psychoRabble

Their music lives on.

2010-09-18T18:58:00.015-05:00

death		age
3/9/1706	johann pachelbel	52
7/28/1741	antonio vivaldi	63	internal infection
7/29/1750	johann sebastian bach	65	eye surgery
7/23/1757	domenico scarlatti	71
4/14/1759	george frideric handel	74	cancer
12/5/1791	wolfgang amadeus mozart	34	rheumatic fever
5/31/1809	joseph haydn	77	artillery bombardment
3/26/1827	ludwig van beethoven	56	lead poisoning
11/29/1828	franz schubert	31	mercury treatment for syphilis/ typhoid fever?
5/27/1840	niccolò paganini	57	mercury treatment for syphilis/ throat cancer
1/11/1843	francis scott key	63	pleurisy
11/4/1847	felix mendelssohn	38	strokes
10/17/1849	frédéric chopin	39	long illness
1/13/1864	stephen foster	37	fever/ fell/ cut/ loss of blood
6/3/1875	georges bizet	36	heart attack
2/13/1883	richard wagner	69	heart attack
7/31/1886	franz liszt	74	pneumonia
11/6/1893	pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky	53	cholera
4/3/1897	johannes brahms	63	cancer
6/3/1899	johann strauss II	73	pneumonia
1/27/1901	giuseppe verdi	87	stroke
5/1/1904	antonín dvořák	62	after a short illness
6/8/1908	nikolai rimsky-korsakov	64	heart failure
5/18/1911	gustav mahler	50	failing health
9/1/1912	samuel coleridge-taylor	37	pneumonia
4/1/1917	scott joplin	49	syphilis
3/25/1918	claude debussy	55	colorectal cancer
2/8/1921	george formby, sr.	45	bronchitis tuberculosis
8/2/1921	enrico caruso	48	pleurisy
12/16/1921	camille saint-saëns	86	pneumonia
7/27/1924	ferruccio busoni	58	kidney disease
11/29/1924	giacomo puccini	67	throat cancer/ radiation/ heart attack
12/12/1929	blind lemon jefferson	35	heart attack or murder and/or froze to death
8/6/1931	bix beiderbecke	28	alcoholism/ delirium tremens/ seizure
3/6/1932	john phillip sousa	77	died in his sleep
5/26/1933	jimmie rodgers	35	tuberculosis
12/24/1935	alban berg	50	blood poisoning	Second Viennese School
7/11/1937	george gershwin	38	brain tumor
9/26/1937	bessie smith	43	car crash
12/28/1937	maurice ravel	62	taxi crash/head injury/ experimental brain surgery
8/16/1938	robert johnson	27	murder/strychnine
2/18/1940	rudy wiedoeft	47	cirrhosis
6/29/1941	ignaz paderewski	80	pneumonia
3/2/1942	charlie christian	25	tuberculosis
3/28/1943	sergei rachmaninoff	69	melanoma
11/22/1943	lorenz hart	48	pneumonia
12/15/1943	fats waller	39	pneumonia
12/15/1944	glenn miller	40	aircraft lost
9/26/1945	béla bartók	64	leukemia
6/1/1948	sonny boy williamson	34	mugged
12/6/1949	lead belly	61	amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
10/23/1950	al jolson	64	heart attack
2/3/1951	ed haley	65	heart attack	Appalachian fiddle
7/13/1951	arnold schoenberg	76	triskaidekaphobia
1/1/1953	hank williams	29	morphine
3/5/1953	sergei prokofiev	61	stroke
5/16/1953	django reinhardt	43	brain hemorrhage
12/25/1954	johnny ace	25	pcp/ shot himself	Thornton's "Hound Dog"
3/12/1955	charlie parker	35	pneumonia/ bleeding ulcer
5/4/1955	george enescu	63		composer, violinist, pianist, conductor
8/5/1955	carmen miranda	46	toxemia/ heart failure
11/5/1956	art tatum	47	kidney failure
11/26/1956	tommy dorsey	51	sleeping pills/ asphyxiation
1/16/1957	arturo toscanini	89	stroke
2/15/1958	little walter	37	alcoholism/ fight injuries/ died in his sleep
8/14/1958	big bill broonzy	60	throat cancer
2/3/1959	ritchie valens	17	plane crash
2/3/1959	buddy holly	22	plane crash
2/3/1959	the big bopper	28	plane crash
7/17/1959	billie holiday	44	cirrhosis
10/17/1959	mario lanza	38	pulmonary embolism
4/21/1960	eddie cochran	21	taxi accident	Summertime Blues
8/23/1960	oscar hammerstein II	65	stomach cancer
11/5/1960	johnny horton	35	car crash
3/6/1961	george formby, jr.	56	heart attack
