Legendary Rocker Tom Petty Dies at 66

U.S. rock legend Tom Petty has died after cardiac arrest at his Malibu, California, home. He was 66.

Petty's family said he was taken to the hospital early Monday, but he could not be revived. They said he died Monday evening "surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends."

Petty was born in Gainesville, Florida, in 1950, and he credits his musical awakening to a chance meeting with Elvis Presley in 1961. The "King of Rock and Roll" was working on a movie nearby and after the two were introduced, a young Petty told his family he was going to be a rock star.

Anti-rock star

But Tom Petty never really saw himself as a rock star, not in the way rock stars are thought of. As a frontman, Petty was no David Lee Roth, or Axl Rose, or Mick Jagger. There was never that larger-than-life swagger and attitude to boot. At times Petty's voice sometimes seemed strained, and quavering, like it was difficult for him to get the notes out.

But that didn't matter because Petty was able, with a little help from his friends, to stand behind his music.

On the cover of his third album Damn the Torpedoes Petty is standing behind his signature red Rickenbacker, on his second, You're Gonna Get It, he's barely visible, shadowed in blue light surrounded by the "Heartbreakers," the extraordinary musicians who made up his band.

Tom Petty was never just Tom Petty, not without Mike Campbell on lead guitar, Benmont Tench on keyboards, Ron Blair on bass, and Stan Lynch on drums, the four who made up the original "Heartbreakers." The lineup has changed a bit, but Tench and Campbell remained Petty's constant musical companions.

It's hard to get a feel for the American iconic songwriter on his first album, eponymously titled Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Petty was 26, but on this album, he and his crew are playing around with the band they would become. There are some straight blues numbers (Hometown Blues and Anything That's Rock and Roll). There's some Rhythm and Blues and Alt-country in there as well.

But way down there at the bottom of the record is the song that forecasts the iconic songwriter that Petty was becoming: American Girl is the last track on the album about "... an American girl, raised on promises." This is a song of longing, and heartbreak and hope, which is at once evocative, and indicative of where this band was heading.

On his third album Damn the Torpedoes, Petty cements his role as the anti-front man. His songs are about girls, but from the perspective of a a down-on-his-luck guy. The songs show that he needs and adores the women in his life, but is generally terrified and a bit resigned to the pain they will cause him.

Don't Do Me Like That, for instance, Even the Losers, and the flawless Here Comes My Girl, where Petty tells us the tale of the woman "standing right by my side." It's a nearly perfect song — the jangly guitars, the anxious verses, and the soaring triumphant chorus — the sound of a songwriter hitting his stride.

All told, the Heartbreakers released 13 different albums, Petty released three solo albums, played with the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, and he also reunited with his first band Mudcrutch for some tour dates around the U.S.

And somewhere along the way he flew into the stratosphere of American songwriters inhabited by people like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Carole King and Stevie Nicks, American musicians who captured day-to-day life, rather than rock and roll excess.

On his last studio release, Petty channels the anger of a generation left behind in American Dream Plan b.

"Well, my mama so sad, Daddy’s just mad," he sings, "Cause I ain't gonna have the chance he had..." managing to capture the frustration of the American dream deferred in 17 simple words.

Petty wrapped his most recent tour last week at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. In December, Petty told Rolling Stone magazine that he thought this would be the group's last tour together. He said, "It's very likely we'll keep playing, but will we take on 50 shows in one tour? I don't think so. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was thinking this might be the last big one."

Petty leaves behind his wife, Dana York Epperson, a stepson, Dylan, and two daughters, Adria and AnnaKim, from a previous marriage.

"It’s shocking, crushing news," Petty's friend and Traveling Wilburys bandmate Bob Dylan told Rolling Stone magazine in a statement. "I thought the world of Tom. He was great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I’ll never forget him."

(Photo by Mr. Bullitt, Sweden. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Los Angeles, California.)

video: Hugh Hefner, Playboy Publisher, Dead at 91

Funeral Held for Former North Korean Prisoner Otto Warmbier

An estimated 2,500 mourners gathered Thursday to remember Otto Warmbier, the American college student who died this week after being held for nearly a year-and-a-half in a North Korean prison.

In Warmbier's home state of Ohio, the mourners - among them friends and family - attended his funeral at his former high school. Warmbier was to be buried at a Cincinnati cemetery.

Warmbier was sentenced to hard labor in North Korea after being convicted of attempting to steal a propaganda poster from a hotel in Pyongyang.

The 22-year-old was medically evacuated to the United States last week with severe brain damage.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman spoke at the funeral, calling Warmbier “an amazing young man” and saying Warmbier should not have been detained.

"This process has been a window into both evil, and love and good. Today we're seeing the good, and the love that will be expressed through this outpouring of support for Otto and his family," Portman said.

