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:

[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]

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:

See More:

Lucio Dalla

popular name: Lucio Dalla

date_of_death: March 1, 2012

age: 68

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Lucio Dalla was a popular Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor who belonged to a genre of Italian songwriters known as “cantautori,” whose lyrics gave voice to the aspirations and frustrations of a postwar generation seeking societal change. Even at a young age he was playing professionally and at 16 he performed with Chet Baker, the American jazz trumpeter, whom he credited as one of his main influences. However it wasn't until 1971 when he catapulted to fame with a series of albums that sold well and drew critical acclaim. One of his best-known songs, “Caruso,” sold millions of copies and has been recorded by a long list of singers including Julio Iglesias, Luciano Pavarotti and Josh Groban. Dalla’s popularity continued and spanned decades and even the month before his death, he participated in the San Remo Festival of Italian song, a popular competition. In addition to his own albums, Dalla also composed songs for famous Italian film directors such as Mario Monicelli, Michelangelo Antonioni, Pupi Avati, Carlo Verdone and Michele Placido. He also wrote an opera inspired by Puccini’s Tosca. Interested in all forms of art, Dalla was also the curator of a contemporary art gallery in Bologna. Upon his death, he was laid to rest at Cimitero Monumentale della Certosa di Bologna in Italy.

Johnny Hodges

popular name: Johnny Hodges

date_of_death: May 11, 1970

age: 62

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Johnny Hodges was one of the most influential alto saxophonists in jazz history and is best known for his long association with Duke Ellington. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1907 and raised in nearby Boston, Hodges began as a pianist and drummer before focusing on saxophone. By the late 1920s he had joined Ellington’s orchestra, where his rich tone, lyrical phrasing, and expressive vibrato quickly made him one of the band’s standout soloists. For nearly four decades—mainly from 1928 until his death in 1970—Hodges helped define the Ellington sound, delivering memorable performances on compositions such as Passion Flower, Isfahan, and Prelude to a Kiss. During the early 1950s Hodges briefly left Ellington to lead his own small groups, recording popular rhythm-and-blues–inflected instrumentals and albums for labels like Verve Records. Despite this successful period as a bandleader, he rejoined the Ellington Orchestra in 1955 and remained a central figure in the ensemble’s recordings and international tours. Renowned for his smooth, blues-tinged style and elegant ballad playing, Hodges influenced generations of saxophonists and remains a defining voice of swing-era jazz.

Charles Aznavour

popular name: Charles Aznavour

date_of_death: October 1, 2018

age: 94

cause_of_death: Cardiorespiratory arrest complicated by an acute pulmonary edema

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Charles Aznavour was a French singer of Armenian ancestry, as well as a songwriter, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringing in its upper reaches, with gravelly and profound low notes. In a career as a composer, singer and songwriter spanning over 70 years, he recorded more than 1,200 songs interpreted in 9 languages. Moreover, he wrote or co-wrote more than 1,000 songs for himself and others. Aznavour is regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time and an icon of 20th-century pop culture. Between 1974 and 2016, Charles Aznavour received over sixty gold and platinum records around the world. According to his record company, the total sales of the artist's recordings were over 180 million units.

Back to Top