Deaths
David Crosby’s 10 Best Songs, With Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Byrds, Solo & Beyond
Some years ago, David Crosby lamented a lack of outlets for his songs. “I’ve written so many things,” he explained while promoting the early 2000s, when he felt he was experiencing a creative renaissance. “When you’re in a band they got tossed in with everybody else’s songs. And no record company wants to release as much music as I’m ready to. It’s a struggle, man — but I just keep writing and keep creating, and one day hopefully everything that I want to will come out.” Despite that, we’ve heard plenty of songs over the years from Crosby, who died Thursday at 81. Whether on his own or with The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young), CPR and, most recently, the Lighthouse Band, Crosby’s idiosyncratic touch with a melody and a lyric was showcased in abundance. Intimate and personal,...
Austin Butler Remembers the ‘Bright Light’ of Lisa Marie Presley: ‘My Heart Is Completely Shattered’
Elvis star Austin Butler is remembering the “bright light” of Lisa Marie Presley, a day after the singer/songwriter and only child of Elvis Presley died Thursday at age 54. “My heart is completely shattered for Riley, Finley, Harper and Priscilla at the tragic and unexpected loss of Lisa Marie,” Butler said in a statement, acknowledging Lisa Marie’s three surviving children — 33-year-old actress Riley Keough and 14-year-old twins Finley and Harper Lockwood — as well as mother Priscilla Presley, 77. “I am eternally grateful for the time I was lucky enough to be near her bright light and will forever cherish the quiet moments we shared. Her warmth, her love and her authenticity will always be remembered.” Butler nabbed the coveted role of Elvis Presley in director Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 biopic ...
Lisa Marie Presley’s Death Mourned by Questlove, LeAnn Rimes & More: ‘I Hope She Is at Peace in Her Dad’s Arms’
01/12/2023 Her death at age 54 was confirmed Thursday by her mother, Priscilla Presley. 01/12/2023 After the news broke late Thursday (Jan. 12) that Lisa Marie Presley had died at age 54, tributes to the singer/songwriter and Elvis Presley‘s only child poured onto social media. It was reported earlier in the day that Lisa Marie Presley was rushed to the hospital and had suffered cardiac arrest. Her mother, Priscilla Presley, announced her death on Thursday night. “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” Priscilla Presley said in a statement. “She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known.” Among the stars remembering Lisa Marie was Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who struggled to p...
Dave Smith, Synth Pioneer and ‘Father of MIDI,’ Dies at 72
Dave Smith, a key figure in the development of synth technology in the ’70s and ’80s, has died. The official Instagram account for Sequential, the synthesizer company that he founded in 1974, announced “with heavy hearts” the news of his passing, in a post shared on Wednesday (June 1). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “We’re heartbroken, but take some small solace in knowing he was on the road doing what he loved best in the company of family, friends, and artists,” the post reads. Smith was 72. With Sequential (originally known as Sequential Circuits), Smith released various sequencers and programmers to be used with the Moog and ARP synthesizers prevalent at the time, before designing his own release: the Prophet-5, first polyphonic sy...
Dominican Producer Xtassy, Of Famed Production Duo A&X, Dies at 37
Xtassy of the famed Dominican production duo A&X (Alcover and Xtassy) has passed away at the age of 37; at press time Billboard could not confirm his cause of death. The heartbreaking news was confirmed by his longtime colleague Alcover (real name: Milton Restituyo) on Instagram around midnight on Friday (Feb. 4). “Shattered is not even the slightest expression of what I feel right now,” Restituyo expressed in the caption. “Thinking that we don’t have you with us, I can’t assimilate it to write it down. My little brother I love you, we became men, fathers, dreamers, professionals together, you inspired me every day we shared. You are a legend and legends never die! I carry you with me forever. God give us strength to understand your will. There is a mother without her son, children wit...
South Africa extends tight coronavirus restrictions for another 14 days
South Africa extended tight COVID-19 rules on Sunday for another 14 days, maintaining restrictions that include a ban on gatherings, a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. and a prohibition on the sale of alcohol. The country, the worst-hit on the African continent in terms of recorded cases and deaths, is in the grip of a third wave of infections driven by the more infectious Delta coronavirus variant. “Our health system countrywide remains under pressure,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address to the nation. Early this month South Africa recorded a new record of over 26,000 daily cases, stretching hospitals to breaking point. Ramaphosa moved the country to the fourth level of a five-tier restriction scale in late June as infections climbed, promising to review the restrictions af...
