Post by Rob Durkee on Mar 14, 2011 22:21:21 GMT -5
BY ROCKIN' ROBIN
Ronnie Hammond, the former lead singer for the Atlanta Rhythm Section, died Monday (March 14, 2011) of a heart attack at a hospital in Forsyth, Georgia, a suburb of Macon. He was 60...and we've sadly had many pop music-related passings in recent weeks. For instance...
* -- Jean Dinning, a/k/a Jean Surrey, who wrote the #1 hit "Teen Angel," died February 22, 2011 in Garden Grove, California. She was 86. Jean and her twin sister, Ginger, were part of the 1940's group the Dinning Sisters whose hits included a version of "Buttions And Bows." Ironically, "Teen Angel" was originally sung by Jean's little brother, Mark Dinning, at a party as a joke. However, a demo recording led to some 45 rpm recordings. When publisher Wesley Rose heard one of those demos, he felt it could become a #1 hit...and was right. "Teen Angel" went to #1 in February, 1960, replacing "Running Bear" by Johnny Preston, whose March 4, 2011 death has been reviewed elsewhere.
"Teen Angel" was about a young girl getting killed by a train hitting the car that had stalled at a railroad track crossing. The girl had originally escaped from the car, but went back into it to retrieve her high school ring. "Teen Angel" would rank alongside "Tell Laura I Love Her" (Ray Peterson), "Leader Of The Pack" (the Shangri-Las), "Ebony Eyes" (the Everly Brothers), "Last Kiss" (J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers) and the infamous "I Want My Baby Back" (Jimmy Cross) as a teen tragedy hit song. Mark Dinning was 53 when he died in 1986.
* -- Bernard St. Clair Lee, an original member of the Hues Corporation of "Rock The Boat" fame, died of natural causes March 8, 2011 at his Elsinore, California, home. He was 66. "Rock The Boat" has generally been credited as the first disco song to go to #1 on the Cash Box pop chart in the summer of 1974. The group's only other top 40 hit was its followup, "Rockin' Soul," which reached #28. Sources disagree as to where the Hues Corporation got its name when it formed in 1969 in Los Angeles. Some say the group named itself after the legendary millionaire Howard Hughes while others claim it was in honor of the Los Angeles aviation firm, the Hughes Corp. Lee sang baritone for the Hues Corporation.
* -- Rick Coonce, the former drummer for the 1960-70's group the Grass Roots, died of heart failure on February 25, 2011. He was 64. The Grass Roots had 18 top 40 hits from 1966-73. The group's biggest hits were the #5-peaking "Let's Live For Today" (1967) and "Midnight Confessions" (1968). Among the Grass Roots' other hits were "I'd Wait A Million Years," "Sooner Or Later," "Heaven Knows," "Temptation Eyes," "Two Divided By Love" and the song that began with Coonce's dramatic drum beats, "Lovin' Things."
February 25, 2011 was also the day that Darryl Morden, the former writer-producer for "American Top 40," died of cancer. Darryl Morden was 52.
Hammond's passing was reported to this writer courtesy of oldies expert Ronnie Allen, who in turn found out about the passing via the Macon.com web site. Hammond was a recording engineer when he replaced Ronnie Justo as the lead singer for the Atlanta Rhythm Section around 1972, about two years after the group formed in Doraville, Georgia. Ironically, "Doraville" was the first pop chart single for the group, reaching #57 in 1974. The group's biggest hit was the #5-peaking "So Into You" in 1977.
The Atlanta Rhythm Section's only other top 10 hit was 1978's "Imaginary Lover" (#9). The group also had Top 40 hits with "I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight," "Do It Or Die," "Spooky" and "Alien." Hammond left the band in the early 1980's but continued to write songs with producer Buddy Buie. He rejoined the group in 1987.
Ronnie Hammond, the former lead singer for the Atlanta Rhythm Section, died Monday (March 14, 2011) of a heart attack at a hospital in Forsyth, Georgia, a suburb of Macon. He was 60...and we've sadly had many pop music-related passings in recent weeks. For instance...
* -- Jean Dinning, a/k/a Jean Surrey, who wrote the #1 hit "Teen Angel," died February 22, 2011 in Garden Grove, California. She was 86. Jean and her twin sister, Ginger, were part of the 1940's group the Dinning Sisters whose hits included a version of "Buttions And Bows." Ironically, "Teen Angel" was originally sung by Jean's little brother, Mark Dinning, at a party as a joke. However, a demo recording led to some 45 rpm recordings. When publisher Wesley Rose heard one of those demos, he felt it could become a #1 hit...and was right. "Teen Angel" went to #1 in February, 1960, replacing "Running Bear" by Johnny Preston, whose March 4, 2011 death has been reviewed elsewhere.
"Teen Angel" was about a young girl getting killed by a train hitting the car that had stalled at a railroad track crossing. The girl had originally escaped from the car, but went back into it to retrieve her high school ring. "Teen Angel" would rank alongside "Tell Laura I Love Her" (Ray Peterson), "Leader Of The Pack" (the Shangri-Las), "Ebony Eyes" (the Everly Brothers), "Last Kiss" (J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers) and the infamous "I Want My Baby Back" (Jimmy Cross) as a teen tragedy hit song. Mark Dinning was 53 when he died in 1986.
* -- Bernard St. Clair Lee, an original member of the Hues Corporation of "Rock The Boat" fame, died of natural causes March 8, 2011 at his Elsinore, California, home. He was 66. "Rock The Boat" has generally been credited as the first disco song to go to #1 on the Cash Box pop chart in the summer of 1974. The group's only other top 40 hit was its followup, "Rockin' Soul," which reached #28. Sources disagree as to where the Hues Corporation got its name when it formed in 1969 in Los Angeles. Some say the group named itself after the legendary millionaire Howard Hughes while others claim it was in honor of the Los Angeles aviation firm, the Hughes Corp. Lee sang baritone for the Hues Corporation.
* -- Rick Coonce, the former drummer for the 1960-70's group the Grass Roots, died of heart failure on February 25, 2011. He was 64. The Grass Roots had 18 top 40 hits from 1966-73. The group's biggest hits were the #5-peaking "Let's Live For Today" (1967) and "Midnight Confessions" (1968). Among the Grass Roots' other hits were "I'd Wait A Million Years," "Sooner Or Later," "Heaven Knows," "Temptation Eyes," "Two Divided By Love" and the song that began with Coonce's dramatic drum beats, "Lovin' Things."
February 25, 2011 was also the day that Darryl Morden, the former writer-producer for "American Top 40," died of cancer. Darryl Morden was 52.
Hammond's passing was reported to this writer courtesy of oldies expert Ronnie Allen, who in turn found out about the passing via the Macon.com web site. Hammond was a recording engineer when he replaced Ronnie Justo as the lead singer for the Atlanta Rhythm Section around 1972, about two years after the group formed in Doraville, Georgia. Ironically, "Doraville" was the first pop chart single for the group, reaching #57 in 1974. The group's biggest hit was the #5-peaking "So Into You" in 1977.
The Atlanta Rhythm Section's only other top 10 hit was 1978's "Imaginary Lover" (#9). The group also had Top 40 hits with "I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight," "Do It Or Die," "Spooky" and "Alien." Hammond left the band in the early 1980's but continued to write songs with producer Buddy Buie. He rejoined the group in 1987.
