Died On This Date (December 1, 2013) Richard Coughlan / Drummer For Caravan
themusicsover Richard Coughlan
September 2, 1947 – December 1, 2013
Richard Coughlan was an English drummer who spent almost his entire career as the drummer for influential Canterbury scene prog rock band, Caravan. With a career that more or less started when he was 10 years old, Coughlan has been called one of rock’s longest tenured musicians. After playing in different bands during his teens, Coughlan found himself playing for the Wilde Flowers, a Canterbury progressive rock band whose members eventually went on to form either Soft Machine, or in Coughlan’s case, Caravan, the genres two most influential bands. Formed in 1968, Caravan became the first British act to sign to prestigious American label, Verve. Over the next decade or so, the band built a loyal legion of fans thanks in part to their ability to blend jazz and psychedelic rock. Also called art rock, Caravan’s sound can be credited for paving the way for the likes of Genesis, Roxy Music, David Bowie, and later, Muse and Radiohead. Caravan remained active – with different members coming and going – with Coughlan remaining in the fold until he died following a fight with pneumonia on December 1, 2013. He was 66.
What You Should Own
Scott Johnson was a respected stage manager and drum tech who, over the course of his career worked with several British bands including Keane, White Lies, and most recently, Radiohead. On June 16, 2012, while he was working as Radiohead’s drum tech, Johnson was reportedly on their stage as it was being set up for a show in Toronto, Canada. In what appeared to have been an accident, Johnson was struck and killed when the top portion of the stage collapsed and fell on him. Initial reports indicated that three others were injured in the collapse as well. Scott Johnson was 33 when he died from his injuries.
Conrad Schnitzler was a German-born musician who became one of electronic music’s most influential pioneers. As an early member of the great Tangerine Dream, Schnitzler helped launch what would become known as “krautock,” and in doing so, influenced such electronic based acts as Brian Eno, Radiohead, and everyone in between. Following his short stint with Tangerine Dream, Schnitzel left to form Kluster, another experimental group that laid the foundation of what we now know as industrial music. In more recent years, Schnitzler self-produced and self-distributed numerous CD-Rs of his recordings while collaborating with others. He released over 100 recordings throughout his career, the latest being 00/830, just days before he passed away. Conrad Schnitzler died of stomach cancer on August 4, 2011.
British jazz musician and host of the Radio 4 comedy program, I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue. He began playing the trumpet in 1936 and continued to perform live in recent years. In 1956, Lyttelton was the first jazz musician to enter the pop Top 20 with his Bad Penny Blues which was produced by 
Mark Linkous was the multi-instrumentalist leader of alternative rock group, Sparklehorse, who became an critics’ darling cult band after the release of their debut album, Vivadixiesubmarine- transmissionplot, in 1995. Prior to that, he was a member of the Dancing Hoods, who he co-founded in the mid ’80s. In 1996, while on tour with Radiohead, Linkous overdosed Valium, antidepressants and alcohol, causing him to lay unconscious with his legs pinned underneath him for fourteen hours. He literally died for two minutes when rescuers tried to straighten his legs which had been cut off from circulation for the duration of his unconsciousness. The incident left him with permanent damage to his legs. In 2009, Linkous collaborated on a Dark Night of Soul with famed indie producer Danger Mouse and iconic film director, David Lynch. The multi-media project also includes performance by Flaming Lips, Suzanne Vega, 