Category Archives: Celebrity/musician deaths

RIP: Scott Weiland 1967 – 2015

While this was bound to happen, we can not deny that Scott Weiland was one of the best rock frontmen of all time. He was a talented singer and one of the best live performers we’ve ever had. I had the opportunity to see STP live in concert once with Scott fronting and it’s a show I’ll never forget. I grew up listening to STP. I was in high school when STP entered the Seattle grunge movement and I’m like… wow, who are these guys? I remember when I first bought STP’s album, “Core”, I played that album to death on my CD player then I continued to listen to all of their records.

Honestly, though, Scott’s death didn’t surprise me. Remember, before his sudden passing, Scott wasn’t looking too good at all. Scott kept claiming that he was clean for 13 years but you know it was a flat out lie. He was definitely back on the drugs again, no doubt.

1) It was probably the reason he was kicked out of STP in the first place ’cause he probably got back on the drugs (heroin probably)

2) When he did interviews, he was looking frail and tired.

3) Scott’s disastrous “Vaseline” performance with the Wildabouts was a pretty good indication that he became an addict again.

We’ll know for sure whether or not Scott was back on the drugs once the toxicology report comes out.

While I’m sure Scott had a lot of problems with the guys in STP, not getting along and all, I’m sure the Deleo Brothers and Eric still loved him and cared for him, though. Like everyone else, I’m sure the surviving members of STP are bummed about his passing too ’cause Scott helped rise STP into fame and stardom.

Today’s a sad day and a huge loss in rock n’ roll for sure. Like I said, I grew up listening to STP and I’m a fan of Velvet Revolver as well. Scott was 48 years old.

Kev

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzx26V4WDlA

Now that Jennifer Lawrence is single…

She’s gonna get more guys trying to get into her pants now due to her nude leaked photos from last year. The whole world knows what she looks like naked now and she wouldn’t be single for long. She shouldn’t have a problem getting a new man now. We’ll see how long she stays single. Shouldn’t be long. Wait for it, she’ll start dating someone new next week. If she stays single for a long time then that would be shocking but I think she’ll get a new man pretty quickly. Just watch for it. Her movies are called “The Hunger Games”? Well, I’m sure the guys are pretty hungry for her.

http://time.com/4111001/jennifer-lawrence-fan-account-dates/

I’m looking forward to “Mockingjay Part 2” by the way and will see it next week, hopefully. I saw all the Hunger Games movies in theater. I’m a big fan.

Kev

RIP: Wes Craven 1939 – 2015…

This is very sad and shocking. One of my favorite horror directors of all time, Wes Craven has just passed away. This is a sad loss in Hollywood ’cause this man was one of the most iconic directors in Hollywood. He’s been directing movies since the 70’s. He’s brought us films like “The Last House on the Left”, “The Hills Have Eyes 1 & 2”, “Shocker”, he also brought us the “Scream” series and also responsible for giving us Freddy Krueger. Yes, he created the Freddy Krueger character himself which became one of the most iconic horror characters in Hollywood who is played by none other than Robert Englund. He was also the creator of the “Scream” series which became box office hits, all of them. I only saw the first three “Scream” movies… haven’t seen 4 yet but I will. The man was a movie making genius, though. I was never aware that he was suffering brain cancer which is what he died from.

RIP Wes and thanks for the great films!

Kev

RIP: Rowdy Roddy Piper 1954 – 2015…

I’m really shocked to hear the sudden passing of wrestling legend and movie star, Rowdy Roddy Piper. Like most, I’ve followed the guy’s career for many years. He was also a childhood hero of mine. Watched him in the 80’s with his wrestling in the old WWF days. Roddy was responsible for helping to get Wrestlemania started… the huge yearly wrestling event that the WWF/WWE started. Even though Roddy retired from wrestling, he still made occasional appearances on WWE RAW and ppvs.

Roddy wasn’t just a wrestler, he was also a movie actor. While he did star in a bunch of movies over the years, he is most famous for starring in films like “They Live” by John Carpenter and “Hell Comes To Frogtown”.

Last year, Roddy started his own podcast show “Piper’s Pit with Roddy Piper” for Podcast One.

Roddy’s final tweet before his passing was that he was gonna appear as a guest in Earl Skakel’s podcast that Roddy was promoting.

Another sad loss in the wrestling business. Roddy was a great one and he was talented as hell too. Roddy died of cardiac arrest in his home in Hollywood, he was 61 years old.

