perhaps the greatest gospel talent of his generation. The testimonials to his greatness as a singer, pianist and choir director came from no less than Harry Connick, Jr., Aaron Neville, Dr. John and Allen Toussaint. Myles devoted his life to addressing vital social issues that impacted his community and affected him personally. From his impoverished beginnings in the everyday violence of New Orleans’ housing projects, he became a dedicated public school music teacher whose commitment to young people steered many of them away from ruin during a murderous crack epidemic in New Orleans during the nineties. “But as hard as he tried, Raymond never felt that his community embraced him with what he considered to be God’s unconditional love,” said Leo Sacks, who produced his only full-length studio album, A Taste of Heaven, and is directing a documentary called A Taste Of Heaven: The Heartbreak Life of Raymond Myles, Gospel Genius of New Orleans, now in production (raymondmylesmovie.com). “These feelings of isolation and disconnection reflected a lifetime of struggle with his elders in the black church, a struggle that boiled down to their refusal to fully accept gay worshipers.”  In his short, turbulent life, Myles performed as such prestigious music events as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the Newport Folk Festival. Tragically, his dramatic journey from a childhood of abject poverty to the brink of international music stardom was cut short when he was murdered during a carjacking outside the French Quarter on the night of October 11, 1998.  A career criminal from New Orleans was sentenced to 20 years in Louisiana’s Angola state penitentiary for being an accomplice to the killing.  So beloved was Raymond Myles that when he was laid to rest, only Mahalia Jackson and Louis Armstrong drew more mourners to their Crescent City funerals.



Died On This Date (April 9, 2008) George Butler / Noted Jazz Producer

Dr. George Butler
September 2, 1931- April 9, 2008

George Butler was producer and A&R man for Blue Note Records during the ‘70s. While there, he was instrumental in the label’s success by broadening its appeal with more R&B leaning releases by such artists as Earl Klugh, Ronnie Laws and Donald Byrd. The ‘80s found Butler in a key position at CBS Records, again helping the company reach new heights both critically and commercially by signing such acts as Brandford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard and Harry Connick, Jr. He also produced Miles Davis’ comeback album, The Man With The Horn in 1981. George Butler passed away on April 9, 2009 at the age of 76.

Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the assist.