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The COVID-19 virus has claimed the life of another musician. Joan Jett had a number-one hit in 1982 with I Love Rock 'N Roll. Alan Merrill & The Arrows recorded it first, in 1975. Merrill, the son of jazz vocalist Helen Merrill, released 15 studio albums. He also played guitar on three Rick Derringer albums and wrote three songs for him.
Alan Merrill, Arrows lead singer and writer of I Love Rock 'N Roll, dies at 69
https://bestclassicbands.com/alan-me...tuary-3-29-20/
Phillips, born John Phillip Baptiste in Louisiana, had only one chart hit but it was a big one: Sea Of Love. He had written the song for his girlfriend, Verdie Mae. A gas meter reader heard him singing the song, suggested he record it and put him in touch with local record producer George Khoury. Sea Of Love reached #2 on the Hot 100 in August 1959. Phillips never married Verdie Mae, though. In 1978 he produced a new version of Sea Of Love for the Fire Ants, a group composed of five of his children.
Sea Of Love singer Phil Phillips dies at 94
https://www.katc.com/news/local-news...-phillips-dies
Faber also appeared in Sue, Palindromes, Hard Luck, Restless, Stonewall, Bob Roberts, Ride With The Devil and other films.
Matthew Faber, Natural Born Killers and Welcome To The Dollhouse star, dies at 47
https://movieweb.com/matthew-faber-dead/
Diffie had 29 top-40 country hits, 1990-2004, and five number ones: Home, Pickup Man, Third Rock From The Sun, Bigger Than The Beatles and If The Devil Danced In Empty Pockets.. Among his other hits are John Deere Green, So Help Me Girl, Honky Tonk Attitude, Ships That Don't Come In and Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox If I Die.
Country music star Joe Diffie dies of coronavirus at 61
https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/...us-61-n1171666
Schramm played defense secretary Robert McNamara in five episodes of the 1983 mini-series Kennedy and played rival airline owner Roy Biggins in 172 episodes of Wings, 1990-97. He also appeared in episodes of Max Monroe, Miami Vice, Working Girl, Wiseguy, Another World, Jake & The Fatman, The Equalizer and Spenser For Hire.
David Schramm, stage actor and star on NBC's Wings, dies at 73
https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/dav...es-1203548344/
COVID-19 has claimed the life of another musician. Roney studied under Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis and released 21 albums as a bandleader. He also played on albums by Art Blakey, Geri Allen, Chick Corea and other artists. From Roney's 2016 CD A Place In Time, here is Around & Through:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imkyOEU5bBY
Legendary jazz trumpeter Wallace Roney dies of complications from coronavirus
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/31/us/wa...-19/index.html
COVID-19 has claimed the life of another musician. Yes, I'm saying it again. How many more will die before this virus runs its course? Fountains Of Wayne has released five albums and 16 singles. Their biggest hit, Stacy's Mom, reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 2003. Among their other hits are Radiation Vibe, Denise, The Summer Place and Red Dragon Tattoo.
Adam Schlesinger, co-founder of Fountains of Wayne, dies from COVID-19 complications at 52
https://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...-dies-obituary
Do we need to start a new thread just for all the coronavirus deaths? Here is another one. In addition to his roles in three Star Wars films, Jack appeared in the movie Kate & Leopold and in several British television series. He played a schoolboy in 10 episodes of Whack-O! in 1957.
Andrew Jack, Star Wars actor and dialect coach, dies from COVID-19
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/01/enter...cli/index.html
Two jazz legends. Both were patriarchs of a musical family. Both are now dead from coronavirus. How very sad.
Jazz-guitar great Bucky Pizzarelli dies at 94 after testing positive for coronavirus
https://www.usatoday.com/story/enter...us/5112393002/
Ellis Marsalis Jr., pianist, educator and patriarch of legendary musical family, dies of complications from coronavirus
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/01/us/el...rus/index.html
Withers had 15 top-40 R&B hits, including Use Me, Lovely Day, Heartbreak Road, Grandma's Hands, Kissing My Love and the Grammy-winning duet with Grover Washington Jr., Just The Two Of Us. In 1972, Withers' Lean On Me topped both the R&B chart and the Hot 100.
