Norman Jesse Whitfield (born in Harlem, New York in 1943) - An American songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Berry Gordy’s Motown label during the 1960s. He is credited as being one of the creators of the Motown Sound, as well as one of the major instrumental figures in the late-60s sub-genre of psychedelic soul. (more…)

Here are the notable deaths on September 17 throughout the years:

Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) - The thirty-ninth Vice President of the United States (and the first Greek American to serve in that capacity) serving under President Richard M. Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland. He is noted for his quick rise in politics…going in six years from County Executive to Vice President of the United States. During his fifth year as Vice President, in the late summer of 1973, Agnew was under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Baltimore, Maryland, on charges of extortion, tax fraud, bribery, and conspiracy. In October, he was formally charged with having accepted bribes totaling more than $100,000, while holding office as Baltimore County Executive, governor of Maryland, and Vice President of the United States. On October 10, Agnew was allowed to plead no contest to a single charge that he had failed to report $29,500 of income received in 1967, with the condition that he resign the office of Vice President. Agnew is to date the only Vice President in U.S. history to resign because of criminal charges. Ten years after leaving office, in January 1983, Agnew paid the state of Maryland nearly $270,000 as a result of a civil suit that stemmed from the bribery allegations. Agnew died suddenly at the age of 77 at Atlantic General Hospital, in Berlin, Maryland in Worcester County (near his Ocean City home), only a few hours after being hospitalized and diagnosed with an advanced, yet to that point undetected, form of leukemia. He is buried at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens, a cemetery in Timonium, Maryland in Baltimore County. (more…)

Pink Floyd keyboard player and founding member Richard William “Rick” Wright died on Monday (9/15) after a short battle with cancer at his home in Britain, his spokesman, Doug Wright (who is not related to the artist), said. He was 65. (more…)

Charlie Walker (November 2, 1926 - September 12, 2008) was a country musician.  He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1967, and was inducted into the Country Radio DJ Hall of Fame in 1981.  Born in Copeville, Texas, Walker began in the early ’40s as a vocalist in the Cowboy Ramblers.  After several years singing with the Bill Boyd-led group, Walker briefly retired from the performing side of the business to work as a DJ.  Walker worked as a DJ in 1951 at KMAC in San Antonio before signing with Decca Records.  His first hit, “Only You, Only You,” was co-written with Jack Newman and reached #9 on the country chart in January 1956.  Walker later signed with Columbia Records and reached #2 with a Harlan Howard song, “Pick Me Up On Your Way Down” in 1958.  His other hits include “Who Will Buy the Wine,” “Wild as a Wildcat,” “Don’t Squeeze My Sharmon,” “Truck Drivin’ Cat with Nine Wives,” and “I Wouldn’t Take Her to a Dog Fight Even if I Thought That She Could Win.”  Walker played a minor role in the 1985 Patsy Cline biographical film Sweet Dreams.  He is survived by his wife Connie and 10 children: Ronnie, Cindy, Arthur, Charlie III, Elissa, Charlene, Catherine, Christina, Caroline and Charlton; along with 15 grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.  Walker died in Hendersonville, Tennessee on September 12, 2008, aged 81.  He had been diagnosed recently with colon cancer.  Here is a performance of him singing his biggest hit, “Pick Me Up On Your Way Down”:

Stephen Bantu Biko (December 18, 1946 – September 12, 1977) - A noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and early 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement, which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. At the time of his death, clandestine negotiations were in progress sounding Biko out as deputy leader of the Maoist-oriented Pan Africanist Congress. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the anti-apartheid movement. While living, his writings and activism attempted to empower black people, and he was famous for his slogan “black is beautiful”, which he described as meaning: “man, you are okay as you are, begin to look upon yourself as a human being.” The ANC was very hostile to Biko and to Black Consciousness through the 70s to the mid 90s but has now included Biko in the pantheon of struggle heroes, going so far to use his image for campaign posters in South Africa’s first non-racial elections, in 1994. On August 18, 1977, Biko was arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967. He suffered a major head injury while in police custody, and was chained to a window grille for a day. On September 11, 1977 police loaded him in the back of a Land Rover, naked, and began the 1,500 km drive to Pretoria to take him to a prison with hospital facilities in order to treat the already near-dead Biko. He died shortly after arrival at the Pretoria prison, on September 12. The police claimed his death was the result of an extended hunger strike. He was found to have massive injuries to the head, which many saw as strong evidence that he had been brutally clubbed by his captors. Then journalist and now political leader, Helen Zille, exposed the truth behind Biko’s death. The liberal white South African journalist Donald Woods, a personal friend of Biko, photographed his injuries in the morgue. Woods was later forced to flee South Africa for England, where he campaigned against apartheid and further publicized Biko’s life and death, writing many newspaper articles and authoring the book, Biko. In 1980, Peter Gabriel wrote and recorded the song “Biko” that has been covered by many artists. In 1987, Richard Attenborough directed the movie Cry Freedom, a biographical drama about Biko starring Denzel Washington and Kevin Kline. (more…)

Here are the notable deaths on September 9 throughout the years:

William Smith “Bill” Monroe (September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) - An American musician who developed the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the “Blue Grass Boys,” named for Monroe’s home state of Kentucky. Monroe’s performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. He is often referred to as “the father of bluegrass.” He suffered a stroke in April of 1996, effectively ending his touring and playing career, and died on September 9. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an “early influence”) in 1997. Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, Hank Williams Sr., and Johnny Cash are the only other performers honored in all three. As the “father of bluegrass,” he was also an inaugural inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991. In 1993, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and he was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1995. His well-known song “Blue Moon of Kentucky” has been covered not only by bluegrass but also rock and country artists, most notably Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, and Patsy Cline. In 2003, CMT had Bill Monroe ranked #16 on CMT 40 Greatest Men of Country Music. Artists that claimed to be influenced from or be playing the bluegrass genre were often bullied by Bill Monroe. He always considered himself the father and caretaker of bluegrass. He would often say of new bands that did not perform to his standards: “That ain’t no part of nothin’.” Modern bluegrass singer and mandolin player Ricky Skaggs was greatly influenced by Bill Monroe. Skaggs was only six years old when he first got to perform on stage with Monroe and his band.  Here is a 1980 performance of “Blue Moon of Kentucky”: