The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars (410 page)

Diminutive and likeable, Smiley Culture did as his nickname suggested and placed a broad grin over a musical genre that was often better recognised for tales of hardship and prejudice. Culture was a natural entertainer, replete in trademark pork-pie hat, whipping his crowd into a frenzy as a young DJ working London’s reggae sound systems.

It was Smiley’s ‘fast-chat’ style of performing – akin to rap – that won the man a recording contract with London-based reggae label, Fashion. The first issue was an amusing 45 called ‘Cockney Translation’ (1984) in which Culture became the first ‘name’ act to mix Jamaican patois with London slang: this startled both label and artist by break-ing the UK Top 75 – but it was merely a precursor to the performance of the next single. ‘Police Officer’ (1984) told the quirky tale of how the singer had been caught in possession of marijuana, having to bribe the cop with an autograph in order to avoid charges. It was perhaps not the ideal subject matter for a family music showcase like
Top of the Pops,
but with the BBC clearly unfamiliar with the expression ‘ganja’, Culture was asked to appear twice as the track rose to number twelve in the charts during the first months of 1985. The lyric’s scenario, however, was to have a cold ring about it some years down the line …

With little further chart success, Smiley Culture made a modest living through DJ work, advertising and reggae package tours, but by 2010 he seemed to be supplementing his income via less-than-legal methods. That summer, Culture was charged with conspiring to supply cocaine, and his trial was set for 21 March 2011. Just one week before his court appearance, the former star’s Surrey home was raided by four police officers. Under the pretext of going to his kitchen to make a cup of tea, Culture instead reached for the knife drawer and stabbed himself fatally through the heart. Despite the many questions raised about his unusual death – and ongoing concerns about recent custodial fatalities – no charges were brought against the policemen in attendance and a verdict of suicide was passed.

It was a desperate end to a life that had previously been about joy. In spite of the decline in his fortunes, Culture – whose ‘stylee’ has had an undeniable influence on Britain’s fast-growing grime scene – should be recalled as a fine writer and entertainer.

Nate Dogg

(Nathaniel Dawayne Hale - Clarksdale, Mississippi, 19 August 1969)

213

(Various acts)

A younger though bigger international star from street-culture passed away on that same date. Nate Dogg was the Godfather of G-Funk, the smooth, multi-layered ‘cousin’ to gangsta rap and a more seductive antidote to the bling and boom-boom of its relative. Or so it appeared.

Before any of them had achieved the fame they were to enjoy later in the decade, Nate Dogg (Nathaniel Hale), his high-school pal Snoop (Doggy) Dogg (Calvin Broadus) and Warren G (Warren Griffin) formed the rap act 213, a name derived from the area code of Long Beach, California, where the trio started practising in 1990 from the back of a record store. Nate Dogg had moved to the locale from Mississippi, and – on the back of three years with the marines – was about ready for some action. His remarkable, soulful singing voice then caught the attention of former NWA-man Dr Dre (Andre Young), who invited Nate to make a couple of contributions to his groundbreak-ing album,
The Chronic
(1992). In truth, this record proved a major launch-pad for all members of 213, Nate Dogg then signing to Death Row and recording the lilting ‘Regulate’ with Warren G. This cut became a major crossover hit, reaching Billboard number two (and US Rap Top Ten) in the early summer of 1994. (The record was the label’s biggest hit to date, achieving Top Five in many other markets, including the UK.)

After a less-than-gratifying time at Death Row, Nate Dogg issued three reasonably successful solo records in
G-Funk Classics Volume I
and
Volume II
(Breakaway, 1998),
Music and Me
(Elektra, 2001) and
Nate Dogg
(AEG, 2003), but was undeniably better known for the numerous hooks he contributed to the records of his West Coast contemporaries – particularly those of Tupac Shakur. However, ‘Regulate’ was to remain Dogg’s biggest record until he started working with 50 Cent in the millennium.

