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Wayne Cochran released four albums and 16 singles, 1959-72, but he's best known for writing Last Kiss, which became a hit for both J. Frank Wilson and Pearl Jam.
Wayne Cochran, who went from soul rocker to soul-saving minister, dies at 78
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/loca...186039993.html
Tommy Keene, new-wave and power-pop singer/songwriter, dies at 59
http://variety.com/2017/music/news/t...59-1202622473/
He appeared in Splash, Nebraska, Parenthood, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind and many other movies and tv shows.
Rance Howard, actor and father of Ron and Clint Howard, dies at 89
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...-at-89-1061376
Jim Nabors, TV's homespun Gomer Pyle and singer, dies at 87
The Associated Press, Nov 30 2017 1:35 PM ET
Jim Nabors, the shy Alabaman whose down-home comedy made him a TV star as Gomer Pyle and whose surprisingly operatic voice kept him a favorite in Las Vegas and other showplaces, died early this morning. He was 87. Nabors, who underwent a liver transplant in 1994 after contracting hepatitis B, died peacefully at his home in Hawaii after his health had declined for the past year.
Nabors became an instant success when he joined The Andy Griffith Show in the early 1960s. The character of Gomer Pyle, the unworldly, lovable gas pumper who would exclaim "Gollllll-ly!" proved so popular that in 1964 CBS starred him in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. In the spinoff, which lasted five seasons, Gomer left his hometown of Mayberry to become a Marine recruit. His innocence confounded his sergeant, the irascible Frank Sutton.
Audiences saw another side of Nabors in appearances in TV variety programs — his booming baritone. The contrast between his homespun humor ("The tornado was so bad a hen laid the same egg twice") and his full-throated operatic arias was stunning. For two seasons beginning in 1969, CBS presented The Jim Nabors Hour, on which he joshed with guest stars, did sketches with Sutton and fellow Gomer veteran Ronnie Schell, and sang country and opera.
After the end of his variety show, Nabors continued earning high salaries in Las Vegas showrooms and in concert theaters across the country. He recorded more than two dozen albums and sang with the Dallas and St. Louis symphony orchestras. During the 1970s he moved to Hawaii, buying a 500-acre macadamia ranch. He still did occasional TV work and in the late 1970s he appeared for 10 months annually at Hilton hotels in Hawaii. In the early 1980s, his longtime friendship with Burt Reynolds led to roles in Stroker Ace, Cannonball II and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/...-dies-51490348
Delta blues legend Robert 'Bilbo' Walker dead at 80
https://www.americanbluesscene.com/2...-bilbo-walker/
Mitch Margo sleeps.
Mitch Margo, an original member of the Tokens, dies at 70
New York Times, Dec 1 2017
Mitch Margo, an original member of the Tokens, the singing group best known for their hit The Lion Sleeps Tonight, died November 24 at his home in Studio City, California. He was 70. His family announced his death in a statement but did not specify the cause. Margo was only 13 in 1960 when he and his brother, Phil, joined the Linc-Tones, who soon renamed themselves the Tokens. The Lion Sleeps Tonight, the group’s biggest hit, topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in 1961-62. Margo played piano in those early years and over the years established himself as a multi-instrumentalist, also playing guitar, bass, drums and percussion.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/o...argo-dead.html
Mundell Lowe dies at 95; jazz guitar great played with Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, Every Brothers and others
http://www.latimes.com/local/obituar...202-story.html
He sold more than 110,000,000 recorded worldwide and had 18 platinum albums.
Johnny Hallyday, rock'n'roll singer known as the 'French Elvis,' dies at 74
http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/m...ies-74-n826886
Conrad Brooks, who appeared in 91 movies, 1953-2016, including Ed Wood, Jail Bait, Bikini Planet, Bikini Drive-In, Glen Or Glenda, The Mad Magician and Plan 9 From Outer Space, died December 6, 2017. He was 86.
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/mov...conrad-brooks/
He appeared in Fargo, Dances With Wolves, The Longest Yard and many other movies and tv shows.
Blackfeet actor Steve Reevis dies at 56
http://www.ktvh.com/2017/12/blackfee...ing-dies-at-56
He played with Gil Evans, Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman and many others.
Jazz drummer Sunny Murray dead at 81
https://pitchfork.com/news/jazz-drum...ay-dead-at-81/
The 1966 film helped popularize surfing. Brown wrote it, produced it and directed it. Cowabunga!
The Endless Summer filmmaker Bruce Brown dies at 80
http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/12/11/...own-dies-at-8/
In the early 2000s, DiNizio served as program director and on-air host of XM's Unsigned channel. It was renamed The Verge in 2006.
Smithereens lead singer Pat DiNizio dies at 62
http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/...D=ansmsnnews11
The angel of death has issued The Termination Proclamation to Warrel Dane.
Warrel Dane, lead singer of Nevermore and Sanctuary, dead at 56
http://www.98online.com/2017/12/13/w...uary-has-died/
Among the many tv shows and movies he produced: Mister Ed, Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Addams Family, Cagney & Lacey, The Sandpiper, Jagged Edge, Save The Tiger and Ice Station Zebra.
Martin Ransohoff, The Cincinnati Kid producer and Filmways Television co-founder, dies at 90
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...ati-kid-809533
Bob Givens, who died December 14, worked at Disney, UPA, Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera, DePatie-Freleng and other animation studios. This headline tells what he was best known for:
Bugs Bunny designer Bob Givens dies at 99
http://www.animationmagazine.net/peo...ens-dies-at-99
Reggae singer Michael Prophet, born Michael Haynes, died today, December 16, at age 60. He had been battling lung cancer and a brain tumor. He released 27 albums, 1977-2009, and had several big reggae hits in Jamaica, the UK and parts of Europe. His biggest hits were Gunman and Your Love.
www.zonareggae.ro/2017/12/r-i-p-michael-prophet/
Iconic vocalist Keely Smith dies of heart failure at 89
San Jose Mercury News, Dec 17 2017 12:33 PM
Keely Smith, the iconic jazz and pop vocalist who achieved success as both a solo artist and with her musical partnership with first husband Louis Prima, died of heart failure December 16 in Palm Springs. She was 89.
Smith was a Grammy-winning talent who gained much attention when as a teenager she got the job as the "girl singer" in Prima’s band in 1948. She married Prima in 1953 and achieved success together throughout the entertainment business, starring in stage, television and movies and releasing hit records. They’d win a Grammy in 1959 — the first year the awards were handed out — for best pop vocal performance by a duo or group for their smash That Old Black Magic.
She was born Dorothy Jacqueline Keely in Norfolk, Virginia on March 9, 1928. At 15, she got her first paying job as a vocalist with the Earl Bennett band. After she joined with Prima, the pair delivered such memorable hits as Bei Mir Bist Du Schön and I’ve Got You Under My Skin. She made her solo debut in 1957 with I Wish You Love.
Smith remained active in the music business into the 2000s. She received a Grammy nomination in the traditional pop vocal category for the 2001 album Keely Sings Sinatra. Her final performance came on February 13, 2011, at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center in southern California. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and another on the Walk Of Stars in Palm Springs, where she lived for the past 40 years.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/12/1...failure-at-89/
Welch was well-known in Mississippi. He released three albums, all when he was in his 80s.
Mississippi bluesman Leo 'Bud' Welch dead at 85
https://www.americanbluesscene.com/2...welch-dead-85/
Baseball, football, basketball, golf, tennis, boxing, horse racing,
the Olympics.....in a 59-year career, Enberg called them all.
Hall Of Fame sportscaster Dick Enberg dead at 82
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2017/1...ead-at-82.html