Obituary News

Guitar Legend Les Paul: RIP

Source: JamBase
August 13, 2009

Guitar Legend Les Paul: June 9, 1915 - August 13, 2009

Legendary guitarist and innovator Les Paul died on Thursday August 13, 2009. He was 94. Paul was a pioneer in developing the solid body electric guitar as well as creating multi-track recording devices.

What follows has been taken from gibson.com:

Les Paul New York, NY - August 13, 2009 - Les Paul, acclaimed guitar player, entertainer and inventor, passed away today from complications of severe pneumonia at White Plains ...

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Harold W. Arberg SR. Who put the "Caisson' in the Army Song Passes

Source: Michael Ricci
August 10, 2009

After a career as a military musician, Princeton music graduate Harold W. Arberg Sr. later became director of the arts and humanities division of the U.S. Department of Education.

Harold W. “Bud" Arberg Sr., who adapted the “Caisson" into the official song of the Army and who later became director of the arts and humanities division of the Department of Education, died of pneumonia Aug. 4 at a hospital in Arlington, Va. He was 90.

It took the Army three ...

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Willy Deville, Founder of Punk Group Mink Deville Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
August 7, 2009

Willy DeVille, who founded the punk group Mink DeVille and was known for his blend of R&B, blues, Dixieland and traditional French Cajun ballads, has died of pancreatic cancer, his publicist Carol Kaye said today. He was 58.

The Oscar-nominated songwriter died at New York's Cabrini Hospital.

Mink DeVille, for which DeVille was the principal songwriter, was billed as one of the most original groups on the New York punk scene after an appearance at the legendary CBGB club in ...

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Director John Hughes Has Died of a Heart Attack at Age 59

Source: Michael Ricci
August 6, 2009

John Hughes, director of such films as Home Alone, The Breakfast Club, Uncle Buck and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, has died of a heart attack, he was 59 years old.

Hughes died suddenly while taking a morning walk in New York City. The writer, director grew up in the Chicago area and directed such hits as Pretty In Pink, Planes, Trains & Automobiles and Weird Science. Many of his films were set in the Chicago suburbs.

Hughes had gotten his ...

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Billy Lee Riley Rockabilly Pioneer Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
August 4, 2009

Billy Lee Riley dies at 75; rockabilly pioneer did 'Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll'

The raucous performer and songwriter recorded for Sun Records for four years and later worked as a studio musician in L.A. His other big single was 'Red Hot.'

Billy Lee Riley, a rockabilly pioneer and songwriter who recorded for the legendary Sun Records label and is best remembered for his 1957 singles “Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll" and “Red Hot," has died. He was 75.

Riley ...

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Andy Parle Space Drummer Dies Suddenly at 42

Source: All About Jazz
August 3, 2009

Andy Parle the former drummer from Liverpool, England band Space, died on Saturday, in an incident police have described as “unexplained." He was 42.

Parle -- who drummed on Space hits such as 'Neighbourhood', 'The Female of the Species' and 'Me and You Versus the World' -- was crossing the road in Dingle, Liverpool on Saturday night when he collapsed.

Passersby and paramedics gave help at the scene, and he was then taken to the Liverpool Royal Hospital, where he ...

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Baatin of Detroit's Slum Village Dead at 35

Source: Michael Ricci
August 1, 2009

Baatin dies at 35; rapper co-founded progressive hip-hop group Slum Village Born Titus Glover in Detroit, he formed the group with Jay Dee and T3 while in high school. Baatin, a rapper who co-founded the progressive hip-hop group Slum Village, was found dead Saturday morning in Detroit. He was 35. Ty Townson, a family friend, confirmed Baatin's death to the Detroit Free Press. Details were not released. Baatin, who left Slum Village around 2003, had said in interviews over the ...

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George Russell, Composer Whose Theories Sent Jazz in a New Direction, Dies at 86

Source: Michael Ricci
July 30, 2009

George Russell, a jazz composer, educator and musician whose theories led the way to radical changes in jazz in the 1950s and ’60s, died on Monday in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. He was 86 and lived in Boston. The cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease, said his wife, Alice. Though he largely operated behind the scenes and was never well known to the general public, Mr. Russell was a major figure in one of the most important developments ...

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