Died On This Date (February 25, 2014) Paco de Lucía / World Renowned Flamenco Guitarist

Paco de Lucía (Born Francisco Sánchez Gomes)
December 21, 1947 – February 25, 2014

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

Paco de Lucía was a Spanish musician who was considered THE greatest Flamenco guitarist in the world during most of his lifetime.  Born into a musical family in Algeciras, Spain, de Lucía began learning the guitar as early as 5 years old, often practicing 12 hours a day upon his father’s strict orders.  Pretty much done with school at the age of 11 due to his family’s poverty, De Lucía began earning his keep playing on the streets of Algeciras and beyond.  By the 1960s, De Lucía, who had no formal music training, had pretty much single-handedly  reinvented Flamenco by incorporating jazz, classical and salsa into it.  During the ’70s, he began collaborating with the likes of Al Di Miola, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell much to the delight of jazz fans around the world.  His 1981 album with McLaughlin and Di Miola, Friday Night in San Francisco, is one of the most celebrated of the genre.  Throughout his 50 year+ career, de Lucía was presented with two Grammys and numerous awards and recognitions.  De Lucía all but retired during the mid 2000s, but continued to release an occasional project and perform live at special events.  While vacationing on February 25, 2014, Paco de Lucía suffered a fatal heart attack.  He was 66.

 

 

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With Al Dimeiola & John Mclaughlin Photo by David Plastik - Click To Order Quality Prints - Discount code: 10OFF
With Al Dimeiola & John Mclaughlin
Photo by David Plastik – Click To Order Quality Prints – Discount code: 10OFF

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Died On This Date (May 8, 1974) Graham Bond / Early British Blues Great

Graham Bond
October 28, 1937 – May 8, 1974

Graham Bond was one of the driving forces behind England’s R&B movement of the ’60s.  In 1963, Bond formed the Graham Bond Organisation, a band that included Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and later, John McLaughlin.  GBO put out two albums before Baker and Bruce left to join Eric Clapton in Cream.  In spite of the fact that GBO would inspire a legion of future British rock legends, they never achieved much beyond a cult status in the UK.    And the fact that their two albums were never released in the US didn’t help either.  After the demise of GBO in 1967, Bond’s mental and physical condition began a downward spiral, likely due to his substance abuse and the impact it had on his mental state.  He suffered from depression, intense mood swings and erratic behavior, all symptoms of what we would call bipolar disorder today.  By the early ’70s, Bond had been doing session work and formed a band with his then wife, singer Dianne Stewart with whom he shared a growing interest in magic and the occult.  Their band and marriage soon ended as did another promising band called Magnus which no doubt lead to his one-month stay in a hospital after suffering a nervous breakdown.  And then on May 8, 1974 in what many believe to be a suicide, Bond was found dead under the wheels of a train in a London train station.   He was 36.

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