Obituaries: Dickie Peterson, Brendan Mullen, Stephen Gately

• Blue Cheer bassist-singer Dickie Peterson died yesterday in Germany after developing an infection following surgery to treat prostate and liver cancer, Blabbermouth reports. Peterson, 61 (pictured above) was a founding member of the hard-rock trio whose debut Vincebus Eruptum remains a heavy-metal landmark.

• Brendan Mullen, a pioneer behind the scenes of the Los Angeles punk scene, passed away from a sudden stroke Monday in L.A., Variety reports. Mullen founded legendary club the Masque in 1977, where the Germs and X performed legendary gigs; he later became a booker at Club Lingerie and co-wrote We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. His final book was the Jane's Addiction oral history Whores, which was published in 2005.
• Stephen Gately of Irish boy band Boyzone died unexpectedly while on vacation with his boyfriend in Majorca, ABC News reports. Gately, 33, suffered a buildup of fluid in his lungs that led to respiratory failure.

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  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
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  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
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  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
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  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

More Song Stories entries »

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