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.)

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.

Ivory Coast Pays Final Tribute to Congolese Music Legend Papa Wemba

by Emilie Iob

Before the body of African music legend, Papa Wemba, was taken to the Democratic Republic of Congo for burial, International and local artists in Ivory Coast paid a final tribute to the musician known as "the King of Rumba Rock". 

The crowd encouraged the members of Papa Wemba's band to perform despite their grief, as they stood, visibly emotional, on a stage surrounded by flowers.

A few thousand people, all dressed in white, came to pay tribute to one of Africa’s most famous musicians.  The message on their t-shirts and on the stage read "We mourn you, long live Wemba."

Audience member Alain Aka says Papa Wemba was a big man of music.  Sadly he is gone, he says, so they are here to pay him the stirring tribute he deserves.

For young local musician Eric Kouassi, Papa Wemba was an inspiration.

"We have all known him since we were little", Kouassi says.  "We grew up with his music and his melodies.  His death really affected us, that is why we came to give support."

Officials and artists took turns praising the man known for his Congolese rumba.

“Africa mourns a son.  Ivory Coast mourns a brother.  And the D.R.C. mourns a father,” said one presenter.

Papa Wemba, whose real name was Jules Shungu Wembadio, died Sunday after collapsing on stage.  He was performing at the FEMUA music festival, organized in Abidjan by another legendary African musical act, the Ivorian band Magic System.

Wemba's family was present at the wake in Abidjan, dressed mostly in black and sitting in the front row.

Music System band member A’Salfo says that Papa Wemba wanted to die on stage.  He says we should not be sad, we should be proud.  If the biggest artist of African music decides to die where Magic System was born, he says it means he wanted to send a message.

The celebration lasted until dawn before Wemba's body was flown to home to the Democratic Republic of Congo.  He was 66 years old.  

(Photo by Dicapipups: Papa Wemba in 2015.)

'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.)

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)

British Rock Icon David Bowie Dies at 69

British rock music legend David Bowie has died.

On Friday, the iconic musician turned 69 and released Blackstar, his 25th album. Inventive to the end, Bowie mixed rock and jazz on the album, which critics hailed as his best work in years.

His Facebook and Twitter accounts say he died peacefully Sunday "surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer."

​Bowie was known for his gender-bending dress and for his refusal to be pigeon-holed in any one musical genre, experimenting with glam rock, hard rock, dance, pop, soul and punk.

He shot to fame with 1969's Space Oddity, the lyrics of which summed up the loneliness of the Cold War space race and coincided with the Apollo landing on the moon: "Ground Control to Major Tom. Take your protein pills and put your helmet on ... For here am I sitting in my tin can. Far above the world. Planet Earth is blue. And there's nothing I can do."

​Ziggy Stardust

Three years later, he released The Rise of Ziggy Stardust and Spiders from Mars, which introduced one of music's most famous personas: the red-headed, androgynous, eyeliner-wearing Stardust, who would become an enduring part of Bowie's legacy.

He was born David Jones in south London two years after the end of World War Two. But, to avoid confusion with the Monkees' Davy Jones, he later changed his name to David Bowie, according to Rolling Stone.

Bowie's Ziggy Stardust gave way to the stuttering rock sound of Changes, to the disco soul of Young Americans, co-written with John Lennon, to a droning collaboration with Brian Eno in Berlin that produced Heroes.

​​Some of his biggest successes occurred in the early 1980s, with the Let's Dance, Under Pressure, which he recorded with Queen, and a massive American tour.

'High points of one's life'

"My entire career, I've only really worked with the same subject matter. The trousers may change, but the actual words and subjects I've always chosen to write with are things to do with isolation, abandonment, fear and anxiety — all of the high points of one's life," he told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview.

Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. He also co-wrote the musical Lazarus, which is finishing its run on Broadway this month.

He kept a low profile in recent years after reportedly suffering a heart attack in the 2004. However, he was to be honored with a concert at Carnegie Hall in March.

Bowie is survived by his wife, the model Iman, and two children.

Singer Natalie Cole Dead at 65

Grammy award-winning singer Natalie Cole, the daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, is dead at the age of 65.

