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As news broke of Quincy Jones’ death at age 91 on Monday (Nov. 4), tributes began to pour in to honor the musician who Clive Davis once told Billboard was “the ultimate music renaissance man.” Among those paying tribute to the 28-time Grammy winner were LL Cool J, David Guetta and Victoria Monét.
“You were a father and example at a time when I truly needed a father and example. Mentor. Role model. King. 👑You gave me opportunities and shared wisdom. Music would not be music without you,” LL Cool J wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of Jones holding numerous Grammys awards. “My condolences to the entire family. I love you. Rest in the sweetest music eternally. #ripquincyjones one of one.”
Monét began her tweet with five heartbroken emojis. “to one of my biggest inspirations! Quincy I love you so much!!!” she wrote. “Your legacy will live on forever and ever 😢 Heaven definitely got an upgrade with you”
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French DJ and record produce Guetta shared a lengthy remembrance on X highlighting some of Jones’ achievements. “It’s hard to find the words to express the impact @QuincyDJones has had on me, as well as on music and culture as a whole. Quincy wasn’t just a legend, he was an inspiration, a trailblazer, and a true genius. He produced my favorite album of all time, ‘Thriller’ by @michaeljackson, an album that set the standard for what music could be, blending genres and pushing boundaries,” he wrote. The DJ also shared a photo of himself with the music legend, before recounting how they met.
“I had the honor of meeting Quincy, notably at the Grammys @RecordingAcad, where we even had the chance to speak in French, a language he mastered so beautifully,” Guetta shared. “Those moments will stay with me forever. Thank you, Quincy, for all you’ve given us. Your legacy will continue to inspire generations of artists to come.”
Jones’ publicist Arnold Robinson shared that the music icon died Sunday (Nov. 3) at his Los Angeles home, with his family around him. His family also shared a statement. “He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created,” it read in part. “Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”
Read on for more musician reactions to Quincy Jones’ death:
“I woke up today to the Terrible news that we lost Quincy Jones,” Ice-T tweeted along with a vintage photo of the rapper-actor with the music legend. “Genius is a discription loosely used but Rarely deserved. Point blank, Quincy was the MAN. I won my 1st Grammy with Quincy and I live with his Wisdom daily. My condolences go out to his family who I had the honor of
Quincy Jones produced so much amazing music during his long career, but I never knew he was responsible for the soundtrack of The Italian Job! Here’s a great example of his genius production and arrangement. So long, sir https://t.co/Sci1ljYrJv— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) November 4, 2024
“We have lost one of the all time greats. The world will miss Quincy Jones,” Darius Rucker tweeted alongside a photo of the artist. “Rest my friend.”
“Rest in Peace and Perfect Pitch Quincy Jones! What a life well lived,” Sheryl Lee Ralph tweeted.
I thought Quincy Jones was gonna live forever 💔. What an incredible loss. RIP to the greatest to ever do it! 🕊️— Fountain Baby (@amaarae) November 4, 2024
“Rest in Power Quincy Jones The Greatest of All Time,” Nile Rodgers shared on TikTok.
DJ Clark Kent — born Rodolfo Franklin — has died at 58 years old following a three-year battle with colon cancer. Clark Kent’s family confirmed his death in a statement posted to the superproducer’s Instagram page on Friday afternoon (Oct. 25).
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“It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of the beloved Rodolfo A. Franklin, known to the world as DJ Clark Kent,” the statement reads. “Clark passed away Thursday evening surrounded by his devoted wife Kesha, daughter Kabriah and son Antonio.”
The post continued to touch on Clark Kent’s private battle with cancer. “Clark quietly and valiantly fought a three year battle with Colon Cancer, while continuing to share his gifts with the world,” they added. “The family is grateful for everyone’s love, support and prayers during this time and ask for privacy as they process this immense loss.”
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A touching outpouring of support came from peers, friends and fans of the pioneering producer in his comment section.
“Clark will forever be the culture,” Questlove wrote, while Raekwon added: “Awwww mannnnn. we gon miss this legend. condolences to the loved ones.
There were also tributes from Jim Jones, Dave East, Mickey Factz, Laura Styles, Rob Markman and more.
The Supermen frontman got his start as a DJ in the ’80s before scoring his first major hit in 1995 producing Junior M.A.F.I.A. and The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Player’s Anthem,” which peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and served as Lil’ Kim’s introduction to the world.
Clark Kent connected with Jay-Z and went on to produce a handful of tracks from Hov’s acclaimed Reasonable Doubt debut album in 1996 such as “Brooklyn’s Finest” featuring Biggie Smalls, “Coming of Age,” “Cashmere Thoughts” and more.
Adding to New York rap lore, Foxy Brown is Clark Kent’s cousin. The New York-bred DJ is also credited with discovering Bad Boy rapper-turned-politician Shyne in the late ’90s.
