Norman Lear, the groundbreaking TV producer who smashed boundaries with politicized sitcoms such as All in the Family, helped diversify network television with shows The Jeffersons and Good Times, and used the half-hour comedy to address social issues and taboo, hot-button topics, died Tuesday at his Los Angeles home. He …
Read More »Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America's Ruling Class, Finally Dies
Henry Kissinger died on Wednesday at his home inConnecticut, his consulting firm said in a statement. The notorious war criminal was 100. Measuring purely by confirmed kills, the worst mass murderer ever executed by the United States was the white-supremacist terrorist Timothy McVeigh. On April 19, 1995, McVeigh detonated a …
Read More »Shane MacGowan, Pogues Lead Singer and Raspy Voice of Irish Punk Rock, Dead at 65
Shane MacGowan, the sandpapery-voiced former Pogues frontman who served as the bridge between traditional Irish folk music and punk rock, died on Thursday at the age of 65. MacGowan’s wife, Victoria Clarke, confirmed the musician’s death in a statement. The BBC wrote that MacGowan “died peacefully at 3.30am this morning …
Read More »Jean Knight, 'Mr. Big Stuff' Singer, Dead at 80
Jean Knight, whose 1971 smash hit “Mr. Big Stuff” spent five weeks at Number One on the R&B charts and hit Number Two on the Pop charts, has died at the age of 80, her longtime friend Bernie Cyrus confirmed to Rolling Stone. Knight died on Nov. 22, her family …
Read More »Kevin 'Geordie' Walker, Killing Joke's Influential Guitarist, Dead at 64
Killing Joke guitarist Kevin “Geordie” Walker’s influence is vast: Metallica attempted to emulate his guitar snarl on their cover of “The Wait”; Kurt Cobain admittedly ripped off his riff to “Eighties” for “Come As You Are”; LCD Soundsystem synthesized his riff on “Change” and turned it into “Losing My Edge.” …
Read More »Abe Stoklasa's Death Rattled Nashville, a City the Songwriter Was Unafraid to Criticize
When Nashville songwriter Abe Stoklasa died last week at 36, he left behind a catalog that frequently probed the dark corners of daily life. In many of his songs, love sucked, gainful work was elusive, and the choice between redemption and destruction was often decided by a single step. Even …
Read More »Rosalynn Carter, Influential First Lady and Tireless Mental Health Advocate, Dead at 96
Rosalynn Carter, former first lady and wife of Jimmy Carter, as well as a devoted housing and mental health advocate, died on Sunday, Nov. 19, at her home in Plains, Georgia while surrounded by family, the Carter Center announced. She was 96. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I …
Read More »George 'Funky' Brown, Whose Uplifting Drums Held Down Kool & the Gang, Dead at 74
George Brown, the co-founder, drummer, and songwriter for Kool & the Gang, died Thursday, Nov. 16, after a battle with cancer. He was 74. A rep for Kool & the Gang confirmed Brown’s death in a statement shared with Rolling Stone. Brown’s family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations …
Read More »Matthew Perry, 'Friends' Star, Dead at 54
Matthew Perry — who played the charmingly lovable and endlessly quotable Chandler Bing on the sitcom Friends, died Saturday at the age of 54, law enforcement sources confirmed to Rolling Stone. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said that police “responded at 4:10 this afternoon to a death …
Read More »Carla Bley, Free Jazz Pioneer, Dead at 87
The world of jazz is mourning the death of Carla Bley. On Tuesday, Bley’s longtime partner and musical collaborator Steve Swallow announced that the jazz musician died at the age of 87 due to complications with brain cancer. Bley was diagnosed with brain cancer back in 2018. “Sometimes I don’t …
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