Cole died Thursday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from "ongoing health issues,” according to a family statement. The statement said Cole "fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived — with dignity, strength and honor."

In quoting her most identifiable song, the family also said, "Our beloved mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain UNFORGETTABLE in our hearts forever," putting the name of the song in capital letters.

Celebrity gossip website TMZ said Cole died from congestive heart failure, but that it had been told the underlying medical issues were complications from a kidney transplant and hepatitis C. Cole had struggled with drug and alcohol problems in the past and underwent a kidney transplant in 2009.

'Unforgettable' career

Natalie Cole began her career as an R&B singer and had hits that included the Grammy-winning song, "This Will Be."

Cole's career, however, reached superstar status when she recorded the 1991 album, Unforgettable...With Love, which paid tribute to her father, who died in 1965. The album included reworked versions of some of his best-known songs. The title song, "Unforgettable," featured Natalie Cole's voice spliced with her father's. Engineers used technology that was considered cutting edge at the time to make it appear as if father and daughter were singing a duet.

The song was a hit for Nat King Cole in 1951. The song and the album garnered several Grammy awards for Natalie Cole. In addition to R&B, Natalie Cole delved into pop and jazz music. Other hits included "Our Love" and the reworked "Pink Cadillac," a song originally by Bruce Springsteen.

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson was among those paying tribute to Natalie Cole.

In a tweet, he described her as a "sister beloved ... of substance and sound. May her soul rest in peace."

Blues Legend B.B. King Dead at 89

by Susan Logue, Eric Felten

One of the great masters of blues guitar is dead.  B.B. King died late Thursday at the age of 89.  During a career that spanned nearly 70 years (his first recording was in 1949), the "King of Blues" influenced generations of musicians. 

To his legion of fans around the world, the sustained, single-note guitar syle of B.B. King is unmistakable.  He was without a doubt one of America's best-known and best-loved blues musicians.  And he never seemed to lose the thrill, through a career in which he spent most of each year on the road, performing for audiences around the world.

"I've always felt that to be an entertainer, you've got to entertain.  So I've tried to pull all my energies together if I'm singing, to put it all right there.  I'm trying to remember that the people who come to see me are fans who are expecting the best that I have,  so I never go onstage slack (unprepared)," King said.

Lucille

Wherever B.B. King traveled, one of his signature black Gibson guitars accompanied him. He named each one of them "Lucille."  He told fans he first christened his instrument just after a performance at a club in Arkansas, when two men had a fight and knocked over a kerosene heater, which started a fire.

"And everybody started to run for the front door, including B.B. King.  When I got on the outside, I realized I left my guitar," he recalled.  "And , in '49 believe me keeping a good guitar was a hard job.  People would borrow them without your permission.  I went back for my guitar, and the building was burning rapidly, and it started to collapse around me.

"So I almost lost my life trying to save my guitar," he added.  "The next morning we found out these two men were fighting about a lady that worked in the nightclub.  I never did meet her, but I learned her name was Lucille.  I named my guitar Lucille to remind me never to do a thing like that again."

How BB got his name

The famous blues musician was born Riley B. King on September 16, 1925.  The name B.B. came later, an abbreviation of "Blues Boy," which he used while working in Memphis as a disc jockey.  Before that, he worked on the Mississippi farm where he was born, picking cotton and driving a tractor. As a boy, B.B. King sang with amateur gospel groups.  But by the age of 16, he was singing and playing guitar on street corners. He found that singing the blues was more profitable than singing gospel.

"As I played, people would come by and generally request tunes.  And the people that would request gospel songs, would always praise me highly.  They would say, 'Great, son.  That is fantastic.  Keep it up, you'll be great one day.'  But they never tipped.  But usually people that would ask me to play a blues song would always tip me and maybe (buy me) a beer from time to time.  So you can see now, starting out to be a gospel singer, I decided to be a blues singer," King said.

Hits

B.B. King made his first record in 1949, at the age of 24.  Three years later, his recording of Lowell Fulsom's "Three O'Clock Blues" became a number one R&B hit. 

