Died On This Date (August 13, 2013) Tompall Glaser / Country Music Great

Tompall Glaser
September 3, 1933 – August 13, 2013

tompall-glaserTompall Glaser was one of the original so-called “outlaws” of country music. Alongside the likes of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Billy Joe Shaver, Glaser put Nashville on watch by working, living, and playing outside the mainstream country music rules of the ’70s.  Born in Spalding, Nebraska, Glaser initially moved to Nashville with his brothers to sing back up for Marty Robbins.  The brothers were also making their own records before Tompall went off on his own.  Over the course of his solo career, he released around a dozen albums that included hit country singles like “Put Another Log On The Fire” and “It’ll Be Her.”  Perhaps his most famous song however, “Streets Of Baltimore,” found its glory thanks to being covered by the likes of Gram Parsons, Bobby Bare, the Statler Brothers, Charley Pride, and Norah Jones‘ country group, the Little Willies.  Meanwhile, Glaser and his brothers opened Glaser Brothers Sound Studio, or as it was affectionately known around town, Hillbilly Central.  The compound quickly established itself as the fostering ground for the “outlaw” movement.  As it took hold, even RCA Records had to react by releasing Wanted! The Outlaws, a compilation of previously released tracks by Glaser, Nelson, Jennings, and Jessie Colter.  Glaser’s contribution, “T For Texas,” reached #36 on the Country Singles charts and is considered one of the milestones of the era.  The album itself, released in 1976, became the first Country album to sell over 1 million copies as it reached #1 on the Country Album charts and #10 on the Pop Album charts.  Glaser continued to record with his brothers until 1982 and released one last solo album in 1986 before selling the studio and retiring from the music business altogether.  Tompall Glaser died following a long undisclosed illness on August 13, 2013.  He was 79.

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Died On This Date (December 11, 2012) Ravi Shankar / World Renowned Indian Musician

Ravi Shankar (Born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury)
April 7, 1920 – December 11, 2012

With George Harrison

Ravi Shankar was and Indian musician and composer who is widely considered the most well-known musician India has ever produced.  As a master of the sitar, Shankar heavily influenced the later music of the Beatles, and in particular, George Harrison, with whom he collaborated during the ’70s.  Learning to play music as a child, Shankar was barely in his teens when he began playing behind a dance group that featured his brother.  The group toured Europe and the United States during the ’30s, exposing Shankar to western culture and music.   By the dawn of the ’60s, Shankar was finding fans of his music the world over, and while recording in Los Angeles, he was overheard by members of the Byrds, who went on to incorporate Indian sounds into their music.  That lead to an introduction to Harrison, who ultimately exposed the sitar to many by way of “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” on the Beatles’ Rubber Soul album.  Soon, other rock musicians began adding the sitar to their music, resulting in the sub-genre of rock known as raga.  “Within Without You” on the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is another fine example of Shankar’s influence on their sound.  In 1967, Shankar performed at the Monterey Pop Festival, and in 1969, at Woodstock, but he soon decoded to distance himself from the hippie movement.  In 1971, Shankar performed at the Harrison-organized Concert For Bangladesh. The resulting album went on to top most of the charts around the world and was named Album of the Year at the 1973 Grammys.  Shankar continued to collaborate with Harrison including a 1973 tour of North America which included a stop at the White House and a visit with President Gerald Ford.  Over the course of his career, Shankar sold millions of albums, won three Grammys, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his music featured in the film, Gandhi.  In December of 2012, he was nominated for yet another Grammy to be awarded in 2013.  His children include musicians Norah Jones, Annapurna DeviShubhendra “Shubho” Shankar, and Anoushka Shankar, with whom he toured well into his final years.  Ravi Shankar was 92 when he passed away on December 11, 2012.

Thanks to Craig Rosen and Number 1 Albums for the assist.

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The Sounds of India - Ravi Shankar

Died On This Date (November 2, 1996) Eva Cassidy / Respected Pop Singer

Eva Cassidy
February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996

Eva Cassidy was an American guitarist and vocalist who was equally adept at interpreting jazz, blues, country, folk, and pop standards.  Without much more than a cult following outside of her hometown of Washington DC, Cassidy never failed to wow audiences with her remarkable technical ability and passion with which she sang.  Unfortunately, and at no fault of her own, record companies ignored her, but only because of their own confusion on how to best market her.  In 1993, Cassidy had a malignant mole removed from her back, and her health seamed fine from that point on, but roughly three years later, she began feeling stiffness and pain in her hips.  Further tests revealed that she was suffering from advanced stages of melanoma.   Eva Cassidy was 33 when she died from the cancer on November 2, 1996.  Ironically, after spending her entire adult life trying to get her music heard, it took her death to finally expose her beyond her local fan base.  In the years following her passing, collections of her recordings started coming out, leading to critical praise and several charting singles in the UK.  In 2005, nearly 10 years after her death, amazon.com ranked her as their 5th best-selling musician behind the Beatles, U2, Norah Jones, and Diana Krall.

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Live At Blues Alley - Eva Cassidy

Died On This Date (July 15, 2010) Hank Cochran / Country Music Legend

Garland “Hank” Cochran
August 2, 1935 – July 15, 2010

Hank Cochran was a successful country singer as well as one of the genre’s most respected songwriters.  Besides charting several singles himself as a performer, Cochran penned countless hits as performed by the likes of Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Norah Jones, George Strait, Ella Fitzgerald, George Jones, Brad Paisley, Elvis Costello, and Merle Haggard, to name a few.  After a rough childhood in and out of orphanages, Cochran migrated to California while still a teenager to work in the fields.  It was there that he met Eddie Cochran and formed the Cochran Brothers even though they weren’t related.  By his mid ’20s, he was living and writing in Nashville.  Teaming up with Harlan Howard, the pair wrote “I Fall To Pieces” which became a #1 hit for Patsy Cline in 1960.   While working for a publishing company, Cochran reportedly helped Willie Nelson get signed on, thus giving Nelson’s early career a significant boost.   Cochran’s final years were riddled with significant health issues.  In 2008, he had cancerous tumors removed from his lymph node and pancreas, and in early 2010, he had an aortic aneurysm.  Hank Cochran was 74 when he passed away on July 15, 2010.  Actual cause of death was not immediately released.

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Hank Cochran


Died On This Date (June 25, 2006) Arif Mardin / Notable Producer & Arranger

Arif Mardin
March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006

Born to a well-to-do family in Istanbul, Turkey, Arif Mardin, moved to the United States in 1958, having been awarded a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music.  After graduating, Mardin moved to New York City to break into the music business.  He took a job at Atlantic Records as assistant to fellow Turkish immigrant, Nesuhi Ertegun.  Within no time, Mardin became the label engineer and producer and eventually Sr. Vice President of the company.  Along with Tom Dowd and Jerry Wexler, he would be credited for creating the legendary “Atlantic Sound.”  Over his career he produced hits by a who’s who of popular music, and in doing so was awarded a dozen Grammys and over 40 gold and platinum records.  Artists that he produced include Barbra Streisand, the Bee Gees, Diana Ross, Queen, Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, Dusty Springfield, and many more.  Arif Mardin died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 74.