Complications

Dennis Yost passed away of respiratory failure, on December 7, 2008, at the age of 65 

Dennis Yost was a singer & a drummer of Classics IV, a pop rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, in 1965. Their signature songs include "Spooky" and "Stormy".

Dennis Yost became seriously ill. On July 11, 2006, while recovering at home in a suburb of Cincinnati, Yost fell down a flight of stairs and suffered serious brain trauma. Although Yost subsequently underwent a significant amount of rehabilitation, he was never again able to perform. Since Yost's unique voice was integral to the Classics IV sound, his injury effectively placed the group on hiatus.

To assist Yost and his wife with their medical bills, a benefit concert was held on March 25, 2007, at Rhino's Live in Cincinnati, Ohio, the benefit was originally thought up by Yost's close friend Jon "Bowser" Bauman. Many musical entertainers and some surprise guests from the 1950’s through the 70’s performed some of their biggest chart-topping hits in tribute to Dennis Yost, backed by local favorites, BlueStone Ivory and Classics IV guitarist Brian Correll. An interesting note to the benefit concert is that it didn't benefit Dennis or his wife financially. Without question the benefit was a huge boost for Dennis allowing him to see and visit with so many old friends, but the expenses far exceeded the money raised leaving the whole event in the red.

Dennis Yost passed away of respiratory failure, on December 7, 2008, at the age of 65

Irving Brecher (January 17, 1914, New York City -  November 17, 2008, Los Angeles) enjoyed early success as a screenwriter for the Marx Brothers; he was the only writer to get sole credit on a Marx Brothers film including At the Circus in 1939 and Go West in 1940. He was also one of the numerous uncredited writers on the screenplay of 1939's The Wizard of Oz. Some of his other screenplays were Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), Ziegfeld Follies (1946) and Bye Bye Birdie (1963).

He wrote and directed Sail A Crooked Ship starring Ernie Kovacs and a young Robert Wagner.
He received an Academy Award nomination in 1944 for his screenplay of Meet Me in St Louis.
His memoir is scheduled for 2008 publication by Ben Yehuda Press

Death of Irving Brecher
Irving Brecher died of age-related causes at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Irving Brecher was 94 years old at the time of his death.

Ray Ellis (July 28, 1923 Philadelphia - October 27, 2008 Encino, California) was an American record producer, arranger and conductor. The orchestration for Billie Holiday's Lady in Satin is perhaps his best known work in the jazz vein.

Ellis arranged many hit records in the 1950s and 1960s. Included are classics such as "A Certain Smile" by Johnny Mathis; Broken Hearted Melody by Sarah Vaughan; and "Standing On The Corner" by the Four Lads. In 1970 he produced Emmylou Harris' debut LP Gliding Bird.

Ellis work encompassed all areas of music, from records to film, commercials, and television. His television theme music credits include NBC News At Sunrise with Connie Chung and the original cartoon series Spider-Man. In the early 1960s, Ellis had a contract to produce his own easy listening record albums with RCA Victor, MGM, and Columbia, the most popular probably being Ellis in Wonderland.

Death of Ray Ellis
Ray Ellis died of complications from melanoma
Ray Ellis was 85 years old at the age of his death.

Merl Saunders (February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008) was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ.

Born in San Mateo, California, Saunders gained notice in the 1970s when he began collaborating with Jerry Garcia, with the Grateful Dead and with Garcia's bands The Legion of Mary and Reconstruction.

Death of Merl Saunders
Merl Saunders died in San Francisco, California on the morning of October 24, 2008, after fighting infections as a result of complications related to the stroke which he suffered in 2002.  Merl Saunders was 74 years old at the time of his death.

Biography
He led his own bands, as Merl Saunders and Friends, playing live dates with Garcia, as well as Mike Bloomfield, David Grisman, Tom Fogerty, Vassar Clements, Kenneth Nash, John Kahn and Sheila E.

He has worked with musicians Paul Pena, Bonnie Raitt, Phish, Miles Davis, and B. B. King. Merl also recorded with The Dinosaurs, a "supergroup" of first-generation Bay Area rock musicians.

Johnny Cash won about 10 or more grammys (a LOT)

Johnny Cash (February 26, 1932 - September 12, 2003) was a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Primarily a country music artist, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll (especially early in his career), as well as blues, folk and gospel.

He sold over 90 million albums in his nearly fifty-year career and came to occupy a "commanding position in music history".

Illness & Death of Johnny Cash
In 1997, Cash was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease Shy-Drager syndrome. The diagnosis was later altered to autonomic neuropathy associated with diabetes. This illness forced Cash to curtail his touring. He was hospitalized in 1998 with severe pneumonia, which damaged his lungs.

Johnny Cash died less than four months after his wife June Carter Cash's death in Nashville, Tennessee. He was interred next to his wife in Hendersonville Memory Gardens near his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Johnny Cash was 71 years old at the time of his death.

Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire