Chuck Schuldiner Musical career
When did his musical career begin?
When did Chuck Schuldiner's musical career begin?
Schuldiner formed Death as Mantas in 1983 when he was just 16 years old. Original members were Schuldiner (guitar), Rick Rozz (guitar) and Kam Lee (drums and vocals). In January 1986, Schuldiner moved to Toronto and temporarily joined the Canadian band Slaughter. However, he quickly returned to continue the formation of Death.  Death underwent many lineup changes. With Chris Reifert, Schuldiner eventually released the first Death album, titled Scream Bloody Gore, in 1987. He continued with 1988's Leprosy with the line-up of former Mantas guitarist Rick Rozz and rhythm section Terry Butler on bass and Bill Andrews on drums, and 1990's Spiritual Healing, where guitarist James Murphy had replaced the fired Rozz in 1989.  After Spiritual Healing, Schuldiner stopped working with full-time band members, preferring to work with studio and live venue musicians, due to bad relationships with Death's previous rhythm section and guitarists. This earned Schuldiner something of a 'perfectionist' reputation in the metal community. Schuldiner had also fired his manager Eric Greif but settled and re-hired him before the recording of his next, influential release.  Death's breakthrough album, Human saw the band evolving to a more technical and progressive style, in which Schuldiner displayed his guitar skills more than ever. He continued in this style (and continued the success of the band) with 1993's Individual Thought Patterns, 1995's Symbolic, and finally The Sound of Perseverance in 1998. Throughout his career, Schuldiner was not afraid to take on controversial lyrical subjects, taking an anti-drug stance on "Living Monstrosity" and writing about abortion in "Altering the Future".  He put Death on hold after this to continue Control Denied, which he had been putting together prior to the release of The Sound of Perseverance, and released The Fragile Art of Existence in 1999. Control Denied also had other players from the latest Death album but featured a melodic metal vocalist. Schuldiner also played guitar in the "supergroup" Voodoocult on the album Jesus Killing Machine in 1994 and played a guest solo on Naphobia's 1995 release, Of Hell on the track "As Ancients Evolve" as a favor to the band's bassist at the time who was a friend of Schuldiner's. Schuldiner was also asked to be one of the many guest vocalists on Dave Grohl's 2001 Probot. Grohl, Napalm Death, Ozzy Osbourne, and Anthrax all increased efforts to raise funds for Schuldiner's medical bills with Grohl trying to involve Schuldiner on an album he was working on. In a 1999 interview Schuldiner spoke about why he didn't sing on the album The Fragile Art of Existence "...these vocals are all I ever wanted to do in Death but couldn't. I've had this dream of recording like that for years, and it seems like a dream come true. Tim Aymar is an amazing singer and this is the main difference. I think people will be surprised at the violence and strength of the album. Many people are expecting something like Iron Maiden, but, despite being one of my favorite bands, I didn't want to make an Iron Maiden-like album. I wanted to make an unpredictable album, just like I did in Death, I guess. I don't like to make predictable albums." CANNOTANSWER
Schuldiner formed Death as Mantas in 1983 when he was just 16 years old.
Charles Michael Schuldiner (May 13, 1967 – December 13, 2001) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He founded the band Death in 1983 and was their lead vocalist and guitarist until his death in 2001. His obituary in the January 5, 2002, issue of UK's Kerrang! magazine described him as "one of the most significant figures in the history of metal."  Schuldiner was ranked No. 10 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists in 2009 and No. 20 in March 2004 Guitar Worlds "The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists". In 1987, Schuldiner founded the publishing company Mutilation Music, affiliated with performance rights organization BMI. Schuldiner died in 2001 of a brain tumor.

Schuldiner is often referred to as "The Godfather of death metal", although he was uncomfortable with this nickname, remarking that "I don't think I should take the credits for this death metal stuff. I'm just a guy from a band, and I think Death is a metal band."

Biography

Early life
Schuldiner was born on May 13, 1967, on Long Island, New York. His father Mal Schuldiner was Jewish and the son of Austrian immigrants, and his mother Jane Schuldiner was from the American South and had converted to Judaism.  In 1968, his family moved to Florida. 
He started playing guitar at the age of 9. He took classical lessons for less than a year in which his teacher taught him "Mary had a Little Lamb", which he did not like very much, and almost stopped completely until his parents bought him an electric guitar at a yard sale. The young Schuldiner immediately took to the instrument and began playing, writing and teaching himself. He was known to spend the weekend in the garage or his room playing his guitar but was limited to three hours on weekdays when school was in session. Schuldiner first played in public in his early teens.

