Musical icon Dave "Baby" Cortez chose the latter, a passing that served as a stark contrast to the jubilant, soulful and often dance-worthy music he made throughout his life.
From the '80s on, it was rare Cortez was seen in public, and rarer still that he gave an interview. He never officially quit the music business, but his actions spoke for him. As time wore on, he was spotted less and less frequently, and even his daughter, Taryn Sheffield, lost touch with the increasingly more reclusive songwriter.
By the time she was informed of his passing in 2022, Sheffield had not seen nor heard from her father in 13 years. As it turns out, she'd only been contacted at all because BMI, the organization responsible for distributing the royalties from his music, needed to find next of kin in order to issue future payments.
In 2012, Cortez granted a rare interview to the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), and the video remains one of the few pieces of archival footage of the songwriter in existence. In it, he chronicles the moment he found out, "The Happy Organ," had become an overnight success. At the time, he was in the midst of touring the country with a number of other acts, including Jimmy Clanton, Freddy Cannon and Fabian.
"The Happy Organ" was groundbreaking in more ways than one. Not only was it the first instrumental song to reach the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100, but it also marked the first time an organ had been so heavily featured in a hit pop/rock single.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( ‘50s Music Icon Quietly Died Three Years Ago, Daughter Now Reveals )
Also on site :