Obituary
R.I.P. Gerry Marsden, Frontman of Gerry and the Pacemakers Dead at 78
Gerry Marsden, frontman of Gerry and the Pacemakers, has died at the age of 78. Marsden’s death was announced by UK broadcaster Pete Price, who wrote: “It’s with a very heavy heart after speaking to the family that I have to tell you the Legendary Gerry Marsden MBE after a short illness which was an infection in his heart has sadly passed away.” Gerry and the Pacemakers were early contemporaries of The Beatles, as both groups hailed from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. The Pacemakers’ career began with a fury in 1963, as their first three singles — “How Do You Do It?”, “I Like It”, and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” — all debuted at No. 1 on the UK singles chart. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was later adopted by fans of Liverpool F.C. and bec...
R.I.P. Gerry Marsden, Frontman of Gerry and the Pacemakers Dead at 78
Gerry Marsden, frontman of Gerry and the Pacemakers, has died at the age of 78. Marsden’s death was announced by UK broadcaster Pete Price, who wrote: “It’s with a very heavy heart after speaking to the family that I have to tell you the Legendary Gerry Marsden MBE after a short illness which was an infection in his heart has sadly passed away.” Gerry and the Pacemakers were early contemporaries of The Beatles, as both groups hailed from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. The Pacemakers’ career began with a fury in 1963, as their first three singles — “How Do You Do It?”, “I Like It”, and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” — all debuted at No. 1 on the UK singles chart. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was later adopted by fans of Liverpool F.C. and bec...
R.I.P. Steve Brown, Producer for Elton John, Manic Street Preachers, and The Cult Dead at 62
Steve Brown, a veteran record producer known for his work with Elton John, Manic Street Preachers, The Cult, and Wham!, has died at the age of 62. Brown collaborated extensively with Elton John early on in his career, working with the UK musician on his debut album, 1969’s Empty Sky, and its follow-ups, 1970’s Elton John, 1970’s Tumbleweed Connection, and 1973’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. In the 1980s, Brown produced records for The Cult (1985’s Love, 1987’s Electric) and Wham! (1983’s Fantastic). The following decade saw him collaborate with Manic Street Preachers on their first (1992’s Generation Terrorists) and third (1994’s The Holy Bible) studio albums. He also helmed The Pogues’ final album, 1996’s Pogue Mahone. “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of legendary producer Ste...
R.I.P. Steve Brown, Producer for Elton John, Manic Street Preachers, and The Cult Dead at 62
Steve Brown, a veteran record producer known for his work with Elton John, Manic Street Preachers, The Cult, and Wham!, has died at the age of 62. Brown collaborated extensively with Elton John early on in his career, working with the UK musician on his debut album, 1969’s Empty Sky, and its follow-ups, 1970’s Elton John, 1970’s Tumbleweed Connection, and 1973’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. In the 1980s, Brown produced records for The Cult (1985’s Love, 1987’s Electric) and Wham! (1983’s Fantastic). The following decade saw him collaborate with Manic Street Preachers on their first (1992’s Generation Terrorists) and third (1994’s The Holy Bible) studio albums. He also helmed The Pogues’ final album, 1996’s Pogue Mahone. “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of legendary producer Ste...
Gerry Marsden Dead: Gerry and the Pacemakers Frontman Dies at 78
Marsden was the lead singer of the band that found fame in the Merseybeat scene in the 1960s. Though another Liverpool band — The Beatles — reached superstardom, Gerry and the Pacemakers will always have a place in the city’s consciousness because of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” “I thought what a beautiful song. I’m going to tell my band we’re going to play that song,” Marsden told The Associated Press in 2018 when recalling the first time he heard the song at the cinema. “So I went back and told my buddies we’re doing a ballad called ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’” Marsden is best known for his band’s rendition of the song from “Carousel,” which was a 1945 musical that became a feature film in 1956. The Pacemakers’ cover version was released in October 1963 and became the band’s third No. 1 hit...
Gerry Marsden Dead: Gerry and the Pacemakers Frontman Dies at 78
Marsden was the lead singer of the band that found fame in the Merseybeat scene in the 1960s. Though another Liverpool band — The Beatles — reached superstardom, Gerry and the Pacemakers will always have a place in the city’s consciousness because of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” “I thought what a beautiful song. I’m going to tell my band we’re going to play that song,” Marsden told The Associated Press in 2018 when recalling the first time he heard the song at the cinema. “So I went back and told my buddies we’re doing a ballad called ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’” Marsden is best known for his band’s rendition of the song from “Carousel,” which was a 1945 musical that became a feature film in 1956. The Pacemakers’ cover version was released in October 1963 and became the band’s third No. 1 hit...