Schuldiner was originally inspired by Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Kiss and classical jazz, among others. He was particularly interested in the metal movement known as NWOBHM – New Wave of British Heavy Metal – and cited bands of that genre among his favorites. He frequently cited French band Sortilège as his personal favorite metal group. Slayer, Celtic Frost, Possessed, Mercyful Fate/King Diamond and Metallica were later influences he would apply more to his own songwriting. Later in his career, Schuldiner frequently cited progressive metal bands such as Watchtower, Coroner and Queensrÿche as influences. The official Schuldiner website, Empty Words, quotes Schuldiner's mother making the claim that he enjoyed all forms of music except country and rap. He also enjoyed jazz and classical music in addition to metal and British alternative acts such as Lush.

Schuldiner performed well in school before becoming bored with education and eventually dropping out. He later regretted this decision. He has stated that if he had not become a musician, he would have liked to have become a veterinarian or a cook.

Musical career
Taking inspiration from Nasty Savage, Schuldiner formed Death as Mantas in 1983 when he was just 16 years old. Original members were Schuldiner (guitar), Rick Rozz (guitar) and Kam Lee (drums and vocals). In January 1986, Schuldiner moved to Toronto and temporarily joined the Canadian band Slaughter. However, he quickly returned to continue the formation of Death.

Death underwent many lineup changes. With Chris Reifert, Schuldiner eventually released the first Death album, titled Scream Bloody Gore, in 1987. He continued with 1988's Leprosy with the line-up of former Mantas guitarist Rick Rozz and rhythm section Terry Butler on bass and Bill Andrews on drums, and 1990's Spiritual Healing, where guitarist James Murphy had replaced the fired Rozz in 1989.

After Spiritual Healing, Schuldiner stopped working with full-time band members, preferring to work with studio and live venue musicians, due to bad relationships with Death's previous rhythm section and guitarists. This earned Schuldiner something of a 'perfectionist' reputation in the metal community. Schuldiner had also fired his manager Eric Greif but settled and re-hired him before the recording of his next, influential release.

Death's breakthrough album, Human saw the band evolving to a more technical and progressive style, in which Schuldiner displayed his guitar skills more than ever. He continued in this style (and continued the success of the band) with 1993's Individual Thought Patterns, 1995's Symbolic, and finally The Sound of Perseverance in 1998.

He put Death on hold after this to continue Control Denied, which he had been putting together prior to the release of The Sound of Perseverance, and released The Fragile Art of Existence in 1999. Control Denied also had other players from the latest Death album but featured a melodic metal vocalist. Schuldiner also played guitar in the "supergroup" Voodoocult on the album Jesus Killing Machine in 1994 and played a guest solo on Naphobia's 1995 release, Of Hell on the track "As Ancients Evolve" as a favor to the band's bassist at the time who was a friend of Schuldiner's. Schuldiner was also asked to be one of the many guest vocalists on Dave Grohl's 2001 Probot. Grohl, Napalm Death, Ozzy Osbourne, and Anthrax all increased efforts to raise funds for Schuldiner's medical bills with Grohl trying to involve Schuldiner on an album he was working on. In a 1999 interview, Schuldiner spoke about why he didn't sing on the Control Denied album The Fragile Art of Existence "...these vocals are all I ever wanted to do in Death but couldn't. I've had this dream of recording like that for years, and it seems like a dream come true. Tim Aymar is an amazing singer and this is the main difference. I think people will be surprised at the violence and strength of the album. Many people are expecting something like Iron Maiden, but, despite being one of my favorite bands, I didn't want to make an Iron Maiden-like album. I wanted to make an unpredictable album, just like I did in Death, I guess. I don't like to make predictable albums."

Illness and death

In 1999, Schuldiner was diagnosed with brain cancer.  He continued to work on his music, continuing his work with Control Denied. He was at first unable to afford the surgery that he needed immediately. A press release called for support from everyone, including fellow artists. Jane Schuldiner urged all who read the statements about Schuldiner and his illness to go out and get insurance, stating her frustration in the American healthcare system. Schuldiner had taken out medical insurance after his first surgery, but the insurer had refused to pay because the cancer pre-dated insurance being taken out.  Many artists, including Kid Rock, Korn and Red Hot Chili Peppers, got together during the summer of 2001 to auction off personal items, with the funds assisting Schuldiner's medical expenses, an effort covered by MTV. Matt Heafy, vocalist and guitarist for Trivium, has also stated that the band had played a benefit show for Schuldiner while he was in the hospital in their days as a local band. In November 2001, Schuldiner's condition worsened as he became ill with Pneumocystis carinii.

