Sunday, August 30, 2015
Oliver Sacks obit
Wes Craven obit
Wes Craven, master of horror and slasher films, dies at 76
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Henry Gaston obit
Henry Gaston Obituary
He was not n the list.
Henry L. Gaston "Shane" CHARLOTTE - Mr. Henry L. Gaston" Shane" of Charlotte, passed on August 24, 2015. Service will be Saturday, August 29, 2015, at 1 p.m. with visitation at 12 noon at A. E. Grier & Sons Chapel located at 2310 Statesville Ave. A.E. Grier & Sons is entrusted to serve the Gaston family.
He was a member of the music group Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs.
Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs were an American doo-wop and rhythm & blues vocal group, active during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Originally The (Royal) Charms, the band changed its name to The Gladiolas in 1957 and The Excellos in 1958, before finally settling on The Zodiacs in 1959.
Maurice Williams was born 26 April 1938 in Lancaster, South Carolina. His first experience with music was in the church, where his mother and sister both performed. By the time he was six, Williams was performing regularly there. With his childhood friend Earl Gainey, Williams formed the gospel group The Junior Harmonizers. As rock and roll and doo-wop became their primary interest, the Junior Harmonizers changed their name to The Royal Charms.
In addition to Williams and Gainey, The Royal Charms were
made up of Willie Jones (baritone), William Massey (tenor, baritone, trumpet),
and Norman Wade (bass). In the winter of 1956, while still in high school,
Williams and his band traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to record for the
Excello record label. At the time they were going by the name 'The Royal
Charms,' but the founder of Excello Records, Ernie Young, convinced them to
change their name to 'The Gladiolas.' At the time, there were at least two
other bands using the same name.
The song "Little Darlin'" was a #11 hit on the R&B chart in 1957, but did not break the Billboard Hot 100's Top 40. However, when the song was covered by the Canadian group The Diamonds, it moved up to #2.
Williams finished high school and while on the road with the
band (after their station wagon broke down in Bluefield, West Virginia), the
band came across a small car known as "The Zodiac" and the band
changed their name. Shortly thereafter, Henry Gatson replaced Earl Gainey.
In the spring of 1959, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs performed
at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. Around that
time, the group split and reformed. The members were Williams, Gatson, Wiley
Bennett, and Charles Thomas. Later, Little Willie Morrow and Albert Hill were
added. One month later, in the early summer of 1959, the band recorded in a
Quonset Hut on Shakespeare Road in Columbia. The recording engineer, Homer
Fesperman, recorded several tracks that the band had hoped would fetch them a
hit. One of the last tracks that they recorded that day was "Stay," a
song that Williams had written a couple of weeks before.
After taking the demo of "Stay" to Al Silver at
Herald Records in New York City, the song was pressed and released in early
1960. "Stay" is the shortest recording ever to reach number one on
the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States (1:39, though the label read
1:50). Later versions of "Stay" by The Four Seasons (1964) and
Jackson Browne (1978) also reached the Top 20, each selling over one million
copies in the United States alone. The inclusion of "Stay" on the
soundtrack to the film Dirty Dancing in 1987 led to the song selling more
records than it had during its original release. At the end of 1963, British
band the Hollies covered "Stay", which gave the group their debut Top
Ten hit single in the UK, peaking at #8.
A 1961 recording by the group, "May I", also released by Herald Records became, over the years, another million selling record.
