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Renée Victor, the veteran movie and TV actress who charmed audiences around the world as the voice of wise and protective Abuelita Elena in Pixar’s 2017 Day of the Dead musical comedy Coco has died at 86. Victor died at her home in Sherman Oaks, CA on Friday night due to lymphoma, a representative confirmed to the New York Times.
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Though her long career stretched back to 1980s, when she scored the first of a series of small roles in TV shows including Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Matlock, and picked up in the 1990s with appearances in films including The Apostle, The Prophecy II and My Brother the Pig, it was her role as the strong-willed Abuelita (grandmother) in Coco that made her an international superstar late in life. The colorful story of a a 12-year-old boy in Mexico who is magically transported to the land of the dead grossed more than $800 million across the world and had Victor sharing billing with stars including Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Edward James Olmos and Alanna Ubach.
Coco‘s studio, Pixar, paid tribute in an Instagram post that read, “We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Renée Victor, the voice Abuelita in Coco and an incredible part of the Pixar family. We will always remember you.”
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Victor was born in San Antonio, TX on July 25, 1938 and made her acting debut at 10 in a San Antonio production of the opera Carmen, according to her IMDb bio. She later moved to Las Vegas in the 1960s, performed alongside musicians Xavier Cugat and Perez Prado and fronted a popular musical duo with her husband, Ray Victor, “Ray and Renée,” from 1963-1973.
She worked as a singer/dancer at the Stardust Hotel and also performed on the stage in Europe, Latin America and Australia before taking on hosting duties in the early 1970s on KTLA Los Angeles’ talk show Pacesetters, which focused on the Chicago movement.
In addition to her acting gigs, Victor also served as a translator-interpreter for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, translated the Nutcracker Suite into Spanish for the BBC and narrated La Ofrenda — The Day of the Dead for an entry in the Los Angeles Film Festival, as well as recording jingles for RC Cola and Twin Dragon Chinese Cookies.
She first broke into acting in the mid-1980s with brief roles in Hotel, Masquerade and the George Burns Comedy Week, continuing her run on the small screen into the 1990s with spots on The Parent ‘Hood, The Tony Danza Show and Team Knight Rider, among many other credits. After a six-episode run on ER in 2004, Victor landed her longest TV run as housekeeper Lupita in Weeds, which ran from 2005-2012. She also had long runs on the action series Snowpiercer and With Love, most recently appearing as Inez in the ABC family drama A Million Little Things.
Her film career continued apace in the 2000s as well, with appearances in A Night in Old Mexico and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, before scoring her breakout role as the firm, but loving grandmother in the Oscar-winner Coco, which featured an all-Latin cast.
In a tribute post, her daughter Margot wrote, “She was dignity and beauty till the end. I am shattered, but I celebrate the end of her elegant and defiant battle with illness these last couple of years. She would never allow anything to keep her down. All my life she’s been a force of nature, a world of fun, sharp wit with boundless talents and energy. hroughout her long life, her ability to reach any goal against odds was formidable. She was and will forever remain my hero and inspiration. She was my closest friend who’s awe and support of my endeavors was madness, but I know she is happy where she is now, while still by my side.”
Victor was excited in March about the news that a Coco sequel was set to hit theaters in 2029. “It was my great pleasure and experience working with the incredibly talented [director] Lee Unkrich and [co-director] Adrian Molina! We get to do it again!” she wrote on Instagram. “This is what we’ve all been waiting for! I’m so excited! Coco shared a Mexican tradition that is now celebrated around the world in unity. An amazing amount of work and talent goes into the creation of this unique film.”
Alf Clausen, the Emmy-winning composer whose music provided essential accompaniment for the animated antics of The Simpsons for 27 years, has died.
His daughter Kaarin Clausen told The Associated Press that Alf Clausen died Thursday (May 29) at his home in Los Angeles after struggling with Parkinson’s disease for about a decade. He was 84.
Clausen, who also scored TV series including Moonlighting and Alf (“no relation,” he used to joke) was nominated for 30 Emmy Awards, 21 of them for The Simpsons, winning twice.
Al Jean, an early Simpsons writer who was one of the key creative figures on the show in the 1990s, said in a post on X Friday that “Clausen was an incredibly talented man who did so much for The Simpsons.”
