Obituary
R.I.P. Malik B., The Roots Co-Founder Dies at 47
Mailk B. of The Roots Malik B., Philadelphia hip-hop legend and co-founding member of The Roots, has died at the age of 47. As EW points out, Malik B.’s cousin, Don Champion, first announced news of his passing on Twitter. A cause of death was not given. The Roots themselves subsequently confirmed the news on their Instagram, writing, “It is with heavy hearts and tearful eyes that we regretfully inform you of the passing of our beloved brother and long time Roots member Malik Abdul Baset.” “May he be remembered for his devotion to Islam, His loving brotherhood and his innovation as one of the most gifted MCs of all time,” the group’s statement added. Malik B. founded The Roots alongside Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter in 1987, and appeared on the group’s f...
Malik B., Founding Member of The Roots, Dies at 47
Malik B., rapper and founding member of The Roots, has died, according to the hip-hop band’s social media statement Wednesday (July 29). He was 47. No cause of death has been revealed. “It is with heavy hearts and tearful eyes that we regretfully inform you of the passing of our beloved brother and long time Roots member Malik Abdul Basit. May he be remembered for his devotion to Islam, His loving brotherhood and his innovation as one of the most gifted MCs of all time,” the group wrote on Instagram. “We ask that you please respect his family and extended family in our time of mourning such a great loss.” His cousin Don Champion broke the news on Twitter when he reshared old performance footage of Malik B. at NYC’s The Bowery Electric. “Mourni...
R.I.P. Denise Johnson, Primal Scream Vocalist Dies at 56
Denise Johnson, veteran singer who performed with Primal Scream, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, and countless other acts, passed away on Monday. She was 56. Friends and family confirmed the news on Twitter. Although no cause of death has officially been disclosed, a statement from the family confirmed that Johnson had been ill the week prior and her body was discovered holding her inhaler. Born in Manchester and raised in the suburb of Hulme, Johnson grew up in a musically rich household. After performing with cover bands throughout the ’80s, she eventually joined soul group Fifth of Heaven and began turning heads. [embedded content] One such head was Hypnotone’s Tony Martin, who recommended Johnson to Primal Scream for their third studio album, 1991’s Screamadelica. She would go on to sin...
R.I.P. Olivia de Havilland, Oscar-Winning Actress and Star of Gone With the Wind Dies at 104
Olivia de Havilland, two-time Academy Award-winning actress and one of the last remaining stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, has died at the age of 104. de Havilland died of natural causes at her home in Paris, according to her publicist. The British-American actress is perhaps best known for her role as Melanie Hamilton in 1939’s Gone With The Wind, for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, but lost to fellow cast member Hattie McDaniel. de Havilland won her first Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 for the film To Each His Own, and then again in 1949 for her performance in William Wyler’s The Heiress, which was based on the Henry James novel Washington Square. Arguably her most popular films, though, were the string of adventure films she made with Errol Fl...
R.I.P. John Saxon, A Nightmare on Elm Street Actor Dies at 83
John Saxon, veteran actor who fought both Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon and Freddy Krueger in three A Nightmare on Elm Street films, passed away in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Saturday, July 25th. He was 83 years old. According to The Hollywood Reporter, his wife confirmed Saxon died from pneumonia. Born to an Italian-American family in Brooklyn, New York, Saxon studied acting with Stella Adler and began as a contract actor for Universal in the ’50s and ’60s. His career took a major turn with 1966’s The Appaloosa, earning him a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for playing a Mexican bandit opposite Marlon Brando. [embedded content] By the ’70s, Saxon became one of Hollywood’s most recognizable character actors. Ever the tough guy, he duked it out in several Westerns such as 1972’s Joe...
R.I.P. Regis Philbin, Beloved Television Personality Dies at 88
Regis Philbin, beloved television personality and game show host, has died at the age of 88 “His family and friends are forever grateful for the time we got to spend with him – for his warmth, his legendary sense of humor, and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about. We thank his fans and admirers for their incredible support over his 60-year career and ask for privacy as we mourn his loss,” the Philbin family said in a statement to PEOPLE. TMZ reports that Philbin passed away after suffering from a heart attack. A native of The Bronx, Philbin got his start in showbiz working as a page at The Tonight Show in 1955. After a stint writing for Los Angeles talk show host Tom Duggan and briefly hosting his own show in San Diego, Philbin landed a network TV gig i...
