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.)

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.

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

Motorhead’s Lemmy Dead at Age 70

British hard rock icon Lemmy, the lead singer and bass player for Motorhead, had died at the age of 70, two days after being diagnosed with cancer.

“There is no easy way to say this…our mighty, noble friend Lemmy passed away today after a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer,” Motorhead said in a Facebook posting Monday “We cannot begin to express our shock and sadness, there aren’t words.”

The band noted that he had been diagnosed with cancer on December 26.

Born Ian Kilmister, Lemmy formed Motorhead in 1975. He was known for his aggressive bass and his gravelly voice on such songs as “Bomber,” “Overkill” and the band’s most famous track “Ace of Spades.”

“It's still very popular. When we do it onstage, everyone loves it," Lemmy told Rolling Stone in August.

Many rock and heavy metal musicians have been paying tribute to the Motorhead front man.

On Twitter, Ozzy Osbourne called him a warrior and a legend. "Lost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today. He will be sadly missed. He was a warrior and a legend. I will see you on the other side."

"We've lost a friend & legend," Foo Fighters said in a Facebook posting.

Metallica tweeted that it would be “forever grateful for all your inspiration.”

Lemmy was known for his hard living lifestyle that including heavy drinking. While confirming his death, Motorhead urged fans to “play Lemmy's music loud. Have a drink or few. Share stories. Celebrate the life this lovely, wonderful man celebrated so vibrantly himself. He would want exactly that."

American Rock Pioneer Lou Reed Dead at 71

Influential American rock musician Lou Reed, the widely acknowledged poet laureate of the dark, hard-edged genre known as punk rock, has died in New York.

Reed's agent said the 71-year-old performer, who had been in frail health in recent months, died Sunday outside of New York City of apparent complications from a recent liver transplant.

Known for his cold onstage persona and gaunt appearance, Reed's early compositions with his band, Velvet Underground, focused on New York City's darker themes of drug addiction, sexuality and violence.  Critics say his groundbreaking imagery rivaled that of 1960s icon Bob Dylan, radically expanding lyrical boundaries into themes never before explored in popular music.

Reed had only one commercial hit, the 1972 composition "Walk on the Wild Side."  Other songs popular among his followers included "Heroin," "Sweet Jane" and "All Tomorrow's Parties."

Reed would perform decades later at the White House during the Clinton administration. He also was the subject of a public broadcasting "American Masters" documentary and the recipient of a 1999 Grammy Award.

Remembering J.J. Cale

by Katherine Cole

Songwriter J.J. Cale was a guitarist who preferred to stay in the background and let others make hits of his songs, such as “After Midnight” and “Call Me The Breeze.”

Cale, 74, died on July 26 at a hospital in La Jolla, California. Cause of death was listed as a heart attack.

Cale was born in Oklahoma City and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  He grew up in what he described as a vibrant, boom town. Oil had brought money to Tulsa, and workers from all over the world followed it. Their music came along, too.

“Tulsa is kind of in the middle of the United States and rhythm and blues and blues came out of Mississippi and kind of filtered up there and jazz coming out of the north, Kansas City was a big jazz hotbed in the ‘50s and late ‘40s, and Western swing, which is kind of a Country guy’s impression of swing music of, say, Glenn Miller and those kind of guys. So it was kind of a melting pot in there," Cale said. "Then rock & roll hit about 1956 or ’54, I guess. And I decided that was my kind of music.”

Influenced by all those different styles, Cale picked up a guitar and learned to play. After finishing high school, he performed in bands and began working as a recording engineer.  Cale was friendly with another Tulsa musician, Leon Russell, and the piano player soon convinced him to pack up his guitar and move to Los Angeles. In California, Cale continued working as a guitar player and made his first recordings, but they weren’t hits and he decided to return to Oklahoma.
       
In those days, Cale saw himself as a guitarist first and an engineer second. Songwriting wasn’t his career. In fact, he said, it wasn’t even something he put a lot of effort into. It was just something you had to do, if you were going to make an album.

In 1970, times were tough for Cale and he was about to give up music altogether. One night he turned on the radio and heard a song he had written, “After Midnight,” being sung by Eric Clapton. And suddenly, Cale was a hit songwriter.

“When Eric Clapton cut 'After Midnight,' he sold so many records and it was so big at the time, I decided that I would pursue the songwriting thing." Cale said. "I was 34 years old at that time. I’d been down the pike and back before I had any success at all.”

Soon, Cale was in Nashville, cutting “Naturally”, his most successful solo album, and a disc that featured his hit single, “Crazy Mama.”

While he went on to record more than a dozen solo albums and one Grammy-winning duet CD with Eric Clapton, he saw himself as a songwriter first and a performer second. 

“What my whole object was is not to really sell records. I was trying to sell songs," Cale said. "And instead of running around Nashville or New York or Los Angeles, knocking on people’s doors and trying to get them to cut my songs, we thought that making records would get the songs out there farther and it really did. So, my records really didn’t sell, but musicians started picking up on my sound and my songs and cutting my songs and that turned into a gold mine.” 

Other artists covering Cale’s songs include Dionne Warwick, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Carlos Santana, and The Band.

If you’re interested in hearing Cale sing his own songs, there is a newly-released boxed set containing five early albums. “The Road To Escondido,” his Grammy-winning blues duet album with Eric Clapton is another good choice. It’s a mix of originals and covers, including their take on the classic “Sporting Life Blues.”

Indian Sitarist Ravi Shankar Dies

Indian composer and sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar has died in a California hospital. He was 92.

A statement released by his family, late Tuesday, said Shankar had been in “fragile health” for several years. The statement says he underwent surgery last week and never recovered.

Shankar was one of India's best known performers. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released a message on “Twitter” Wednesday reacting to his death. The prime minister called Shankar a “national treasure” and a “global ambassador of India's cultural heritage.”

