The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars (7 page)

Lest We Forget

Other notable deaths that occurred sometime during 1965:

Carl Adams
(US rockabilly guitarist who played with three fingers after losing two in a shooting accident; born Louisiana, 7/11/1935; kidney failure, 25/2)

Dave Barbour
(US guitarist/composer; born Long Island, New York, 1912; divorced from singer Peggy Lee, he had asked her to remarry four days before dying from an undiagnosed heart condition, 11/12)

Tom ‘Thumb’ Blessing
(US rock ‘n’ roll saxophonist/guitarist with Pacific Northwest bands The Notions, The Newports and Tom Thumb & The Casuals; auto accident on the way to a gig)

Earl Bostic
(US jazz/R & B saxophonist; born Oklahoma, 25/4/1913; heart attack, 28/10)

Dorothy Dandridge
(popular US actress/singer; born Ohio, 9/11/1922; overdose - possibly suicide, 8/9)

Spike Jones
(eccentric US comic/percussionist who formed The City Slickers and influenced the likes of The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band; born Lindley Armstrong Jones, California, 14/12/1911; emphysema 1/5)

Peter LaFarge
(US folk singer/writer who worked with Johnny Cash and hung with the young Bob Dylan - he claimed to be of Native American extraction; born 1931; stroke or alcohol/pills overdose, 27/10)

Ira Louvin
(US bluegrass singer with The Louvin Brothers; born Lonnie Ira Loudermilk, Alabama, 21/4/1921; having survived a near-fatal fight with his third wife, he died in a car crash, 20/6)

Todd Rhodes
(US jazz/R & B pianist; born Kentucky, 31/8/1900; having already lost a leg, he died from complications arising from inept hospital treatment for his diabetes, 4/6)

Terry Thompson
(US R & B/rock guitarist who penned ‘A Shot of Rhythm and Blues’ and played with the Muscle Shoals FAME Studio Rhythm Section; born Mississippi, 1941; alcohol/drug overdose, 10/11)

Harrison Verrett
(US jazz guitarist and brother-in-law of Fats Domino; born Los Angeles, 26/2/1907; undisclosed, 10/1965)

1966

MARCH

Monday 7

Mike Millward

(Bromborough, Merseyside, 9 May 1942)

The Fourmost

(Kingsize Taylor & The Dominoes)

Millward – formerly of the intriguingly named Kingsize Taylor & The Dominoes – was singer/rhythm guitarist with early Brian Epstein discoveries The Fourmost. In an era overrun with quartets, the band underwent almost as many changes of identity as personnel: in their brief history they were known as The Blue Jays, The Four Jays and even the extremely clunky Four Mosts when it transpired that an American band had the same name. No matter, the group – Millward, Brian O’Hara (vocals/guitar), Billy Hatton (bass) and Dave Lovelady (drums) – enjoyed a number of Top Forty singles (the first two Lennon and McCartney songs) while Merseybeat was the hot phenomenon. The pinnacle for the group was the UK number-six hit ‘A Little Loving’ (April 1964) and an appearance alongside Liverpool contemporaries in the film
Ferry across the Mersey.
It was at this point that Mike Millward was diagnosed with throat cancer, which by and large put paid to his singing career. On recovery, Millward learned that he had leukaemia, which forced him into complete retirement. The most popular member of the group, Millward died at just twenty-three, and The Fourmost rapidly settled for a career as a cabaret turn, with the hits drying up. O’Hara fronted regular reunions for the group until his own unfortunate suicide
(
June 1999).

APRIL

Saturday 30

Richard Fariña

(Brooklyn, New York, 8 March 1937)

Richard & Mimi Fariña

Described variously as ‘America’s least-known superstar’ or ‘a scattered mind with a death wish’, Richard Fariña had a short and eventful life. Born to a Cuban engineer and his Northern Irish wife, it was Fariña’s mother’s background that would become the source of his early interests: a visit to her homeland in 1953 saw him affiliate himself with the IRA. But, believing statistics were ‘not as much fun as stories’, Fariña became an archetypal anti-authority writer and musician, the dulcimer being his unlikely instrument of choice. A young man with opinions and wild oats to sow, Fariña made the ‘oppressive regime’ of his university’s segregation policy the target of early protests – his actions causing his suspension and high-profile police intervention. Ever a restless soul, Fariña dropped out of studies, short-term employment at an advertising agency and a doomed marriage to established musician Carolyn Hester. While performing in Greenwich Village, he met his second wife and ultimate musical collaborator, Mimi, a dance student, guitarist and 17-year-old sister of Joan Baez. The pair were immediately accepted into the folk community, debuting at the 1964 Big Sur Festival and shortly thereafter signing with Vanguard, who released an eponymous debut album (1965) and a rated follow-up,
Reflections in a Crystal Wind,
early the following year.

Now a respected poet, playwright, columnist and author, Fariña’s
Been down So Long It Looks Like up to Me
– a novel inspired by college experiences – was published in New York. It was clearly a time for celebration, especially as the day of the book launch in Carmel coincided with Mimi’s twenty-first birthday. Following the launch, a number of friends accompanied Richard and Mimi to her sister’s house for a surprise party; one of these was Willie Hinds, an inexperienced biker who sometime during the course of the evening offered Fariña a ride on his newly acquired Harley Davidson. As the pair reached 100 mph weaving through the rolling hills on the winding roads of Carmel, Hinds failed to make a bend, skidded and lost control of his bike. Hinds survived the wipe-out with minor injuries but Fariña was hurled across two fences into an embankment and died immediately.

See also
Mimi Fariña (
July 2001)

JULY

Monday 18

Bobby Fuller

(Goose Creek, Texas, 22 October 1942)

The Bobby Fuller Four

The true spirit of rock ‘n’ roll lived and died in Bobby Fuller – but was the Texas-born guitarist the genre’s first genuine murder victim? When his mother, Lorraine, discovered her son’s lifeless corpse propped up against the steering wheel of her car, she noticed not just the acrid smell of blood but also the distinctive fumes of petrol.