Obituary
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...
R.I.P. Pamela Hutchinson, The Emotions Singer Dies at 61
Pamela Hutchinson, a member of the famed R&B trio The Emotions, died Friday (September 18th) at the age of 61. A post on The Emotions’ Facebook page confirmed the news on Sunday. “In loving memory, we are saddened to announce the passing of our sister, Pamela Rose Hutchinson,” read the posting. “Pam succumbed to health challenges that she’d been battling for several years. Now our beautiful sister will sing amongst the angels in heaven in perfect peace.” Hutchinson’s sisters Wanda, Jeanette, and Sheila began performing gospel music as the Hutchinson Sunbeams in the early ’60s. By the end of the decade, though, they’d pivoted to making soul and disco music as The Emotions, releasing their Isaac Hayes/David Porter-produced debut in 1969. The Chicago-based girl group found relative fame i...
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies At 87
Ginsburg has died of metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday at her home in Washington, the court says. She was 87. Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer, the court says. Her death just over six weeks before Election Day is likely to set off a heated battle over whether President Donald Trump should nominate, and the Republican-led Senate should confirm, her replacement, or if the seat should remain vacant until the outcome of his race against Democrat Joe Biden is known. Chief Justice John Roberts mourned Ginsburg’s passing. “Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth ...
R.I.P. Winston Groom, Author of Forrest Gump Dies at 77
Winston Groom, the author and historian whose novel Forrest Gump became a pop-culture staple, died Thursday (Sept. 17th), reports the Tuscaloosa News. He was 77 years old. Groom’s death was confirmed by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey in a statement. “Saddened to learn that Alabama has lost one of our most gifted writers,” she said. “While he will be remembered for creating Forrest Gump, Winston Groom was a talented journalist and noted author of American history. Our hearts and prayers are extended to his family.” In 1985, Groom’s father told him a story about a neighbor’s child who was graceful and exceedingly talented despite having difficult mental challenges. Inspired by that, he picked up a pen and wrote Forrest Gump in just six weeks. The book was published the following year. Come 1994, ...
R.I.P. Sid McCray, Original Bad Brains Singer Dies
Sid McCray, the original singer of legendary punk band Bad Brains, has died. Affectionately known as SidMac, he passed away on September 9th. No cause of death has yet been revealed. McCray led the band from 1977 to 1978, when they were still a jazz fusion outfit known as Mind Power. He’s credited with introducing his bandmates to punk rock, specifically through albums by Sex Pistols and Ramones. Eventually, the band took on the name Bad Brains in reference to the Ramones song of the same name. McCray wrote early Bad Brains songs like “The Regulator”, but ultimately stepped aside as frontman to let his friend and guitarist H.R. take over. “I sung with the band for a little while, but I fizzled out because I saw H.R. was a much better singer,” McCray said in the H.R. documentary F...
