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Bruce Gowers, the Emmy and Grammy winner who directed nine-plus seasons of American Idol and hundreds of music videos, including the seminal “Bohemian Rhapsody” from Queen, has died. He was 82.
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Gowers died Sunday in Santa Monica of complications from an acute respiratory infection, his family announced.
Gowers also directed and co-created the long-running series of Kidsongs sing-along videos for Warner Bros. Records with his wife, Carol Rosenstein.
A specialist in live events and TV specials, Gowers directed and/or produced the Emmys, the Billboard Music Awards, MTV’s Music Video and Movie awards, the ESPYs, the People’s Choice Awards and many other award shows.
He called the shots for 234 episodes of American Idol from 2002-11, from the first season to the 10th, according to IMDb, and won his Emmy for outstanding directing for a variety, music or comedy series in 2009.
His Grammy trophy came in 1986 for his work on the music video for Huey Lewis and the News’ “Heart of Rock and Roll.” Eight years later, he received a DGA award for helming the CBS special Genius: A Night for Ray Charles.
Along the way, he directed comedy specials from Richard Lewis, Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy and Paula Poundstone and music specials from Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears.
Gowers’ touch on Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” filmed at Elstree Studios in London in November 1975 in about three hours for the BBC’s Top of the Pops, helped Freddie Mercury and his mates find superstardom and proved to be a defining moment in the history of the music video business.
It was the first music video ever aired by the influential Top of the Pops, and he said he got $590 for the gig.
“It changed the way music was perceived; everyone was doing videos and bands were seeing their sales and chart positions rise if their videos were good,” he told the Daily Mail in 2018.
“The only thing that upsets me is that they have been using my video for 40 years, and they have never paid me a dime or said thank you.”
Gowers also directed music videos for Rod Stewart (“Hot Legs” and more), Michael Jackson (“Rock With You”), Prince (“1999”), John Mellencamp (“Jack and Diane”), The Rolling Stones (“Fool to Cry”), Rush (“Limelight,” “Tom Sawyer”), Ambrosia (“How Much I Feel”), 10cc (“I’m Not in Love”), Bee Gees (“How Deep Is Your Love”), Supertramp (“Goodbye Stranger”), Chaka Kahn (“I’m Every Woman”), Peaches and Herb (“Reunited”), Journey (“Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’”) and The Tubes (“Prime Time”).
Gowers was born on Dec. 21, 1940, in New Kilbride, Scotland, where his British parents, Robert, an educator, and Violet, a homemaker, were stationed during World War II. He grew up in Enfield, North London, and graduated from The Latymer School.
He attended the BBC Training College and started his career at the BBC, where he was a cable puller, cameraman and production manager before landing producing and directing positions at the Rediffusion and London Weekend Television networks.
Gowers relocated to the U.S. in the ’70s and met Rosenstein on the music video shoot for Stewart’s “Tonight’s the Night.” He also worked with Elton John, The Pretenders, Santana, Van Halen, REO Speedwagon, Christopher Cross, Genesis and Fleetwood Mac during his career.
For the past 23 years, he and Rosenstein resided in Malibu.
In addition to his wife, survivors include his daughter, Katharine; son Sean; grandchildren Sean Jr., Robert, Charlotte and Layla; his former wife, Charlene; and his beloved bulldogs, Baby and Rocky, and parrot, Polly.
A memorial service is being planned. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name can be made to World Central Kitchen and/or Southern California Bulldog Rescue.
Gowers, his family noted, “always brought boundless enthusiasm, energy, passion and joy to his work. He loved and was loved by the crews that he worked with and was known far and wide for his generosity as a colleague, constantly encouraging and promoting the talented people on his team.
“Funny, irreverent and wonderfully candid, he will be remembered in countless legendary stories that will keep his charming spirit alive for many years to come. He was always happiest in the control room, on a boat in the Bahamas, and of course, at home with the dogs, friends and family.”
This article originally appeared in THR.com.
Legendary Japanese drummer, YMO co-founder and music producer Yukihiro Takahashi passed away Jan. 11 at 5:59 a.m. Japan time. He was 70.
