Archive for Musicians

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Tito Puente

Posted in Saint Anthony's Catholic Cemetery with tags , , on July 29, 2024 by Cade

April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000

Like most latter-day Gen Xers, I formed most of my pop-culture knowledgebase throughout the 1990s watching The Simpsons. The writers of the iconic show were clearly of a generation previous to mine and would pepper in references to things from their youth, and thereby introduce them to us youngins.

So, it should come as no surprise that my first introduction to percussionist Tito Puente was from the 1995 cliffhanger episode “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part 1” in which Lisa Simpson wanted to use the city’s newfound riches to hire Puente as the music teacher. To this day, I can’t hear the name “Tito Puente” without uttering to myself “He robbed the school of TITO!”

But, I digress.

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Jean Shepard

Posted in Hendersonville Memory Gardens with tags , , , , on July 8, 2024 by Cade

shepard1November 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.

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Marc Bolan

Posted in Golders Green Crematorium with tags , , on June 17, 2024 by Cade

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.

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Lester Flatt

Posted in Oaklawn Memorial Cemetery with tags , , , , on May 13, 2024 by Cade

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.

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Jim Croce

Posted in Haym Salomon Memorial Park with tags , , on April 1, 2024 by Cade

January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973

Jim Croce was a singer-songwriter whose instantly recognizable songs were popular in the early 1970s. His legend and impact only grew in the wake of his untimely death at the age of just 30.

Hits like “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels),” and “Time in a Bottle” remain well-loved to this day.

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Jean-Pierre Rampal

Posted in Montparnasse Cemetery with tags , on November 6, 2023 by Cade

January 07, 1922 – May 20, 2000

Quick! Name a French flautist more famous than Jean-Pierre Rampal.

Marcel Moyse? Please.

René Le Roy? Nice try.

Georges Barrère? Maybe. But did Barrère ever guest star on The Muppet Show?

I didn’t think so.

Literally born to play the flute, Jean-Pierre Rampal was the son of Joseph Rampal, himself a famous French flautist who studied alongside the likes of Moyse and Le Roy. The younger Rampal started studying the instrument at the age of 12 and only went on to globally re-popularize its use as a classical solo instrument in the decades after World War II. Let’s see René and Marcel do that!

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Keith Moon

Posted in Golders Green Crematorium with tags , , on September 4, 2023 by Cade

August 23, 1946 – September 07, 1978

Keith John Moon is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock and roll drummers of all time, if only because of his wholly unique playing style and over-the-top behavior. Moon joined London-based band, the Who in 1964, just before they recorded their debut album and took their place as one of the tent poles in what would become the legendary “British Invasion” era of rock and roll. Though he often quipped that he “was just filling in” on drums with the band (he claims he was never formally asked to join) Moon played with the iconic group for nearly 15 years…through the absolute height of their productivity and popularity.

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Earl Van Dyke

Posted in Woodlawn Cemetery (MI) with tags , , , on January 30, 2023 by Cade

July 8, 1930 – September 18, 1992

Nicknamed “Chunk O Funk” or “Big Funk” by his session-mates, Earl Van Dyke was a piano player, keyboardist and band leader for the Motown in-house band collectively known as the Funk Brothers. Van Dyke stepped into the role when Joe Hunter left Motown in 1964 and played on hit records for artists like the Temptations, the Four Tops and Marvin Gaye. He also recorded and played his own records, many of which were Motown inspired or covers of classic Motown songs.

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Bill Monroe

Posted in Rosine Cemetery with tags , , , , on January 9, 2023 by Cade

September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996

William Smith Monroe was a hugely influential country musician. Born into a musical family in the “Bluegrass State” of Kentucky, young Bill took up playing the mandolin since his older brothers had already learned guitar and fiddle. They formed a family band, the Monroe Brothers, to play local dances and other shows and Bill (along with brother, Charley) eventually landed spots on regional and national radio programs and a recording contract with RCA Victor. Over the next several years, Bill gathered a stable of talented musicians and eventually formed the Blue Grass Boys where he leaned heavily on his Scottish roots and the music he grew up with. By the time Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys had found and fine-tuned their unique sound, an entire new genre of country music was born.

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Uriel Jones

Posted in Woodlawn Cemetery (MI) with tags , , , on October 31, 2022 by Cade

June 13, 1934 – March 24, 2009

As a drummer for the legendary house band, the Funk Brothers, Uriel Jones played on many of Motown Records’ biggest hits of the 1960s. From “Ain’t to Proud to Beg” and “I Can’t Get Next to You” by the Temptations, to Stevie Wonder’s “For Once in My Life”, Jones’ smooth and funky rhythm came to be a staple in the exploding R&B scene out of Detroit.

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