The late Beatle George Harrison called Shankar “the godfather” of world music. The two collaborated on several projects, including a 1971 relief concert for Bangladesh. Shankar also worked with violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

Shankar was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor, and also won three Grammy awards. He has been nominated for the 2013 Grammy for his album, “The Living Room Sessions, Part 1.”

He was the father of American singer Norah Jones and performer Anoushka Shankar.

(Photo by Alephalpha, 1988)

American Folk Legend Doc Watson Dies

by Mary Morningstar

American folk and roots music performer Doc Watson died on May 29 of complications from abdominal surgery.

For more than five decades, Watson entertained audiences around the world with an eclectic repertoire that included elements of folk, blues, Country, bluegrass, rockabilly, and even jazz.  A master of the contemporary flat-pick guitar style, the eight-time Grammy Award winner influenced generations of musicians in rock, country and folk. 

Born Arthel Lane Watson in Deep Gap, North Carolina, his first love was the traditional music of the Blue Ridge Mountain region.  In his early childhood, he contracted an illness which caused permanent blindness, a handicap that directed his interests toward music.  Watson was also inspired by his father, a multi-instrumentalist, who bought his first harmonica and taught him to play the banjo.  He got his first lessons on the guitar while attending the School For The Blind in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Watson loved to tell the story of how that experience earned him his own guitar.

"My father was sitting at the breakfast table drinking his last cup of coffee before he went to work and I was fooling with a borrowed guitar that one of my brothers had there," Watson recalled. "And he said, 'Son, if you learn a song on that by the time I get back this evening from work, we'll buy you one on Saturday.'  Well, what he didn't know was a friend of mine at the school I was going to over in Raleigh had taught me a few chords and I could pick and sing that thing when he got back.  And he said, 'I guess I'll have to keep my word.'"

At age 17, Doc Watson made his performing debut at a fiddler's convention in Boone, North Carolina.  That led to appearances at other local functions and on various radio programs.  Doc's concerts were often called "short courses in the history of American music."  His popularity grew in the early 1960's, and in 1964, reached a national level following a performance at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island.  That same year, he was signed to Vanguard Records.  He once said his ultimate goal was to be a recording artist.

"I always wanted to be professional enough to do some records," he explained. " I never thought about having any sort of countrywide or worldwide recognition in the music world. My dad put me to work when I was 13 instead of letting me sit in the corner on the other end of the saw and that started me.  And my sweet little wife Rosalee took my hand and helped me with enough courage to get out and make a living."

In 1965, Doc Watson added his 15-year-old son Merle to his act.  For the next two decades, Merle's slide and acoustic guitar accompaniment were featured on several albums and at nearly all of his live shows.  At age 36, Merle died in a farming accident, a tragedy that led to Doc's semi-retirement in the late-1980's.  In 1988, Watson honored his son’s memory by founding the annual roots music festival MerleFest.

Although he chose to spend less time on the road, Doc continued to record in the 1990's.  The bond he felt with his audience transcended into the recording studio.

"You think about 'Well, if I do this well, a lot of people of going to buy this record and they're going to listen to it.'  You've got an audience there though you don't see them and you can't reach out and shake hands with them.  They're there in the future as you will.  You know if you do the record well, once people begin to hear it, they'll buy it and that's your audience," he said.

In 1995, Doc returned to his musical roots with the album, Docabilly.  Some of the artists he influenced, including Marty Stuart, Duane Eddy and guit-steel player Junior Brown, were featured on the critically-acclaimed collection of 1950's rockabilly tunes.  Two of Doc’s albums crossed over to the Billboard 200 chart, including his 2003 Grammy-nominated release, The Three Pickers.  The album also featured Earl Scruggs and Ricky Skaggs.

Doc Watson was awarded the National Medal of Arts from President Bill Clinton in 1997.  In 2004, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Photo by boonejag75: Doc Watson at Sugar Grove Music Festival in 2009.

Godfather of Go-Go Music Dies

by Doug Levine

The so-called “Godfather of Go-Go” Chuck Brown died Wednesday (16 May) after suffering from pneumonia at a hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.  He was 75.   Brown was a music legend among fans in the nation’s capital.

Singer and guitarist Chuck Brown, along with his band The Soul Searchers, pioneered Washington’s Go-Go movement in the 1970s.  They turned it into a citywide phenomenon by blending funk with R&B, Latin, soul and dance hall music.  The band’s driving percussion beats were synchronized with Brown’s commanding vocals, while the horn-section provided tight, jazzy solos.

Chuck Brown, who moved to Washington from his native North Carolina, once said he was influenced by the sounds and fast beats he heard on the streets, as well as jazz and gospel.  Brown defined Go-Go as “a music that continues on and on, a call and response communication with the audience.”

Brown launched his career playing guitar with Jerry Butler and the Earls of Rhythm.  He was a member of the band Los Latinos before forming his own group The Soul Searchers in 1966.  After gaining a steady local following, they released their debut album, “We The People” in 1972.  Audiences continued to grow after the release of their hit single, “Bustin’ Loose.”

“Bustin’ Loose” became the first and only Top 40 hit for Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers, although it did reach Number One on the R&B chart.  Over the next three decades, the group recorded more than a dozen albums, culminating with their first Grammy nomination for the song “Love” from “We Got This.”  The honor took Brown by surprise.  He said, “After some 40 years in the business, running around and singing in different parts of the world, I never thought it would be like this.”

News of Brown’s death spread quickly throughout Washington, DC and beyond.  Washington Mayor Vincent Gray called Go-Go music “DC’s very own unique contribution to the world of pop music.”  He said the city would have been a different place without Chuck Brown.

“The Godfather of Go-Go” Chuck Brown died 16 May at age 75.

Photo: Go go musician Chuck Brown performing at the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, National Mall, Washington, D.C. on 1 October 2005. Photo taken by Gyrofrog.

