Musician Tribute

Jeremy Michael Ward (1976-2003) Jeremy was the sound technician and vocal operator for The Mars Volta and for the dub outfit De Facto. He created many of the soundscapes heard on The Mars Volta's album De-Loused in the Comatorium. Ward, aside from his role in The Mars Volta and De Facto, played guitar, and was a visual artist working mostly in pen and ink. Accomplishments: A journal Ward found while working in the repossession business in Los Angeles served as a source of inspiration for The Mars Volta's album Frances the Mute. Ward also came up with the name for Amputechture, The Mars Volta's third album. He was the cousin of At the Drive-In and Sparta member Jim Ward, and brother of El Paso punk rock bassist Jered Ward.

Jam Master Jay (1965-2002) Jason William Mizell better known by his stage name Jam Master Jay, was an American musician and DJ. He was the DJ of the influential hip hop group Run-D.M.C. During the 1980s, Run-D.M.C. became one of the biggest hip-hop groups and are credited with breaking hip-hop into mainstream music. For his skill re-working riffs from classic guitar records, he was ranked #10 on Spin's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Accomplishments: In 1989, Mizell established Jam Master Jay Records. The label is most known for signing 50 Cent and Onyx. Jam Master Jay Records folded after Jason Mizell was murdered on October 30, 2002. The crime has yet to be solved. Mizell's legacy includes the Scratch DJ Academy in Manhattan. Founded in 2002, the year of his death, the academy was created to "provide unparalleled education and access to the art form of the DJ and producer." Jam Master Jay was the father of three...

Jim Cherry (1971-2002) Jim was an American musician, most famous for being the bassist in the punk rock band Strung Out. His other musical credits include the guitar player in the band Pulley, and bassist/vocalist in the band Zero Down. Cherry was born James Paul Cherry III in Simi Valley, California, United States. He was one of the five original members of the band Strung Out, playing bass guitar. He was also part of the initial lineup of the band Pulley, playing guitar. After releasing three albums with Strung Out, Cherry left the band in 1999. Shortly after, he formed the punk rock band Zero Down, acting as lead vocals and bassist.  Accomplishments: After releasing a self-titled 7" record, they became one of the first bands to be signed to Fat Wreck Chords, the record label owned and operated by Fat Mike of the band NOFX. Their first album, Another Day in Paradise, was released in May 1994. Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues followed in 1996. In 1998 they...

Lisa Lopes (1971-2002) Lisa better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American hip hop singer, rapper, songwriter, and producer. Lopes was best known as one-third of the R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Besides rapping and singing background vocals on TLC recordings, Lopes was one of the creative forces behind the group. She received more co-writing credits than the other members. She also designed the outfits and staging for the group and contributed to the group's image, album titles, artworks, and music videos. Through her work with TLC, Lopes won four Grammy Awards. During her short solo career, Lopes scored two US top-ten singles with "Not Tonight" and "U Know What's Up", as well as one UK number-one single with "Never Be the Same Again". She also produced the girl group Blaque, who scored a platinum album and two US top-ten hits. Lopes remains the o...

Layne Staley (1967-2002) Layne was an American musician known for being the lead vocalist, occasional rhythm guitarist and co-songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains from 1987 until 1998. The band rose to international fame in the early 1990s during Seattle's grunge movement, and became known for Staley's distinct vocal style, as well as the harmonized vocals between him and guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell. Staley was also a member of the supergroups Mad Season and Class of '99. Accomplishments: Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins stated that Staley "had an amazing voice that had such a beautiful, sad, haunting quality about it. He was different because his heaviness was in that voice." Corgan revealed that the song "Bleeding The Orchid" from The Smashing Pumpkins' 2007 album Zeitgeist was indirectly inspired by the death of Staley. Cold's song "The Day Seattle Died" (from the 2003 album, Year of the ...

Randy Carr (1956-2002) Randy was born in Santa Monica, California and started playing drums at the age of 12 years. Over the years he played drums in many rock music groups in the Orange County area of Southern California including 7th Grade, Silicone Silos, 16 Tons, and Social Distortion. Carr also played guitar. Carr lived and worked in Fullerton, California. In addition to playing drums in local bands, he was a drum instructor and wrote the book, Advanced Grooves for the Advanced Drummer as an aid for his students. In 1993, Carr joined up with former The Mechanics guitarist Tim Racca to form 16 Tons. The band 16 Tons, though short-lived, received much critical acclaim for their 1993 instrumental rock CD, Motorhome, consisting primarily of Racca's compositions. DRUM! Magazine wrote in its August 1996 issue, "16 Tons explodes with furious energy, propelled by Carr's powerhouse drumming." Carr worked with the band Social Distortion from 1993 thro...

Aaliyah Dana Haughton (1979-2001) Aaliyah was an American singer, actress, and model. Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Detroit, Michigan, she first gained recognition at the age of 10, when she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At the age of 12, Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and her uncle Barry Hankerson's Blackground Records. Hankerson introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed with Atlantic Records. Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million, which sold 3 million copies in the Unite...

