Don "Sugarcane" Harris

Beginning his career as the guitar playing half of the 1950s rock duo, <a href="spotify:artist:77L8e8POqCHpCGoEbZEiBj">Don & Dewey</a>, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, put down the guitar and picked up the violin after the lack of success for <a href="spotify:artist:77L8e8POqCHpCGoEbZEiBj">Don & Dewey</a> (oddly enough the group's songs became hits for other artists such as the <a href="spotify:artist:4b0WsB47XCa9F83BmwQ7WX">Righteous Brothers</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7j1U73GyJma4AM3T5C7Dmc">the Premiers</a>). Classically trained as a violinist, Harris' skill at improvisation began attracting attention from the rock world and soon he was appearing on records by <a href="spotify:artist:1yNOfXGQNGjAynk77wv85x">John Lee Hooker</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6ra4GIOgCZQZMOaUECftGN">Frank Zappa</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5PGt6fQNjLKhYYeGLWKWcM">Johnny Otis</a>. In 1970 Harris joined forces with British blues musician <a href="spotify:artist:5s4z3mRAE7nxE3jjft8J3h">John Mayall</a> when the latter was forming his first all American backing band. In addition to joining the backing bands of <a href="spotify:artist:2lLsOukzlMA39z4DjjeCWP">Mayall</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6ra4GIOgCZQZMOaUECftGN">Zappa</a> and others, Harris also recorded a series of albums for labels such as Epic and Polydor. After a lengthy battle with pulmonary disease, on December 1, 1999 he was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment at the age of 61. ~ Steve Kurutz, Rovi