Obituary Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Country musician Kenny Rogers has died at the age of 81, as CNN reports and his publicist tells Pitchfork. The legendary singer-songwriter whose career spanned nearly six decades passed away on Friday, March 20, from natural causes.

Danny Ray Thompson, longtime baritone saxophone player and flutist of cosmic jazz ensemble Sun Ra Arkestra, has died. According to The New York Times and a post on the band’s website, Thompson died on March 12 in Philadelphia. He was 72 years old. “Danny Ray Thompson is now traveling the spaceways, joining the many beloved Arkestra members who have previously left the planet and who now soar with the spirit of Sun Ra,” the band wrote in their post. Find it in full below.

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge died this morning (March 14) after a battle with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia first diagnosed in 2017. P-Orridge was 70 years old.

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, avant garde icon and founding member of cult experimental bands Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, has died, as Dais Records co-founder Ryan Martin has revealed via social media. Martin shared a statement from Genesis’ daughters, Genesse and Caresse, who confirmed that their parent died the morning of March 14, 2020. P-Orridge was diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia in 2017. P-Orridge was 70 years old.

Keith Olsen, a producer who worked on a number of hit rock records in the 1970s and ’80s, died on Monday of cardiac arrest, The New York Times reports. He was 74.

Legendary jazz pianist McCoy Tyner has died. His passing was confirmed by a post on his official Instagram account. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of jazz legend, Alfred ‘McCoy’ Tyner,” the caption reads. “McCoy Tyner’s music and legacy will continue to inspire fans and future talent for generations to come.” He was 81 years old.

David Roback—the producer and multi-instrumentalist who co-founded Mazzy Star alongside Hope Sandoval—has died, according to a representative for the band. A key figure in the Los Angeles Paisley Underground scene of neo-psychedelia in the 1980s, Roback also played in bands such as Rain Parade and Opal. He was 61 years old. The cause of death has yet to be announced.

Buzzy Linhart, a mainstay of the Greenwich Village folk scene of the 1960s and ’70s, died on February 13 in Berkeley, California, the New York Times reports. Linhart’s health had been in decline since a 2018 heart attack. He was 76.

Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke has died at the age of 20, TMZ, The Hollywood Reporter, and Rolling Stone report. According to TMZ’s source, he was shot during a home invasion at his house in Hollywood Hills. Pop Smoke was reportedly pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Hollywood on the morning of Wednesday, February 19. The suspects have not been caught. Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for more information.

English DJ and producer Andrew Weatherall has died of a pulmonary embolism, his management announced today (February 17). He was 56 years old. Weatherall’s management said in a statement, “He was being treated in hospital but unfortunately the blood clot reached his heart. His death was swift and peaceful.”

Jacob Thiele, formerly the keyboardist for the Faint, has died, the Omaha World-Herald reports. “We are devastated to lose our dear friend Jacob Thiele,” his former bandmates wrote on social media. “He was a true synthesizer pioneer, and the Faint would not have sounded the same without him. We were incredibly lucky to have had the time we did with him.”

Nigerian highlife musician Victor Olaiya has died, the Nigerian newspaper Punch reports. He passed on February 12 in Lagos, Nigeria. He was 89.

Paul English—Willie Nelson’s longtime drummer and friend, immortalized in the 1971 song “Me and Paul”—has died, Rolling Stone reports. He was 87.

Joseph Shabalala, the singer who founded Ladysmith Black Mambazo and led the South African choral group to world renown, died Tuesday morning (February 11) at a hospital in Pretoria, the BBC and The Associated Press report. He had long struggled with ill health and retired from touring in 2014, but continued to make occasional public appearances. Shabalala was 78 years old.

Ivan Král—the composer, guitarist, and Patti Smith Group member—has died, as Reuters reports. He was 71 years old.

Gang of Four founding member and guitarist Andy Gill has died, the band disclosed via a statement earlier today. “Andy’s final tour in November was the only way he was ever really going to bow out; with a Stratocaster around his neck, creaming with feedback and deafening the front row,” the statement reads. According to representatives, Gill passed away following a “short respiratory illness.” He was 64 years old. Find the full statement from the band below.

Reed Mullin—the longtime drummer for North Carolina rock band Corrosion of Conformity—has died, his bandmates announced. A cause of death has not been revealed. Mullin was 53 years old.

Kobe Bryant, the five-time NBA champion who defined decades of basketball as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on Sunday morning, January 26, according to TMZ and ESPN. He was 41 years old. According to TMZ, Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant also died in the crash.

Jimmy Heath, the highly influential jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, has died. He was 93 years old, as The New York Times reports.

Steven Martin Caro, a founding member of the ’60s baroque pop band the Left Banke, has died from heart disease, family friend and former band manager Marg Finn confirmed to Pitchfork. He was 71 years old.

Allee Willis, the Grammy-winning songwriter who wrote the “Friends” theme song and several smash hits for Earth, Wind & Fire, including “September” and “Boogie Wonderland,” died Tuesday at the age of 72.

New Orleans rapper and bounce music icon 5th Ward Weebie has died, CNN and The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate report. Weebie’s publicist Johnathan Thomas told CNN that the artist had a “heart attack which turned into emergency heart surgery and ultimately heart failure.” 5th Ward Weebie was 42 years old. When reached for comment by Pitchfork, Thomas provided the following statement on Weebie’s death:

Neil Peart, the drummer and lyricist of progressive rock band Rush, has died, CBC News and Rolling Stone report. According to the reports, Peart died on January 7 in Santa Monica, California after a years-long battle with brain cancer. He was 67 years old.

Elizabeth Wurtzel, writer and author of best-selling memoir Prozac Nation, has died, The Washington Post reports. She was 52. The Post reports that the cause of death was complications from leptomeningeal disease. In 2015, Wurtzel announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and subsequently underwent a double mastectomy, but according to her husband, Jim Freed, the cancer spread to her brain.

Neil Innes, the comic songwriter who co-founded the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band in the 1960s before embarking on a celebrated career of musical satire, died Sunday night (December 29), the BBC reports. He was 75. A spokesperson for the Innes family told the BBC he had not been ill and his death was unexpected.

Vaughan Oliver, the graphic designer whose artwork was synonymous with 4AD and its corner of alternative rock, died peacefully with his family this afternoon (December 29) at the age of 62. Representatives for 4AD and the publisher Unit Editions confirmed the news to Pitchfork.

Sleepy LaBeef, a beloved rockabilly veteran active since the 1950s, died yesterday (December 26) at the age of 84, Rolling Stone reports. “He died at home, in his own bed, surrounded by his family who loved him, and whom he dearly loved,” his family said in a Facebook post.

Dave Riley, former bassist in Big Black with Steve Albini and Santiago Durango, died on Tuesday, Rolling Stone reports. He was 59 years old. Riley had been battling throat cancer, his friend and housemate Rachel Brown said in a Facebook note breaking the news. Find Brown’s full post below.

Popa Wu, an associate and mentor of the Wu-Tang Clan, has died, according to Rolling Stone and The Source. A cause of death has not been revealed. He was 63 years old. Find tributes from Wu-Tang Clan members and affiliates below.