Died On This Date (June 8, 2011) Alan Rubin / Mr. Fabulous; The Blues Brothers Band
Alan Rubin
February 11, 1943 – June 8, 2011
Alan Rubin as an American trumpet player who was commonly referred to as Mr. Fabulous. A gifted musician since childhood, Rubin started at the esteemed Julliard School of Music on a scholarship at the age of 17. In 1975, he was hired on as the trumpet player in the original Saturday Night Live band. In 1980, he backed fellow cast members, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in the Blues Brothers, in both the film and beyond. His resume throughout the years reads like a pop music VIP list, having played with likes of Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, the Rolling Stones, Duke Ellington, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Miles Davis, Sting, James Brown, Ray Charles, and Eric Clapton. Alan Rubin died of cancer on June 8, 2011. He was 68.
Thanks to Benji Isabel for the assist
What You Should Own



Known primarily as a bop pianist, Ray Bryant was also recognized for his ability to bring elements of Gospel, blues, and boogie-woogie into his style. Launching his career in the late ’40s, Bryant soon found himself in the house band at The Blue Note in Philadelphia. Before long he was playing with the likes of 
Cornell Dupree was a respected jazz and R&B guitarist who, over the course of his career, played on records by the likes of Aretha Franklin,
Owsley “Bear” Stanley was a sound engineer and former notorious LSD cook who was reportedly the first to manufacture large quantities of the drug. His high-quality LSD, often given away for free, became plentiful in the San Francisco area during the mid ’60s so is credited for being an essential piece of the hippie movement. As a respected sound engineer, Stanley was employed by (and also helped finance) the Grateful Dead. He met members of the group during Ken Kesey’s famed acid tests of 1966 and became their first sound man. He also co-designed their iconic “Steal Your Face” skull logo with Bob Thomas. It was Stanley who developed the advanced high fidelity live sound system used by the Grateful Dead. He also helped launch Meyer Sound, the respected concert sound system manufacturer. During his years with the Grateful Dead, Stanley started the practice of taping the band’s rehearsals and live shows – this lead to the phenomenon of audience-generated tapes that spread well beyond the Dead. He also made countless live recordings during the ’60s and ’70s of such acts as Jefferson Airplane,
Billy Taylor was a highly respected jazz pianist, composer, and educator whose career spanned the better part of seven decades. A disciple of 