Died On This Date (April 22, 2010) Gene Lees / Jazz Historian and Lyricist

Frederick “Gene” Lees
February 8, 1928 – April 22, 2010

Gene Lees was a respected music critic, biographer and historian who also found success as a songwriter.  Already an established journalist in his home country of Canada, Lees became the editor of Down Beat in 1959.  He also wrote for the New York Times, Stereo Review, High Fidelity and the Toronto Star, to name a few.  Lees wrote liner notes as well.  Albums by John Coltrane, Quincy Jones and Stan Getz include his work.  He also collaborated on several jazz biographies and wrote a couple of respected historical books on jazz as well.  As a lyricist, Lees wrote the words for songs by the likes of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Charles Aznavour and Bill Evans.  His songs have been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Diana Krall, Sarah Vaughan, and Queen Latifah, to name a few.  Gene Lees was 82 when he passed away in his home on April 22, 2010.



Died On This Date (April 22, 2003) Felice Bryant / Wrote Many Pop Hits

Felice Bryant
August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003

Along with her husband Boudleaux, Felice Bryant, wrote such early pop hits as “Bye Bye Love,” “Rocky Top,” and “All I Have To Do Is Dream,” the last two being big hits for the Everly Brothers. The future Mr. & Mrs. Boudleaux met in 1945 and so began a successful songwriting partnership (and marriage) that would last some forty years. During that time, they wrote songs for a virtual who’s who of popular music. That list includes Tony Bennett, the Grateful Dead, Dean Martin, Ray Charles, Nazareth, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Elvis Costello, Simon & Garfunkel, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Sarah Vaughan. Together they penned over 1500 recorded songs which obviously landed them into several songwriter halls of fame. Felice Bryant passed away from natural causes on April 22, 2003.



Died On This Date (April 3, 1990) Sarah Vaughan / Jazz Icon

Sarah Vaughan
March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990

Known as “The Divine One,” Sarah Vaughan was an American jazz singer who won three Grammys and was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters Award by the National Endowment for the Arts. Equaled perhaps by only Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, Vaughan left behind a body of work that may never be matched. Vaughan’s career began back in early ‘4os when she won an amateur contest at Harlem’s Apollo Theater after which she was invited back in the Spring of 1943 to open some shows for Ella Fitzgerald. Based on those performances, she was introduced to Earl Hines who then replaced his singer with Vaughan. And so launched a career that would extend through the late ’80s when she was diagnosed with lung cancer, Miss Vaughan passed away in her home on April 3, 1990. It has been reported that she died while watching a movie that featured her daughter.

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Sarah Vaughan

Died On This Date (November 17, 2006) Ruth Brown / Early R&B Great

Ruth Brown (Born Ruth Weston)
January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2007

ruthbrown

Ruth Brown was an R&B singer who, like her idols, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday became one of popular music’s most important vocalists of her generation.  So vital was she, that her young label at the time, Atlantic Records, would come to be known as “The House That Ruth Built.”  After running away from home with trumpeter and future husband, Jimmy Brown, in 1945,  Brown began singing in clubs in the Washington DC area.  A local disc jockey caught her act and recommended her to Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic.  She soon signed to the fledgling label and began releasing a string of R&B hits that included “Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean,” “So Long,” “Oh What a Dream” and “I’ll Wait For You.”  Brown stepped away from the business to raise her family during the ’60s, but came back strong during the mid ’70s when she starred in a Broadway musical, Black and Blue, which won her an Tony and a Grammy for the soundtrack.  She also had a role on the sitcom, Hello Larry and in the John Waters film, Hairspray.  Brown became and advocate for musicians’ rights during the late ’80s, and in 1993, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  On November 17, 2006, Ruth Brown, 78, died of complications from a stroke and heart attack she had suffered the previous month.

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Ruth Brown

Died On This Date (November 5, 1990) Bobby Scott / Jazz Musician

Bobby Scott
January 29, 1937 – November 5, 1990

bobbyscottBobby Scott was a notable jazz pianist who, remarkably, turned professional when he was just 11.  By the time he was 15, he was touring with the likes of Louis Prima.  During the ’50s, Scott played with Gene Krupa and scored a pop hit with “Chain Gang.”  In later years, Scott spent more time behind the scenes.  He served as music director for Dick Haymes and produced records by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Darin and Sarah Vaughan.  Bobby Scott passed away on November 5, 1990.