Williams continued recording, touring, and releasing music
through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. He is still active on the music industry,
residing in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Williams was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2010.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Al Arbour obit
NHL Hall-Of-Fame Coach Al Arbour Dies At Age 82
He is third to Joel Quenneville for games coached in National Hockey League history and fifth all-time in wins, behind Scotty Bowman, Joel Quenneville, Ken Hitchcock and Barry Trotz.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1949–50 Windsor
Spitfires OHA 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
1949–50 Detroit
Hettche IHL 33 14 8 22 10 3 0 0 0 4
1950–51 Windsor
Spitfires OHA 31 5 4 9 27 — — — — —
1951–52 Windsor
Spitfires OHA 55 7 12 19 86 — — — — —
1952–53 Windsor
Spitfires OHA 56 5 7 12 92 — — — — —
1952–53 Washington
Lions EAHL 4 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
1952–53 Edmonton
Flyers WHL 8 0 1 1 2 15 0 5 5 10
1953–54 Detroit
Red Wings NHL 36 0 1 1 18 — — — — —
1953–54 Sherbrooke
Saints QHL 19 1 3 4 24 2 0 0 0 2
1954–55 Edmonton
Flyers WHL 41 3 9 12 39 — — — — —
1954–55 Quebec
Aces QHL 20 4 5 9 55 4 0 0 0 2
1955–56 Edmonton
Flyers WHL 70 5 14 19 109 3 0 0 0 4
1955–56 Detroit
Red Wings NHL — — — — — 4 0 1 1 0
1956–57 Detroit
Red Wings NHL 44 1 6 7 38 5 0 0 0 6
1956–57 Edmonton
Flyers WHL 24 2 3 5 24 — — — — —
1957–58 Detroit
Red Wings NHL 69 1 6 7 104 4 0 1 1 4
1958–59 Chicago
Black Hawks NHL 70 2 10 12 86 6 1 2 3 26
1959–60 Chicago
Black Hawks NHL 57 1 5 6 66 4 0 0 0 4
1960–61 Chicago
Black Hawks NHL 53 3 2 5 40 7 0 0 0 2
1961–62 Toronto
Maple Leafs NHL 52 1 5 6 68 8 0 0 0 6
1962–63 Toronto
Maple Leafs NHL 4 1 0 1 4 — — — — —
1962–63 Rochester
Americans AHL 63 6 21 27 97 2 0 2 2 2
1963–64 Toronto
Maple Leafs NHL 6 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
1963–64 Rochester
Americans AHL 60 3 19 22 62 2 1 0 1 0
1964–65 Rochester
Americans AHL 71 1 16 17 88 10 0 1 1 16
1964–65 Toronto
Maple Leafs NHL — — — — — 1 0 0 0 2
1965–66 Toronto
Maple Leafs NHL 4 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
1965–66 Rochester
Americans AHL 59 2 11 13 86 12 0 2 2 8
1966–67 Rochester
Americans AHL 71 3 19 22 48 13 0 1 1 16
1967–68 St.
Louis Blues NHL 74 1 10 11 50 14 0 3 3 10
1968–69 St.
Louis Blues NHL 67 1 6 7 50 12 0 0 0 10
1969–70 St.
Louis Blues NHL 68 0 3 3 85 14 0 1 1 16
1970–71 St.
Louis Blues NHL 22 0 2 2 6 6 0 0 0 6
NHL totals 626 12 58 70 617 86 1 8 9 92
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Darryl Dawkins obit
Darryl Dawkins, the legendary 'Chocolate Thunder,' dies at 58
Said Nets general manager Billy King: “So sad to hear of the passing of Darryl Dawkins. We loss one of the all time great guys. He will be missed by so many. R.I.P..”
I'm going to miss you so much Uncle Darryl. There will never be another Chocolate Thunder. Love you so much and going to miss you so much.. — Karl-Anthony Towns
Condolences to the family of Darryl Dawkins, a great man! Your smile personality and energy will truly be missed!!! — Allen Iverson (@alleniverson) August 27, 2015
SAD SAD SAD, thoughts and prayers to the Dawkins Family.. Your smile will be missed my friend..… — Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) August 27, 2015
R.I.P to Darryl Dawkins aka chocolate thunder! #LeagueLegend! #PrayersUp 🙏🏽 — Andre Roberson
RIP Darryl Dawkins… Dr Dunk… Chocolate Thunder… one of THE nicest men… you will be missed. Prayers to his family, friends & fans — Gabrielle Union
RIP to Darryl Dawkins aka "Chocolate Thunder" – a great man, entertainer, athlete and ferocious dunker. He will be missed but not forgotten. — Kevin Johnson
Sad to hear the news. RIP Darryl Dawkins. Was definitely a pleasure working with you. #NYFamily
— Essence T. Carson (@Pr3pE) August 27, 2015
R.I.P to Orlando florida's own "Chocolate Thunder" Darryl Dawkins. You will be missed my friend. You paved … — Vince Carter
Damn RIP #DarrylDawkins aka Chocolate Thunder 🙏🏾🙏🏾🏀 😔 — Anthony Morrow
Sad day. We lost Darryl Dawkins today. #NBAFamily #Pioneer — Mateen Cleaves (@Mateen_Cleaves) August 27, 2015