Such Gorgeousness (Photo By Gail)
On This Date, November 24th, in 1991: Queen’s lead vocalist and primary songwriter, Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara) died of complications from AIDS, one day after publicly admitting he was HIV positive. He was 45 years old. Thank you Freddie for all of the great music, your truly inimitable style and for helping to make my Teenage Hell years bearable. I never loved any other rock star the way I loved you.
Young Elvis: I’d Do It
On This Date, August 16th, in 1977: Elvis Presley left the building for the last time when he was found dead, laying on the floor of his bathroom at Graceland. The official cause of death was heart failure. He was 42 years old.
Break On Through
On This Date, July 3rd, in 1971: Jim Morrison, legendary singer and lyricist for The Doors – and enduring sex symbol – was found dead in the bathtub of his apartment in Paris, apparently of heart failure. He was 27 years old. Also on this date in 1969, Brian Jones, former guitarist for and founding member of The Rolling Stones was found dead in his swimming pool in Hartfield, England, at the age of 27 years. For decades Jones’ death was ruled to be an accidental drowning, but the 2005 biopic, Stoned (which features great performances and excessive nudity – two thumbs up) shows an alternate version of his demise, based on the deathbed confession of his (alleged) killer. I don’t want to spoil it for you, so be sure to add Stoned to your Netflix Queue or pick it up on Amazon.com for mere pennies.
Louie Bellson (1924-2009)
Swing drumming great Louie Bellson passed away on February 14th at the age of eighty-four. Initially inspired by Chick Webb and Sid Catlett, Louie found his drumming voice very early on by combining the clear melodic phrasing and rudimental soloing style of Gene Krupa with the swinging groove of Papa Jo Jones and the extraordinary speed of Buddy Rich. Besides his great technique and always-musical approach to the drums, Bellson was responsible for designing the first double bass drum setup and popularizing its use – thus pioneering a new approach that was later adopted by many rock drummers. The LA Times has a full obit on this drumming legend up now This Link.
Oct 9, 1940 – Dec 8, 1980
It’s funny that I was just thinking about John’s passing just yesterday, when I rode a bus by the Dakota Building on my way to the West Side. Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono invites everyone to share their memories of John at This Link.