4/29/1961	cisco houston	42	stomach cancer
4/10/1962	stuart sutcliffe	21	fight injuries/ cerebral paralysis	The Beatles
3/5/1963	patsy cline	30	plane crash
5/24/1963	elmore james	45	heart attack
12/14/1963	dinah washington	39	accidental overdose of prescription sleeping medication
7/31/1964	jim reeves	40	plane crash
8/14/1964	johnny burnette	30	drowned
10/1/1964	ernst toch	76	stomach cancer
10/15/1964	cole porter	73	kidney failure
12/11/1964	sam cooke	33	shot
2/15/1965	nat king cole	45	lung cancer
10/27/1965	peter lafarge	34	stroke or overdose/or suicide by bleeding
11/6/1965	edgard varèse	81	intestinal surgery
4/30/1966	richard fariña	29	motorcycle accident
7/18/1966	bobby fuller	23	"suicide"/murder	“I Fought the Law”
7/31/1966	bud powell	41	tuberculosis
7/17/1967	john coltrane	40	liver cancer
10/3/1967	woody guthrie	35	huntington's disease
12/10/1967	otis redding	26	plane crash
2/27/1968	frankie lymon	25	heroin	and The Teenagers
6/22/1969	judy garland	47	seconal
7/3/1969	brian jones	27	drowning/ drugs/ murder?	The Rolling Stones
9/5/1969	josh white	55	failed heart valve surgery
3/16/1970	tammi terrell	24	malignant brain tumor
9/3/1970	alan "blind owl" wilson	27	barbiturate overdose	Canned Heat
9/18/1970	jimi hendrix	27	vesperax/ asphyxiation	The Jimi Hendrix Experience
10/4/1970	janis joplin	27	heroin
4/6/1971	igor stravinsky	88
7/3/1971	jim morrison	27	heroin
7/6/1971	louis armstrong	69	heart attack
7/17/1971	cliff "ukelele ike" edwards	76	cardiac arrest/ arterioscleosis
8/13/1971	king curtis	37	stabbed
10/12/1971	gene vincent	36	ruptured stomach ulcer	“Be-Bop-A-Lula”
10/29/1971	duane allman	24	motorcycle crash	Allman Brothers Band, Derek and the Dominos
12/28/1971	max steiner	83	congestive heart failure	Theme for A Summer Place
1/16/1972	david seville	52	heart attack	"The Witch Doctor", Alvin and the Chipmunks
1/27/1972	mahalia jackson	60	diabetes/ heart failure
6/13/1972	clyde mcphatter	39	alcohol: heart/liver/ kidney disease	The Drifters
11/6/1972	billy murcia	21	choked to death	New York Dolls
11/18/1972	danny whitten	29	heroin	Crazy Horse
3/8/1973	ron "pigpen" mckernan	27	alcohol/ gastrointestinal hemorrhage	Grateful Dead
7/14/1973	clarence white	29	hit by drunken driver	The Byrds
8/17/1973	paul williams	34	shot/ believed to be suicide	The Temptations
9/19/1973	gram parsons	26	morphine/ alcohol	Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers
9/20/1973	jim croce	30	plane crash
10/16/1973	gene krupa	64	leukemia and heart failure
10/22/1973	pablo casals	96	brief illness
12/20/1973	bobby darin	37	prosthetic heart valve clot
7/29/1974	mama cass	32	died in her sleep/ heart attack	The Mamas & the Papas
10/24/1974	david oistrakh	66	heart attack	violin
11/25/1974	nick drake	26	amitriptyline
2/4/1975	louis jordan	66	heart attack
2/10/1975	dave alexander	27	pulmonary edema	The Stooges
4/12/1975	joséphine baker	69	natural causes
4/24/1975	peter ham	27	suicide by hanging	Bad Finger
5/13/1975	bob wills	70	strokes
5/24/1975	duke ellington	75	lung cancer/ pneumonia
8/9/1975	dmitri shostakovich	68	lung cancer
12/17/1975	hound dog taylor	60	cancer
1/10/1976	howlin' wolf	65	kidney failure
1/23/1976	paul robeson	77	stroke
2/6/1976	vince guaraldi	47	heart attack	"Cast Your Fate to the Wind", A Charlie Brown Christmas (album)
2/9/1976	percy faith	67	cancer	"Theme from A Summer Place"
2/22/1976	florence ballard	32	coronary thrombosis	The Supremes
3/14/1976	paul kossoff	25	drug-related heart problems	Free
4/9/1976	phil ochs	35	suicide by hanging
5/14/1976	keith relf	33	electrocuted by guitar	The Yardbirds
6/25/1976	johnny mercer	66	surgery to remove brain tumor/ complications
