Died On This Date (December 2, 2009) Eric Woolfson / Alan Parsons Project
themusicsover Eric Woolfson
March 18, 1945 – December 2, 2009
Eric Woolfson was a much respected Scottish musician, songwriter and singer who is best remembered as one-half of the driving force behind the Alan Parsons Project. Woolfson started out mostly as a songwriter, penning songs for the likes of Marianne Faithfull, Peter Noone and the Tremeloes. In the early ’70s, he got into artist management, guiding the careers of Carl Douglas of “Kung Fu Fighting” fame and an up-and-coming producer, Alan Parsons who had previously engineered the Beatles’ Abbey Road and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. In 1975, the two began collaborating creatively and the Alan Parsons Project was born. Over the next decade, the group released such popular prog rock albums as I Robot, Pyramid and Eye in the Sky. Overall, they sold in excess of 40 million albums. By the early ’90s, Woolfson and Parsons parted ways with Woolfson moving into musical theater. Woolfson was later diagnosed with cancer and died from the disease on December 2, 2009. He was 64.
What You Should Own
Sure it was the House That Ruth Built and home to Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, but the legendary Yankee Stadium was also the site of numerous concerts over its storied 85 years. The first concert ever held there was an R&B festival on June 21, 1969. It was hosted by the Isley Brothers and included Tina Turner, Moms Mabley, the Edwin Hawkins Singers, Brooklyn Bridge, and Patti Austin on the bill. On August 23, 1973, over 44,000 music fans converged on the site to experience one of the most culturally significant Latin music shows the US had ever seen. What started out as a promotional concert by local Latin label, Farina Records to showcase their up-and-coming artists, turned out to be a symbol of the importance of Latin culture in New York City and the foundation of a Latin pride movement. On June 22, 1990, Billy Joel brought his rock and roll show to the stadium. Joel’s “Live At Yankee Stadium” was released on video in 1990 and is considered by many to be his best live recording ever. 1992 saw U2 performing two sold-out concerts there, followed by two sold out Pink Floyd shows in 1994.