Chuck Brown, 'The Godfather of Go-Go,' Dies at 75

Chuck Brown, the musician known as “The Godfather of Go-Go,” has died at 75 after a bout with pneumonia.

After several minor hit records, Brown created his own sound in the 1970s — a combination of funk, soul, and Latin music he called Go-Go, because he said the music goes and goes all night. The hit, “Bustin' Loose,” with his group, The Soul Searchers, helped define Go-Go's sound.

Go-Go became a signature sound of the African-American community of Washington, D.C. The affable, gravelly-voiced Brown was a familiar presence in the city's nightclubs and on the streets of black neighborhoods.

Photo by Eduardo Rodriguez, NEA. 2005.

Adam Yauch of The Beastie Boys Dies at 47

Adam Yauch, a founding member of the pioneering Beastie Boys hip hop group, died Friday at the age of 47 of cancer.

Yauch, who also was known as MCA, helped start the group in 1979 when it was a hardcore punk bank. But as its music evolved, the Beastie Boys produced some of hip-hop's celebrated albums, including Licensed to Ill, Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head and Ill Communication. Yauch was a vocalist and bass player.

The group has not performed live since 2009, but was inducted last month into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Beastie Boys said Yauch died from a cancerous tumor in his saliva gland that was first discovered in 2009.

Photo: Adam Yauch a.k.a. MCA, Beastie Boys at Brixton Academy, 5 September 2007. Photo by Fabio Venni from London, UK.

Remembering Earl Scruggs

by Katherine Cole

Earl Scruggs, whose distinctive style of bluegrass banjo picking influenced countless players and helped to shape the sound of modern country music, died in a Nashville hospital Wednesday, March 28.  He was 88 years old.

Before Earl Scruggs, most banjo players used a two- fingered picking style. But all that changed after the 21-year-old North Carolina native joined Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys in 1945, and brought his three- fingered rolls to Nashville.

“I used to play with just the finger and thumb, which they call two-fingered style.  Then I started playing a tune when I was about 10 or 11 and this third finger started working, which filled in some spaces. And that excited me because I could play some other tunes that I couldn’t play with the two finger style. So I just kept working with what I had.”

Before Earl Scruggs, the banjo was often considered a novelty item in a band. It was usually played by a comic character, not a serious musician.  As fellow banjo player Bela Fleck explains, Earl Scruggs changed all that.

“I think it was a combination of an incredible rhythmic approach with a very simple and beautiful harmonic language," he said. "He plays the banjo and it grabs you just like the lead vocal would. An amazing technique.  They called him ‘the Paganini of the banjo’ in the New York Times when he played at Carnegie Hall.  And I think he was just a beautiful, beautiful player. I think the lessons that you learn from someone like that transcend bluegrass and are just about music.”

In 1948, Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt shocked the country music community by quitting Bill Monroe’s band and setting out on their own. In retrospect, it was a brilliant move, as Flatt and Scruggs and The Foggy Mountain Boys soon became just as famous as their ex-boss. Their first hit, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” arguably became the most famous banjo instrumental in the world. The song was a favorite of a then- teenaged bluegrass fan named Warren Beatty, who later used it as the theme to his movie “Bonnie and Clyde.” 

By the time Warren Beatty used their music in “Bonnie and Clyde,” Flatt and Scruggs had outgrown the smallish world of bluegrass and had entered the mainstream. They played everywhere:  New York’s famed Carnegie Hall, college campuses, and even headlined the famous Newport Folk Festival in 1962. The next year, Earl Scruggs’ banjo was heard on the number one country song in the U.S., “The Ballad of Jed Clampett,” known to fans around the world as the theme to the “Beverly Hillbillies” television program. 

Throughout the 1960s Earl Scruggs’ sound continued to evolve. He discovered new songs through his sons Randy and Gary, along with musicians like Bob Dylan and Ravi Shankar, who came to Nashville and wanted to meet and pick tunes with the legendary banjo master. In turn, Earl wanted to incorporate songs by Bob Dylan and other folk rockers into the Flatt and Scruggs sound, a move that didn’t please Lester Flatt. Nor did he agree with Scruggs’ liberal politics. These differences led to the breakup of Flatt & Scruggs in 1969.

The end of that legendary pairing was not, however, the end of Earl Scruggs. He teamed with his sons Steve, Gary and Randy to form the Earl Scruggs Revue, a mainly acoustic rock band that went on to record several albums and influence many groups. Among them was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who credited Earl and his sons for inspiring the groundbreaking project “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.”

Earl Scruggs continued to record and perform with the Revue through the 1970s and 1980s.  Son Steve’s death in 1992 deeply affected him. The loss, along with a serious heart attack four years later, forced him into an early retirement.

The new century, however, brought more music: Fans the world over were thrilled when he released “Earl Scruggs And Friends.” The Grammy-winning album featured collaborations with his sons along with Sting, Dwight Yoakam and others.

A member of just about every musical Hall of Fame and a recipient of numerous honors, Earl Scruggs continued to tour until soon before his death. He played in theatres, clubs and major festivals such as Bonnaroo, Stagecoach and last October’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.

Few musicians have changed the way an instrument is played and heard the way Earl Scruggs has. Today, most everyone who picks a banjo does it “Scruggs style.”  As the country singer Porter Wagoner said at Scruggs’ 80th birthday party, “Earl was to the five-string banjo what Babe Ruth was to baseball.”

Bluegrass Legend Earl Scruggs Dead at 88

American bluegrass musician Earl Scruggs, whose unique banjo-playing style helped shape modern country music, has died.

The 88-year-old Scruggs died Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee — known as the country music capital of the world. His son, Gary, said he died of natural causes.