8/29/1976	jimmy reed	50	alcoholism/epilepsy
7/24/1977	utah carl	57	carcinoma of lung
8/16/1977	elvis presley	42	drugs/ enlarged heart/ heart attack
9/16/1977	maria callas	53	heart attack
9/16/1977	marc bolan	29	car crash	T.Rex
10/14/1977	bing crosby	74	heart attack
10/20/1977	ronnie van zant	29	air crash	Lynyrd Skynyrd
10/20/1977	steve gaines	28	air crash	Lynyrd Skynyrd
10/20/1977	cassie gaines	29	air crash	Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/21/1978	sandy denny	31	cerebral hemorrhage
5/1/1978	aram khachaturian	74
8/4/1978	frank fontaine	58	heart attack	Crazy Guggenheim
8/24/1978	louis prima	67	brain tumor
9/1/1978	keith moon	32	clomethiazole	The Who
1/5/1979	charles mingus	56	amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
1/13/1979	donny hathaway	33	suicide/leapt to his death
2/2/1979	sid vicious	21	heroin	The Sex Pistols
5/11/1979	lester flatt	64	heart failure	Flatt & Scruggs, the Foggy Mountain Boys
6/29/1979	lowell george	34	heart attack	Little Feat
7/12/1979	minnie riperton	31	breast cancer	Rotary Connection
8/25/1979	stan kenton	67	stroke	mellophonium band, jazz educator
12/30/1979	richard rodgers	77	survived cancer of the jaw/ heart attack/ laryngectomy, then …
1/7/1980	larry williams	44	shot/ maybe not a suicide	“Short Fat Fannie”, “Bony Moronie”
1/29/1980	jimmy durante	86	stroke/ pneumonia	"Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."
1/30/1980	professor longhair	61	died in his sleep
2/19/1980	bon scott	33	alcohol poisoning	AC/DC
3/29/1980	mantovani	74
5/18/1980	ian curtis	23	suicide, hanging	Joy Division
9/25/1980	john bonham	32	alcohol/ asphyxiation	Led Zeppelin
12/8/1980	john lennon	40	shot	The Beatles
12/29/1980	tim hardin	39	heroin/morphine	wrote If I Were a Carpenter
2/15/1981	mike bloomfield	37	heroin
5/11/1981	bob marley	36	melanoma
7/16/1981	harry chapin	38	car crash
12/27/1981	hoagy carmichael	82	heart failure
1/30/1982	lightnin' hopkins	69	esophageal cancer/ pneumonia
2/17/1982	thelonious monk	64	stroke
6/16/1982	james honeyman-scott	25	cocaine	The Pretenders
10/4/1982	glenn gould	50	stroke
12/8/1982	marty robbins	57	heart surgery complications
2/4/1983	karen carpenter	32	anorexia nervosa
2/12/1983	eubie blake	96
4/17/1983	felix pappalardi	43	shot	“Disraeli Gears”, Mountain
4/30/1983	muddy waters	70	died in his sleep
5/6/1983	kai winding	60	brain tumor	trombone
7/5/1983	harry james	67	lymphatic cancer
8/17/1983	ira gershwin	86	died in his sleep/ heart disease
11/19/1983	tom evans	36	suicide by hanging	Badfinger
12/28/1983	dennis wilson	39	alcohol-related drowning	The Beach Boys
1/21/1984	jackie wilson	49	heart attack
2/15/1984	ethel merman	76	brain tumor/ found dead/ natural causes
4/1/1984	marvin gaye	44	shot
4/26/1984	count basie	79	pancreatic cancer
7/4/1984	jimmie spheeris	36	motorcycle crash
7/25/1984	big mama thorton	57	alcohol abuse/ liver and heart complications
9/6/1984	ernest tubb	70	emphysema
9/20/1984	steve goodman	36	leukemia
3/29/1985	the singing nun	51	suicide/barbiturates and alcohol
10/6/1985	nelson riddle	64	liver ailments	Route 66 Theme, Nat King Cole, Sinatra, Garland, Ronstadt
10/12/1985	ricky wilson	32	aids	B-52's
11/24/1985	big joe turner	74	heart attack
12/12/1985	ian stewart	47	respiratory problems/ heart attack	The Rolling Stones
12/31/1985	ricky nelson	45	air crash
1/4/1986	phil lynott	36	heart failure and pneumonia
3/4/1986	richard manuel	42	suicide by hanging	The Band
3/11/1986	sonny terry	74	natural causes
6/13/1986	benny goodman	77	heart attack
6/17/1986	kate smith	79	diabetes
7/3/1986	rudy vallée	84	cancer
12/2/1986	desi arnaz	69	lung cancer
