1989

Billy Lyall, (William Lyall) 3/26/53 – 12/01/89.
Billy was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the keyboard player and vocalist. Billy was an early member of the Bay City Rollers. He died of AIDS. Billy was 36.

I have found very little information on Billy and don't know much about him. I hope someone who does comes across this and can share more here.

Bay City Rollers - Bye Bye Baby
via FoxyTunes

1991

Steve Clark, (Stephen Maynard Clark), 4/23/60 – 1/8/91. Born in Hillsborough, England he was a guitarist for Def Leppard. He modeled his playing after his guitar idol, Jimmy Page. Steve’s had a severe addiction to alcohol that threatened his career many times. He died of an accidental overdose of painkillers and alcohol. He was 30.

Okay, here is another one. Its painful to remember these deaths and to write about them. A young man in the prime of his life with one of the hottest bands of the day. He was an excellent performer and he contributed to the early success of the band. But the guys became more and more frustrated and concerned about his drinking. What I've read has painted a picture of a tight band who cared a lot for Steve and did all they could to help him. Anyone who knows much about addiction and recovery knows that there is not a thing you can do to help someone, they have to want it for themselves. Unfortunately, Steve Clark did not. This is an excellent video clip of his bandmates talking about him, it also shows some of his guitar work. What stands out to me as I watched is Rick Allen. As their drummer he was able to overcome losing an arm and he triumphed over a great physical challenge. Yet all the while watching his friend, Steve, lose his battle to alcoholism. RIP Steve...you are missed.

Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me
via FoxyTunes




Steve Marriott, 1/30/47 - 4/20/91. Born in Bow, London Steve was the guitarist for Small Faces and Humble Pie. He is best remembered for his powerful blue-eyed soul vocals. Steve died of smoke inhalation when his 16th Century home caught fire. He was 44.

Steve was a self taught guitarist but was best known for his great voice. Humble Pie was a great band in the early 70's but according to other members drugs got in the way of things and they eventually broke up. His life was quite interesting, if you are interested you can read about him here. One thing I wonder about, would things have been different for him if he had got the job with The Rolling Stones? Check this is out: "After the departure of Mick Taylor in 1975 from the Rolling Stones, Marriott was considered as his replacement; however, Mick Jagger allegedly blocked the move after Marriott upstaged him during the audition. According to Ronnie Wood in his autobiography Ronnie, Marriott was Richards' first choice to replace Mick Taylor." Ten years after Steve died his friends got together and did a tribute concert to him that sounds like a fabulous evening with an all star line-up. I bet Steve would have loved it

Humble Pie - Hot 'N' Nasty
via FoxyTunes



David Ruffin, (Davis Eli Ruffin), 1/18/41 – 6/1/91. Born in Meridian, Mississippi he was a singer/dancer with The Temptations. He sang lead vocals for the first time on the song that went on to be their first number one hit, “My Girl”. David became heavily involved in drugs and died of cocaine overdose. He was 50.

The Tempations were one of the best Motown acts ever and David was one of the original five. He's been named by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 greatest vocalists of all time. That's impressive, but what impresses me more is what Marvin Gaye said of David's voice, "I heard in [his voice] a strength my own voice lacked". Unfortunately he had quite a few troubles in his life including spending some time in prison and battling with drugs and financial problems. There was some very wild rumors surrounding his death and many believed it was a planned suicide. But to me that doesn't matter now...he's gone and I choose to remember him singing and dancing and bringing a lot of joy to many people with this talent.

The Temptations - My Girl (Stereo)
via FoxyTunes




Miles Davis (Miles Dewey Davis III) 5/26/26 - 9/28/91. Born in Alton, Illinois Miles was one of the most influential musicians of the 20th Century. He was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He recorded in every major jazz genre including, bebop, fusion, funk. Miles died from a stroke, pneumonia and respiratory failure. He was 65.

Miles Davis always had an air of intimidation about him, kind of like he knew he was cool, he knew he was the man when it came to the trumpet. Listening to Miles makes me want a cigarette, even though I don't smoke. Wish I had something more eloquent to add.

