On this day in 1949, iconic folk and blues musician, King of the 12-String Guitar, Lead Belly, died in New York City at the age of 61. Born Huddie William Ledbetter in January 1888 on the Jeter Plantation near Mooringsport, Louisiana. He was incarcerated in 1918 for killing one of his relatives in a fight over a woman, and in 1930 for attempted homicide. Lead Belly’s vast songbook, much of which he adapted from previous sources, has provided material for numerous folk, country, pop and rock acts since his time including: The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, Jr., Creedence Clearwater Revival, Harry Belafonte, Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Cash, Ram Jam, Tom Petty, Dr John, Ry Cooder, Odetta, Tom Waits, Rod Stewart, Ernest Tubb, The Doors, and Meat Loaf.
The Final Footprint
Lead Belly is interred in a private estate in Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery in Mooringsport. Louisiana. His grave is marked by a full granite ledger and a large upright granite marker. He is honored with a life-size statue across from the Caddo Parish Courthouse in Shreveport.
On this day in 1983, French diseuse and singer Lucienne Boyer, died in Paris, aged 82. Perhaps best known for her song “Parlez-moi d’amour”. Born Émilienne-Henriette Boyer in Montparnasse, Paris on 18 August 1901.
In 1927, Boyer sang at a concert by Félix Mayol where she was seen by the American impresario Lee Shubert who immediately offered her a contract to come to Broadway. Boyer spent nine months in New York City, returning to perform there and to South America numerous times throughout the 1930s.
By 1933, she had made a large number of recordings for Columbia Records of France including her signature song, “Parlez-moi d’amour”. Written by Jean Lenoir, the song won the first-ever Grand Prix du Disque of the Charles Cros Academy.
The Final Footprint
Cimetière de Bagneux near Paris.
On this day in 1988, singer and songwriter, The Caruso of Rock, Roy Orbison died of a heart attack at the age of 52 at his mother’s home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Born Roy Kelton Orbison on 23 April 1936 in Vernon, Texas. Perhaps best known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country and western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis. His greatest success came with Monument Records between 1960 and 1964, when 22 of his songs placed on the Billboard Top Forty, including “Only the Lonely”, “Crying”, and “Oh, Pretty Woman”. In 1988, he joined the supergroup Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne and released a new solo album. His life was marred by tragedy, including the death of his first wife and his two eldest sons in separate accidents. Orbison was a natural baritone, but music scholars have suggested that he had a three or four octave range. Elvis reportedly stated that his voice was the greatest he had ever heard. Orbison was known for performing while standing still and solitary, wearing black clothes and dark sunglasses which lent an air of mystery to his persona.
The Final Footprint – Orbison’s death was an international news event. The Nashville Banner put it on the front page across six columns; it also made the front page of the New York Times. A memorial was held in Nashville, and another in Los Angeles. He interred in an unmarked grave at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. In January 1989, Orbison became the first musician since Elvis to have two albums in the Top Five at the same time. Orbison was initiated into the second class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 by longtime admirer Bruce Springsteen. The same year he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame two years later. Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Dignity Memorial® property. Other notable final footprints at Westwood include; Ray Bradbury, Sammy Cahn, Truman Capote, James Coburn, Rodney Dangerfield, Janet Leigh, Farrah Fawcett, Hugh Hefner, Brian Keith, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peter Lawford, Peggy Lee, Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Walter Mathau, Marilyn Monroe, Carroll O’Connor, Bettie Page, George C. Scott, Dorothy Stratten, Natalie Wood, and Frank Zappa.
On this day in 1994 actor Gian Maria Volonté died from a heart attack in Florina, Greece, aged 61. Born in Milan 9 April 1933.
Perhaps best known for his roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and El Indio in Leone’s For a Few Dollars More (1965), El Chuncho Munoz in Damiano Damiani’s A Bullet for the General (1966) and Professor Brad Fletcher in Sergio Sollima’s Face to Face (1967).
In Italy and much of Europe, he was notable for his roles in high-profile social dramas depicting the political and social stirrings of Italian and European society in the 1960s and 1970s, including four films directed by Elio Petri – We Still Kill the Old Way (1967), Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970), The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971) and Todo modo (1976). He is also recognized for his performances in Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Cercle Rouge (1970), Giuliano Montaldo’s Sacco & Vanzetti (1971) and Francesco Rosi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979).
The Final Footprint
Cimitero Isola Maddalena, La Maddalena, Sardegna, Italy
Volonté died during the filming of Ulysses’ Gaze, directed by Theo Angelopoulos. Actor Erland Josephson replaced him in the role. Volonté’s grave is in a small cemetery on the Sardinian island of La Maddalena, according to his wishes.
On this day in 2011, singer and songwriter Dobie Gray died of complications from cancer surgery in Nashville, Tennessee, aged 71. Born Lawrence Darrow Brown on July 26, 1940 in Simonton, Texas. His musical career spanned soul, country, pop, and musical theater. Perhaps best known for is hit songs “The ‘In’ Crowd” in 1965 and “Drift Away”, which was one of the biggest hits of 1973, and remains a staple of radio airplay.
The Final Footprint
His remains were buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park And Mausoleum in Nashville. Other notable final footprints at Woodlawn include: Lynn Anderson, Eddy Arnold, Otis Blackwell, Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, Red Foley, D. J. Fontana, George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Webb Pierce, Marty Robbins, Jerry Reed, Dan Seals, Red Sovine, Porter Wagoner, and Tammy Wynette.
And on this day in 2017, singer and actor Johnny Hallyday died from lung cancer in Marnes-la-Coquette, near Paris, at the age of 74. Born Jean-Philippe Léo Smet on 15 June 1943 in Paris.
During a career spanning 57 years, he released 79 albums and sold more than 110 million records worldwide, mainly in the French-speaking world, making him one of the best-selling artists in France and in the world. Credited for his strong voice and his spectacular shows, he sometimes arrived by entering a stadium through the crowd and one time by jumping from a helicopter above the Stade de France. Among his 3,257 shows completed in 187 tours, the most memorable were at Parc des Princes in 1993, at the Stade de France in 1998 (just after France’s win in the Football World Cup) and at the Eiffel Tower in 2000. A million spectators gathered to see his performance at the Eiffel Tower, joined by 9 million more watching on TV.
Hallyday was married five times—including twice to the same woman—with the first four marriages ending in divorce. His last marriage was his longest, lasting twenty-one years.
His first marriage was to French singer Sylvie Vartan, lasting fifteen years from 1965 to 1980. His second marriage to Babeth Étienne was his shortest, lasting for 65 days. Hallyday then had a four-year relationship with French actress Nathalie Baye. His third and fourth marriages were to the same woman, Adeline Blondieau, from 1990 to 1992, and from 1994 to 1995. Inaugurated by Nicolas Sarkozy his fifth and final marriage was to Læticia Boudou from 1996 until his death.
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French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute, saying he “transcended generations and is etched in the memory of the French people”. On 9 December, his funeral was held in Paris; 800,000 lined the Champs-Élysées as his body was taken to the Madeleine Church for the funeral service. He was buried on the French Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy in Cimetière Lorient Bas.
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