Friends and fans paid tribute to Scruggs Thursday and flowers were to be placed on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

A four-time Grammy Award winner, Scruggs originated the three-finger style of picking the five-string banjo, an American instrument. His “Scruggs style” helped popularize the instrument beyond bluegrass and country music.

The host of Voice of America's music program Roots and Branches, Katherine Cole, says it is “impossible to overstate how important Earl Scruggs was to American music.” She says that few musicians have changed the way an instrument is played and heard the way Scruggs did.

In 1945, he joined bandleader Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys — which established the genre — and wowed listeners on the Grand Ole Opry radio program broadcast from Nashville.

The marketing director for the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Kentucky, Danny Clark, says Earl Scruggs transformed bluegrass.

“Bluegrass music, it was completely different before Earl Scruggs came on board. I mean, if you look back in the history books, in December of 1945, when Bill Monroe hired Earl Scruggs to play in his band, the Blue Grass Boys, that addition of Earl Scruggs to what is now referred to as the 'classic' band, it just completely revolutionized bluegrass music, the way it's heard. That sound, that three-finger style that he helped pioneer and broadcast to the masses had never been heard before, and that addition to Bill Monroe's band just completely changed that form of American music.”

Later, Scruggs partnered with Blue Grass Boys guitarist and lead vocalist Lester Flatt to form their own band, the Foggy Mountain Boys. Flatt and Scruggs rose to fame with the theme song for the 1960s television series The Beverly Hillbillies, known as “The Ballad of Jed Clampett.” The 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde also featured their work, with their song “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” used in the movie's chase scenes.

Photo: 2005 picture of USA banjo player Earl Scruggs by Rivers Langley.

Final Exits, 22-28 December 2011

 Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood, 69, American musician, The Mothers of Invention

Obituaries for 22-28 December 2011

22
* Richard Bessière, 88, French author. (French)
* Bettye Danoff, 88, American golfer, founding member of the LPGA.
* Bennie Ellender, 86, American college football coach (Arkansas State, Tulane), Alzheimer's disease.
* David Gold, 31, Canadian musician (Woods of Ypres), car accident.
* Michael von Grünau, 67, Canadian psychologist and neurophysiologist.
* Nina Mula, 80, Russian-born Albanian soprano.
* Vasant Ranjane, 74, Indian cricketer.
* Rogelio Sánchez González, 90, Mexican Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Colima (1972–1980).
* Marion Segal Freed, 77, American film producer, editor and screenwriter.
* Zithulele Sinqe, 48, South African long distance runner, car accident.
* Ernest A. Watkinson, 99, Canadian politician.

23
* Neil Davids, 56, English footballer.
* Cees van Dongen, 79, Dutch motorcycle road racer. (Dutch)
* Evelyn Handler, 78, American academic, President of the University of New Hampshire (1980–1983) and Brandeis University (1983–1991), traffic collision.
* Bill Klatt, 64, American ice hockey player (Minnesota Fighting Saints), leukemia.
* Aydın Menderes, 65, Turkish politician, son of Adnan Menderes.
* Norayr Musheghian, 76, Armenian wrestler, coach and public activist, Olympic gold medalist (1958). (Russian)
* Abdur Razzaq, 69, Bangladeshi politician.
* Bruce Ruxton, 85, Australian veterans' representative and advocate, President of the Victorian RSL (1979–2002).

24
* Armando Brambilla, 69, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of Rome (since 1994).
* Sergio Buso, 61, Italian footballer and coach.
* José Andrés Corral Arredondo, 65, Mexican Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Parral (since 1992), heart attack. (Spanish)
* Lex Gigeroff, 49, Canadian writer, actor and producer (Lexx), heart attack.
* Johannes Heesters, 108, Dutch actor and singer, stroke.
* Zsuzsi Mary, 64, Hungarian pop singer, suicide. (Hungarian)
* Jody Rainwater, 92, American bluegrass musician and radio personality, heart disease.
* Lynn Samuels, 69, American radio personality (Sirius XM).
* Walter Söhne, 98, German agronomist. (German)
* Vitaly Tseshkovsky, 67, Russian chess Grandmaster. (Russian)

25
* Giorgio Bocca, 91, Italian essayist and journalist. (Italian)
* Ben Breedlove, 18, American Internet personality, cardiac arrest.
* Sue Carroll, 58, British journalist, pancreatic cancer.
* Argyris Chionis, 68, Greek poet, author and translator. (Greek)
* Adrienne Cooper, 65, American klezmer and Yiddish vocalist.
* Gideon Doron, 66, Israeli political scientist, leader of HaYisraelim. (Hebrew)
* Satyadev Dubey, 75, Indian actor, playwright and director.
* Thomas Finnegan, 86, Irish Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Killala (1987–2002).
* Seán French, 80, Irish politician, Lord Mayor of Cork (1976) and TD (1967–1982).
* Habib Galhia, 70, Tunisian boxer, Olympic bronze medalist (1964). (French)
* Andrew Geller, 87, American architect, kidney failure.
* Khalil Ibrahim, Sudanese Darfuri rebel leader.
* Hans-Heinrich Isenbart, 88, German sports commentator.
* John Christoffel Kannemeyer, 72, South African writer, authority on Afrikaans literature.
* Joop Koopman, 81, Dutch television host and quizmaster. (Dutch)
* Christophe Laigneau, 46, French footballer (Stade Lavallois). (French)
* Sir Moses Pitakaka, Solomon Islander politician, Governor-General (1994–1999).
* George Robb, 85, English footballer (Tottenham Hotspur), dementia.
* Ferenc Schmidt, 70, Hungarian politician. (Hungarian)
* Jim Sherwood, 69, American musician (The Mothers of Invention).
* Simms Taback, 79, American author, graphic artist and illustrator.