R.I.P. Dawn Wells, Gilligan’s Island’s Mary Ann Dead at 82 from COVID-19
Dawn Wells, the actress best known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on Gilligan’s Island, has died at the age of 82. She succumbed to complications related to COVID-19 on Tuesday, December 30th, her publicist announced. Born in 1938 in Reno, Nevada, Wells spent her early childhood defying typical beauty standards. Although she was overweight, suffered from severe acne, and had braces throughout middle school, Wells was embraced by her peers and often viewed as popular, notes The Hollywood Reporter. Turns out that charm followed her into adulthood. Wells was crowned Miss Nevada in 1959 and even competed in the 1960 Miss America beauty pageant — the same year she graduated from the University of Washington. Initially, Wells’ early acting career was defined by smaller roles on TV shows like W...
R.I.P. Alto Reed, Longtime Bob Seger Saxophonist Dead at 72
Alto Reed, the longtime saxophonist for Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, has died from colon cancer. He was 72 years old. Seger himself announced the sad news in a Facebook post. “Alto has been a part of our musical family, on and off stage, for nearly 50 years,” Seger wrote. “I first starting playing with Alto in 1971. He was amazing – he could play just about anything…he was funky, could scat and play tenor sax and alto sax at the same time.” Reed’s two daughters, Chelsea and Victoria, also shared a joint statement alongside Seger (via Ultimate Classic Rock). Issued by Seger’s publicist, the statement read, “Our hearts are deeply broken by this enormous loss, but also filled with gratitude as we reflect on his legacy and how incredibly lucky we’ve been to get to call such a special ...
R.I.P. Tuck Tucker, SpongeBob SquarePants and Hey Arnold! Animator Dead at 59
Tuck Tucker, the veteran animator known for his work on shows like SpongeBob SquarePants and Hey Arnold!, has died at the age of 59. A cause of death hasn’t been revealed at this time. According to Tucker’s family, he passed away on December 22nd. “It is with a heavy and broken heart that the Tucker family announces the death of Tuck Tucker, father, husband, son, brother, and uncle,” wrote Bailey Tucker on Facebook. “We know he was loved by all of those whom he met. In lieu of visitations, if you have memories of Tuck you would like to share on his timeline, the family would greatly appreciate reading them.” Tucker had a knack for bringing drawn illustrations to life onscreen. When he was in his 20s, he started working on prominent animated films like 1987’s Pinocchio and the Emperor of th...
Nile Rodgers Mourns the Death of His Mother Beverly Goodman
“The saddest part of this #COVID holiday is not being able to visit my #mom,” he said. “She’s always happy and entertaining even w late stage #Alzheimer’s. I’ve learned to redirect or not, so she’s never uncomfortable with her memory loss.” Along with his tweet that day, he shared a home video of the pair bantering. “This was 2 years ago and she’s still sharp today,” he noted. In an interview with the BBC in the summer of 2019, Rodgers said that while caring for his mother, he had become “more involved in her life than I have been since I was 14 years old … It’s really strange because we, right now, seemingly have the best relationship we’ve ever had in our lives.” Remarkably, the legendary musician, co-founder of ...
Roger Berlind, Tony-Winning Broadway Producer, Dies at 90
He wasn’t born into the theater, though. Despite youthful aspirations as a songwriter, he found work on Wall Street, becoming a brokerage partner before the death of his wife and three of four children in a June 1975 plane crash in New York City that changed the trajectory of his life. He told the Times in 1998 that building a business and making money didn’t make sense to him anymore. Eventually, he turned to Broadway, redefining himself through a new career. Brook Berlind, his second wife, defined the switch in stage terms. “His life was utterly bifurcated by the accident,” she said. “There was Act I and Act II. I don’t think many other people could have gone on to such success after such catastrophe.” His debut production in 1976 of Rex, a Richard Rodgers musical about Henry VIII, was p...
Mountain’s Leslie West Dies at 75
Mountain formed on Long Island, New York in 1969 and released three albums before they broke up in 1972 — though they’ve reunited frequently since and released a number of other projects including 1974’s Avalanche, 1985’s Go for Your Life, 1996’s Man’s World, 2002’s Mystic Fire and 2007’s Masters of War. The group notably performed at Woodstock in 1969. Their best-known song, “Mississippi Queen,” peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart in 1970. West was inducted in to the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and appeared on dozens of other recordings from a vast universe of artists. Samples of his performances lived a secondary life on the masters of hip-hop and rap stars. You Deserve to Mak...