Coronavirus: England to lift mask, distancing rules July 19
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday revealed plans to lift most of England’s legal coronavirus restrictions, including face masks and social distancing from July 19, urging personal responsibility rather than government edict. Johnson had initially aimed for a full reopening on June 21, but was forced to push back the date because of a surge in the highly contagious Delta variant. That variant now accounts for nearly all new Covid-19 cases in Britain, and infection rates have soared, sparking concern. But mass vaccinations have stopped a resultant surge in hospital admissions or deaths. “This pandemic is far from over, it certainly won’t be over by the 19th,” warned Johnson. “We must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid. “There’s only one reason why we can contemplate g...
Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia suspends UAE flights
Saudi Arabia has suspended flights to three countries, including the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, to protect against a coronavirus variant, the interior ministry said Saturday. The move comes seven weeks after the oil-rich kingdom permitted fully immunised citizens to travel abroad, after a ban on foreign trips that lasted more than a year. The UAE, and especially Dubai, is a key leisure destination for Saudis. Flights to and from the UAE, alongside those to Ethiopia and Vietnam, will be suspended from Sunday, an interior ministry official said, quoted by the state news agency SPA. Saudi citizens and residents returning from these countries will be required to quarantine for 14 days, it added. Citizens would be banned “from travelling directly or indirectly, without obtaining prior p...
Myanmar protesters burn junta leader’s images on his birthday
Protesters burned mock coffins and pictures of Myanmar’s army ruler Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday in the latest demonstrations against the coup over five months ago that has plunged the Southeast Asian country into chaos. “May you not rest in peace” and “may your birthday and deathday be the same,” read the messages on funeral wreaths in Theinzayet township in eastern Mon state. Similar protests took place in many parts of Myanmar. “We are burning this as a curse,” said one protester in the second city of Mandalay, setting ablaze a small pile of picture of the general, 65. A spokesman for the military authorities did not respond to requests for comment. Min Aung Hlaing took power on Feb. 1, overthrowing elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and cutting short a decade of democratic reforms that had...
Coronavirus figures mount in Tokyo ahead of Olympics
The July 23 commencement date for the summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is under increasing threats from a steady rise in daily cases of the coronavirus in the city. The recent spike has also triggered fears of a possible fifth wave of infections, which will not be ideal for the Games. Coming this close to the opening of the Games, there are palpable concerns raised for many athletes who will be contesting for honours in the Asian city and their crew members who will be with them all the way. On Monday alone, Tokyo reported 317 infections, a figure that represents an increase of 81 from the same account of the week before. The increment marks the ninth week-on-week, consecutive same-day rise in infection rates in a row even with the availability of vaccines. There has also been evidence to ...
NPHCDA: Over 1 million Nigerian residents receive second dose of coronavirus vaccine
The executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, says 1,005,234 people have received the second dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Shuaib disclosed this on Thursday, during a media briefing in Abuja. He said the agency has extended the timeline for the administration of second dose by 11 days — from June 25 to July 5 — to enable more people to be vaccinated. He said those who received their first doses before May 13, can go to any centre to get the second dose. For those who have received the first dose, Shuaib said the figure now stands at 2,099,568. He added that the administration of the first dose is ongoing, and urged those who fall within the approved category to approach the designated centres to receive the vaccine...
Late goal gives Brazil controversial win over Colombia in Copa America
Brazil continued their winning romp through the Copa America on Wednesday, eking out a controversial 2-1 victory against Colombia after struggling most of the match to answer a magnificent bicycle-kick goal by Luis Diaz. The 11th-hour win gave the “Selecao” a perfect nine points from three matches in the South American championships, and extended their current winning streak to 11 matches. However, the victory was steeped in controversy: Brazil’s second-half equalizer, a Roberto Firmino header, was preceded by a Neymar pass that glanced off Argentine referee Nestor Pitana. Colombia heatedly argued afterward that play should have been stopped, but Pitana ruled neither side was hindered and allowed the match to continue. Disgruntled Colombia fans on social media turned the referee’s name int...
