Gray Bartlett born July 22nd, 1942

Gray Bartlett (born July 22nd, 1942) is a Guitarist, Musical Director, Composer, Producer, and Concert Promoter who has been picking his way to success for over many years.  Through 30 albums and  20 singles, Gray has sold well in excess of a million units of his music.

He was born Graeme Neil Bartlett in Auckland, New Zealand. Gray's first musical experience was at age 15 after leaving Auckland Grammar School.  One of his four brothers, Barry (he also has three sisters), taught him to play the guitar, and after answering an advertisement, he joined a band called "The Phantoms".  They performed at local dances and came runner-up in a radio competition called "Have A Shot". Gray was offered his chance to record by Zodiac Records in 1961; the result was his first single, "Last Stage West". Between that single and 1965, he began his road to success with offers to tour the country with some well-known international artists of the day, including British singing star Vera Lynn, Tom Jones, and the group Herman's Hermits.  

                                   

He also performed shows in Tokyo, and in 1965, the break came. Gray released the single "Lay Playa" and it made the charts in New Zealand and in Japan (reaching No. 2 there), selling an unprecedented 410,000 copies. He had his own show at the Tokyo Hilton in 1967, and was resident guitarist on Rolf Harris shows in England and Australia from 1968 to 1973. Bartlett has toured and supported many international acts including Connie Francis, Bobby Vee, The Ventures, Tom Jones, Herman's Hermits, Michael Crawford. 

Gray with Tom Jones

With so much achieved by Gray in his long musical career, one of his greatest highlights was being awarded an MBE in the 1987 Queen's New Years Honours list, for his service to entertainment.  Another was being accepted by the Chinese Government in 1986 to perform in China, a first for a New Zealand entertainer. This led to numerous concert tours, fourteen to date and the release of his albums has seen him become very popular in China, winning the "Foreign Artist of the Year" Golden Plume Award in 1987. Also that year Bartlett was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1987 New Year Honours, for services to entertainment.

His numerous awards include the NZCMA Hands of Fame in 1981, Top NZ Country Band in 1983, NZ Country Instrumentalist of the Year in 1984 and 1986, Top Country Group of the Year 1984, Country Music Industry Golden Tribute Award for services to country music in 1988, and the Guangzhou (China) Golden Plume Award for Top Foreign Artist Sales in 1988. He was named New Zealand Country Music Artist of the Year 1990, Patron of the New Zealand Country Music Association from 1987, and was New Zealand Cultural Ambassador 1985–86.

Gray with Roy Orbison

Gray's style is uniquely his own with such a diverse range of musical directions. In the mid 80's and early '90s, he recorded several very successful Country Albums including a Double Gospel Album, for which he received a Gold Album, and huge country music following came from that and others that followed. His 1990 Together Again national tour was named the Biggest Selling Concert Tour by New Zealand Artists and the companion album attained Gold status in seven days, making it the fastest selling album in New Zealand history. He has also recorded both Popular and Classical and had huge album and concert tour successes with his fellow entertainer's country music stars Brendan Dugan and Jodi Vaughan.  The trio celebrated 25 years in 2002 with a sell-out star of British TV Soap drama, Kevin Kennedy (who plays Curly Watts) who is also a recording artist.  The concerts received rave reviews and counted as another huge success for Gray who not only performed but put the concept and tour in place as well. As well as his music career, Gray was also an Auckland City Councillor for nine years until retiring from his position in 2001.

Gray's skills as a promoter in the entertainment industry have not gone unrecognized and he has been involved in touring many of the big names in show business, from Pavarotti, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Boney M from the UK, to the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Band. Gray has an eye for young and talented artists, and it was he who discovered young songstress Hayley Westenra, who went on, under Gray's guidance, to have her first solo album release go triple platinum in New Zealand. Gray arranged the concept strategy, media planning, and recording contract with Universal Music (NZ) Ltd for the talented 14-year-old, which led to the fastest-selling CD in New Zealand history. Gray is Patron of the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc and in 2001 he received their prestigious Benny Award, the highest honour for a New Zealand entertainer.

In February 2002 Gray arranged for Hayley Westenra to appear in the McCallum Theatre, Palm Desert, USA, and was able to introduce another of his talented discoveries at the same concert, 15-year-old violinist Ben Morrison. The concert was a sell-out, and Ben Morrison received a standing ovation, much to Gray's delight. Ben is now on the verge of success in the music industry following the success of his first recording in 2003. (No 15 New Zealand national charts.) Bartlett received his New Zealand Boulevard Star on the 31st March 2012.​

In October 2017 he was presented with the President's Medallion from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand in recognition of his services as Patron. Gray is in the fortunate position of not only being a success story himself but also being able to share some of his vast experience in designing the careers of new talent.  This gives him a great deal of pleasure as well as finding the time to do charity concerts for many good causes, including the SPCA, which is a favourite for him.

(Edited New Zealand Walk of Fame & Wikipedia) 

Eddie Hill born 21 July 1921

Eddie Hill (21 July 1921 - 18 Jan 1994) was an American musician, singer, songwriter and country music DJ., also often known as "Smilin' Eddie Hill."  

James Edward Hill was born in Delano, Tennessee. At the age of 17, after winning a radio contest, Eddie was given an early morning show on WROL radio in Knoxville, Tn. In the early 1940's he joined the Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round on WNOX with Chet Atkins, Roy Acuff, and June Carter and the Carter sisters, among others. 

In the mid-1940's he partnered with the Louvin brothers as well as Johnnie and Jack, and in 1948 he signed with Decca Records and made his first recordings at Castle Studios in Nashville. During this time, he played on many sessions with Kitty Wells and wrote the song "Someday, You'll Call My Name", which was a hit for Jimmy Wakely in 1949. 

                                  

By the early 1950's he moved to Memphis, where he hosted a network radio show on WMPS. Soon thereafter he was starring in Eddie Hill's Ranch on WMC-TV. As well as being a DJ, Eddie was also a prolific recording artist, recording for Decca, Mercury, RCA and Columbia. His biggest record was his rompin', stompin' 1951 hit The Hot Guitar. Also that year he recorded the song, Steamboat Stomp, with Hank Garland. His musical style was rooted in traditional country and rockabilly, and he played guitar in addition to singing. Hill always had top session men on his recordings, such as Chet Atkins and Grady Martin trading licks on Educated Fool. 

In 1952 he moved to Nashville, where he joined WSM and hosted "The Eddie Hill All-Night Show." He was the emcee for the first Grand Ole Opry telecast on WSM-TV in 1955 and soon was doing commercials for the Ralston Purina company during the Opry telecasts. By 1956 he had his own popular television show, Country Junction, which ran for eleven years on WLAC-TV. Notably, it was the first show to feature a then unknown Dolly Parton, whom he paid out of pocket to perform. 

In 1964 he appeared in the Andy Griffith film A Face in the Crowd and in Forty Acre Feud in 1965. Hill suffered a brain haemorrhage in 1968 that left him partially paralyzed, abruptly halting his career. In 1975 Hill and Grant Turner were the first living inductees into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame.

Eddie died in the St. Thomas Hospital, Tennessee on Jan. 18, 1994, aged 72.

(Edited from Find A Grave, Country Music Archive & Bear Family notes) 

Ernie Wilkins born July 20, 1922

Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. (July 20, 1922 – June 5, 1999) was an American jazz saxophonist, conductor and arranger who spent several years with Count Basie. He composed for Tommy Dorsey, Clark Terry, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was musical director for albums by Nat Adderley, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, and Buddy Rich.

Among the architects of big  band arrangement, heroes like Count Basie and Duke Ellington are household names, but many of the crucial background figures are known only to enthusiasts. These are the staff arrangers, the artisans who could wrap the folds of an orchestra's tonal possibilities around the graceful form of a good tune - and do it at the drop of a cigar-butt. The former Count Basie saxophonist, composer and arranger Ernie Wilkins was one of those. His work was fundamental to the rebirth of the Basie band's reputation in the 1950s.

Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Summer High School with his brother, Jimmy Wilkins. Ernie originally learned piano and violin, and played jazz as a teenage tenor saxophonist, growing up with the fine trumpeter Clark Terry, who was later to work with both Basie and Duke Ellington. Ernie studied in Wilberforce University and eventually ended up in the navy where he played in a band with Gerald Wilson, lead by Willie Smith. After his military service, Wilkins joined piano virtuoso Earl Hines's last big band in 1948.

Count Basie

In 1949-1950, Wilkins recorded with George Hudson's band and did two sessions with backing Dinah Washington with the Teddy Stewart Orchestra. In 1951, Wilkins was introduced to Count Basie by his friend Clark Terry. The conversation took place in a steam room where Basie told Terry he was in need of an alto saxophonist; Terry immediately thought of Wilkins and reached out to him, asking him to join the band and “bring his alto,” despite Wilkins being primarily a tenor player at the time. Ernie's involvement helped Basie's band move to the top of the charts.

                                  

Wilkins kicked the whole process off by writing Every Day I Have The Blues for Basie's majestic singer Joe Williams almost as soon as he joined the orchestra. The song became a chart hit, and one of the best-selling jazz records of all time, and it put the flawless open roadster that had been the Basie band of the swing era back on the road. Following this success, Wilkins came up with Teach Me Tonight and Roll 'Em Pete for Joe Williams. Other notable songs that Wilkins created for the Basie group included “Basie Power”, “Way Out Basie”, and “Right On, Right On", as well as punchy arrangements of jazz and bebop standards. By the late 1950s, this talent was becoming widely appreciated, and he left Basie's staff to freelance for Dizzy Gillespie, Harry James, Buddy Rich and many others.

He provided the arrangements for The Count Basie/Sarah Vaughan Sessions which featured  Frank Wess, Joe Newman, Snooky Young, Billy Mitchell, Al Grey, Freddie Green and Marshal Royal, along with Jones and Foster. He also arranged music for celebrated artists like Sarah Vaughan. In 1959 Ernie Wilkins collaborated with Melba Liston to write music as she toured Europe with the musical Free and Easy in the Quincy Jones orchestra. Wilkins' impact in the 1950s big-band world was so pervasive that Basie is reported to have said to James on a joint show, "Who's going to play my arrangements first, me or you?"

In the 1960s Wilkins faced personal challenges, which included a heroin addiction that led to a temporary decline in his career. Many stopped offering him work due to his struggles, but Clark Terry continued to support him by inviting him to collaborate on several projects throughout the 1970s in his group Big B-A-D Band. In the band Wilkins became a music director and principal composer. In the band Wilkins recorded music and also featured in a four-minute solo on "One Foot in the Gutter". Wilkins remained in the band throughout the 1970s. From 1971 to 1973 Wilkins was also the head of the artists and repertory division of Mainstream Records. He was responsible for orchestral arrangements on 1972's self-titled album by Alice Clark (Mainstream Records), a highly sought-after collectible today. Wilkins eventually overcame his addiction, returning to prominence as a composer and arranger.

He moved to Copenhagen, Denmark in 1979, where he would live for the rest of his life. He began to refresh his arranging career and in 1980 assembled a 13-piece ensemble called the Almost Big Band. Ernie Wilkins and Clark Terry recorded albums in Denmark in 1980 and 1981 and at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1983. In the same year he went to Paris to record some of his compositions with an all-star line up, which included former colleagues from the Count Basie Orchestra. 

In January 1991 Wilkins visited England to conduct the Danish Radio Big Band in a performance of his works, including the recently rediscovered Suite for Jazz Band, a composition written 30 years prior. This concert in Croydon was recorded and released on the Hep label. Although his talent never diminished, his health did, and through his last years he relied on a computer to help him write. "My job is to write the best arrangements in my way, to transcribe what I thought and felt as faithfully as possible for and through the music. If it takes me a week to write four bars but in the end I get what I imagined, then that's a good result."

Ernie Wilkins passed away in his adopted Copenhagen after suffering a stroke, on June 5, 1999. He has a street named after him in southern Copenhagen, "Ernie Wilkins Vej" (Ernie Wilkins Street).