He notched another commercial anthem when teaming up with Mariah Carey for Glitter‘s “Loverboy” in 2001, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Clark Kent was a fixture in sneaker culture and an avid sneakerhead throughout his life. In 2018, he was estimated to have more than 3,500 pairs in his rare collection.
In more recent years, he’s credited as a co-producer on Ye (Kanye West) and Lil Pump’s “I Love It,” which gave him another top 10 hit on the Hot 100 in 2018.
DJ Clark Kent is survived by his wife Kesha, son Antonio and daughter Kabriah. Find the family statement below.
Phil Lesh, founding member and longtime bassist for legendary rock outfit the Grateful Dead, died on Friday (Oct. 25). He was 84 years old.The news was announced on social media, with a statement that read, “Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of the Grateful Dead, passed peacefully this morning. He was surrounded by his family and full of love. Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love. We request that you respect the Lesh family’s privacy at this time.” No cause of death was given at the time of publication.
As one of the co-founders and longest-tenured members of the Grateful Dead, Lesh was an essential part of a group that became synonymous with touring and live performance in rock music. With their singular instrumental interplay, their trademark iconography, their strong sense of community and their association with the hippie lifestyle, they became the forefathers of the jam band movement — with a fanbase of “Deadheads” as singularly devoted as any other band of the 20th century, enduring well into the new millennium.
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Born in Berkeley, California in 1940, Lesh grew up as a trumpet player and appreciator of avant-garde classical and free jazz. After short-lived studies at a variety of music schools, he met bluegrass banjo player Jerry Garcia in 1962 and was persuaded to join Garcia’s new rock band, The Warlocks, as their bassist — despite never playing the instrument before. The band, which also included Bob Weir as co-singer/guitarist with Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann as drummer and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan as keyboardist, was renamed Grateful Dead in 1965, after a phrase Garcia found in the dictionary.
Once he became proficient in the bass, Lesh’s playing style became heavily influenced by his musical interests in jazz and classical, giving his sound a melodic and improvisational quality rarely heard from the four-string in rock before. He came to be considered one of the instrumental innovators of his era, and his playing became as critical to (and identifiable within) the Grateful Dead’s sound as the group’s lead guitar.
By the end of the ’60s, the Dead had become one of the leading lights of the psych-rock movement coming out of San Francisco, known for their gentle, folk-influenced jams, their sprawling, blissed-out live shows, and their affinity for psychedelic drugs like DMT and LSD. (“We found that while high we were able to go very far out musically but still come back to some kind of recognizable space or song structure,” Lesh wrote in his 2006 autobiography Searching For the Sound. “I knew instantly that this combination — acid and music — was the tool I’d been looking for.”)
Lesh was not a principal singer or songwriter in the band, but his tenor often contributed to the group’s three-part harmonies, and he did write and sing a handful of original Dead songs. The best-remembered of those was probably “Box of Rain,” opening track to their classic 1970 album American Beauty — co-penned with lyricist Robert Hunter about Lesh’s then-dying father — which ended up being the last song played at the group’s final concert with Garcia in 1995.
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While the group sold steadily throughout the ’60s and ’70s — six of the group’s ’70s LPs reached the top 30 of the Billboard 200, with 1970’s Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty and 1972’s live triple album all being certified Platinum by the RIAA — they were a less-regular presence on the Billboard Hot 100, where they charted just four entries in their first decade, and none higher than the No. 64-peaking “Truckin’” in 1971. But the group’s live reputation kept them an essential part of the rock fabric well into the ’80s, and in 1987 they scored their lone pop hit with the catchy top 10 smash “Touch of Grey” — which along with its popular music video, featuring the band performing as skeletons, introduced them to a new generation of fans.
However in the late ’80s Garcia’s health began to falter, and in 1995 he passed away, with the band deciding to disband shortly after. Following the group’s dissolution, Lesh continued playing with offshoot The Other Ones (with original member Bob Weir, longtime percussionist Mickey Hart and keyboardist Bruce Hornsby), which gradually expanded its lineup to include more former Grateful Dead members and rebranded as The Dead in 2003. In addition, Lesh started Phil Lesh and Friends in 1999, with a rotating live and recording cast reinterpreting old songs by the Grateful Dead and some of their peers, and a decade later he created Furthur, another jam band co-founded with Weir.
Despite remaining busy with these Grateful Dead offshoots — as well as a handfull of 50th anniversary stadium shows put on by the band’s surviving members as the Fare Thee Well celebration — Lesh largely refrained from writing or recording any original songs in later years, preferring to keep the focus on his live show. “What’s the point?” he remarked to Billboard in 2012. “Nobody makes money on recordings anymore — at least the likes of us don’t. And the longer I’m in music the less time I like the idea of freezing music in amber so that it’s the same every time you play it back. I want it to be different every time, so I’m just not into recording, particularly.”
