Gordon Waller and Peter Asher were the popular ’60s duo, Peter and Gordon. Since Asher’s sister, Jane Asher dated Paul McCartney at the time, Peter and Gordon were lucky enough secure unrecorded Lennon-McCartney songs for their own use. One of those songs, “A World Without Love” became their biggest hit. They broke up in 1968 after which Waller recorded a handful of solo albums and appeared in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Peter and Gordon reunited a few times in later years. Gordon Waller went into cardiac arrest on July 16, 2009 and died the next day.
Roger “Syd” Barrett
January 6, 1946 – July 7, 2006
Syd Barrett was, most famously, a founding member and singer of Pink Floyd. Though only active in music for about seven years and heard on just two Pink Floyd albums, Barrett left an indelible mark on rock music and influenced countless followers. Even such contemporaries as Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Marc Bolan and David Bowie have acknowledged much respect for his work. Post-Barrett Pink Floyd albums, Wish You Were Here and Dark Side Of The Moon paid tribute to the man. Barrett left Pink Floyd in 1968 for what many believe was mental illness (perhaps schizophrenia) worsened by heavy drug use. After two solo albums, Barrett retired to a quiet and mostly secluded life of painting and gardening. In fact many were surprised to learn that was still alive when his passing was announced in 2006. Syd Barrett died of pancreatic cancer on July 7, 2006.
Ken Brown is perhaps best remembered as the guitarist in the Quarrymen who was to some, the main reason the Beatles ever formed. While Paul McCartney and John Lennon were writing songs together, Brown was playing in the Les Stewart Quartet with George Harrison. In the summer of 1959, Pete Best’s mother opened the Casbah Coffee Club where Brown got the group booked as the house band. But due to a dispute over rehearsals, Stewart lost interest so Brown asked Lennon and McCartney to join the band and they quickly renamed themselves the Quarrymen. That following October, the band found themselves in a disagreement over money, so McCartney, Lennon, Harrison and Stu Sutcluffe (who had recently joined the band) left the group, soon recruited Best, and the rest is history. In later years, Brown could be found making music in his home studio and playing occasional reunion gigs or Casbah anniversary shows. On June 14, 2010, Brown’s body was found in his home after a family member became concerned having not heard from him for a while. Cause of death was not immediately released, but foul play is not suspected, and it is believed that he had been dead for several days [Ed.: I settled on June 9 as the date until I hear otherwise]. Ken Brown was 70 years old when he passed away.
Kenny Rankin was one of America’s most popular soft rock singer-songwriters during the 1970s. Frequently appearing on Johnny Carson’sTonight Show, Rankin released his debut album in 1967. That album, Mind Dusters, included the hit, “Peaceful” which not only became his signature song, but was also hits for Helen Reddy and Georgie Fame. His “On And On” would later become a huge hit for Stephen Bishop. Rankin had such fans in Paul McCartney and John Lennon, that in 1987, they asked him to represent them when they were elected into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. Kenny Rankin died of lung cancer on June 7, 2009.
Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the assist.
Joe “Yo Yo” Jaramillo
October 15, 1948 – March 24, 2000
Joe Jaramillo was an original member of Cannibal & The Headhunters, a group of singers from East Los Angeles who are considered to the first Mexican American group to have a national hit record with “Land Of A Thousand Dances.” The odds of making a record that would become one of the most famous songs in rock history have got to be at least a million to one. And even less likely, is to find yourself sharing the bill with the Beatles on their legendary 1965 US tour. Joe Jaramillo did just that. He was just a 15-year-old kid living in a notorious Los Angeles housing project when “Yo Yo,” his brother Bobby “Rabbit” Jaramillo, and friend Richard “Scar” Lopez discovered they could create a special harmony when singing together. Within a short time, they teamed up with another local singer by the name of Frankie “Cannibal” Garcia to form the group that would soon be called Cannibal & The Headhunters, with Garcia as front man. After passing an audition for local record executive Eddie Davis, Cannibal & The Headhunters signed to his Rampart Records. They were soon in the studio recording “Land Of A Thousand Dances,” a song co-written by Fats Domino which was already a local hit by another artist. But it was their version of the song that shot to Billboard’s top 30 in April of 1965, and they were fast becoming the pride of East LA. Before long, the group found themselves on the road sharing the stage with such superstars as the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Ben E. King, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett and Tom Jones. They were also invited to perform on “Hullabaloo,” a national rock ‘n roll variety show that counted Paul McCartney as one of its fans. The story goes that McCartney saw the boys on “Hullabaloo” and requested that manager Brian Epstein bring them on tour with the Beatles. Jaramillo and the group were soon flying around the country playing before tens of thousands of screaming Beatles fans at each stop. That tour included the Beatles’ legendary Shea Stadium and Hollywood Bowl shows. Legend has it that the Headhunters were exciting the crowds so much, that Epstein asked their manager to have them ease up a bit on stage. Back home after the tour, the guys started to make more records, but were never able to recapture the hysteria that sparked from that first huge hit. By 1967, the group had broken up, with the guys going their separate ways only to reunite on rare occasions. For “Yo Yo” that meant raising a family. Joe Jaramillo passed away as a result of liver disease on May 24, 2000 at the age of 52.