On December 13, 2001, Schuldiner died at the age of 34 and was cremated. MTV reported that recording artists including Dave Grohl, Mike Patton, Max Cavalera, King Diamond, Ville Valo, Trey Azagthoth, Glen Benton, Jason Newsted, Corey Taylor, and all former and active members of Death, attended his memorial service.

Legacy
With the assistance of Schuldiner's family, former manager Eric Greif handled his legacy as President of Perseverance Holdings Ltd. Schuldiner's mother Jane and sister Beth Schuldiner frequently interact with his fans and both have stated many times that they enjoy his music. Greif kept track of his recordings and handled Schuldiner's intellectual property. Beth Schuldiner has a son named Christopher Steele, who also plays guitar and has all of Schuldiner's guitars. BC Rich also released a statement in their 2008 catalog stating that Schuldiner's signature model Stealth will be available for purchase, and that endorsement is overseen by Steele.

Schuldiner had homes and two dogs in the area surrounding Orlando. Schuldiner built a studio inside the garage where many of his songs such as "Crystal Mountain" were inspired. Schuldiner's home office was the site of the Metal Crusade newsletter and fan club.

A legal battle began from the time of Schuldiner's death on the settlement of the rights to the partially completed second Control Denied album, When Man and Machine Collide, which was recorded in 2000–2001 and was scheduled for release in 2013. Demos of these unreleased Control Denied songs, as well as early Death demos and live Death recordings from 1990, were released in the Zero Tolerance two-part compilation bootlegs by the Dutch Hammerheart Holdings company and the Schuldiners and Greif asserted rights on behalf of Schuldiner's Estate. The matter was settled in November 2009, anticipating the project being finished and released in 2010.

Tribute concerts have been coordinated or funded by Schuldiner's mother and family and various Death tribute groups internationally. Former CKY frontman, Deron Miller, who considers Schuldiner an idol of his, got the idea, while working on various projects with former Death guitarist (and pituitary tumor survivor) James Murphy, to do a tribute album.  Murphy announced he would release a Chuck Schuldiner tribute album to commemorate his lasting mark on the metal community and Schuldiner's family publicly offered support for Murphy's effort, though it has never materialized. Schuldiner's sister Beth confirmed via her YouTube channel that Death: Live in Japan, a behind the scenes Death video, as well as a potential boxset containing all of Schuldiner's works including some exclusive copies of handwritten notes by Schuldiner are in the works via Relapse Records. Schuldiner Estate lawyer Eric Greif held a charity Chuck Schuldiner Birthday Bash in Calgary, Alberta, May 13, 2011, featuring speeches by Greif and former Death guitarist Paul Masvidal, as well as bands performing Schuldiner's music. Greif repeated this May 12, 2012, with special guest band Massacre, featuring former Death members Rick Rozz and Terry Butler.

Book
In January 2001, Mahyar Dean, an Iranian metal guitarist/musician, wrote Death, a book about Death and Schuldiner poems. The book includes bilingual lyrics and many articles about the band. The book was sent through the site keepers of emptywords.org to Schuldiner, who in his words was "truly blown away and honored by the obvious work and devotion he put into bringing the book to life".

Beliefs
Schuldiner designed the Death logo and its various incarnations during the length of his career. In 1991, before the release of Human, he cleaned up the logo taking out more intricate details and the "T" in the logo was swapped from an inverted cross to a more regular looking "T", one reason being to quash any implication of religion.

Schuldiner was also openly against hard drugs; he is quoted as saying, "I've tripped several times. That's all because I don't like the hard drugs. And my only drugs are alcohol and grass." Schuldiner also stated that he was pro-choice. He is quoted as saying that "it should be legal. If I was a woman surely I would like to have a choice to have a child or not. In U.S. a lot of new-borns are killed because they were unwanted. It is better to solve it immediately when a woman finds out about the pregnancy and she doesn't want a child. Better to go for an abortion than to kill a baby. That is terrible. Men cannot force women to keep a child when they themselves feel they can't."

Musical style
Schuldiner was mostly self-taught as a guitarist. In 1993, he expressed a disinterest in music theory: "I know enough about what I'm playing to memorize the scales and things, but I have no idea how you would label them. As long as I can play it, memorize it and apply it, I don't need to know what you call it."

In the early days of Death, Schuldiner used a "deep, raspy" death growl vocal technique. He said in 1993 that "it takes a lot of energy and a lot of throat abuse to get through a show."

