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:
72
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

Read More About Elvin Shepherd:

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"

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Victor Borge

popular name: Victor Borge

date_of_death: December 23, 2000

age: 91

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Victor Borge was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in both North America and Europe. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nickname "The Clown Prince of Denmark". Borge played his first major concert in 1926 at the Danish Odd Fellow Palæet (The Odd Fellow's Lodge building) concert hall. After a few years as a classical concert pianist, he started his now famous stand-up act with the signature blend of piano music and jokes. Borge appeared on Toast of the Town hosted by Ed Sullivan several times during 1948. He started the Comedy in Music show at John Golden Theatre in New York City on October 2, 1953. Comedy in Music became the longest running one-man show in the history of theater with 849 performances when it closed on 21 January 1956, a feat which placed it in the Guinness Book of World Records. Continuing his success with tours and shows, Borge played with and conducted orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and London Philharmonic. Always modest, he felt honored when he was invited to conduct the Royal Danish Orchestra at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1992. His later television appearances included his "Phonetic Punctuation" routine on The Electric Company in a filmed sketch. He would also use this sketch on The Electric Company's subsequent LP record, during its "Punctuation" song. In addition, he appeared several times on Sesame Street, and he was a guest star during the fourth season of The Muppet Show. Victor Borge continued to tour until his last days, performing up to 60 times per year when he was 90 years old.

Brian Connolly

popular name: Brian Connolly

date_of_death: February 9, 1997

age: 51

cause_of_death: Kidney failure, liver failure and repeated heart attacks

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: As lead singer for the glam band Sweet, Brian Connolly and Sweet enjoyed a string of hits “Block Buster” topping the chart, followed by three consecutive number two hits in “Hell Raiser”, “The Ballroom Blitz” and “Teenage Rampage“. Their first self-written and produced single “Fox on the Run” also reached No.2 on the UK charts. Unfortunately a wicked smoking habit, excessive alcohol consumption and a vicious attack outside a nightclub in Staines all caused damage to his vocal chords and he was forced to leave the band.

Bob Wills

popular name: Bob Wills

date_of_death: May 13, 1975

age: 70

cause_of_death: Complications from a stroke and pneumonia

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Bob Wills was a bandleader, fiddler, singer, and songwriter who is the most famous exponent of the popular musical genre now known as western swing, which synthesized ragtime, traditional fiddling, New Orleans jazz, blues, Mexican songs, and big band swing. Wills, along with his band the Texas Playboys, toured and recorded nonstop throughout the 1940s and early 1950s amassing dozens of hits including "Steel Guitar Rag", "New San Antonio Rose", "Smoke On The Water", "New Spanish Two Step" and "Faded Love." Wills had a heart attack in 1962 and a second one the next year, which forced him to disband the Playboys, although Wills continued to perform solo. He was recording an album with fan Merle Haggard in 1973 when a stroke left him comatose for 17 months until his death in 1975. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Wills and the Texas Playboys in 1999.

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