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:

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

Read More About Elvin Shepherd:

Videos Featuring Elvin Shepherd:

See More:

Les Brown

popular name: Les Brown

date_of_death: January 4, 2001

age: 88

cause_of_death: Lung cancer

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Les Brown was an American musician, big band leader and composer best known for his nearly seven decades of work with the big band Les Brown and His Band of Renown (1938-2001). The Band of Renown began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils, led by Brown while he was a student at Duke University. During his tenure the band had ten number-one hit songs including "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm", "Sweet and Hot" and "Sentimental Journey" featuring Doris Day. Les Brown and the Band of Renown also performed with Bob Hope on radio, stage and television for almost fifty years. They did 18 USO Tours for American troops around the world, and entertained over three million people. Les Brown was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Today the band performs under the direction of his son, Les Brown, Jr.

Johnnie Ray

popular name: Johnnie Ray

date_of_death: February 24, 1990

age: 63

cause_of_death: Hepatic encephalopathy resulting from liver failure

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: In the early 1950s, Johnnie Ray was arguably the biggest musical star in the world. His emotional singing and sexually suggestive performances earned him the titles "The Prince of Wails," "The Cry Guy," and "The Million Dollar Teardrop," and put him at the top of the music charts. From Sydney to Chicago to London, teenage riots erupted wherever Ray performed. Sadly his songs seemed hopelessly dated after "Rock Around The Clock" came out, let alone "Hound Dog" or "Maybelline." If that wasn't bad enough, an ear surgery in 1958 robbed him of even more of his hearing.

Ronnie James Dio

popular name: Ronnie James Dio

date_of_death: May 16, 2010

age: 67

cause_of_death: Stomach cancer

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Ronnie James Dio was an American heavy metal singer, songwriter and composer who is considered by many to be one of the great heavy metal vocalist. He fronted or founded numerous groups throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven & Hell. His successful career began in 1967 when he formed the rock band Elf, which became a regular opening act for Deep Purple. In 1975, Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore founded the band Rainbow and hired Dio to be his lead singer; during his tenure, the band released three studio albums. Dio quickly emerged as one of heavy rock's pre-eminent vocalists. In 1979, Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne as Black Sabbath's lead singer and appeared on three studio albums with the band, all three of which met with success: Heaven & Hell (1980), Mob Rules (1981) and Dehumanizer (1992). In 1982, he left to form the band Dio, which itself had two albums certified platinum by the RIAA. In 2006, he founded the band Heaven & Hell with ex-bandmate Tony Iommi. He was awarded the "Metal Guru Award" by Classic Rock Magazine in 2006. He was also named the "Best Metal singer" at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in 2010 and ranked as the genre's best vocalist in 2013 by music journalist Sacha Jenkins.

Back to Top