In 2017, Bass Player magazine ranked Lesh as the 57th greatest bassist of all time. “More an improvising composer than mere bassist, Lesh elevated the Grateful Dead from hippie jam band to an artistic ensemble capable of reaching heights of interactive ecstasy,” the magazine wrote. “Balancing roots with bouncy, offbeat upper-register figures, he could spin long motivic statements sometimes lasting over a minute, often steering the band into daring new harmonic territory.”
Grateful Dead will be honored as the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year. The 34th annual Persons of the Year benefit gala will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, two nights before the 67th annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena.
Jack Jones — the velvet-voiced crooner who had such hits as “Wives and Lovers” and “The Impossible Dream (The Quest),” but may be best-known today for singing TV’s The Love Boat theme — died on Wednesday at Eisenhower Medical in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He was 86. His wife, Eleonara Jones, said the cause of his death was leukemia, which he had battled for two years.Jones’ death comes just seven months after Steve Lawrence, another singer of similar quality and style, died at 88. They were two of the finest singers of what was then known as easy listening music – music that fell out of favor as rock boomed in the late 1960s and 1970s. That music has seen a rebirth in recent decades under a new branding — traditional pop — with such new stars as Michael Bublé.Jones had three No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart (now known as Adult Contemporary): “The Race Is On” (1965), “The Impossible Dream (The Quest)” (1966) and “Lady” (1967). Jones received a Grammy nod for best vocal performance, male for “The Impossible Dream,” the standout ballad from the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha. The song also received a Grammy nod for song of the year.Earlier in the 1960s, Jones won two Grammys for best vocal performance, male for Tony Velona’s “Lollipops and Roses” and Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “Wives and Lovers.”The latter song, which reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1964, was also nominated for Grammys for record and song of the year. The lyrics — which warn women “Don’t think because there’s a ring on your finger/ You needn’t try anymore” — are now seen as hopelessly sexist. But if you can get past that, it’s one of Bacharach and David’s best-sounding hits, with a jazzy arrangement and Jones’ suave vocal.Jones addressed the criticism the song received by altering the lyrics to poke fun at men. But he never dropped the song from his set.“Since it’s a politically incorrect song, I start it out with a disclaimer,” he once said. “I hear that women still call up radio stations, angry that such a sexist song is being played. It’s now part of history, it won a Grammy, and I meant no harm when I did it. It made my career, and I’m grateful for that.”
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Jones had three top 20 albums on the Billboard 200: Wives and Lovers, Dear Heart and The Impossible Dream. The latter album remained on the chart for more than a year.Jones, Lawrence and such other singers as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett and Andy Williams were among the last singers of old-guard easy listening music in the 1960s, as rock increasingly came to dominate the charts.As Chris Koseluk noted in The Hollywood Reporter’s obituary of Jones, “When filmmakers wanted to create that easy-listening ’60s vibe, Jones was one of their go-to guys. He can be heard on the soundtracks for Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Goodfellas (1990), Reckless (1995), Duplex (2003), Bobby (2006) and American Hustle (2013), in which he had a cameo. ‘Lollipops and Roses’ accompanied the end credits on a 2008 episode of Mad Men.”Jones sang the title songs of several films, including A Ticklish Affair (1963), Love With the Proper Stranger (1963) and Where Love Has Gone (1964). On the 1965 Oscar telecast he sang the last-named song, which was nominated for best original song. He opened the 1970 The Best on Record program, the final pre-recorded Grammy-branded show before the live telecast commenced the following year, by singing Joe South’s “Games People Play,” that year’s song of the year winner.Jones sang The Love Boat theme, written by Paul Williams and Charles Fox, during that show’s first eight seasons (1977-85). (Dionne Warwick recorded it for season 9.) The song has elements of kitsch, and certainly the show was TV at its most mindless, but Jones’ dynamic vocal and Williams’ fine lyric (“Love/life’s sweetest reward)” were both work they could be proud of.
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Jones’ recording of “Theme From Love Boat” cracked Billboard’s adult contemporary chart in 1980. His later AC-charting hits also included “Let Me Be the One,” a cover of a superb Williams-Roger Nichols song that was featured on the Carpenters’ 1971 album Carpenters; “What I Did for Love,” the instant-standard from 1975’s Broadway smash A Chorus Line; and “With One More Look at You” from the Barbra Streisand-starring 1976 remake of A Star Is Born.Jones landed his fifth and final Grammy nomination in 1998, best traditional pop vocal performance, for his album Jack Jones Paints a Tribute to Tony Bennett. Bennett, of course, was one of the few old-school traditional pop performers who thrived in recent decades. (Fun Fact: Bennett’s “I Wanna Be Around” and Jones’ “Wives and Lovers” were both nominated for record of the year at the 1964 Grammys. Both lost to Henry Mancini’s “The Days of Wine and Roses.”)Jones continued to appear at casinos, performing arts centers and cabarets until shortly before his death. Jones was married to actress Jill St. John from 1967-69. They were one of the top celebrity couples of their era, each with a highly successful career. (They weren’t bad looking, either.)John Allan Jones was born in Los Angeles on Jan. 14, 1938. His father, tenor Allen Jones, acted in The Marx Brothers’ A Night at the Opera (1935) and A Day at the Races (1937). Jones also acted in Show Boat (1936) and had a hit record in 1938 with “The Donkey Serenade” from the movie The Firefly. The elder Jones had performed the latter song on horseback for Jeanette MacDonald in the 1937 MGM musical. Jack Jones’ mother, Irene Hervey, was a film and TV actress who received a Primetime Emmy nomination in 1969 for an appearance on the long-running sitcom My Three Sons.Jones, who lived in Indian Wells, Calif., was married six times. He was married to Katie Lee Nuckols (also known as the model Lee Larance) from 1960 to 1966; Jill St. John from 1967 to 1969; Gretchen Roberts from 1970 to 1971; Kathryn Simmons, from 1977 to 1982; and Kim Ely from 1982 to 2005. He married Eleonora Donata Peters in 2009.In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Crystal Thomas, from his marriage to Ms. Nuckols; another daughter, Nicole Ramasco, from his marriage to Ms. Ely; two stepdaughters, Nicole Whitty and Colette Peters, from his marriage to Ms. Peters; and three grandchildren.
