The strange tale of the murderer who pretended to be Sha Na Na guitarist Vinnie Taylor
During the 1960s and 1970s, Sha Na Na seemed unstoppable. After the Woodstock Festival in 1969, their popularity soared to new heights as fans fell in love with their retro-style musical approach and warm stage presence. Memories of Vinnie Taylor were even warmer—his distinctive flavour of guitar playing contributed to and evoked the carefree spirit of the era.
Taylor’s time with Sha Na Na was tragically cut short when he passed away, with the circumstances surrounding his death remaining largely unknown. Reports that surfaced later said that the musician met his untimely demise due to a heroin overdose, but some suggest that various details surrounding his death remain mysterious.
A few years later, a man living in Florida by the name of Raymond Westlund claimed a man called Danny C moved into his apartment building. An otherwise seemingly normal resident soon adopted an aura of intrigue when he told Westlund that he was Taylor and an original member of Sha Na Na. He played the part well, possessing excellent guitar skills and wearing rockstar attire.
Westlund immediately believed Danny and even started to accompany him to charity gigs when he would perform. He attracted a legion of fans, seemed to know other bands, and launched a website that boasted about him being the most controversial member of Sha Na Na. The site also played into this attitude by claiming the “bad boy” to be back, which seemed perfectly plausible at the time.
At the time, Danny C almost expected people to question him, but he already planned his response: he faked his death because he was a secret member of the CIA. If they questioned him further, he would show them his fake identification and social security number. No one would go to such lengths if their story was a complete fabrication. Right?
Danny C’s then-girlfriend recounted various times when he would display strange behaviour. They would be in bed at night, for instance, and he would immediately jump up and “run to the window”. He would urge her, under no circumstances, to bring up the fact that he was in Sha Na Na and often lived in terror of people coming into the apartment.
Everything became clear in 2001 when a group of US law enforcement tracked Danny C down and arrested him. In a shocking turn of events, Danny C was, in fact, a convicted murderer who had escaped prison and been in hiding for over 25 years. Danny C, whose real name was Elmer Edward Solly, was convicted of manslaughter of a two-year-old.
Solly lived under various pseudonyms during his time on the run, but his adoption of the Danny C persona seems the most baffling. Here was a man who was fighting tirelessly to evade police attention, and yet he felt the best way to do this was on stage, under the guise of a deceased guitarist who passed away the same year he escaped from prison.
