Died On This Date (January 8, 2008) Clyde Otis / Prolific Songwriter and Label Exec
themusicsover Clyde Otis
September 11, 1924 – January 8, 2008
Clyde Otis was a successful songwriter, producer and label executive who, over the course of his career, is said to have written or co-written over 800 songs. He was most closely associated with Brook Benton with whom he collaborated on many hit recordings. He also worked with the likes of Dinah Washington, Timi Yuro and Sarah Vaughan. His songs have been recorded by such artists as Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis and Aretha Franklin. And in 1994, Natalie Cole’s Take A Look, won him a Grammy as producer. Clyde Otis was 83 when he passed away on January 8, 2008.
Fran Landesman was an American poet and lyricist who achieved international acclaim for penning the words to such songs as “The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men” and “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most.” Born in New York City, Landesman eventually settled with her husband in St. Louis, Missouri where they owned and operated the Crystal Palace, a world-renowned night club that hosted the likes of Barbra Streisand, Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen. It was while sitting at the bar listening to the singers that Landesman was inspired to take a stab at writing song lyrics herself. The year was 1952, and it was then and there that she began collaborating with the club’s house pianist on a string of songs, some of which became hits as recorded by others. That list of singers includes R0berta Flack, Rickie Lee Jones, Bette Midler, 
Along with his wife, 
Joe Pass was an exceptional jazz guitarist known for an improvisational style that would influence future generations of players. Pass began playing guitar on his 9th birthday and by the time he turned 14, he was gigging around town. But within a few years, he began to struggle with drug abuse and fell off the radar as a musician. After spending over two years in a drug rehab program, he resurfaced to reclaim his spot at the top of the jazz world. Throughout the ’60s, Pass recorded several albums for the Pacific Jazz label while lending his talents to the likes of 
Count Basie is one of most important jazz musicians and band leaders in American history. Born in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1904, Basie was encouraged by his mother to learn the piano, paying 25 cents a lesson for the young boy. Dropping out of junior high school, he took a job at a local movie house where one day when the regular pianist failed to show up for work, Basie took over playing behind the silent films. He never looked back. By his late teens he was playing at local parties, dances and talent shows, and when he wasn’t playing, he was hustling for his next gig. In the mid ’20s, Basie was fully immersed in the jazz scene that was building in Harlem. He would lead his Count Basie Orchestra on and off for the next fifty years. Throughout his astounding career, Basie played for royalty around the world; recorded with a who’s who of popular music – from 
