November 21, 1933 – September 25, 2016
One of the pioneering female voices in country music, Jean Shepard rose to fame in the early 1950s with the hit duet “A Dear John Letter” with Ferlin Husky. The song reached number 1 on the country charts and the duo recorded a follow-up single later the same year. Jean would go on to record more than two dozen albums and chart more than 40 singles over the course of her 60 year career.
August 7, 1928 – June 4, 2012
A “Platter” by any other name…
Herb Reed was the bass vocalist and a founding member of the American vocal group, The Platters. Claiming to have come up with the name, Reed joined the fledgling group in Los Angeles in 1953 and would become the last surviving original member and the only member to appear on every Platters’ recording from 1953 to 1969.
After 1969, well…it gets a little…litigious.
January 15, 16221 – February 17, 1673
Arguably the greatest and most prolific playwright in the history of the French language, Molière (née Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) wrote more than 30 comedies, farces and tragicomedies. At the height of his popularity, he was the toast of Paris and had major fans in the Duke of Orléans and the Duke’s older brother…a guy named Louis XIV.
Molière satirized everything (except the monarchy) and drew ire from those he poked fun at. But, he rarely got in trouble for his works (thanks to the monarchy) and enjoyed a fair amount of success later in his life. His plays have been thoroughly translated into every major language and his master works like The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, The School for Wives and The Miser are still being produced today
September 30, 1947 – September 16, 1977
Little Mark Feld grew up in the boroughs of London idolizing rock and roll pioneers like Chuck Berry and Eddie Cochran. At the age of 9, he was given his first guitar and by the time he was 17 was already on his way to “Rock Star Legend” status.
By 1965, he had changed his name to “Marc Bolan” and was recording with the likes of Jimmy Page and the Ladybirds. Failing to make any sort of breakthrough success, Bolan leaned heavily on the ideas in his imagination. Fantasy and mythology filled his mind. If he could somehow find a way to translate that into music, he would probably be on to something.
In 1967, he founded the band Tyrannosaurus Rex.
September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015
Lynn Anderson never promised you a rose garden, but – in the end – you got one anyway.
As a young girl, Anderson’s family relocated from California to Nashville when her mother, Liz Anderson, began getting noticed for her songwriting. When she wasn’t singing and performing, Lynn spent her free time with horses. In addition to her career in music, she raised quarter horses and raced them professionally.
Living in Nashville in the ’60s with a mom who was a prolific songwriter had its benefits. Lynn was discovered while singing with her mom at a party and was signed to a record deal. Her first Top 10 hit was 1967’s “If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away)”…which was written by Liz.
February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946
Novelist, poet and playwright, Gertrude Stein, was born in Pennsylvania to a affluent, upper-middle class family. As a young child, Stein’s family moved to Europe (Vienna and Paris, to be precise) and her parents wanted to instill a strong sense of European life and sensibility in them.
It worked.
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December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was and English writer born in Bombay, British India.
Not satisfied with that base level of international poly-citizenship, Kipling would spend much of his life traveling and exploring the world abroad. British custom at the time required that Rudyard and his sister spend their formative years in England. Their parents stayed in India, so the children bounced back and forth for much of their young lives.
Kipling loved to write, but his education stopped short of attending university. Instead, he went to work at a newspaper in India where he published dozens of short stories – a genre he helped popularize – over the course of several years. He returned to London by way of a 7 month journey through Asia and North America. His time in Japan and America, in particular, proved to be influential to him both personally and creatively. While in New York, Kipling dropped in on an unsuspecting Mark Twain and the two enjoyed a productive conversation.
July 16, 1939 – April 06, 2010
Tony Award nominated actor, Corin Redgrave was the middle child – and only son – of legendary British actors Rachel Kempson and Michael Redgrave. Along with sisters, Lynn and Vanessa, Corin was part of the successful third generation of the Redgrave acting family.
Known most widely for his stage performances, Redgrave made a name for himself in productions ranging from Shakespeare to Tennessee Williams in both London and New York. In 1999, he was nominated for Tony and Evening Standard awards for his work in Williams’ Not About Nightingales.
June 19, 1914 – May 11, 1979
Guitarist, mandolinist, singer and songwriter, Lester Flatt, played in a number of bands during his 20s all throughout the American south. In 1945, he joined Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys and the history of country music was altered forever. Flatt played rhythm guitar and sang lead vocals for the legendary group for 3 years, churning out dozens of hits that shaped the eponymous new genre: Bluegrass.
In 1948, Flatt left the Blue Grass Boys along with banjo player, Earl Scruggs. The two would team up to form Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys and become one of the most popular bluegrass acts of all time.
April 02, 1840 – September 29, 1902
French author, journalist and playwright, Émile Zola, is widely regarded as the preeminent writer in the Naturalism movement in literature. With more than 30 works to his credit, Zola was one of the most prominent writers of his time. A large percentage of his books centered around multiple generations of a single family living in Napoleon III’s France.
His naturalistic portrayals of common people and his negative depictions of real-life political figures led Zola to a life of activism in addition to his writing. He became an outspoken proponent of the liberalization of France and his vocal critiques gained him a lot of enemies in the public sphere.
He was tried for criminal libel and forced to flee to England for a time.
And he may or may not have been murdered.
Celebrity Graveland 