The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars (337 page)

Saturday 21

Chris Johnson

(South Bend, Indiana, 8 June 1976)

Useless Wooden Toys

Far removed from the aggressive performances of his Minneapolis-based skatecore punk act Useless Wooden Toys, singer Chris Johnson was actually a self-effacing, home-loving man who had only recently married. His death, too, came as the result of an act of chivalry and bravery.

Useless Wooden Toys – while remaining firmly on the underground scene – had nonetheless developed a healthy fanbase in the few years that the band had existed: Johnson had formed the group with his cousin Ryan, the pair having moved north from Mishawaka, Indiana, to the more vibrant Minneapolis. With UWT finding frequent bookings in the northern states, the singer – who otherwise made his living as a cook – spent much time on the road.

The story of this promising band with its likeable front man came crashing to a halt during a house party at which UWT had earlier played. Spotting party guest Brian White persistently groping the posterior of guest Bonnie Bergling (a longtime friend of the band), Johnson called to the guilty man to ‘knock it off.’ This resulted in a fight, in which Johnson had much the better of his opponent. The party’s host suggested White hightail it out the back door, and it was assumed that the fracas was over. However, his assailant returned to confront Johnson on the porch. Despite the attempts to assuage White, the latter told him ‘you shouldn’t have fucked with me’, produced a small knife and with one movement thrust it into the singer’s chest. White then fled back through the house. Johnson was rushed to nearby Bloomington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead; his aorta had been severed by the blow. White was tracked down by police dogs and apprehended as he attempted to hide in a neighbour’s cellar. He allegedly asked his arresting officer to pray for him. Just under a year later, White – having been in custody since the slaying – was sentenced to thirty years in jail. Chris Johnson’s widow Michele found it in herself to perform with Useless Wooden Toys at a benefit concert in September 2010.

Golden Oldies #69

Ira Tucker

(Spartanburg, South Carolina, 17 May 1925)

The Dixie Hummingbirds

Although ever mindful of his faith and the elders who had guided him, Ira Tucker broke with gospel tradition while just a teenager in 1938 when his performances took a turn toward the stage theatrics and self-genuflection that both inspired and left his audiences spellbound. These antics were virtually unheard of in pre-war church music, but it’s fairly safe to say that vocal legends The Dixie Hummingbirds were much more than just a vessel of worship.

The Hummingbirds impressed labels with what they called their ‘trickeration’ - a complex method of harmonizing. The group went on to sign a deal with Decca Records shortly after Tucker joined. Over the decades, this highly drilled vocal group toured hard throughout the Bible Belt, only stopping to draw inspiration from other forms of music, even from the secular world. B B King was known to be a longtime admirer, as were Jackie Wilson and James Brown, both of whom openly adopted elements of Tucker’s sweat-drenched performances.

Few white audiences, however, had seen or heard The Hummingbirds before their appearance at the 1966 Newport Folk Festival. One who paid attention was Paul Simon, the singer/songwriter using the group’s powerful harmonies on his
There Goes Rhymin’ Simon
album cut ‘Tenderness’ and the Grammy-winning Billboard hit ‘Loves Me Like a Rock’ (1973). The group also played with Stevie Wonder, their genre by now often referred to as ‘soul gospel’.

Much was made of The Dixie Hummingbirds’ eightieth anniversary in 2008, including the production of feature-length documentary
Eighty Years Young.
Sadly, though, this milestone coincided with Ira Tucker’s death. The singer’s astonishing
seven
decades with The Hummingbirds is almost certainly a record tenure for an American artist, and perhaps only his passing from cardiovascular disease on 24 June 2008 was to have put an end to his relationship with the band - a relationship perhaps second only to the one he had with his faith. Tucker’s grand tradition within the group is upheld today by his son, Ira Tucker Jr.

JULY

Tuesday 1

Mel Galley

(Melville Galley - Cannock, Staffordshire, England, 8 March 1948)

Whitesnake

Trapeze

(Finders Keepers)

(Various acts)

Mel Galley faced up to his final fate with much the same dignity that the former hard-rock guitarist had dealt with other dilemmas throughout his life. On learning in February 2008 that he had just months to live, Galley spent those months seeking out old friends and saying his goodbyes. And, following a career that saw him play with dozens of rock names, this was no small task.

Galley’s name first came to the fore in the 1960s when he played with singer/bassist/multi-instrumentalist Glenn Hughes (later of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath) and drummer Dave Holland (later of Judas Priest) in Finders Keepers. This trio then went on to form the nucleus of Trapeze and recorded what were probably that ever-evolving group’s best albums,
Medusa
(1969) and
You Are the Music … We’re Just the Band
(1970) (the latter named after one of Galley’s own compositions). Despite a distinct lack of commercial success, Trapeze maintained a strong following for a further decade, with Galley the only constant member of the band.

Galley went on to provide vocals for Whitesnake’s 1982 album
Saints an’ Sinners
(which featured an early version of the group’s 1987 chart-topper ‘Here I Go Again’) and thus became (he thought) a full-time member of the band. He co-wrote all the songs on their next record,
Slide It In
(1984), with front man David Coverdale, but plans for further work were put on hold when Galley sustained an injury to his arm at a fairground during a tour through Germany. Thanks to some incompetent surgery, the guitarist suffered nerve damage and was left unable to play. This eventually cost him his place in a band that was starting to shift units.

Galley, however, was made of sterner stuff – literally. Following a rock tradition begun by Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi – and taken to the extreme by Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen in 1984
(
January 1991/Close!)
– Galley overcame his disability with the application of a wire arm attachment that enabled him to play guitar again. This earned him the nickname ‘The Claw’.

Reinvigorated, Galley – with his musician/producer brother, Tom Galley – formed the ‘supergroup’ Phenomena with King Crimson’s John Wetton and Queen’s Brian May. Their three albums sold steadily and even scored a number-one single in South America with ‘Did It All For Love’ (1987). Phenomena surprised their followers, though, when they reemerged with a fourth album nearly twenty years later in 2006. Galley’s remarkable resumé also includes substantial credits with Cozy Powell, former Moody Blues players Justin Hayward and John Lodge and, once again, Glenn Hughes’s solo work.

Unlike his earlier health issues, however, there was no way to defeat the oesophageal cancer diagnosed early in 2008. Mel Galley died peacefully at his Heath Hayes, Staffordshire, home, at the age of sixty.

Wednesday 2

Natasha Shneider

(Moscow, 22 May 1956)

Queens of the Stone Age

Eleven

Recalled by many as a one-time touring member of Queens of the Stone Age, Russian-born rock musician Natasha Shneider was originally the singer and bassist with Los Angeles guitar band Eleven. A popular live draw, Eleven were originally formed as Walk The Moon by Shneider (vocals/keys/bass) and her long-term partner Alain Johannes (vocals/guitar/brass), plus Red Hot Chili Peppers/Pearl Jam–associate Jack Irons (percussion). Eleven issued five albums between 1991 and 2003. Although the group did not break into the mainstream, some of their singles made an impact, such as ‘Break the Spell’ (1991), which was featured in the movie
Freejack,
and ‘Reach Out’ (1993), which managed to make the Billboard rock listings.

Shneider and Johannes then joined QOTSA for the 2005 tour behind
Lullabies to Paralyze
and also co-composed and produced material for No Doubt and Chris Cornell (ex-Soundgarden).