Music: Final Exits of 2012

Dave 'Omar' Alexander
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/01/dave-omar-alexander.html

Bulgarian-Born Pianist Alexis Weissenberg Dies at 82
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/01/bulgarian-born-pianist-alexis.html

Bridie Gallagher
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/01/bridie-gallagher.html

US Blues Legend Etta James Dies of Leukemia
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/01/us-blues-legend-etta-james-dies-of.html

Remembering Blues Legend Etta James
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/01/remembering-blues-legend-etta-james.html

John Levy
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/01/john-levy.html

Camilla Williams
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/01/camilla-williams.html

Legendary Soul Train Host Found Dead
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/02/legendary-soul-train-host-found-dead.html

Tributes Pour in for Late Soul Train Creator
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/02/tributes-pour-in-for-late-soul-train.html

Singer Whitney Houston Dead at 48
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/02/singer-whitney-houston-dead-at-48.html

Singer Whitney Houston Memorialized at Pre-Grammy Awards Gala
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/02/singer-whitney-houston-memorialized-at.html

Davy Jones
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/02/davy-jones.html

Remembering Davy Jones
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/03/remembering-davy-jones.html

Bluegrass Legend Earl Scruggs Dead at 88
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/03/bluegrass-legend-earl-scruggs-dead-at.html

Remembering Earl Scruggs
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/03/remembering-earl-scruggs.html

Entertainment Pioneer Dick Clark Dies at 82
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/04/entertainment-pioneer-dick-clark-dies.html

Adam Yauch of The Beastie Boys Dies at 47
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/05/adam-yauch-of-beastie-boys-dies-at-47.html

Chuck Brown, 'The Godfather of Go-Go,' Dies at 75
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/05/chuck-brown-godfather-of-go-go-dies-at.html

Queen of Disco Loses Battle with Cancer
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/05/queen-of-disco-loses-battle-with-cancer.html

Godfather of Go-Go Music Dies
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/05/godfather-of-go-go-music-dies.html

Last Dance for Queen of Disco; Donna Summer Succumbs to Cancer
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/05/last-dance-for-queen-of-disco-donna.html

Disco Era Icon Robin Gibb Dies of Cancer at 62
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/05/disco-era-icon-robin-gibb-dies-of.html

American Folk Legend Doc Watson Dies
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/05/american-folk-legend-doc-watson-dies.html

Robin Gibb to Be Buried June 8
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/06/robin-gibb-to-be-buried-june-8.html

Country Music Pioneer Kitty Wells Dies at 92
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/07/country-music-pioneer-kitty-wells-dies.html

Award-Winning Composer Marvin Hamlisch Dies
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/08/award-winning-composer-marvin-hamlisch.html

Hamlisch Remembered for Iconic Broadway Tunes
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/08/hamlisch-remembered-for-iconic-broadway.html

Legendary US Songwriter Hal David Dies at 91
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/09/legendary-us-songwriter-hal-david-dies.html

Singer Andy Williams, Star of Records and TV, Dies at 84
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/09/singer-andy-williams-star-of-records.html

Pioneering Jazz Musician Dave Brubeck Dies
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/12/pioneering-jazz-musician-dave-brubeck.html

Indian Sitarist Ravi Shankar Dies
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/12/indian-sitarist-ravi-shankar-dies.html

Russian Soprano Galina Vishnevskaya Dies At 86
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2012/12/russian-soprano-galina-vishnevskaya_13.html

Russian Soprano Galina Vishnevskaya Dies At 86

Russian opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya, the widow of legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, died Tuesday aged 86.

State media report that she has suffered from heart trouble in recent years.

The famed soprano was celebrated for her dramatic interpretations of classic and modern works and sang in most major opera houses across the world.

For many years, Vishnevskaya enjoyed a star status in the Soviet Russia where she received the Order of Lenin and the People's Artist prizes. But she and her husband Rostropovich were forced into exile after offering support to writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who was critical of the communist government.

The musician couple was forced into exile in 1974, eventually settling in the United States where she continued to sing and direct opera.

The Soviet authorities later stripped them of their citizenship, which they regained in 1990 during Mikhail Gorbachev's era of perestroika.

The couple was lauded in the post-Soviet Russia and in 1991 established the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation, based in Washington, D.C., to improve the health and future of children in the former Soviet Union.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week issued a decree granting Vishnevskaya the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland,” 1st Class, for her contributions to Russian music and culture.

He expressed his condolences Tuesday.

(Photo by Alexey Yushenkov, 2008)