Obituary News

Accordion Jazz Legend Art Van Damme, 1920-2010

Source: Michael Ricci
February 21, 2010

By Rob Howard Art Van Damme died on February 15th 2010 after being ill with pneumonia for several weeks. A Memorial to this great accordion jazz legend is now online and you can add your Tribute to his Tribute Wall on the Art Van Damme memorials site. Art Van Damme was born on April 9th 1920 in Norway, Michigan, and brought up in Chicago. Art Van Damme took up the piano accordion in 1929 at the age of nine, and ...

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Kathryn Grayson MGM Singing Star Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
February 18, 2010

Kathryn Grayson, who became a top MGM box office attraction in the 1940's and early '50s as the star of musicals such as Show Boat and Kiss Me Kate, has died. She was 88.

Grayson died Wednesday of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, Sally Sherman, Grayson's longtime companion and secretary, told Associated Press.

A coloratura soprano with a heart shaped face, Grayson made her screen debut in Andy Hardy's Private Secretary, starring Mickey Rooney, in 1941.

She ...

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Doug Fieger the Knack Lead Singer Dies

Source: All About Jazz
February 16, 2010

Doug Fieger, leader of the power pop band The Knack who sang on the 1979 hit “My Sharona," died Sunday. He was 57. Fieger, a Detroit-area native, died at his home in Woodland Hills near Los Angeles after battling cancer, according to The Knack's manager, Jake Hooker. Fieger formed The Knack in Los Angeles 1978, and the group quickly became a staple of Sunset Strip rock clubs. A year later he co-wrote and sang lead vocals on “My Sharona." See ...

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Jake Hanna Versatile Jazz Drummer Was in Merv Griffin's TV Show Band Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
February 16, 2010

Hanna, known for his unerring sense of time, was at home playing with big bands and small groups. He performed with Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson and Duke Ellington, among others.

Jake Hanna, a versatile drummer who played with such jazz figures as Woody Herman and was a longtime member of the band on Merv Griffin's television show, has died. He was 78. Hanna died Friday at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center of complications from a bone marrow disease, ...

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Dale Hawkins Early Rock Musician Wrote 'Susie-Q' Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
February 16, 2010

The singer-guitarist's 1957 hit became a rock anthem and was covered by many artists, including the Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The raw, bluesy swamp-rock sound of the original “Suzy Susie-Q" grew out of Dale Hawkin's childhood experience, steeped in rural country and blues music.

Dale Hawkins, a singer-guitarist best known for his 1957 hit Susie-Q, which became a rock anthem, died Saturday in Little Rock, Ark., his family announced. He was 73. He was diagnosed with colon cancer ...

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Jake Hanna, 1931-2010

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
February 14, 2010

Drummer Jake Hanna died last night in Los Angeles of complications from a blood disease. He was 78. Versatile across all jazz styles, in small groups and large Hanna swung with unremitting flexibility and power. He was the spark plug of big bands led by Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson and Toshiko Akiyoshi.

Here is Hanna in 1964 driving the Herman band in Bill Holman's arrangement of “After You've Gone." The video quality is a bit watery. The music is anything ...

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Surf-Rock Pioneer Richard Delvy Dies

Source: All About Jazz
February 12, 2010

Richard Delvy, a pioneering surf-rock drummer, composer, arranger, publisher and producer, died Feb. 6 at West Hills Hospital in California after a long illness. He was 67. Born on April 20, 1942, in Bridgeport, Conn., Delvy relocated to Southern California and became the drummer for the Bel-Airs, one of the earliest surf-rock groups. The band had a regional hit with the instrumental “Mr. Moto," which was covered by acts including the Ventures and Dick Dale and His Del-Tones. The original ...

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Fashion Diary: Alexander McQueen, an Appreciation

Source: Michael Ricci
February 11, 2010

Alexander McQueen, the fashion world's reigning provocateur, was found dead Thursday morning at his home in London. He was 40.

The police have not released an official report on the cause of death, but his press representatives at KCD Worldwide said it appeared to be suicide.

McQueen's death comes days after his mother's death on Feb. 2 and just a few weeks before he was due to present his fall women's collection in Paris.

As a designer, he was not ...

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