Gaye Delorme, Canadian musician, died from a heart attack he was , 64

Gaye Delorme was a Canadian songwriter, composer and virtuoso guitar player. Born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, he lived primarily in western Canada until his death of a possible heart attack. Gaye was to perform at the Calgary Bluesfest Warmup with his Vancouver band featuring Sneaky Pete on June 25, but passed away in the early hours of the morning On June 24 at a friends home died from a heart attack he was , 64. Delorme was able to play many styles of guitar music including flamenco, classical, jazz (in the styles of Django Reinhardt and Wes Montgomery), country, blues, rock and heavy metal. His wide-ranging skill as a guitarist included the ability to emulate other instruments such as the sitar and the koto. Stevie Ray Vaughan described Delorme as "one of the best".^[1] He was entirely self-taught, having picked up the guitar at age fifteen during a stint in juvenile detention. He learned how to read music in the 1990s after performing as a professional musician for over thirty years.

(March 20, 1947 - June 24, 2011)

In the early 70's he lead a Jimi Hendrix-styled power trio called The Window in Edmonton, Alberta. During this period, he could also be heard in jazz jams around town, or at the Hovel folk club. He moved from Edmonton to Calgary and played in country bands there for a few years, until forming another trio to play his original rock and blues oriented tunes to play the dance club scene in Alberta. After a brief move to Vancouver, he returned to Edmonton in the 90's and was a mainstay at the Sidetrack Cafe, where he developed a latin fusion style that at one point featured Gaye leading a 10 piece band with a horn section. From roughly 2000 to 2009, Gaye lived in Vancouver, and focused on his writing, recordings and concerts, often appearing solo. In 2009, Gaye moved back to Edmonton.

Collaborations

Delorme played with many musicians and groups including Jann Arden, the Powder Blues Band, Lenny Breau, David Foster, Airto Moreira, Billy Cobham and Stanley Clarke. In 2006 he was accompanied by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra for his performance of Joaquín Rodrigo's Concerto de Aranjuez. 1986 saw Delorme record a one-hour special for CBC television entitled "Gaye Delorme in Concert". As well as composing and playing guitar, he produced k.d. lang's first album A Truly Western Experience.

The LA Years

During the 1970s and 1980s, Delorme lived in Los Angeles, collaborating frequently with Cheech and Chong, most notably writing the music for Cheech and Chong's anthem Earache My Eye. The immediately-recognizable guitar riff became part of the modern musical lexicon, with numerous covers of Earache My Eye recorded by heavy metal, punk and even hip-hop artists. His long-running association with Cheech and Chong included musical contributions to Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980), and culminated with Delorme scoring their film Things Are Tough All Over (1982). The drug and alcohol fueled atmosphere of LA was taking a heavy toll on Delorme by the mid eighties, so he moved back to his native Canada.

Comedy

Delorme was often involved in Cheech and Chong's improvised writing process, and humor was integral to his audience rapport during live performances. His own comedy caused a buzz in 1980 when The Rodeo Song was released by Garry Lee & Showdown. The single resulted in a CRIA double-platinum record.^[2] The song quickly became a cult favorite and was compiled by Dr. Demento on Demento's Mementos, and was used in the Stephen King film Sleepwalkers (1992). Delorme's own version of the Rodeo Song was released on the album Rodeo Songs in 2002.

Discography

American Jumbo - Beautiful Guitar vol. 2 (2008)
Borderline (2002)
Delorme (2002)
Rodeo Songs (2002)
The Best of Gaye Delorme (1999)
Beautiful Guitar (1998)
Blue Wave Sessions (1990)

 

To see more of who died in 2010 click here