Ain't No Sunshine, Lean On Me singer Bill Withers dies at 81
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https://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...3qm-story.html
Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll by Vaughan Mason & Crew – Jerome Bell was the lead singer – reached #5 on the R&B chart, #38 on the disco chart and #81 on the Hot 100 in 1981. Seven years later, Mason and his new group Raze had a #24 R&B hit with Break 4 Love.
Vaughan Mason, oft-sampled Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll funk artist, dies at 69
Daft Punk, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and others sampled producer's disco-funk tracks.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...d-obit-977911/
Two more actors have died from the COVID-19 virus.
Jay Benedict, 68, appeared in Aliens, Victor/Victoria, Double Team, Star Wars Episode IV, The Dark Knight Rises and other films and had roles in more than 100 British television series and mini-series including co-starring as Army Major John Kieffer in Foyle's War, 2006-08.
Forrest Compton, 94, played Lieutenant Colonel Edward Gray on 41 episodes ofGomer Pyle, USMC, 1964-69, and attorney Mike Karr on 430 episodes of The Edge Of Night, 1971-84. He also appeared in episodes of Mannix, Hogan's Heroes, My Three Sons, That Girl, The FBI, The Twilight Zone, 77 Sunset Strip and other series.
The great white shark killed Mrs. Kintner's son and now COVID-19 has killed Mrs. Kintner. After she filmed Jaws in 1975, Lee Fierro and friend Mary Payne opened a children's theatre workshop in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Fierro reprised her role in the 1987 sequel Jaws: The Revenge.
Lee Fierro, Jaws actor, dies of coronavirus at 91
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/l...us-1234571541/
Douglas played piano teacher Mrs. Starch in the 1962 film Lolita and played former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in ABC's 2006 miniseries The Path To 9/11. She also appeared in 65 episodes of Wind At My Back, voiced characters in 25 episodes of the Flash Gordon animated series and narrated 22 episodes of the Franklin animated series.
Shirley Douglas, Canadian actor, activist and mother of Kiefer Sutherland, dies of pneumonia at 86
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/s...st-1234571552/
In addition to starring in 249 episodes of The Virginian, 1962-71, Drury played George Dodds in the 1960 Disney movie Pollyanna and appeared in multiple episodes of Gunsmoke, Lawman, The Rifleman, Wagon Train and other series.
James Drury, star of NBC's long-running Western series The Virginian, dies at 85
https://www.usatoday.com/story/enter...85/2955966001/
Blackman appeared in several films including Shalako, Something Big, Tale Of The Mummy, Life At The Top, The Secret Of My Success and Bridget Jones' Diary but is probably best known for playing Auric Goldfinger's pilot Pussy Galore in the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger.
Honor Blackman, star of Goldfinger and The Avengers, dies at 94
https://www.vulture.com/2020/04/hono...ead-at-94.html
John Prine's first album was cleverly titled John Prine and reached #154 on the Billboard album chart in March 1972. His biggest album was The Tree Of Forgiveness, which reached #5 in April 2018. It and his 2016 album For Better Or Worse also reached #2 on the Top Country Albums chart. Among Prine's best-known songs: Paradise, Dear Abby, Summer's End, Sweet Revenge, In Spite Of Ourselves, Please Don't Bury Me, The Great Compromise and Knockin' On Your Screen Door.
Legendary singer-songwriter John Prine dead of coronavirus complications at 73
https://www.aol.com/article/entertai...t-73/23972908/
In addition to illustrating more than 400 movie parodies in MAD, Drucker drew several covers for Time magazine, drew stories for the Bob Hope and War Stories comic books, illustrated the JFK and Ronald Reagan coloring books and drew the poster for the 1973 movie American Graffiti.
MAD magazine cartoonist Mort Drucker dies at 91
https://theweek.com/speedreads/90797...rucker-dies-91
Brock played harmonica alongside Jimmy Reed, Albert King, Muddy Waters, Little Milton, Howlin' Wolf, Ike & Tina Turner and other artists. He owned three nightclubs and released five studio albums and two live albums.
Legendary St. Louis blues musician Big George Brock has died at 88
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/musi...t-88-years-old
Dixon, who was only 4'1" tall, played an Oompa-Loompa in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971), a dwarf in Flash Gordon (1980), a dwarf named Strutter in Time Bandits (1981) and Leektar the Ewok warrior in Return Of The Jedi (1983).
Malcolm Dixon, diminutive actor who appeared in Return Of The Jedi and Time Bandits, dead at 66
https://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...a5i-story.html