but the songs live on forever

Louis Armstrong

Blues Composer Easy Listening Jazz Musician Pop Songwriter

Died On This Date (July 11, 1937) George Gershwin / Iconic Composer

themusicsover 1 Comment

George Gershwin (Born Jacob Gershowitz)
September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937

Although his career spanned just around twenty years due to his untimely death, George Gerswhin, along with his brother Ira Gershwin, created some of the most popular music of all time.  His compositions can, to this day, be heard on Broadway, in classical concert halls, films and television.  Many of his songs have become standards and have been recorded by the biggest names in show business.  That list includes Barbra Streisand, Sting, Janis Joplin, Frank Sinatra, Sam Cooke, Diana Ross, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane and Louis Armstrong.  George Gershwin died at the age of 38 during surgery for what was a brain tumor.  There have been some who disputed that a tumor caused his death.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com



Jazz Musician

Died On This Date (July 7, 1949) Bunk Johnson / New Olreans Jazz Musician

themusicsover No Comments

Willie “Bunk” Johnson
December 27, 1889 – July 7, 1949

Bunk Johnson was a popular New Orleans Jazz trumpeter in the early part of the 20th century who gained an even bigger audience when his career was revived in the ’40s.  Johnson claimed he was born in 1879, but most sources indicate that he was actually born in 1889.  What IS known is that Johnson played his trumpet in and around New Orleans during the early 1900s, only to have his career cut short in 1931 when he lost his trumpet and front teeth in a fight at a dance.  In the late ’30s, two writers learned of Johnson during their interviews with Louis Armstrong and others.  Armstrong has cited him as an inspiration.  Intrigued by their praise, the men tracked down Johnson and later raised money for new dentures so he could play again.   He went into the studio in 1942 to make his first records.   With his career revived, Johnson toured more extensively than in years past.  Johnson died in 1949 following a stroke.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Bunk Johnson

Musician

Died On This Date (July 6, 1971) Louis Armstrong / Jazz Icon

themusicsover No Comments

Louis Armstrong
August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971

Nicknamed “Satchmo,” Louis Armstrong was arguably the greatest performer jazz has ever known.  Born into poverty in New Orleans, Armstrong’s young life was as tough as one could imagine – a father who abandoned the family and a mother who was forced to turn to prostitution.  To get away, Armstrong hung out at the local dance halls of the city’s red light district, taking in the music of such greats as Joe “King” Oliver and Bunk Johnson who claimed he taught the young boy how to play the cornet.  He would later take up the more familiar trumpet.  When he became proficient on the cornet, Armstrong got gigs playing on riverboats and in parade brass bands.  It was only a matter of time before Armstrong was playing alongside the likes of Kid Ory, Fletcher Henderson, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Ella Fitzgerald and future wife, Lil Hardin.  Throughout his career, Armstrong made countless recordings, appeared in film and on television, and made the cover of Time magazine in February of 1949.  But it wasn’t until the world was caught up in Beatlemania, that he released his unlikely 1964 hit, “Hello Dolly.”  The song had the distinct honor of not only making him the oldest artist (63) to reach the #1 slot on the pop charts, but also of knocking the Beatles out of the top slot for the first time in 14 weeks.  Louis Armstrong died shortly after a heart attack at the age of 69.

What You Should Own

Louis Armstrong

Composer Jazz Musician

Died On This Date (May 16, 1953) Django Reinhardt / Jazz Great

themusicsover 2 Comments

Django Reinhardt
January 23, 1910 – May 16, 1953

Django Reinhardt was one of Europe’s earliest jazz musician’s to gain fame on the international level. His style of choice was Gypsy Jazz on the guitar, spending much of his youth in gypsy camps near Paris. By the mid ’30s he was playing alongside the likes of Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter and Louis Armstrong. During WWII, Reinhardt escaped the fate of many other gypsies who were sent to their deaths at the hands of the Nazis. It has been reported that Reinhardt had an influential fan in the Luftwaffe. His popularity soared in post war Europe and beyond thanks in part to his musical partnership with Stephane Grappelli. Reinhardt retired in 1951 and died in 1953 after collapsing outside his house from a brain hemorrhage.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com
Jazz Musician

Died On This Date (April 12, 2009) Rubin “Zeke” Zarchy / Jazz Trumpeter

themusicsover No Comments

Rubin “Zeke” Zarchy
June 12, 1915 – April 12, 2009

zekeRubin Zarchy was a jazz trumpeter who made his mark in the big bands of the ’30 and ’40s.  Over the years he’s played lead trumpet with jazz’s biggest names including Tommy Dorsey, Joe Haymes, Bob Crosby, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Frank Sinatra, Ray Anthony and most famously, Glenn Miller, in whose orchestra he played throughout the ’40s.  Contrary to other published reports, Zarchy passed away on April 12, 2009 of pneumonia at the age of 93.



« Previous Page — Next Page »

You Missed

Blues Musician Singer Songwriter

John Hammond Jr., acclaimed blues musician, dies at 83

Musician Pop Singer Songwriter

Neil Sedaka, a songwriter’s songwriter dies at 86

Latin Latin Jazz Musician Salsa Singer Songwriter

Willie Colón, Architect of Modern Salsa, Dead at 73

Alternative Musician Singer Songwriter

Brad Arnold, Co-Founding Frontman of 3 Doors Down, Dies at 47