Longtime songwriter advocate John Titta, who served as executive vp/chief creative officer at ASCAP, died Monday (Oct. 21) after a two-year battle with cancer. His age is unknown.
“All of us at ASCAP are heartbroken,” said ASCAP president/chairman and songwriter Paul Williams in a statement. “John Titta was one of a kind, and truly one of the most beloved music industry executives I have known, with deep ties to songwriters across genres and generations. John — you had a song in your heart always, and you will always be in our hearts. I miss you already.”
ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews added, “John Titta’s warmth, his humor, his kindness, his love of family, and his passion for music were infectious. He was a north star for me personally, and for all of us at ASCAP. John was instrumental in the success of so many songwriters throughout his storied career, and he shared his love of music and songwriters so freely that we all felt the joy. All of us in the ASCAP family are devastated by his passing. Titta — we love you.”
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The lifelong Staten Island resident started as a musician, songwriter and music teacher before joining Screen Gems/EMI music as a manager, signing such acts as The Smithereens and working with the legendary Carole King and Lou Reed. He then moved to PolyGram Music Publishing, where, as vp of A&R, he signed Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Pearl Jam, Brian McKnight, k.d. lang, Billy Ray Cyrus and songwriter Jimmy Webb, among others. Before joining ASCAP in 2013, where he led the membership team, he also had stints at Warner Chappell Music as senior vp/GM, where he worked with Missy Elliott, Shaggy, Bruce Hornsby, Kid Rock and many others, as well as running his own independent music publishing company and label, MPCA Music Publishing and Recordings.
He kept his creative side alive by playing on albums by Ringo Starr, Michael McDonald, Sambora and others, as well as producing and A&R’ing albums by Dionne Warwick, Todd Rundgren, Donny & Marie Osmond and others.
Tributes to Titta came pouring in on social media from top songwriters. “There’s a giant hole in the hearts of all of us who loved John Titta today. Such a huge loss,” wrote Diane Warren on Facebook. “John loved songwriters. And we loved him. Rest in Power my dear friend. There’s some pretty great songwriters up there waiting to give you a big hug.”
Sam Hollander also expressed his appreciation, writing on Facebook, “John was one of the genuinely good guys in this layered industry—a real advocate for songwriters & artists back when music was more than just algorithms. If he believed in you, he fought for you, no matter your place in the proverbial pecking order. I was blessed to have him in my corner & share decades of incredible hangs—he was just a sweet, funny, generous soul who made you feel heard.”
Titta was also a Songwriters Hall of Fame board member. “The quintessential New York Italian, John loved his family, friends — especially those who became family, music, songwriters, artists, creative talent, The Godfather films, Staten Island and life itself. He was extremely proud of being a SHOF Board member, thought of it as ‘the feather in his cap’ and was one of our most active and dedicated board members,” says Linda Moran, president/CEO of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, via email. “Even when going through personal hardships and heartaches, he always had a smile on his face and a kind word to say, so that you would never know what he was experiencing.”
Fellow board member and Universal Music Publishing Group North America president Evan Lamberg tells Billboard, “John’s love of people, artists and songwriters is unmatched. The way he cared for his friends, of which he had many, was all heart. He made a big positive difference in so many lives and we will all miss him dearly.”
Titta seemed impossibly connected to a wide swath of the entertainment community. When a luminary would die, most recently songwriters JD Souther and Kris Kristofferson and comedian Bob Newhart, he would endearingly post a photo of himself with the deceased and share a warm, personal memory on social media.
Survivors include his wife Lana, sons Alex and Julian, daughter Martine, grandson Mason, and his brother Michael. The family is planning a private service to be followed by a memorial at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the John and Rose Titta Fund, set up by Titta in memory of his parents to help children on the autism spectrum through music programs. Donations can be made through the ASCAP Foundation.
