Obituaries
John Amos, ‘Good Times’ Actor, Passes Away, Black Xitter Salutes OG TV Dad
John Amos, the actor famed for portraying James Evans on Good Times, amongst other roles, has passed away. He was 83. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Variety (@variety) Variety reports that Amos’ reps confirmed that he actually passed away over a month ago, on August 21, in Los Angeles from natural […] The post John Amos, ‘Good Times’ Actor, Passes Away, Black Xitter Salutes OG TV Dad appeared first on Hip-Hop Wired.
Fatman Scoop Passes Away At 53, Xitter Mourns The Legend
Fatman Scoop, born Isaac Freeman III, has reportedly passed away. He was 53. The CT Insider reports that Scoop’s tour manager confirmed his passing. On Friday evening (August 30), Scoop reportedly suffered some type of medical emergency while on stage at the Hamden Town Center Park in Connecticut. CPR was performed before he was transported […] The post Fatman Scoop Passes Away At 53, Xitter Mourns The Legend appeared first on Hip-Hop Wired.
Shirley Watts, Widow of Rolling Stones Drummer Charlie Watts, Dies at 84
Shirley Ann Watts, a former art student and prominent breeder of Arabian horses who met drummer Charlie Watts well before he joined the Rolling Stones and with him formed one of rock’s most enduring marriages, has died. She was 84. “Shirley died peacefully on Friday 16th December in Devon after a short illness surrounded by her family,” her family announced Monday (Dec. 19). The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood was among those mourning her. “We will miss you so much, but take comfort that you are reunited with your beloved Charlie,” Wood wrote on Facebook. While Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards all have had multiple wives and girlfriends, Charlie and Shirley Watts remained together for more than 50 years, until Charlie died in 2021. Their only known crisis happened in the mid-1980...
Allen Becker, Who Built PACE Concerts Into a Live Promotion Powerhouse, Dies at 90
In the 1970s, Louis Messina visited the Houston Astrodome to check out the events his new business partner, Allen J. Becker, was putting on. “He’s doing boat shows and having Evel Knievel jump over 150 cars and thrill shows and demolition derbies,” Messina recalls. “I went, ‘Holy crap, there are 60,000 people here!’ A guy jumped from the top of the Astrodome into the air bag.” Becker, 90, who died Monday (Dec. 12) at his Houston home, first approached Messina, then a New Orleans rock promoter, in 1975 to form a concert-promotion partnership. Their company, PACE Concerts, went on to dominate Texas and much of the South for more than 20 years, booking stars from The Who to Bruce Springsteen to Rush. “Allen had an old saying: ‘I’d rather lose money with you than you make a dime without me’ — ...
Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church Pastor Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts III Dies At 75
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Newsday LLC / Getty Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts III has died at the age of 73 after serving for decades as a pastor at Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City’s Harlem community. “It is with profound sadness, we announce the passing of our beloved pastor, Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts, lll, who peacefully transitioned in the early morning of October 28, 2022,” the church wrote in a statement announcing Butts’ death. “The Butts Family and entire Abyssinian Baptist Church membership solicit your prayers for us in our bereavement.” In a statement sent to NewsOne, Rev. Al Sharpton said Butts “was a major pillar in the Harlem community and is irreplaceable.” He was a dominant faith and academic leader for decades. We knew each other for more than 40 years, an...
Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly & The Crickets Drummer and Songwriter, Dies at 82
Jerry “JI” Allison, the drummer for Buddy Holly and the Crickets (a.k.a. The Crickets), who is credited as a co-writer on influential rock ‘n’ roll hits “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue,” has died at age 82, according to a post on the Buddy Holly Foundation’s Facebook page. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “JI was a musician ahead of his time, and undoubtedly his energy, ideas and exceptional skill contributed to both The Crickets, and rock n’ roll itself, becoming such a success,” the post reads. “Buddy is often heralded as the original singer-songwriter, but JI, too, wrote and inspired so many of the songs that would go on to be eternal classics.” Born Aug. 31, 1939, in Hillsboro, Texas, Allison attended the same middle school as Ho...
Warner Records CEO Mo Ostin Remembered by Producer Russ Titelman: ‘He Had No Ego’
Grammy-winning producer Russ Titelman first met Mo Ostin, the legendary executive who ran Reprise and then Warner Records from 1960 to 1994, in the early ’60s when Titelman was still a teenager and freshly signed to Screen Gems-Columbia Music as a songwriter. Eventually, Ostin, who died July 31 at 95, and then head of A&R Lenny Waronker convinced Titelman to come to Warner Records, where he had an extraordinary run as an in-house producer for 25 years, working with such artists as Randy Newman, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Steve Winwood, Chaka Khan and so many more. Titelman, whose Grammy wins include record of the year for Winwood’s “Higher Love” (1986) and again for Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” as well as album of the year for Clapton’s “Unplugged” (1992), talked with Bill...
