THREE SPECIAL HEROES OF THE DAY!
Names: George Young, Scott Putesky and Fats Domino
Ages: was 70, 49 and 89 respectively
Occupations: rock 'n rollers
Last Seen: in the Great Beyond
Awarded For: being three influential figures in music history
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When 2016 ended, people were hoping that 2017 would be better.
Sadly, with the deaths of Chuck Berry, J. Geils, Tom Petty, Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington and too many others to mention, this is not turning into a good year regarding rock stars, past or even present. Now, it's time to add three more to the list, just this week alone.
George Young died on Sunday at the age of 70. Born in Scotland, he and his family moved to Australia when he was 15. A year later, he and several others - all expatriates from Europe - founded a band called The Easybeats. Even though they scored many hits in their homeland, here in America, they only had one major hit: the #16 tune "Friday On My Mind". In 1969, the band split up, though Young and fellow guitarist Harry Vanda formed a production team. Together, they wrote and/or produced tunes such as John Paul Young's (no relation) 1978 hit "Love is in the Air" and even their own band, Flash and the Pan, whose 1977 song "Hey St. Peter" was an international hit.
However, Young's biggest accomplishment came from his two younger brothers, Angus and Malcolm, who founded a little band you might have heard of called AC/DC. Young and Vanda produced all their albums up to 1978's "Powerage" and Young solo produced 2000's "Stiff Upper Lip".
Then, there's Scott Putesky, whom most of us know better as Daisy Berkowitz, the lead guitarist for Marilyn Manson until 1996. Named for The Dukes of Hazzard's Daisy Duke and serial killer David "The Son of Sam" Berkowitz, Putesky became Manson's guitarist when the two met at a nightclub in 1989. Putesky played lead guitar on Manson's early hits, such as his Eurythmics cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and "Lunchbox". However, Putesky left the band in 1996 while recording the band's groundbreaking "Antichrist Superstar" album because of his feud with producer Trent Reznor. He ended up joining several other bands during this time, including the mostly-girl band Jack Off Jill. Sadly, Putesky also died on Sunday at the age of 49 from colon cancer.
Last, but definitely not least, there was Fats Domino, whose music helped to define rock 'n roll in the 1950s. Selling over 65 million records in his career, his traditional R&B sound and his boogie-woogie piano made him a superstar along with fellow 1950s greats such as Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1950, he released a record called "The Fat Man", a song that was rock 'n roll before there was rock 'n roll. His biggest hit was 1956's "Blueberry Hill", which reached #2. Although his recording career started to wane post-1960, he still regularly performed and recorded. He even made a big comeback in 2006 with the album "Alive and Kicking" after he was feared dead two years earlier during Hurricane Katrina. However, he survived, though his home was destroyed. Domino died early today at the age of 89, one of the last-surviving 1950s rock legends.
While Domino, Young and Putesky would definitely make strange bedfellows, they helped influence all sorts of rock. Young was freewheeling, Putesky was dark and gothic while Domino was traditional. Nonetheless, all three had their own footprint in the genre itself. They might be gone, but their recordings will survive forever.
If there is a Rock 'N Roll Heaven, they would be one hell of a band.
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Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
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