His only pop hit was "The Thrill Is Gone," from 1969, for which he received a Grammy.  Nevertheless, B.B. King was described by critics as America's "most popular blues guitarist," and with good reason  He had a tremendous influence on rock musicians like British guitarist Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and U2.  B.B. King met the Irish band while performing in Dublin and ended up recording the song "When Love Comes to Town" them in 1988.

B.B. King credited the British rock bands of the 1960s with popularizing the music he loved, making it possible for him to crossover to a mainstream audience:

"When the British groups for example, the Rolling Stones, Cream, the Who, when these groups started to play blues in the U.S., it started to become a very popular kind of music and opened the doors for a lot of black blues singers and musicians like myself,”  King said.

Awards

During his long career, B.B. King received 15 Grammy awards. He was inducted not only into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, but the Rock and Roll and R&B halls as well. He was awarded honorary doctorates from several universities and was honored by presidents. B.B. King kept his music fresh by being true to himself:

"I don't try to play what my ancestors played, as they played it.  In fact, I don't play myself as I did in '49, when I began my career.  I play as I feel today,” he said.

Legendary Lebanese Actress, Singer Sabah Dies at 87

by Diaa Bekheet

Iconic Lebanese actress and singer Sabah died in Beirut around dawn Wednesday, members of her family said. She was 87.

Many actors and singers mourned her on Twitter, including acclaimed pop singer Nancy Ajram who said: "Today, Lebanon lost a legend. Sabah is gone but she remains in our hearts.”

Veteran Lebanese politician Walid Joumblatt also tweeted his reaction: Sad news today .the legendary singer Sabah died.with her passing away an entire beautiful past of Lebanon passes away — Walid Joumblatt November 26, 2014

Born Jeanette Gergis al-Feghali in Lebanon in November 1927, Sabah skyrocketed to fame and prominence in the early 1950s as the star of high-profile Egyptian movies, including “Miss Mom” with iconic Egyptian singer and actor Mohamed Fawzi, and “Love Street” with Egypt’s nightingale Abdel Halim Hafez.

She’s also well-known for her leading role in the all-star comedy “Velvet Hands,” with top Egyptian actors Ahmed Mazhar, Salah Zulfikkar, Laila Taher and Mariam Fakhr el-Din.

Sabah remained one of the all-time favorite singers and actresses for much of her 60-year career, during which she released more than 50 albums, acted in 100 films and over 20 plays.

The music and film diva, affectionately called “Sabbouha” and “Shahroura” by millions of her fans across the Arab World, was the first Arab singer to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York, Piccadilly Theatre in London, Royal Albert Hall, and Sydney Opera House in Australia. She also performed at Olympia in Paris, only second to Egypt’s top Arab music diva Oum Kolthoum.

In the past few years, Sabah was a target of criticism by many young fans for undergoing several cosmetic surgeries to stay youthful looking.

Sabah was married several times to prominent figures, including Egyptian movie star Rushdie Abaza. She is survived by her two children, Sabah Shammas and Howayda Mansy, who live in the United States.

Bobby Womack Dies at 70

American Soul singer Bobby Womack has died.

He started his career in the city Cleveland in the 1950s in a gospel group with his brothers.

In the 1960s, the group recorded on Sam Cooke's label and switched from gospel to secular music.

Womack possessed a distinctive voice and was a powerful songwriter. 

He eventually left his brothers and ventured out on his own.  His hits included Across 110th Street, If You Think You're Lonely Now, That's The Way I Feel About 'Cha, and Woman's Gotta Have It.

Some of Womack's biggest hits were songs written for other artists, including Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Joe Tex and Dusty Springfield.

Womack wrote and recorded with this brothers, It's All Over Now which the Rolling Stones covered.  The New York Times reports the Stones' version became the group's first number one single in Britain and their first international hit. 

Bobby Womack influenced generations of performers and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

He struggled with drugs and health problems for decades and was in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. 

He continued to work and perform after the Alzheimer's diagnosis and in 2012 released his first album in more than a decade.

His website says the 70-year-old Womack was scheduled to start a European tour next month.

When he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Womack said "This is just about as exciting to me as being able to see Barack Obama become the first black president of the United States of America."

