Everyone know Bob Wills, “the King of Western Swing,” but how many know Milton Brown, “the Father of Western Swing?” Brown played with Bob Wills at the beginning of his career, but struck out on his own and formed Milton Brown & his Musical Brownies, the first Western Swing band.
Brown died in a car accident in 1936 cutting short a promising musical career.
I would add Roy Buchanan, who was sort of like Gatton’s mentor.
It all depends on who the “you” is in the title. If it means the general public then yes someone famous only in a niche genre would qualify. This thread is attracting music nerds who delight in knowing niche musicians. That doesn’t mean those musicians are known outside of certain circles. If I asked 100 people who Steve Morse is how many do you think would know him or name any bands he was in?
If I ever die in Denver, that’s how I’d go.
Way back when I was in college and dinosaurs roamed the land, I was walking past the legendary 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia, on my way back to my apartment, when I was stopped by an amazing voice coming from the club. I had to go in to see a band called the Jody Grind. Their music was tight, and the singer, Kelly Hogan, had so much charisma and humor in her performance.
I figured that the band would make a name for themselves - they had opened for R.E.M. and Poi Dog Pondering - but in 1992, a week after the release of their second album, two of the four members of the band were killed in a car crash in Alabama. The two remaining members, one of which was Hogan, disbanded.
She’s since moved to Chicago, has released a couple of solo albums, and is a backup vocalist for Neko Case. She’s also backed up the Decemberists, and sang Simon Zealotes in the Indigo Girls’ 1994 production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Not really outstanding musicianship, perhaps, but for sheer fun and spectacle, it’s hard to beat the Badpiper:
There was an up and coming band a few years later called For Squirrels (good luck trying to Google that!) that met a similar fate. 