Billy on the right end with the guitar
Posted on 11/22/2002 11:47:01 AM PST by JennysCool
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Billy Guy, one of the original members of the Coasters, has been dead since Nov. 5, but his body has not been claimed.
Local entertainers and friends have scheduled a Wednesday fund-raiser so the singer won't have to be buried in an unmarked pauper's grave.
"That's a shame if it comes to that,'' original Coaster Carl Gardner told the Las Vegas Sun for a report in Tuesday's editions. "Billy didn't take the best care of himself, and he didn't save his money. Still, he should be buried and left in peace.''
Guy, who sang baritone on the hits "Searchin''' and "Yakety Yak'' as part of the 1950s vocal quartet, died suddenly of heart disease at age 66.
Friends hope to raise $3,700 to $5,000 for funeral and burial expenses that include a headstone.
Veta Gardner, Carl's wife, said she is asking disc jockeys at oldies stations and others to help.
Friends are trying to locate Guy's estranged children, Peter and Lisa, to persuade them to either claim his body or give Garden Memorial mortuary permission for cremation, which would reduce costs by about $2,000.
Jerry Copija, the mortuary's director, said Guy's sister from Los Angeles came forward Monday but lacked the money to claim the body.
Guy's girlfriend of more than 30 years, Vanessa Van Klyde, can't claim the body because they were not married.
The Coasters combined doo-wop rhythym-and-blues with an upbeat rock sound and were best known for comedic, narrative songs such as "Charlie Brown,'' nearly all of them penned by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
Guy wrote some songs, including "Wake Me, Shake Me.'' The group was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
Two local organizations Grace Ministries and The Cast Inc., will hold a Wednesday fund-raiser to help pay for Guy's burial. Randy Poe, spokesman for Leiber and Stoller, said Monday that the songwriters also will help.
Chuck Rubin of Artists Rights Enforcement Corp., a New York-based company that collects royalties on behalf of Guy and other musicians, said his organization will match Leiber and Stoller's donation.
"We have an obligation, a moral responsibility, to get involved,'' Rubin said. "Billy entertained millions of people with a beautiful expression of Leiber and Stoller's music, giving it a voice that will live forever.''
Jerry Copija, the mortuary's director, said Guy's sister from Los Angeles came forward Monday but lacked the money to claim the body.
What is he, a hostage?
Guy's girlfriend of more than 30 years, Vanessa Van Klyde, can't claim the body because they were not married.
Pardon me, but if the law won't allow Van Klyde to claim the body but she has the money to do so, and his sister doesn't have the money but has the legal right...
*sigh* Our society is so messed up at times.
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