Miles Davis - Blue in Green
via FoxyTunes



Eric Carr, (Paul Charles Caravello), 7/12/50 – 11/24/91. Eric is best known as the drummer for the rock band KISS. He replaced original drummer, Peter Criss. Eric was also a talented vocalist, bassist, guitarist and pianist. He was diagnosed and died of a rare form of heart cancer. Eric was 41.

Not being a huge KISS fan I had to do a bit of research on Eric Carr. Most people that I talk to still refer to the band's drummer as Peter Criss, which is a shame because Eric was with them longer and seemed like a very talented musician and likeable person. I recommend you follow the link on his name to read more about him. Here's one thing that intrigued me, "At the time of his successful audition, Caravello was repairing stoves with his father for a living, while playing drums in a variety of bands. He was the last drummer to audition for the band and actually asked Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley for autographs, in case he never saw them again. "But I knew I had it", he told a fanzine in 1990. According to Caravello, his audition was videotaped." Eric's death sounds horrible, that part was difficult to read.

Kiss - Calling Dr. Love
via FoxyTunes

Freddie Mercury, (Farrokh Bulsara), 9/5/46 – 11/24/91. Born on the island of Zanzibar Freddie was the much loved singer/ songwriter for Queen. He was known for his powerful vocal abilities and his charisma as a live performer. His health declined for years amidst rumors of HIV/AIDS. Just twenty four hours after issuing a statement that he had the disease, he lost his life to it. He was 45.

This was another death that brought immediate tears to my eyes. Along with many others that heard the news, it came as a shock to me because it was just the day before that he had officially announced he had AIDS. He waited a long time to share it publically and I respect his decision for doing that - to protect his family from the hounding media. Freddie was a special person to those who knew him and although his persona was bigger than life, it seemed that he was a bit shy and humble when not on state. On stage he was "godike" according to this account, "One of Mercury's most notable performances with Queen took place at Live Aid in 1985, during which the entire stadium audience of 72,000 people clapped, sang, and swayed in unison. Queen's performance at the event has since been voted by a group of music executives as the greatest live performance in the history of rock music. The results were aired on a television program called "The World's Greatest Gigs". In reviewing Live Aid in 2005, one critic wrote, "Those who compile lists of Great Rock Frontmen and award the top spots to Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, etc. all are guilty of a terrible oversight. Freddie, as evidenced by his Dionysian Live Aid performance, was easily the most godlike of them all."

Queen - We Are The Champions
via FoxyTunes

2002

Dave Van Ronk, 6/30/36 - 2/10/02. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Dave was a well known singer/songwriter and guitarist and personality in the early folk scene in New York. Although he wrote few of his own songs he was re-wrote songs by others such as of Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Patrick Sky, Phil Ochs and Joni Mitchell. Dave died of heart failure after a surgery for colon-cancer. He was 65.

I am not familiar with Dave or his music, I hope someone that knows a bit about him can add there thoughts in the comments. I'll share a quote here, "Van Ronk has been described as an irreverent and incomparable guitar artist and interpreter of black blues and folk, with an uncannily precise ability at improvisation. Joni Mitchell often said that his rendition of her song Both Sides Now (which he called Clouds) was the finest ever."



Mick Tucker, (Michael Thomas Tucker) 7/17/49 – 2/14/02. Born in London, England Mick was a member of several glam rock bands, best known for being the drummer of Sweet. He died of Leukemia. Mick was 55.

Sweet bandmate and friend, Steve Priest, said that Mick was the best drummer London ever produced. He added that even though Mick had been diagnosed five years earlier, his death was still a surprise because they believed he was in remission after a bone marrow transplant from his brother. Its a reminder - sometimes our blood, or our bone marrow, can save a life. I am sorry we had to lose Mick. He's gone, but like the others here, not forgotten, especially by his family and friends.



Layne Staley, 8/22/67 – 4/05/02. Born in Kirkland, Washington, Layne began playing drums at the age of twelve. He was in several glam bands in his early teens, but aspired to be a singer. In 1987 he became the singer for Alice in Chains died of a heroin/cocaine overdose. Layne was 34.