President Donald Trump said he was running out of patience with the North Korean regime. He called Warmbier's treatment a "total disgrace" and described the North Korean government as a brutal regime that doesn't "respect the rule of law or basic human decency."

A piece of legislation meant to curb American travel into North Korea got a boost in Congress on Thursday when House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce, a California Republican, agreed to move the bill through his committee.

The bill, introduced late last month by Representatives Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, and Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, would ban tourist travel to North Korea and require a license from the Treasury Department for any other travel to North Korea.

"The tragic murder of Otto Warmbier at the hands of the North Korean government has made it clear that it is past time that we restrict tourist travel to communist, totalitarian North Korea," Wilson said. "I am grateful that Chairman Ed Royce has committed to marking up this important legislation soon, and look forward to having it debated in the House Foreign Affairs Committee."

Death of Soundgarden Singer Chris Cornell Ruled a Suicide

The death of rock musician Chris Cornell, whose distinctive voice led the bands Soundgarden and Audioslave, has been ruled a suicide.

Medical authorities in Detroit say Cornell, 52, hung himself in his hotel room.

Cornell was found dead in his hotel room, hours after Soundgarden played Detroit's Fox Theater as part of a North American tour that had been scheduled to continue Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

Cornell's publicist said "His wife, Vicky, and family were shocked to learn of his sudden and unexpected passing, and they will be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause."

Soundgarden was a major force in the 1990s musical movement known as grunge along with groups such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Its 1991 album "Batmotorfinger" spawned popular singles such as "Outshined," and "Jesus Christ Pose." In 1994, the band released its breakthrough Grammy nominated album, "Superunknown," which debuted at number one in the U.S. It included songs such as "Spoonman," "Fell on Black Days," and "Black Hole Sun."

In 1991, Cornell recorded an album with Temple of the Dog, a supergroup that included members of both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

During a period in which Soundgarden had broken up, Cornell partnered with former members of another band, Rage Against the Machine, to form the successful group Audioslave.

Soundgarden reunited in 2010 and launched its current tour in April. Cornell throughout his career released several solo albums as well.

He and his wife, Vicky, also launched a foundation aimed at helping kids facing homelessness, poverty, abuse and neglect.

Cornell's contemporaries reacted to his death with shock and surprise on Twitter early Thursday.

GAVIN ROSSDALE: I AM SO SADDENED BY CHRIS CORNELL PASSING. TOTAL SHOCK. GREAT MAN. GREAT BAND. GREAT LOSS. LOVE TO EVERYONE IN HIS WORLD. XXX

Dave Navarro, best known as a guitarist for Jane's Addiction, said he was "stunned" by the news.

And Jimmy Page, guitarist for the legendary rock band Led Zeppelin, said of Cornell: "Incredibly talented. Incredibly young. Incredibly missed."

(Photo by gdcgraphics: Chris Cornell at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.)

Fox News Co-Founder Ailes Dead at 77

Fox News CEO and Co-Founder Roger Ailes died Thursday morning at 77 years old, the news organization announced.

The network was informed of Ailes’s death by his wife Elizabeth. News anchors struggled to control their emotions as they read a statement written by Ailes’s wife.

“I am profoundly sad and heartbroken to report that my husband, Roger Ailes, passed away this morning,” the statement said.

“During a career that stretched over more than five decades, his work in entertainment, in politics, and in news affected the lives of many millions. And so even as we mourn his death, we celebrate his life,” the statement continued.

Ailes spent 20 years as the head of Fox, but he was removed last year amid claims of sexual harassment against him.

(Photo by Sgt. Christopher Tobey: Roger Ailes, president of Fox News and chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group, at the Fox News Headquarters in Times Square, New York, June 14, 2013.)

Oscar-Winning Director Jonathan Demme Dies

Ken Schwartz

Oscar-winning U.S. film director Jonathan Demme, who terrified audiences and also made them laugh, died Wednesday in New York at 73.

His family said Demme suffered from cancer of the esophagus.

Demme may be considered one of the most eclectic directors in Hollywood history — directing rousing comedies, horror, concert films and emotional dramas.

His 1991 thriller Silence of the Lambs featured Anthony Hopkins as a cannibalistic murderer with a terrifying mask who is restrained in a cage.

The film and Demme's close-ups of the criminal haunted audiences and won five Oscars, including one for Demme.

He followed it in 1993 with Philadelphia, starring Tom Hanks as a lawyer dying from AIDS. The film is considered to be a landmark in the way gays are portrayed and the seriousness of the AIDS epidemic.

Critics called Demme's 1984 concert film starring the Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense, one of the greatest rock films ever made, using techniques that have set the standard for rock documentaries.

