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Duane Eddy has died at age 86. The Grammy-winning guitarist was known for his influential style as well as hits such as “Rebel-‘Rouser” and “Peter Gunn.” Eddy died Tuesday (April 30) of cancer in Franklin, Tenn., according to his wife, Deed Abbate. He is survived by his four children and wife. Explore Explore See latest […]

The Voice contestant Lauren Duski is mourning the death of her mother, Janis Duski, in a touching tribute posted to Instagram. According to TMZ, which first reported the news, the Tuscarora Township Police in Indiana River, Michigan, said Janis was found dead in an apparent suicide.
In her Instagram post, Lauren Duski says she was hesitant to share the news publicly but thought she might be able to help others through her mother’s story.

“I wasn’t planning on sharing this but these last few days I’ve been feeling the most violent pull in my heart to remind you to please talk to one another,” Duski wrote. “If you’re struggling, do not be ashamed. Do not be ashamed. Do not be ashamed. Your mental health is nothing to be ashamed of and neither is talking about it. We are all trying to navigate this beautiful, messy life. I’ve learned that even the strongest humans have a breaking point. Be patient and gentle with yourself. Minute by minute. Please do not lose hope. Trust in God. There is always another chance…and there will never be another you.”

Duski competed on season 12 of The Voice in 2017 and chose to join Blake Shelton’s team among the three coaches who turned their chairs for her audition. The country singer finished as the season’s runner-up.

Lauren’s late mom can be seen, alongside her dad, celebrating her daughter’s success backstage in her blind audition video, in which she covered Jewel’s “You Were Meant for Me.”

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Three of Duski’s covers on The Voice hit the Billboard Hot 100 following her season: “Deja Vu” (No. 43), “The Dance” (No. 92) and “Ghost in This House” (No. 98).

Read Lauren’s full message about her mom below:

Said goodbye to my best friend and hero this past Friday. My mom was the greatest human I’ve ever known. There was no one who loved harder.  She offered her entire being — heart and soul to everyone she encountered and always held up the mirror to remind you of how wonderful and special you were.  She set the bar above the moon. She adored her family and her grandchildren.  She was an endless dreamer. brilliant. an absolute powerhouse. Top of her class AND president in dental school. Served as a captain in the United States Air Force. She pioneered the Wolverine Patriot Project alongside the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and made it her mission to provide oral health care to disabled and homeless Michigan military veterans. We called her “Yoda” for her endless wisdom, energy, wit, and humor. She was selfless in every way. She never quit. Especially with a fishing pole in her hand.  She loved to spend time exploring and road tripping across country with just a road map.

She saw God in everyone and everything.

Mom, you are infinitely loved. I will miss you every second of every day. I still don’t know how the hell I’m supposed to do this without you. I will thank God every day for our 32 years together and see you every time I look in that mirror.

I wasn’t planning on sharing this but these last few days I’ve been feeling the most violent pull in my heart to remind you to please talk to one another. If you’re struggling, do not be ashamed. Do not be ashamed. Do not be ashamed. Your mental health is nothing to be ashamed of and neither is talking about it. We are all trying to navigate this beautiful, messy life. I’ve learned that even the strongest humans have a breaking point. Be patient and gentle with yourself. Minute by minute. Please do not lose hope. Trust in God. There is always another chance…and there will never be another you.

We have the opportunity to save a generation and beyond. Say “I love you” every chance you get. Don’t wait. You never know the true impact you have on those around you.

I love you, mom. Forever. May you rest in glorious peace.

Janis Patricia Duski – 1964-2024

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24 hours, at 1-800-273-8255.

Peruvian rock icon Pedro Suárez-Vértiz died at his residence in the Miraflores district of Lima, Peru, on Thursday (Dec. 28), according to the municipality of Miraflores and local news sources. He was 54 years old.

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The singer-songwriter behind hits like “Los globos del cielo” and “Me estoy enamorando” died of a heart attack, according to local Peruvian radio station RPP, which cited police sources. The artist had suffered from dysarthria due to bulbar neuromuscular syndrome, a disease that makes it difficult to speak and breathe, which kept him off the stage for the last 10 years.

