Philip Duke

**Philip Duke** (November 22, 1963 - February 25, 1999) was an American multi instrumentalist. He was best known as the auxiliary percussionist for rock band All Business, which he was a member of for 9 of their first 11 albums. Despite being billed as "the band's worst member" by lead vocalist Vernon O'Shaughnessy, Duke would attain greater stature following his death in a record setting car accident in 1999.

## Death

The most remarkable fact about Philip Duke is his death. On the morning of February 25, 1999, Duke died in what would become the most expensive car crash in American history. Duke, realizing he was late for one of the band's trademark Longhorn meetings, sped to the restaurant in a 1997 McLaren F1 which he had borrowed from guitarist Ted Bundy after his Nissan Ultima had broken down. The percussionist dodged early morning rush hour traffic for over 17 minutes while driving at the vehicles top speed of 220 MPH. Contrary to popular belief, the usually intoxicated Duke was actually sober at the time of his death, and, as O'Shaughnessy put it, was "experiencing a rare moment of lucidity." In a 12 page statement from Ted, he described where he was when he learned of his passing:

> "I was sleeping, actually, I was a little hungover. I went to a diner for breakfast that I always go to and, whenever I’m there, I always watch the news. I like keeping up with what’s going on in the world. And I didn’t see anything about it. In fact, I didn’t learn about it until 6 hours after I woke up. I learned about it through Manchester. He said “Man, can you believe what happened to Philip?” And I said “who?”
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Ted's initial statement received some controversy for containing almost no form of condolence towards Duke. In a 24 page follow-up statement, Ted describes the general use of the phrase "May god rest his soul":

> "When it comes to remembering my colleague Philip Duke, I don’t like to say things like “may god rest his soul” in regards to who he was. Now when I say this, when I proclaim this, I don’t mean to say this to disrespect him or those who did care about him. Rather, this has to do with how we perceive the phrase “may god rest his soul”. When I talk about my acquaintance Philip in conversation, I like to reminisce on the good times. I like to think about all of our wonderful moments on stage together. The girls, the laughs, the cheers. There is a lot to cheer about, but, for example, let’s say I am remembering a good lay we might have had together. Now he didn’t really get much, but if I were to be conversing with a stranger on the topic of our voluptuous exploits, explain to me why I need to add a quick little “may god rest his soul” as soon as I even say his name? His god given name. Well he might be with god now, but this stranger I am talking to doesn’t need to know that. This is a way for me to reconnect with the past I had with this man, this beautiful beautiful man. I know he’s dead, and trust me I Know, but there is no universe in which his death would enhance my story! I am Ted Bundy! People know me, but they did not know Philip. And if they are the few who actually have heard his name, they don’t know him like I did. Let me tell my story, what I have to say about him. Let’s celebrate his life, and the good times, and not let his death get in the way of that. If his memory is to be entangled in the pain of his departure, well that would be almost as great of a tragedy as the car crash he died in."
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## Discography

### All Business

* *Back to Basics* (1992)
* *Back 2 Basics* (1992)
* *Mogul Status: Executive Perks* (1993)
* *Uniting the World* (1993)
* *The Band That Rocked The Fable* (1994)
* *Friction Makes Heat* (1996)
* *18 Kings* (1997)
* *God Bless America* (1998)
* *Humble Servants* (1998)