The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars (339 page)

There weren’t too many like Roy Shirley. Clad in his trademark silver suit and high collar, the rocksteady singer tended to stand out from the crowd, his performances more reminiscent of those of James Brown or Solomon Burke than of any reggae contemporary.

It was all a far cry from the near-poverty of Shirley’s upbringing and the sobriety of the revivalist church where the singer developed his remarkable three-octave range. Early in his career, Shirley scored what looked to be a one-off hit with – what else? – ‘Shirley’ (1965). He then went on to sing standard reggae workouts with bands such as The Leaders (which featured the young Ken Boothe) and The Uniques (with Slim Smith). Then came the revelation of his next solo outing, ‘Hold Them’ (1967) – both a watershed moment in rocksteady and a massive Jamaican hit. Although it was hard for Shirley to match this moment subsequently, his ‘I Am a Winner’ (1967 – produced by Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry) helped cement his highly individual public persona. Proving that his inspirations were far from restricted to the reggae world, Shirley scored a further minor hit with Ben E King’s ‘Gypsy’ in 1969.

Dubbing himself ‘The High Priest’, Roy Shirley – deemed by the
Jamaican Observer
the genre’s ‘most comedic artist’ – then set about conquering the remainder of the world. Whether he really achieved this is open to debate, but, during 1972, the singer became very popular in New York, where he played a week-long residency at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre, and in Britain, where he toured with popular acts such as U-Roy and Max Romeo. Shirley thereafter settled in London – a move that saw a decline in his popularity back at home – where he opened a record store and frequently appeared at festivals such as Reggae Sunsplash. Already a label-owner, the warm-spirited singer later launched an association to assist underprivileged musicians.

Because he was found at his home in Thamesmead, London, some time later, it is impossible to determine the exact date of Roy Shirley’s passing. Although his body was discovered on 17 July, Shirley’s family confirmed that they had not been able to contact him for almost two weeks. The singer would have celebrated his birthday one day later.

Sunday 27

Graeme Crallan

(Hartlepool, England, 5 June 1958)

Tank

White Spirit

(Various acts)

Drummer Graeme ‘Crash’ Crallan made something of a name for himself in British metal and hard rock during the early eighties. In 1975, he founded the band White Spirit with guitarists Janik Gers and Mick Tucker. Despite signing with MCA and becoming a fixture on the rock festival scene, matters didn’t go as planned for White Spirit – they split in 1981 after just one album. (Gers, though, went on to some acclaim, joining first UK metal favourites Gillan then global stars Iron Maiden.)

DEAD INTERESTING!

DEATH OF A PRINCESS

The Arab world reeled following the calculated murder of Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim in July 2008, many feeling that the subsequent sordid revelations brought shame onto both Egypt and Lebanon. The photogenic singer (born 23 September 1977) had broken into the pop industry in 1996, having won Lebanese television talent contest
Studio El Fan.
Hamim–then a teenager–earned praise for her rare ability to interpret both modern pop and traditional Arabic styles of singing. However, the troubled artist was soon garnering as many column inches for her problematic personal life as she did for her talent and looks. The press had a field day with the collapse of Tamim’s first marriage and her turbulent relationship with her manager/producer husband, Adel Matouk. Tamim’s final hit record was ‘Lovers’ (2006), which was dedicated to assassinated Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. By then, however, she was alleged to have fled the country; her former manager filed a number of suits against his former charge, including embezzlement and fraud.

Finally, on 28 July 2008, a tragic scene was uncovered: Suzanne Tamim was found stabbed and mutilated in her Dubai apartment, her throat apparently slit. If this were not shocking enough, the tale became even murkier when it transpired that the singer–now married for a third time–had been conducting a three-year-long affair with Egyptian tycoon Hisham Talaat Moustafa, which, again, had turned sour. The billionaire property developer–until then a leading figure in his country’s governing party–was subsequently charged with ordering her to be killed by hitman Mohsen al-Sukari, himself a former state security officer.

However, in a move that enraged human rights campaigners and critics of the government, the guilty men’s sentences–following a surprise re-investigation of the conviction in 2010–were reduced from the death penalty to life imprisonment. In Moustafa’s case, this now meant only fifteen years’ incarceration. Hamim’s family denied having received monies ahead of the retrial.

Another TV talent show singer, Ishmeet Singh, died in suspicious circumstances just two days after Suzanne Hamim’s murder. The 19-year-old champion of Amul STAR Voice of India 2007 was believed to have drowned in a hotel pool while unconscious: he and other show winners had been due to perform an exclusive concert in the Maldives.

