The artist was known for popularizing the musical genre in the country, but convictions for drug abuse damaged his image.
Category: Deaths (Obituaries)
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Joey Molland of the Power-Pop Band Badfinger Dies at 77
He was the last remaining core member of a group that was both propelled and pigeonholed in the 1970s by its close association with the Beatles.
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Gwen McCrae, Singer Who Helped Open the Dance Floor to Disco, Dies at 81
Originally a gospel singer, she went on to meld soulful melodies with dance-floor-friendly grooves on songs like the 1975 Top 10 hit “Rockin’ Chair.”
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D’Wayne Wiggins, One Third of the R&B Group Tony! Toni! Toné!, Dies at 64
As a paragon of the New Jack Swing sound, the band recorded three platinum albums and a slew of hits, including “Feels Good.”
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Uri Shulevitz, 89, Acclaimed Children’s Book Author and Illustrator, Dies
A Caldecott Medal winner, he turned childhood memories of fleeing the Nazis in Poland into magical stories.
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Betty Bonney, 100, Dies; Her Song for a Yankee Star Was a Big-Band Hit
“Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio,” which she sang with the Les Brown band, celebrated DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak in 1941. She also sang on Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows.”
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Roy Ayers, Vibraphonist Who Injected Soul Into Jazz, Dies at 84
He helped introduce a funkier strain of the music in the 1970s. He also had an impact on hip-hop: His “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” has been sampled nearly 200 times.
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Juan Hamilton, Georgia O’Keeffe’s Companion and Contested Heir, Dies at 79
As a young potter, he turned up on the doorstep of an octogenarian master of modern painting. They grew so close it became a scandal.
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Chris Jasper, Who Helped Revitalize the Isley Brothers, Dies at 73
A classically trained pianist turned songwriter, he was a cornerstone of the soul group’s sound during its fertile second act in the 1970s.
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Selwyn Raab, Tenacious Reporter Who Covered the Mob, Dies at 90
At The Times and elsewhere, he wrote about wrongful convictions, fake methadone clinics and the five powerful Mafia families in New York.
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Hal Hirshorn, Artist of Otherworldly Photos and Paintings, Dies at 60
A ubiquitous presence in New York’s art world, he also existed outside it, using 19th-century techniques to create ethereal, haunting images.
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Laura Sessions Stepp, Who Reported on Teenage Sex, Dies at 73
A Pulitzer Prize-winning editor, she went on to write about “hookup culture” and young women’s sexual experiences for The Washington Post and in a best-selling book.