R.I.P. Peter Green, Fleetwood Mac Co-Founder Dies at 73
Fleetwood Mac co-founder and guitarist Peter Green has died at the age of 73. According to a statement from his family, Green passed away “peacefully in his sleep” on Saturday, July 25th. Green co-founded Fleetwood Mac alongside drummer Mick Fleetwood, guitarist Jeremy Spencer and bassist John McVie in 1967. A blues guitarist by trade, Green was instrumental in shaping the band’s early blues rock sound, and wrote early hits including “Albatross”, “Black Magic Woman”, “Oh Well”, “The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)” and “Man of the World”. He was also credited for giving Fleetwood Mac its name. Amid struggles with drugs and mental health, Green left Fleetwood Mac in 1970. He was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent time in psychiatric hospitals undergoing electr...
Annie Ross, Grammy-Winning Jazz Singer, Dies at 89
Annie Ross, the dexterous jazz singer and leading practitioner of the art of “vocalese” heard on her signature song, “Twisted,” has died. She was 89. Ross died Tuesday at her home in Manhattan of complications from emphysema and heart disease, her former manager, Jim Coleman, told The Washington Post. Ross performed with fellow vocalists Dave Lambert and Jon Hendricks in the acclaimed jazz trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross from 1957 to 1962. They made dozens of instrumental classics their own and recorded several albums, starting with 1957’s Sing a Song of Basie, which employed overdubs to multiply their voices. In 1952, Ross and vocalist King Pleasure had teamed on an album for Prestige that included “Twisted,” her treatment of saxophonist Wardel...
Mitch Slater, Concert Promotion Pioneer, Dies at 59
The Delsener/Slater Presents co-founder was a longtime associate of concert business consolidator Robert Sillerman. Mitch Slater, an industry pioneer who helped shape the modern concert promotion business, died on Tuesday after an extended illness. He was 59. “Our bond was as strong as it gets,” Slater’s older brother, former Capitol Records CEO Andrew Slater, tells Billboard. “When he started out in music, I said, ‘If you could be half as good in business as you are as a brother, you’ll be a great success.’ And he far exceeded that mark.” In 1988, Slater partnered with Ron Delsener to form Delsener/Slater Presents, which became one of the most successful independent concert promotion companies in the U.S. “As brilliant as Ronnie was, Mitch brought some real business acumen to it,” s...
R.I.P. Emitt Rhodes, Power Pop Icon and Home Recording Pioneer Dies at 70
Emitt Rhodes, power pop icon and home recording pioneer, has died at the age of 70. News of Rhodes’ death was confirmed by Omnivore Recordings, which released his final album in 2016. He is said to have passed away in his sleep, but the cause of death was not immediately clear. Rhodes got his start as a drummer in garage rock band The Palace Guard (which also briefly featured My Three Sons actor Don Grady). However, he had his first breakthrough with his next band, The Merry-Go-Round, which had minor hits with the psychedelic “Live” and the melancholic ballad “You’re a Very Lovely Woman”. It is most likely for his 1970 self-titled solo album, though, that he will best be remembered. The album, released on Dunhill Records, was recorded on an Ampex 4-track recorder in his pare...
El Dany, Of Cuban Duo Yomil y El Dany, Dies at 31
Daniel Muñoz Borrego, better known as El Dany and one half of Cuban urban duo Yomil y El Dany, died Saturday morning (July 18) at a hospital in Havana, sources confirm. He was 31 years old. Billboard could not confirm the cause of death. Together with Yomil (real name Roberto Hidalgo Puentes), Muñoz found fame creating a sound he and Hidalgo dubbed “Trapton,” which the duo once described to Billboard as “our brand. It’s a mix of trap with dembow and reggaetón.” That brand allowed Yomil y El Dany to enter the charts in 2016 with their album Sobredosis, which spent one week on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart at No. 8. Most recently, the duo teamed up with Lenier, El Chacal, Srta. Dayana, El Micha and Maurofor the single “No Volveré,” which entered the...
R.I.P. Ken Chinn (a.k.a. Mr. Chi Pig), Singer of Punk Band SNFU Dies at 57
Ken Chinn (aka Mr. Chi Pig) of SNFU Ken Chinn (a.k.a. Mr. Chi Pig), the singer of influential Canadian hardcore-punk band SNFU, has died at the age of 57. No cause of death has been disclosed, but the vocalist previously revealed in a December 2019 interview with Beatroute that he was in failing health and had a short time to live. The origins of SNFU — short for Society’s No F**king Use — date back to 1981, when Chinn first formed the punk band Live Sex Shows in Edmonton with twin-brother guitarists Marc and Brent Belke. While that outfit would break up later that year, the three musicians re-formed as SNFU shortly thereafter, going through a series of drummers and bassists throughout the ’80s. From 1985 through 1988, they released three albums, beginning with their debut, …And No One Els...
