The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars (388 page)

By the time of his final record,
Guru 8.0: Lost and Found
(2009), the artist had already fallen very ill with cancer, a condition that–according to Solaar–Guru had chosen to keep from his huge fanbase. In February of 2010, however, the news became public knowledge after Guru suffered a cardiac arrest, briefly slipping into a coma. Despite reports suggesting that he’d recovered following surgery, the rapper/writer died at New York’s Good Samaritan hospital.

From his bed, Guru had composed a message for his fans to be read in the event of his passing, which suggested strongly that the seven-year ‘feud’ with Premier had not been resolved: ‘I do not wish my ex-DJ to have anything to do with my name, likeness, events, tributes, etc, connected in any way to my situation including any use of my name or circumstance for any reason, and I have instructed my lawyers to enforce this. I had nothing to do with him in life for over seven years and want nothing to do with him in death. Solaar has my life story and is well informed on my family situation, as well as the real reason for separating from my ex-DJ.’

However, the brooding controversy didn’t dissipate even after Guru’s passing. Bad feeling broke out between MC Solaar and the Elam family, who believed that he was keeping them from the late star. Relations and fans then went further, suggesting that the rapper
hadn’t
regained consciousness, and that Solaar must have manufactured the letter himself. This extraordinary accusation saw the producer–suddenly dubbed ‘hip-hop’s bad guy’–go to great emotional length to deny the rumour in interview. But, despite the MC having little motivation to falsify events, there remain many who doubt his word to this day.

Thursday 22

Ann Vervoort

(Belgium, 10 March 1977)

Milk Inc.

Having initially trained as a graphic artist, Ann Vervoort was for three years a dancer and singer with successful Belgian dance act Milk Inc. alongside John Miles Jr, whose father had scored seventies pop hits in Britain and America. The band–who dared issue albums with titles like
Apocalypse Cow
(1997)–became a huge draw across Europe, scoring major hits in Britain with their trance-flavoured output.

Vervoort–who had replaced first vocalist Sofie Winters–didn’t enjoy the best of starts, courting a modicum of controversy after it was learned that she
hadn’t
sung on the band’s records (her ‘voice’ having been provided by Karine Boelaerts). But Vervoort looked the part, and Milk Inc.’s label complained little when sales continued to soar, the group scaling the Belgian charts with the pleasing-enough ‘Walk on Water’ (2000, UK Top Ten). Perhaps her nose had been put out of joint, as Vervoort left soon after this success to found the Ibiza-based record label Beni Musa.

Ann Vervoort was found dead at her home in Houthalen-Helchteren, apparently the victim of a prescription drug overdose. The singer was believed to have become dependent upon painkillers after a work accident; a post-mortem also revealed an excessive amount of alcohol in her blood.

Golden Oldies #111

Norman Wright

(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 31 October 1937)

The Del(l)-Vikings

(The Valverteens)

Picking the bones out of the complex history of The Dell-Vikings (or Del Vikings/Del-Vikings, as you prefer) is worthy of a book in itself, however it’s safe to say that the vocal group was founded under the first spelling in 1955 by members of the US Air Force in Pittsburgh. The line-up was prone to disruption, given the frequent re-postings of its members; however, it began with Corinthian ‘Kripp’ Johnson (first tenor), Don Jackson (second tenor), Clarence E. Quick (bass), Samuel Paterson (baritone) and Bernard Robertson (third tenor). The duty-bound Paterson and Robertson gave way to Dave Lerchey (the group’s first white member) and the formidable Norman Wright, who quickly established himself as lead tenor.

Wright was a strong presence who’d previously served with The Valverteens, a quartet started at the Amarillo airbase. With The Dell-Vikings, he took the lead on the group’s first major hit, Quick’s ‘Come Go With Me’ (Dot, 1957, US Pop/US R & B Top Five). After this million-seller, the five-piece were in demand; Jackson soon left and was replaced by a second white member, Gus Backus. A second Johnson-led Top Ten hit then arrived with ‘Whispering Bells’ (1958– another Quick composition). However, before it charted came disruption: with the exception of Johnson, all members of the group had signed with Dot as minors, thus could extricate themselves from the contract and find a better one with a major label. Simultaneous to the latest hit therefore came ‘Cool Shake’, a Top Twenty hit on Mercury for the rival Del-Vikings, which now featured Wright, plus Johnson and Quick (ie, the singer and writer of the Dot hit). Further ‘misunderstandings’ came with the next record, ‘When I Come Home’ (1958)–a title claimed by
both
labels. Following a protracted lawsuit, the courts came down in favour of the Mercury group (ie, Wright and co.), who then assumed the name as their own. Johnson’s line-up was now known as The Versatiles - but with rock ‘n’ roll now courting young music fans, further chart success proved elusive for either group.

Instead, Wright and The Del-Vikings concentrated on concert performances. A reunion of the earlier line-up seemed a good idea in 1970, however confusion reigned once more as members came and went, some attempting to form further spin-off groups–the details of which are best left to the experts. For his part, Norman Wright continued to sing with
his
version of The Del-Vikings until passing away in Morristown, New Jersey on 23 April 2010 after a brief illness.

Dell-Vikings founder Johnson died in 1990, Quick havingpassed on seven years previously. Dave Lerchey died in 2005, while later members John Byas (1999), Lou Velez (2008) and Reggie Walker (2010) have also passed away.

Golden Oldies #112

Corrado ‘Connie’ Codarini

(Toronto, Ontario, 1930)

The Four Lads

Later that week, another member of a popular harmony unit passed on–Four Lads founder and bass, Corrado ‘Connie’ Codarini.

Originally a member of The Otnorots (it’s Toronto, backwards) and The Jordonaires (featuring later Crew-Cuts baritone Rudy Maugeri), Codarini did the sensible thing and formed another group with St Michael’s Choir School colleagues Bernie Toorish (tenor), Jimmy Arnold (lead) and Frank Busseri (baritone/manager), The Four Lads bedding in to become an international success during the pre-rock ‘n’ roll era. Mitch Miller picked up the quartet for Columbia Records, where they were initially seen as a back-up group. Thus, a successful ‘marriage’ was made with heart-throb Johnnie Ray, who used The Four Lads on his massive hit ‘Cry’ (1951)–which topped the charts for over a month. (It was such a phenomenal smash that b-side ‘The Little Cloud That Cried’ also made it to number two.) The group also backed Frankie Laine on a few songs.

Codarini and his crew began enjoying hits in their own right the following year. However, it wasn’t until the mid-fifties that The Four Lads started to sell in units that could compete with Ray or Laine. The entertaining ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’ (1953) was their first Top Ten foray, but the group hit real paydirt a couple of years later with the million-sellers ‘Moments to Remember’ (1955, US number two), ‘No, Not Much!’ (1956, US number two) and ‘Standing on the Corner’ (1956, US number three). The group’s breezy style seemed to harness the generations, several albums of trad covers also faring well.

With the hits having dried up by the end of the fifties, Codarini left the music business to become a restaurateur. He reunited a few times with his former quartet for ‘special occasions’, The Four Lads continuing as a popular live draw into the 1980s. ‘Connie’ Codarini’s death came from natural causes in Concord, North Carolina, on 28 April 2010.

See also
Johnnie Ray (
February 1990). Codarini’s replacement in The Four Lads, Johnny d’Arc, died in 1999, while Arnold and Maugeri both passed away in 2004. Frankie Laine died in 2007.

MAY

Golden Oldies #113

Dave Fisher

(New Haven, Connecticut, 19 July 1940)

The Highwaymen

(Various acts)