I was saddened to learn of the death yesterday of "Taz" DiGregorio, one of the original members of the Charlie Daniels Band and co-writer of the group's biggest hit, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

I had the chance to visit with Taz as he was selling his solo releases and visiting with fans prior to a CDB show this past July at the Morgan County Fair in Jacksonville, IL.

The "Pianist to the Presidents" and the author of the only piano instrumental to hit number one ("Autumn Leaves" in 1955) on the Billboard charts, Roger Williams, died yesterday in California after a battle with cancer.

I met Williams during a break at one of his famous 12-hour marathon piano playing sessions at a Las Vegas hotel in November 2006. He stopped for this photo prior to soaking his hands in buckets of ice following the afternoon session. Williams returned about 20 minutes later to continue playing and taking requests from the modest crowd watching the event.