Saturday, May 22, 2010

Dead Page: Music Executive-- Singer-- ATMs

BOB MERCER, 65, May 5th

A music industry responsible for signing the Sex Pistols, Queen and Olivia Newton-John. In 1990, he helped launch Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Records. He was also the chief executive of the Now That's What I Call Music albums series that now is up to the 33rd one and have sold 97 million CDs since its 1997 launch. It is essentially the successor to the K=Tel albums of the 70s and 80s.

I have probably all but about six of these compilation albums.


LEN HORNE, 92, May 9th

Jazz singer and actress best known for her version of "Stormy Weather" which I regard as one of the best songs ever recorded. She helped break the color barrier in entertainment.



JOHN SHEPPARD-BARRON, 84, May 15th

From Scotland, he is credited with inventing the world's first automatic cash machine which made its debut in a north London, England, suburb June 27, 1967. At first he had the idea of a six-digit id number, but his wife talked him out of it saying that was too many to remember. He settled on four.

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