26
* Houston Antwine, 72, American football player (Boston/New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles), AFL All-Star (1963–1968), heart failure.
* Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., 71, Mexican actor (Zorro series), cancer.
* Sarekoppa Bangarappa, 79, Indian politician, Chief Minister of Karnataka (1990–1992).
* Joe Bodolai, 63, American comedy writer (Saturday Night Live) and producer, suicide by poisoning.
* Sean Collins, 59, American surfer and surf forecaster (Surfline), heart attack.
* Fred Fono, 49, Solomon Islander politician, Deputy Prime Minister (2006) and MP for Central Kwara'ae (1997–2010).
* Barbara Lea, 82, American jazz singer and actress.
* Betty McQuade, 70, Scottish-born Australian singer.
* Sam Rivers, 88, American jazz musician and composer, pneumonia.
* James Rizzi, 61, American pop artist.

27
* Catê, 38, Brazilian footballer, car accident.
* Sir Clifford Darling, 89, Bahamian politician, Governor-General (1992–1995).
* Sir Michael Dummett, 86, British philosopher.
* Helen Frankenthaler, 83, American painter.
* Julia Sampson Hayward, 77, American tennis player, won Australian Open doubles and mixed doubles (1963).
* Rusty Hevelin, 89, American science fiction fanzine publisher.
* Mykola Koltsov, 75, Russian-born Ukrainian footballer and youth trainer. (Ukrainian)
* Ante Čedo Martinić, 51, Croatian actor (Ruža vjetrova), cancer. (Croatian)
* Thinley Norbu, 81, Tibetan Buddhist writer and teacher.
* Martino Scarafile, 84, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Castellaneta (1985–2003).
* Dan Terry, 87, American jazz trumpeter and big band leader.
* Dennis Utter, 72, American politician, Nebraska State Senator (since 2009).
* Johnny Wilson, 82, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (Detroit Red Wings).

28
* Don Mueller, 84, American baseball player (New York Giants, Chicago White Sox), MLB All-Star (1954, 1955).
* Lucia Rikaki, 50, Greek stage, film and television director, cancer.
* Myron Roderick, 77, American Olympic wrestler (1956) and coach.
* Greg Spira, 44, American baseball researcher (SABR), writer and editor.
* Kaye Stevens, 79, American singer and actress, breast cancer and blood clots.
* Teruo Sugihara, 74, Japanese golfer, prostate cancer.

Final Exits, 22-28 November 2011

Ross MacManus recorded the Lennon/McCartney song "The Long And Winding Road" in 1970 under the name Day Costello.

Obituaries for 22-28 November 2011

22
* Svetlana Alliluyeva, 85, Soviet-born American defector and author, daughter of Joseph Stalin, colon cancer.
* Stan Case, 59, American radio anchor (CNN Radio), road accident.
* Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Hohenberg, 88, Luxembourgian princess. (Dutch)
* Irving Elman, 96, American playwright, television writer and producer, cardiopulmonary arrest.
* Ray Flockton, 81, Australian cricketer.
* Miguel González Avelar, 74, Mexican politician, Secretary of Public Education (1985–1988), heart and renal failure. (Spanish)
* Robert E. Holthus, 77, American racehorse trainer, heart attack.
* Carlos Jonguitud Barrios, 87, Mexican union leader and politician, Governor of San Luis Potosí (1979–1985). (Spanish)
* Sena Jurinac, 90, Bosnian-born Austrian opera singer.
* Georg Kreisler, 89, Austrian-born American cabarettist, satirist, composer and author.
* Bud Lewis, 103, American golfer, oldest living member of the Professional Golfers' Association of America, natural causes.
* Lynn Margulis, 73, American biologist and evolution theorist, stroke.
* Danielle Mitterrand, 87, French activist, widow of François Mitterrand, First Lady of the French Republic (1981–1995).
* Paul Motian, 80, American jazz drummer, myelodysplastic syndrome.
* Frank Pyke, 69, Australian footballer, sports scientist, academic and sports administrator.
* Hans Reichel, 62, German guitarist, inventor of the daxophone.
* Alberto Reynoso, 71, Filipino Olympic basketball player (1968).
* Kristian Schultze, 66, German musician. (German)
* Bison Smith, 38, American professional wrestler, heart complications.
* Himie Voxman, 99, American musician.

23
* Montserrat Figueras, 69, Spanish soprano.
* Oscar Griffin, Jr., 78, American journalist, winner of the 1963 Pulitzer Prize.
* Ralph E. Haines, Jr., 98, American general, Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1967–1968).
* Luis Fernando Jaramillo Correa, 76, Colombian politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1990–1991). (Spanish)
* Gerald Laing, 75, British pop artist and sculptor.
* Barry Llewellyn, 63, Jamaican musician, founding member of The Heptones.
* Christopher Ma, 61, American journalist, senior vice-president of The Washington Post, heart attack.
* Carlos Moorhead, 89, American politician, U.S. Representative from California (1973–1997), Alzheimer's disease.
* Henry Øberg, 80, Norwegian football referee. (Norwegian)
* Jim Rathmann, 83, American racing driver, winner of the 1960 Indianapolis 500.
* Joseph Sewall, 89, American politician, President of the Maine Senate (1975–1982).
* Rafiq Tağı, 61, Azerbaijani journalist, stabbed.
* Horacio Villafañe, 48, Argentine musician (Todos Tus Muertos). (Spanish)

24
* Maggie Daley, 68, American First Lady of Chicago (1989–2011), complications from breast cancer.
* Antonio Domingo Bussi, 85, Argentine general and politician, Governor of Tucumán Province, heart failure.
* Walter Doniger, 94, American film and television writer, director and producer, Parkinson's disease.
* Helen Forrester, 92, British-born Canadian writer.
* Ludwig Hirsch, 65, Austrian singer and actor, suicide by self-defenestration. (German)
* Rauf Khalid, Pakistani actor, writer, director and producer, road accident.
* Adrian Kohler, 53, Swiss businessman, CEO of Ricola, suicide. (German)
* Imants Kokars, 90, Latvian conductor. (Latvian)
* Mallojula Koteswara Rao, 53, Indian Maoist guerrilla leader, shot.
* Martin B. Lehmann, 48, Swiss politician, vice-president of the Zug cantonal parliament, suicide by gunshot.
* Humberto Medina, 69, Mexican Olympic footballer. (Spanish)
* Salvatore Montagna, 40, Canadian mobster, shot.
* Jeno Paulucci, 93, American businessman (Michelina's), pizza roll innovator.
* Anuruddha Ratwatte, 73, Sri Lankan politician and cabinet minister.
* David Seely, 4th Baron Mottistone, 91, British aristocrat, Lord Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight (1986–1995).
* Johnny Williams, 76, English footballer (Plymouth Argyle).