Demme also was heavily involved in the Florida-based charity Americans for Immigrant Justice, and his family has requested that fans honor Demme by making contributions to the fund.

(Photo: Demme at the 2015 Montclair Film Festival. Courtesy of Dan D'Errico / Montclair Film Festival.)

Fans Gather at Prince’s Home One Year After His Death

Fans are marking the anniversary of U.S. musician Prince’s sudden death from an accidental drug overdose with visits to his Paisley Park home, which has been turned into a museum.

The museum is hosting a four-day event that includes concert performances by Prince’s former band-mates and panel discussions.

It was a year ago Friday that the pop legend was found dead at Paisley Park, a recording complex outside Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Prince lived and created his music.

Fans come to grieve

Fans who came to the complex Friday included Mary Adams, who drove six hours from Kansas City, Missouri, with her 10-year-old daughter.

“I needed to come here. This is where it began. I needed to pay homage to the star,” she said.

Adams said Prince had a profound impact on her life.

“Prince is the person that helped me decide that is was OK to be me, because that’s who he was. And he did it his way, his music, his style,” she added.

Minneapolis landmarks in purple

Fans are also holding a street party Saturday outside First Avenue, the club Prince made famous in Purple Rain, the title track of his breakthrough 1984 album and movie.

Landmarks around Minneapolis are being lighted in purple for two nights in tribute to Prince, while the Minnesota History Center is holding a special exhibit of Prince memorabilia.

The anniversary was supposed to be celebrated by the release of new Prince music. However, a Minnesota district court this week issued a temporary injunction barring the release of the six-song EP Deliverance after Prince’s estate filed a lawsuit claiming the works were stolen by his former sound engineer.

Prince’s commercial legacy continues to be surrounded in controversy. The pop star died without a will or children, and dozens of people came forward after his death, claiming they were heirs.

Musical legacy

Prince died at 57 from an accidental overdose of powerful painkillers he was secretly using to ease the pain of hip surgery.

Prince was 19 when he released his first album, For You, in 1978. In the decades that followed, the multi-talented musician released 1999, Little Red Corvette and Purple Rain.

He sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, won seven Grammys and picked up an Oscar for Best Original Song score for Purple Rain. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Rhonda Soso said Friday that she came from California to Paisley Park “just to be a part of the purple family, the purple army, just be a part of just his spirit, just his energy.”

“It’s just still so difficult accepting that he’s no longer here,” she added.

(Photo courtesy of Bobak Ha'Eri.)

Tributes Pour in for Late Rock 'N' Roll Icon Chuck Berry

Musicians have been paying tribute to American rock n' roll icon Chuck Berry, who died Saturday at the age of 90.

In a series of tweets, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger thanked Berry for "all the inspirational music he gave to us."

Mick Jagger: "His lyrics shone above others & threw a strange light on the American dream. Chuck you were amazing & your music is engraved inside us forever"

Legendary American singer Bruce Springsteen: "Chuck Berry was rock's greatest practitioner, guitarist, and the greatest pure rock 'n' roll writer who ever lived."

British rock singer Rod Stewart said Berry "inspired us all" while American singer Huey Lewis said his "music and influence will last forever."

The legendary African-American musician, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, gave his first performance in high school. Since then, he forged a life that included three years in reform school, 20 months in prison, and decades in the spotlight, pioneering a musical form that has become synonymous with American music.

Charles Edward Anderson Berry, who went by the nickname Chuck, was famous for such 1950s hits as Maybellene, Roll Over Beethoven, Sweet Little Sixteen, and Johnny B. Goode. The singles — revolutionary combinations of pop, country music and blues — were dance hits in high school gymnasiums and music clubs across the United States. His musical style helped give birth to the age of the American teenager, all hormones and energy and optimism.

Influence for many musicians

Berry’s hit Maybellene was a rock ’n’ roll treatment of a country song known as Ida Red. Berry wrote in a memoir that his music label, Chess, “couldn’t believe that a ... hillbilly song could be written and sung by a black guy.”

His music influenced most of the popular musicians that came after him, including such well-known music legends as the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys and the Grateful Dead. Referring to Berry in the mid-1980s, Rolling Stone’s Keith Richards famously quipped, “I’ve stolen every lick (guitar improvisation) he ever played.”

Born in the Midwest

Berry was born into a middle-class family in Missouri and gave his first performance at Sumner High School, historic in its own right as the first African-American high school west of the Mississippi River, a dividing line that separates the eastern third of the country from the West.

Berry is credited with originating many quirks exclusively associated with the rock ’n’ roll genre, including a rollicking, danceable beat, his famous “duck walk” and a heavy, rhythmic guitar style that he may well have been described in the song Johnny B. Goode: “just like he’s ringin’ a bell.” Legend has it that he developed his duck walk as a means of hiding the wrinkles in the one good suit he had brought on tour.

