Obituary
R.I.P. Johnny Nash, “I Can See Clearly Now” Singer Dead at 80
Johnny Nash, the American reggae and pop artist behind the hit song “I Can See Clearly Now”, has died at the age of 80. His son confirmed to CBS Los Angeles that Nash passed away at his home in Houston on Tuesday, but did not disclose a cause of death. Born in Houston in 1940, Nash was introduced to music early on in his life. As a child, he sang in the choir at Progressive New Hope Baptist Church, and later as a teenager, covered R&B hits on Matinee, a variety show that aired on local station KPRC-TV. At only 17 years old, Nash signed with ABC-Paramount and released his debut single, “A Teenager Sings the Blues”. His first official chart hit, however, came with his 1958 cover of Doris Day’s “A Very Special Love”. His 1965 single, “Let’s Move and Groove Together”, also saw success...
R.I.P. Eddie Van Halen, Legendary Guitarist of Van Halen Dead at 65
Van Halen co-founder and guitarist Eddie Van Halen has died following a long battle with throat cancer. He was 65 years old. According to TMZ, Van Halen passes away Tuesday (October 6th) at St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, California. Edward Lodewjk Van Halen was born to Jan and Eugenia van Halen, on January 26th, 1955, in Nijmegen, Netherlands. The family, including elder brother Alex, moved to Pasadena, California, in 1962. With a father who played piano, saxophone, and clarinet, the brothers had the privilege of growing up in a musical household. He wasn’t shredding or even picking any guitars at first, though. Had things gone a different way, Van Halen might have become known for being a classical pianist. He and his brother took lessons from Stass Kalvitis, an older Russian instruc...
Eddie Van Halen, Rock Legend & Guitar Hero, Dies at 65
The flashy guitarist and bandleader had been the subject of near-death rumors for many years — some due to his documented substance abuse issues but most stemming from news of tongue cancer in 2000 — which caused doctors to remove a third of his tongue — though Van Halen was declared cancer free two years later. In recent months, however, reports stated that he was battling throat cancer and flying to Germany for specialized treatments — though rumors of his imminent demise seemed to be exaggerated. In recent months, after a protracted period out of sight that led to more rumors of ill-health, Van Halen made a determined attempt at a public profile. During October he was photographed at a McLaren auto dealership in Beverly Hills, Calif., and shortly after that he at...
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Actor and Spike Lee Collaborator, Shot and Killed in Atlanta
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, a longtime collaborator of Spike Lee, was shot and killed in Atlanta on Saturday. The Georgia native appeared in eight of Lee’s films, beginning with 1995’s Clockers. He also had roles in Girl 6, Get On the Bus, He Got Game, Bamboozled, Red Hook Summer, Sweet Blood of Jesus, and Chi-Raq. Aside from his work with Lee, Byrd also appeared in such films as Antoine Fuqua’s Brooklyn’s Finest, Jamie Foxx’s Ray Charles biopic Ray, and F. Gary Gray’s Set It Off. In 2003, he received a Tony Award nomination for for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. In an Instagram post, Lee wrote, “I’m so sad to announce the tragic murder of our beloved brother Thomas Jefferson Byrd last night in Atlanta, Georgia. Tom is my guy.” He proceeded to sha...
R.I.P. Helen Reddy, “I Am Woman” Singer Dies at 78
Helen Reddy, the singer and activist whose song “I Am Woman” became an anthem for feminism, has died at the age of 78. “It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Helen Reddy, on the afternoon of September 29th 2020 in Los Angeles,” her family announced in a statement. “She was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and a truly formidable woman. Our hearts are broken. But we take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever.” A native of Melbourne, Australia, Reddy caught her first big break in 1966 when she won the talent contest on the Australian television program Bandstand. She then relocated to America and soon secured a contract with Capitol Records. Throughout the 1970s, Reddy earned 15 Top 40 singles in the US, including songs like “Delta D...
R.I.P. Mac Davis, Songwriter and Elvis Collaborator Dies at 78
Veteran singer-songwriter Mac Davis has died at the age of 78 due to complications following heart surgery. Davis’ passing was announced by his longtime manager, Jim Morey. “Mac Davis has been my client for over 40 years, and more importantly, my best friend,” Morey said in a statement. “He was a music legend, but his most important work was that as a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend. I will miss laughing about our many adventures on the road and his insightful sense of humor.” A native of Lubbock, Texas, Davis caught his break after relocating to Atlanta and getting a job at Nancy Sinatra’s company, Boots Enterprises, Inc. Through Sinatra, Davis became connected with Elvis Presley, who recorded several of Davis’ songs, including “Memories”, “In the Ghetto”, “Don’t Cry D...