Mo Ostin, Legendary Warner Bros. Records Chief, Dies at 95
Mo Ostin, the legendary label executive who led Warner Brothers Records through a storied time of both artistic and commercial success for more than 30 years, died in his sleep July 31, at the age of 95. Ostin, who signed and/or worked with such acts at The Kinks, Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, R.E.M., Randy Newman and many more, was “one of the greatest record men of all time, and a prime architect of the modern music business,” said Tom Corson, co-chairman and COO, Warner Records, and Aaron Bay-Schuck, co-chairman and CEO, Warner Records, in a joint statement. “For Mo, it was always first and foremost about helping artists realize their vision,” their statement continues. “One of the pivotal figures in the evolution of Warner Music Group, in the 1960s Mo ushered Warner/Repri...
Steve Smith, Legendary Radio Programmer Who Helped Launch the Hip-Hop Format, Dies at 62
The radio world is mourning the loss of revered programmer and consultant Steve Smith, who died suddenly last Thursday (July 7). He was 62. Tim Richards, Smith’s partner in Smith Richards Collective who first met Smith in 1992 at the MTV Awards in Los Angeles during a Westwood One broadcast, wrote on his Facebook page, “Steve was (that’s so hard to type) an incredible man. He was a radio innovator and one of the kindest and most creative programmers I’ve ever learned from.” Smith’s family confirmed his death in a statement to radio trade All Access, writing, “Steve unexpectedly passed away peacefully at home, in his sleep on July 7…Steve’s highly successful career spanned 40 years and has broken countless records, won countless awards, and has irrevocably changed the landscape of American ...
Steve Smith, Legendary Radio Programmer Who Helped Launch the Hip-Hop Format, Dies at 62
The radio world is mourning the loss of revered programmer and consultant Steve Smith, who died suddenly last Thursday (July 7). He was 62. Tim Richards, Smith’s partner in Smith Richards Collective who first met Smith in 1992 at the MTV Awards in Los Angeles during a Westwood One broadcast, wrote on his Facebook page, “Steve was (that’s so hard to type) an incredible man. He was a radio innovator and one of the kindest and most creative programmers I’ve ever learned from.” Smith’s family confirmed his death in a statement to radio trade All Access, writing, “Steve unexpectedly passed away peacefully at home, in his sleep on July 7…Steve’s highly successful career spanned 40 years and has broken countless records, won countless awards, and has irrevocably changed the landscape of American ...
Ken Williams, Songwriter Behind Hits for The Main Ingredient and Peaches & Herb, Dies at 83
Ken Williams, the prolific songwriter who rose from participating in his U.S. Air Force singing group in the ’60s to co-writing The Main Ingredient’s timeless 1972 R&B smash “Everybody Plays the Fool,” died June 17 in Manhasset, N.Y. He was 83. “It has been going since ’72 and it’s still going. That’s one of the classics,” he said of “Everybody Plays the Fool,” which he co-wrote with Rudy Clark and J.R. Bailey, in a 2018 interview. “It’s mind-boggling. Every time you sit back and hear it, you say, ‘Wow.’” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Before writing hundreds of songs for Peaches & Herb, Donny Hathaway, the Four Tops and many others, Williams was in an Air Force group, the Chuck-A-Lucks, stationed in Great Falls, Mt. They were su...
Frank Ursoleo, Longtime BMG Exec & Iconoclassic Records Founder, Dies at 65
Frank Ursoleo, a former sales and marketing executive who held numerous label and distribution positions in the BMG network of companies before becoming the president of his own company Iconoclassic Records, died unexpectedly in his Cape Cod, Mass. home on May 5. He was 65. “Frank’s passion and knowledge, developed through decades of deep listening, found its fullest expression at Iconoclassic Records,” according to a tribute from Iconoclassic Records president Jeremy Holiday, who joined the label in 2021. “Here, he reissued Laura Nyro’s mid and late career work, to bust the myth that she peaked early.” Ursoleo, who graduated from Boston College, began his music industry career working at the Strawberries music chain. According to his LinkedIn profile, Ursoleo went on to be a sales represe...
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