The artist’s death was confirmed by the municipality of Miraflores in an official statement posted on X.

“From the municipality of Miraflores we regret the death of Pedro Martín José María Suárez-Vértiz Alva, a prominent resident of our district, musician, singer, composer, producer and writer. Our deepest condolences go out to his relatives, family and friends,” the statement said.

Both colleagues and fans have expressed their condolences through social media.

Fellow Peruvian singer-songwriter Gian Marco published a photo of the two artists sharing the stage accompanied by some heartfelt words: “The last time we talked was on November 13. I stay with everything you told me, with your very particular way of saying things. That’s just how you were. There were no half measures with you… witty, creative… an absolute lover of guitars […] Of all your songs I prefer ‘Me Elevé’… it accompanied me in hard times and now it will stay forever in me,” he expressed.

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Pedro Martín José María Suárez-Vértiz Alva (his real name) was born in the city of Callao, Peru, on Feb. 13, 1969. The musician, writer, singer-songwriter and producer was part of the band Arena Hash in the ’80s, and made his solo debut in 1993 with his album No existen (Técnicas para olvidar). His discography includes the albums Póntelo en la lengua (1996), Degeneración actual (1999), Play (2004), Talk show (2006) and Amazonas (2009).

His impact on the Latin American music scene was reflected in hits such as “Los globos del cielo,” recognized by Billboard as a timeless masterpiece of Spanish rock. Other popular songs by Suárez-Vértiz include “Cuando pienses en volver,” “Cuéntame,” and “Un vino, una cerveza.”

He is survived by his wife, Cynthia Martínez, and his three children.

One thing’s for certain: There is no Fleetwood Mac without Christine McVie. In a recent interview, Stevie Nicks confirmed that she likely won’t continue performing under the label of her iconic rock band following the passing of her longtime best friend and bandmate last year.
“We did go out on the road and do a year-and-a-half tour with [Lindsey Buckingham replacements] Neil Finn and Mike Campbell,” Nicks told Vulture in a Monday (Oct. 2) Q&A. “We had a really great time and it was a huge tour. That was there in the realm of possibility. But when Christine died, I felt like you can’t replace her. You just can’t. Without her, what is it? You know what I mean?”

“She was like my soul mate, my musical soul mate, and my best friend that I spent more time with than any of my other best friends outside of Fleetwood Mac,” she added. “Christine was my best friend… Who am I going to look over to on the right and have them not be there behind that Hammond organ? When she died, I figured we really can’t go any further with this. There’s no reason to.”

The “Edge of Seventeen” singer went on to compare her grief over McVie to Taylor Swift’s Midnights track “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” which she’s previously said has helped her mourn her late best friend. The Fleetwood Mac keyboardist died of a stroke in November last year at 79 years old, with a secondary cause of death listed as cancer.

“The line ‘you always have been,’ it was like, that was Christine and I,” Nicks explained. “We were on our own in that band. We always were. We protected each other.”

Nicks, who’s currently embarked on a solo tour as well as a joint tour with Billy Joel, recently unveiled her very own Barbie figure with Mattel. Decked out in a Rumours-esque black outfit and feathered ’70s hair, the doll will be released next month.

“I take a few photos of her in every city, which ends up being a two-hour photo session,” Nicks told the publication of her plastic mini-me, who she also revealed has an Elvis-inspired Ken doll boyfriend. “I named him Kenelvis, and I introduced Kenelvis to Stevie Barbie. I have photographs of these two that will absolutely knock the world’s socks off. They look at each other in a way that’s like they’ve been in love for centuries.”