Kev

RIP: Chris Squire (bassist for the band, Yes) 1948 – 2015

Sad news to report. The music industry lost another great one. Chris Squire, known as the longtime bassist and co-founder of one of the most famous prog rock bands, Yes, has just passed away due to leukemia. The band, Yes, has been together since the late 1960’s and Chris has played bass for them ever since.

Kind of a strange thing ’cause I was just starting to get into Yes’s music. I only have two albums by them and was meaning to get more of their albums sometime in the future. Yes, is a genius band and Chris was an important part of their sound. He was known to have a bass guitar that would have three necks.

Chris Squire was 67 years old.

Kev

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tdu4uKSZ3M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O6e7cgkeqw

RIP: Dusty Rhodes (wrestler) 1945 – 2015

More sad news to announce that professional wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer, Dusty Rhodes, just passed away.

I remember watching him a lot in the early 80’s. He was a great talent and one of the best. He was the father of Cody Rhodes and Dustin Runnels who are also professional wrestlers.

Dusty worked in professional wrestling throughout his whole life. Wrestling was in his blood. This guy never really retired before he returned to WWE, he was working for the independent circuit. When he came back to WWE, he would make occasional appearances on RAW.

A sad loss in the wrestling world.

Kev

RIP: Christopher Lee 1922 – 2015…

Legendary actor, Christopher Lee has just passed away. He is most famous for playing the role of Dracula in the Hammer Horror films. Not only that… he is known for playing a villain role in three other major franchises for James Bond, Lord of the Rings and the Star Wars prequels.

Christopher wasn’t just an actor. He was also a singer. It may seem a little odd to some people but who knew that Christopher had a huge love for heavy metal music? He was a big fan of metal and even made some metal music himself. He released two albums under Charlemagne which he most known for in his music and he also did a Christmas album that is also metal.

It’s no surprise that he would be a fan of metal since he is a huge fan of horror films ’cause horror & metal go together, I would think!

I’m a big fan of his work too and it’s a sad loss in the movie industry and the music industry. He was well-respected by metal musicians.

Kev

RIP: B.B. King 1925 – 2015

When I first started playing guitar, “The Thrill Is Gone” was one of the first songs that I learned. I learned the whole song note for note by ear, the solo and all. Later on, I jammed in a full band playing the song at a small bar in Greenwich years ago… really I did. I’ll never forget it. So BB King was a huge inspiration and influence in my life and my own guitar playing. For many years, I have been trying to develop a good vibrato and ’cause of BB’s lessons in the videos below, he taught me the wrist vibrato which helped my vibrato greatly.

I’ve been a long time BB King fan myself. It’s amazing how long of a life he lived and there was never a time where I haven’t seen BB without a guitar slung over his shoulders. Each time you see him do a live performance or an interview, he always had a guitar. Guitar is what he always loved to do. He played guitar ’til the day he died. Not only that, he also performed on stage and kept making music ’til the day he died. He never stopped what he was doing. A lot of musicians retire at an old age but not BB. Even though he was old, he sacrificed himself to keep performing no matter what. Even though he wasn’t feeling well, he would still get up to perform. Why? Simply because that is what who he was. The stage belonged to him.

BB was a genius guitar player and the master. He may have been well known for the song “Thrill is Gone” which is his anthem but all of his other music is great too. I’m planning to buy the live album “Live at the Regal” like Eric recommended in the video below.

A sad loss in the music industry. BB King was 89 years old.

Kev

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVe24YFGoiM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg7ugDja1fA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-p1GLZQXfA

RIP: Ben E. King 1938 – 2015…

We all grew up on that song, “Stand By Me” which was originally performed and composed by singer-songwriter, Ben E. King. Just like you, I grew up on the song too. We hear it on the radio everywhere we go. The song has been covered by other artists most notably, John Lennon who made it his own version. We’ve also heard the song in the film “Stand By Me” by the same title… the movie based upon the Stephen King story and starring Will Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, etc.

I wasn’t a big Ben E. King fan, never bought his music or anything but I did respect him for this song. How can we not love this song? Everybody should love it.

Another sad loss in the music industry. Ben E. King was 76 years old.

Kev

RIP Jack Ely (of the Kingsmen) 1943 – 2015

You’ve probably heard the song too many times, “Louie, Louie” the famous three chord song by the Kingsmen. You’ve probably heard it on the radio, at dance parties like wedding receptions and I’m sure many cover bands have played it at bar gigs too many times.

The founder and lead singer of the Kingsmen, Jack Ely just passed at 71 years old. A sad loss in the music industry. Thanks Jack! I’m a huge fan of this song and like the Kingsmen too!

Kev

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=16&v=4V1p1dM3snQ