As for Johnny B. Goode — originally meant to be about a black boy, but changed to “country boy” for wider appeal — countless bands covered it, among them the Beatles, country star Buck Owens and heavy metal band Judas Priest.

Run-ins with the law

Berry’s brushes with the law came early and late. In high school, he was arrested for armed robbery and spent three years in a reformatory, between 1944 and 1947. He emerged to go to work in an automobile factory, but he was playing music publicly with the Johnnie Johnson Trio by 1953. A meeting in Chicago with famed blues musician Muddy Waters led to the release of Maybellene, national fame and a string of hits.

In 1961, Berry got in trouble for transporting a 14-year-old girl across state lines and served 20 months in prison, a period in his life that friends said changed him forever. In 1979, he served 120 days in prison for tax evasion.

Berry’s music evolved at a time when racism was running high; blacks and whites were segregated into different schools, businesses, churches and public facilities. But his music attracted fans of all ethnicities.

Music for everyone

“I made records for people who would buy them,” he said once. “No color, no ethnic, no political — I don’t want that, never did.”

Despite his troubles with the law and the conditions of the times, Berry rose to the top of his profession.

He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1984, became one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and was given a Kennedy Center Honors Award in Washington in 2000 for his lifetime of contributions to American cultural life.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced March 16 that Berry’s work will be featured in a new exhibit alongside that of Elvis Presley and other rock ’n’ roll greats, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the music magazine Rolling Stone.

Berry said the musical genres that inspired him were swing and big band, the music of the 1940s. In an appearance on The Tonight Show in 1987, Berry said he originally wanted to play the more traditional musical styles.

“The main guy was Louis Jordan. I wanted to sing like Nat Cole, with lyrics like Louis Jordan, with the swing of Benny Goodman, with Charlie Christian on guitar playing Carl Hogan’s riffs with the soul of Muddy Waters,” he said.

But Berry knew a good thing when he saw it. Married to his wife, Themetta Suggs, since 1948 and with four children to support, Berry embraced the musical style that made his career. In the 1957 hit Rock and Roll Music, Berry sang, “It’s gotta be rock ’n’ roll music, if you wanna dance with me.”

Berry’s final original album, titled Chuck, is expected to be released by Dualtone Music Group later this year.

Photo: In Schiphol (Amsterdam), Chuck Berry at press conference. 3 February 1965. Courtesy of Joop van Bilsen / Anefo.

Joni Sledge

Joan Elise Sledge (13 September 1956 – 10 March 2017), better known as Joni Sledge, was an American singer–songwriter and producer. Sledge was best known as a founding member of the American family vocal group Sister Sledge. Sledge died from unknown circumstances on March 10, 2017 at age 60.
Sledge had one child, a son named Thaddeus. Sledge was found dead by a friend at her home on 11 March 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona, She was 60 years old. Sledge's cause of death is unknown.

John Glenn, First US Astronaut to Orbit the Earth, Dies at 95

John Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the earth, has died at age 95, officials said Thursday.

Glenn had been admitted more than a week ago to Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital, according to the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.

He was the last surviving member of a group known as "the Mercury Seven" -- seven military test pilots selected in 1959 to become America's first astronauts.

After serving as a military pilot in World War II and the Korean conflict, Glenn was a test pilot on U.S. Navy and Marine Corps jet fighters and won a place in the first class of U.S. astronauts assembled by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, in 1958.

Glenn became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth, flying a ship called the Friendship 7 around the world in a nearly 5-hour flight on February 20, 1962.

Much later, he became the oldest man to fly in space in 1998, as a crew member on the U.S. space shuttle Discovery.

Glenn also had political aspirations, running as a Democrat for a U.S. Senate seat for Ohio in 1964. He was unsuccessful, but won a seat 10 years later, defending attacks on his military record in comments that came to be known as the "Gold Star Mothers" speech.

During the Democratic primary race for the Senate in 1974, opponent Howard Metzenbaum accused Glenn, a career military man, of never holding a real job. Glenn retorted, "You go with me to any Gold Star mother (a mother whose child has died in active U.S. military service) and you look her in the eye and tell her that her son did not hold a job."

The speech is credited with giving Glenn the edge over his competitor in the primary, and he went on to win the Senate seat. He remained a member of the U.S. Senate until 1999, and was the oldest living former member of the Senate until his death.

Glenn made his final trip into space in 1998, while still a senator, after persuading NASA to send him on a space shuttle flight. He was 77 at the time and became the oldest man ever to fly in space. His participation in the 9-day mission was criticized by some as folly, but supporters said it provided valuable data on the effects of space flight on an elderly person, as well as providing data that could be compared with Glenn's space flights from three decades earlier.

