Phil Lynott

Phil Lynott

( 1949 – 1986 )

Founding member of the band “Thin Lizzy”, Phil Lynott was born in England, but raised in Ireland, and considered himself to be Irish. If you aren’t familiar with their music, I’ll bet you remember the song “The Boys are Back in Town”, it’s a standard of seventies rock, but there was a lot more to the band than that one song. He was a great songwriter and charismatic performer, but he also wrote poetry, having two books published of his work before he died. Like a lot of Rock stars, he fell victim to the party life, and his last years were clouded with Alcohol and heroin.

He died in Dublin, Ireland and was buried in St. Fintan’s Cemetery.

Ronnie Van Zant

Ronnie Van Zant

( 1948 – 1977 )

Musician, he was the lead singer and founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd………Great southern rock rock band, he co wrote a lot of their hits.

Along with three others, He was killed when the band’s chartered flight crashed in west Mississippi . Band members Allen Collins and Leon Wilkeson are also buried in the same cemetery, Jacksonville Memory Gardens, in Jacksonville, Florida(They were not killed in the crash, but died later).

Trivia:

When I was there, I asked a worker, who I couldn’t understand because I don’t speak Spanish, if there were any other famous people there…… We walked across the cemetery and he pointed at a stone, a fellow named Leonard Skinner……… Turned out to be the man  they named the band after, how cool is that?

Billie Holliday

Billie Holiday

( 1915 – 1959 )

Born Eleanora Fagan, “Lady day”  was an American Jazz Singer and song writer. “God Bless the Child”, “Lady Sings the Blues”, Fine and Mellow” are classics.   Also, Listen to “Strange Fruit”………

A life of prostitution(Her mother was a prostitute, and brought her daughter in at the age of 14) , drugs, alcohol. cut her life short at the age of 44, and if ever anyone lived the blues, it was her.

But her voice…… Silk. Listen to her recordings if you want to hear a magic voice.

Diana Ross portrayed her in the 1972 movie “Lady Sings the Blues”

She is buried in The Bronx, NY, at St. Raymonds Cemetery .

Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley

( 1928 – 2008 )

Legendary musician, guitarist, vocalist……Born Elias Bates McDaniel in McComb Mississippi, and raised in Chicago, He influenced more big acts than I can name here. He is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his many contributions to R & B and Rock music. If you want some blues, listen to Bo.

He is buried in Rosemary Hill Cemetery, Bronson, Florida.

Trivia:

He co-wrote the song “Love is Strange”, sung by Mickey and Sylvia, a hit (that doesn’t sound like the blues to me) in 1957.

Stu Sutcliffe

Stuart Sutcliffe

( 1940 – 1962 )

Known as the fifth Beatle, Stu Sutcliffe was the original bass player for the Beatles. A brilliant artistic talent, He and John Lennon were close friends before his untimely death at the age of 21. His musical talent was eclipsed by his artistic ability, and he left the Beatles  to stay in Hamburg with the love of his life, Astrid Kirchherr. His death was attributed to a small tumor found on his brain after he died. Legend attributes this to a kick in the head while in a fight when the Beatles were attacked after a show by jealous boyfriends. That the left the Bass playing to Paul McCartney. If he had lived, He almost certainly would have had great fame as an artist.

He is buried in Parish Churchyard, Merseyside, England.

Brian Jones

Brian Jones

( 1942 – 1969 )

The founder of the Rolling Stones, he was a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, harmonica, and keyboards). Originally the leader of the Stones, he was eventually overshadowed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. His steady drug use caused his role in the band to slowly diminish, and He was asked to leave the band in June, 1969. He drowned in his pool a month later in July.

27 is way too young, makes you wonder how good he could have been.

He is buried in Cheltenham Cemetery and Crematorium  in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.

Trivia:

He got co-writing credit for the “Rice Krispies” Jingle in 1963.

Vernon Dalhart

Vernon Dalhart

( 1883 – 1948 )

Born Marion Try Slaughter, he was a popular American singer/songwriter and a major influence on country music. He is in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame, and if you want to hear some EARLY country music, listen to his stuff on youtube. It’s raw!! Hank Williams , Molly O’Day, and Kitty Wells are considered early, early country music in the forties, but Vernon was popular in the Twenties……He recorded under other names, and some think he had more recordings than any one else in history, and that he sold millions of records, but who knows for sure.

He was definitely there at the ground floor of country music and influenced a lot of singers.

He is buried in the Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Trivia:

 In the book Terms of Endearment, Author Larry McMurtry named a character after Vernon Dalhart. In the movie version, it was misspelled Vernon Dahlart. No one is sure if the misspelling was intentional or not.

General Tom Thumb  and P.T. Barnum are buried in the same cemetery.

Bon Scott

Bon Scott

(1946 – 1980)

Lead singer for AC DC on some of their classic hits,  He replaced Dave Evans as the lead singer of AC DC in 1974. In 2004, he was voted by Classic Rock as the number one frontman of all time in front of Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant. Hit Parader in 2006 had him fifth on their list of the 100 greatest heavy metal vocalists of all time. High Voltage, T.N.T., and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, what else can I say. Some of the greatest Rock ever, for me anyway. Bon Scott may have been one of the wildest frontmen ever, too. Read about his life if you get a chance. A lot of people don’t even remember him, but I’ll bet they remember the songs……….

He is buried in Fremantle, Western Australia, and his is reportedly the most visited grave in Australia. The National Trust of Australia decreed his grave important enough to be included on the list of classified heritage places.

Charlie “Bird” Parker

 

 

Charlie “Bird” Parker

(1920 – 1955)

A highly influential Jazz Soloist, personifying the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual rather than just an entertainer. Parker’s uniquely identifiable style dominated Jazz for many years. Born in Kansas City, Mo, He poured his heart out in his 34 years. Brought down by heroin addiction and alcohol(a coroner estimated his age at 50 to 60), He is buried in the town of his birth at the Lincoln Cemetery, even tho he considered New York his home, and even told some he wanted to be buried there.

Check out his music!

Cool thought: Charles Mingus had a piece called “If Charlie Parker was a gunslinger, there’d be a whole lot of dead copycats. “

Jim Croce

 

Jim Croce

(1943 -1973)

An America singer-songwriter, he released 5 albums  and 11 singles. Bad Bad Leroy Brown and Time in a Bottle were number ones. If you listen to his music, you will find it’s incredible. Try these tracks:

Lover’s cross

Alabama Rain

Photographs and Memories

Operator

Workin at the Carwash Blues

These Dreams

Roller Derby Queen

Rapid Roy(The Stock Car Boy)

One less Set of Footsteps

I Got a Name

You Don’t Mess Around With Jim

He was a genius, and his life was cut short at the age of 30 in a plane crash, just as he was becoming a Superstar. When I saw his grave in Frazer, PA at the Haym Salomon Memorial Park, it had dimes all around and on the stone. I can only assume they are left there because of the line he says to the operator in the song, “Operator”……….”You can keep the dime”

As you can probably tell, I am and always have been a huge fan of his music. Check it out!