Those We Lost
Those We Lost — August 13
Aug
Honoring those we lost on August 13 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.
Caterina Jarboro
Birth name: Katherine Lee Yarborough
Born Jul 24, 1898 — died Aug 13, 1986
Opera singer and pioneering Black prima donna on the American opera stage.
Jarboro built an international career in Europe before returning to the United States, where she sang the title role in Aida with the Chicago Civic Opera at the New York Hippodrome. Her performance made her the first Black woman to sing a leading role with an all-white American opera company.
Ed Townsend
Full name: Edward Benjamin Townsend
Born Apr 16, 1929 — died Aug 13, 2003
Singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, and Korean War veteran.
Townsend wrote and recorded the R&B classic “For Your Love” and later co-wrote and produced Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” Across decades of work, he joined sophisticated songwriting with gospel, doo-wop, and soul traditions.
Tina Brooks
Birth name: Harold Floyd Brooks
Born Jun 7, 1932 — died Aug 13, 1974
Tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and hard bop recording artist.
Brooks developed a lyrical but muscular tenor sound through sessions with Jimmy Smith, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Burrell, and other Blue Note artists. Though much of his work went unreleased during his lifetime, albums such as True Blue later established him as a major hard bop voice.
King Curtis
Birth name: Curtis Ousley
Born Feb 7, 1934 — died Aug 13, 1971
Saxophonist, bandleader, arranger, producer, and R&B session musician.
Curtis joined gospel intensity, jazz technique, and rhythm-and-blues drive on records including “Soul Twist” and “Memphis Soul Stew.” As Aretha Franklin’s musical director and a sought-after session player, he helped make the saxophone a defining voice in postwar Black popular music.
Joe Tex
Birth name: Joseph Arrington Jr.
Born Aug 8, 1935 — died Aug 13, 1982
Soul singer, songwriter, performer, and Southern soul storyteller.
Tex mixed gospel phrasing, humor, spoken sermons, and dance-floor energy on hits including “Hold What You’ve Got,” “Skinny Legs and All,” and “I Gotcha.” His theatrical performances and conversational songwriting helped shape Southern soul and funk.