(Edited from Wikipedia, The Guardian & Independent) 

Dave Fisher born July 19, 1940

Dave Fisher (July 19, 1940 - May 7, 2010) was the lead singer, guitarist and musical director of the US folk group the Highwaymen, who enjoyed chart success in 1961 with the songs Michael, Row the Boat Ashore and The Gypsy Rover.  The group veered towards the entertainment wing of the folk boom in early 1960s America, featuring few politically radical songs. They therefore failed to survive the change in popular music during the British invasion of pop groups led by the Beatles. In any case, group members were anxious to pursue other careers, although Fisher continued to work in the music industry. For two decades, with Fisher at the helm, the Highwaymen enjoyed regular reunion concerts.

The Academics

David Louis Fisher was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and at Hillhouse High school sang with a doo-wop group, the Academics. In 1958, at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, he formed a folk music group, the Clansmen, with fellow students Bob Burnett, Steve Butts, Chan Daniels and Steve Trott. By the following year, they had a recording contract from United Artists and a manager, Ken Greengrass, who suggested a change in name. The youngsters had been unaware of the political implications of a name that appeared to ally them with the Ku Klux Klan, and a new name, the Highwaymen, was chosen, after the title of a 1906 poem by Alfred Noyes.

                                   

Their eponymous first album was released in 1960, but sold few copies. A similar fate befell a single, Santiano, and United Artists dropped the group. But an independent distributor in Connecticut pushed the single's B side, Michael, Row the Boat Ashore, renamed simply Michael, and persuaded radio DJs to play it. By the summer of 1961, it had reached No 1 in the US, Britain and 20 other countries. The song was an African-American spiritual, first recorded by Bob Gibson, and then by the Weavers, but it was the Highwaymen's version, arranged by Fisher, that really popularised the song.

Clockwise top to bottom: Steve Trott,
Chan Daniels, Bob Burnett,  Dave Fisher
& Steve Butts

Three appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show on US network television and a second album, Standing Room Only, followed. The single The Gypsy Rover was also successful, both in the US and Britain, and they also achieved success with the B side, Cotton Fields, which rescued a Lead Belly song from oblivion; as a result, both the Beach Boys and Creedence Clearwater Revival covered the song.

At the time, concerts by the Highwaymen could take place only at weekends and vacations because they were still students. After graduation in 1962, they moved to Greenwich Village, New York, where they had a residency at the Gaslight Cafe. Their album from that time, One More Time, included the first recording of Buffy Sainte-Marie's Universal Soldier, later a hit for Donovan. Throughout their career, Fisher was the Highwaymen's main musical inspiration. He chose the songs, arranged them and, with a great tenor voice, was the lead singer. The other members had ambitions outside music – one of them, Steve Trott, became a federal appeals court judge, and in 1964, the Highwaymen disbanded, amicably.

With a new line-up, Fisher launched a folk trio using the same name, with himself as musical director, but he did not sing in the group. His own recordings were not a success, but after moving to Los Angeles he developed a career as a composer and arranger for films and television, including the TV series The Fall Guy, and as a studio singer and musician. He worked together with Bert Knapp, Don Costa, Glen Larson and Wayne Hagstrom aka A.B. Clyde. 

In 1990, a country music band featuring Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson called themselves the Highwaymen. Led by Trott, the original Highwaymen sued for copyright infringement, and the settlement included the original group playing support for the supergroup in Los Angeles. They had already sung at a college reunion in 1987, and this led to a touring schedule where they performed 10-12 concerts a year. In 1998 Dave married his college sweetheart Dr. Elaine Haagen and moved to Rye, New York, where they enjoyed both the New York Yankees and the cultural highlights of New York City. In their second life, the Highwaymen issued five more CDs. Fisher's solo album, Love's Way, was released in 2002. The band recorded their final studio album "The Water of Life: A Celtic Collection" in 2004 and self released two live LP's "In Concert" (2002) and "When The Village Was Green" (2007). 

They last performed together in August 2009, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts at the Guthrie Centre. Dave Fisher died May 7, 2010, at his home in Rye, N.Y. He was 69. The cause was due to the bone marrow disease myelofibrosis. Richard E. Noble, author of a book on the Highwaymen, “Number #1,” said in an interview “When he got on stage, it was like he dropped 15 years and every ailment. He was one of the great tenors of folk music, no question about it." 

