Obituary News

Berle Adams Dies at 92; Co-Founder of Mercury Records and an MCA Executive

Source: Michael Ricci
August 29, 2009

Adams booked road dates for big bands in the '40s. At MCA, he was in charge of packaging new TV programs. For two decades he was the sole international distributor of the Emmy Awards.

Berle Adams, a onetime big-band booking agent who co-founded Mercury Records in the 1940s and later became a senior executive at MCA before launching his own successful business as an international television program sales representative and distributor, has died. He was 92.

Adams, who had been ...

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Sergei Mikhalkov Dies at 96; Author of Soviet, Russian National Anthems

Source: Michael Ricci
August 29, 2009

Sergei Mikhalkov, who wrote the lyrics for the Soviet and Russian national anthems and also persecuted dissident writers as part of the Soviet propaganda machine, has died. He was 96. Mikhalkov, who fathered two noted film directors, died Thursday in a Moscow hospital. A cause of death was not given. He was born March 18, 1913, in Moscow. As a young author and war correspondent favored by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, he was commissioned to write lyrics for a new ...

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NEC Mourns the Death of Joseph Maneri, Longtime Faculty, Jazz Legend, Founder of Boston Microtonal Society

Source: Michael Ricci
August 26, 2009

Received Honorary Doctorate from NEC in May New England Conservatory is mourning the death of Joseph Gabriel Esther Maneri, a longtime and much beloved faculty member and legendary jazz figure, who died August 24 at age 82. Maneri, who taught at the Conservatory from 1970 to 2007, received an honorary doctorate this past May in recognition of his enormously varied musical accomplishments, his indelible teaching style, and the many gifted performers who carry on his musical legacy. Among his former ...

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Songwriter Ellie Greenwich Dies at 68

Source: All About Jazz
August 26, 2009

Ellie Greenwich, who co-wrote some of pop music's most enduring songs, including “Chapel of Love," “Be My Baby" and “Leader of the Pack," died Wednesday, according to her niece. She was 68.

Greenwich died of a heart attack at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, where she had been admitted a few days earlier for treatment of pneumonia, according to her niece, Jessica Weiner.

Greenwich, a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, was considered one of pop's most successful songwriters. She ...

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Joe Maneri Dies at 82

Source: Michael Ricci
August 25, 2009

It is with great sadness the Maneri family would like to announce the death of Dr. Joseph Maneri to the music and wider arts community. Joe passed away Monday, August 24th 2009 in the company of his close family. Joe is survived by his loving wife Sonja, his five children, eight grandchildren and his incredible music legacy. As a performer, composer and educator Joe touched countless hearts with his innovative and incredibly loving spirit. There will be a private service ...

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Larry Knechtel Bassist, Keyboardist for '70s Soft-Rock Group Bread Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
August 24, 2009

Knechtel played keyboards and bass with the Wrecking Crew, a group of L.A. studio musicians, before joining Bread in 1971. His arrangement of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' won a Grammy in 1970.

Larry Knechtel, a member of the 1970s soft-rock group Bread, who had a wide-ranging career as a studio musician, has died. Knechtel died Thursday at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital in Yakima, Wash. He was 69. A hospital official would not release a cause of death, but a report ...

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John E. Carter R&b Tenor in Dells and Flamingos Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
August 24, 2009

John E. Carter, R&B lead tenor and two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, died Friday at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in his hometown of Harvey, Ill. He was 75 and had lung cancer.

Carter, known for his falsetto, was the last surviving founding member of the doo-wop group the Flamingos, which gained fame with such hits as “Golden Teardrops" and their reworking of the pop classic “I Only Have Eyes for You."

Carter, who was ...

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Lawrence Lucie, Guitarist with Jelly Roll Morton, Dies at 101

Source: Michael Ricci
August 18, 2009

Lawrence Lucie, a guitarist whose career began in the early years of jazz and continued into the early years of the 21st century, died Friday in Manhattan. He was 101. His death was confirmed by Sharon Linder, an administrator at the Kateri Residence, the nursing and rehabilitation center in Manhattan where Mr. Lucie lived in recent years. Mr. Lucie spent most of his career as a rhythm guitarist, rarely stepping forward to solo. But he was a master of the ...

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