Fifty years ago today (Sept. 20), Jim Croce was killed in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana, during a concert tour of southern colleges. In the previous 15 months, Croce had amassed four top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim,” “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels),” “One Less Set of Footsteps” and the sing-along smash “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” which spent the final two weeks of July 1973 at No. 1.
The sudden death of someone who was so new to the mainstream was of course a shock. But few would have expected what would happen next: Croce’s death triggered one of the biggest posthumous sales booms in history. “I Got a Name,” which was released the day after Croce’s death, reached the top 10 on the Hot 100 in November. The following month, the poignant “Time in a Bottle” (which had appeared on his 1972 album You Don’t Miss Around With Jim) became his second No. 1. It made Croce just the third artist in the history of the Hot 100 to top the chart posthumously, following Otis Redding (“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay,” 1968) and Janis Joplin (“Me and Bobby McGee,” 1971). Moreover, Croce became the first artist in Hot 100 history to top the chart both while living and after his death.

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Croce had even bigger success on the Billboard 200, where You Don’t Mess Around With Jim reached No. 1 on Jan. 12, 1974. Croce was just the second artist in the history of the Billboard 200 to reach No. 1 posthumously, following Joplin (Pearl, 1971). You Don’t Mess Around With Jim stayed on top for five consecutive weeks. For two of those weeks, Croce also had the No. 2 album, I Got a Name. He was the first artist to hold down the top two spots the same week since The Beatles scored in March 1969 with The Beatles (better known as The White Album) and the Yellow Submarine soundtrack.

Croce’s impact was also felt during awards season. At the first American Music Awards on Feb. 19, 1974, Croce won favorite pop/rock male artist, beating a pair of legends – Elton John and Stevie Wonder. “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” was also nominated for favorite pop/rock song, but lost to Dawn featuring Tony Orlando’s “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree,” which had been the biggest hit of 1973.

“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” was nominated for two Grammys – record of the year and best pop vocal performance, male. Croce was the first artist in Grammy history to receive a posthumous nod for record of the year. He lost in both categories at the 16th annual Grammy Awards on March 2, 1974. Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly With His Song” took record of the year, while Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” took the male pop vocal prize. Wonder graciously saluted Croce in his acceptance speech: “I accept this award in memory of Jim Croce, who was a very talented man.”

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Another pop legend paid tribute to Croce that spring. Frank Sinatra covered “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.” His brassy version had a seven-week run on the Hot 100 in April and May 1974, peaking at No. 83.

Wonder had two more top 40 hits on the Hot 100 in 1974 – “I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song” and “Workin at the Car Wash Blues.” All of his hits were gathered in Photographs & Memories/Greatest Hits, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in November 1974, becoming his fourth top 10 album in less than a year.

Croce ranked No. 1 on Billboard’s list of Top Pop Albums Artists of 1974, ahead of Elton John, Charlie Rich and John Denver. He had three albums in the top 25 on that year’s list of Top Pop Albums.

Why did Croce’s music touch such a nerve in the year following his death? Partly, it was because of the sense of loss of a talented young artist who died just as his career was really taking off. The fact that Croce was approached to record “I Got a Name” is a sign of how quickly he was moving up to the A-list. Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox (whose hits include the aforementioned “Killing Me Softly With His Song”) wrote the song for the Jeff Bridges film The Last American Hero.

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Also, Croce had some songs that resonated in the wake of his death, and almost seemed to foreshadow it, especially “Time in a Bottle” (“But there never seems to be enough time/ To do the things you want to do once you find them”). The title of “I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song” also seemed fit the circumstances. The latter song, at once polished and poignant, became Croce’s fifth and final top 10 hit on the Hot 100 in April 1974.

More broadly, Croce’s music was just right for that era, where soft-rock singer/songwriters were among the hottest acts in the business. His music was a perfect fit alongside such other hitmakers of the era as Denver, Carole King, Seals & Crofts, Gordon Lightfoot, Mac Davis and Dave Loggins.

Croce wrote all of his Hot 100 hits except “I Got a Name” and a 1976 medley of early rock and roll classics. His records were co-produced by Terry Cashman, now 82, and Tommy West, who died in 2021 at age 78.

Croce was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1990, alongside Smokey Robinson and Michel Legrand. In 2013, Garth Brooks included his version of “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” on his Billboard 200-topping box set, Blame It All on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences.