After leaving the Senate, Glenn helped to found a public service school at The Ohio State University, which later became the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.

Catapulted into the spotlight by the 1962 space flight, Glenn went on to win numerous accolades, including honorary degrees at a number of universities, the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service, a U.S. Senate public service award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Trailblazing American Journalist Gwen Ifill Dead at 61

Gwen Ifill, one of the most prominent African-American journalists in the U.S., has died after battling cancer for months. She was 61.

Ifill joined PBS as the moderator of Washington Week, the public broadcaster's Sunday morning public affairs program, in 1999 and served as the show's managing editor. She was the first African-American woman to host a major political TV talk show. In 2013, she was named co-anchor and co-managing editor with Judy Woodruff of the weeknight evening news broadcast PBS NewsHour.

In 2009, she wrote a book about President Barack Obama, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.

"It is with extreme sadness that we share the news that Gwen Ifill passed away earlier today [Monday] surrounded by family and friends," PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger said in a statement. "Gwen was one of America's leading lights in journalism and a fundamental reason public media is considered a trusted window on the world by audiences across the nation."

A native of New York City, Ifill joined PBS in 1999. Prior to joining PBS, Ifill worked as chief congressional and political correspondent for NBC News, White House correspondent for the New York Times, and political reporter for The Washington Post.

She moderated the 2004 vice presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards, and the 2008 vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin.

Photo by Tony Powell: Master of Ceremonies Gwen Ifill at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., 2015

Phyllis Schlafly 'First Lady of US Anti-Feminism' Dies

Phyllis Schlafly, the conservative activist who almost single-handedly helped defeat the proposed Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and pushed the Republican Party to the right in ensuing decades, has died. She was 92.

Schlafly died Monday of cancer at her home in St. Louis, her son John Schlafly said.

Known as "the first lady of anti-feminism," Schlafly rose to national attention in 1964 with her self-published book, “A Choice Not an Echo,” that became a manifesto for the far right. The book, which sold 3 million copies, chronicled the history of the Republican National Convention and is credited with helping conservative Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona win the 1964 GOP nomination.

She later helped lead opposition to the ERA, a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee equal rights under the law regardless of gender. Schlafly argued that the measure would mean the end of the traditional family.

Supporters of the measure argued it would require that laws determining child support and job opportunities be designed without regard to gender.

Schlafly told the Associated Press in 2007 that perhaps her greatest legacy was the Eagle Forum, which she founded in 1972. The ultraconservative group has chapters in several states and claims 80,000 members. "I've taught literally millions of people how to participate in self-government,'' Schlafly said.

The Eagle Forum pushes for low taxes, a strong military and English-only education. The group is against efforts it says are pushed by radical feminists or encroach on U.S. sovereignty, such as guest worker visas. The group's website describes the Equal Rights Amendment as having had a "hidden agenda of tax-funded abortions and same-sex marriages.''

Saint Louis University history professor Donald Critchlow, who profiled Schlafly in his 2005 book, “Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman's Crusade,” said the defeat of the amendment helped revive conservatism and pave the way for Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980.

Schlafly remained active in conservative politics well into her 80s, when she was still writing a column that appeared in 100 newspapers, doing radio commentaries on more than 460 stations, and publishing a monthly newsletter.

Photo by Gage Skidmore: Phyllis Schlafly speaking at CPAC in Washington D.C. on 12 February 2011.

Scotty Moore, Legendary Guitarist for Elvis Presley, Dies

Scotty Moore, the pioneering rock-and-roll guitarist who backed Elvis Presley on his early hits, died Tuesday at the age of 84 at his home in Nashville, Tennessee.
Moore was playing in a local country-western band in Memphis, Tennessee in July, 1954 when Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records, asked him to work with the 19-year-old Presley.  The next day, Presley and Moore, along with Moore's bandmate, bassist Bill Black, recorded over a dozen songs, including "That's All Right," that merged Presley's raw mixture of gospel and blues vocals with Moore's blues, jazz and country-influenced solos.
The release of "That's All Right" soon caught fire among audiences in the southern United States and launched Presley on the road to rock-and-roll superstardom.  Moore, Black and drummer D.J. Fontana would go on to record hundreds of other rock-and roll songs with Presley in the 1950s, including classics like "Heartbreak Hotel," "Don't Be Cruel," and "Hound Dog."
Moore's innovative playing would go on to inspire later generations of rock musicians, including Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards, who later remarked "Everyone wanted to be Elvis. I wanted to be Scotty."
After ending his partnership with Presley when the singer was drafted into the Army in 1958, Moore founded a record label, Fernwood Records, that released a hit single "Tragedy," by singer Thomas Wayne in 1959.  He teamed up with Presley one last time in 1968 for a television special that revived the singer's career.  Moore continued his music career as a recording studio manager and engineer.