Mitch Lucker (1984-2012) was an American musician who was best known as the lead singer for the American deathcore band Suicide Silence.  Suicide Silence was founded in 2002 at Riverside, California. At the time, it was a side project made up of musicians from other bands. Their first live show was performed locally in Riverside, with a line-up consisting of Chris Garza (guitar), Rick Ash (guitar), Mike Bodkins (bass), Josh Goddard (drums) and vocalists Mitch Lucker and Tanner Womack. Lucker was casually known for his extensive and large collection of tattoos on his body covering his arms, torso, neck/throat, hands, fingers and even his face. The only place he refused to ever get tattooed was on his back. He explained this by stating "I like seeing the artwork because it is artwork! [Having my back tattooed would] be like owning an expensive painting that you can never see. Like, ‘Oh, I have this beautiful, expensive painting, but you can’t see it because it’s at my uncl...

Elliott Smith (1969-2003) Elliott was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived for much of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity. Smith's primary instrument was the guitar, though he was also proficient with piano, clarinet, bass guitar, drums, and harmonica. Smith had a distinctive vocal style, characterized by his "whispery, spiderweb-thin delivery", and used multi-tracking to create vocal layers, textures, and harmonies. After playing in the rock band Heatmiser for several years, Smith began his solo career in 1994, with releases on the independent record labels Cavity Search and Kill Rock Stars (KRS). In 1997, he signed a contract with DreamWorks Records. Accomplishments:  Smith rose to mainstream prominence when his song "Miss Misery"—included in the soundtrack for the film Good Will Hunting (1997)—was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Orig...

Dennis Danell (1961-2000) Dennis Danell formed Social Distortion in 1979 with frontman Mike Ness while attending high school together. Originally the group's bassist, Danell eventually switched to guitar before the band recorded their full-length debut album. His steady, melodic playing helped define the group's signature jangle on such albums as Mommy's Little Monster (1983), Prison Bound (1988), Social Distortion (1990), Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell (1992) and White Light, White Heat, White Trash (1996). After Social Distortion went on hiatus following the release of Live at the Roxy in 1998, Danell produced numerous local bands at the group's recording studio, Casbah, in Fullerton, California. His production credits included Fanmail (BEC Records), Value Pac (Four Door Entertainment), Fraidy Cats (Bulletproof Records), The Deluxtone Rockets (Tooth & Nail Records), and Rock Star Barbecue, the debut artist on Danell's new independent label, Master...

Chester Bennington (1976-2017) Chester was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He served as lead singer for the bands Linkin Park, Dead by Sunrise, Grey Daze, and Stone Temple Pilots. He was widely regarded as one of the top rock vocalists of the 2000's. Bennington first gained prominence as a vocalist following the release of Linkin Park's debut album, Hybrid Theory, in 2000, which became a commercial success. The album was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2005, making it the best-selling debut album of the decade, as well as one of the few albums ever to hit that many sales. Linkin Park's following studio albums, from Meteora (2003) to One More Light (2017), continued the band's success. Linkin Park has sold over 100 million records worldwide. Bennington formed his own band, Dead by Sunrise, as a side project in 2005. The band's debut album, Out of Ashes, was released on October 13, 2009. He became th...

Christina Grimmie (1994-2016) was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and YouTuber who was known for covering hit songs on YouTube and participating in the NBC singing competition The Voice. In June 2011, she released her debut EP, Find Me. In 2013, she released her studio album, With Love. In 2016, she released her second EP, Side A, and a posthumous release, Side B, was made available on iTunes and Spotify. On June 9, 2017, her second and final album, All Is Vanity, was released posthumously. In 2014, Grimmie was a contestant on season 6 of The Voice and finished in third place. Adam Levine, her coach on the show, announced in the finale that regardless of the results he would sign her to his label 222 Records. Lil Wayne also offered to sign her to his label, Young Money Entertainment. She was signed with Island Records for a short time before being dropped. In 2016, she took on an acting role, making her first and only motion picture appearance in The Matchbreaker...

Michael Jackson (1958-2009) Michael was an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he was one of the most popular entertainers in the world and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Jackson's contributions to music, dance, and fashion along with his publicized personal life made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5. He began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records. In the early 1980's, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. Accomplishments:  Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 as member of the Jackson's and in 1984 as solo artist. Throughout his career he received numerous honors and awards, including the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millenn...

Prince (1958-2016) Prince was an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and filmmaker. Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Prince was known for his eclectic work, flamboyant stage presence, extravagant fashion sense and use of makeup, and wide vocal range. Prince was also a multi-instrumentalist; considered a guitar virtuoso, he was also skilled at playing the drums, percussion, bass, keyboards, and synthesizer. His innovative music integrated a wide variety of styles, including funk, rock, R&B, new wave, soul, psychedelia, and pop. Prince developed an interest in music as a young child and wrote his first song at the age of seven. He signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records at the age of 17, and released his debut album For You in 1978. Accomplishments:  He won many and was nominated for even more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Prince Charities:  PRN Alumni Foundati...