Died On This Date (August 16, 2005) Vassar Clements / Bluegrass Great
themusicsover Vassar Clements
April 5, 1928 – August 16, 2005
Vassar Clements was an influential fiddler who, although mostly associated with bluegrass, also performed swing and jazz. Self taught at the age of seven, it was only a matter of time before Clements successfully auditioned for Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. He played and recorded with Monroe for the better part of seven years, after which he went off to become one of Nashville’s most in demand session fiddlers. The list of artists he recorded with is staggering. It includes Faron Young, John Hartford, Earl Scruggs, Jim & Jesse, the Grateful Dead, Paul McCartney, the Monkees, Dickey Betts, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Linda Ronstadt, and Jimmy Buffett. Clements played on over 200 albums including nearly two dozen of his own. In 2005, he won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Performance. Vassar Clements died of cancer on August 16, 2005. He was 77.
What You Should Own
Roberto Cantoral was a Mexican singer-songwriter who, over the course of some 60 professional years, scored several hit records including “El Reloj” and “El Triste.” Many of his songs are considered standards of Spanish language music. As a songwriter, it has been reported that upwards of 1000 artists have covered his songs. That list includes Joan Baez, Linda Ronstadt, Luis Miguel, and Placido Domingo. In later years, he composed music for popular telenovelas. Roberto Cantoral was 75 when he died following a massive heart attack on a flight from Brownsville, Texas to Mexico City. The plane made an emergency landing in Toluca, Mexico where he was pronounced dead.
Kate McGarrigle, along with her sister Anna McGarrigle, made up the popular Canadian folk duo, Kate and Anna McGarrigle. They began singing and playing in folk groups during the ’60s, but went off on their own during the early ’70s, releasing their debut album in 1975. Over the course of their career together, they released ten albums, two of which won Juno Awards (Canada’s answer to the Grammys). Their songs have been recorded by the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Billy Bragg, and Emmylou Harris. They have also collaborated with Nick Cave. Having been married once to Loudon Wainwright III, Kate is the mother of popular contemporary singer-songwriters, Martha Wainwright and Rufus Wainwright, with whom she made her final television appearance on a 2008 episode of Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…. Diagnosed with cancer in 2006, Kate McGarrigle died of clear cell sarcoma on January 18, 2010. She was 63.
Gerald McCabe was the founder of Santa Monica, California’s McCabe’s Guitar Shop, a popular instrument store as well as beloved concert venue. Opened in 1958, the club became the focal point of the folk scene of the ’60s and continues to host the most respected singer-songwriters to this day. Over the years, the store’s intimate backroom stage has presented the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Beck, 