Before he died Fisher was working on a book based on his and Bert Knapp's vocal training technique, also the group had been discussing a number of projects, including a PBS special and a Woodstock-like show with other performing artists. A memorial service was held in June 13 at the Clear View School in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., a treatment centre for children with emotional and mental illness where Fisher served on the board of directors.

(Edited from obit by Derek Schofield @ The Guardian, Music Museum of New England & The Highwaymen website) 

Curtis Gordon born July 18, 1927

Curtis Gordon (July 18, 1927** – May 2, 2004) was an American singer who became one of the most enduring and beloved artists of the 1950s but never got the recognition he deserved as a true crossover artist between country, Western swing, and rockabilly.

Edward Curtis Gordon was born on a farm near Moultrie, Georgia. He was heavily influenced by Ernest Tubb, Bob Wills, and Jimmie Rodgers as a child. He won a radio talent show as a teen and left high school to be the lead singer of his own band, which included fiddle player Jimmy Bryant. His parents demanded that he return to school and give up the band; he did so, though he moonlighted with a band called Pee Wee Mills & the Twilight Cowboys, who operated out of Gulfport, Mississippi. He formed a new Western swing band of his own at age 21 in 1949 and starting from South Georgia and North Florida, he had enough work to keep it going.

In June 1952, a distributor of RCA Victor heard Gordon playing in a talent contest in Atlanta and recommended him to executive Steve Sholes and began recording for the label in the fall. For Gordon, who saw himself as a regional performer, landing a deal with RCA was a major break. He fit into the honky tonk sound that was in vogue at the time. However, he had little say in the material he recorded. Steve Sholes had his own ideas, seeing Gordon as a potential ballad singer. Gordon could write his own songs, but was hardly allowed to record them. One of only two exceptions was "Rompin' And Stompin'" (RCA 5356), waxed at Gordon's second RCA session, in March 1953. It was inspired by Hardrock Gunter's "Birmingham Bounce" and can be seen as pre-Elvis rockabilly. Curtis cut 16 songs for RCA, released on eight singles, but there was nothing else like "Rompin' And Stompin'" and when the RCA contract expired in November 1954, Gordon wasn't particularly bitter. His records had sold enough to keep him on the label, but nothing came even close to the national charts.

                                   

In 1952, Gordon had opened his own nightclub, the Radio Ranch, in Mobile, Alabama. He appeared on the Grand Ole Opry and supported Ernest Tubb, Elvis Presley, and Hank Snow, but no matter how much he toured, Mobile would remain his home base over the next couple of decades. 

His records sold modestly, though they never charted; he remained on RCA for two years, and when his contract expired, A&R man Dee Kilpatrick signed him to Mercury in December 1954 and for the most part, the music recorded there was more satisfying than at RCA. For one thing, many of the songs were Gordon originals, though a few songs were pushed on him. Most of his output was pure country, but on his fourth Mercury session, in March 1956, Gordon really cut loose with four self-penned rockabilly classics, "Draggin'", "Mobile, Alabama", "I'm Sittin' On Top Of the World" and "Rock, Roll Jump And Jive". The last track was surprisingly consigned to the vaults by Mercury, until it was included on a Bear Family LP in 1985. 

Though Gordon told Rich Kienzle that he never changed the way he played because of Elvis, his one and only rockabilly session with teen-slanted lyrics, slapped bass and Scotty Moore-styled lead guitar, followed a formula which owed a great deal to Presley's success. But Gordon soon returned to hard country. Gordon served briefly in the U.S. Army Special Services during 1956 at Fort McPherson, Georgia

as part of the Circle-A-Wranglers. In the mid-1950's Gordon had a weekly WALA-TV show where he was known as "Mr. Personality." As a tribute to his adopted home town he recorded "Mobile, Alabama."  After a final Mercury session in October 1957, he recorded for Dollie in 1959, and much later for his own label, Duke Of Country (circa 1978), but mostly he worked Georgia, Florida and Alabama with his own six-piece band. 