According to an announcement from his management, Takahashi had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in the summer of 2020, and had been in and out of hospital repeatedly after surgery while undergoing rehabilitation.
The pioneering musician had been recuperating at home since November, but his condition deteriorated at the end of the year and he passed away from aspiration pneumonia associated with his brain disease.
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Takahashi was born in Tokyo in 1952. He began his career as a studio musician in high school, and after playing in Sadistic Mika Band, he formed Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978 with co-founders Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto.
As a solo artist, he released 23 original albums, from Saravah! in 1978 to Life Anew in 2013. Along with his solo career, he also played in The Beatniks with Keiichi Suzuki, Sketch Show with Hosono, and pupa with Tomoyo Harada, Hiroshi Takano, and others. He was also known as a fashion designer.
A special concert celebrating Takahashi’s 50th anniversary in music took place in September last year, and while the iconic singer-songwriter had been scheduled to perform, he was unable to do so due to his illness.Following Takahashi’s death, a wave of musicians have paid tribute online including Orbital, Sparks, Erol Alkan, Junior Boys, Mouse on Mars, and 808 State.
A ceremony celebrating his life will be held at a later date.
Ray Cordeiro, who interviewed music acts including the Beatles during a six-decade career on Hong Kong radio that earned him the title of the world’s longest-working disc jockey, has died, his former employer announced. He was 98.
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Cordeiro died Friday (Jan. 13), according to Radio Television Hong Kong, where he worked until 2021. It gave no cause of death.
Cordeiro, who was born in Hong Kong in 1924 of Portuguese descent, was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s longest-working DJ.
He joined Hong Kong’s public broadcaster in 1960 after working as a prison warden and bank clerk. His “All the Way With Ray” show of easy listening music was on RTHK Radio 3 for 51 years until his retirement.
“The audience followed me, grew up with me, and they’re all over the world now,” Cordeiro told The Associated Press in 2021 after his retirement. “They still listened to me on the internet.”
Cordeiro interviewed the Beatles, then the world’s biggest music act, in 1964 following a study course in London with the British Broadcasting Corp. He said John Lennon recounted their early days in Hamburg, Germany, where they lived in relative poverty and played in clubs.
Cordeiro said all four members of the Beatles autographed a magazine cover for him.
“It’s probably worth a fortune,” he said.
The broadcast of the Beatles interview on Hong Kong radio made Cordeiro a celebrity. He also interviewed other stars and met Elton John and Tony Bennett.
It’s always a big loss when the world loses a talented artist, and unfortunately, 2023 kicked off with several notable deaths in music. It began with Gangsta Boo, the pioneering Southern female rapper formerly of hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, who was found dead on New Year’s Day at age 43.
The next day, Alan Rankine of post-punk New Wave act The Associates, who also produced the Cocteau Twins and pursued his own solo music, died at age 64. Since then, we’ve also lost rock guitar legend Jeff Beck — who died at age 78 on Jan. 10 — and singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley, who suffered cardiac arrest and died on Jan. 12 at age 54.
While their loved ones and fans around the globe mourn the loss of these artists, they will not be forgotten. Here, Billboard remembers the musicians who left us in 2023.
Robin “Robbie” Bachman, the co-founder and drummer of 1970s rockers Bachman-Turner Overdrive, has died at 69. The news was announced by Bachman’s older brother, former Guess Who singer and BTO vocalist Randy Bachman in a statement on Thursday (Jan. 12), in which he wrote, “Another sad departure. The pounding beat behind BTO, my little brother Robbie has joined Mum, Dad & brother Gary on the other side. Maybe Jeff Beck needs a drummer! He was an integral cog in our rock ‘n’ roll machine and we rocked the world together. #RIP #littlebrother #family.”
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The Winnipeg, Manitoba-bred band (also known as BTO) formed in 1973 and blazed a trail through the prog rock and disco era with a series of hard-charging AM radio rock hits including the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” as well as “Takin’ Care of Business,” “Roll on Down the Highway” and “Let It Ride.” The original lineup included another Bachman sibling, guitarist Tim Bachman (replaced by Blair Thornton in 1974), as well as bassist Fred Turner.