Pete Seeger, US Folk Singer, Songwriter and Political Activist, Dies at 94

Legendary American folk singer and political activist Pete Seeger has died at the age of 94.

His family said Seeger passed away Monday of natural causes at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Seeger was the son of a musicologist who introduced him to rural American folk music while he was a student at a Connecticut boarding school.  He later met and befriended two other legendary American folk singers:  the black blues musician Lead Belly, and Woody Guthrie, with whom he toured across the country performing at benefits for labor activists in 1940.

After serving in World War II, he founded the Weavers, a quartet that achieved wide popularity in the early 1950s with such songs as Kisses Sweeter Than Wine, If I Had a Hammer, and Goodnight, Irene, sparking a revival in American folk music.

However, the group's success ended after Seeger was cited for his earlier ties to the Communist Party. He was barred from performing on television and eventually called before the House Un-American Activities Committee, where he refused to answer questions about his political activities. He was tried and convicted for contempt of Congress and sentenced to jail, but the sentenced was eventually overturned.

Seeger continued to draw huge audiences at college campuses and small nightclubs, and he took part in such causes as civil rights and environmentalism.  His arrangement of We Shall Overcome, which had its roots as a gospel song, became the anthem of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Seeger also wrote such popular songs as Turn, Turn, Turn and Where Have All the Flowers Gone? He earned numerous awards and accolades late in his career, including a Grammy Award in 1993 for lifetime achievement. He was also named a Kennedy Center honoree in 1994, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as an early influence.

In 2009, he performed at a concert staged at the Lincoln Memorial in celebration of President Barack Obama's first inauguration.

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.”

Teen Dies of Cancer After Touching Millions With Song

Zach Sobiech, an 18-year-old whose battle with cancer became a global story, has died.

The Minnesota native became famous when his song “Clouds,” which is about facing death, became a viral sensation on YouTube, topping 3 million views. The song was originally released in December of last year.

The video was so popular that a group of celebrities were inspired to create a video tribute in which they lip-synch the lyrics.

Sobiech was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, osteosarcoma, at 14 and was told a year ago that he likely only had months to live.

“Cancer may have taken Zach too soon, but he leaves a lasting legacy that most of us will never achieve,” read a statement on the Children’s Cancer Research Fund’s website. “His message of love and hope delivered through infectious lyrics and memorable tunes have imprinted on the minds and hearts of millions around the world.”

Sobiech also played in a band called A Firm Handshake, which released their second album, “Fix Me Up,” this past February.

"It is with heavy heart that we announce the passing of our son Zachary David Sobiech," his family said in a statement obtained by the Today Show. "Our family has been blessed not only by his amazing presence in our lives, but also by the love and support of our family and friends and by so many people in the community. In particular we'd like to thank those people who listened with their hearts and helped Zach bring his message and his music to the world."

The Sobiech family requests that all memorials be directed to the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund in lieu of flowers.

Music Fans Mourn Country Legend George Jones

by Mary Morningstar

Music fans are mourning the loss of a true Country legend. George Jones, 81, died Friday at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

In 1955, Jones recorded “Why Baby Why,” his first hit for Starday Records.  Born in Saratoga, Texas, he began performing in local clubs at age 10.  In the late 1940s, he worked as a disc jockey at various radio stations in his home state, before entering the U.S. Marine Corps in 1950.  Three years later, Jones completed his military service and returned to the Texas nightclub circuit.  He was discovered by Starday’s founder, “Pappy” Dailey, who convinced Jones to record for his label.

Jones says his first studio session proved a great learning experience.

“The first time I went in to do my first recording session, for about two hours I sang like Roy Acuff, Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams," he said. "Finally, the producer came in the studio -- after he figured I’d had enough fun -- and he wanted to know if I could sing like George Jones.  So I said, ‘Oh, I didn't know that.  I thought I was supposed to sing like those people.’  They were selling records.  I didn’t know the difference, you know.”

After leaving Starday Records in 1957, Jones worked with several other labels.  In 1969, he joined Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, and the same year, married singer Tammy Wynette.  Their union lasted only six years, but during that time, they collaborated on numerous duets, including the Number One hits “We’re Gonna Hold On,” “Near You” and “Golden Ring.”