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While Danny Elfman wrote the show’s theme song, Clausen joined the Fox animated series created by Matt Groening in 1990 and provided essentially all of its music until 2017, composing nearly 600 scores and conducting the 35-piece orchestra that played it in the studio.
His colleagues said his music was a key component of the show’s comedy, but Clausen believed the best way to back up the gags of Homer, Marge Bart and Lisa was by making the music as straight as possible.
“This is a dream job for a composer,” Clausen told Variety, which first reported his death, in 1998. “Matt Groening said to me very early on, ‘We’re not a cartoon. We’re a drama where the characters are drawn. I want you to score it like a drama.’ I score the emotions of the characters as opposed to specific action hits on the screen.”Groening, in a 1996 interview, called him “one of the unacknowledged treasures of the show.”Clausen was born in Minneapolis and raised in Jamestown, North Dakota. He graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1966, and moved to Los Angeles seeking a career in music.In the 1970s he was a musical director on several TV variety shows including Donny & Marie.
Clausen worked as an orchestrator for composer Lee Holdridge in his scores for 1980s films including Splash and The Beastmaster.
It was Holdridge who first got the composing job on Moonlighting, the late-’80s ABC rom-com detective series starring Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd, but he handed the gig off to Clausen, who would get six Emmy nominations for his music on it.
Clausen won his Emmys for The Simpsons in 1997 and 1998 and also won five Annie Awards, which honor work in animation in film and television.
He was fired from The Simpsons in a cost-cutting move in 2017, to the outrage of his collaborators and fans. He sued over his dismissal.
Clausen is survived by his wife, Sally; children Kaarin, Scott and Kyle; stepchildren Josh and Emily, and 11 grandchildren.
Ronald Fenty, the father of Rihanna, has reportedly died at the age of 70.
Fenty passed away following a brief illness, according to Starcom Network News, a radio station based in Rihanna’s native Barbados. The official cause and exact date of death have not yet been disclosed. Sources told the outlet that he was surrounded by family at the time of his passing.
Billboard has reached out to Rihanna’s representatives for comment.
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On Wednesday (May 28), Rihanna’s younger brother, Rajad Fenty, was photographed arriving at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. TMZ reports that the singer was also in the vehicle but was not visible in the photos.
Rihanna — who is currently expecting her third child with A$AP Rocky — had a complicated relationship with her father over the years. The two were estranged for a period before eventually making amends.
After Rihanna (born Robyn Rihanna Fenty) was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown in 2009, Fenty spoke publicly about the incident without her consent. In a 2011 interview with Vogue, the singer expressed her disappointment.
“You grow up with your father, you know him, you are a part of him, for goodness’ sakes!” she said at the time. “And then he does something so bizarre that I can’t begin to wrap my mind around it.”
In a 2012 interview with Oprah, Rihanna said she had repaired her relationship with her father, who she had described as being violent growing up. In 2019, however, she filed a lawsuit against him and his business partner, Moses Perkins, accusing them of attempting to profit off her name by launching a company called Fenty Entertainment. She alleged they misled investors by falsely claiming she was involved in the venture. Rihanna dropped the lawsuit shortly before it was set to go to trial in 2021, according to the BBC.
Fenty shared three children — Rihanna, Rajad and Rorrey — with his ex-wife, Monica Braithwaite. The couple divorced in 2002. The family was raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, where Rihanna lived until she moved to the U.S. at age 16. He also had three children from previous relationships: daughters Samantha and Kandy, and son Jamie, People reports.
Dan Storper, the co-founder and CEO of Putumayo World Music, died on Thursday (May 22) at 74, just two days after his birthday. Sources confirm that he passed peacefully at home in New Orleans, surrounded by family, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Jacob Edgar, founder of the label Cumbancha and Storper’s longtime friend and colleague, shared a heartfelt statement with Billboard Español: “Just three days ago, I posted birthday wishes to Dan Storper, the founder of Putumayo World Music and my colleague and friend for nearly 30 years. I knew then that Dan was in his last days, but I couldn’t imagine a world without him. He passed away yesterday after a battle with pancreatic cancer.”
Edgar, who began working with Storper in 1998 after being offered what he called “the dream job no one could dare dream of,” described the late visionary as “an exceptional human,” he wrote. “Funny, energetic, passionate, micromanaging, and compulsive. A workaholic to the extreme. He could drive you crazy, but you loved him anyway because his heart was in the right place, and he was a good soul.”
