R.I.P. Cornelius Bumpus ( Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan )

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

R.I.P. Cornelius Bumpus

We do spend a lot of time mourning “superstars,” but it would be wrong to ignore the passing of one of pop music’s great musicians. Cornelius Bumpus, 54, was an original member of the Doobie Brothers and a favorite of Steely Dan, a horn player extraordinaire. His death on Tuesday (a heart attack on a flight to a gig) is a real tragedy. He will be sorely missed.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

[dfwgator]

Saw him play with both the Doobies and Steely Dan. Talented musician, and a pretty darn good singer too. RIP.

[Phantom Lord]

Was he the neighbor with the smelly hounds in A Christmas Story?

[tear_down_this_wall]

Love the Doobies.

"Bumpus" to the top.

[VANHALEN2002]

Bummer. I saw him with the Doobies as well. Great player and always looked super cool on stage!

[leadpencil1]

I just saw him with SD at the Oakdale Theatre in CT a couple of months ago. He was awsome, and I remember the drummer they had was really good too. Looked like a 15 year old kid. RIP.

[blackdog]

Sigh......He wasn't just any major dude here in the western world. Doctor Wu will peg the cause of death by black friday. I hope he's buried in his bad sneakers, and I hope his wife Josie feels sorry about that Hatian Divorce.

[Constitution Day]

LOL

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 4 (AP) — Cornelius Bumpus, a saxophonist and former member of the Doobie Brothers band who has performed with Steely Dan since 1993, died on Tuesday on the way to a series of performances in California. He was 58.

He died of a heart attack on a flight from New York, said a friend, Rod Harris.



Mr. Bumpus began his career at 10, playing alto saxophone in the school band in Santa Cruz, Calif.

While still a student at Santa Cruz High School in the early 60's, he founded Corny and the Corvettes, a teenage pop band that played school dances.

In 1966, he spent six months performing with Bobby Freeman. In 1977 he joined the group called Moby Grape, writing one tune for the "Live Grape" album. He also recorded two solo albums and toured with his own band.

Since performing with the Doobie Brothers in the early 1980's, Mr. Bumpus played with a number of bands, most recently with Steely Dan, which won the Album of the Year Grammy for its 2000 CD "Two Against Nature."

His relations with his former Doobie Brothers bandmates turned contentious in the late 1990's when they sued him and several other musicians over use of the Doobie Brothers name. A federal judge in 1999 ruled against Mr. Bumpus and the other musicians.

Mr. Bumpus is survived by his wife, Linda, and four children.

[guitfiddlist]

Amen, and on to the New Frontier. I'll never forget how disco came in like a Doomsday asteroid - long about when Steely Dan and the Doobies were leading the rock revolution into its zenith. But...that's just my parochial perspective from a mid-forties perch.

[facedown]

RIP brothaman.

[SF Republican]

I believe Tuesday was also the anniversary of the "Day the Music Died"; Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper died in the plane crash (Waylon Jennings lost the coin flip and had to take the bus)on that fateful night Feb 3, 1959

[blackdog]

Yeah, especially that awkward Michael McDonald Doobies era. Talented both, but very uncomfortable to listen to.