Peter Ivers
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Peter Scott Ivers (born Peter Scott Rose, September 20, 1946 – March 3, 1983) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and television personality. He was the host of the experimental music television show New Wave Theatre. Despite Ivers never having achieved mainstream success, biographer Josh Frank has described him as being connected by "a second degree to every major pop culture event of the last 30 years."
A native of Brookline, Massachusetts, Ivers' primary instrument was the harmonica, and at a concert in 1968, Muddy Waters referred to him as "the greatest harp player alive." After migrating to Los Angeles, Ivers was signed by Van Dyke Parks and Lenny Waronker to a $100,000 contract as a solo artist with Warner Bros. Records in the early 1970s. His albums Terminal Love (1974) and Peter Ivers (1976) sold poorly, but later earned a cult following. He made his live debut opening for the New York Dolls, and shared concert bills with such acts as Fleetwood Mac and John Cale.
Ivers scored the 1977 David Lynch film Eraserhead and contributed both songwriting and vocals to the piece "In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)". Later in his career, he wrote songs that were recorded by Diana Ross and the Pointer Sisters.
In 1983, Ivers was murdered under mysterious circumstances, and the crime remains unsolved.
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