2/4/1987	liberace	67	aids
3/21/1987	dino martin	35	air crash
4/2/1987	buddy rich	69	heart failure following surgery for malignant brain tumor
4/17/1987	carlton barret	36	murder/shot	The Wailers
5/4/1987	paul butterfield	44	alcohol/drug abuse/heart attack
6/2/1987	andrés segovia	94	heart attack
12/10/1987	jascha heifetz	86		violin
12/12/1987	clifton chenier	62	diabetes-related kidney disease	Zydeco
3/5/1988	andy gibb	30	cocaine/ myocarditis
4/28/1988	b.w. stevenson	38	heart valve surgery
5/13/1988	chet baker	58	heroin/cocaine/ head wounds	jazz trumpet, flugelhorn, singer
6/22/1988	jesse ed davis	43	drug overdose	guitar
9/14/1988	roy buchanan	48	suicide by hanging
10/19/1988	son house	86	cancer of the larynx
12/6/1988	roy orbison	52	heart attack
2/1/1989	blaze foley	39	shot
2/4/1989	jethro burns	68	prostate cancer	mandolin
5/7/1989	ron wilson	43	brain aneurysm	The Surfaris, "Wipe Out"
9/22/1989	irving berlin	101	heart attack
11/5/1989	vladimir horowitz	86	stroke
1/23/1990	allen collins	37	chronic pneumonia complication of the paralysis	Lynyrd Skynyrd
2/8/1990	del shannon	55	suicide/shot
4/3/1990	sarah vaughan	66	lung cancer
5/16/1990	sammy davis, jr.	64	throat cancer
6/2/1990	stiv bators	40	hit by taxi/ died in his sleep from untreated injuries	The Dead Boys, The Lords of the New Church
8/27/1990	stevie ray vaughn	35	helicopter crash
10/14/1990	leonard bernstein	72	tobacco
10/16/1990	art blakey	71	lung cancer
4/20/1991	steve marriott	44	fire	Humble Pie
4/23/1991	johnny thunders	38	drug-related causes/ possible foul play	New York Dolls
5/24/1991	gene clark	46	alcohol/ bleeding ulcer	The Byrds
6/1/1991	david ruffin	50	cocaine	The Temptations
6/6/1991	stan getz	64	liver cancer
9/4/1991	dottie west	58	car crash
9/18/1991	robin tyner	46	heart attack	MC5
9/28/1991	miles davis	65	stroke/pneumonia/ respiratory failure
11/24/1991	freddie mercury	45	aids caused bronchial pneumonia	Queen
1/14/1992	jerry nolan	45	meningitis pneumonia stroke	The New York Dolls
1/29/1992	willie dixon	76	heart failure
5/17/1992	lawrence welk	92	pneumonia
8/12/1992	john cage	79	stroke	chance music
10/25/1992	roger miller	56	lung and throat cancer	King of the Road
1/6/1993	dizzy gillespie	75	pancreatic cancer	bebop
3/8/1993	billy eckstine	78
4/8/1993	marian anderson	96	heart failure	contralto
11/24/1993	albert collins	61	lung cancer
12/4/1993	frank zappa	52	prostate cancer
12/19/1993	michael clarke	47	alcohol/ liver failure	The Byrds
1/15/1994	harry nilsson	52	heart failure
2/22/1994	papa john creach	76	heart attack/ pneumonia	Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship
2/24/1994	dinah shore	77	ovarian cancer
4/5/1994	kurt cobain	27	suicide/shot	Nirvana
6/14/1994	henry mancini	70	pancreatic cancer
9/6/1994	nicky hopkins	50	intestinal surgery	Kinks, Who, Stones, Beatles, L. Ron Hubbard
10/4/1994	danny gatton	49	suicide/shot
11/10/1994	carmen mcrae	74	empheysema/ stroke
11/19/1994	cab calloway	86	stroke
11/23/1994	tommy boyce	55	suicide/shot	The Monkees
2/18/1995	bob stinson	35	alcohol and drug abuse	The Replacements
3/31/1995	selena	23	murder/shot
8/9/1995	jerry garcia	53	heart attack	Grateful Dead
8/30/1995	sterling morrison	53	non-Hodgkin's lymphoma	The Velvet Underground
10/21/1995	shannon hoon	28	cocaine	Blind Melon
11/23/1995	junior walker	64	cancer
12/25/1995	dean martin	78	lung cancer
2/16/1996	brownie mcghee	80	stomach cancer
3/31/1996	jeffrey lee pierce	37	brain hemorrhage	The Gun Club
5/11/1996	walter hyatt	46	air crash	Uncle Walt's Band
6/15/1996	ella fitzgerald	79	diabetes
7/17/1996	chas chandler	57	heart condition	The Animals, Jimi Hendrix Experience
