Max Rafferty

Maxwell Lewis Rafferty, Jr., known as Max Rafferty (May 1917 – June 13, 1982), was a writer, educator, and politician. The author of several best-selling books about education, Rafferty served two terms as California State Superintendent of Public Instruction and ran unsuccessfully in 1968 for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee, losing to the Democrat, Alan Cranston.

Family

Rafferty was born to Maxwell Rafferty, Sr. (1886-1967), and the former DeEtta Frances Cox (c. 1892-1972) in New Orleans, Louisiana, one of two children, the other being the actress and pin-up girl Frances Rafferty, a co-star of the CBS sitcom December Bride. Rafferty spent most of his childhood in Sioux City, Iowa, where his sister was born in 1922. The family relocated to California in 1931. In 1944, he married the former Frances Longman, and the couple had three children, Kathleen, Dennis, and Eileen.

Education

Rafferty graduated in 1933 from Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California. He earned his Bachelor of Arts (1938), Master of Arts (1949), and Ed.D. (1955) from the University of California, Los Angeles.

The Kooks

The Kooks are a British rock band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2004. The band currently consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals/guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/synth), Alexis Nunez (drums), and Peter Denton (bass guitar). The original bassist was Max Rafferty. The lineup of the band remained constant until the departure of Rafferty in 2008. Dan Logan served as a temporary replacement, until Peter Denton joined the band permanently in October 2008. Early in 2010, Pritchard announced the departure of drummer Paul Garred, due to a nerve problem in his arm. Late in the year, Garred rejoined for studio sessions, however Chris Prendergast played drums when the band played live. In 2012, the band was accompanied on drums by Alexis Nunez (from Golden Silvers), who eventually joined the band full-time.

A self-described "pop" band, their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s British Invasion movement and post-punk revival of the new millennium. With songs described as "catchy as hell", The Kooks have experimented in several genres including rock, Britpop, pop, reggae, ska, and more recently, funk and hip-hop, being described once as a "more energetic Thrills or a looser Sam Roberts Band, maybe even a less severe Arctic Monkeys at times".