Died On This Date (February 13, 2002) Waylon Jennings / Country Music Icon

Waylon Jennings
June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002

waylon-jenningsWaylon Jennings was a hugely influential country singer, songwriter and musician who was one of the pioneers of the genre’s “outlaw” movement of the ’70s.  Jennings learned to play the guitar and formed his own band before he even hit his teen years.  One of Jennings’ first jobs in music was as a disc jockey at a local Texas radio station.  It was there that he met an up-and-coming rockabilly singer named Buddy Holly.  Before long, Jennings was playing bass in Holly’s band.  On February 3, 1959, Jennings career path suffered a tragic setback when Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, and Ritchie Valens all perished in a plane crash while they were on tour of the Midwest.  The accident, which has been memorialized as “the day the music died,” almost claimed Jennings’ life as well.  At the last minute Jennings gave up his seat to Richardson who hadn’t been feeling well.  As the musicians were boarding the plane, Holly quipped to Jennings, “I hope your ‘ol bus freezes up.”  Jennings’ retort, “Well, I hope your ‘ol plane crashes” haunted him for the rest of his life.   Jennings took a hiatus from performing and moved to Arizona where he went back to DJ’ing.  By the mid ’60s, he was making music again.     As he began building a following, Jennings met resistance from the Nashville music community for in part, not using the usual session players for his records.  Jennings was adamant that he would only use his traveling band in the studio.  And the rock edge to his music fell outside what was perceived as the “Nashville Sound,” a more slick country-pop.  This “outlaw” movement began to take hold as fellow country men like Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson who preferred to hang on to country’s honky tonk roots.   Over the course of his career, Jennings released a series of top-selling and influential country records.  That list includes Honky Tonk Heroes, Waylon Live, Are You Ready For The Country Lonesome, On’ry and Mean, Good Hearted Woman, and Dreaming My Dreams.  His collaborations with the likes of Nelson, Jessi Colter, the Highwaymen and the Outlaws were critically and commercially acclaimed as well.  Jennings stayed active through the ’90s even as his health began to fail due to diabetes.  On February 13, 2002, the disease claimed Waylon Jennings’ life.  He was 64.

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Honky Tonk Heroes - Waylon Jennings

Died On This Date (December 31, 2000) Eddy Shaver / Gifted Alt-Country Guitarist

John “Eddy” Shaver
June 20, 1962 – December 31, 2000

Eddy Shaver was an electric guitarist, songwriter and son of legendary country-outlaw, Billy Joe Shaver with whom he performed as Shaver.  As a youngster, Shaver was given his first guitar and given lessons by Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers.  After growing into a fiery electric guitarist, Shaver played alongside such greats as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson, and of course, his father.  As a songwriter, Shaver is best known for “Live Forever,” a song co-written with his father that has been recorded by the likes of the Highwaymen and Patty Loveless.  In the mid ’90s, Eddy teamed up with his father, Billy Joe to form the rock-leaning alt-country band, Shaver.  Together they released a handful of critically praised albums, including the excellent Tramp on Your Street.  On December 31, 2000, Eddy Shaver was scheduled to perform a New Years Eve show with his father, but never made it there.  He was dead of a heroin overdose at the age of 38.

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Tramp On Your Street - Billy Joe Shaver

Died On This Date (November 18, 1999) Doug Sahm / Influential Texas Singer-Songwriter

Doug Sahm
November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999

sir_dougDoug Sahm was a Texas singer, songwriter and musician who was musical styles covered a wide spectrum, from country to Cajun to blues to western swing to rock.  He was Tex-Mex.  And he was Americana, some 30 years before the term was coined.   A child prodigy, Sahm mastered at least a dozen instruments, his earliest being the guitar, violin and guitar by the time he was five.  It was that same year he made his radio debut, and when he was 11, he made his first record.  He even performed on stage with Hank Williams Sr. before he turned 12.   By the end of the ’50s, Sahm was fronting his own band and touring around the clubs of Texas.  In the mid ’60s, he formed the Sir Douglas Quintet, choosing the name as to be less conspicuously American during the British invasion.  It only worked until Sahm opened his mouth and the band kicked into their obvious Tex Mex flavored rock ‘n roll.  The band did score a top 20 hit in 1965 with “She’s About a Mover.”  Three years later they hit again with “Mendocino” which cracked the top 15 and sold in excess of 3 million copies worldwide.  Sahm was also a favorite session player and singer throughout his career.  He’s recorded with the likes of Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and the Grateful Dead.   In 1990, Sahm formed the Texas Tornados, a so-called Tex-Mex supergroup with Freddy Fender, Flaco Jimenez and old friend, Augie Meyers. The group recorded four albums including their Grammy wining debut, Texas Tornados.  On November 19, 1999, Doug Sahm, 58, suffered a fatal heart attack while asleep in a Taos, New Mexico hotel room.

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The Best of Douglas Sahm & The Sir Douglas Quintet (1968 - 1975) - Doug Sahm & The Sir Douglas Quintet

Died On This Date (October 30, 2009) Norton Buffalo / Rock Harmonica Great

Norton Buffalo
September 28, 1951 – October 30, 2009

With Steve Miller. Photo by David Plastik – Click To Order Quality Prints – Discount code: 10OFF

Norton Buffalo was a San Francisco Bay area singer, songwriter and musician who is mostly associated with the Steve Miller Band with whom he played harmonica for over three decades.  His career started taking off during the ’70s when he first started playing with the likes of Elvin Bishop and Clover.  In the following years, he performed or recorded with a who’s who of rock, blues and country artists.  That list includes Bonnie Raitt, Commander Cody, Jerry Garcia, the Doobie Brothers, Mickey Hart, Merl Saunders, and of course, Steve Miller.  He can be heard on nearly 200 albums.  Buffalo also appeared in a few films, mostly as a musician.  Buffalo released a handful of his own albums as well.  He can be seen in 1979’s The Rose alongside Bette Midler, and Heaven’s Gate with Kris Kristofferson.  Buffalo was diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to his brain in September of 2009.   He succumbed to the cancer on October 30, 2009 at the age of 58.

Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the assist.

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King of the Highway - Norton Buffalo & The Knockouts