The 2013 Off Topic Celebrity Dead Pool

[SlowwHand]

Ten Years After singer Alvin Lee has died at 68
By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, NBC News

Alvin Lee, former lead vocalist and guitarist for British band Ten Years After, has died after complications from a routine surgical procedure, his official website announced Wednesday. He was 68.

R.I.P.

[-Jrabbit]

Wow, sad news. Alvin was definitely an underappreciated guitarist.

My company once co-sponsored a showcase event at a trade show, a "guitar summit" featuring Eddie Van Halen, Steve Morse, and Alvin Lee, all on stage together with a backing band. Of course, EVH was the big draw, and Morse's prowess is pretty legendary (Dixie Dregs, Deep Purple). But that night, Albert Lee absolutely smoked them both.

Back in the day, he easily rivaled Clapton among young Brit axemen immersed in the blues. Guess he's "going home"...

RIP.

[ColdWizard]

Does CW earn another Grand Slam, since Hugo's death means he has another set of celebrities in a 30 day span (Feb 18-Mar 6)?

More than that. 5 choose 4 is 5 sets, resulting in 400 more bonus points for Hugo. It would be even more ludicrous if I were to get a 6th (or more) hit today. Thus, I don't think the same celeb should count more than once for the same bonus.

[snoopy369]

More than that. 5 choose 4 is 5 sets, resulting in 400 more bonus points for Hugo. It would be even more ludicrous if I were to get a 6th (or more) hit today. Thus, I don't think the same celeb should count more than once for the same bonus.

Oh, Feb is 28 days isn't it, I forgot about that.

[Uncle Sparky]

h) The Hat Trick: +75 points awarded to any player who has three celebrities on their roster die over the course of one week (any 7-day span).
i) The Grand Slam: +100 points awarded to any player who has four celebrities on their roster die in the same month (any 30-day span).

I think both of these would apply to CW's Chavez pick... can we have the judges rule?

[Krill]

The ruling was that you can only get 1 grandslam per 4 deaths. Coldwizard got a GS with the previous kill and isn't allowed to use any of those deaths to make up a second GS with the additional death. That was what was decided back in 2011 IIRC.

[-Jrabbit]

Oh, Feb is 28 days isn't it, I forgot about that.

Apparently our DP defines "month" as "any 30-day span"...

[Wezil]

The ruling was that you can only get 1 grandslam per 4 deaths. Coldwizard got a GS with the previous kill and isn't allowed to use any of those deaths to make up a second GS with the additional death. That was what was decided back in 2011 IIRC.

That is correct. A new set of 4 would be required.

You can however turn a Hat Trick into a Grand Slam.

[Wezil]

Peterborough, ON (March 6, 2013) — Today Canada lost one of its’ true musical icons with the passing of Stompin’ Tom Connors O.C., LL.D., Litt.D. Connors died of natural causes at his home in Ontario. He was 77 years of age.

Stompin’ Tom literally put Canada on the map with such songs as “The Hockey Song”, “Sudbury Saturday Night”, “Bud The Spud”, “Tillsonburg”, “Big Joe Mufferaw” and countless others.

Born Thomas Charles Connors in Saint John New Brunswick on February 9th 1936, he was separated from his mother at a young age and raised by foster parents in Skinners Pond, P.E.I. until he was 13 years old. His life of poverty, orphanages, hitchhiking and playing bars would eventually turn into a life of hit songs, national concert tours and fame in spite of a constant uphill battle to be recognized by the music industry in Canada. In 1979 in a fit of frustration and disappointment he returned all 6 of his Juno awards as a statement of personal protest against the Americanization of the Canadian Music Industry, a sentiment he continued to express to this day. In 1989 Tom signed with EMI Music Canada, teamed up with talent promoter Brian Edwards and returned to the stage where fans young and old embraced his music once again as he quickly became one of the biggest concert draws and sought after performers in the country.

Due to the unwavering love for promoting his home country, some of the many accolades he has received include becoming an Officer of the Order of Canada, his own Canadian postage stamp, he was invited by the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson to receive the Governor Generals Performing Arts Award, he was the recipient of both the Queens Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medals and he earned 3 honorary doctorate degrees (Saint Thomas University in Saint John New Brunswick; “Laws”, University of Toronto; “Laws”, and the University of P.E.I.; “Letters”).

He now has an astounding 61 recorded albums, 10 of which have yet to be released to the public. His songs will continue to be made available worldwide and remain a legacy to his career, his life and his beloved country.

Tom is survived by his wife Lena, 2 sons, 2 daughters and several grandchildren.

The Celebration of Tom’s life is being planned for Wednesday, March 13th in Peterborough, ON at 7pm at the Peterborough Memorial Centre and per his request, will be open to the public.

In lieu of flowers, the Connors family has asked that donations be made to your local food bank or homeless shelters, in memory of Stompin’ Tom.

[Uncle Sparky]

RIP Stompin' Tom

[embalmer42]

Sad News indeed.