25
* Vasily Alekseyev, 69, Russian Olympic gold-medal winning weightlifter (1972 and 1976), heart failure.
* Leonid Borodin, 73, Russian novelist, journalist and Soviet dissident. (Russian)
* Don DeVito, 72, American record company executive and producer.
* Mihailo Đurić, 86, Serbian philosopher. (Serbian)
* John Edzerza, 63, Canadian politician, Yukon MLA for McIntyre-Takhini (since 2002), leukemia.
* Louis Hildebrandt, 93, American jockey.
* Karel Hubáček, 87, Czech architect, designer of the Ještěd Tower.
* Erling Lægreid, 72, Norwegian author and journalist. (Norwegian)
* Judy Lewis, 76, American actress (General Hospital, The Secret Storm), daughter of Clark Gable and Loretta Young, cancer.
* Ross MacManus, 84, English musician.
* Hoddy Mahon, 79, American college basketball coach (Seton Hall University).
* Frederik Meijer, 91, American businessman, creator of the hypermarket, Chairman of Meijer (1964–1990), stroke.
* Doug Moran, 86, Australian nursing home tycoon and philanthropist (Doug Moran National Portrait Prize).
* Yukio Nishimoto, 91, Japanese baseball player and manager, heart failure.
* Coco Robicheaux, 64, American blues musician and artist.
* Dane Searls, 23, Australian BMX rider, diving accident.
* Jean Casselman Wadds, 91, Canadian politician, MP for Grenville—Dundas (1958–1968); High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1979–1983).
* Tom Wicker, 85, American journalist, heart attack.

26
* Charles Balogou, Togolese footballer, bus crash.
* Ed Harrington, 70, American-born Canadian football player (Toronto Argonauts), cancer.
* Ron Lyle, 70, American boxer, US Amateur Heavyweight Champion (1970), complications from stomach ailment.
* Iván Menczel, 69, Hungarian Olympic gold-medal winning (1968) footballer. (Hungarian)
* Al Novak, 80s, American martial artist, complications from road accident.
* C. Odumegwu Ojukwu, 78, Nigerian politician, Biafra rebel leader and President of Biafra (1967–1970), stroke.
* Roy Rees, 74, Welsh-born American soccer player and coach.
* Steve Robertson, 78, Scottish actor and lawyer, Rector of Aberdeen University.
* Arthur Schultz, 78, American politician, Mayor of Joliet, Illinois (1991–2011).

27
* Keef Hartley, 67, British musician, complications of surgery.
* Sultan Khan, 71, Indian musician, recipient of the 2010 Padma Bhushan, kidney failure.
* Vangelis Livadas, 91, Greek theater entrepreneur. (Greek)
* Nolan Luhn, 90, American football player.
* Lukrecija Mamić, 63, Croatian nun and missionary, murdered.
* Oscar Maron Filho, 56, Brazilian filmmaker and journalist, cardiac arrest.
* April Phumo, 71, South African football coach, cancer.
* Ken Russell, 84, British film director (Women in Love, Tommy), stroke.
* Gary Speed, 42, Welsh football player and manager, suicide by hanging.

28
* Aruwa Ameh, 20, Nigerian footballer (Bayelsa United).
* Vittorio De Seta, 88, Italian film director and screenwriter. (Italian)
* Thomas Kirwan, 78, American politician, member of the New York State Assembly (1995–2008; 2011).
* Lucio Magri, 79, Italian journalist and politician, assisted suicide. (Italian)
* Ante Marković, 87, Croatian politician, Prime Minister of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1989–1991).
* Patrice O'Neal, 41, American actor and comedian (Web Junk 20, The Opie and Anthony Show), complications from stroke.
* Thomas Roady, 62, American drummer (Ricky Skaggs).

Final Exits, 8-14 November 2011

Folk singer Jackie Leven a.k.a. Sir Vincent Lone (formerly of Doll By Doll) performs in the Musician Tent at the Summer Sundae 2005. Photo by Gareth Owen.

Obituaries for 8-14 November 2011

8
* Jimmy Adamson, 82, British football player and coach.
* Hal Bruno, 83, American journalist (ABC News).
* Clay Green Cambern, 56, American TV editor (Lost, The Sopranos, Cold Case), cardiac arrest.
* Gene Cantamessa, 80, American Academy Award-winning sound engineer (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial).
* Oscar Rolando Cantuarias Pastor, 80, Peruvian Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Piura (1981–2006).
* Nosson Tzvi Finkel, 68, American Orthodox Jewish rabbi.
* Katherine Grant, 12th Countess of Dysart, 93, Scottish peeress.
* Heavy D, 44, Jamaican-born American rapper ("Now That We Found Love") and actor (The Cider House Rules, Life).
* Izabel Hoffmann, 17, Brazilian model, pulmonary embolism. [79] (Portuguese)
* Ricky Hui, 65, Hong Kong actor. (Chinese)
* Bil Keane, 89, American cartoonist (The Family Circus), heart failure.
* Valentin Kozmich Ivanov, 76, Russian football player and coach. (Russian)
* Ed Macauley, 83, American basketball player (St. Louis Hawks, Boston Celtics, Saint Louis Bombers).
* Jimmy Norman, 74, American rhythm and blues and jazz musician and songwriter.
* Herbert S. Okun, 80, American diplomat.
* Jacques Suprikyan, 71, Armenian footballer. (Russian)
* Lauri Sutela, 93, Finnish military officer, Chief of Defence (1974–1983). (Finnish)