9/9/1996	bill monroe	84	stroke
9/13/1996	tupac shakur	25	shot
11/2/1996	eva cassidy	33	melanoma
11/30/1996	tiny tim	64	heart attack
12/10/1996	faron young	64	suicide/shot
1/1/1997	townes van zandt	52	post-surgical pulmonary embolism
1/2/1997	randy california	45	drowned	Spirit
3/9/1997	notorious b.i.g.	24	shot
3/10/1997	lavern baker	67	coronary complications
4/8/1997	laura nyro	49	ovarian cancer	The Velvet Underground
5/9/1997	georg solti	84	sudden death
5/29/1997	jeff buckley	30	drowned
6/4/1997	ronnie lane	51	multiple sclerosis/ pneumonia	The Faces, The Small Faces
6/20/1997	lawrence payton	59	cancer	The Four Tops
6/26/1997	iz kamakawiwo'ole	38	weight-related respiratory illness
8/1/1997	sviatoslav richter	82	heart attack
10/12/1997	john denver	53	plane crash
11/22/1997	michael hutchence	37	suicide by hanging or autoerotic asphyxiation	INXS
12/1/1997	stéphane grappelli	89	complications from hernia surgery
1/19/1998	carl perkins	65	strokes/ throat cancer
2/6/1998	carl wilson	51	tobacco/lung and brain cancer
4/6/1998	wendy o. williams	48	suicide/shot	Plasmatics
4/17/1998	linda mccartney	56	breast cancer	Wings
5/14/1998	frank sinatra	82	heart attack
7/6/1998	roy rogers	86	congestive heart failure
9/26/1998	betty carter	69	pancreatic cancer
10/2/1998	gene autry	91	colon cancer
11/22/1998	irving berlin	101	heart attack
3/2/1999	dusty springfield	59	breast cancer
3/12/1999	yehudi menuhin	82	bronchitis
6/5/1999	mel tormé	73	stroke
6/16/1999	screaming lord sutch	58	suicide by hanging
10/9/1999	milt jackson	76	liver cancer
10/16/1999	bruce cameron	43	murder/ suicide?
10/26/1999	hoyt axton	61	strokes/ heart attack
11/18/1999	doug sahm	58	died in his sleep/ heart attack	Sir Douglas Quintet
12/10/1999	rick danko	56	died in his sleep/ heart failure	The Band
12/20/1999	hank snow	85
12/26/1999	curtis mayfield	57	diabetes	The Impressions
2/12/2000	screamin' jay hawkins	70	after surgery for aneurysm
5/31/2000	tito puente	77	failed to recover from heart surgery
8/25/2000	jack nitzsche	63	recurring bronchial infection/cardiac arrest	too numerous to mention
10/18/2000	julie london	74	stroke	Cry Me a River
10/30/2000	steve allen	78	auto accident-caused haemopericardium
12/31/2000	eddy shaver	38	heroin	Eddy Metal
3/18/2001	john phillips	65	heart failure	The Journeymen, The Mamas & the Papas
4/15/2001	joey ramone	49	lymphoma	The Ramones
5/12/2001	perry como	88	died in his sleep
6/4/2001	john hartford	63	non-hodgkin's lymphoma
6/21/2001	john lee hooker	83	died in his sleep
6/30/2001	chet atkins	77	colon cancer
7/27/2001	leon wilkeson	49	liver and lung disease	Lynyrd Skynyrd
8/25/2001	aaliyah	22	plane crash
9/22/2001	isaac stern	81	congestive heart failure
11/3/2001	champ hood	49	lung cancer	The Mighty Contenders, Uncle Walt's Band
11/29/2001	george harrison	58	lung cancer	The Beatles
12/15/2001	rufus thomas	84	heart failure
12/16/2001	stuart adamson	43	self-strangulation	Big Country
1/15/2002	red river dave	87		Amelia Earhart's Last Flight
1/21/2002	peggy lee	81	diabetes and heart attack
2/10/2002	dave van ronk	65	colon cancer
4/5/2002	layne staley	34	heroin plus cocaine	Alice in Chains
6/5/2002	dee dee ramone	49	heroin	The Ramones
6/27/2002	john entwistle	57	cocaine induced heart attack	The Who
6/29/2002	rosemary clooney	74	lung cancer
8/31/2002	lionel hampton	94	congestive heart failure
11/13/2002	mike stewart	57	suicide	We Five, Joel's Piano Man
12/13/2002	zal yanovsky	57	congestive heart failure	The Lovin Spoonful
12/22/2002	joe strummer	50	congenital heart defect	The Clash
1/12/2003	maurice gibb	53	twisted intestine	The Bee Gees
1/23/2003	nell carter	54	diabetes/obesity heart disease