Through much of his life, George Jones battled an addiction to alcohol that nearly ruined his professional career.  He earned the nickname “No Show Jones” for missing numerous concert dates.  At one point, lawsuits against him by show promoters seeking compensation forced Jones to declare bankruptcy.  He credited his fourth wife Nancy, whom he married in 1983, for helping him overcome his dependency to alcohol and giving his life new meaning.

Countless singers, including Garth Brooks, George Strait, Alan Jackson and Randy Travis name George Jones as a major influence.

Bill Ivey, former director of the Country Music Foundation, once described the role Jones played in Country music. 
   
“He has a unique vocal style that really is so special that it hasn’t been much imitated," he said. "I think people in contemporary Country music, who look back on George’s early work for inspiration, don’t try to sound like him.  They, I think, try to write like him and try to get that spirit into their interpretation.  What George Jones has is a constant presence of the real energy of Country music and I think it’s something that’s much admired.”

At age 62, Jones was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  The surprise announcement was made during the 1992 Country Music Association Awards telecast.  The overwhelmed performer described his feelings in this acceptance speech.

“You know, I’ve won a lot of awards - I’m not bragging - a lot of awards over the period of years and each and every one of them was fantastic," he said. "They made you feel great. They kept you going and made you try harder and work harder, but this has got to be the greatest one in the world.  Country music has been awful good to me throughout a whole bunch of years, and I’ll tell you what, I’d like to just thank all the fans in the whole, wide world.”

New pop-oriented trends have broadened Country music's boundaries in recent years, but never lessened the popularity of George Jones’ traditional sound.  Several of his peers, including Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, Clint Black, Travis Tritt and Pam Tillis, fulfilled a life-long dream, when they collaborated with Jones on the Grammy Award-winning single, “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair.”

On many occasions, George Jones said that he played, sang and wrote Country songs out of his deep love for the music.  Equally gratifying was his relationship with his fans.

Jones once revealed, “It’s not really that important to me, as far as glory, popularity and those things.  I just feel like I’m making people happy.  And they sure make me happy when I walk out on that stage.  That’s all that’s really important to me.”

In the early 1990s, Country music fans and musicians named Jones’ recording of “He Stopped Loving Her Today” as the greatest song of all time.  The single topped the chart in 1980 and earned Jones a Grammy and two Country Music Association awards.  His other industry honors included induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992.  Three years later, he teamed with his former wife Tammy Wynette to record the chart-topping album, “One.”

Jones autobiography, “I Lived To Tell It All,” was published in 1996, and an album of the same name followed.  MCA Records dropped him from its roster in 1998 and he later formed his own label, Bandit Records.

In 1999, George Jones suffered life-threatening injuries when he lost control of his car and slammed into a bridge near his home.  After making a full recovery, he returned to recording and touring.  His last solo album, “Hits I Missed and One I Didn’t,” contains songs made famous by other artists, plus a newly recorded version of his signature tune, “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” 

Jones’ many accolades included a 2008 Kennedy Center Honor and a 2012 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. 

In late 2012, he kicked off his farewell tour, scheduled to conclude on November 22 in Nashville.  Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers and many other Country stars were set to perform at the show.

During the past year, Jones had been hospitalized several times, most recently on April 18 with fever and irregular blood pressure.

(2005 photo of George Jones by Chester L. Roberts.)

Remembering Richie Havens

by Katherine Cole

Folk-rocker Richie Havens, who died Monday of a heart attack, will be remembered for many things, among them a smooth singing voice, standing six-and-a-half-feet tall, and singing at President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration. But the most famous of his many lauded concert appearances happened by accident.

Richie Havens’ performance at Woodstock in 1969 catapulted him into music history, but the lanky, soulful folk singer wasn’t supposed to open the festival - he was scheduled to play fifth that day. Plans changed when the opening band, Sweetwater, got caught in traffic. Havens and his band had traveled to the upstate New York festival site by helicopter, so they were ready to hit the stage when organizers asked Havens to go on instead.

In his book about the festival, producer Michael Lang said he chose Havens as his “emergency opener” “because of his calm but powerful demeanor”. His performance went overtime because the next act was stuck in traffic, too. This led Richie Havens to improvise what became one of the most iconic moments of the Woodstock Festival: his performance of “Freedom/Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.”

