Died On This Date (January 19, 2017) Mike Kellie / Drummer For Spooky Tooth & The Only Ones
themusicsover Mike Kellie
March 24, 1947 – January 19, 2017
Mike Kellie was an English drummer who found acclaim with, primarily, Spooky Tooth and the Only Ones. Born in Birmingham, England, Kellie was self-taught and began playing in the St. Michael’s Youth Club Band while in his teens. It wasn’t long before he was asked to join Wayne and the Beachcombers, his first “real” band. In 1967, Spooky Tooth was launched with Kellie on drums. Although it would change line-ups throughout the years, at the time it included Gary Wright, Greg Ridley and Keith Emerson. The band’s second album, Spooky Two is considered a classic rock staple and spawned their most popular songs, “Waiting For The Wind,” “Evil Woman,” and “Feelin’ Bad.” In 1976, Kellie joined the Only Ones, an influential power pop/new wave band that was a far cry from the more proggy sounds of Spooky Tooth. The band released three studio albums for CBS Records. Their most famous record was 1978’s “Another Girl, Another Planet.” The song has since been heard in numerous movies and commercials, and has been recorded by Blink-182, the Lightning Seeds, and the Replacements to name a few. Throughout the balance of his career, Kellie was on board for a reunion or two by Spooky Tooth and the Only Ones, while being in demand as a session player. He can be heard drumming on records by the likes of Johnny Thunders, the Who, Joe Cocker, Peter Frampton, Jerry Lee Lewis, Traffic and George Harrison. Mike Kellie was 68 when he passed away on January 19, 2017. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Thanks to Harold Lepidus for the assist.
What You Should Own
Thomas Erdelyi, later to be more widely known by his stage name, Tommy Ramone, was the founding drummer for the highly influential rock band, the Ramones. Until he passed away, Erdelyi had been the last surviving member of the original foursome. Formed with former high school classmates, Douglas Colvin (
Andy Hummel was an American bassist who is best remembered as a founding member of Big Star. Formed with 
Karl Mueller played bass for Minneapolis alternative rock band, Soul Asylum who came out of the same scene that gave us Husker Du and the Replacements. But while the latter were building critical and commercial success, Soul Asylum seemed to have a hard time getting out of their shadows. But that all changed in 1992 with the release of Grave Dancers Union. The first single, “Runaway Train” became a worldwide hit thanks to a striking video that put focus on the plight of runaway teens. The video struck a chord and suddenly, Soul Asylum became household names. The band even performed at Bill Clinton’s Inaugural Ball. The band was on a lengthy hiatus by the end of the ’90s, and were beginning to work up new material when Mueller was diagnosed with throat cancer in May of 2004. He would succumb to the cancer on June 17, 2005 at the age of 41.