Rep John Murtha Passes

I'm sorry to hear about John Murtha. I knew he was not in good health in recent days and can't say I am shocked.

I guess to each their own, but I sure wouldn't want to be working (especially in politics)until the day I die. I'd certainly want to enjoy retirement.

RIP John

TIS

I don't understand why that is either. Don't they get huge pensions when they retire?

Former congressman Charlie Wilson has died at the age of 76

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/10/charlie.wilson.obit/index.html?hpt=T2

Is that the Wilson of "Charlie Wilson's War" movie with Julia Roberts???? Sorry, I didn't read the link. It may say.



TIS

yes it is, and for those that watch discovery channel, the captain from "Deadliest Catch" has died as well.

I'm guessing nobody had him on their list, but, "The Knack's" lead singer, Doug Fieger, died at only 57 years old. Apparently he had cancer for 6 years.

I am a huge fan of "My Sharona", but I would not have ever been able to name anyone in the group. I have an old scratched up 45 record of that song of that song I played it to death. Anyway, RIP


TIS

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100215/music_nm/us_fieger_2

I must be slippin'...

Canada's last WW I veteran dies: John Babcock's death at 109 marks 'end of an era'

I'm surprised nobody had picked him.

It's kind of funny..... when I was a young kid, I'd hear reports of former Civil War soldiers passing away and thought that they must have been REALLY ancient (they were, but it still seemed like ancient history). Now, another era is passing. There are probably less than a dozen WWI vets alive throughout the world. It won't be much longer before we start commenting on how many WWII vets are still alive.

That is really scary when you think about it, isn't it?? The country was less than 100 years old at that point. And a couple/few decades after that, our (at least my) grandparents came over. And now we have computer-phones and flatscreen TVs and the Internet. Just mind-boggling to me!

I used to collect coins as a kid, and it was very common to get coins from the 1880s, 1890s, etc. in regular change. The coins were then about 80 years old. Do you EVER see a coin from the 1920s now???

Gee, I wish I had that coin collection now!

I was thrilled to find silver coins from the '60s and earlier (and wheat pennies from the early 1900s). I still have my collection.

Time for bed - 'night!

Alexander "I'm In Charge" Haig has died. RIP

Wow.... that's a bit of a surprise. he was 85, but still.....

He was a scary guy.... a power-hungry and power-grabbing SOB. Haig may best be remembered for his statement about being "in charge" (as dt pointed out) after Ronald Reagan was shot and VP Bush had not yet come back to Washington, DC. He was, in effect, usurping the US Constitution with that (incorrect) statement.

He was loved by the Nixon White House, and probably rose from a colonel to a 4-star general quicker than anyone else in the country's peacetime history because of that.

Honestly, I didn't realize he was still alive. But, yea, talk about a blast from the past. That's a familiar name that was in the news way back when. He always too, was mean looking IMHO.

TIS

Evidently he died of complications arising from an infection of some kind. There is a surprising amount of this going around as bacteria mutate and become immune to antibiotics.


In one respect Haig never got (or sought) the credit he deserved for ushering Nixon out of the White House and paving the way for a peaceful transition to Ford. Evidently, Nixon was drinking heavily, popping pills, and making noise about staging a coup. Haig saw to it that Barry Goldwater and a group of respected GOP Senators and Congressmen pay a visit to Nixon to tell him he did not have the votes to beat an impeachment and conviction. He also notified the DOD and State Dept about the posibility that Nixon might try to start a nuclear war, and to be sure of any orders they got from him. He was also the one who convinced Nixon that by stepping aside history would be kinder to him than if he did not. For about two weeks there, Haig probably was the acting president.

While I didn't agree with Haig's politics, I respected the hell out of him. He was one tough sonuvabitch.

R.I.P.

well they found the body of "Growing Pains" star Andrew Koenig (who is also the son of Walter Koenig) in Vancouver.

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/andrew-koenigs-body-found-in-vancouver-park/36485?nc

OMG, Boner! I still can't believe they allowed a nickname like that in the 80s... and a decade later we got Little & Big Pussy

Dale Hawkins (Suzie Q) passed away recently.

