The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars (194 page)

AUGUST

Saturday 2

Fela Anikulapo Kuti

(Fela Ransome Kuti - Abeokuta, Nigeria, 15 October 1938)

Koola Lobitos/Africa 70/Egypt 80

The man mainly responsible for the international expansion of ‘Afrobeat’, Fela Kuti spread his words of protest despite actually coming from a relatively comfortable middle-class background – but, in the event, against considerable provocation. Kuti went against his parents’ wish for him to study medicine, opting instead for a place at London’s Trinity College of Music, where his social awareness – not to mention his methods of expressing it – came to life. In the early sixties, Kuti’s style of music was far more marginalized, usually referred to by the slightly misleading tag of ‘High Life’. His band, Koola Lobitos – who became Africa 70 at the turn of the decade (and Egypt 80 ten years later) – were among the first to expose Afrobeat to a European audience. Kuti relished the opportunity to take swipes at the corrupt Nigerian establishment – as much for what he saw as their Westernization as for their apparent disregard for the poorer classes. Back in his homeland, Kuti was arrested for condoning marijuana; his house was virtually destroyed by the army in 1974. With Kuti making a huge deal of this event in his next recorded works, three years later, his new home was also burnt to the ground, far more brutally this time: the singer himself received a fractured skull while his elderly mother was thrown bodily from a bedroom window, sustaining appalling injuries from which she was to die months later. Despite this quite outrageous breach of his human rights, Kuti received little support in Nigeria, and was also deported from Ghana when he attempted to escape further punishment. His life continued to be eventful – in 1978 he married twenty-seven women simultaneously, in a traditional ceremony.

Marital bliss with Fela Kuti

In 1984, Kuti was imprisoned for what appears to have been a trumped-up charge of currency smuggling. After more than two years in prison, he toured the USA and then recorded further diatribes against the corrupt Nigerian leadership that had incarcerated him, such as the near-orchestral ‘Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense’ (1987). Diagnosed with AIDS, Fela Kuti died ten years later from heart failure.

SEPTEMBER

Friday 19

Rich Mullins

(Richmond, Indiana, 21 October 1955)

From the other end of the pop-music spectrum came Rich Mullins, a very popular contemporary Christian songwriter whose compositions were covered by many and whose modern beliefs often challenged the religious hierarchy. Mullins produced his first self-titled album for Reunion Records in 1986, finding time to follow it with eight more over the next decade while also teaching the underprivileged and involving himself in charitable causes. He received considerable accolades when his ‘Sing Your Praise to the Lord’ was covered by popular Christian singer Amy Grant. Rich Mullins died in unusual circumstances in a car accident in LaSalle County, Illinois. While his passenger, musician Mitch McVicker, survived serious injuries, Mullins was thrown clear from the vehicle to be hit and killed by a passing tractor.

Sunday 21

Nick Traina

(Nicholas John Steel - San Francisco, California, 1 May 1978)

Link 80

(Knowledge)

The son of bestselling romance authoress Danielle Steel, Nick Steel (aka Traina) had begun to make a name of his own with his teenage punk/ska band. Traina was a singer with a great deal of attitude, seeming perfect for the lead role in Link 80, who took him on in 1995. Early gigs were apparently very impressive, club-goers witnessing the unlikely sight of the famous novelist and her entourage rubbing shoulders with Mohawks and skins alike. However, it was apparent to anyone who read his lyrics that Traina was suffering from severe depression. Just as the band was signed with the Asian Man label, Traina walked out to begin a new group, Knowledge, in August 1997. This project had barely begun when the singer was found dead at his mother’s home from an apparently self-inflicted morphine overdose. A distraught Danielle Steel remembered her son in the biography
His Bright Light. The Story of Nick Traina.

OCTOBER

Sunda

John Denver

(Henry John Deutschendorf Jr - Roswell, New Mexico, 31 December 1943)

(The Chad Mitchell Trio)

These days, country boy John Denver is mentioned almost as often for his dramatic death as he is for his impressive record sales. The man who arrived in Roswell soon after those pesky aliens was – in the first of a series of grim ironies – the son of a US air force officer, encouraged to play guitar by his grandmother, who bought him a vintage acoustic Gibson when the young Deutschendorf was just twelve. Dropping out of his studies, the budding musician became John Denver in 1965, when he joined folksters The Chad Mitchell Trio, replacing the lead singer. His cheery, downhome style proved popular, giving him the confidence to embark on a solo career four years later. As a songwriter, Denver had few peers in popular country during the seventies, the songs ‘Sunshine on My Shoulder’, ‘Annie’s Song’ (both 1974, the latter his only UK hit), ‘Thank God I’m a Country Boy’ and ‘I’m Sorry’ (both 1975) all topping Billboard’s pop listings and all certified as (at least) gold discs. Apart from his many other hits – Denver scored eight platinum albums – he also saw his songs covered with great success by, for example, Peter, Paul & Mary (‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’, 1969) and Olivia Newton-John (‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’, 1973). And the singer was by no means inactive in other areas either: as well as earning some acclaim for his acting in such movies as 1977’s
Oh God!,
Denver was a valued supporter of many causes, including his own environmental group, The Windstar Foundation. Perhaps more surprisingly, the apparently cosy Denver saw fit to speak out alongside some of rock’s more outlandish characters against increased censorship in music during the eighties.

So, what to do with all those millions in the bank? The tidy sum that didn’t have to be given up in either of his admittedly messy divorces was put to use by John Denver to finance his second great love – flying. An experienced pilot, he had owned a Lear Jet in the past and was even said to have flown fighter aircraft. On 11 October 1997, Denver purchased a Rutan Long-EZ, a two-seater fibre-glass aircraft that had been modified, it seems, once too often. As the plane flew above Monterey Bay, onlookers were horrified to see it dip and descend at speed, crashing headlong into the ocean: John Denver was killed instantly, his body – or what remained of it – rendered unrecognizable by the impact. Investigation into the crash found that the craft had failed when, attempting to access the reserve fuel tank, Denver had been unable to locate its switch, which had been moved by the previous owner to a somewhat awkward position behind the pilot sleft shoulder. In order to activate it, Denver would have had to turn completely around, thus losing control of the plane. It also transpired that Denver, serving a suspension for multiple drunk-driving, had had his pilot’s licence revoked and should never have been airborne in the first place. It was then later revealed that two previous pilots of the craft had had problems with the reserve-tank switch – and had narrowly avoided death themselves.

Denver’s funeral in Aspen, Colorado, five days later was attended by thousands and – yes – there was a fly-past organized for the occasion. Sure, he was a keen pilot, but it seems almost painful to report that among the songs chosen for Denver’s funeral were ‘On the Wings of a Dream’, ‘High Flight’ and ‘The Wings That Fly Us Home’.