Ali Service Is Celebration of Life, Nonviolence, Humanitarianism

by Marissa Melton

Widow Lonnie Ali and former President Bill Clinton were among many speakers eulogizing boxing legend Muhammad Ali at an arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday as some 15,000 mourners paid their respects.

The service took place after Ali's body had been driven through the streets of his hometown where fans packed the sidewalks to say a joyful and tearful goodbye.

Lonnie Ali spoke of her husband's love of Islam and its teachings of nonviolence. She said he had wanted his memorial service to be used to promote his ideals.

"He wanted us to remind people who are suffering that he had seen the face of injustice ... but he never became embittered enough to quit or engage in violence," she said.

Drawn to the 'forgotten'

She spoke of his love of travel, and of everyday people. "As he moved with ease around the world, the rich and powerful were drawn to him, but he was drawn to the poor and forgotten," she said.

Comedian Billy Crystal said Ali "was funny. He was beautiful. He was the most perfect athlete you ever saw. And those were his own words."

Turning serious, Crystal told anecdotes about the man he called "my big brother," referring to the long friendship between the two men despite differences in their backgrounds and professions.

Speaking of Ali's humanitarian and civil rights work, Crystal said, "He was a tremendous bolt of lighting, created by Mother Nature out of thin air. ... At the moment of impact it lights up everything around it, so you can see everything clearly.”

From polarizing to beloved

Broadcaster Bryant Gumbel commented, "What does it say of a man that he can go from being one of the nation's most polarizing figures to one of its most beloved, and do so without changing his nature?"

He went on to say Ali had led battles "in support of his race, in defense of his generation ... and, ultimately, in spite of his disease." He also called Ali a champion who represented "the best of Islam, to offset the hatred that comes with fear."

Clinton mused on Ali's origins and his transformation into a "universal soldier for our common humanity."

The former president spoke of how hard Ali fought the Parkinson's disease that plagued him for decades before his death last week at age 74. But he also praised Ali's legacy.

"My enduring image of him is like a little reel in three shots," Clinton said. "The boxer I thrilled to as a boy, the man I watched take the last steps to light the Olympic flame when I was president ... and then this — the children whose lives he touched; the young people he inspired. That’s the most important thing of all."

A sense of 'somebodiness'

Louisville Pastor Kevin Cosby spoke of Ali in the same breath as civil rights legend Rosa Parks and barrier-breaking athletes Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens, all African-Americans who defied societal norms to try to break the color barrier between black and white Americans.

"Before James Brown said, 'I'm black and I'm proud,' Muhammad Ali said, 'I'm black and I'm pretty,' " Cosby said, adding that, in the time that Ali said it, " 'blacks' and 'pretty' were an oxymoron." He said Ali "dared to affirm the power and capacity of African-Americans," and gave them a "sense of somebodiness."

Rabbi Michael Lerner, a political activist, spoke of Ali's decision to give up his boxing title rather than be drafted to serve in the Vietnam War. "Ali stood up to immoral war, risked fame to speak truth to power," he said.

Other guests at the service included many members of Ali's family, Hollywood director Spike Lee, football legend Jim Brown, basketball's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg.

'Me and Mrs. Jones' Singer, Billy Paul Dies

Singer Billy Paul, best known for his song Me and Mrs. Jones, died Sunday.  He was 80.

On Me and Mrs. Jones, a number one song in 1972, Paul crooned about a love affair between a man and a married woman.

The sultry song earned Paul a Grammy for best male rhythm and blues performance, beating out his competitors who included Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield and Isaac Hayes.

It was his biggest hit and Paul would be identified with the song for the rest of his life.

Paul was one of many singers who found success with the writing and producing team of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, whose Philadelphia International Records also released music by the O'Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes.

Years later in 2003, however, Paul sued Gamble and Huff for unpaid royalties on Me and Mrs. Jones and won.  A California jury awarded Paul a half million dollars.

Paul was born Paul Williams.  At the suggestion of a manager, he began to use Billy Paul as his stage name to avoid confusion with the songwriter Paul Williams.

Paul continued to perform throughout the years.  The Associated Press reports that he was lining up appearances shortly before his death.

(Photo by Kassus: Billy Paul at Carthage Palace, 2006.)

Music Fans Around the World Mourn Prince

Fans Around the World Mourn Music Icon Prince

As fans worldwide lamented the loss of “a creative icon,” as U.S. President Barack Obama called Prince in a statement about the legendary musician's death, medical examiners warned that results of Friday’s autopsy might not be made public for weeks.