9
* Abdoulkarim Abdrashitov, 30, Russian imam, Mufti of Mordovia (since 2011), car accident. (Russian)
* Shmuel Ben-Artzi, 96, Israeli writer, father in-law of Benjamin Netanyahu.
* Mary Ellen Cano, 32, American MMA fighter, shot.
* Bob Carney, 79, American basketball player (Minneapolis Lakers).
* Roger Christian, 75, American Olympic gold medal-winning (1960) ice hockey player.
* Renée Franke, 83, German pop singer. (German)
* Har Gobind Khorana, 89, Indian-born American biochemist, Nobel laureate (1968), natural causes.
* Benny McCoy, 96, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Athletics).
* Ézio Leal Moraes Filho, 45, Brazilian football player. (Portuguese)
* Dani Wadada Nabudere, 79, Ugandan academic.
* Jean-Paul Randriamanana, 61, Malagasy Roman Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of Antananarivo (since 1999).
* Thomas Shanahan, 54, American politician, alderman of Springfield, Illinois.
* Wilbur South, 28, American MMA fighter, suicide by gunshot.
* Terry Willers, 76, Irish cartoonist.

10
* Peter J. Biondi, 69, American politician, member of the New Jersey General Assembly (since 1998), cancer.
* David Boyd, 87, Australian artist.
* Manuel Carbonell, 93, Cuban-born American sculptor.
* Ana Grepo, 36, Croatian model, carbon monoxide asphyxiation. (Croatian)
* Barbara Grier, 78, American publisher (Naiad Press) and writer, cancer.
* Ivan Martin Jirous, 67, Czech poet and dissident.
* Alan Keen, 73, British politician, MP for Feltham and Heston (since 1992), cancer.
* Killer Karl Kox, 80, American professional wrestler.
* Petar Kralj, 70, Serbian actor. (Serbian)
* Andy Tielman, 75, Dutch Indorock musician.
* Adrián Yospe, 41, Argentine actor, cancer. (Spanish)

11
* William Aramony, 84, American charity executive.
* Francisco Blake Mora, 45, Mexican politician, Secretary of the Interior (since 2010), helicopter crash.
* Domenico Tarcisio Cortese, 80, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Mileto-Nicotera-Tropea (1979–2007).
* Lynn Deerfield, 61, American actress (Guiding Light).
* John Francis Donoghue, 83, American Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Atlanta (1993–2004), after short illness.
* Emory Folmar, 81, American politician, Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama (1977–1999), after long illness.
* Michael Garrick, 78, English jazz pianist and composer.
* Fridtjof Frank Gundersen, 77, Norwegian jurist and politician. (Norwegian)
* Choiseul Henriquez, 51, Haitian politician.
* Charlie Lea, 54, French-born American baseball player (Montreal Expos).
* Bernd Methe, 47, German handball referee, traffic accident.
* Reiner Methe, 47, German handball referee, traffic accident.
* David Myers, 73, American politician, Oklahoma State Senator (since 2002), pneumonia.
* Nick Strincevich, 96, American baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Braves).

12
* Gavin Bornholdt, 63, New Zealand Olympic sailor.
* Doyle Bramhall, 62, American blues musician, heart failure.
* Alun Evans, 69, Welsh football administrator, General Secretary of the Football Association of Wales (1982–1995), after long illness.
* Zbigniew Jaworowski, 84, Polish physicist.
* Evelyn Lauder, 75, Austrian-born American philanthropist (The Breast Cancer Research Foundation), creator of pink ribbon symbol, complications from ovarian cancer.
* Julius C. Michaelson, 89, American politician, Rhode Island Attorney General (1975–1979) and State Senator (1962–1974).
* Hasan Moghaddam, Iranian general, commander in the Revolutionary Guard, explosion.
* Peter Roebuck, 55, British-Australian cricketer and columnist, suicide by defenestration.
* Jim Sullivan, 43, Canadian curler, world junior champion (1988).

13
* Bobsam Elejiko, 30, Nigerian footballer, traumatic aortic rupture. (Dutch)
* Guido Falaschi, 22, Argentine racing driver, racing accident.
* Esperanza Pérez Labrador, 89, Cuban-born Argentine human rights activist (Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo). (Spanish)
* Jamie Pierre, 38, American professional skier, avalanche.
* Artemio Lomboy Rillera, 69, Philippine Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Bangued (1993–2005) and San Fernando de La Union (since 2005).
* Diego Rivas, Mexican singer, shot.
* Solly Tyibilika, 32, South African rugby player, shot.

14
* Franz Josef Degenhardt, 79, German poet, satirist, novelist and folk singer. (German)
* Richard Douthwaite, 69, British economist and ecologist.
* Alf Fields, 92, English footballer (Arsenal F.C.).
* Maurice-Adolphe Gaidon, 83, French Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Cahors (1987–2004).
* Brikt Jensen, 83, Norwegian literary critic and publisher. (Norwegian)
* Laura Kennedy, American musician (Bush Tetras), liver disease.
* Jackie Leven, 61, Scottish musician, lung cancer.
* Cargill MacMillan, Jr., 84, American billionaire (Cargill family), natural causes.
* Ilya Zhitomirskiy, 22, Russian-born American Internet entrepreneur, co-founder of Diaspora social network site, apparent suicide.

Final Exits, 15-21 September 2011

Willie "Big Eyes" Smith at the Master Musicians Festival in Somerset KY, 19 July 2008. Photo by Chad Laytham.