Havens later explained how he came up with his most famous song. He thought back to the start of the festival and hearing “freedom” over and over again in the crowd. Picking up the chant, Havens repeated the word, and then began singing an old gospel song that he’d learned as a child. The improvised medley was a highlight of the Woodstock movie and cemented Havens’ place in music history.
   
The oldest of nine children, Havens was raised in the poor Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York. As a child, he dreamed of growing up to be a surgeon, but set off on a musical path as a teenager. Forming a gospel group in high school, he then landed in New York’s Greenwich Village folk clubs at 17. He stood out from the other young singers, not just because of his height, but his ethnicity - Richie Havens was African-American in a largely white folk music scene.

He recorded two albums on small labels before signing with Bob Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman. He then joined a larger label and went on to tour for more than 40 years, releasing close to 30 albums.

While he was a good songwriter, Richie Havens was also an exceptional song interpreter. In interviews and at shows he’d tell of spending three days learning Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” repeatedly practicing the song in a stairwell. One night, a man stopped him and said it was the best version he’d ever heard. Havens always ended the story and started the song by saying: “that’s how I first met Bob Dylan.” 

In 2008, Richie Havens released his final studio album, “Nobody Left To Crown.”

Havens died April 22 at the age of 72. He embodied the spirit of the 1960s and carried that message of peace and love well into the 21st century.

US Folk Musician Richie Havens Dead at 72

American folk musician Richie Havens, who was the first performer at the Woodstock music festival, has died.

His family said Havens died of a heart attack in New Jersey Monday. He was 72.

Havens opened the three-day 1969 Woodstock Festival with the song Freedom, and performed for three hours.  The concert was the turning point of his career.

He also performed at Bill Clinton's presidential Inauguration in 1993.

Havens released his debut album Mixed Bag in 1967 and went on to release more than 25 albums. Havens' last album was 2008's Nobody Left to Crown.

His website said he had kidney surgery in 2010 and that he never recovered enough to perform concerts the way he used to.

(Photo of Richie Havens in 1974 courtesy of William Morris Agency.)

Former Pop Superstar Patti Page Dies at 85

American Singer Patti Page, who sold more than 100 million records during her seven-decade-long career, has died. She was 85 years old.

The Oklahoma-born Page was a major star and the premier female popular singer in the pre - rock 'n roll era of the early 1950s. Her best selling recordings of “The Tennessee Waltz” and “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window” were standards, and appealed to fans of pop tunes as well as those of country music.

She also was a pioneer in the recording technique known as overdubbing, in which she sang along with recordings of her own voice being played back.

In addition, Page hosted television variety shows and appeared in films.

She was scheduled to appear at next month's Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles to receive a lifetime achievement award.

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)

Singer Andy Williams, Star of Records and TV, Dies at 84

American popular singer Andy Williams, known for his easy-going style and friendly demeanor, has died after a year-long fight against bladder cancer.

He was 84 years old.

The Iowa-born crooner began singing with his brothers in church choirs and local radio in the midwestern U.S. before taking their act to Hollywood movies and nightclubs.

Williams went solo in the late 1940s. After struggling to make a name for himself, he began appearing on television in New York, grabbing the attention of record companies.

Williams became a household name in the 1960s with his signature song “Moon River.” He hosted a weekly television variety show, where he appeared with some of the top entertainers in show business. His annual TV Christmas specials were a holiday tradition.

Throughout his 75-year career, Williams earned 18 gold records, three Emmy awards, and opened his own theater in Branson, Missouri, where he performed nightly into his 80s.

Country Music Pioneer Kitty Wells Dies at 92

American singer Kitty Wells, whom fans and critics call the first female country music superstar, has died at 92 following a stroke.

Wells rose to the top of the country music charts at a time when nearly every big name in the genre was a man. She was the first female country soloist to sing about such themes as heartbreak and cheating spouses.

Wells' 1952 record of It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels was the first country music recording by a woman to reach number one.

Fans named Wells the top female country music artist from 1953 to 1968. She continued performing into her 80s.