Obama said he listened to Prince's songs “Purple Rain” and “Delirious” on Friday morning at the U.S. ambassador's residence in London, where he is staying. He called Prince's death "a remarkable loss" during a news conference in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

"The doves are really crying now," American media mogul Oprah Winfrey said about the death of Prince, referencing his song “When Doves Cry.”

The 57-year-old artist died Thursday morning at his home outside the northern U.S. city of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson told reporters during a news conference Friday that there were no obvious signs of trauma on Prince's body and there was no reason to suspect suicide in the musician's death.

Olson said that following the death, police issued a search warrant for Prince's home and canvassed the scene, which he said was normal procedure. Olson said he could not comment on whether police took any items out of Prince's home.

Sheriff's officials say deputies found music superstar Prince unresponsive in an elevator after they were summoned to the Paisley Park Studios complex where he lived. He was pronounced dead after their attempts to revive him failed.

The local medical examiner's office said Friday that preliminary results of the autopsy will take days and the results of a full toxicology scan could be weeks.

A spokeswoman at the medical examiner's office told reporters Friday that the chief medical officer was at the scene of Prince's death for several hours. She said the officer performed a full autopsy Friday, then released Prince's body to his family.

911 call

Prince was hospitalized last week. His private plane made an emergency landing in Illinois following concerts in Georgia. No details were released at the time regarding his health.

An unidentified male who called the 911 operator to get emergency help for Prince did not know the address of the musician's home, according to a transcript of the conversation. He said "We're at Prince's house. ... And the people are just distraught."

A day after Prince's death, a steady stream of people filed past his home, leaving flowers and cards.

Huge loss

Prince was not a stage name. He was born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis.

"For the residents of Minneapolis, the loss of Prince is too large to describe," Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said in a statement. "He was one of us. He gave us more opportunities to hear his music than anyone else. What a blessing. Only now may we realize how lucky we were."

‘Peerless’ talent

Prince was just 19 when he released his first album, For You, in 1978. In the decades that followed, the multi-talented musician released “1999,” “Little Red Corvette,” and “Purple Rain,” the title track of his breakthrough 1984 album and movie.

He sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, won seven Grammys and picked up an Oscar for Best Original Song score for “Purple Rain.”

Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

"He rewrote the rulebook, forging a synthesis of black funk and white rock that served as a blueprint for cutting edge music in the '80s," said a posting on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website. "Prince made dance music that rocked and rock music that had a bristling, funky backbone."

Clive Davis, chief creative officer at Sony Music said, "Prince was peerless as a musician, performer and songwriter. ... To know Prince personally was to know someone kind and gentle, phenomenally brilliant and intellectually curious, with every bone in his body loving music."

New York tribute

About a thousand people sang and danced to Prince's music Thursday night outside filmmaker Spike Lee's headquarters in Brooklyn at an impromptu street party to honor Prince. Lee said simply, "I miss my brother. Prince was a funny cat."

"And just like that ... the world lost a lot of magic. Rest in peace, Prince! Thanks for giving us so much," said pop singer Katy Perry.

Rapper MC Hammer wrote, "I loved this man. Too soon. Can't comprehend it but it's unfortunately true. Heaven is yours. RIP #Prince #RIPPrince."

"Today is the worst day ever. Prince, R.I.P., I am crying!" said British singer Boy George.

Sales of Prince's music have soared since news broke of the pop star's death.

(Photo by Yves Lorson: Prince in Belgium, 1986.)

American Music Legend Prince Dead at 57

American pop icon Prince has died at the age of 57.

Media reports said he was found dead early Thursday at his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Details have not been released.

​​Born Prince Rogers Nelson, the multi-talented and influential musician is known for such songs as "1999," "Little Red Corvette," and "Purple Rain," the title track of his breakthrough 1984 album and movie.

He sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, won seven Grammys and picked up an Oscar for Best Original Song score for "Purple Rain."

Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. 

"He rewrote the rulebook, forging a synthesis of black funk and white rock that served as a blueprint for cutting-edge music in the Eighties," said a posting on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website. "Prince made dance music that rocked and rock music that had a bristling, funky backbone."

Musicians, artists and fans took to Twitter express their shock and sadness at the news of Prince's death. "Numb. Stunned. This can't be real," Pop star Justin Timberlake wrote. 

Televison footage has been showing a small group of fans gathering outside his Paisley Park studio.

Who was Prince?

