April 26
Big band lost its greatest swinging architect today in 1984 when Count Basie died at 79 from pancreatic cancer in Florida, ending the career of the pianist whose economical style and legendary orchestra defined Kansas City jazz across five decades of timeless groove… Country music mourned its greatest voice on this day in 2013 when George Jones died at 81, ending the career of "The Possum" whose "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and heartbreak-soaked honky-tonk made him the genre's most respected singer despite his legendary alcoholism and volatile marriages… We remember blues' founding mother "Ma" Rainey on her birthday today in 1886, the "Mother of the Blues" whose powerful voice and lesbian openness influenced Bessie Smith and established the template for female blues singers before her death in 1939… Electronic music lost a pioneering voice on this day in 2022 when Klaus Schulze died at 74 after a long illness, ending th...