Original Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno has died at 66 according to a statement from the late hard rock vocalist’s label, Conquest Music. “On behalf of his family, Conquest Music are sad to confirm the death of Paul Andrews, professionally known as Paul Di’Anno. Paul passed away at his home in Salisbury at the age of 66,” read Monday’s (Oct. 21) statement, which did not include the date or cause of death.
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Di’Anno was the lead singer for the legendary British metal group from 1978-1981, kicking off their 45-year run with his urgent, punk-inspired vocals on their self-titled 1980 debut, which featured the ripping lead-off track “Prowler” and the band’s turbo-charged eponymous anthem “Iron Maiden.”
He also sang on the band’s 1981 follow-up, Killers, which featured such knotty metal anthems as the opening instrumental “The Ides of March,” the pummeling “Wrathchild” and the blitzing barrage of “Purgatory,” which cemented the band’s pioneering mix of hard rock, punk and prog.
Iron Maiden issued a statement honoring Di’Anno on Monday featuring a picture of the singer with founding bassist — and reported chief antagonist while he was in Maiden — Steve Harris. “We are all deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Paul Di’Anno earlier today. Paul’s contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and helped set us on the path we have been travelling as a band for almost five decades. His pioneering presence as a frontman and vocalist, both on stage and on our first two albums, will be very fondly remembered not just by us, but by fans around the world,” read the statement.
“It’s just so sad he’s gone,” added Harris. “I was in touch with him only recently as we texted each other about West Ham and their ups and downs. At least he was still gigging until recently, it was something that kept him going, to be out there whenever he could. He will be missed by us all. Rest in peace mate.”
It concluded, “We were very grateful to have had the chance to catch up a couple of years ago and to spend time with him once more. On behalf of the band, Rod and Andy, and the whole Iron Maiden team, we extend our deepest sympathies to Paul’s family and close friends.”
Born in Chingford, East London on May 17, 1958, Di’Anno rose to prominence as the frontman of Iron Maiden, before splitting with the group before their 1982 commercial breakthrough with 1982’s The Number of the Beast, which introduced new vocalist Bruce Dickinson, who has held the gig ever since. After leaving Maiden, Di’Anno recorded a number of solo albums, as well as LPs with the bands Di’Anno’s Battlezone, Gogmagog, Killers, Praying Matins, Rockfellas and more.
The powerful singer continued to record and tour through 2016, when he was hospitalized for undisclosed medical reasons; at the time Blabbermouth reported that Di’Anno had been forced to perform from a wheelchair due to injuries from a number of motorcycle accidents. He also faced a number of other health challenges over the years, including a near-fatal battle with sepsis that landed him in the hospital for eight months in 2015.
“Despite being troubled by severe health issues in recent years that restricted him to performing in a wheelchair, Paul continued to entertain his fans around the world, racking up well over 100 shows since 2023,” read the statement from Conquest Music. Di’Anno first career retrospective album, The Book of the Beast, was released last month, featuring highlights of the songs he recorded post-Maiden.
According to an Oct. 10 post on Di’Anno’s FB page, he was slated to perform in Edinburgh on Dec. 30 of this year before that show was cancelled, though a string of UK dates later this month and in November were still slated to go on before his death.
Check out some of Di’Anno’s Maiden high points below.
Egidio Cuadrado, an icon in Colombia’s music scene and Carlos Vives’ longtime accordion player, is dead at the age of 71. The vallenato star passed away due to health complications related to pneumonia on Monday (Oct. 21) in Bogota.
“With deep sorrow, the Clínica Universitaria Colombia wishes to inform the public that vallenato artist Egidio Cuadrado has passed away in our institution,” an official press release by La Clínica Universitaria Colombia noted.
“Today we say goodbye to him, paying tribute not only to his career, but to the humble man who, with his accordion, made us part of his family by calling us all ‘compadres y comadres, compadritos y comadritas,’” Vives expressed in a statement to Billboard. “Egidio Cuadrado, the same one who never left his vueltiao hat, his Arhuaca backpack and his 12 accordions, will remain forever in our hearts; longing for that vallenato song that permeated his noble heart and telling the world that life has the greatest meaning when the accordion of a Vallenato King like him plays.”
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Cuadraro was born in Villanueva, La Guajira, and learned to play the accordion at the age of six. In the early ‘90s, he formed part of Vives’ tropical orchestra La Provincia, giving life to the tropipop sound that blends the spirit of vallenato music with contemporary pop-rock melodies.
Embodying Colombian folk music, Cuadrado’s artistry gave life to some of Vives’ biggest albums including 1995’s La Tierra del Olvido. In 2021, The Latin Recording Academy honored him with the Trustees Award, bestowed on individuals who have made significant contributions to Latin music during their careers in ways other than performance.
“An artist is made by his audience — without you this award would have no value, to Latin Grammys for reminding us today of the importance of our local music and our Colombian identity and finally to my accordion, my first friend and an extension of my body,” Cuadrado wrote on his Instagram account when he received the award.