Tears. I know a lot of fans cried when Layne's death was announced. As I type this I am listening to U2 singing about how we are all One, we need to carry each other, we need to love each other. I don't know what that has to do with Layne Staley but I felt compelled to share it then opened Wiki to read more about Layne. Here is what he said about his parent's divorce (he was 7 years old when they split) "My world became a nightmare, there were just shadows around me. I got a call saying that my dad had died, but my family always knew he was around doing all kind of drugs. Since that call I always was wondering, 'Where is my dad?' I felt so sad for him and I missed him. He dropped out of my life for 15 years."In that same interview he also said that he was convinced that if he became a celebrity his dad would return." Another victim of drug abuse/addiction. Like father like son? Layne, so sorry you missed your dad so much, I know what that can do to a boy, knowing his father is out there but doesn't give a shit about him, I see it when I look into my son's eyes. Here's an interview with the band and some clips of them performing.

Alice In Chains - Down In A Hole
via FoxyTunes

Dee Dee Ramone, (Douglas Glenn Colvin), 9/18/52 – 6/5/02. Born in Fort Lee, Virginia, Dee Dee was a bassist, singer/songwriter for The Ramones. He also wrote two books, “Chelsea Horror Hotel” and “Lobotomy: Surviving The Ramones”. Dee died of an accidental heroin overdose. He was 50.

Another one. I don't even know what to say.

Dee Dee Ramone - I Wanna Be Sedated
via FoxyTunes

Robbin Crosby, (Robbinson Lance Crosby), 8/4/60 – 6/6/02. Born in La Jolla, California Robbin was co-lead guitarist along with Warren diMartini for the glam rock band Ratt. Robbin contacted AIDS and died of a heart attack that was associated with the disease. He was 42.

Okay, this one hurts. I met Robbin years ago up in LA (The Whiskey or The Wiltern? can't remember for sure) when RATT was just getting a name for themselves. He was so tall, so handsome, so sweet....seriously, he was a nice guy and he seemed almost shy to me. It was before the fame, glamor and heroin. So even though Ratt never impressed me musically I closely watched Robbin because of that night when we shared a few drinks, a bit of conversation and a kiss. Damn. His story is a sad one. I don't even want to talk about it. Here is a quote from Robbin, it comforts me, "When I die, nobody cry at my funeral, in fact let's all have a party; I've lived the life of ten men. I lived all my dreams and more". Sorry, Robbin, I didn't go to the funeral but I cried.

Ratt - Round and Round
via FoxyTunes



John Entwistle, (John Alec Entwistle), 10/9/44 – 6/27/02. John was born in London, England and is best known for being The Who’s bassist. He also worked with several other bands over the years including Ringo Starr, Govt. Mule and The Faces. John died of a cocaine induced heart attack. He was 58.

John was a great bass player and a-typical for that role in a band, he didn't like to stand in the background and go unnoticed, who can forget his skeleton outfit? It was sad when The Who replaced Keith but the band was still young and wanted to continue. I was a bit disappointed at how easily and quickly they replaced John. Once again drugs ruled the day and cause the death of a talented music. He lived a lot longer than many of his colleagues.

The Who - The Song Is Over
via FoxyTunes



Michael "Mikey" Hauser, 1/6/62 - 8/10/2. Mikey was born in Boone, North Carolina and was a founding member and guitarist for Widespread Panic. He was considered to be a "silent genius" and wrote many of the songs biggest hits. Mikey was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the spring of 2002 and died only months later. He was 40.

I learned several interesting facts about Mikey just now: Panic" was his nickname for years because of panic attacks - and that's how the band chose their name. "Mike taught himself to play the guitar while sitting on the arm of a couch. At the first Widespread Panic show, he played an acoustic guitar while sitting on a small metal chair with his right foot on the volume pedal. Many consider him a master of the volume pedal for his skilled incorporation of its use in conjunction with the other members of Panic." He sounds like a special person, sad that he died so young. RIP, Mikey.




Joe Strummer, (John Graham Mellor), 8/21/52 -12/22/02. Born in Ankara, Turkey Joe was a co-founder, lead singer and guitarist for The Clash. He was loved by many and also dedicated a lot of time to environmental causes. He died of a congenital heart defect. Joe was 50.

"He was loved by many". I am tempted to leave it at that because it says so much. I remember watching this tribute to him and bawling my eyes out. You can see it in their faces, especailly in Bruce's eyes. It hurts to lose the really great ones...the ones that were passionate, courageous and never compromised.

The Clash - Rock The Casbah
via FoxyTunes