3/2/2003	hank ballard	76	throat cancer
4/10/2003	little eva	59	cervical cancer
4/21/2003	nina simone	70	breast cancer/ died in her sleep
5/11/2003	noel redding	57	found dead/ no cause given	The Jimi Hendrix Experience
6/15/2003	june carter cash	73	heart valve replacement surgery complications
7/4/2003	barry white	58	renal failure
7/16/2003	celia cruz	77	cancerous brain tumor
8/9/2003	gregory hines	57	liver cancer
9/7/2003	warren zevon	56	mesothelioma
9/12/2003	johnny cash	71	diabetes/ autonomic neuropathy
9/16/2003	sheb wooley	82	leukemia	“The Purple People Eater”, Wilhelm scream
9/26/2003	robert palmer	54	heart attack
11/5/2003	bobby hatfield	63	cocaine	The Righteous Brothers
11/19/2003	greg ridley	56	pneumonia	Humble Pie
2/3/2004	cornelius bumpus	58	heart attack	Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan
3/26/2004	jan berry	62	seizure/stroke	Jan and Dean
3/30/2004	timi yuro	63	cancer of the thoat
4/1/2004	paul atkinson	58	liver and kidney disease	The Zombies
5/31/2004	robert quine	61	heroin/grief	Richard Hell & the Voidoids, Lou Reed (The Blue Mask), Brian Eno ( Nerve Net), John Zorn, Ikue Mori, Marc Ribot, Marianne Faithfull (Strange Weather), Lloyd Cole, Tom Waits (Rain Dogs), Matthew Sweet, Odds, Jody Harris {Escape}, Lester Bangs.
6/10/2004	ray charles	73	liver cancer
7/13/2004	arthur "killer" kane	55	leukemia	New York Dolls
8/6/2004	rick james	56	drug abuse/ diabetes/pulmonary and cardiac failures	“Superfreak”
8/26/2004	laura branigan	47	brain aneurysm
9/15/2004	johnny ramone	55	prostate cancer	The Ramones
9/19/2004	skeeter davis	72	breast cancer
2/6/2005	merle kilgore	70	lung cancer/ congestive heart failure
3/26/2005	paul hester	46	depression/ suicide by hanging	Crowded House
7/1/2005	luther vandross	54	diabetes/ hypertension/ stroke
7/1/2005	obie benson	68	cancer	The Four Tops
7/21/2005	long john baldry	64	severe chest infection
8/13/2005	allen damron	66	pneumonia complications	Texas Folk hero
11/1/2005	skitch henderson	87	natrural causes	The Tonight Show
11/5/2005	link wray	76	heart failure
1/6/2006	lou rawls	72	lung and brain cancer
1/19/2006	wilson pickett	64	heart attack
2/7/2006	elton dean	60	heart and liver	Soft Machine
3/7/2006	jesse taylor	55	hepatitis c and cirrhosis
4/5/2006	gene pitney	66	found dead/ atherosclerosis
6/6/2006	billy preston	59	kidney disease/ malignant hypertension
7/7/2006	syd barrett	60	diabetes/ pancreatic cancer	Pink Floyd
9/20/2006	don walser	72	diabetes
9/21/2006	boz burrell	60	heart attack	King Crimson, Bad Company
10/14/2006	freddy fender	69	lung cancer
12/25/2006	james brown	73	congestive heart failure/ pneumonia
2/2/2007	eric von schmidt	75	throat cancer/ stroke
3/9/2007	brad delp	55	suicide/ carbon monoxide	Boston
4/27/2007	mstislav rostropovich	80	intestinal cancer
4/28/2007	tommy newsom	78	cancer	The Tonight Show
7/2/2007	beverly sills	78	lung cancer
7/3/2007	boots randolph	80	brain hemorrhage
9/6/2007	luciano pavarotti	71	pancreatic cancer
10/28/2007	porter waggoner	80	lung cancer
10/30/2007	robert goulet	73	idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
12/12/2007	ike turner	76	cardiovascular disease/ emphysema/ cocaine overdose
12/16/2007	dan fogelberg	56	prostate cancer
12/23/2007	oscar peterson	82	renal failure
1/19/2008	john stewart	68	stroke or aneurysm	“Daydream Believer”, Kingston Trio
2/26/2008	buddy miles	60	congestive heart failure	Band of Gypsys
4/17/2008	danny federici	58	melanoma	E Street Band
4/17/2008	chris gaffney	57	liver cancer	Hacienda Brothers
5/1/2008	jim hager	66	heart attack	The Hager Twins
5/8/2008	eddy arnold	89	lengthy illness
5/11/2008	john rutsey	55	diabetes	Rush