BTO released their self-titled debut in May 1973, but it was their second album, Dec. 1973’s Bachman-Turner Overdrive II that broke them in the U.S., thanks to signature hits “Takin’ Care of Business” and “Let It Ride.” The group’s third effort, 1974’s Not Fragile, hit No. 1 on the Billboard album charts and spawned the driving, stuttering No. 1 hit “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” and another enduring classic rock radio staple “Roll on Down the Highway,” co-written by Robbie Bachman.
Singer Randy Bachman split after the release of 1977’s Freeways, replaced by bassist Jim Clench, with the group forced to perform as BTO due to the ex-singer’s rights to the full name. The band split up in 1980 and reunited three years later, with Robbie Bachman replaced by former Guess Who drummer Gary Peterson; he returned in 1988 for another three-year run.
Due to ongoing tensions between the Bachman brothers, the revolving door of band lineups continued throughout the late 1980s through a second break-up in 2005; that break-up marked the official end of Robbie Bachman’s run with BTO. Randy Bachman returned for a fourth stint on the mic in 2009, leading the group through its final split in 2018.
See Randy Bachman’s tribute and listen to “Roll on Down the Highway” below.
Another sad departure. The pounding beat behind BTO, my little brother Robbie has joined Mum, Dad & brother Gary on the other side. Maybe Jeff Beck needs a drummer! He was an integral cog in our rock ‘n’ roll machine and we rocked the world together. #RIP #littlebrother #family pic.twitter.com/XASj6CVXzA— Randy Bachman (@RandysVinylTap) January 13, 2023
Lisa Marie Presley — the only child of Elvis Presley — died Thursday (Jan. 12) after being hospitalized earlier that day, her mother said in a statement. The singer was 54.
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“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” Priscilla Presley said in a statement. “She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known.”
The announcement came just hours after Priscilla Presley had confirmed that Lisa Marie Presley was rushed to the hospital earlier Thursday.
Los Angeles County paramedics were dispatched to a Calabasas home at 10:37 a.m. following a report of a woman in full cardiac arrest, according to Craig Little, a spokesperson for the county’s fire department. Property records indicate Presley was a resident at that address.
Paramedics arrived about six minutes later, Little said. A subsequent statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said paramedics performed CPR and “determined the patient had signs of life” before taking her to the hospital immediately.
The city of Calabasas is nestled between the foothills of the Santa Monica and the Santa Susanna Mountains, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
Presley, 54, attended the Golden Globes on Tuesday, on hand to celebrate Austin Butler’s award for playing her father in Elvis. She called his performance “mind-blowing” during a red carpet interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“I really didn’t know what to do with myself after I saw it,” she told ET of Baz Luhrmann’s movie. “I had to take, like, five days to process it because it was so incredible and so spot on and just so authentic that, yeah, I can’t even describe what it meant.”
Just days before that, she was in Memphis, Tennessee, at Graceland — the mansion where Elvis lived — to celebrate her father’s birth anniversary on Jan. 8.
A representative for Lisa Marie Presley had no comment when reached by The Associated Press.
Presley recently penned an essay published in People about “the horrific reality” of her grief following her son Benjamin Keough’s death by suicide in 2020.
“I’ve dealt with death, grief and loss since the age of 9 years old. I’ve had more than anyone’s fair share of it in my lifetime and somehow, I’ve made it this far,” she wrote in August.
Presley is also the mother of actor Riley Keough and twin daughters. Keogh’s representatives didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Jeff Beck died Tuesday (Jan. 10) at age 78, and his peers and fellow musicians have flocked to social media to remember him.
“No one played guitar like Jeff,” Gene Simmons tweeted before urging his followers to “Please get ahold of the first two Jeff Beck Group albums and behold greatness.”
Former teen idol Paul Young — known in the U.K. for ’80s hits like “Every Time You Go Away” and “Everything Must Change” — added his own tribute to Beck’s memory, tweeting, “Devastated to hear of the sudden and tragic death of legendary guitarist Jeff Beck. He was loved by everyone in the know; the guitarists guitarist! My condolences to his family & friends. RIP.”
