Likened to a “court composer” for Germany, he wrote more than 500 pieces and was considered one of the most original and independent musical voices in Europe.
Category: Deaths (Obituaries)
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Jerry Miller, Moby Grape Guitarist, Dies at 81
He drew praise for his blues-inflected fretwork as his critically acclaimed band rode high, if briefly, during San Francisco’s Summer of Love.
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Darryl ‘Joe Cool’ Daniel, Illustrator of Snoop Dogg’s First Album Cover, Dies at 56
The 1993 album “Doggystyle” went on to sell millions of copies around the world and solidified the career of Mr. Daniel, known as Joe Cool, as a hip-hop illustrator.
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Sylvain Saudan, ‘Skier of the Impossible,’ Is Dead at 87
His audacious descents around the world inspired a generation of extreme skiers. “One mistake,” he once said, “you die.”
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Toumani Diabaté, Malian Master of the Kora, Is Dead at 58
He believed that music could transcend national borders set by colonialism and restore ancient ties, even as it embraced the changes of a globalizing society.
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Kathy Willens, Photojournalist Seemingly Everywhere, Is Dead at 74
Guided by a keen sense of timing, she covered wars, sports, riots, politics and more for The A.P. in the ’70s, when few women worked as news photographers.
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Lewis H. Lapham, Longtime Editor of Harper’s, Dies at 89
Born into a patrician family, he used Harper’s and later his own Lapham’s Quarterly to denounce what he saw as the hypocrisies and injustices of a spoiled United States.
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John Mayall, Pioneer of British Blues, Is Dead at 90
Mr. Mayall was best known for recruiting and polishing the talents of one gifted young lead guitarist after another, starting with Eric Clapton.
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Walter Shapiro, Political Columnist With a Contrarian Streak, Dies at 77
He brought to his writing a sharp sense of humor, honed in stand-up comedy clubs, and never pulled punches even though he was an unabashed Democrat.
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Duke Fakir, Last Surviving Member of the Four Tops, Dies at 88
He sang tenor on hits like “Standing in the Shadow of Love,” “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” and “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch).”
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Bernice Johnson Reagon, a Musical Voice for Civil Rights, Is Dead at 81
A singer, composer, curator and founder of the vocal group Sweet Honey in the Rock, she provided a gospel soundtrack for the civil rights movement.
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Happy Traum, Mainstay of the Folk Music World, Dies at 86
A noted guitarist and banjo player, he emerged from the same Greenwich Village folk-revival scene as his friend and sometime collaborator Bob Dylan.