Died On This Date (August 5, 1992) Jeff Porcaro / Toto

Jeff Porcaro
April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992

Born into a musical family, Jeff Porcaro began playing the drums at an early age. His father was well-known session drummer, Joe Porcaro, and his brothers, Steve and Mike Porcaro are active studio musicians as well. Drum lessons began for Jeff at age seven, leading to a career as one of the most respected drummers of his time. At seventeen, Porcaro landed his first job, playing in Sonny & Cher’s touring band. By his twenties, he was playing with the likes of Steely Dan and Boz Scaggs. In 1977, Porcaro, Steve Lukather, and David Paich co-founded Grammy-winning rock band, Toto. Having sold some 30 million albums to date, they are considered to be one of the most successful mainstream rock bands of all time. Even with all that success, Porcaro had time to play on recordings by a who’s who of popular music, including Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits, Paul McCartney, Miles Davis, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton and Paul Anka. On August 5, 1992, Porcaro suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 38. Some speculated that his death was caused by an alergic reaction to insecticide. The offiicial autopsy concluded that he died of a previously undiagnosed heart condition.

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Died On This Date (January 16, 2010) Jimmy Wyble / Guitarist; Played With Bob Wills & Benny Goodman

Jimmy Wyble
January 25, 1922 – January 16, 2010

Jimmy Wyble is best remembered as a guitarist who made significant contributions to worlds of jazz and Western swing.  During the early days of his career, Wyble played country-western, most notably in Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys.  After serving a few years in WWII, Wyble set his sites on jazz and formed his own combo.  He released his first album, The Jimmy Wyble Quintet in 1953.  In the coming years, he played in both Benny Goodman’s and Red Norvo’s bands.  While playing for the latter, he toured with Frank Sinatra.  Wyble was a session player throughout most of the ’60s and ’70s, playing on such television shows as The Flip Wilson Show, and on such film soundtracks as Ocean’s Eleven and The Wild Bunch.  He was also a respected guitar teacher who taught the likes of Steve Lukather.  Jimmy Wyble passed away from heart failure just days before his 88th birthday.