Crallan shrugged off this setback to team up with Tucker again in Tank, a band formed by ex-Saints and Damned bassist Algy Ward that had already been embraced by both the new British heavy metal scene and a punk audience. Their debut had been produced by Motorhead guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke, and was then followed by a minor hit in
Filth Hounds of Hades
(1982). Crallan toured with Tank to promote their fourth record,
Honour & Blood
(1984), though within a year he had left the band. The drummer went on to play with a number of lesser rock bands over the following years, augmenting his income by working as a cab driver and a hospital porter.

Graeme Crallan was found outside his home in King’s Cross, London, having sustained serious head injuries after a suspected collapse. With CCTV footage eliminating foul play, it was ruled that the former metal star had suffered a seizure induced by alcohol withdrawal and wasn’t able to break his fall. Despite being first rushed to Archway’s Whittington Hospital, the drummer was pronounced dead upon transferral to the Royal Free in Hampstead.

AUGUST

Golden Oldies #72

Erik Darling

(Baltimore, Maryland, 25 September 1933)

The Rooftop Singers

The Tarriers

The Weavers

(The Folksay Trio)

(Border Town)

Although comparatively ‘unsung’ in recent years, Erik Darling should be considered an important figure in the development of US folk music. As a young musician he relocated from Baltimore to New York, where Darling’s talent as a singer, arranger and twelve-string guitarist made him a popular fixture on the Washington Square folk scene of the early fifties, sometimes with The Folksay Trio. The group recorded ‘Tom Dooley’ in 1953, well before this standard became an enormous hit for The Kingston Trio five years later.

Following a couple of false starts, Darling began to make serious inroads with The Tarriers (originally The Tunetellers), the trio he’d formed with fellow guitarists Alan Arkin and African American Bob Carey (also ex-Folksay Trio). The Tarriers’ first studio sessions quickly produced ‘Cindy, Oh Cindy’ (1956, backing Vince Martin), a surprise US Top Ten hit that - in the manner of the time - had been simultaneously recorded and released by Eddie Fisher. The same held true for their follow-up, ‘The Banana Boat Song’ (1956), an arrangement of two traditional folk/calypso tunes that sped into the Cash Box Top Five. However, to this day, it is Harry Belafonte’s version that is better recalled.

‘A genuine philosopher … a perfectionist.’

Don McLean, who befriended Darling in 1961

Upon his departure, Pete Seeger recommended that Darling join The Weavers - a group Darling had both admired and that had greatly influenced his early career. He toured with them until 1962, though he didn’t enjoy another hit record until his next act, the lighter, poppier Rooftop Singers. Even Darling himself was astonished as Gus Cannon’s ‘Walk Right In’ - his new group’s first release - went to US number one at the start of 1963. (The record was the biggest in the Vanguard label’s history, also topping the charts in Australia and reaching the UK Top Ten.) The Rooftop Singers - Darling, experienced jazz singer Lynne Taylor and guitarist Bill Svanoe - scored further Billboard entries with ‘Tom Cat’ and ‘Mama Don’t Allow’ (both 1963) thanks to their exposure at the Newport Folk Festival, but continued line-up changes eventually halted further progress in 1967.

Erik Darling recorded solo throughout the seventies - his
The Possible Dream
(1975) is a sought-after recording - then reemerged during the nineties with Americana band Border Town. The musician died at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on 3 August 2008 after a battle with Burkitt’s lymphoma.

After years battling alcoholism, former Tarrier Bob Carey fell on hard times and was found dead on a Central Park bench during the late seventies. Lee Hays of The Weavers passed away in August 1981, while original Rooftop Singer Lynne Taylor died the followingyear.

Tuesday 5

Robert Hazard

(Robert Rimato - Delaware County, Pennsylvania, 21 August 1948)

Robert Hazard & The Heroes

(The Hombres)

Singer/songwriter Robert Hazard will likely always be remembered as the writer of Cyndi Lauper’s huge international hit ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ (1983), though he also fronted his own band, The Heroes, an outfit influenced both by punk and the folk musicians he admired during the sixties. Popular on the Philadelphia rock circuit, The Heroes earned themselves a deal with RCA and received considerable rotation on MTV for the promo to their ‘Escalator of Life’ (1983), but unfortunately it – and other cuts that followed it – didn’t translate into the major hit for which band and label had hoped.