On August 13, 1971, Curtis Ousley (born Curtis Montgomery) aka King Curtis died aged 37. He was music director, record producer, and musician (soprano, alto and tenor saxophone, trumpet), worked in various music genres, rhythm, and blues, rock and roll, soul, blues, funk, and soul-jazz. He performed and recorded with numerous musicians and bands including Aretha Franklin, Nat Adderley, Wynton Kelly, ]Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, Andy Williams, The Coasters, LaVern Baker, Joe South, John Lennon, the Rimshots, Champion Jack Dupree, Jerry Jemmott, Oliver Jackson, King Pins, Bernard Purdie, The Shirelles, The Noble Band, Cornell Dupree, and Duane Allman. At the 1970 “Grammy Awards”, Curtis won the “Best R&B Instrumental Performance Grammy” for “Games People Play”. In March 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”.
Tag Archives: various music genres
Willy DeVille
On August 6, 2009, William Paul Borsey Jr. aka Willy DeVille died aged 58. He was a singer and songwriter, founder of Mink DeVille, the house band at the New York club “CBGB”. With Mink DeVille, he released six albums and ten by his own name. DeVille collaborated with musicians from various music genres such as Jack Nitzsche, Doc Pomus, Dr. John, Mark Knopfler, Allen Toussaint, Eddie Bo, David Hidalgo, Efrain Toro, Mariachi Los Camperos, Jimmy Zavala, Zachary Richard, Jeff Baxter, Freebo, Jim Gilstrap, and Brian Ray.