obituary
Page: 7
Richard Parsons, one of corporate America’s most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, died Thursday. He was 76.
Parsons, who died at his Manhattan home, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later.
The financial services company Lazard, where Parsons was a longtime board member, confirmed his death. Parsons’ friend Ronald Lauder told The New York Times that the cause of death was cancer.
Parsons stepped down Dec. 3 from the boards of Lazard and Lauder’s company, Estée Lauder, citing health reasons. He had been on Estée Lauder’s board for 25 years.
Trending on Billboard
“Dick was an American original, a colossus bestriding the worlds of business, media, culture, philanthropy, and beyond,” Ronald Lauder said in a statement on behalf of the Lauder family.
David Zaslav, the CEO of Time Warner successor Warner Bros. Discovery, hailed Parsons as a “great mentor and friend” and a “tough and brilliant negotiator, always looking to create something where both sides win.”
“All who got a chance to work with him and know him saw that unusual combination of great leadership with integrity and kindness,” Zaslav said, calling him “one of the great problem solvers this industry has ever seen.”
Parsons, a Brooklyn native who started college at 16, built a track record of steering big companies through tough times.
He returned Citigroup to profitability after turmoil from the global financial crisis and helped restore Time Warner after its much-maligned acquisition by internet provider America Online.
Parsons was named to the board of CBS in September 2018 but resigned a month later because of illness.
Parsons said in a statement at the time that he was already dealing with multiple myeloma when he joined the board, but “unanticipated complications have created additional new challenges.” He said his doctors advised him to cut back on his commitments to ensure recovery.
“Dick’s storied career embodied the finest traditions of American business leadership,” Lazard said in a statement. The company, where Parsons was a board member from 2012 until this month, praised his “unmistakable intelligence and his irresistible warmth.”
“Dick was more than an iconic leader in Lazard’s history — he was a testament to how wisdom, warmth, and unwavering judgment could shape not just companies, but people’s lives,” the company said. “His legacy lives on in the countless leaders he counseled, the institutions he renewed, and the doors he opened for others.”
Parsons was known as a skilled negotiator, a diplomat and a crisis manager.
Although he was with Time Warner through its difficulties with AOL, he earned respect for the company and rebuilt its relations with Wall Street. He streamlined Time Warner’s structure, pared debt and in early 2004 sold Warner Music Group to an investor group led by the Seagram heir Edgar Bronfman Jr. for about $2.6 billion. For Parsons, the sale represented the fulfillment of a key promise to Wall Street — he had pledged to reduce Time Warner’s debt by $8 billion by the end of 2004. Before selling the music division, Parsons had already offloaded a half-stake in Comedy Central, a share in the satellite TV company operating DirecTV, and the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers sports teams. He also secured a $750 million settlement from Microsoft to resolve an antitrust lawsuit.
He later fended off a challenge from activist investor Carl Icahn in 2006 to break up the company and helped Time Warner reach settlements with investors and regulators over questionable accounting practices at AOL.
Parsons joined Time Warner as president in 1995 after serving as chairman and chief executive of Dime Bancorp Inc., one of the largest U.S. thrift institutions.
In 2001, after AOL used its fortunes as the leading provider of Internet access in the U.S. to buy Time Warner for $106 billion in stock, Parsons became co-chief operating officer with AOL executive Robert Pittman. In that role, he was in charge of the company’s content businesses, including movie studios and recorded music.
He became CEO in 2002 with the retirement of Gerald Levin, one of the key architects of that merger. Parsons was named Time Warner chairman the following year, replacing AOL founder Steve Case, who had also championed the combination.
The newly formed company’s Internet division quickly became a drag on Time Warner. The promised synergies between traditional and new media never materialized. AOL began seeing a reduction in subscribers in 2002 as Americans replaced dial-up connections with broadband from cable TV and phone companies.
Parsons stepped down as CEO in 2007 and as chairman in 2008. A year later AOL split from Time Warner and began trading as a separate company, following years of struggles to reinvent itself as a business focused on advertising and content. Time Warner is now owned by AT&T Inc.
