Arthur Lee

Hate to have two death things in a row, but Arthur Lee of Love passed away at 61.

I've been doing some research for a paper I'm writing, and in the course of that, I read Follow the Music by Jac Holzman and Gavan Daws, about Elektra Records. I really enjoyed the section on Elektra signing Arthur Lee and Love to the label:

Herb Cohen: They're [Love] all living in one hotel room, starving, and Arthur says, "I want a $5,000 advance to sign the contract -- cash." Jac says, "OK, meet me at the bank." Jac cashes a check. Arthur says to the band, "Go back to the hotel. I have to pick up something." And about four or five hours later Arthur shows up with a gold Mercedes 300 gull-wing that he paid $4,500 for. "Well," he says, "we need some transportation for the band, so we can get around to the gigs." [...]
Arthur had also bought a harmonica. He gives each of the guys a hundred bucks, and there goes the five thousand.