RIP Stompin' Tom

[molly bloom]

The Ball is out of play... Kenny Ball, British jazzman has walked on over :

In the late 1950s and early 60s, the bandleaders Kenny Ball, Chris Barber and Acker Bilk – the three Bs of British traditional jazz – reigned supreme, producing hit singles and attracting enormous audience enthusiasm. Of the trio, it was the trumpeter Ball who gained the most chart entries with his Jazzmen. He has died at the age of 82 after suffering from pneumonia: his core audience stayed loyal to the end. "My mission in life is to set people's feet tapping," Ball said. And he did.

After Ball formed his first band in 1954, he was approached by the clarinettist Sid Phillips, whose cleancut Dixieland jazz was popular, to join his band at the "handsome salary" of £30 a week. Phillips kept his trumpeter busy, with radio broadcasts and road tours, plus one-off occasions such as the Christmas staff party at Windsor Castle. Ball also had short stints with the drummer Eric Delaney's big band and Terry Lightfoot's trad group. By 1958, he was ready to form Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen; one of the original members, the trombonist John Bennett, stayed with Ball for the rest of his career.

Ball's robust, big-toned trumpet style and his zest for playing helped to build the band's appeal, and they were soon successful. Their regular spot on the BBC radio programme Easy Beat was one factor; another was their involvement with television shows such as New Faces and Top of the Pops. Album deals with Pye Records followed, as did the hit singles released in 1961, Samantha and Midnight in Moscow, which stayed in the top 10 for 21 weeks. Midnight in Moscow sold a million copies, going to No 1 in Australia, Canada, Sweden and Japan, and was covered by a host of US jazz bands, including those led by Eddie Condon and the trumpeter Teddy Buckner. It also helped to prolong the so-called "trad boom", of which Ball and the other Bs were the principal beneficiaries. Another hit came with When I'm Sixty-Four (1967).

Tour destinations included Japan and the Soviet Union, and there were seasons at the London Palladium. TV bookings included five series with Morecambe and Wise (1968-72) and a residency on Saturday Night at the Mill (1975-81).

The Jazzmen broke into the tough US market on the back of Midnight's success, appearing in New Orleans as part of a British Week. In 1968 they supported Louis Armstrong on his last European tour. They also prospered in Australia, and the relentless tours, Royal Command Variety appearances, albums and film jobs endured till well after the trad boom had waned and gone. Along the way, Ball acquired a comfortable lifestyle, with "a mansion in Essex and a Rolls-Royce in the drive".

Born in Dagenham, in the East End of London, Kenny was the youngest of nine children. His father, who had been decorated in the first world war, kept the family going throughout the Depression on his wages as a bookbinder. Ball recalled his mother as being a feisty character, and the family had Sunday afternoon singsongs where his own party piece came on the harmonica – Larry Adler was an early hero – the rest of the family joining in on an array of instruments. After a short period in Worcester, the family returned to London, "just in time for the blitz", living close to the railway in Goodmayes.

A keen member of the local sea cadets, Ball became a bugler, setting in train his eventual love affair with the trumpet. He acquired his first proper instrument for £10 at the age of 13, via an advertisement in the Melody Maker.

Inspired by Harry James, he started to play jazz with friends; a year later, he left school to work as a messenger for the J Walter Thompson agency, the first of a succession of jobs taken while he honed his jazz skills at night. Engaged at 17 to Betty – they married six years later – Ball spent his national service as a craftsman in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, and played in a trio in the Naafi. After the army, he balanced a variety of day jobs with gigs in Soho, often working with the trombonist Charlie Galbraith.

Once he had launched the Jazzmen, critics were often condescending about the band's showbiz style, but no one who listened carefully to Ball himself could doubt his jazz credentials. His range, bright tone and vigorous attack marked him out as a powerhouse player. He was always exuberant and cheerful and a natural crowd-pleaser – cockney quiff, white tuxedo and all. His autobiography, Blowing My Own Trumpet, appeared in 2004.

Until 2002, the Jazzmen did 150 dates a year. They remained active: Ball's last appearance with them was in Germany in January, and in recent years they sometimes appeared in programmes with Barber and Bilk's bands.

Ball's first marriage ended in divorce in 1982. He is survived by his second wife, Michelle; his stepdaughters Nicole and Sophie; and his children from his first marriage, Gillian, Jane and Keith, now a vocalist with the band.

• Kenneth Daniel Ball, jazz trumpeter and bandleader, born 22 May 1930; died 7 March 2013

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/mar/07/kenny-ball

[regexcellent]

Stompin' Tom was the man. RIP

He's just long gone to the Yukon.

[Wezil]

Sorry. No translation for non-Canadians.

[Uncle Sparky]

http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/f...ul-rose-dies-1
Quebec terrorist Paul Rose is dead.

Paul Rose, a key figure in Quebec’s October Crisis who served 11 years in prison for the kidnapping and murder of Pierre Laporte, died today of a stroke at the age of 69.

Rose was the leader of the Montreal-based Chénier cell of Front de libération du Québec, the militant nationalist organization behind the 1970 kidnapping of then-Quebec labour minister Laporte and British diplomat James Cross.

Laporte was found in the trunk of a car nearly two weeks after the October Crisis began.

Rose was sentenced to life in jail for the murder, but was paroled in 1982, two years after the Duchaine report found he was not present at the time of the murder.