Those We Lost — September 29

Honoring those we lost on September 29 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

Tom Bradley

Full name: Thomas J. Bradley

Born December 29, 1917 — died September 29, 1998

Five-term mayor of Los Angeles.

The son of Texas sharecroppers served an unmatched twenty years as mayor — the first Black mayor of a major American city with an overwhelmingly white population — building coalitions, bringing home the 1984 Olympics, and transforming the skyline. The international terminal at LAX bears his name.

Sylvia Robinson

Born May 29, 1935 — died September 29, 2011

Singer, producer, and the Mother of Hip-Hop.

In 1979, Robinson founded Sugar Hill Records, assembled the Sugarhill Gang, and produced "Rapper’s Delight" — the record that put rap on wax and on the charts. Three years later she released "The Message." A global industry begins at her hunch.

Otis Rush

Born April 29, 1934 — died September 29, 2018

Chicago blues master.

The left-handed architect of the West Side sound topped the R&B charts with his 1956 debut "I Can’t Quit You Baby," and his slashing guitar and anguished voice shaped Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, and Stevie Ray Vaughan — the deep source rock kept drawing from.