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:

Blind Willie McTell

popular name: Blind Willie McTell

date_of_death: August 19, 1959

age: 61

cause_of_death: Stroke

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: “Blind Willie” McTell was one of the great blues musicians of the 1920s and 1930s who continued to play through the 1950s. Displaying an extraordinary range on the twelve-string guitar, this Atlanta-based musician recorded more than 120 titles during fourteen recording sessions. His voice was soft and expressive, and his musical tastes were influenced by southern blues, ragtime, gospel, hillbilly, and popular music. At a time when most blues musicians were poorly educated and rarely traveled, McTell was an exception. He could read and write music in Braille. McTell's influence extended over a wide variety of artists, including the Allman Brothers Band, who covered his song "Statesboro Blues", and Bob Dylan, who paid tribute to him in his 1983 song "Blind Willie McTell" and covered a number of his songs throughout his career. Blind Willie was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1981.

John Phillips

popular name: John Phillips

date_of_death: March 18, 2001

age: 65

cause_of_death: Heart Failure, end stage liver disease, cirrhosis and sepsis

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: He is famous for his role in organizing the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, his incestuous relationship with his daughter Mackenzie, oh and I almost forgot - as a member and leader of the vocal group The Mamas and the Papas. And it was said that his destructive tendencies were too florid even for Keith Richards, who once kicked Phillips out of his house for being too out-of-control. Be that as it may, in addition to writing the majority of the group's compositions including "California Dreamin'", "Monday, Monday", "I Saw Her Again", "Creeque Alley", and "Dedicated to the One I Love", he also wrote "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" in 1967 for former Journeymen bandmate Scott McKenzie as well as the oft-covered "Me and My Uncle", which was a favorite in the repertoire of the Grateful Dead.

Billy Joe Royal

popular name: Billy Joe Royal

date_of_death: October 6, 2015

age: 73

cause_of_death: Died in his sleep

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Billy Joe Royal was a Georgia-born singer who debuted on Columbia Records with "Down in the Boondocks" in 1965, which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. But he struggled to match his initial success with his subsequent records and starting in the late 1980s, he reinvented himself as a country singer. He was known for songs like "I'll Pin a Note on Your Pillow," ''Tell it Like it is" and "Till I Can't Take it Anymore" and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1988. Upon his death, he was laid to rest at Greenwood Cemetery in Morehead City, NC.

Back to Top