Simmons’ KISS bandmate Paul Stanley also memorialized his friend, writing, “WOW. What awful news. Jeff Beck, one of the all time guitar masters has died. From the Yard Birds to The Jeff Beck Group on, he blazed a trail impossible to follow. Play on now and forever. @jeffbeckmusic.”
Other reactions poured into Twitter from the likes of Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath and Dave Davies of The Kinks to Genesis’ Steve Hackett and Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, the latter of whom described Beck as “the six-stringed Warrior” who had the ability to “channel music from the ethereal.”
Over the course of his life, the British musician won eight Grammys out of 17 total nominations and was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also released 11 solo albums as well as studio sets with the Jeff Beck Group, the Yardbirds and the short-lived Beck, Bogert & Appice. His last and most recent LP was 18, a collaborative full-length with Johnny Depp in July.
Read social media tributes to Beck’s memory below.
Heartbreaking news to report the late, great Jeff Back has sadly passed. No one played guitar like Jeff. Please get ahold of the first two Jeff Beck Group albums and behold greatness. RIP. pic.twitter.com/3qnPOCyhUj— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) January 11, 2023
His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless. Jeff I will miss you along with your millions of fans. Jeff Beck Rest in Peace.https://t.co/4h1DfXXmWI— Jimmy Page (@JimmyPage) January 11, 2023
Is this true about Jeff Beck is this really happining I’m in fucking shock I can’t believe it— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) January 11, 2023
Devastated to hear of the sudden and tragic death of legendary guitarist Jeff Beck. He was loved by everyone in the know; the guitarists guitarist! My condolences to his family & friends RIP. 😢 pic.twitter.com/OcCv1jSNvx— Paul Young (@PaulYoungParlez) January 11, 2023
WOW. What awful news. Jeff Beck, one of the all time guitar masters has died. From The Yardbirds and The Jeff Beck Group on, he blazed a trail impossible to follow. Play on now and forever. @jeffbeckmusic pic.twitter.com/8LVeq47wxx— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) January 11, 2023
I was totally shocked to hear the very sad news of Jeff Beck’s passing. Jeff was such a nice person and an outstanding iconic, genius guitar player – there will never be another Jeff Beck. His playing was very special & distinctively brilliant! He will be missed. RIP Jeff -Tony pic.twitter.com/i6BGdqTUKU— Tony Iommi (@tonyiommi) January 11, 2023
Devastating news about the loss of much loved, influential guitar legend Jeff Beck. He made the electric guitar sing… a powerful influence on myself and many others.— Steve Hackett (@HackettOfficial) January 11, 2023
Jeff Beck, member of The Yardbirds, founder of the Jeff Beck Group and one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, died on Tuesday (Jan. 10). He was 78 years old.
The news of his death was confirmed in a statement released by his family on Wednesday (Jan. 11). “It is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of Jeff Beck’s passing,” the statement reads. “After suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis, he peacefully passed away yesterday. His family ask for privacy while they process this tremendous loss.”
The British rocker brought his adventurous and powerful guitar style to The Yardbirds in 1965, when he joined the British band to replace Eric Clapton on the recommendation of fellow session musician Jimmy Page. He spent 20 months in the band, working on the 1966 album Roger the Engineer.
After being fired from The Yardbirds, Beck recorded a number of solo singles produced by Mickie Most, including “Hi Ho Silver Lining” and “Tallyman.” He went on to form his own band, the Jeff Beck Group, featuring vocalist Rod Stewart, bassist Ronnie Wood and drummer Nicky Hopkins, and the group released two albums together, 1968’s Truth and 1969’s Beck-Ola.
In the ’70s, Beck briefly formed a trio with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice of Vanilla Fudge and Cactus.
He won eight Grammys and was nominated 17 times throughout his career, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice — as a member of the Yardbirds in 1992 and as a solo performer in 2009. Beck recently wrapped up a tour in support of 18, his joint album with Johnny Depp.
See the family’s statement below:
Gordy Harmon, a founding member of the beloved R&B group The Whispers, died on Thursday (Jan. 5). He was 79 years old.
The news of his death was initially reported by ABC7, who noted that the soul musician died peacefully in his sleep, and that his family believes he died of natural causes and had no serious illnesses.
