Tag Archives: obituary

John “Ecstasy” Fletcher, rapper and founding member of the pioneering hip-hop group Whodini, has died at the age of 56. The group’s Grand Master Dee confirmed Fletcher’s death to Variety. No cause of death was provided. News of Fletcher’s death was first revealed by the Roots’ Questlove, with many others …

Pete Hamill — the celebrated journalist, novelist, columnist, and a titan of the New YorkCity tabloid and journalism world — died Wednesday morning, the New York Times reports. He was 85. Hamill died after his kidneys and heart failed while in the hospital, his brother, journalist Denis Hamill, confirmed. Hamill …

Hillard “Sweet Pea” Atkinson, the rich-voiced and riveting singer best known for his work with Was (Not Was), died Tuesday, a representative for Blue Note Records confirmed. He was 74. Per Billboard, Atkinson died of a heart attack in Los Angeles where he lived. Bassist, producer and Was (Not Was) …

Dave Riley — the bassist for the fiercely independent, influential noise-rock group Big Black — died Tuesday after a short battle with cancer. His housemate, Rachel Brown, reported the news on Facebook. He was 59. “In late August, [Riley] developed a persistent sore throat that wasn’t responsive to antibiotics,” Brown …

Ginger Baker, the wildly influential and innovative drummer who laid the groundwork for heavy metal and world music and played with everyone from Fela Kuti to John Lydon to Max Roach, died Sunday after a lengthy hospital stay. He was 80. “We are very sad to say that Ginger has …

Eddie Money, the singer-saxophonist whose string of hits include “Baby Hold On,” “Two Tickets to Paradise” and “Take Me Home Tonight,” died Friday in Los Angeles at the age of 70. “The Money Family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning,” the family said in a …

Doris Day, the actress and singer who became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the Fifties and Sixties, died Monday after contracting pneumonia, The Associated Press reports. She was 97. The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed Day’s death, saying she died at her home in Carmel Valley, California, surrounded by …