A board member of Citigroup and its predecessor, Citibank, since 1996, Parsons was named chairman in 2009 at a time of turmoil for the financial institution. Citigroup had suffered five straight quarters of losses and received $45 billion in government aid. Its board had been criticized for allowing the bank to invest so heavily in the risky housing market.
Citigroup returned to profit under Parsons, starting in 2010, and would not have a quarterly loss again until the fourth quarter of 2017. Parsons retired from that job in 2012.
In 2014 he stepped in as interim CEO of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers until Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took over later that year.
“Dick Parsons was a brilliant and transformational leader and a giant of the media industry who led with integrity and never shied away from a challenge,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.
Parsons, a Republican, previously worked as a lawyer for Nelson Rockefeller, a former Republican governor of New York, and in Gerald Ford’s White House. Those early stints gave him grounding in politics and negotiations. He also was an economic adviser on President Barack Obama’s transition team.
Parsons, whose love of jazz led to co-owning a Harlem jazz club, also served as Chairman of the Apollo Theater and the Jazz Foundation of America. And he held positions on the boards of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Parsons played basketball at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and received his law degree from Albany Law School in 1971. He is survived by his wife, Laura, and their family.
Record producer Jay David Saks, who died last month, left behind a rich and unique legacy, one that spanned the worlds of classical music and Broadway cast albums. But it all began a member of a “one-hit-wonder” group which had a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Saks died on Nov. 16 of Parkinsonism-related causes. He was 79. News of his death was confirmed by Peter Gelb of The Metropolitan Opera.
Saks won 13 Grammys between 1983 and 2014, eight for classical music and five for his work on Broadway cast albums.
He won best opera recording four times, all for work with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra/The Metropolitan Opera Chorus. He won for Verdi: La Traviata Opera Recording; Adams: Doctor Atomic; Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen and Adès: The Tempest.
Trending on Billboard
He won best musical show album five times for cast albums from Into the Woods and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway and revivals of Guys and Dolls, Chicago and Gypsy.
In addition, Saks won two Daytime Emmys, both for his work on Great Performances at the Met. He won outstanding individual achievement in any area of the performing arts – audio (1983) and outstanding individual achievement in the performing arts – audio (1984).
Born in New York City, Saks grew up in The Bronx. His older sister was the cellist Toby Saks.
During the 1960’s, Saks played bass guitar with The Balloon Farm, which had a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1968 with the psychedelic pop/rock song “A Question of Temperature.” Saks wasn’t the only member of The Balloon Farm who went on to success in the industry. Fellow member Mike Appel managed Bruce Springsteen from 1972-75 and co-produced his first three albums. Their sole hit was produced by Peter Schekeryk, who went on to produce hits for his wife, Melanie, including the Hot 100-topping “Brand New Key.”
Saks studied at the Juilliard School, and later continued his studies at the Mannes College of Music, from which he graduated in 1970.
As an audio producer for CBS Masterworks, RCA Red Seal (RCA Records), Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), and Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Saks was responsible for engineering and master recording hundreds of titles.
Beginning in 1980, Saks worked with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City to record and produce more than 1,600 of its telecasts, radio broadcasts and live HD transmissions.
Saks was nominated for 53 Grammys between 1977 and 2018. He received at least one Grammy nomination in 30 different years. He was nominated 10 times for classical producer of the year, but he never won in that category.
Saks’ other cast show album nominations (in addition to his five wins) were for Starting Here, Starting Now, Anything Goes, Assassins, Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!, Ragtime the Musical (for two different recordings), Cabaret, Fosse, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Man of La Mancha, Avenue Q—The Musical and The Color Purple.
Saks was also nominated for best compilation soundtrack album for a motion picture, television or other visual media for Fantasia/2000.
Saks was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2007 – outstanding sound mixing for a variety or music series or special – as audio producer for PBS’ The Magic Flute (Great Performances at the Met).
An avid runner, Saks completed one of the earliest New York City marathons.
Saks is survived by his wife, Linda Saks; their two sons, Jeremy Saks and Greg Saks; and three grandchildren, Bo Saks, May Li Saks, and Ben Saks.