Dale Hawkins, 73, a Louisiana rockabilly singer and record producer whose 1957 hit "Susie Q" became a rock-and-roll standard and was a hit for Creedence Clearwater Revival in the late 1960s, died of colon cancer Feb. 13 at a hospital near his home in Little Rock.

During his brief time in the limelight, Mr. Hawkins employed influential guitarists James Burton and Roy Buchanan. Mr. Hawkins's version of "Susie Q" was more raw, Southern blues than pop. He sang loudly and lustfully over Burton's distorted blues riff and an insistent cowbell.

Rolling Stone called "Susie Q" "the first rock 'n' roll record where the guitar counts for more than the song itself. Burton's lurching, fingerpicked gutbucket blues riff gives way to dirty-toned, scorched-earth solos after every verse."

Delmar Hawkins Jr. was born Aug. 22, 1936, on a plantation in Goldmine, La. After his parents separated, he and his siblings were raised by his grandparents.

Mr. Hawkins picked cotton and worked a paper route, then lied about his age to join the Navy at 16. In 1956, when his hitch was up, he started a band in Bossier City, La., with Burton. Stan Lewis, who owned a record shop in Shreveport, brought the band to the attention of Chess Records, a rhythm-and-blues label in Chicago. For Chess, Mr. Hawkins recorded the song "See You Soon, Baboon," modeled on the Bobby Charles hit "See Ya Later, Alligator."

The record failed to sell, and label owner Leonard Chess had reservations about releasing Mr. Hawkins's second record, "Susie Q." But a local disc jockey took a demo of the song to Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler. Wexler expressed interest in it, forcing Chess's hand.

Mr. Hawkins had to assign part of the song's writing credits to Lewis and E. Broadwater, a pseudonym for Nashville DJ Gene Nobles. The move ensured airplay but caused him to miss out on royalty payments.

Chess promoted the record slowly, one region at a time. The band took to the road, sometimes driving 800 miles between shows, with hasty recording sessions along the way. Mr. Hawkins often played in black theaters where he was the only white artist on the bill.

Full Obit

Ha ha!! I agree Geoff.

His father said he was having depression issues. How sad.

TIS

Ron Banks, whose silky falsetto helped give the Dramatics one of the most enduring careers in R&B, has died at home in Detroit. He was 58.

Banks died at about noon today, possibly of a massive heart attack, said Billy Wilson, president of the Motown Alumni Association.
The Northern High School graduate was the founder of the Detroit vocal group, which made a name in the mid-'60s and went on to play for avid audiences around the country. Aside from a short break in the mid-1980s, the group has worked continuously since its early days playing Chene Street nightclubs, and has been a staple of the annual '70s Soul Jam revue tours. Banks' last hometown gig with the Dramatics
was a November show at MotorCity Casino's Sound Board venue.

Obit

Actor Corey Haim found dead at 38 of a drug overdose. When will these kids ever learn.

http://www.fancast.com/blogs/2010/tv-news/lost-boy-corey-haim-found-dead-at-38/?cmpid=FCST_itn

This link has a youtube clip taken last week where Corey Feldman tries to talk to him about drugs. You know you're bad when Corey Feldman's giving you advice.

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_212288954.shtml

Wow. Certainly not a shock, but such a shame...!

I actually am addicted to Dr. Drew's "Celebrity Rehab" show in VH1. Some say it's exploitation. It's times like these this show is what some of these people need.

I know what you mean, Bethee. But during the first season, God forgive me, I was really rooting for Jeff Conaway to just wither up and die, cause he sure as Hell ain't living. I really think he's beyond any help.

He's actually been in the hospital lately with a broken hip I think. How did he go from Taxi and Grease to the hell he is now.

I think it's ironic and probably on purpose that this season had Heidi Fleiss and Tom Sizemore both on.

How ironic. Corey was approached by "Celebrity rehab" people to do the show.

http://www.tmz.com/2010/03/10/corey-haim-celebrity-rehab-dr-drew-casting-died-death-drugs/

It is so sad that the drugs took his life over. I seen him and the other Corey on a reality show on A&E called The two Corey's a while back. Shame.

I was surprised when I heard this morning. Both my daughters know Corey better than I do and were surprised when I told them. I heard about the program with him and Corey Feldman, but to me, he's best known for "Lost Boys." What a shame.


TIS