He ran a dance club in Georgia in the 1970s and returned to rockabilly performing in the 1980s as the Europeans revived it. In the mid-1990s, after more than 45 years of performing, Gordon wanted to retire from performing and the nightclub business in order to relax, but he accepted an invitation to come to Hemsby, England, for his first European gig, which was a great success. In February 1998 he was heading back to England, again amazed that European fans remembered the lyrics of old records that were ignored by the masses when they came out. His modest, warm personality and the enjoyment of what he plays made him a successful live performer. He headlined the Viva Las Vegas Festival in 2001. Until his death he performed at selected festivals and stages. Gordon died of cancer on May 2, 2004, aged 76.

Curtis Gordon with fan in the UK

Looking back in 1998, Gordon said in an interview, "I never considered myself a great singer. I'm a good showman, I like to entertain. I know how to put on a good show and I've always had a crackerjack band."  

(Edited from This Is My Story, Rockin' Country Style & Wikipedia.) (** Please note , I found out that according to the Social Security Death Index, Curtis Gordon's actual birthdate was July 18, 1927 and that it is this date inscribed on his grave stone, but all sources I have seen give July 27, 1927) 

Mickey Hawks born July 17, 1940

David Michael "Mickey" Hawks (July 17, 1940 – August 31, 1989) was an American rock and roll Rockabilly singer and pianist, and one of the few fifties rock 'n' rollers who always remained true to his original style which included screaming vocals and a thumping piano. Though he never had a national hit, he was able to making a living from this brand of music until his untimely death at the age of only 49.

He was born in Thomasville, North Carolina, moving with his family as a child to High Point. There he would spend his next 25 years before settling down in Readsville close to the Virginia state line. The fifth of six children, Hawks learned to play the piano from his mother when he was thirteen. Inspired by Little Richard and later by Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey formed his first band in 1956, which was called The Rhythm Rockers. In September 1957 he joined The Night Raiders, a group led by Moon Mullins, who had a local radio show and played the sax. After playing together for some time, Moon wanted the band to cut a record to sell at dances and asked Mickey if he could write a song. 

                                  

Influenced by Gene Vincent's "Be-Bop-A-Lula", Hawks wrote "Bip Bop Boom", which they recorded in a Greensboro studio owned by Eddie Robbins. It became the B-side of their first single, "Rock and Roll Rhythm", a song Hawks co-wrote with Matthews, and was released on two local labels, Robbins Red (owned by Robbins) and Mart, before being picked up by the Profile label in Chicago. The label remixed the record, and moved "Bip Bop Boom" to the A-side. The single was credited to Mickey Hawks with Moon Mullins and his Night Raiders. It reportedly sold 50,000 copies in the Chicago area, but failed to reach the national charts; however, it did become a hit in South Africa.

The Nightriders

However, the next two singles on Profile, "Cotton Pickin'"(1959) and "Screamin' Mimi Jeanie" (1960) never came close to the success of "Bip Bop Boom", exciting as they were. Mickey and the band toured about a month to promote each record. They had a wild stage act and were very well received by most audiences, though there were problems at some theatres where people were used to traditional country and western stuff. In some cases the shows were stopped and people got their money back, because the excited crowd couldn't be controlled. Onstage the kinetic Hawks could imitate almost anyone, from Fats Domino to Chuck Berry, and of course his idols Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.

Things slowed down a little in the sixties. Apart from a reissue of "Cotton Pickin'" on the Hunch label in 1961, the band had only one single release between 1960 and 1968, namely "Gonna Dance Tonight, Parts 1 & 2" on the Lance label (1961), with Mickey on piano and Moon on vocal and sax. In 1963 the band broke away from Moon Mullins (temporarily) and continued on their own as the Night Raiders, playing mostly in Virginia, where they also had a TV show called "Saturday Night Country Style". New recordings followed in 1968 and 1971, but they didn't sell or remained unreleased. Cees Klop reissued the six Profile recordings on one side of a Collector LP in 1971 and "Bip Bop Boom" was re-released as a single in the UK (1977) and Sweden (1982).