Mexican singer Dulce, an iconic figure of ballad and romantic music who conquered several generations in Mexico with her powerful voice, died at the age of 69 in Mexico City after medical complications, her family and staff announced on Wednesday (Dec. 25).
“With deep sorrow and sadness, we confirm the sensitive passing of our beloved Dulce, an exceptional artist and a wonderful person who left an indelible mark in the hearts of all those who knew her,” reads a statement posted on Dulce’s Instagram account, along with a photograph of the artist.
The news of the death of the singer born Bertha Elisa Noeggerath Cárdenas was confirmed by the National Association of Actors (ANDA), the union to which the singer belonged, in a message on social media.
Trending on Billboard
“The National Actors Association deeply regrets the passing of our colleague Bertha Elisa Noeggerath Cárdenas, ‘Dulce’, a member of our union. Our condolences to her family, friends and colleagues. May she rest in peace,” reads the message published on X.
After the artist’s sister Isabel Noeggerath announced the singer’s death in a brief Facebook post, a wave of messages from various Mexican show-business figures appeared on social networks.
“My dear Dulce, your departure makes me so sad, you don’t know how much I will miss you, dear friend, thank you for all the wonderful moments we shared my doll, thank you for your love, your friendship, for always joining your voice with mine and for always being for me. Fly very high my Dulce, I will always keep you in my heart, I adore you and I will admire you forever! A tremendous artist won the sky, lots of light on your path,” wrote singer Rocío Banquells on X.
“Farewell my dearest Dulce! What a great gift it was to share with you! I’m going to miss you!” expressed singer Manoella Torres on Instagram.
“Today we have to face a loss that fills us with sadness. Dulce was a person who left her mark on those of us who were fortunate enough to know her. Our hearts go out to her family, friends and colleagues in this difficult moment. Rest in peace,” wrote Argentine singer Amanda Miguel in a message on X.
Dulce was born on July 29, 1954, in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and was a renowned artist in the Latin music scene. According to what she told on several occasions, in 1974 she met José José, who by then was already a great figure in music, and who was captivated by her voice. He was the one who got her an audition with Polygram record executives, said the artist in an interview with Imagen Televisión. In 1978 she achieved fame by participating in different musical events, such as the Mallorca Festival and the Yamaha Song Festival in Tokyo.
With her fusion of ballad and pop, she made a place for herself in the music industry in Mexico and Latin America with hits such as “Tu Muñeca,” “Lobo,” “Déjame Volver Contigo,” “Aún lo Amo,” “Hielo,” “Fui Demasiado Fácil,” “Soy Una Dama,” “Cara Cara,” “Pájaro Herido,” “Échame la Culpa a Mí” and “Cuál de los Dos.” She also performed “Amor en Silencio,” the main theme of the 1988 soap opera of the same name, written by Marco Antonio Solís.
Between 2011 and 2018, Dulce was part of the GranDiosas tour, along with Rocío Banquells, María Conchita Alonso and Karina.
Richard Perry, one of the great record producers of the 1970s and ’80s, died on Tuesday Dec. 24 at age 82. Like such contemporary producers as Jack Antonoff, Greg Kurstin, Finneas and Daniel Nigro, Perry was nearly as well-known, at least among pop obsessives, as the artists he worked with. No producer can guarantee a […]
Richard Perry, one of the most stylish and successful record producers of the 1970s and ’80s, died on Tuesday (Dec. 24) in a Los Angeles hospital. He was 82. The cause of his death was cardiac arrest, said Daphna Kastner Keitel, a friend.
Perry’s greatest hits include Nilsson’s “Without You” and Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” both of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also received Grammy nods for record of the year. These two classic hits typify Perry’s production style – immaculate, powerful and precise. Other hits that have that unmistakable Perry stamp include Leo Sayer’s “When I Need You” (also a No. 1 on the Hot 100) and Burton Cummings’ stately “Stand Tall” (a top 10 hit on the Hot 100 in 1977).
