SAD to say, this is a LONG list. :( † Remembering - JAN 24: ***1978 – Terry Kath, American guitarist and songwriter (Chicago) (b. 1946) Terry Alan Kath (January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978) was an American musician and songwriter, best known as the original guitarist, co-lead singer and founding member of the rock band Chicago. He has been praised by the band for his guitar skills and Ray Charles-influenced vocal style. His guitar playing was an important component of the groups sound from the start of their career, and he sang lead on several of the groups singles. He used a number of different guitars, but eventually became identified with the Fender Telecaster fitted with a humbucker pickup and decorated with numerous stickers. Kath struggled with health issues and drug abuse toward the end of the 1970s. He died in January 1978 from an accidentally self-inflicted gunshot wound. Kath took an unloaded .38 revolver and put it to his head, pulling the trigger several times on the empty chambers. Johnson had warned Kath several times to be careful. Kath then picked up a semiautomatic 9 mm pistol and, leaning back in a chair, said to Johnson, Dont worry about it ... look, the clips not even in it. To satisfy Johnsons concerns, Kath showed the empty magazine to Johnson. Kath then replaced the magazine in the gun, put the gun to his temple, and pulled the trigger. However, there was a round in the chamber, and Kath died instantly. O:) ***1990 – Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rossington Collins Band, and Allen Collins Band) (b. 1952) Larkin Allen Collins Jr. (July 19, 1952 – January 23, 1990) was one of the founding members and guitarists of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, and co-wrote many of the bands songs with late frontman Ronnie Van Zant. Allen Collins died on January 23, 1990 from chronic pneumonia, a complication of the paralysis. O:) ***1993 – Thomas A. Dorsey, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1899) Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993) was known as the father of black gospel music and was at one time so closely associated with the field that songs written in the new style were sometimes known as dorseys. Dorsey wrote Peace in the Valley for Mahalia Jackson in 1937, which also became a gospel standard. His first wife, Nettie, who had been Raineys wardrobe mistress, died in childbirth in 1932. Two days later the child, a son, also died. In his grief, he wrote his most famous song, one of the most famous of all gospel songs, Precious Lord, Take My Hand.He was the first African American elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and also the first in the Gospel Music Associations Living Hall of Fame. He died in Chicago, Illinois. O:) ***1997 – Richard Berry, American singer-songwriter (The Flairs) (b. 1935) Richard Berry (April 11, 1935 – January 23, 1997) was an African-American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed with many Los Angeles doo-wop and close harmony groups in the 1950s, including The Flairs and The Robins. He is best known as the composer and original performer of the rock standard Louie Louie. The song went on to be a hit for The Kingsmen, becoming one of the most recorded songs of all time; however, Berry received little financial benefit for writing it until the 1980s, having signed away his rights to the song in 1959. In February 1996, Berry performed for the final time, reuniting with the Pharaohs and the Dreamers for a benefit concert in Long Beach, California. His health declined shortly after this, and he died of heart failure in 1997. O:) ***2003 – Nell Carter, American actress and singer (b. 1948) Nell Carter (September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American singer and actress. From 1981 to 1987, Carter starred in the NBC sitcom Gimme a Break!. Having previously survived two brain aneurysms, Carter died at the age of 54 on January 23, 2003, from heart disease complicated by diabetes. O:) ***2004 – Bob Keeshan, American actor and producer (b. 1927) Robert James Bob Keeshan (June 27, 1927 – January 23, 2004) was an American television producer and actor. He is most notable as the title character of the childrens television program Captain Kangaroo, which became an icon for millions of people during its 30-year run from 1955 to 1984. Keeshan also played the original Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody television program. Keeshan died in Windsor, Vermont, on January 23, 2004 at age 76. O:) https://youtube/watch?v=SSpPyTNSlTU ***2005 – Johnny Carson, American actor, producer, and talk show host (b. 1925) John William Johnny Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, actor, and musician known for thirty years as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992). Carson retired from show business on May 22, 1992, at age 66. At 6:50 AM PST on January 23, 2005, Carson died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of respiratory failure arising from emphysema. Carson was a heavy smoker for decades. O:) ***2011 – Jack LaLanne, American fitness instructor, author, and television host (b. 1914) Francois Henri Jack LaLanne (September 26, 1914 – January 23, 2011) was an American fitness, exercise, and nutritional expert and motivational speaker who is sometimes called the godfather of fitness and the first fitness superhero. LaLanne died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia at his home on January 23, 2011. He was 96. According to his family, he had been sick for a week, but refused to see a doctor. O:) ***
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 06:19:28 +0000