Earlier this year, Cuadrado formed part of Vives’ “Regreso a Escalona” documentary made available through ViX’s premium streaming plan.
“His passing leaves a deep void in the music and lives of those who knew him,” Vives continued in his heartfelt statement shared with Billboard. “With his accordion, he wove melodies that resonated throughout the world, at Colombian parties and at family gatherings, creating a bond between generations. His warm smile and generous spirit transformed each chord into a sonorous embrace, and his words, always full of affection, made everyone feel like part of his family. Today, as we remember him, we celebrate not only his immense talent, but also the legacy of love and joy he left in every note. Egidio, your music will live on in every corner where the echo of your accordion is heard.”
James Leach, vp of creative services and West Coast operations for SESAC, passed away on Thursday (Oct. 17) in Los Angeles. The well-respected music industry executive died following a battle with cancer.
Beginning his tenure at SESAC in 2001 as director of writer/publisher relations, Leach covered pop, R&B and rock. During his 23 years with the performing rights organization, Leach signed funk legend George Clinton, Lalah Hathaway and Ab-Soul as well as songwriter/producers such as Nate “Danja” Hills, Harvey Mason Jr. (The Underdogs) and John “Jaylien” Wesley. He also established the company’s Los Angeles office.
Paying tribute to Leach, SESAC commented in part on its website, “Emanating from his warmth, kindness and enthusiasm for life, James will continue to shine light on those he knew … James was not just a leader for the Los Angeles-based creative services team but a constant wellspring of support and inspiration for SESAC-affiliated songwriters and publishers. In addition to his deep love of music and unwavering dedication to nurturing talent was his advocation of culture and DEI. He continuously promoted awareness and understanding. His ethos of service and making things better was the keystone of his work.”
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Hailing from Montclair, N.J., before relocating as a teen with his family to L.A., Leach graduated from Pepperdine University with a degree in broadcast management. His lifelong love affair with music and the arts laid the foundation for a multi-faceted career that included stints in TV and radio sales, as a recording studio owner and as the head of his own music placement firm, Leach Entertainment. Internships at Famous Music and Michael Jackson’s ATV Music (prior to its merger with Sony) led to his being appointed director of creative affairs at ATV. During his seven years there, Leach signed writer/producers like Keith Crouch and Derek Allen and also worked with the catalogs of Jackson, The Beatles and Sly & the Family Stone.
Returning to Famous Music as director of creative affairs/urban music, Leach signed then-unknown songwriter/artist Akon. After leaving Famous, Leach worked as a music supervisor and consultant. His credits in that arena include the popular ‘90s series New York Undercover and Magic Johnson’s The Magic Hour.
A Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players honoree in 2019, Leach was presented with the Entertainment Advocate Award by the Living Legends Foundation in 2015. He also served on the foundation’s advisory board.
Calling Leach “the consummate professional,” Living Legends Foundation chairman David C. Linton tells Billboard, “He brought such value to enhance our mission of ‘service, scholarship and preserving the legacy of Black music executives.’ His presence will be missed both professionally and personally. Our prayers go out to his family and all who know and love him.”
Leach is survived by his mother, Claudia Leach, in addition to his siblings and other family members. The family is asking that donations in his honor be made to The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation.
Twitch’s head of music, Cindy Charles, has died after being involved in a traffic accident last week in The Netherlands.
Twitch CEO Daniel Clancy confirmed Charles’ death Friday (Oct. 18) on LinkedIn. Clancy remarked that “anyone that uses music on Twitch owes a debt of gratitude to Cindy’s work. She always had a bright smile on her face even as she negotiated unprecedented music licensing agreements for Twitch including the recent DJ agreement.”
That deal, which specifically covers DJs who live-stream on the platform, was announced in June and involved Twitch signing music licensing deals with all three major labels — Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment — as well as many indie labels represented by Merlin.
Charles was meant to speak on a panel Thursday (Oct. 17) at the Amsterdam Dance Event, an annual dance music industry conference in the Dutch capital, offering expertise for DJs using Twitch.
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Before her six years at Twitch, Charles worked as an independent digital media consultant and also spent three years at Amazon, where she worked as the head of business development in the music department of Amazon Ticketing, along with working in the Video Shorts department. Earlier in her career, she spent seven years at Viacom, where she managed digital legal and business affairs for entities within MTV Networks.
Beyond those positions, Charles served as an advisor to the board of governors at the Recording Academy, was a co-founder of Women in Digital, which has more than 1,500 members, and co-founded the San Francisco chapter of She is the Music.
Charles was based in Berkeley, Calif., and grew up in Queens, N.Y., majoring in political science at SUNY Buffalo. She is survived by her husband, Ricky Fishman, and her two sons.
“Every success, every setback, every moment of working toward our shared mission felt deeply personal,” Twitch’s Kira Karlstrom wrote in a remembrance of Charles, “because Cindy made it that way. She cared about her team with all her heart, and our work was an extension of that care.”