Perry produced more than 30 top 20 hits on the Hot 100, including Barbra Streisand’s dynamic version of Laura Nyro’s “Stoney End,” in which one the legendary star dove into contemporary pop music for the first time; and a long string of hits by The Pointer Sisters, including the exhilarating “I’m So Excited” and “Jump (for My Love).”
Trending on Billboard
Perry was Billboard’s Top Singles producer on the magazine’s end-of-year recaps twice, in 1977 and 1984. He received back-to-back Grammy nods for producer of the year, non-classical in 1977 and 1978.
He had a 42-year span of top 10 albums on the Billboard 200. He first made the top 10 in July 1968 with a very unlikely project, an album by pop-culture phenomenon Tiny Tim. His last album project to make the top 10 was Rod Stewart’s Fly Me to The Moon…The Great American Songbook, Vol. 5 in November 2010.
Perry produced back-to-back No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 by two different artists – Ringo Starr (“Photograph” and “You’re Sixteen” in 1973-74) and Sayer (“You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” and “When I Need You, both in 1977).” The Starr smashes were historic – the first and only time that a former Beatle had back-to-back singles that reached No. 1 on the Hot 100.
Perry never won a Grammy in competition, but finally received a Trustees Award from the Recording Academy in 2015. His other nominations, not already mentioned, were album of the year for Nilsson Schmilsson (the album that housed “Without You” and its quirky follow-up hit, “Coconut”), best pop instrumental performance for an instrumental version of “Jump (For My Love)” (The Pointer Sisters won best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal for the vocal version) and best music video, short form, for The Pointer Sisters’ So Excited compilation, on which he was the video director.
Perry’s long string of hits with The Pointer Sisters really showed what he could do. The group was considered a B-act, at best, when Perry announced in 1978 that he was signing them to his new Planet Records. The group had had a couple of moderate hits, but few expected them to become one of the most consistent acts in pop music. Under Perry’s guidance, they did just that, with five top five hits on the Hot 100 – a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire,” “He’s So Shy” (a Tom Snow/Cynthia Weil song with a style that harkened back to the girl-group hits of the early ’60s), “Slow Hand,” “Automatic” and “Jump (For My Love),” which went on to soundtrack one of cleverest scenes in Love Actually, when the prime minister played by Hugh Grant simply can’t resist that beat. (Who could?)
Perry was very much a pop producer, but his music touched other genres, too. He produced Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson’s “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” which reached No. 1 on Hot Country Songs in 1984 and won single of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards and was nominated in that category at the Country Music Association Awards. Perry also had No. 1 hits on the R&B and dance charts.
Richard Van Perry was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 18, 1942, to Mack and Sylvia Perry, who manufactured and sold musical instruments and also served as music teachers. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1964 with a degree in music and theater, Perry returned to New York. He formed his own independent record production company, Cloud Nine Productions, in June 1965. In March 1967, he moved to Los Angeles. His first album production job was Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band’s debut, Safe as Milk, which he co-produced with Bob Krasnow. The album was released in June 1967. That November, Perry was hired by Warner Bros. Records as a staff producer.
His first assignment was recording Tiny Tim, who had become a novelty sensation on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, the runaway No. 1 show on TV. The ukelele-playing falsetto singer’s debut album, God Bless Tiny Tim, rose to No. 7 on the Billboard 200, boosted by a remake of the 1920s novelty tune “Tip-Toe Thru’ the Tulips With Me,” which became a top 20 hit on the Hot 100.
Perry also recorded albums with legendary stars Fats Domino (Fats Is Back) and Ella Fitzgerald (Ella), both of which cracked the Billboard 200. Perry left Warner Bros. in 1970 and almost immediately became one of the most in-demand producers in pop.
His first big score as an indie producer was Streisand’s Stoney End, released in late 1970, on which the then-28-year-old superstar was, for the first time, singing songs written by and intended for an audience of people roughly her own age. The album cracked the top 10 on the Billboard 200 in March 1971, becoming Streisand’s first top 10 album in more than four years. Perry also produced her next two albums, Barbra Joan Streisand and Live Concert at the Forum. These projects pointed the more contemporary direction for many of Streisand’s biggest successes in the 1970s, including A Star Is Born in 1976.