Obituaries for 15-21 September 2011

15
* Frances Bay, 92, Canadian character actress (Happy Gilmore, Blue Velvet, The Middle).
* Parey Branton, 92, American politician, Louisiana State Representative (1960–1972), Mayor of Shongaloo (1972–1990).
* James M. Cannon, 93, American Presidential advisor to Gerald R. Ford, complications of a stroke.
* Clemente Faccani, 90, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya (1983–1995) and Seychelles (1985–1994).
* Dorothy Harrell, 87, American baseball player (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League).
* Khalid Abdel Nasser, 62, Egyptian professor, eldest son of Gamal Abdel Nasser.
* Nykodym Rusnak, 90, Ukrainian Orthodox hierarch, Metropolitan of Kharkiv and Bohodukhiv (since 1989).
* Regina Smendzianka, 86, Polish pianist. (Polish)
* Otakar Vávra, 100, Czech film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. (Czech)

16
* Roger Belanger, 45, Canadian ice hockey player, heart attack.
* Sir Brian Burnett, 98, British Air Chief Marshal, Chairman of the All England Club.
* John P. Carroll, 12, American bulldog, mascot of Georgetown University.
* Jordi Dauder, 73, Spanish actor. (Spanish)
* Zuzana Dřízhalová, 36, Czech actress, cancer. (Czech)
* Norma Eberhardt, 82, American actress (The Return of Dracula), stroke.
* Dave Gavitt, 73, American basketball coach, founder of the Big East Conference.
* William Hawthorne, 98, British aerospace engineer.
* Kara Kennedy, 51, American television producer, daughter of Ted Kennedy, heart attack.
* Jean Leclant, 91, French archaeologist and Egyptologist. (French)
* Jimmy Leeward, 74, American stunt and racing pilot, plane crash.
* Ted Mullighan, 72, Australian jurist, cancer.
* Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, 75, American blues musician.
* Tom Wilson, Sr., 80, American cartoonist (Ziggy).

17
* József Böröczky, 63, Hungarian comedian, pancreatic cancer. (Hungarian)
* Ernest House Sr., 65, American tribal leader, Chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (1982–2010), injuries from a motorcycle accident.
* Colin Madigan, 90, Australian architect.
* Fedon Matheou, 87, Greek basketball player and coach. (Greek)
* Eleanor Mondale, 51, American television personality, daughter of Walter Mondale, brain cancer.
* Charles H. Percy, 91, American politician, Senator from Illinois (1967–1985), Alzheimer's disease.
* Kurt Sanderling, 98, German conductor.
* Moisés Villanueva de la Luz, 47, Mexican politician, MP (2011). (Spanish) (body found on this date)

18
* Jack Adler, 94, American comic book artist.
* Mohammed Bassiouni, 74, Egyptian diplomat, Ambassador to Israel (1986–2000).
* Andrei Finkelstein, 69, Russian astronomer. (Russian)
* Norma Holloway Johnson, 79, American federal judge, first African American woman to serve as a district court chief judge, stroke.
* William F. May, 95, American film society founder (Film Society of Lincoln Center), heart failure.
* Marcelino Palentini, 68, Italian-born Argentinian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Jujuy (since 1995).
* Ivo Škrabalo, 77, Croatian writer, director and actor. (Croatian)
* Swian Zanoni, 23, Brazilian motocross rider, race accident.

19
* Arvid Andersson, 92, Swedish Olympic weightlifter.
* Thomas Capano, 61, American convicted murderer, heart attack.
* Dolores Hope, 102, American philanthropist, widow of Bob Hope, natural causes.
* Earl Kress, 60, American animation writer, cancer.
* Ginger McCain, 80, British horse trainer, cancer.
* George Cadle Price, 92, Belizean politician, Prime Minister (1981–1984; 1989–1993).
* Johnny Răducanu, 79, Romanian jazz musician, cardiac arrest. (Romanian)
* Mark W. Worthen, 49, American horror author.

20
* Johnny Barend, 82, American professional wrestler, natural causes.
* Monte J. Brough, 72, American religious leader (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
* Frank Driggs, 81, American Grammy Award-winning jazz producer, musician and archivist, natural causes.
* Oscar Handlin, 95, American historian.
* Michael Jarvis, 73, British horse trainer.
* Aleksei Mamykin, 75, Russian footballer and coach. (Russian)
* Burhanuddin Rabbani, 70, Afghan politician, President (1992–1996, 2001), bomb attack.
* Leroy Schweitzer, 73, American anti-government separatist, leader of the Montana Freemen extremist group.
* Gaby Stenberg, 88, Swedish actress. (Swedish)
* Per Unckel, 63, Swedish politician, Governor of Stockholm County (since 2007), cancer. (Swedish)
* Robert Whitaker, 71, British photographer.

21
* Lawrence Russell Brewer, 44, American convicted murderer, executed by lethal injection.
* Troy Davis, 42, American convicted murderer, executed by lethal injection.
* John Du Cann, 65/66, British musician (Atomic Rooster), heart attack.
* Ben Feleo, 85, Filipino film director.

Romania's 'Mr. Jazz,' Johnny Raducanu, Dies at 79

Jazz musician Johnny Raducanu, dubbed “Mr. Jazz” of Romania, has died of a heart attack at age 79.

Raducanu was born into a Roma family whose roots as musical performers date back more than 300 years.

He was one of Romania's most versatile jazz musicians and entertainers, mastering the bass and piano, and also composing and arranging and leading his own band.

Raducanu also performed around the world, including in the former Soviet Union, the United States and much of Europe.

Photo: Johnny Răducanu (born Răducan Creţu on 1 December 1931 in Brăila), a Romanian Jazz musician, seen here in 2009. (Photo by Eyebrowed.)