Helen Reddy, Voice of the Feminist Anthem ‘I Am Woman,’ Dies at 78
Helen Reddy, the Australian activist and powerful voice of the 1972 feminist anthem “I Am Woman,” died Tuesday (Sept. 29), according to a statement from her family. The hitmaker was 78 years old. “It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Helen Reddy, on the afternoon of September 29th 2020 in Los Angeles,” her children Traci and Jordan shared via Facebook. “She was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and a truly formidable woman. Our hearts are broken. But we take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever.” Reddy charted 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart in her lifetime, including three No. 1s: the Grammy Award-winning “I Am Woman” (which she co-wrote with Ray Burton), “Delta Dawn” and “Angie B...
Max Merritt, ARIA Hall of Fame Inductee, Dies at 79
Max Merritt, the ARIA Hall of Fame inductee best known for the soulful songs “Slippin’ Away” and “Hey, Western Union Man”, died Thursday (Sept. 24) in a Los Angeles hospital following a long battle with a rare illness. He was 79. Born in Christchurch, New Zealand on April 30, 1941, Merritt made his mark when he formed The Meteors in the 1950s and reeled off a string of catchy rock ‘n’ roll numbers, including “Get a Haircut,” “Kiss Curl” and “C’mon Let’s Go.” Soon, Merritt and his band outgrew Christchurch and by 1962 they’d relocated to Auckland, and later, Australia, where he earned the moniker “king of Soul”. With the Meteors, Merritt had a No. 2 hit in Australia in 1975 with the soaring ballad “Slippin’ Away” and were sig...
Juliette Greco, Raspy-Voiced French Singer Who Inspired The Beatles, Dead at 93
Juliette Greco, a French singer, actress, cultural icon and muse to existentialist philosophers of the country’s post-War period, has died, French media said Wednesday. She was 93. They said Greco died in her Ramatuelle house in the south of France, near Saint Tropez. The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, tweeted that “a very grand lady, an immense artist has gone.” With expressive eyes inherited from her Greek ancestors and an impossibly deep, raspy voice — acquired from years of cigarette-smoking — Greco immortalized some of France’s most recognizable songs in an enduring seven-decade career, including the classics “Soul le ciel de Paris” (Under the Parisian sky) and “Je hais les dimanches” (I hate Sundays). Greco was born in Montpellier on February 7, 1927, to an absent fath...
R.I.P. Roy Head, 1960s Rocker Famous for “Treat Her Right” Dead at 79
Roy Head, the 1960s rocker best known for the smash hit “Treat Her Right”, has died at 79. According to the Montgomery County Police Recorder, the cause was heart attack “Treat Her Right” was a sensation upon its release in 1965, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100, while boasting sales that would have made it number one at just about any other time — except that The Beatles had recently released “Yesterday”. The song has been a pop culture mainstay ever since, appearing over the opening credits of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and popping up in the 1991 film The Commitments. Head was born in Three Rivers, TX, on January 9th, 1941. His father was a sharecropper, and his love of music came from listening to Black sharecroppers singing in the field...
R.I.P. Ron Cobb, Designer of Back to the Future DeLorean and Alien Ship Dead at 83
Ron Cobb, the legendary production designer who created the DeLorean in Back to the Future and the ship Nostromo in Alien, has died at 83. According to his wife, and via The Hollywood Reporter, he passed away on his birthday from complications caused by Lewy body dementia. Born in 1937, Cobb began his career at the age of 17 as an inbetweener on Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. In the 1960s he became a prolific and beloved counter culture cartoonist, addressing racial privilege, income inequality, the moon landing, and the Vietnam war. His work was syndicated in more than 80 newspapers across the United States, Australia, and Europe. In 1972, he gave an interview to a student newspaper, saying, “I’m fascinated with man in stress situations, I’m fascinated with man at a cr...
R.I.P. Michael Chapman, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Fugitive Cinematographer Dead at 84
Michael Chapman, legendary cinematographer who worked on Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Waltz, has died at 84. His wife, filmmaker and screenwriter Amy Holden Jones, confirmed the news on Facebook, writing: “Michael Chapman ASC, love of my entire adult life, has passed. Until we meet again.” Born in New York City in 1935, Chapman was raised in the suburbs of Boston on sports and very little arts. He graduated with an English major from Columbia University and temporarily served in the United States Army. It wasn’t until his father-in-law secured him a job as an assistant cameraman that he had interest in Hollywood. It’s an interest that stuck, though. After cutting his teeth with Joseph Cates, Frank Perry, Hal Ashby, and John Cassavettes, Chapman really turned hea...