In 1978, Perry played a record producer in American Hot Wax, a film about DJ Alan Freed. (In 1955, at age 12, Perry had been a regular at Freed’s live shows at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater.)
Perry produced DeBarge’s “Rhythm of the Night,” a top five hit in 1985 and the first top five hit written by hit machine Diane Warren. While most of Perry’s hits were new songs, he also produced his share of hit remakes, including Johnny Burnette’s “You’re Sixteen” (for Ringo Starr, then 33, an age-inappropriate song selection that barely caused a rippled back then but would be much more problematic today), Inez Foxx (with Charlie Foxx)’s “Mockingbird” (for pop music’s “It Couple” of 1974, Carly Simon and James Taylor), The Platters’ “Only You” (also for Ringo Starr) and the Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes for You” (for Art Garfunkel).
In 1988, Perry produced a passion project, Rock, Rhythm and Blues, which consisted of classic oldies from the ’50s, each performed by a different contemporary artist. Elton John, Christine McVie, Chaka Khan and Michael McDonald, among others, were featured on the album. One of the tracks, Randy Travis’ version of Brook Benton’s “It’s Just a Matter of Time,” topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and received a Grammy nod for best country vocal performance, male.
In 1993, Perry produced Ray Charles’ My World, which made the Billboard 200. A track from the album, Leon Russell’s classic “A Song for You,” made Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart and won a Grammy for best R&B vocal performance, male.
Perry and Carly Simon reunited in 2004 for the standards collection Moonlight Serenade, which reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and received a Grammy nod for best traditional pop vocal album. Perry did some of his finest work with Simon. “You’re So Vain” is simply one of the greatest singles of the 1970s. The No Secrets album, which headed the Billboard 200 for five weeks in early 1973, is a classic, from its revealing album cover (very provocative for 1972) to its no-skips lineup of songs. “Nobody Does It Better,” released in 1977, is one of the best and sexiest James Bond themes ever written (hat tip: songwriters Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager).
Perry’s last big hurrah on the Billboard charts was on Rod Stewart’s The Great American Songbook series. All five volumes, which rolled out between 2002 and 2010, made the top five on the Billboard 200. All five received Grammy nods for best traditional pop vocal album. Perry was credited as a producer on four of the five volumes.
In April 2020, Perry published his memoir, Cloud Nine: Memoirs of a Record Producer.
Perry is survived by his younger brothers Roger, Fred and Andrew. His marriages to Linda Goldner and Rebecca Broussard ended in divorce. Perry was in a relationship with actress and activist Jane Fonda from 2009 to 2017.
Dualtone Music Group president and partner Paul Roper died on Tuesday (Dec. 17) following a battle with cancer. Roper was 45. A statement from Nashville-based Dualtone Music Group noted, “Paul’s vision and unwavering commitment continues to define the heart and soul of Dualtone. He led Dualtone and his team with dedication, authenticity, humor, and kindness […]
Mickey Hart was with Zakir Hussain right until “the moment that he left this plane” on Dec. 15 at the age of 73– as well he should have been.
The Grateful Dead percussionist and Indian tabla master were tight, as friends and as musicians. They met in 1970 when Hussain’s father, Allarakha Qureshi, sent Hussain to knock on Hart’s tour and begin an association that started with Hart’s first solo album, Rolling Thunder in 1972, and continued until Hussain’s death, when the two were still working on a project that includes tuned hand drums, drones and sonic bathing. In between were Grammy Award-winning works as Planet Drum and the Global Drum Project, as well the Diga Rhythm Band in 1976 and number of other collaborations on Hart albums such as 1990’s At the Edge and Mickey Hart’s Mystery Box in 1996.
Hussain’s legacy also includes four Grammy Awards (three of them earlier this year), founding membership in the fusion band Shakiti and recordings with Pharoah Sanders, Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer, John Handy, L. Shankar Charles Lloyd and more. Hussain also taught at Princeton University and Stanford University and received a Doctor of Law degree from the University of Mumbai.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Hart tells Billboard that “the shock is still with us” from Hussain’s passing, but he was happy to share the great memories he has of his friend and fellow rhythmist.
