Ko Ko Taylor Passes Away at 80

I have not been blogging much lately, but I thought I should pay due respect to a true pioneer of the blues genre, Ko Ko Taylor. I once had the pleasure of seeing Ms. Taylor at the Blue Cafe in Long Beach, California. When she belted out "Wang Dang Doodle" I had never heard anything quite like it. Born Cora Walton on a sharecropper’s farm just outside Memphis, TN, on September 28, 1928, Koko, nicknamed for her love of chocolate, fell in love with music at an early age. Inspired by gospel music and WDIA blues disc jockeys B.B. King and Rufus Thomas, Taylor began belting the blues with her five brothers and sisters, accompanying themselves on their homemade instruments. Legend has it that in 1952, Taylor and her soon-to-be-husband, the late Robert “Pops” Taylor, traveled to Chicago with nothing but, in Koko’s words, “thirty-five cents and a box of Ritz Crackers.

In Chicago, “Pops” worked for a packing company, and Koko cleaned houses. Together they frequented the city’s blues clubs nightly. Encouraged by her husband, Koko began to sit in with the city’s top blues bands, and soon she was in demand as a guest artist. One evening in 1962 Koko was approached by arranger/composer Willie Dixon. Overwhelmed by Koko’s performance, Dixon landed Koko a Chess Records recording contract, where he produced her several singles, two albums and penned her million-selling 1965 hit “Wang Dang Doodle,” which would become Taylor’s signature song.

After Chess Records was sold, Taylor found a home with the Chicago’s Alligator Records in 1975 and released the Grammy-nominated I Got What It Takes. She recorded eight more albums for Alligator between 1978 and 2007, received seven more Grammy nominations and made numerous guest appearances on various albums and tribute recordings. Koko appeared in the films Wild At Heart, Mercury Rising and Blues Brothers 2000. She performed on Late Night With David Letterman, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, CBS-TV’s This Morning, National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, CBS-TV’s Early Edition, and numerous regional television programs.

Over the course of her 40-plus-year career, Taylor received every award the blues world has to offer. On March 3, 1993, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley honored Taylor with a “Legend Of The Year” Award and declared “Koko Taylor Day” throughout Chicago. In 1997, she was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame. A year later, Chicago Magazine named her “Chicagoan Of The Year” and, in 1999, Taylor received the Blues Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009 Taylor performed in Washington, D.C. at The Kennedy Center Honors honoring Morgan Freeman.

Koko Taylor was one of very few women who found success in the male-dominated blues world. She took her music from the tiny clubs of Chicago’s South Side to concert halls and major festivals all over the world. She shared stages with every major blues star, including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy as well as rock icons Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.

Taylor’s final performance was on May 7, 2009 in Memphis at the Blues Music Awards, where she sang “Wang Dang Doodle” after receiving her award for Traditional Blues Female Artist Of The Year.

Survivors include Taylor’s husband Hays Harris, daughter Joyce Threatt, son-in-law Lee Threatt, grandchildren Lee, Jr. and Wendy, and three great-grandchildren.

Wayman Tisdale Dead at 44

Legendary basketball player and guitar great Wayman Tisdale died today at about 8 a.m. in Tulsa. After three years at Oklahoma, the 6-foot-9 Tulsa native spent 12 seasons in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, then became an award-winning jazz musician, with several of his albums making the top 10 on the Billboard charts.

Tisdale first learned he had cancerous cyst below his right knee after he broke his leg in a fall at his home in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2007. He said then he was fortunate to have discovered the cancer at an early stage. "Nothing can change me," Tisdale told The Associated Press last June. "You go through things. You don't change because things come in your life. You get better because things come in your life."

His leg was amputated last August and a prosthetic leg that he wore was crimson, one of the colors of his beloved Oklahoma Sooners. He made a handful of public appearances in recent weeks, including on April 7 at an Oklahoma City Thunder game, at which he received the team's Community Hero Award.

Also within the past month, Tisdale was honored in a ceremony at the Greenwood Cultural Center in his hometown and presented with the Legacy Award. During the ceremony, he spoke about his fight with cancer, saying "In my mind, I've beaten it." Last month, Tisdale also learned he had been chosen for induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Enjoy the smooth sounds of Tisdale.