For such a seemingly laid-back performer, Dogg had some serious problems in his personal life, the artist appearing to spend a lot of his later years answering to the law. Having been convicted on drug and firearms offences in 1996, Dogg was somewhat fortunate to be acquitted in 2000 after his ex-girlfriend – and mother of his young son – filed charges of abduction, assault and arson against the performer. The issues with his former partner did not disappear; Dogg was ordered a few years later to undergo domestic violence management after further charges of assault and harassment. It shortly became apparent that the rapper was unwell: at the end of 2007 – unbeknown to many – Dogg spent a week in the hospital having suffered the first of a series of strokes. This was believed to have paralysed the right-hand side of his body, although the truth about Nate Dogg’s worsening condition only became public knowledge after a second stroke in 2008.

The four-times Grammy nominee continued to weaken until his inevitable passing from congestive heart failure at his Long Beach home.

Golden Oldies#133

Ferlin Husky

(Furland Husky - Cantwell, Missouri, 3 December 1925)

Few were as adept at singing country, honky-tonk and rockabilly as Ferlin Husky, who honed his craft as a touring entertainer while he was with the US Marines. It was during this time that Husky developed the idiosyncratic hayseed ‘Simon Crum’ - an alterego that served him well in song and comic performance.

Husky found work as a Bakersfield DJ after serving during World War II. Around this time, he also nurtured
another
alterego - that of ‘Terry Preston’, effectively himself as a country singer, on the advice that his given name would not sit well on a marquee. Although some sides were cut under this identity, Husky signed with Capitol under his own name in 1953: it worked wonders, with over
fifty
of his singles making the US Country charts. Of these, ‘A Dear John Letter’ (1953 - in duet with Jean Shepard), ‘Gone’ (1957) and ‘Wings of a Dove’ (1960) all rocketed to the top spot.

Husky’s hit records continued until 1975 (by which time he’d signed to ABC), but heart surgery in 1977 was to suspend his career. His resilience and continuous touring saw Husky inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010; however, after some years of ill health, the octogenarian Ferlin Husky died of congestive heart failure at his daughter’s home on 17 March 2011.

Golden Oldies#134

Jet Harris

(Terence Harris - Kingsbury, London, England, 6 July 1939)

The Shadows

The Vipers

A more than able double-bass player, the teenage Terence ‘Jet’ Harris cut his teeth with a variety of skiffle bands, including The Vipers, who had scored Top Ten hits just prior to his arrival. Harris made his name, however, upon joining The Drifters in 1959 (along with ex-Vipers guitarist Hank Marvin and drummer Tony Meehan), the bassist having the sense to suggest a name-change in order to avoid confusion with the renowned US R & B group. With The Shadows, Harris enjoyed numerous hits including the UK number ones ‘Apache’ (1960) and ‘Kon-Tiki’ (1961), plus a whole swathe of smashes backing teen idol Cliff Richard. Despite enjoying professional acceptance, Harris was forced to leave The Shadows after the supposedly virtuous Richard was discovered to have had an affair with his wife. (She remains the only woman ‘known’ to have slept with the star.)

As a solo performer who was not expected to produce much, Jet Harris enjoyed hits with ‘Besame Mucho’ (1962) and ‘The Man With the Golden Arm’ (1962), but it was to be his collaborations with former Shadow Meehan that really caught the public’s attention during 1963. Their first duet ‘Diamonds’ (UK number one - featuring a young Jimmy Page as the session guitarist) was the biggest, with ‘Scarlett O’Hara’ (UK number two) and ‘Applejack’ (UK Top Five) not far behind. A car accident later that year, however, was to curtail Harris’s now-troubled career. The musician -already a heavy drinker - recovered, but began to use alcohol too much to perform, falling into depression and eventually relying on menial jobs for an income: he was declared bankrupt in 1988. Although awarded an MBE in 2010, Harris was - rather disingenuously - not invited to join The Shadows’ fiftieth-anniversary performance at the Royal Variety Performance two years beforehand (even though he had written some of the group’s early material).

Jet Harris had suffered from cancer for two years, eventually succumbing to the disease on 18 March 2011 at the Winchester home of his partner.

See also
John Rostill (
November 1973); Tony Meehan (
November 2005); Johnny Martyn (
Golden Oldies #45)