Died On This Date (August 30, 1995) Sterling Morrison / Velvet Underground
themusicsover Holmes Sterling Morrison
August 28, 1942 – August 30, 1995
Sterling Morrison was a founding guitarist of the Velvet Underground. While studying at Syracuse University, Sterling struck up a friendship with fellow English student, Lou Reed. Over the next couple of years they drifted apart but then reconnected in New York City where they, along with John Cale, formed the band. In 1971, Morrison earned a Ph.D in medieval studies and decided he no longer wished to continue with VU. Living in Texas and primarily focussing on academia during the early ’80s, Morrison played around town casually for the most part, but also found time to captain a Houston based tug boat. In 1992, the Velvet Underground reformed to tour Europe, opening many dates with U2. But due to inner-turmoil within the band, the short-lived reunion was over by the end of the tour. Morrison learned he had non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 1994, and died from it the following year. He was 53 years old.
What You Should Own
Tuli Kupferberg was a counter-culture icon who is best remembered as a poet, cartoonist, activist and co-founding singer of the Fugs, a folk rock band formed in 1965. Kupferberg first gained notice during the late ’50s when he published his own Birth magazine which featured such Beat writers as Allen Ginsberg and LeRoi Jones. He wrote several acclaimed books as well, the best known is perhaps 1966’s 1001 Ways To Beat The Draft. In 1964, Kupferberg formed the Fugs, a folk rock band that took well-deserved jabs at the government and society in general. They have been called one of New York’s first underground bands. Since he was in his ’40s at the time, he referred to himself as “the world’s oldest rock star,” a description that would make even more sense when the band reformed in 1985. Their comical “Boobs-A-Lot” has been a staple on Dr. Demento’s radio program for years. The Fugs were introduced to a new generation when their “CIA Man” was prominently featured in 2008’s Coen Brothers film, Burn After Reading. Kupferberg suffered a stroke in 2009, prompting such devotees as Sonic Youth, Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye and 
Don Cherry was a highly regarded avant garde jazz trumpeter who is came to prominence during in the late ’50s while playing with Ornette Coleman. His resume, both in the studio and on record, includes a who’s who of the greatest jazz musicians of the ’60s and ’70s. It included 