April 17

Wings lost half its heart today in 1998 when Linda McCartney died at 56 after battling breast cancer, ending the life of Paul's photographer wife whose keyboard playing and harmonies had been essential to his post-Beatles career while critics derided her limited musical abilities…

 

Rock and roll suffered one of its earliest tragedies on this day in 1960 when Eddie Cochran died at 21 after a taxi crash in England, the "Summertime Blues" singer's death alongside Gene Vincent's career-ending injuries robbing rockabilly of one of its most promising voices…

 

Hard rock mourned a bizarre murder today in 1983 when Mountain bassist Felix Pappalardi was shot dead by his wife Gail Collins, ending the life of the producer and musician whose work with Cream and his own band had defined early heavy metal before domestic violence turned fatal…

 

We remember the Brill Building's most powerful mogul Don Kirshner on his birthday today in 1934, the music publisher who managed the Monkees and Archies while controlling countless songwriters' careers, proving that ruthless business sense could shape rock and roll before his death in 2011…

 

The E Street Band lost its most soulful voice today in 2008 when organist Danny Federici died at 58 from melanoma, ending the career of the accordionist-keyboardist whose swirling Hammond work had been essential to Bruce Springsteen's sound for four decades…

 

Synthesizer innovation met jazz fusion when Jan Hammer was born on this day in 1948, the Czech keyboardist whose work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and 'Miami Vice' theme proved that electronic instruments could dominate both progressive rock and 1980s television…

 

Beatles history shifted today in 1970 when Paul McCartney released his self-titled solo debut a month before 'Let It Be,' the homemade album announcing the group's dissolution while Paul played every instrument himself, proving he didn't need the others anymore.