RIP Did you know ..... Gone Too Soon!

I wanted to dedicate this piece to the unsung heroes who have passed away that few were aware of.  This past twelve months we lost some major heavyweights in the music industry largely black artists, and some who were major influences of r&b music. How can we forget Vesta Williams, Heavy D, Amy Winehouse, Etta James, Don Cornelius, Dick Clark, Nick Ashford, Hal Jackson, Yvette Wilson and Whitney.  Most of those names get 'real' media attention but the list below didn't get the notable mentions that they deserve.  I will continue this column to 'honor' the unsung heroes because their life mattered too, and we're greatful for their body of work.

                                           
R&B duo "Damian Dame" (pictured above) consisted of Debra Jean Hurd aka "Deah Dame," and Bruce Edward Brodus aka Damian. They were the first act signed to the "LaFace," label by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Antonio "L.A." Reid. They were famous for the following hits, "Exclusivity," and "Right Down To It".   Deah would die delivering pizza in an car accident on June 27, 1994. She was 35 years old. Damian would die on the same day (June 27th) two years later of colon cancer .

Singer Richard "Dimples" Fields (pictured above) was famous for the songs, "If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another," and "She's Got Papers On Me." Fields would die of an massive stroke on Jan. 12th, 2000. He was 58 years old.

Edmund Sylvers (pictured above) was the lead singer of the group "The Sylvers." At age 47, he would succumb to lung cancer on March 11th 2004, following a 10-month illness. The Sylvers hits include: "Boogie Fever," and "Hot Line."  Sylvers was 15 when he started singing with six other members of his family on their self-titled debut album in 1972. His high tenor voice was the centerpiece of such songs as "Fool's Paradise." From five albums, other songs by the group included "Cotton Candy," "That's What Love Is Made Of" and "High School Dance. Sylvers made a solo album, "Have You Heard," in 1980 that included the single "That Burning Love".

Actress Teresa Graves (pictured above) appeared on "Laugh-In," and starred in the television series, "Get Christie Love," she popularized the word "sugar," in the series. Graves died in a house fire on October 10th 2002. She was found unconscious in a rear addition to the house where a faulty spare heater sparked the blaze and she was pronounced dead at the scene. It took 50 firefighters, 30 minutes to put the fire out.

Kevin (Dino) Connor, 28, (pictured above) was the lead singer of the group "H-Town." He was killed along with his finacee' on January 28th 2003. Dino and his pregnant fiancee were stopped  at a red light, after they had just left the studio when their vehicle was struck by a speeding SUV crashed into the driver's side of the car, ejecting both Dino and his fiancee' into a parking lot.  The finacee' died on impact and Dino died en route to the hospital.   H-Town rose to prominence with their smash hit, "Knockin The Boots." H-Town also included Dino's fraternal twin brother Shazam.

**May they all RIP, next week I'll tell your some more stories on the industry's 'Truly Unsung' artists gone by not forgotten. Remember People will live on as long as your remember them**