Harmon founded The Whispers in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles with twin brothers Wallace and Walter Scott, Marcus Hutson and Nicholas Caldwell in 1964.
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During Harmon’s time in the group, The Whispers took over the R&B world with albums like Life and Breath, as well as 1972’s The Whispers’ Love Story, which climbed up to No. 34 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and featured Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charting singles “Can’t Help But Love You” (No. 35), “I Only Meant to Wet My Feet” (No. 27), “Your Love Is So Doggone Good” (No. 19) and “There’s a Love for Everyone” (No. 31).
Unfortunately, Harmon’s time in The Whispers was cut short in 1973, when he suffered a larynx injury after a driving accident, according to the Los Angeles Sentinel. He was replace by Leaveil Degree.
Alan Copeland, the songwriter, Grammy-winning arranger and ultra-smooth vocalist known for his many years with The Modernaires and performances on Your Hit Parade and The Red Skelton Hour, has died. He was 96.
Copeland died Dec. 28 in an assisted living facility in Sonora, California, his friend Bob Lehmann told The Hollywood Reporter.
As recently as this fall, Copeland was still singing and playing keyboards in a quartet called Now You Hazz Jazz. “It was his dream to play in a small group until the last curtain, that’s how he termed it,” said Lehmann, the drummer.
Copeland wrote or co-wrote songs including “Make Love to Me” — Jo Stafford’s version made it to No. 1 on the Billboard chart in 1954 — “Too Young to Know,” “High Society,” “This Must Be the Place, “Darling, Darling, Darling” and “While the Vesper Bells Were Ringing.”
After taking arranging lessons from Henry Mancini, he arranged vocals for big bands and the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Bing Crosby, Jim Nabors, Count Basie, Engelbert Humperdinck, Peter Marshall and Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme.
In 1968, Copeland won a Grammy for best contemporary pop performance by a chorus for pairing the theme from CBS’ Mission: Impossible with The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood.” (Listen to the medley here.)
Known for combining musicality with wit, as noted jazz critic Stanley Dance once put it, Copeland also spent several years in the 1960s on Skelton’s CBS variety show with The Modernaires, who would morph into The Skel-tones and The Alan Copeland Singers.
Copeland, who went by the nickname Weaver, was born in Los Angeles on Oct. 6, 1926. As a member of the Robert Mitchell Boy Choir, he sang in such fabled films as Angels With Dirty Faces (1938), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), Foreign Correspondent (1940), Meet John Doe (1941), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and Going My Way (1944).
After serving with the U.S. Navy, Copeland started his own vocal group, The Twin Tones, a featured attraction with Jan Garber’s orchestra.
He joined The Modernaires for the first time in 1948, and soon, the group was performing alongside The Andrews Sisters and Dick Haymes on a five-nights-a-week radio variety program hosted by singer/bandleader Bob Crosby (Bing’s brother). The show then segued to television.
Copeland appeared with the group in The Glenn Miller Story (1954), starring Jimmy Stewart, then left to perform solo on the popular NBC/CBS program Your Hit Parade from 1957 until it left the air in 1959.
He rejoined The Modernaires and did arrangements and added lyrics to such classics as “In the Mood” and “Tuxedo Junction” for the 1960 album The Modernaires Sing the Great Glenn Miller Instrumentals. They found further success four years later with New Top Hits in the Glenn Miller Style, an album that featured singer Tex Beneke.
Copeland arranged and conducted for Nabors’ 1966 hit “Cuando Calienta el Sol” and sang on Universal Pictures’ Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), starring Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing. And he served as choral supervisor on Blake Edwards’ Darling Lili (1970), starring Julie Andrews and Rock Hudson, and on Bing Crosby-hosted Christmas specials for two decades.
Copeland appeared as a member of the band put together by Tony Randall’s Felix Unger on two 1974 episodes of ABC’s The Odd Couple and was back, yet again, with The Modernaires in the 1990s.
He also collaborated with his late wife, Joyce, a vocalist also known as Mahmu Pearl, on several albums.
His memoir, Jukebox Saturday Nights, was published in 2007.
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.