Trending on Billboard
“You talk about someone who is a great rhythm master, you have to start with Zakir. He was an enormous influence on all genres, considering he crossed more borders, musically, than anybody I’ve ever met or known in history. There is no one that has traveled as far to do so much than Zakir, because he was constantly on the road, constantly spreading the rhythm seeds everywhere he went. Maybe every 1,000 years you get somebody like Zakir. He was the Mozart of his instrument, one of the greatest musicians who ever lived, a great tabla player and a great rhythmist. Zakir can play everything from spoons to his nose — he can play nose flute like a maniac, he does it all.
“He comes from a lineage of drummers, so it’s part of his DNA. He’s born to drums, so he was nurtured as a baby, when his father recited rhythms in his ear as an infant. Allarakha was my mentor, my teacher. I met him when Phil Lesh gave me a record called Drums of North and South India; he handed it to me and said, ‘You should hear this. This is for you,’ or something like that. When I listened to it I was just riveted. I really heard it, and I was never the same after that. It contained Allarakha, and I couldn’t believe what he was playing. It influenced a lot of Grateful Dead music because of the unusual time signatures…those kind of very complicated rhythmic gems that we really practiced for long periods of time to learn. I found (Allarakha) in New York in 1967, and he became my teacher.
“Then in 1970 Zakir knocked on my door; his father sent him to me because his father comes from the analog world, quiet, and Zakir was a young man when I met him. We lived together for awhile, and we really bonded and he opened himself up to the feel and the rhythms of the West. He was very strict — as he should have been from north Indian classical music where you’re supposed to be very accurate and everything is composed and traditional, ancient rhymes that are codified and only played one way, by everybody. In the West it was loud music and a new kind of rhythm, kind of funkier than he had played in the past, and he accepted that. I play that serpentine kind of way, move in and out of the groove and it slips and slide and everybody goes with it; that makes for an amazing, living creature as opposed to a pre-ordained rhythm.
“So he opened himself up to the West and he flourished in it. He loved it. We played together like it was meant to be. For me to be playing these north Indian classical rhythms was very difficult at first; it took months, years to come up to a level where Zakir was. He kinda came down and I went up and we met in the middle, that kind of thing. But it was very resonant; we felt love in the groove, and the groove was deep. He and his father both played on Rolling Thunder, my first solo work, and we went on to do so many records together. He was a colleague and a rhythm master, and our deep friendship translated into rhythm — I would say bliss is a good word to describe how it feels when we play together.
“It’s hard to say who he influenced — anybody who ever heard him, let’s put it that way, was not the same. A lot of people can’t understand him, but they can feel him. They hear someone with great passion playing rhythms they’ve never heard before. He’s the Einstein of rhythm — that’s a good way of thinking of him as a rhythmist and what he could do and speak in the rhythm language. He’s way above any other percussionist or rhythmist I’ve worked with on this planet. Maybe there’s somebody better on Mars, but not on earth — and I’ve heard a lot of them.
“Jerry (Garcia) joined us for At the Edge (1990). Jerry and Zakir got along really well. Jerry noticed immediately who he was and Zakir, of course, just loved Jerry’s musical style. The banjo, of course, is like a rhythm instrument and Jerry plays the guitar like a banjo. A lot of the bluegrass instruments work perfectly within Indian rhythms because of the nature of it, three against two, all these intertwining rhythms that go on in banjo playing and also in tabla. And, of course, that explains (Hussein’s) Bela Fleck collaboration, because of course he’s a master banjoist, or banjolero.
“(Hussein)’s just a very kind man, and he plays like that, too. He’s really good as a composer as well, and arranger. He can do it all. He can play anything, but he’s a kind man — very thoughtful, unbelievably generous. He started to teach in the 70s; he had thousands of students all over the world and he dedicated himself to teaching hem the traditional rhythms. He traveled everywhere, constantly; even when we were on tour, if we had three days off he would go to India to conduct the national symphony or accept the greatest honor and come back for sound check on Monday. He was able to travel long distances, and he had this system of meditation he would so he wouldn’t get jet lag, and that increased his proficiency. He was able to perform more and travel because of that. He just wouldn’t stop.