5/21/2008	michelle meldrum-norum	39	cystic growth on her brain	Phantom Blue and Meldrum
5/23/2008	utah phillips	73	complications from heart disease
6/2/2008	bo diddley	79	heart attack/ stroke/ heart failure
8/10/2008	isaac hayes	65	stroke
8/23/2008	steve foley	49	accidental overdose of prescription	The Replacements
9/1/2008	jerry reed	71	emphysema	“Guitar Man”, Smokey and The Bandit
9/15/2008	rick wright	65	cancer	Pink Floyd
10/1/2008	nick reynolds	75	acute respiratory disease	The Kingston Trio
10/15/2008	edie adams	81	cancer and pneumonia
10/17/2008	levi stubbs	72	long illness	The Four Tops
10/31/2008	frank navetta	46	short illness	The Descendents
11/1/2008	jimmy carl black	70	lung cancer	The Mothers of Invention
11/12/2008	mitch mitchell	62	died in his sleep of natural causes	The Jimi Hendrix Experience
11/22/2008	alan gordon	64	cancer	Happy Together
11/23/2008	richey edwards	41(?)	officially presumed dead; disappeared on 2/1/ 1995	Manic Street Preachers
12/2/2008	odetta	77	heart disease
12/7/2008	dennis yost	65	respiratory failure	Classics IV
12/23/2008	clint ballard, jr.	77		“You're No Good”, "Game of Love"
12/25/2008	eartha kitt	81	colon cancer	actress, singer
12/27/2008	delaney bramlett	69	complications of gall bladder surgery	Delaney & Bonnie and Friends
12/29/2008	freddie hubbard	70	November 26 heart attack complications
1/5/2009	sam taylor	74	heart disease	guitar, song writer, rock, rhythm and blues
1/6/2009	ron asheton	60	heart attack	The Stooges
1/9/2009	jon hager	67	found dead in his sleep	The Hager Twins
1/9/2009	dave dee	67	prostate cancer	Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich
1/11/2009	andy demize	25	auto accident	Nekromantix and The Rocketz
1/20/2009	david "fathead" newman	75	pancreatic cancer	saxophone
1/21/2009	mickey gee	64	emphysema	Dave Edmunds, Shakin' Stevens
1/23/2009	george perle	93		twelve-tone tonality
1/29/2009	john martyn	60	double pneumonia	Father of Trip-Hop
1/28/2009	billy powell	56	heart attack	Lynyrd Skynyrd
1/31/2009	dewey martin	68	natural causes	Buffalo Springfield
2/3/2009	tom brumley	73	after a heart attack	steel guitar, Bakersfield sound
2/3/2009	max neuhaus	69		sound art
2/4/2009	lux interior	62	aortic dissection	The Cramps
2/7/2009	blossom dearie	84	natural causes	jazz
2/11/2009	estelle bennett	67	colon cancer	The Ronnettes
2/25/2009	randy bewley	53	heart attack	Pylon
3/8/2009	willie king	65	heart attack	Freedom Creek, I Am The Blues
3/18/2009	kent henry	60	head injury related seizures	Steppenwolf, Blues Image
5/9/2009	stephen bruton	60	throat cancer	guitar, song writer, producer
5/24/2009	jay bennett	45	accidental overdose of fentanyl	Wilco
5/26/2009	ean evans	48	cancer	Lynyrd Skynyrd
6/03/2009	koko taylor	80	complications from surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding
6/07/2009	kenny rankin	69	lung cancer
6/10/2009	huey long	105	105	The Ink Spots
6/14/2009	bob bogle	75	non-Hodgkin's lymphoma	The Ventures
6/16/2009	tina marsh	55	breast cancer	jazz
6/17/2009	eon	54	pneumonia	rave
6/25/2009	sky saxon	71	heart failure	The Seeds
6/25/2009	michael jackson	50	acute propofol intoxication	The Jackson 5
7/17/2009	gordon waller	64	cardiac arrest	Peter & Gordon
8/12/2009	les paul	94	pneumonia	invented the electric guitar
10/9/2009	rusty wier	65	cancer	Don't It Make You Wanna Dance
1/18/2010	kate mcgarrigle	63	clear-cell sarcoma	folk
3/17/2010	alex chilton	59	heart attack	The Box Tops, Big Star
5/9/2010	lena horne	92	heart failure	Stormy Weather
6/13/2010	jimmy dean	81	natural causes	Big Bad John
7/31/2010	mitch miller	99	died after a short illness	Sing Along with Mitch

