Died On This Date (January 19, 2017) Mike Kellie / Drummer For Spooky Tooth & The Only Ones
themusicsover Mike Kellie
March 24, 1947 – January 19, 2017
Mike Kellie was an English drummer who found acclaim with, primarily, Spooky Tooth and the Only Ones. Born in Birmingham, England, Kellie was self-taught and began playing in the St. Michael’s Youth Club Band while in his teens. It wasn’t long before he was asked to join Wayne and the Beachcombers, his first “real” band. In 1967, Spooky Tooth was launched with Kellie on drums. Although it would change line-ups throughout the years, at the time it included Gary Wright, Greg Ridley and Keith Emerson. The band’s second album, Spooky Two is considered a classic rock staple and spawned their most popular songs, “Waiting For The Wind,” “Evil Woman,” and “Feelin’ Bad.” In 1976, Kellie joined the Only Ones, an influential power pop/new wave band that was a far cry from the more proggy sounds of Spooky Tooth. The band released three studio albums for CBS Records. Their most famous record was 1978’s “Another Girl, Another Planet.” The song has since been heard in numerous movies and commercials, and has been recorded by Blink-182, the Lightning Seeds, and the Replacements to name a few. Throughout the balance of his career, Kellie was on board for a reunion or two by Spooky Tooth and the Only Ones, while being in demand as a session player. He can be heard drumming on records by the likes of Johnny Thunders, the Who, Joe Cocker, Peter Frampton, Jerry Lee Lewis, Traffic and George Harrison. Mike Kellie was 68 when he passed away on January 19, 2017. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Thanks to Harold Lepidus for the assist.
What You Should Own
Robert Moog is best known for his groundbreaking invention, the Moog Synthesizer, which helped revolutionize music, and became an essential instrument for electronic music in particular. A highly educated electrical engineer by trade, Moog founded two electronic instrument companies and was a vice president at Kurzweil during the ’80s. In 1969, he was awarded his first patent for a synthesizer that utilized a keyboard. He went on to hold several more related patents. Moog has twice been recognized by the Grammys for his contributions to popular music. Since its invention, the Moog Synthesizer was utilized by such musicians as Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, John Cage and Walter Carlos (now Wendy Carlos), whose Switched On Bach and the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange are became landmark recordings. Robert Moog was 71 when he died of a brain tumor on August 21, 2005.