Chuck Daly Succumbs to Cancer at 78

Everyone who knows me personally knows that my favorite sport is basketball and the I am a die hard Detroit Pistons fan. I know that got swept in the first round of the playoffs (I digress). A huge part of my love for this team is because of their coach during the 80's and the 90's, Chuck Daly. Chuck passed away today, a victim of pancreatic cancer.

Growing up in lower Michigan we spent an abundance of time watching or attending sporting events. From the Tigers to the Red Wings, there is something magical about the teams and the fans of Michigan. Detroit had never been a real power house on the basketball front, but that all changed when Chuck Daly showed up on the scene and took a group of very diverse (some would call misfits) individuals to championships, not once, but back-to-back! Chuck accomplished with such style and grace. He was one of the greatest coaches of all time in my humble opinion. I mean after Chuck, nobody else was ever able to truly coach Dennis Rodman.

Not only did he coach the "Bad Boys", but he also coached the 1994 Olympic "Dream Team" to a gold medal. In fact he was the first coach to win both NBA and Olympic titles. Daly was voted one of the 10 greatest coaches of the NBA’s first half-century in 1996, two years after being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Daly had a career regular-season record of 638-437 in 13 NBA seasons. In 12 playoff appearances, his teams went 75-51. He led Detroit Pistons’ in regular-season and playoff victories.

NBA commissioner David Stern said, "Chuck did much more than coach basketball games, he positively impacted everyone he met, both personally and professionally, and his love of people and the game of basketball helped develop the next generation of coaches". Daly also made the right moves for the Pistons, who were notorious for their physical play with Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn leading the fight, Rodman making headlines and Hall of Fame guards Isiah Thomas and Dumars lifting the team to titles in 1989 and 1990. Through it all Daly was able to take the team to the highest levels of play and taught his players what teamwork is all about. He laid the foundation for a style of play that still exist among today's Piston team.

With all of his accomplishments, one of the attributes that sticks out in my mind was Chuck Daly's style. His dress was impeccable. He wore the nicest suits and everything was always color coordinated down to the socks! Former Piston John Salley gave Daly the nickname Daddy Rich for his impeccably tailored suits. The National Basketball Coaches’ Association created pins with the initials “CD” that many coaches and broadcasters are wearing as it dedicates this postseason to Daly. The organization also established the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be given annually.

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to Chuck's family in this time of mourning. Rest in peace Chuck.

United States Oldest Living Male Dies at 112

George Francis, the nation's oldest man who lived through both world wars, man's first walk on the moon and got to vote for the first black president, has died. UCLA gerontologist, Stephen Coles, who maintains a list of the world's oldest people, said Francis lived 112 years and 204 days. Read entire story here.

Eartha Kitt Succumbs at 81

Sultry sex symbol of the 40, 50's and 60's died of colon cancer today. She was one of the most versatile actresses of all time, winning two Emmys, two Grammys and having several Tony nominations. Her career spanned a total of six decades, from her start as a dancer in the famed Katherine Durham troupe to her work on stage, in film and on vinyl. She penned three autobiographies throughout her life and was once dubbed the "most exciting woman in the world" by Orson Welles.

Kitt came from humble South Carolina beginnings and was of mixed heritage. She made headline news for denouncing the Vietnam War while visiting the White House. This incident caused her to be blacklisted for many years. I first remember seeing Ms. Kitt opposite Nat King Cole in the film "St. Louis Blues". Younger audiences might remember her as the much older woman after Eddie Murphy in "Boomerang". Others may remember her as one of the Catwomen on the campy 60's series "Batman".

For years, Kitt was unsure of her birthplace or birth date. In 1997, a group of students at historically black Benedict College in Columbia, S.C., located her birth certificate, which verified her birth date as Jan. 17, 1927. Kitt had previously celebrated on Jan. 26. The research into her background also showed Kitt was the daughter of a white man, a poor cotton farmer.

Enjoy Ms Kitt spreading some holiday cheer.