After "Bip Bop Boom" became popular among rock and roll audiences in Europe, Hawks did several tours there in the 1980s and cut a fine new album, "Sounds Of the 50's", released in the summer of 1989. This had several new songs that had not been released before. One of them "Me and MY Harley Davidson" was listed in the US Independent Country Singles Top 20 in August, giving Mickey real hope that his talents were finally starting to be appreciated. But fate can be cruel, for on August 31, 1989, at the age of 49, Mickey had a fatal heart attack at hs home whilst playing the piano.

(Edited from This Is My Story & Liner notes)

Here's some very super rare footage of Mickey Hawks playing Bip Bop Boom at The Lakers Hotel, Redhill 1987. 

Nat Pierce born July 16,1925

Nat Pierce (July 16, 1925 – June 10, 1992) was an American jazz pianist and prolific composer and arranger, perhaps best known for being pianist and arranger for the Woody Herman band from 1951 to 1955. Pieces by Pierce were predominantly created for use in big bands.

Nat Pierce had a long, distinguished, somewhat low-profile career as a champion of latter-day big-band swing, serving as the co-leader of Los Angeles' crack Frank Capp-Nat Pierce Juggernaut and an arranger for several well-known big bands and solo artists. His scores created an irresistible force when allied with a swinging, pushing drummer like Capp, often hewing tightly to the loping drive and tight ensemble of the post-'50s Count Basie orchestra. Likewise, Pierce's spare, tasty piano style not only has been compared to that of Basie, he also subbed very capably for the great man off and on from the late '50s until Basie's death in 1984.

                                  

Nathaniel Pierce Blish Jr., was born in Somerville, Massachusetts. United States. He studied music at the New England Conservatory of Music back home in Massachusetts, worked with local Boston bands, including one led by Shorty Sherock. After playing eith Larry Clinton in 1948, he ran his own part-time big band featuring Charlie Mariano from 1949 to 1951. Having already started shopping arrangements to Basie and Woody Herman, he joined Herman's Third Herd in 1951 as pianist/arranger, remaining until 1955.  During the same period he led a group with Dick Collins. He also arranged the music for The Sound of Jazz, a 1954 CBS television special hosted by John Crosby. Pierce settled in New York City, where he became a busy freelance arranger, recording pianist, and occasional leader of bands, working with Ruby Braff, Lester Young, Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Coleman Hawkins, Pee Wee Russell, and Lester Young.Pierce also took part in many recording sessions.

Two of his most famous projects took place in 1957, writing the arrangements for The Sound of Jazz television show, including that of his own composition "Open All Night.". He also played piano with the Basie rhythm section on the first ear-opening Lambert, Hendricks & Ross album Sing a Song of Basie. Pierce was also the last band leader to perform in the old Savoy Ballroom in New York City. In 1961, Pierce re-joined Herman and played a major role in lifting the band into one of its peak periods, serving as chief arranger, road manager, and talent scout until 1966.  Pierce settled in Los Angeles in 1971 and resumed his freelancing ways, arranging for Anita O'Day, Carmen McRae, Earl Hines, and others, working with the bands of Louie Bellson and Bill Berry, reuniting with Herman, and substituting for Basie and Stan Kenton on occasion.

In 1975 Pierce joined forces with Capp to form the Capp-Pierce Juggernaut band, which drew its personnel from the best Los Angeles session players out to decompress from their studio gigs. The band recorded a number of swinging albums for the Concord Jazz label, sometimes with guest vocalists like Joe Williams and Ernestine Anderson. Pierce continued to co-lead the Juggernaut which performed at clubs throughout the Los Angeles area, and appeared regularly at events like the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl and the Malibu Arts Festival until his death, while also making a brief appearance in the 1977 film New York, New York, touring Europe in 1980 and 1984 as a member of the Countsmen, and recording frequently for Concord as a sideman for Scott Hamilton, Jake Hanna, and others.

He died of complications from an abdominal infection at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital, in Los Angeles, California, June 10, 1992. He was 66 years old.

(Edited from AllMusic,  The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Wikipedia & The New York Times)