“We’re starting to unearth so much of what we never got (released), never hit the street, which is voluminous. You’ve got to remember we’ve been recording since 1970, so there’s a lot of Zakir Hussein, and you bet I’d like to work on a Zakir Hussein compilation and keep his music alive, and that’s what I’m about to do.”
In the meantime, Hart and Grateful Dead mates Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann will be featured on CBS’ broadcast of the Kennedy Center Honors, where they were feted on Dec. 8, on Dec. 22. “It was surprisingly a lot of fun, and profound in many ways,” Hart says of the ceremony, where the Dead men were celebrated alongside Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval and The Apollo theater. “It was nice to be honored, but it was not essential. It’s hard to be honored for something that it’s a privilege to do, you know? You don’t do it for medals…but it was a great show for the arts, to be able to show how powerful (it is) and that music can cover so much ground in so many different ways.”
The group’s current incarnation, Dead & Company, will become the first act to launch a second residency at Sphere in Las Vegas, with an 18-show Dead Forever — Live At Sphere that starts March 20. The six-weekend run will celebrated Dead & Company’s 10th anniversary, and Hart promises “all new compositions and ‘Drums and Space,’” that will build on what the group did earlier this year. “
“If you’re in a place for a long enough period of time you start to learn the room; you play the room as if the room is your instrument,” Hart explains. “We’re just playing it loose and playing it from the heart, and we serve the music. That’s what musicians do. We’re just working musicians, and Sphere is such a great place to work.”
Angela Alvarez, the Cuban singer-songwriter who made history in 2022 by winning the Latin Grammy for best new artist as a nonagenarian, died Thursday night (Dec. 5), her grandson, composer and producer Carlos José Alvarez, informed Billboard Español. She was 97.
She passed away peacefully in Baton Rouge, La., surrounded by her family and loved ones, added the musician, who produced her 15-track self-titled debut album, released independently (via Nana Album LLC) in June 2021. A cause of death was not provided.
“I feel so lucky to have shared our grandmother with the world. She was a gift to me,” Carlos José said. “What we accomplished together was extraordinary. She is an example of courage, love and the importance of keeping dreams alive. She taught us how art can heal in times of adversity.”
Trending on Billboard
He added: “Being able to work with her changed my life. The gift I thought I was giving her, was actually a gift she gave to me and in turn the world. She always said, ‘I want to leave this world knowing my music would live on,’ and it will. Her life was full and her legacy shines on.”
Born on June 13, 1927, in Camagüey, Cuba, Angela Alvarez learned to sing and play the piano early on, and later took on the guitar and started writing her own songs. “I loved music very much,” she told Billboard Español in November 2022 from Baton Rouge, where the work of her husband, a mechanical engineer in the sugar industry, took her decades ago. “When I was a child, I had two aunts that played the piano and taught me how to sing. Whenever there was a family gathering, I was the artist; they made dresses for me and I always liked to perform.”
She came to consider music as a profession after finishing high school, but neither her father — nor her husband, years later — found that kind of life suitable for her. So she moved on with her life. Music, nevertheless, was always there for her, as it helped her cope with the ups and downs of life: from love and motherhood to a near-two-year separation from her children after the Cuban Revolution triumph, when she was supposed to travel to the U.S. with them but was not allowed to board the plane; to her relentless efforts to reunite her family and the eventual loss of her beloved husband and, years later, of her only daughter — both to cancer.
“I think that music is the language of the soul,” Alvarez said in the same interview with Billboard, estimating at the time that she had written around 50 songs, including “Romper el Yugo” (“Break the Chains”), “Añoranzas” (“Yearnings”), “Mi Gran Amor” (“My Great Love”) and “Camino Sin Rumbo” (“I Wonder Aimlessly”), all included in that first and only album that led to her improbable nomination for best new artist and her eventual victory — in a tie with Silvana Estrada, who was 70 years younger.