Chicks

2010-08-07T11:45:00.001-05:00

Now the hatchlings have appeared.

I believe we have four individual baby Carolina Wrens in these photos.
All of the Wren experts should give me their guidance in the comments since I am the least bird knowledgeable person I know. And thanks again to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Thank you Wren Ten Ten and Wren Ten Eleven or having your babies in our accommodations. You have given a nature lesson to us, including our eleven-year old son.

Wren Ten Ten

2010-07-31T18:33:00.007-05:00

This is our resident nester. I believe they are Carolina Wrens.

Anyway that's my current guess.

So now I'm a Wren fan.

Our guess has been confirmed.

Thank you Cornell Lab of Ornithology: see http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Carolina_Wren/lifehistory
They are Carolina Wrens.

birds

2010-07-22T18:25:00.003-05:00

Our living room has a fireplace which backs up to the garage and the brick work of the backside of the fireplace extends about two feet into the garage space. The door leading into the garage from the living room area is maybe 4 feet from these bricks, which make a corner sort of space where mops and brooms lean, standing on their handles with their business ends up. This is the further reach of the fireplace's intrusion into the garage.

A few (?) months or so ago I had left the garage door open and as I walked through door from said living room area two birds flew at me and then out the garage door. Once I got myself de-startled, I could see that these guys were beginning to build their nest amid the mop and brooms against the bricks. They chose the soft parts of the dried mops' tresses. Their nest construction was only beginning but their intentions were clear.

I recall a few years back that we had left some corrugated card board boxes outside our bathroom windows not far from the garage door and we discovered we had a nesting pair in there from the sounds we could hear through the window. A year or so later we noticed a nest was built in the exterior light fixture above the same area but a little closer to the garage. With this latest episode I began to realize a pattern. Slow me.

Our guests could not nest in our garage since it could not be left open while they hatched their eggs. I attempted to move the mops/broom collection outside adjacent to their traditional nesting sites. This failed. Nothing about their formative nest nor the mop/broom collection had any of the structural integrity required to survive the transfer. My best attempts reconstruct their original site had none of the stability required to provide a decent nesting site.

What to do?

With no substitute birdhouse available and no time to waste (they were watching me) I had to improvise quickly. The backyard revealed some flower pot type items, but what I was hoping for was a hanging basket used for dangling-type plants. We had some plastic ones, rather, we had the remains of some that had succumbed to the weathering and were now useless shattered shards of plastic, but one metal hanger survived while its hangee was shot. No matter, our guests await. By incorporating the hanger to an undamaged plastic flower pot that was not too big, I was able to recreate the hanging basket I had envisioned. It seemed too deep, so I filled it half way with soil and placed the proffered nesting materials on top of this, hung it from the hanging plants hooks not far from the light fixture though much closer to the garage door, which was now closed.

I did not let myself believe that this would work for our avian friends. As sure as I was that they were watching from some nearby tree, I had no reason to expect them to trust me, let alone accept my offer.

Peeking discretely out the window, we waited.

They went for it. It has been a while since I was this proud of my efforts. It is touching that they trusted me. Especially after I had just evicted them from their dream garage.

We know so little about birds. What species are our guests? Whither do they migrate? How long do they live? Are these the same birds from years ago? Has it been a decade? Are these returning hatchlings? Are they like salmon returning to whence they were spawned?

Weeks later I had seen no activity for some time nor heard the peeps of offspring. I hung their apartment too high to see into directly, all the better to make them feel safe. The long silence, absent any sightings, convinced me they had left, perhaps with offspring, for all I knew. So I got a step stool to get high enough to take a peek and a small flashlight to help me see. I was expecting to maybe see some telltale eggshells. I am being careful and quiet as I lean in to see leaves of nesting material and some feathers and as I reach in and shine my flashlight into a hole …

At least one bird flies out practically into my face and nearly knocks me to the ground from off my step stool.

If I had any jeepers in me they were gone in that instant.

I feel so blessed to have friends from the world of wildlife. Yet I have no idea who they are. Can these be persistent returners as I have presumed? Will we be able to determine their variety? They would seem to be only a few inches wide if that much and perhaps a few more inches long(?). Some combination of earth tones maybe? All of my observations have been as they were at relativistic speeds. I am fantasizing about getting their picture in hopes of making an identification, but I am more worried about scaring them any more. At least not any more than they have scared me. I believe I need a stake out with the camera.

How to proceed? Okay, carefully, but otherwise, how do I get a photograph? When shall I try another inspection? I must be patient but gad zooks, this is so exciting.

The scared-the-jeepers-out-of-me incident happened two weeks or so ago. I wrote this just now, then decided I could take a picture to include with this report. I go out a take pictures, but no trace of any occupant(s). I feel disheartened and certain I had scared them away for good. I take some pictures to illustrate my nestineering. I give up, but decide to take a more direct shot of the nest rather than the longer shots of just the hanging basket that I had. I can reach the camera in close while standing on the ground. I take a picture or two pretty close in. I turn off the flash. I try to take one, but I must be still for a shot without the flash, when ...

OUT flies the sweetest bird in the world, spooked once again, but as persistent and tolerant as ever. I know she (?) will return. If all of my harassment hasn't scared them away by now, this won't either.

A camera with its flash off, whirling around to take her picture, created a pretty swirling blur, but no useful image. Although, I think I could see a slightly reddish tinge to her trailing edges as she flew. She must have been below the speed of light this time.

I am trilled by all this.

Your Brain Weighs Three Pounds More or Less

2010-07-21T13:40:00.001-05:00

Infographic by Smarter.org

Bobby McFerrin: Embodiment of the pentatonic scale

2009-08-02T02:49:00.002-05:00

eloquence:

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Master of the human musical instrument