Equipment

Guitars
Schuldiner's primary guitar throughout most of his career was the B.C. Rich Stealth model, an extremely rare model produced in small amounts under the B.C. Rich US (U-) series name along with the Custom Shop, until it was released to the public as the Chuck Schuldiner Tribute Stealth. The Stealth was also released as an N.J. model in the 1980's and 1990's, but was extremely rare. Prior to this, he used a B.C. Rich Mockingbird copy, built by "someone in Florida", and a B.C Rich Ignitor. Most of Schuldiner's sound came from a DiMarzio X2N pickup placed in the bridge. During the (In)Human Tour of the World (1991–92), Schuldiner briefly endorsed a small Wisconsin custom guitar company called Axtra, who worked with him on designs, though he still insisted on using his B.C. Rich during filming of the Lack of Comprehension video in September 1991 in Orlando.

Amplifiers
The amplifier he used towards the end of his career was a Marshall Valvestate (Model 8100) amplifier head and Valvestate 4x12 speaker cabinets on Individual Thought Patterns as well as the ITP tour and eventually started using Marshall 1960 cabinets. Before that he used various equipment including Randall RG100ES heads and Randall cabinets, and on the (In)Human Tour of the World he used a small GK 250ML miked up, despite having hollow 4x12 stacks 'for show'. On the first two Death albums, he stated he used a Boss distortion pedal, but didn't specify which, after which he used amplifier distortion.

Discography
Death
1987: Scream Bloody Gore
1988: Leprosy
1990: Spiritual Healing
1991: Human
1993: Individual Thought Patterns
1995: Symbolic
1998: The Sound of Perseverance

Voodoocult
 1994: Jesus Killing Machine

Control Denied
 1999: The Fragile Art of Existence

See also
Honorific nicknames in popular music

References

Sources
The Metal Crusade, official site of The Death Fan Club
Empty Words, official Death/Control Denied archival site

1967 births
2001 deaths
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida
American heavy metal guitarists
American heavy metal singers
American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
Rhythm guitarists
Lead guitarists
Death (metal band) members
Death metal musicians
Deaths from brain tumor
Deaths from cancer in Florida
Neurological disease deaths in Florida
Jewish American musicians
Jewish singers
Jewish American songwriters
Singers from Florida
Singers from New York (state)
People from Glen Cove, New York
Singers from Orlando, Florida
People from Altamonte Springs, Florida
Progressive metal guitarists
Songwriters from Florida
Songwriters from New York (state)
20th-century American singers
Jewish heavy metal musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Florida
Guitarists from New York (state)
American male guitarists
Control Denied members
Voodoocult members
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American Jews
American male songwriters
Gypsy: A Memoir is a 1957 autobiography of renowned striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, which inspired the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable. The book tells Lee's true life story in three acts beginning with her early childhood days in theatre when she toured with her sister, June Havoc. The book ends just as Gypsy has gotten on a train and is headed to Hollywood to begin her career in the movies. Her Hollywood career was short lived and she did not get many roles. The roles she did get were so small that at one point she wanted to be billed under her birth name, Louise Hovick.

The first edition was published by Harper in 1957. It is now available in a 1999 paperback reprint.

1957 non-fiction books
American memoirs Buren Bayaer (6 March 1960 – 19 September 2018) was a Chinese singer, composer and journalist from Inner Mongolia. He was an ethnic Mongol.

Early life 
Bayaer displayed musical talent as a child. His parents and neighbors encouraged him to perform in front of the local community when he was six years old. His official musical education did not begin until age fifteen when he joined a school musical troupe. This is where he was introduced to different types of music including Mongolian songs, Revolutionary songs and Peking Opera. His song "Lucky Treasures", written in 1994, became popular in China. The song, originally, sung in Mongolian, was translated to Mandarin Chinese () and was released shortly after.

Bayaer and his wife Wurina were directors of the Hulunbeier Children's Choir.  Uudam, their adopted son, was a singer in the choir. Their daughter, Norma, is a singer in China. Uudam and Nurma's cousin Enigma is also a singer.

Bayaer died on September 19, 2018, at the age of 58 due to a cardiac infarction.

Discography 
 1997: "Чандмань (Wishfulling Jewel)" () - audio cassette
 "Миний аав Улаанбаатарт байна(My father is in Ulaanbaatar)" ()
 2011: "The Moon and The Stars" - , 9787799912707

Videos 
 "Take me to the Prairie" ()
 "Father's Prairie, Mother's River" ()

References

1960 births
2018 deaths
Chinese male singer-songwriters
People from Hulunbuir
Singers from Inner Mongolia
Chinese people of Mongolian descent