In 2023, the globetrotting entrepreneur marked 30 years of his groundbreaking label.
But Storper’s journey with Putumayo began long before the label existed. Originally launched in the 1970s in New York as a store selling handcrafted goods and musical finds from his travels in Latin America, Africa, India, and beyond, the shop gradually shifted its focus to music. By 1993, it had transformed into Putumayo World Music, a record label dedicated to curating global sounds for a wider audience, co-founding it with Michael Kraus.
The label became an international success, celebrated for its uplifting and culturally diverse compilations. Known for its signature brightly illustrated album covers and expertly sequenced playlists, Putumayo invited listeners to embark on musical journeys across continents, introducing many to the rhythms, traditions, and languages of faraway lands. Storper’s leadership helped bridge cultural divides through the universal language of music.
In an interview with Billboard Español in 2023, Storper reflected on what he saw as Putumayo’s mission. “I look back with a certain measure of pride at the fact that we’ve really introduced so many people to music that they were not familiar with — whether it be Latin, African, Caribbean, European, and more,” Storper said at the time, as he reflected on his company’s three-decade legacy. He also mentioned that Carlos Santana met several African bands through the Putumayo catalog that the guitarist later ended up collaborating with.
Storper also spoke fondly of how the label crafted its signature compilations. “Putumayo’s strength is not only selecting some great songs with that human touch, but putting together a sequence to take you on a musical journey, and as we say, it’s guaranteed to make you feel good,” he added.
Even as his health declined, Storper’s commitment to preserving global music remained unwavering. This April, he and Edgar donated their shared archive of 37,000 CDs — a collection built over more than 30 years — to the Harvard Music Library and the ARChive of Popular Music. “He and I listened to almost every one of those albums and scrawled notes over most of them marking out the tracks we thought had a chance to make into a Putumayo collection someday. I’m glad to know that legacy will be preserved,” said Edgar.
Werenoi, the rapper who became France’s biggest-selling music artist in recent years, has died at age 31, his record label and producer said.
The artist, whose real name was Jérémy Bana Owona, was the No. 1 album seller in France in 2023 and 2024 according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) ranking, which includes in-store and e-commerce sales as well as plays on streaming services.
“It’s with immense sadness that we’ve learned of Werenoi’s passing,” his record company Believe said on Instagram. “All our thoughts are with his family, loved ones, his team and everyone who knew him.”
“Rest in peace my brother, I love you,” his producer Babs posted on X.
French media reports Werenoi died early Saturday (May 17) in a Paris hospital. The cause of his death has not been made public.
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Werenoi first became known to the French public in 2021 when he posted his song “Guadalajara” on YouTube and it was viewed hundreds of thousand times.
He released three albums, Carré in 2023, Pyramide in 2024 and Diamant Noir in 2025, making him one of the biggest names in French rap.
Several French rappers posted tributes on social media.
French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, who featured on Werenoi’s second album, wrote: “Rest in peace my dude. A news that saddens me and courage to the loved ones especially.”
“He made a difference for the quality of his songs, his melodies and his punchlines,” singer Pascal Obispo, who had accompanied Werenoi on the piano at a 2023 Paris concert, told French newspaper Le Parisien.
Composer Charles Strouse, who died Thursday at age 96, was Broadway royalty – a three-time Tony winner for Bye Bye Birdie, Applause and Annie. He also won a Grammy for the Annie cast album and a Primetime Emmy for a 1996 revival of Bye Bye Birdie starring Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams. Strouse was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985.
Even if you’re not a Broadway buff, you know at least a few of Adams’ songs. Annie spawned the instant standard “Tomorrow,” which Barbra Streisand covered on her platinum album Songbird. Jay-Z had a top 15 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1999 with “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” which sampled “It’s the Hard Knock Life” from Annie.
Bye Bye Birdie, about a pop star who was drafted to go into the Army (inspired by Elvis Presley, the biggest pop star of the 1950s, who experienced a similar fate at the height of his fame), also spawned a standard – the jaunty “Put on a Happy Face,” which Dick Van Dyke performed in the musical (and in the 1963 film version). The song was covered by such artists as Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mathis, The Supremes and Tony Bennett. Bye Bye Birdie also included the spirited “A Lot of Livin’ to Do,” which was recorded by such stars as Bobby Rydell.
