Tag Archives: the 70s

Yahoo Entertainment report: Eddie Van Halen, whose innovative and explosive guitar playing kept the hard rock band that bore his family name cemented to the top of the album charts for two decades, died on Tuesday morning after a long battle with cancer. He was 65. Van Halen’s son Wolf announced the news. “He was the best father I could …

The Associated Press reports: Former President Jimmy Carter marks his 96th birthday Thursday, the latest milestone for the longest lived of the 44 men to hold the highest American office. Carter planned to celebrate at his home in Plains, Georgia, with his wife of 74 years, Rosalynn Carter. The 39th president, in office from 1977-81, has largely receded from public …

Sydney’s ABC News affiliate reports: Australian legend and activist Helen Reddy has passed away at the age of 78 in Los Angeles. The Melbourne-born singer is best known for her hit song I Am Woman, which has gone on to become a feminist anthem. “Helen Reddy’s story is an amazing one, a great story of talent and determination,” said entertainment …

TMZ reports: Bonnie Pointer of The Pointer Sisters has died TMZ has learned. The Grammy-winning Motown artist, who was originally part of the popular quartet group of sisters in the ’70s, died this morning. Bonnie was one of the original Pointer Sisters — which started out as a duo, with her as one of the leads — but eventually left …

Billboard reports: Florian Schneider of German electronic band Kraftwerk has died, Billboard has confirmed. He was 73. In a statement, Kraftwerk co-founder Ralf Hütter confirms “the very sad news that his friend and companion over many decades Florian Schneider has passed away from a short cancer disease just a few days after his 73rd birthday.” Kraftwerk — with its use …

ABC News reports: Everybody’s favorite singing frog has made a special video of one of his beloved classic. The Muppets’ official YouTube page posted a video of Kermit the Frog performing “Rainbow Connection.” The video simply shows the well-known Disney character strumming the tune on his banjo in front of a swampy background as if performing a stay at home …

Billboard Magazine reports: Bill Withers, the former Navy man and commercial aircraft worker who became one of music’s most revered poet laureates, has died. The Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member died Monday (March 30) in Los Angeles from heart complications. He was 81 years old. Arriving front and center on the music scene at …

TMZ reports: Ja’net Dubois — one of the main characters on “Good Times” — was found dead Tuesday, TMZ has learned. Ja’net played the Evans family’s sassy neighbor Willona Woods on the classic ’70s TV series. Her family tells us Ja’net died unexpectedly in her sleep overnight at her home in Glendale, CA. Ja’net might be most famous for “Good …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Diahann Carroll, the captivating singer and actress who came from the Bronx to win a Tony Award, receive an Oscar nomination and make television history with her turns on Julia and Dynasty, died Friday. She was 84. Carroll died at her home in Los Angeles after a long bout with cancer, her daughter, producer-journalist Suzanne Kay, …

Variety reports: Denise Nickerson, best known for her role as Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 version of “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” died Wednesday night after being taken off life support. She was 62. Her family made the announcement on Facebook. “She’s gone,” the message read. Nickerson suffered a severe stroke in June 2018 after which she entered the …

CNBC reports: Lido Anthony Iacocca, the automobile industry legend best known as “Lee,” died at the age of 94 on Tuesday morning, his family confirmed. A child of Italian immigrants who grow up in humble conditions, Iacocca became one of the most powerful — and best known — executives in Detroit. Iacocca rose to become president of Ford Motor in …

People Magazine reports: Tim Conway has died at the age of 85. He passed away at 8:45 a.m. in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday, his rep Howard Bragman confirms to PEOPLE. The beloved actor is best known for his work on The Carol Burnett Show, winning viewers over with characters like the Oldest Man and Mr. Tudball, whose accent …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Daryl Dragon, the musician best known as the Captain from the group The Captain and Tennille, died due to renal failure on Wednesday. He was 76. “He was a brilliant musician with many friends who loved him greatly. I was at my most creative in my life, when I was with him,” Toni Tennille, Dragon’s longtime …

People Magazine reports: It was truly a rapper’s delight at Bret Baier‘s Special Report Christmas party on Thursday night in Washington, D.C. Hip-hop group The Sugarhill Gang was on hand at The Dubliner to help the Fox News anchor celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, along with his 10-year anniversary as anchor of Special Report. Baier, 48, even …

The New York Daily News reports: Bronx-born Penny Marshall, who found ‘70s sitcom success on “Laverne and Shirley” before stepping behind the camera for Hollywood hits like “Big” and “A League of Their Own,” died Monday night at her California home. She was 75. “Yes she did (die) … peacefully at her Hollywood Hills home,” said her publicist Michelle Bega. …

Rolling Stone reports: Galt MacDermot, who composed the hit Broadway musicals Hair and Two Gentlemen of Verona, died Monday, a day before his 90th birthday. His death was confirmed to Playbill by his granddaughter, though a cause of death was not revealed. With a plot that questioned the Vietnam War, the production of Hair was a timely smash and earned …

The Associated Press reports: The Golden Globe Awards will introduce a new TV special achievement trophy at next month’s telecast and name it after its first recipient — comedic icon Carol Burnett. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association said Tuesday the Carol Burnett Award — the small-screen version of the group’s film counterpart, the Cecil B. DeMille Award — will annually …

Variety reports: Roy Clark, the legendary guitarist and singer, Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member, Grammy, ACM and CMA award winner and co-host of the “Hee Haw” television series, died today at the age of 85 due to complications from pneumonia at home in Tulsa, Okla. His 24-year stint on the at times deliberately corny “Hee …

The BBC reports: John Lennon’s Imagine – the third greatest song of all time, according to Rolling Stone magazine – has been given a reworking today for what would’ve been the former Beatle’s 78th birthday. So who better then to deliver this musical gift, other than the track’s co-writer Yoko Ono? The Japanese artist, who married Lennon in 1969, was …

Courtesy of Concord Music, tonight we have a special JMG giveaway of the new classic early disco remix compilation, For Discos Only, now available on Amazon, streaming, and download services. Craft Recordings is excited to announce the release of For Discos Only: Indie Dance Music From Fantasy & Vanguard Records (1976-1981), a comprehensive collection of the music that lit up …