American Blues Guitarist and Disney Tomorrowland Voice Actor, Kal David Passes Away at 79
(CelebrityAccess) – Legendary Blues singer/songwriter and guitarist Kal David passed away Tuesday (August 16). David gained fame amongst Disney Parks fans as the voice of Sonny Eclipse, the lounge singer at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe in the Magic Kingdom. Sonny first took the stage at Cosmic Ray’s in 1995.
“Aside from being a wonderful musician and singer, many of us Disney fans know him as the voice of our alien friend, Sonny Eclipse; he will always be our Bright Little Star,” posted singer Tammy Tuckey in a Tweet expressing sympathy to David’s family.
Sad news from Kal David’s family… Kal passed away today. Aside from being a wonderful musician and singer, many of us Disney fans know him as the voice of our alien friend, Sonny Eclipse. He will always be our Bright Little Star! 💫😞 pic.twitter.com/iShgl9hVGn
— Tammy Tuckey (@TammyTuckey) August 16, 2022
David was born in Chicago on June 15, 1943, as David Raskin. Once he formed his first band in his teenage years, he began performing under Kal David. The neighborhood band Kal David and the Exceptions (1962) included Chicago leading singer Peter Cetera on bass and vocals.
David left the group to sign a contract with King Records and later Vee-Jay Records in the mid-60s, moving to Los Angeles and creating a duo with guitarist Paul Cotton called The Rovin’ Kind. The duo recorded two albums for Columbia, Illinois Speed Press, and Duet.
In the early 1970s, David decided to leave LA and move East to Woodstock, a small New York town close to the previous year’s iconic Festival.
His new group, The Fabulous Rhinestones, featured ex-Electric Flag bassist Harvey Brooks and ex-Buckinghams’ keyboard player Marty Grebb. The band recorded three albums: Fabulous Rhinestones, Freewheelin‘, and Rhinestones (on 20th Century Records). There, he met his future wife, vocalist Lauri Bono, who accompanied him back to LA for the next phase of his career.
David and Bono moved to Palm Springs, CA, performing at Hollywood’s China Club for the weekly Pro-Jam, which drew performers such as Stevie Wonder, Bobby Brown, Sam Taylor, Floyd Dixon, and more. They continued to tour, frequently playing at the Mohegan Sun and Casino in Uncasville, CT.
Musician and friend Jeff Pevar posted in tribute to David once hearing of his passing.
David earned himself a place in the National Blues Hall of Fame in 1998, and in 2004, David and Bono had a Golden Palm Star dedicated to them on the Walk of Stars.
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