Obituary News

Fayette Pinkney Soulful Singer with the Three Degrees Passes

Source: Michael Ricci
July 1, 2009

Fayette Pinkney, an original member of the Three Degrees who lent her strong, soulful voice to the 1970s hits “When Will I See You Again?" and “T.S.O.P." (The Sound of Philadelphia), the theme song of the television show Soul Train, died Saturday in Lansdale, Pa. She was 61.

The death was confirmed by Abington Health Lansdale Hospital. The cause was acute respiratory failure, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The Three Degrees formed in the early 1960s when Ms. Pinkney, who was ...

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Jackson's Body to Return to Neverland

Source: All About Jazz
June 30, 2009

Michael Jacksons body will be driven to his Neverland Valley Ranch in central California as early as 10 am Thursday with public viewing being set for later this week, according to media reports on Tuesday.

A motorcade of as many as 30 cars is expected to accompany Jacksons body to his ranch, which is located near the town of Los Olivos, north of Santa Barbara, according to reports by TV network CNN and celebrity website TMZ.com, citing police officials.

Michael ...

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Fred Travalena Master Impressionist and Singer Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
June 29, 2009

'The Man of a Thousand Faces' could voice Bugs Bunny as well as Luciano Pavarotti. Travalena, a Vegas performer, talk-show regular and star of his own specials, died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Fred Travalena, the master impressionist and singer whose broad repertoire of voices ranged from Jack Nicholson to Sammy Davis Jr. to Bugs Bunny, has died. He was 66.

Travalena, who began being treated for an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2002 and saw the disease return last July ...

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Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy Expert on the Music of India Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
June 28, 2009

Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy, 81, the founding chairman and professor emeritus of UCLA's department of ethnomusicology, died June 20 of lung cancer at his home in Van Nuys, according to the university.

With his comprehensive knowledge of India's folk, classical and popular music, Jairazbhoy had an international reputation as a researcher, teacher and administrator. He joined the UCLA department of music as a full professor in 1975 and became the founding chairman of the new department of ethnomusicology and systematic musicology ...

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Lisa Marie Presley: I really needed to say this right now, thanks for listening

Source: All About Jazz
June 26, 2009

Lisa Marie Presley, who was married to Michael Jackson for 20 months following their 1994 wedding, posted the following statement (titled “He Knew") on her MySpace blog one day after the singer's death:

“Years ago Michael and I were having a deep conversation about life in general.

I can't recall the exact subject matter but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my Fathers Death

At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and ...

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Herbie Hancock Statement on the Passing of Michael Jackson

Source: Shore Fire Media
June 26, 2009

This is an unbelievable tragedy, first of all for his family, for his devout fans, for the world of music and for the world of culture. Michael was one of the most diligent creators. His passion flowed through every pore of his being. His sense of invention was unparalleled. Who else could have thought of the moonwalk and who else could have created such a unique sense of movement in dance. His contribution to music and music videos; Off the ...

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Michael Jackson Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
June 25, 2009

We've just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.

[Updated at 3:15 p.m.: Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Times.]

Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.

A source ...

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Michael Jackson's Death: The Talent and the Tragedy

Source: All About Jazz
June 25, 2009

The tragedy of Michael Jackson's death at age 50, reportedly from cardiac arrest, pales in comparison to the tragedy of his life.

To understand all that Jackson had and lost requires wiping away three decades of plastic surgeries that deformed him, erratic behavior that made his name synonymous with the warping powers of fame, and a 2005 trial for sexually abusing a child that, even though he was spared of any finding of wrongdoing, made him a pariah to all ...

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