Post by 1finemrg on Sept 26, 2023 5:57:27 GMT -5
David LaFlamme, co-founder, vocalist and violinist with It's A Beautiful Day passed away August 6 at the age of 82. Complications related to Parkinson's disease was the cause.
Born in New Britain, Connecticut, and raised in Salt Lake City, LaFlamme was already a skilled violinist who had performed as a soloist with the Utah Symphony Orchestra. He moved to the Bay Area in 1962 after being discharged from the Army.
While in San Francisco, he jammed with contemporaries like Jerry Garcia in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, created the band Electric Chamber Orkustra and joined cowboy folk-rocker Dan Hicks in an early iteration of Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks in 1967. Later that year, he formed It's A Beautiful Day.
It's A Beautiful Day's self-titled debut album contained FM radio classics "White Bird" and "Hot Summer Day". David co-wrote "White Bird" with his then-wife Linda Rudman. Through the years, "White Bird" has been known as one of the essential tracks that represented psychedelic San Francisco based rock from the late 60s. The single version of "White Bird" would bubble under the Hot 100 briefly for 4 weeks, peaking at #118 in the fall of 1969.
David left the band in 1972 and would later release "White Bird" as a solo artist. It proved to be his only Hot 100 entry, peaking at #89 in late 1976 / early 1977 over a 7 week chart run.
LaFlamme is survived by his wife, Linda Baker LaFlamme, two daughters, Kira from his first marriage and Alisha from his second, and six grandchildren.
Obituary
Born in New Britain, Connecticut, and raised in Salt Lake City, LaFlamme was already a skilled violinist who had performed as a soloist with the Utah Symphony Orchestra. He moved to the Bay Area in 1962 after being discharged from the Army.
While in San Francisco, he jammed with contemporaries like Jerry Garcia in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, created the band Electric Chamber Orkustra and joined cowboy folk-rocker Dan Hicks in an early iteration of Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks in 1967. Later that year, he formed It's A Beautiful Day.
It's A Beautiful Day's self-titled debut album contained FM radio classics "White Bird" and "Hot Summer Day". David co-wrote "White Bird" with his then-wife Linda Rudman. Through the years, "White Bird" has been known as one of the essential tracks that represented psychedelic San Francisco based rock from the late 60s. The single version of "White Bird" would bubble under the Hot 100 briefly for 4 weeks, peaking at #118 in the fall of 1969.
David left the band in 1972 and would later release "White Bird" as a solo artist. It proved to be his only Hot 100 entry, peaking at #89 in late 1976 / early 1977 over a 7 week chart run.
LaFlamme is survived by his wife, Linda Baker LaFlamme, two daughters, Kira from his first marriage and Alisha from his second, and six grandchildren.
Obituary
