RAY CHARLES - ROCKABILLY STAR BROOKS DIES

DONNIE BROOKS, a singer with rockabilly roots who sang the hit song MISSION BELL in 1960, has died. He was 71. Brooks died on Friday (23FEB07) of congestive heart failure in Panorama City, California. In the 1950s and 1960s, Brooks appeared at El Monte Legion Stadium, a popular venue for rock concerts featuring such performers as RAY CHARLES and STEVIE WONDER. Recording under the name JOHNNY FAIRE in the late 1950s, he released the single BERTHA LOU, which became a rockabilly favourite. Among his hits were DOLL HOUSE, MEMPHIS and his most famous song, the top 10 pop hit Mission Bell. In the 1970s, he began producing and appearing in revival tours featuring musical acts from the 1950s and 1960s and continued to perform until he was injured in a car accident in 2003. Brooks was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in Burns, Tennessee in 2003.