Angela not only impressed the Latin Recording Academy and its voting members. During the album’s recording process, her grandson invited Andy García to listen to her songs, and the Cuban-American actor and musician not only ended up executive producing and narrating a documentary about her titled Miss Angela, but also invited her to appear in his remake of Father of the Bride as Tía Pili and sing “Quiéreme Mucho” as part of the soundtrack.
Angela Alvarez is survived by three children (her only daughter died years ago), nine grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
Bob Bryar, the former drummer of My Chemical Romance, has died. He was 44.
The musician, who was the rock band’s longest-serving drummer, was found dead in his Tennessee home on Tuesday (Nov. 26) after being last seen earlier in the month, according to TMZ. Authorities have stated there is no suspicion of foul play. Bryar’s possessions — including musical equipment and weapons — were not taken.
Animal control was reportedly called to the home to remove a pair of dogs after Bryar’s decomposed body was discovered. The cause of his death had not been confirmed at press time.
Billboard has reached out to My Chemical Romance’s representatives for comment.
Bryar, who had previously worked as a sound technician for The Used, joined My Chemical Romance in 2004 while the two bands were on tour. He replaced the band’s original drummer, Matt Pelissier, shortly after the release of their second album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge.
Bryar was a key member of My Chemical Romance during their rise to fame, contributing to the New Jersey band’s second album, The Black Parade, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in 2006. He was also involved in the writing of the group’s 2010 release, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, but left the band before its release.
“This was a painful decision for all of us to make and was not taken lightly,” My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero wrote at the time. “We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors, and expect you all to do the same.’”
After departing from My Chemical Romance, Bryar retired from music and became a real estate agent, according to TMZ. He also devoted much of his time to dog rescue charities and sanctuaries.
Earlier this month, My Chemical Romance announced a series of 2025 stadium shows where they will perform The Black Parade in full. Bryar was not scheduled to appear at any of the performances. The 10-city tour will launch on July 11, 2025, in Seattle.
Michael “Mike” Bryan Martinovich, a music industry veteran best known for his work at CBS Records/Sony Music in Nashville and later as a consultant, died Monday (Nov. 18) in Nashville at age 81.
Martinovich joined CBS/Sony in 1969 as a sales representative for its St. Louis branch. He later became promotion manager for Epic Records in that same market before relocating to Atlanta to work as a sales manager and, later, Cincinnati to serve as a branch manager. He was later promoted to vp of merchandising and spent the next decade at CBS Records’ New York headquarters, working with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, Journey and James Taylor. He subsequently took on the role of vp of marketing when he relocated to CBS Records Nashville in December 1988. In that role, he directed marketing strategy for artists including Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rosanne Cash, Charlie Daniels, Joe Diffie and Rodney Crowell.
In 1994, Martinovich joined with Garth Brooks’ marketing leader Joe Mansfield to form Mansfield-Martinovich Associates. While working as strategic consultants to Wal-Mart’s music merchandiser Anderson Merchandisers, the duo created Wal-Mart’s Country Music Across America’s Parking Lot Tour, which highlighted more than 50 rising country artists in 60 markets over three touring seasons.
Trending on Billboard
In 2003, Martinovich and a trio of partners launched The Consortium, which offered strategic consulting for Broken Bow Records (BBR) and oversaw branding and licensing for The Weather Channel.
A 1992 graduate of Leadership Music, Martinovich served on the organization’s board of directors. He also served as vp at large on the ACM board of directors, on the marketing committee of the Recording Industry Association of America and filled the role of chairman of CMA’s marketing development committee. He was also a member of the Recording Academy.
Martinovich’s sons followed him into the music industry, with Bo Martinovich becoming an executive at Sony Music Nashville and Michael Dimitry Martinovich working in artist management with bands including My Morning Jacket and Good Charlotte.
Visitation and viewing will take place on Friday (Nov. 22) from 3:30-6:00 p.m. at Eastland Funeral Home, located at 904 Gallatin Avenue in Nashville. A funeral service will be held Saturday (Nov. 23) at 12 p.m. at Svetka Petka Serbian Orthodox Church, located at 1712 5th Avenue North in Nashville. Contributions may be made in Michael’s name to Svetka Petka Serbian Orthodox Church.