Dorothy “Dottie” Leonard Miller, an entrepreneurial executive who founded several influential gospel and Christian music companies during a career spanning decades, died Friday (Oct. 11) at age 79.
After launching her own distribution company, New Day Christian Distributors, in 1981, Miller went on to create a veritable empire in the faith-based music business, with subsequent ventures including DayWind Soundtracks, DayWind Records, DayWind Music Publishing, two recording studios, and a cassette and CD manufacturing facility. More recently, she expanded her businesses to encompass DayWind Worship (choral music), Spiritus Distribution (Catholic products), Billy Blue Records (bluegrass), Billy Jam Records (country and Americana), Billy Blue Publishing and the DayWind Music Foundation, which provides an internet radio station focused on Southern Gospel.
“Dottie was a visionary, a pioneer, she was determined, humble, and generous,” said Rick Shelton, vp of DayWind Publishing, in a statement. “Serving her vision, her artists, her songwriters and the industry she loved has been a tremendous honor. What she did with her life touched the lives of so many.”
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Across her various music ventures, Miller worked with a laundry list of gospel and Christian artists including the Cumberland Boys, Greater Vision, the Crabb Family, Karen Peck and New River, Brian Free and Assurance, The Isaacs, Triumphant Quartet, Down East Boys, the Perrys, the Hoppers, Jonathan Wilburn, the Steeles, the Nelons, Lefevre Quartet, Michael English, Appalachian Road Show, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Tennessee Bluegrass Band, Carolina Blue, Kristy Cox and Grasstime, Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, and Bob Minner.
Miller’s success garnered her a slew of awards over the years, including lifetime achievement awards from the Gospel Music Association, BMI and the Southern Gospel Music Guild. She was also inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
“Dottie Leonard’s story is a woman with vision, faith, and courage to make a difference,” said Jackie Patillo, president of the Gospel Music Association, in a statement. “Her work and tenacity will be forever remembered as will her legacy as a single mother, founder of Daywind Records, and New Day Distribution, and member of the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame. On behalf of the GMA Board of Directors and the entire gospel music community, we say farewell to Dottie and offer our deepest condolences to her family as she has now received her greatest reward.”
Born Aug. 10, 1945, in Wilmington, Del., Miller’s early jobs included clerical work at an accounting firm and a law firm, selling Jhirmack hair products, and working for the Democratic Party of Tennessee on campaigns for Senator Jim Sasser, President Jimmy Carter and more. As a single mother raising two children in Hendersonville, Tenn., she made ends meet throughout this early period by working a second job in ER admissions at a local hospital.
Miller’s first music industry job came when she was hired as a receptionist at Calvary Records in Nashville. She went on to work with radio stations and Christian bookstores promoting artists including the Hinsons and the Telestials. She later took a job at Windchime Records, where she worked with artists including the Paynes and Heavenbound before founding New Day with funding from her father, brother Bill Golt and family friend Ray Lorrig.
In addition to her family, co-workers, friends and artists, Miller enjoyed spending time in Florida and at her cabin in Lafayette, Tenn., where she had alpacas, donkeys and goats. Her travels took her throughout the U.S., Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.
Miller is survived by her daughter, Susan Leonard Sovine, and grandchildren Taylor McKellar and Kennedy Sovine; her son, Ed Leonard, his wife Kathleen, and their children Eddie Leonard, Mary Leonard, Evan Leonard, Aidan Leonard (Caroline Leonard), Rachael Zuckett (Joey Zuckett), Caroline Leonard, Ian Leonard, Liam Leonard, and Emily Leonard; her great-grandchildren Leo Zuckett and Eloise Joyce; her sister, Cynthia Paranczak; and her longtime companion, Jere Miller. She was preceded in death by her brother, Bill Golt, and her parents, William and Dorothy Golt.
A celebration of Miller’s life will be held at a later date.
You can read more tributes to Miller below.
