Elvin Shepherd

AKA:

Shep

Birth Name:

Elvin J. Shepherd

Birth Date:

May 28, 1923

Birth Place:

Alexandria, Virginia

Death Date:

June 2, 1995

Place of Death:

Buffalo, New York

Age:

Cause of Death:

Undisclosed

Cemetery Name:

Forest Lawn Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Music

Elvin "Shep" Shepherd was a legendary saxophonist whose career spanned half a century. He traveled with such big name bands as Buck Clayton, Bill Doggett, Billy Ekstine, Erskin Hawkins, Lucky Milinder, and Nat Towles. During his storied career he also accompanied such artists as Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Ray Price, Della Reese, and Dakota Staton.

Fun fact: Drafted into the military at the age of 18, Shep went off to camp Pickett, Virginia for basic training where he made the acquaintance of members in an Army band and started sitting in with them on officers club jobs. Shep was on a troop train headed for Camp Barkley, in Ailene, Texas and made a stop in St Louis for a 5-6 hour layover. Shep and some of the guys made for place called the Hawaiian Club to hear a new band with a promising young, but unknown trumpeter named Miles Davis, and Shep recalls, “I gave him some tips on playing the trumpet”.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Forest Lawn Cemetery

1411 Delaware Ave

Buffalo, New York, 14209

USA

North America

Map:

Grave Location:

Section 36, Lot 31-N 2/3, Space: 2

Grave Location Description

Behind the mausoleum about 100 feet from the road, even with the back-side glass doors to the mausoleum

Grave Location GPS

42.92832937,-78.85753384

Photos:

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FAQ's

Elvin Shepherd was born on May 28, 1923.

Elvin Shepherd was born in Alexandria, Virginia.

Elvin Shepherd died on June 2, 1995.

Elvin Shepherd died in Buffalo, New York.

Elvin Shepherd was 72.

The cause of death was Undisclosed.

Elvin Shepherd's grave is in Forest Lawn Cemetery

Videos Featuring Elvin Shepherd:

Watch YouTube video titled Elvin Shepherd plays the sax solo on the Bill Doggett 1964 track

Elvin Shepherd plays the sax solo on the Bill Doggett 1964 track "Fatso"

Watch YouTube video titled Elvin Shepherd plays the sax on the Bill Doggett 1964 track

Elvin Shepherd plays the sax on the Bill Doggett 1964 track "Mudcat"

See More:

Dinah Washington

popular name: Dinah Washington

date_of_death: December 14, 1963

age: 39

cause_of_death: Accidental overdose - prescription diet and sleep medication mixed with alcohol

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Dinah Washington was an American singer and pianist who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and traditional pop music and gave herself the title of "Queen of the Blues". It all started when she won a talent show at the age of 15. Shortly after she teamed up with Lionel Hampton and stayed with his orchestra until 1946. Going solo she released a diverse catalog of hits for the mainstream black population including Hank William's "Cold, Cold Heart," the Orioles "It's Too Soon To Know" and her biggest hit of the 1940s "Baby, Get Lost". Washington continued her chart success maintaining a spot on the Top 10 R&B charts from 1949 through 1955 with "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "What A Difference A Day Makes". In July 1963, football great Dick "Night Train" Lane married jazz singer Dinah Washington at a ceremony in Las Vegas. It was the sixth marriage for Washington and the second for Lane. Just five months later early in the morning of December 14, 1963, Lane went to sleep with Washington who awoke later to find her slumped over and not responsive. She was pronounced her dead at the scene at age 39. An autopsy later showed a lethal combination of secobarbital and amobarbital, prescriptions for her insomnia and diet, which contributed to her death. She was a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. She was laid to rest at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.

Elvin Shepherd