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Strouse was born Charles Louis Strouse in New York City on June 7, 1928. In 1949 he met lyricist Lee Adams at a party, which led to a long and successful musical partnership. The duo began by writing tunes for numerous revues, as well as special material for performers such as Kaye Ballard, Carol Burnett, Jane Morgan and Dick Shawn.
In 1958, Strouse teamed with Fred Tobias to write “Born Too Late,” which became a No. 7 hit on the then-new Hot 100 for Poni-Tails, a female vocal trio.
Strouse teamed with Adams to write the songs for several long-running Broadway musicals. They won Tonys for best musical in 1961 for Bye Bye Birdie (for which Van Dyke won a Tony) and in 1970 for Applause (for which Lauren Bacall won a Tony). They were nominated for a Tony for best musical in 1965 for Golden Boy (for which Sammy Davis Jr. was nominated for a Tony).
Even some of their lesser hits spawned memorable songs. 1962’s All American, which starred Ray Bolger, closed after 80 performances. However, one song from the score, “Once Upon a Time,” became an oft-performed standard of the 1960s, with recordings by such top singers as Tony Bennett, Vic Damone, Perry Como, Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra. Richard Carpenter performed the poignant ballad at a 1983 concert soon after the death of his sister, Karen Carpenter.
Strouse scored the 1967 film classic Bonnie and Clyde, which brought him a Grammy nod for best original score written for a motion picture or TV special. Strouse and Adams wrote songs for The Night They Raided Minsky’s, a 1968 film produced by Norman Lear. While that film was only a modest hit, their collaboration with the producer would be a blockbuster.
In 1970, Strouse and Adams were asked to write a theme song for a TV show that Lear was developing. The show, which debuted in January 1971, was All in the Family, the biggest and most groundbreaking TV hit of the decade. Series stars Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton performed the theme song “Those Were the Days,” which perfectly captured the tone of the show, from its opening lines: “Boy, the way Glenn Miller played/ Songs that made ‘The Hit Parade’/ Guys like us we had it made/ Those were the days.” The title sequence, of Archie and Edith performing the tune at their piano, is said to have been inspired by Strouse’s childhood memories of playing music with his parents at home. Released as a single, the original version reached No. 43 on the Hot 100 in 1972.
Several of Strouse’s scores climbed high on the Billboard 200. The Bye Bye Birdie cast album reached No. 12 (the subsequent film soundtrack climbed even higher – No. 2 in 1963). A TV soundtrack to All in the Family (which included “Those Were the Days”) reached No. 8 in 1972. The Annie cast album petered out at No. 81, but went platinum.
While Strouse is probably best known for his long partnership with Adams – who is still living at age 100 – he also collaborated with other lyricists. He and Martin Charnin teamed to write Annie, which won seven Tony Awards, including best musical and best original score.
Strouse received three subsequent Tony nominations for best original score, working with a different lyricist on each of the shows. He teamed with David Rogers on Charlie and Algernon (1981); with Steven Schwartz on Rags (1987); and with Richard Maltby, Jr. on Nick and Nora (1992).
Two revivals of Annie have received Tony nominations for best revival of a musical. In addition, a live staging of the show, titled Annie Live!, was produced for NBC in 2021.
Strouse loved what he did and remained active, which was doubtless a key to his longevity. “I work every day,” he told The Associated Press during an interview on the eve of his 80th birthday in 2008. “Activity — it’s a life force. When you enjoy doing what you’re doing, which I do very much, I have something to get up for.”
Strouse died at his home in New York City, his family said. Strouse’s wife, director-choreographer Barbara Siman, died in 2023. He is survived by four children, Ben, Nick, Victoria and William.
Brian Avnet, who began his long career as a road manager for Bette Midler and later managed such top acts as The Manhattan Transfer, David Foster, Josh Groban and Eric Benét, died in Los Angeles on Wednesday (May 14), after living with Parkinson’s disease for many years. He was 82.
Avnet was inducted into the Personal Managers Hall of Fame in 2017, in the same class as Sid Bernstein, Eileen DeNobile, Eric Gardner, Richard Linke, Lois Miller, Eliot Roberts, Dolores Robinson, Arthur Shafman, David Sonenberg, Rick Siegel and Jerry Weintraub.
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On hearing of his death, Linda Moran, CEO of the Songwriters Hall of Fame told Billboard, “Brian was loved by everyone who knew him. [He] was a familiar face at Atlantic and WMG over the years as most of his artists were signed there.”
