Former Santa Cruz Prodigy and Bluesman Corby Yates Took His Life This Week

Troubled by mental health problems, including schizophrenia, blues phenom Corby Yates, 31, took his own life Monday to the shock of fans around the world.

He won his first accolades at the age of 11, taking first place in the Charlie Daniels Guitar Wars competition, the youngest entrant. At 16, he won the Jimi Hendrix Music Competition when he was a junior at in Auberry, Calif., near Fresno.

He played the Santa Cruz Blues Festival in 2005 when he was 24 and his trio grew a big following here.

The Fresno Bee wrote about him extensively and family and friends have weigned in to pay tribute with 70 comments, including a tender entry by his aunt Patty Bocchini-Lamb in Georgia:

"The goverment needs to pass laws which allows greater funding for programs and persons whom suffer from such a silent disease in order for them to receive proper treatment. Unfortunately many people are ignored which not only endangers their own life but others around them. All I can do at this time is be supportive of Corby's mother who's my sister, but I encourage the public to get involved and support "NAMI" National Alliance for Mental Illness, they have chapters nationally and one in Fresno Ca. to be exact. We the people need to write our congressmen and stress the importance of greater funding, promoting awareness etc. so families and one's in need can be recognized and not ignored. "