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Croce’s widow, Ingrid Croce — with whom he recorded a duo album for Capitol in 1969 — is now 76. Their son A.J. Croce, who turned two eight days after the crash, is 51. A.J., who is also a singer/songwriter, has recorded 11 albums.

News of Croce’s death was reported on page 3 of the Sept. 29, 1973 issue of Billboard. The following week, there were two full-page ads paying tribute to the singer. One said simply “Jim Croce will be missed and deeply mourned by the Phonogram group of companies throughout the world.”

The other, signed by Jay Lasker, the president of Croce’s label, ABC/Dunhill, had an unusually warm and personal tone. It read, in full:

“Some people reach out and feel nothing. Jim reached out an in some way touched everyone.

“Some talk of love and goodness as if they alone remained its custodian. Jim gave his love and goodness as it if belonged to everyone.

“He told me, last New Year’s Day, that he enjoyed taking care of his son’s 2 a.m. bottle and diaper change because it gave him more time to spend with the boy, something he had precious little time for, in light of his heavy travel commitments.

“We are now all the losers for not being able to spend more time with Jim Croce.”

As we’d see in the weeks and months to come, many listeners, most of whom never met the man, felt the same way.

Teen rapper and viral internet personality Lil Tay, who was born Claire Hope, has died at the age of 14. The news was announced in a statement posted on Lil Tay’s Instagram account, which described her passing as “sudden and tragic” as well as “entirely unexpected. “It is with a heavy heart that we share […]

According to Memphis news reports, former Three 6 Mafia rapper Gangsta Boo‘s cause of death was an accidental overdose. The rapper (born Lola Mitchell) — who was found dead at age 43 on New Year’s Day at her home in Memphis — overdosed on fentanyl, cocaine and ethanol (alcohol), according to an autopsy report seen […]

Johnny Rowan, who drummed for ’90s alt rockers Urge Overkill under the name Blackie Onassis, has died at age 57, the band announced Wednesday (June 14). “Urge Overkill is saddened to report that Blackie has passed away,” read a post on the band’s social media accounts. “Please respect our privacy at this time. We are […]

An 18-year-old man who was charged in the 2020 fatal shooting of rising Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke admitted to killing him during a home-invasion robbery at a Hollywood Hills home in juvenile court Friday (May 12), according to City News Service. The man, who was 15 at the time of the crime, admitted to a […]

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Source: Variety / Getty / Lance Reddick
The Wire star Lance Reddick has tragically passed away at 60.
TMZ broke the tragic news of the actor’s passing on Friday, March 17. The Baltimore native was best known for his roles on the iconic HBO series The Wire and the John Wick movie franchise. The news of his death shocked many as he was currently doing press for John Wick: Chapter 4. In the film, he plays Charon, Winston’s (Ian McShane) loyal New York Continental Hotel concierge.
Law enforcement sources told the celebrity gossip site, “Lance’s body was discovered at his Studio City home Friday morning around 9:30 AM. His cause of death is currently unclear, but our law enforcement sources say it appears to be natural.”
Reddick posted a photo of himself at home with his dogs just a day ago. There is no word on why exactly he was not at the John Wick: Chapter 4 premiere in New York City on Wednesday.

Lance Reddick’s Legendary Career Across Different Mediums
Fans will forever remember Reddick for his brilliant performance as Baltimore Police Department officer Cedric Daniels on The Wire, he also was on other popular shows like Oz, Bosch, Lost, and Fringe.
Reddick was also popular in the video gaming space and is a gamer. Gamers know him as Sylens in PlayStation’s hit games Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel. In Destiny and Destiny 2, which Reddick plays frequently, he is the voice of Captain Zavala in the video game franchise.
With his passing, it will be interesting to see how those games will move forward without him.
He also hopped into the world of Resident Evil, playing popular villain Albert Wesker in the Netflix original series based on Capcom’s survival horror video game franchise.
Twitter is reacting to the actor’s sudden passing. You can see the reactions in the gallery below.

Photo: Variety / Getty