Died On This Date (December 25, 1998) Bryan MacLean / Love
themusicsover Bryan MacLean
September 25, 1946 – December 25, 1998
Bryan MacLean was a songwriter and guitarist best known for his work in the ’60s psychedelic garage rock band, Love. Formed in 1965, the group is known to have influenced such bands as the Damned, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and the Stone Roses. No less than Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant has called Love’s Forever Changes one of his favorite albums of all time. While growing up, MacLean envisioned a career as a traveling folk singer, but after seeing the Beatles in A Hard Day’s Night, he set his sights on rock music. Around 1964, he met Arthur Lee and within a year they would evolve into Love, get signed to Elektra Records, and begin releasing a trio of LPs that included Forever Changes, by many accounts, one of rock’s greatest albums. The band’s most significant records were “7 & 7 is,” “Hey Joe,” “My Little Red Book,” and the MacLean-penned, “Alone Again Or.” Love broke up in 1967, and MacLean, who had been struggling with drug addiction set out to turn his life around. He became a devout Christian, but continued to make music over the three decades. In later years, he lent a hand to the career of his half-sister Maria McKee and her band, Lone Justice. His “Don’t Toss Us Away,” is one of the stand-out tracks on their debut album. While planning a comeback in 1998, Bryan MacLean suffered a fatal heart attack on Christmas Day. He was 51.
What You Should Own
Michael Lee was a respected English drummer who, after a short career as the with ’90s rock band, Little Angels, began recording and touring with many of the era’s greatest musicians. His first gig of magnitude came in 1991 when he toured as part of the Cult’s band. In 1993, he began working with Robert Plant on record and on tour. That lead to a Led Zeppelin reunion of sorts when Plant began collaborating with Jimmy Page as Page and Plant. While working with Plant, Lee co-wrote “Please Read the Letter” which won a Grammy for Plant and Alison Krauss in 2009. Throughout his career, Lee also collaborated with a reconfigured Thin Lizzy, Quireboys, Lenny Kravitz, Ian Gillan, and Echo & The Bunnymen. Michael Lee died of an epileptic seizure in his home at the age of 39.
John Bonham is best remembered as the powerful drummer for legendary British rock band Led Zeppelin and was arguably the greatest drummer rock has ever known. In 1968, Bonham was asked to join the new band guitarist, Jimmy Page was forming after the break-up of the Yardbirds. He had been recommended by singer, Robert Plant who had worked with Bonham some years earlier in a blues band called Crawling King Snakes. The Led Zeppelin line-up was rounded out with bassist, John Paul Jones. Over the next several years, Led Zeppelin grew in immense popularity due to their genre defining albums and explosive live shows. Bonham’s drumming was as important to the mix as anything else in the band. And his drum solos became a thing of legend, perhaps even introducing the concept to other young bands. One Bonham signature song in particular, “Moby Dick,” sometimes included solos as long as 30 minutes. With Led Zeppelin, Bonham played on some of rock music’s greatest songs. That list includes “Whole Lotta Love,” “Kashmir,” “Immigrant Song,” and of course, “Stairway To Heaven.” On September 24, 1980, Bonham was drinking heavily both prior to, and during band rehearsals. After calling it quits later that night, the band went to Page’s Windsor, England home to sleep. Sometime after midnight, the sleeping Bonham was placed in a bed for the night. He was found dead by Jones and a friend later that afternoon. John Bonham was dead at the age of 32. Cause of death was ruled pulmonary edema, having suffocated from breathing in his own vomit while passed out.