Based in Los Angeles, Avnet was a personal manager for nearly 40 years. In addition to those named above, his clients also included Johnny Mandel, Herb Alpert and Lani Hall Alpert, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Joshua Ledet, Cyndi Lauper, Take 6 and Jean-Luc Ponty.
Avnet worked with Midler in the early days, starting when she was playing bathhouses in New York before bursting to stardom in the early 1970s. Avnet served as general manager for Midler’s 19-show run at the Palace Theatre in New York in December 1973 for which she won a special Tony Award “for adding lustre to the Broadway season.”
He managed The Manhattan Transfer for 19 years starting in the late 1970s, including when they landed their biggest hit, “Boy From New York City.” That song made the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981 and won a Grammy for best pop vocal performance by a duo or group with vocal.
Avnet was a personal manager for Foster, a 16-time Grammy-winner. In that capacity, he worked on recording projects by such stars as Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Natalie Cole, Diana Krall, Faith Hill, Brandy, En Vogue, Olivia Newton-John, The Bee Gees, Michael Bolton, All 4 One, Julio Iglesias, En Vogue and Smokey Robinson.
He played a key role in discovering Groban, whom he later managed. He found the singer through Seth Riggs, the top vocal coach, and brought him to Foster.
When Foster signed a deal with Warner Bros. in 1995, it enabled him to start 143 Records. Foster hired Avnet to run the label, with a roster that included Groban, Michael Bublé, The Corrs and Beth Hart. Bublé’s first three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 – Call Me Irresponsible, Crazy Love and Christmas – were released on the 143 imprint, as were Groban’s first two No. 1 albums on that chart – Closer and Noel.
The Corrs, a sibling pop band from Ireland, had three Billboard 200 albums while on the label; Hart, a Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, had one.
Foster later sold the label back to Warner. On Sept. 20, 2001, Warner Music Group announced it was shutting down the label.
Avnet’s widow Marcia Avnet told Billboard that her husband grew up in Baltimore and started his career in theater. “He was the youngest theater manager,” she said. “Actually, he used to manage the theater in-the-round in Maryland and then he was roommates with Dustin Hoffman in New York. And Jon Voight. They were all roommates when those guys were doing summer stock. Brian was in management, he ran the ticket booth, did lots of different jobs.”
Early in his career, he served as producer of A Streetcar Named Desire starring Voight at the Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo, N.Y.
He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1974 to work with Lou Adler on the production of the Rocky Horror Show, which played at The Roxy for nine months. It was turned into a film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the following year. The film has long been a cult favorite. Avnet also produced the rock opera Tommy in Los Angeles; and served as manager for the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.
He also managed the first season of the Universal Amphitheater.
Avnet worked with producer Robert Stigwood on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road, an off-Broadway production which opened at the Beacon Theatre in New York in November 1974 and ran for two months. The show was loosely adapted into an ill-fated 1978 film version starring The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton.
Avnet frequently participated in events like Grammy Career Day. At a 2009 workshop, he served alongside such industry professionals as John Burk, Tom Sturges, Tina Davis, Rickey Minor, Harvey Mason Jr., Mike Knobloch and Javier Willis.
The Avnets were together for 36 years; married for 26 of those years.
“It was a really long career, and he was beloved,” said Marcia Avnet. “He never signed a contract with anybody. His word was his bond. And that’s really rare.”
Additional reporting by Melinda Newman.
Veteran music journalist Gerry Wood died on Saturday (May 3) in Inverness, Fla. He was 87.
Wood was Billboard’s Nashville bureau chief and country editor in 1980 when he was promoted to editor-in-chief of the magazine, resulting in a transfer to the publication’s New York headquarters. He served in that capacity through 1983, when he left Billboard, only to return in 1986 as general manager/Nashville, a position he held into 1991.
Wood’s elevation to editor-in-chief coincided with the explosion of country music in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, when Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson and Alabama were among the top-selling acts in any genre and the film Urban Cowboy became a pop-culture phenomenon. Wood was there before, during and after the explosion, charting every bit of it. He could probably relate to the lyrics of a Barbara Mandrell hit in 1981: “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.”