“For the more than forty years of our friendship, Dottie was a champion for our genre’s Music. She was a pioneer in her field, and she was passionate about her mission to get The Gospel to as many people as possible. I will miss her enthusiasm and our conversations, which always included lots of laughter. My friend is with The Lord, but we WILL meet again, soon!” – Gerald Wolfe, Greater Vision
“Dottie was one of my greatest heroes and influences. She blazed the trail for many of us in Southern Gospel Music. I love that she always trusted the Lord in fulfilling her dreams of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ into all the world. Those dreams became realities. Now she is reaping the harvest of the many souls she touched for the cause of Christ. I love and appreciate Dottie more than words can express. She will be greatly missed. Her legacy will live on forever.” – Karen Peck-Gooch, Karen Peck & New River
“Almost 30 years ago I met a wonderful, smart, classy lady named Dottie. She had the ability to make you smile even when you didn’t necessarily feel like it. She lit up a room the moment she walked in no matter who else was there. She also showed the world she was a savvy businesswoman by starting the best record company in the world. I’ll miss you Dottie and so will many other people but I’m glad you’re not in pain anymore. I’ll never forget your smile.” – Brian Free, Brian Free & Assurance
“I’ve been with Daywind Records for over 20 years. I’ll never forget Dottie taking a chance on signing me after I got out of rehab and I was only six months clean and sober. She will be truly be missed” – Joseph Habedank
“She was a front runner in a world where businesses were run by men. She was an incredibly strong woman. She gave a lot of families hope and jobs. Nothing got in the way of her vision. On a personal side, our family has been a part of Daywind for over 25 years. We love Dottie. When Shellye and I first got married, we were doing everything we could to make ends meet. Dottie would give us her condo to have a vacation. Dottie was special to all of us. She is forever going to be miss. BUT can you imagine what she’s doing right now? She’s having a time. We wouldn’t bring her back for nothing. Dottie, enjoy it. You told everybody about. You helped everybody tell others about it. Welcome into the kingdom.” – Jason Crabb
“We can only imagine the reunion our beloved friend Dottie is having with so many artists she helped and loved along the way. She is home and at perfect peace with her Savior who is no doubt smiling with her because of the incredible heavenly choir she helped ensure with her earthly faithfulness. We will join them one day and we will all finally feel complete. Dottie, you are so loved and will be missed so much.” – The Isaacs
“Our beautiful Dottie Leonard has taken her flight like a mighty eagle. What an exceptional woman of faith, wisdom, foresight, courage and excellence; she paved the way for so many of us! She was a true fan of Gospel Music and believed it was her lifelong calling to ensure that great gifts in us are to be celebrated & given worldwide platforms. On a personal note…. she was/is a dear friend whose legacy will live forever. She was the treasure of encouragement. We didn’t ‘lose’ her… we know exactly where she is! Please give Mama Dottie Rambo a hug from me. Love you so much… see you at The House.” – Reba Rambo
“Dottie was one of the most respected and admired people in Southern Gospel music and beyond! Her work ethic was what one should strive to emulate. Awarded here, rewarded on Heaven’s shore!” – Doyle Lawson
“We will always remember Dottie as a sweet, dedicated, woman of God, who changed the world with her love of gospel music, and we will be forever grateful for the gift of her encouragement in our lives.” – Jim and Melissa Brady
“I met Dottie over 30 years ago, and I knew then I had met a “life friend”. She was a friend, business partner, and great counselor. Life was made sweeter because of her love for me. I will meet her again because of our belief in the savior, Jesus Christ.” – Jonathan Wilburn
“Had it not been for Dottie Leonard Miller, you would have never heard a song I’d written, a track I’d produced, or an orchestration I’d created. She believed in me when others didn’t. She believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. She gave us the truest example of how faith in motion works. And now her faith has become sight. I am heartbroken, but I know I will find her again.” – Wayne Haun
“Dottie Leonard Miller wasn’t just a pioneer; she was a trailblazer with a heart full of faith and a vision that reshaped the landscape of Southern Gospel music and the Christian bookstore industry. Through Daywind Records and New Day Christian Distribution, she brought light, and hope to so many, empowering artists, songwriters, bookstores, publishers, record labels and touching countless lives. Her legacy is one of unwavering dedication and belief in the power of the gospel to change hearts. We have lost a true giant and a treasured friend, but her spirit will continue to inspire us every day.” — Dusty Wells, Director of A&R and Label Relations, Daywind Music Group
“Dottie Leonard Miller was a true inspiration and encourager to many across this country and around the world. Her love for others and leadership through Gospel Music will continue to impact lives for decades to come.” – Gary Casto, Tribute Quartet
“Dottie was a visionary and a pioneer. People with that gift and calling are a breed apart, often questioned and sometimes misunderstood, but fiercely dedicated to allowing the dream inside them to manifest itself in the physical realm. Dottie’s dedication to that dream and its’ subsequent value will only fully be recognized in eternity. The music she championed reverberates not only on earth but in heaven as well, and countless lives have been changed, hearts have been encouraged, and burdens lightened by the message of the resources provided by New Day Distribution and Daywind Records. Thank you, Dottie, for being true to the call God had on your life. We are all blessed by the fruit you bore and your faithfulness to never give up.” – Billy Blackwood, Blackwood Brothers Quartet
“Dottie Leonard Miller’s passion for music was unmatched. And, her vision and God-given ability to use the power of that music to reach people in a positive way through the companies she has built, has literally impacted millions of lives over her long and illustrious career. She was easily one of the strongest women and most faithful servants of God I have ever known. She was so proud of our Daywind, New Day, and Billy Blue family, and she loved and appreciated each and every artist and member of our family. She will be greatly missed, but her legacy will be honored by continuing to spread the Gospel and love of Jesus Christ through the music and products we create.” – Jerry Salley, A&R/Creative Director, Billy Blue Records