Rest In Peace

  So many sixties stars have died but will never be      forgotten.Here are a few we loved so much.

George Harrison
 
As lead guitarist for the Beatles, George Harrison provided the band with a lyrical style of playing in which every note mattered.Harrison was one of millions of young Britons inspired to take up the guitar by British skiffle king Lonnie Donegan's recording of "Rock Island Line." But he had more dedication than most, and with the encouragement of a slightly older school friend — Paul McCartney — he advanced quickly in his technique and command of the instrument. Harrison developed his style and technique slowly and painstakingly over the several years, learning everything he could from the records of Carl Perkins, Duane Eddy, Chet Atkins, Buddy Holly, and Eddie Cochran. By age 15, he was allowed to sit in with the Quarry Men, the Liverpool group founded by John Lennon, of which McCartney was a member; by 16 he was a full-fledged member of the group.

The Beatles finally coalesced around Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and drummer Ringo Starr in 1962, with Harrison established on lead guitar. The Beatlemania years, from 1963 through 1966, were a mixed blessing for Harrison. The Beatles' studio sound was generally characterized by very prominent rhythm guitar parts, and on many of the Beatles' early songs, Harrison's lead guitar was buried beneath the chiming chords of Lennon's instrument. Additionally, he was thwarted as a songwriter by the presence of Lennon and McCartney — the quality and prolificacy of their output left very little room on the group's albums for songs by anyone else. Despite these problems, Harrison grew markedly as a musician between 1963 and 1966, writing a handful of good songs and one classic ("If I Needed Someone"), and also making his first acquaintance of the sitar, an Indian instrument whose sound fascinated him.

In 1966, Harrison finally seemed to find his voice, with two of his songs on the Revolver album, "Taxman" and "Love You Too." In the wake of the group's decision to stop touring, Harrison's playing and songwriting grew
exponentially. The period from 1968 onward was Harrison's richest with the Beatles. He displayed a smooth, elegant slide guitar technique that showed up on their last three albums, and contributed two classic songs, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Here Comes the Sun," along with "Something," which became the first Harrison song on the A-side of a Beatles single.

Although never known as a strong singer, Harrison's vocals were always distinctive, especially when placed in the right setting — for his first solo record following the group's 1970 break-up, All Things Must Pass, Harrison collaborated with producer Phil Spector, whose so-called "wall of sound" technique adapted well to Harrison's voice. All Things Must Pass and the accompanying single "My Sweet Lord" had the distinction of being the first solo recordings by any of the Beatles to top the charts following their breakup. Unfortunately, Harrison was later successfully sued by the publisher of the 1962 Chiffons hit "He's So Fine," which bore a striking resemblance to "My Sweet Lord."

Harrison followed All Things Must Pass with rock's first major charity event, The Concert for Bangladesh, which was staged as two shows at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1971 to help raise money for aid to that famine-ravaged nation. The second of the two all-star shows was released as a movie and a live triple album. Harrison's next studio album, Living in the Material World, initially sold well, but its leaner, less opulent production lacked the majestic force of All Things Must Pass, and it lacked the earlier album's mass appeal. Subsequent Harrison albums from the 1970s into the '80s always had an audience, but except for Somewhere in England (1981), released in the wake of the murder of John Lennon with the memorial song "All Those Years Ago," none seemed terribly well-crafted or executed. During this same period, Harrison embarked on a successful career as a movie producer with the founding of Handmade Films.

In 1987, Harrison made a return to the top of the charts with his album Cloud Nine, which featured his most inspired work in years, most notably a cover of an old Rudy Clark gospel number called "Got My Mind Set on You," which reached number one on the charts. In 1988, Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison formed the Traveling Wilburys, who have since released two very successful albums.

In 1992 perhaps still smarting from 1974 concert reviews, would make his return to the stage in Japan with Claptons and his band backing him up.

In 1997 Harrison was diagnosed with cancer and had throat surgery. He
considered his cancer to be caused by his 30+ years of smoking so he quit in 1998. In 1999 He was brutally attacked by a deranged fan whom thought he was a devil worshipper.

In 2001 he re-released All Things Must Pass which included never before heard bonus tracks. He also was working on a new album and released the first single in October called a Horse To Water co-written with his son Dhani.

Throughout 2000 and 2001 Harrison would be treated for his cancer in various countries until November 29th 2001. George Harrison died of cancer at a friends home in Los Angeles around 1:30PM. George Harrison was 58.

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Cass Elliot
Cass Elliot's death was initially misreported as having been caused by her choking on a sandwich. The true cause of death -- a heart attack -- was not determined until an autopsy was performed a week later, but by that time the "ham sandwich" story had become entrenched in the public's mind.

Origins: The first reports of Cass Elliot's death said that her physician had stated she "probably choked to death on a sandwich", and the next day's post-mortem reportedly "showed that she died as a result of choking on a sandwich while in bed and from inhaling her own vomit". Dr. Keith Simpson, the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Elliot, found no traces of food blocking her trachea, however. Dr. Simpson and Gavin Thurston, a London coroner, determined that Elliot had succumbed to a heart attack brought about by obesity. Elliot had long been overweight -- she stood 5'5" and weighed 238 lbs., about twice the proper weight for a woman of her height and build -- and the effects of long-term obesity and several crash diets had weakened her heart to the point of failure.

Although the initial news stories mentioned only that Cass Elliot had "choked on a sandwich", by the next week reports were listing a "ham sandwich" as the fatal meal. This extra detail was most likely an embellishment added by the public as a sick commentary on her obesity. Other rumors surrounding Elliot's death (that she overdosed on heroin or was pregnant with John Lennon's child) were just as ridiculous and unfounded.

Cass Elliot was originally known as Ellen Naomi Cohen, born on September 19, 1941. Her family moved around a lot between the Metropolitan areas of Maryland, and she called both Alexandria, VA and Baltimore, MD home. As a young adult, she changed her name to Cass Elliot and moved up to New York, looking to become a singer. A part of the Folk movement in Greenwich, she was a member of groups such as the Big Three and the Mugwumps (the latter of which contained soon-to-be "Papa" Denny Doherty and John Sebastian, Zal Yanovsky, and Jimmy Hendricks, who would go and form the Lovin' Spoonful). In 1963 (about) Cass' friend Denny joined a group called the New Journeymen, also consisting of John and Michelle Phillips. She wanted to join them, but originally they would not let her (apart from her size, which they feared would be considered unattractive, they felt that her voice was too low to blend with Michelle's). She followed them wherever they toured, including the Virgin Islands. Here she was finally let into the group; a popular but untrue story as to why was because she was hit in the head by copper tubing, which somehow miraculously caused her voice to change so that it blended better with Michelle's.

After a brief stay in New York, where John and Michelle wrote "California Dreamin'," the four moved to Los Angeles where they got a recording contract with Lou Adler of Dunhill Records under their new name, The Mamas and the Papas. Cass was often considered to be one of the most charismatic members of the group and charmed fans with her sense of humor as well as her amazing voice. The group broke up after four albums were produced (within the years 1965-1968).

Cass pursued a solo career and was doing quite well by the early seventies with such hits as "It's Gettin' Better," and "Make Your Own Kind of Music." She also briefly rejoined the Mamas and Papas to make the album, "People Like Us," which, on the other hand, did not do so well. At the height of her career in July 1974, Cass died of a massive heart attack (not a ham sandwich). She left behind a daughter, Owen Vanessa, who was born in 1967. Though Cass may be dead, her music lives on as a testament to her magical musical expressive ability.