James G. Aton (1925 – September 16, 2008), best known as Jim Aton or Jimmy Aton, was an American jazz bassist, pianist, vocalist and composer. He worked with numerous notable artists including Billie Holiday, Anita O'Day and Bill Evans. He appeared in films such as Bop Girl Goes Calypso (1957) with the Bobby Troup Trio, Roustabout (1964) with Elvis Presley and Barbara Stanwyck, and in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969) with Jane Fonda.
Jack Hamilton Beeson (July 15, 1921 – June 6, 2010) was an American composer. He was known particularly for his operas, the best known of which are Lizzie Borden, Hello Out There!, and The Sweet Bye and Bye.
Merrill Everett Moore (26 September 1923 – 14 June 2000) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader whose style influenced rockabilly music during the 1950s.
He was born in Algona, Iowa, and learned piano as a child. By the age of 12 he was performing occasionally on a Des Moines radio station. After leaving school he joined the Chuck Hall Band, which played in local ballrooms, before serving in the US Navy during World War II. He then married, and moved with his wife to Tucson, Arizona and then San Diego, where he worked as a clothes salesman and performed in clubs, often with guitarist Arkie Geurin. He became a full-time musician in 1950, and formed his own band, the Saddle, Rock and Rhythm Boys, who played boogie-woogie and Western swing at the Buckaroo Club. He signed with Capitol Records in 1952 and recorded a string of singles, the most successful of which was a version of "The House of Blue Lights" in 1953. Ken Nelson of Capitol Records invited him to take part in a national tour, but Jimmy Kennedy, the owner of the Buckaroo Club, refused to allow Moore to break his contract to take part.According to Steve Huey of Allmusic, Moore's "unique style fused Western swing, boogie-woogie, and early R&B in a melting pot that many critics felt was a distinct influence on rockabilly, especially Jerry Lee Lewis." His music was later highly regarded by rockabilly fans, especially in Europe, although Moore himself said: "We didn't have the idea we were pioneering anything. We were just trying to make a living.... Rock and roll to me was a completely different sound. The rhythm section was incomplete, it was too hard, and it didn't swing...."
Moore continued to record for Capitol in the 1950s, but in 1955 walked out on his contract with Kennedy and moved to Los Angeles. There, he became a regular, along with Tennessee Ernie Ford, on Cliffie Stone's radio program Hometown Jamboree, and also worked as a session pianist for Capitol, appearing on records by Tommy Sands, Johnny Cash, Faron Young, Kay Starr and others. In 1962 he moved back to San Diego, and returned to playing hotels and clubs.He died from cancer in 2000, at the age of 76.
Donald George Johanos (February 10, 1928 – May 29, 2007) was a conductor and music director with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. He was recognized for his support of contemporary classical music. He performed or conducted on at least 16 recordings.
Addison Gerald Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa – February 20, 1963, New York City) was an American jazz bassist. He was the twin brother of Art Farmer.
William Edward Daily (August 30, 1927 – September 4, 2018) was an American actor and comedian known for his sitcom work as Major Roger Healey on I Dream of Jeannie, and Howard Borden on The Bob Newhart Show.
David Rakowski (born June 13, 1958, St. Albans, Vermont) is an American composer and typeface designer. He studied under such composers as Robert Ceely, John Heiss, Milton Babbitt, Peter Westergaard, Paul Lansky, and Luciano Berio. In 2006, he was awarded the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's 2004–2006 Elise L. Stoeger Prize. He has twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Music: in 1999 for Persistent Memory and in 2002 for his second symphony Ten of a Kind.He has released dozens of typefaces since the 1990s, mostly as freeware, which include both original designs and revivals (such as "Lemiesz" – a free version of Publicity Gothic, 1916 – and "Harting", a typewriter face in the "grunge" style.)
Bill Jennings (September 12, 1919 – November 29, 1978) was an American jazz guitarist and composer.
Duane Tatro (May 18, 1927 – August 9, 2020) was an American composer. Born in Los Angeles, he served in the United States Navy during World War II and he graduated from the University of Southern California. He became a composer for many television series, including Dynasty, The Love Boat, Barnaby Jones, M*A*S*H, Mannix, and The F.B.I..
Fred Punahoa Konanui (also spelled "Punahou") (April 25, 1919 - March 10, 1985) was a Hawaiian musician and slack key guitar player from Kalapana, Hawaii. Though only two known recordings exist of "Uncle Fred," he remains one of the most influential slack key artists of all time.
His legacy as a teacher can be attested to by such prominent students as Ledward Kaapana and Sonny Lim, both now-famous slack key guitarists who credit Uncle Fred as a primary teacher and inspiration.
The only known recordings of Konanui consist of two songs from the 1974 Waimea Music Festival CD, which were given generic titles on the track list but have since become known as "Mauna Loa Slack Key", and "Punahoa Special". These songs are now standards in the slack key cannon, covered by Led, Sonny Lim, Makana, Nick Borho, and many other slack key guitarists.