Gaines died Thursday night in his sleep, his management company said. Grady was a big man, with a big sound, but with an even bigger heart, Susan Criner with Gulf Coast Entertainment said in a statement to ABC13. He was a pioneer in American popular music, serving as band leader for groundbreaking stars Little Richard and Sam Cooke, and touring and recording with some of the biggest names in R&B and soul for decades. Still, he would say he was just an everyday person. I liked to treat people the way I liked to be treated.
Gaines was born on May 14, 1934, in Waskom, Texas, and was the fifth of seven children to Merkerson and Ethel Harris Gaines. He moved to Houston in 1943 with his family, who lived in Houston s Fifth Ward. Gaines and his younger brother, Roy, began playing music at a young age. After music lessons at E.O. Smith Jr. High, he became a band leader for Houston record producer Don Robey. Robey, a well-known R&B music promoter, signed a then-unknown Richard Penniman
2 killed, 4 injured in Millbrook crash
Updated Dec 17, 2020;
Two people were killed and four injured in a car crash in Millbrook Thursday morning, the Alabama News Network is reporting.
According to ALEA State Troopers, the crash happened at Cobbs Ford Road at Interstate 65 at about 8:40 a.m.
Ethel Harris, 73, of Selma, and Rashard Adkins, 36, of Jones, died when the vehicle they were riding in hit a pick-up truck. The victims were not wearing seat belts and died at the scene.
Three other passengers in the car, as well as the driver of the pickup truck, were all injured and hospitalized for treatment.
Alabama News
State Troopers have identified the two people who were killed in a car crash in Millbrook Thursday morning. Authorities say that 73-year-old Ethel Harris, of Selma, and 36-year-old Rashard Adkins, of Jones died when the car they were riding in hit a pick-up truck. The crash happened a Cobbs Ford Road at Interstate 65.
The victims were not wearing seat belts and died at the scene.
The three other passengers in the car, as well as the driver of the pick up truck were all injured and hospitalized for treatment.
Investigators say they believe the car was driving away from a previous crash that happened near Cobbs Ford Road and Highway 82.