Ken Schlager, former Billboard managing editor, paid tribute to Wood on Facebook: “When I joined Billboard as managing editor in November 1985 one of the first tasks was finding a new Nashville bureau chief. Our publisher, Sam Holdsworth (R.I.P.), had asked Gerry, who was no longer associated with Billboard, to check out the candidates that had emerged and scout for others. After several weeks, Gerry reported back that he, in fact, was the best candidate. It seemed like a whole lotta hubris, but it turned out he was right. That’s how Gerry ended up back at Billboard.
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“Some weeks later, when I made my first trip to Nashville, Gerry, now bureau chief, greeted me with a gift basket in my hotel room filled with GooGoo Clusters, Moon Pies, and airplane bottles of Jack Daniel’s.
“Gerry was a sweet guy. Smart, hard-working, knowledgeable and well-connected. I’m sorry to hear of his passing.”
Born Gerald Edmund Wood in Lewiston, Maine, on April 7, 1938, Wood began his career in radio. He was a news and sports reporter and DJ at WSON in Henderson, Ky., and at WVJS in Owensboro, Ky. He also served as news reporter and DJ at WAKY in Louisville, Ky.
Wood graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1960 and went on to earn a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville in 1965. He later worked in public relations at Vanderbilt (1966-69).
While attending Vanderbilt and after, Wood served as news reporter and DJ at WKDA in Nashville (1964-66). After working in public relations at Vanderbilt (1966-69), he shifted to working on Music Row, where he worked in public relations at ASCAP (1969-75), rising to associate director. Wood began his first stint at Billboard in 1975.
Wood left Billboard in 1983 when the editorial leadership was reorganized under group publisher Jerry Hobbs. He moved back to Music City to become editor-in-chief at Nashville magazine (1983-84) and a special correspondent for People magazine (1984). Like many others before and since, Wood returned to Billboard for a second tour of duty, rejoining the staff in 1986 as general manager/Nashville. In that capacity, he directed and coordinated editorial, chart and sales activities in the country sector. He held that position through 1990.
On local TV, Wood became known as “The Gamboling Gourmet” on WTVF-TV. He also worked under that identity for Nashville magazine. As a freelance journalist, Wood wrote for Country Weekly and many other publications. He was also a regular reviewer on the TNN cable channel in the mid-1980s.
Wood won a Journalistic Achievement Award from SESAC in 1981. He was a board member of the Nashville Entertainment Association and a member of the Country Music Association, the Gospel Music Association, the Recording Academy, the Nashville Songwriters Association International, and Sigma Delta Chi.
Wood was also a published author. Ain’t God Good (1975) and Let the Hammer Down (1978) were collaborations with country comedian Jerry Clower. Other titles included The Grand Ole Opry Presents the Year in Country Music (1997) and Tales From Country Music (2003).
Outside of his career, Wood was a travel enthusiast. Late in life, he moved to Florida and wrote books and articles for local publications on the Gulf Coast.
“I was just laughing with Ed [Morris] yesterday as we were reminiscing about our days at Billboard with Gerry at the helm of the Nashville bureau,” says Debbie Holley, who worked under Wood in the country department at Billboard in the 1980s.
“Ed and I never knew where he would be calling in his column from, to whichever one of us was willing to take it over the phone by dictation. If he wasn’t on a plane or boat, he was calling from a train making his way across the country!
“Ed and I truly loved Gerry Wood! If free-flowing, imaginative, intuitive, and emotional thought are characteristics associated with the right brain, his right hemisphere must have been double in size. Gerry Wood definitely encompassed and underscored ‘creative.’ He was full of original ideas, artistic works and new possibilities. He was unconventional and impractical at times, but that always led to even more interesting projects. He was more than willing to share the spotlight and pushed everyone around him to ‘be your best self,’ ‘try things without fear of judgment,’ and ‘go for it, or you’ll always wonder!’
“I’m sad that he has left us, but I bet there are a couple of one-way streets called ‘Music Row’ just inside ‘Heaven’s Gates!’ And, I bet Gerry Wood is right there with all of the songwriters, music publishers and record label execs on ’16th (and 17th) Avenue!’”
Ed Morris, who was Billboard’s country music editor from 1990-95, tells Billboard, “Gerry hired me in 1981 as he was leaving Nashville for New York to take the chief editor job. Having heard I was an atheist, he found it enormously amusing to name me gospel editor, thereby making me hostage to the Righteous for the next two years. Gerry lived to be entertained—by both by personalities and circumstances—and I never once saw him less than buoyant.”