Born: Prince Rogers Nelson, named after Prince Roger Trio, a jazz band his father performed with

When: June 7, 1958

Where: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Died: April 21, at his home in Paisley Park, a Minneapolis suburb

Aliases: Briefly used others names, including an unpronounceable symbol O(+>, which led to him often being referred to as "the artist formerly known as Prince"

Debut album: For You, 1978

Several hit albums and songs, including: albums 1999 and Purple Rain, which was later made into a movie, Sign O' the Times, The Black Album; songs Little Red Corvette, Kiss, Raspberry Beret, Emancipation and When Doves Cry

Career: Sold more than 100 million records, won seven Grammy awards, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, performed during 2007 Super Bowl XLI halftime show

Known for: His songs and albums often created controversy for their sexually charged lyrics

Photo by Penner: Prince at Coachella 2008

Frank Sinatra Jr. Dies at 72

Frank Sinatra Jr., son of the legendary singer and actor, died suddenly Wednesday in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was performing in a musical tribute to his father.

The Associated Press reported that he had a heart attack and was 72 years old.

Sinatra was a singer and musician who made headlines in 1963 when he was kidnapped and released after his father paid a large ransom.

Gossip columnists said the kidnapping was a hoax and publicity stunt, but the FBI said it was genuine and the kidnappers were convicted.

While Sinatra could never come close to matching the fame and artistry of his father, he did become well-known as the musical director and conductor for the senior Sinatra's concerts.

(Photo: Frank Sinatra, Jr. in San Diego, 2008 by Phil Konstantin)

Nancy Reagan Remembered

by Ken Schwartz

Former first lady Nancy Reagan was remembered with laughter and tears Friday by 1,000 invited mourners during her funeral at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Nancy Reagan was 94 when she died of heart failure Sunday in Bel Air, California.

Current first lady Michelle Obama represented the White House at Friday's service. President Barack Obama said in his weekly address Saturday that "as president, I know just how important it is to have a strong life partner and President Reagan was as lucky as I am."

A long list of Reagan family friends, ranging from conservative Republicans to left-wing Democrats, attended the funeral. They included members of White House families going back nearly 60 years, including Caroline Kennedy, Steven Ford, former President George W. Bush, and ex-first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Rosalynn Carter.

Actors Tom Selleck and Bo Derek and singers Johnny Mantis and Wayne Newton were among the Hollywood elite.

Tough, dedicated to husband

Nancy Reagan was remembered as a tough and often stubborn woman, but someone who was 100 percent devoted to her late husband, President Ronald Reagan.

Daughter Patti Davis said the one sure way to get on Nancy Reagan's bad side was to show even the smallest bit of disrespect to her husband.

She recalls seeing them sitting together on a California beach at sunset — not talking or moving, just sitting.

Davis recalled how, as a young girl, she fell and cracked her skull, and Nancy Reagan tenderly held her head with one hand while driving with the other to a hospital emergency room.

She also had the mourners laughing with a story about his father getting a rubdown from a massage therapist. She said Nancy Reagan sneaked into the room, kissed her prone husband on the back of the neck, and snuck out, leaving the perplexed Reagan to believe it was the burly massage therapist who kissed him.

Advocacy for stem cell research

When Ronald Reagan died from complications of Alzheimer's disease in 2004, Nancy Reagan became an inexhaustible advocate for stem cell research, which doctors believe could lead to a cure for Alzheimer's.

Obama said he was "proud" that Nancy Reagan was one of the first people he called when he signed an order to resume federal stem cell research.

"Nobody understood better than Nancy Reagan the importance of pursuing treatments that hold the potential and the promise to improve and save lives," the president said.

Obama ordered all U.S. flags on government buildings flown at half-staff until Friday night, when Reagan's casket was put in the ground next to her beloved husband at the presidential library named for him.

Besides Patti Davis and son Ron Reagan, Nancy Reagan is survived by a stepson, Michael, who Ronald Reagan adopted during his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman.

Tennis Journalist, Historian Bud Collins Dies

American tennis writer and sportscaster Bud Collins, who called himself a “scribbler and a babbler,” has died at age 86.

Collins, who died Friday at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, was credited with paving the way for newspaper reporters to move into broadcasting, becoming a familiar face to U.S. television audiences with his “Breakfast at Wimbledon” coverage on NBC.

He made one of his final public appearances last September in New York, when the media center at the U.S. Open was dedicated in his honor. A plaque for him reads: “Journalist, Commentator, Historian, Mentor, Friend.”

Collins wrote several books, including The Education of a Tennis Player (with Rod Laver, 1971), Evonne! On the Move (with Evonne Goolagong Cawley, 1974), and a memoir, My Life With the Pros (1989).

He also wrote several tennis encyclopedias, including The Modern Encyclopedia of Tennis, The Bud Collins Tennis Encyclopedia, and Total Tennis, which became an authoritative standard in the sport.

Collins was married to photographer Anita Ruthling Klaussen.