Showing posts with label 1939. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1939. Show all posts

Sunday, February 28, 2016

John Fahey Was Born On February 28, 1939


John Fahey:
John Aloysius Fahey (February 28, 1939 – February 22, 2001) was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who played the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitive Guitar, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the self-taught nature of the music and its minimalist style. Fahey borrowed from the folk and blues traditions in American roots music, having compiled many forgotten early recordings in these genres. He would later incorporate classical, Portuguese, Brazilian, and Indian music into his œuvre. He spent many of his later years in poverty and poor health, but enjoyed a minor career resurgence with a turn towards the more explicitly avant-garde, and created a series of abstract paintings during the last years of his life. He died in 2001 from complications from heart surgery. In 2003, he was ranked 35th in the Rolling Stone "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Ray Manzarek Was Born On February 12, 1939


Ray Manzarek:
Raymond Daniel Manczarek Jr. (February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) better known as Ray Manzarek, was an American musician, singer, producer, film director, and author, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973. Manzarek was notable for performing on a bass keyboard during many live shows and some recordings, taking on a role usually filled by a bass guitar player. He was a co-founding member of Nite City from 1977 to 1978, and of Manzarek–Krieger from 2001 until his death in 2013.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Joe Sample Was Born On February 1, 1939



Joe Sample:
Joseph Leslie "Joe" Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American pianist, keyboard player, and composer. He was one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply the Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991 (not including the 2003 reunion album Rural Renewal).

Beginning in the 1970s, he enjoyed a successful solo career and guested on many recordings by other performers and groups, including Miles Davis, George Benson, Jimmy Witherspoon, B. B. King, Eric Clapton, Steely Dan, and the Supremes. Sample incorporated jazz, gospel, blues, Latin, and classical forms into his music.

On September 12, 2014, Sample died in Houston, Texas, of mesothelioma at age 75.