Wood also had a good sense of humor about himself. At one Billboard staff conference, a staff member, Jean Williams, wasn’t able to be present, but sent in taped remarks. At one point she said, “Gerry Wood had a good idea. I think it was about a year ago.”
William paused just a little too long between those two sentences, creating the impression that good ideas from Wood were a rarity. Everyone in the room laughed at the unintended slight. No one laughed harder than Gerry.
Johnny Rodriguez, a trailblazing Hispanic figure in country music, has died at the age of 73.
His daughter, Aubry Rodriguez, confirmed her father’s passing in a heartfelt social media post on Friday (May 9). The late Mexican-American singer had entered hospice care earlier in the week, according to Saving Country Music.
“It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved Johnny Rodriguez, who left us peacefully on May 9th, surrounded by family,” Aubry wrote on Instagram. “Dad was not only a legendary musician whose artistry touched millions around the world, but also a deeply loved husband, father, uncle, and brother whose warmth, humor, and compassion shaped the lives of all who knew him.”
She continued, “We are immensely grateful for the outpouring of love and support from fans, colleagues, and friends during this time of grief.”e
Aubry concluded her tribute by calling her father an “irreplaceable” and an “extraordinary talent,” and requested privacy for the family as they “navigate this painful moment together.”
Born Juan Rodriguez in Sabinal, Texas, in 1951, Rodriguez was discovered at 18 by music promoter Happy Shahan after he was heard singing in a jail cell, where he was briefly held for a minor offense, according to a Ken Burns biography on PBS.org.
Rodriguez’s musical influences ranged from mariachi to honky-tonk, shaped by his South Texas upbringing. “I was drawn to country music because I could relate more to what they were singing about,” he told Burns. “And also it was just like the music of our people. In Mexican music, you have stories. Mexican music and country music said almost the same thing, just in different languages,” he said.
Initially performing under the name Johnny Rogers, Rodriguez played at Alamo Village and soon caught the attention of country stars Bobby Bare and Tom T. Hall. At 21, he moved to Nashville, changed his last name back to Rodriguez, joined Hall’s band as a guitarist, and later signed with Mercury Records.
In the 1970s, Rodriguez achieved scored several No. 1 hits on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart, including “Ridin’ My Thumb to Mexico” and “You Always Come Back (to Hurting Me).” He was nominated for the Academy of Country Music’s entertainer of the year in 1974 and was featured in the Country Radio Seminar’s New Faces of Country Music show in 1973. In 2007, he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.
Rodriguez is survived by his daughter, Aubry, whom he shared with his second wife, Debbie McNeely.
Read Aubry’s touching tribute to her father on Instagram here.
Fat Joe is mourning the loss of his mother.
On Saturday (May 3), the 54-year-old hip-hop icon shared a heartfelt tribute on social media honoring his mom, Marie Del-Carmen Cartagena, who passed away at the age of 77.
“This a real one, rest in peace to the woman who brought me in this world,” Joe wrote on Instagram alongside a slideshow of family photos. “She didnt have much but she gave us everything.
In the emotional post, the Bronx-born rapper reflected on his mother’s deep love for her family and unwavering commitment to her community.
“Anyone who knows my Mom knows she had a heart of gold, she refused to move out the projects for many years even though i had money,” he wrote. “She loved her community, she loved her people,Ms Ruby the Terror Squad Queen. she was sooooooo proud of us meaning everyone in the crew.”
Joe also shared that his mother died of a “broken heart” following the recent death of his father, Ernesto Delgado, who passed away earlier this year at age 89. The couple had been married for 60 years.
“I tried everything humanly possible,” he continued. “She was happy, to the Castro family, the Cartagena family, the Delgado family i love you and thank you for the outpouring of love.”
Joe concluded the tribute with a touching message to his late mother. “Mommy till i see you again you were my world, my heart, my everything. I’ll continue to make you proud,” he wrote.
The hip-hop community quickly rallied around Fat Joe, offering words of comfort and support in the comments.
“Rest peacefully Beautiful Queen,” Busta Rhymes commented in the post. Questlove added, “Condolences Joe,” along with a prayer hands emoji. And Ja Rule echoed the sentiment, commenting with prayer hands and dove emojis.
See Fat Joe’s full tribute to his mother on Instagram here.