Eddy Arnold, one of the pioneers of 'the Nashville Sound,' died Thursday morning, just days before his 90th birthday. The legendary country singer was second only to George Jones in the number of songs that made the country charts, with 145 radio hits -- 28 of those making it all the way to No. 1. Some of his many classics include 'Make the World Go Away,' 'Bouquet of Roses,' 'Lonely Again' and 'Cattle Call,' just to name a few. Many of those hits also made it onto the pop charts, as Arnold became one of the first crossover successes to come out of Nashville, paving the way for future country-pop acts like Kenny Rogers and Charlie Rich.Arnold, nicknamed the 'Tennessee Plowboy,' was inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966. The following year, he was named the Country Music Association's first-ever Entertainer of the Year. And in a career that spanned almost 60 years, he boasted sales of more than 85 million records.


Neil Aspinall, who started out in the
The husband of British soul star
Jamaican radio DJ and producer Mikey Dread – perhaps best known to rock fans for his work with the
Mike Smith, lead singer and keyboard player of the Dave Clark Five, passed away from pneumonia Thursday in a hospital outside London. Smith, who was paralyzed in a spinal cord injury in 2003, was 64. The sad news precedes what would otherwise be a celebratory time for the British Invasion group, as it will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10.
Academy Award-nominated actor
Oscar Peterson, the Canadian jazz pianist whose unmatched virtuosity placed him among the greatest in his field, has passed away on Dec. 23 at age 82 in his home outside Toronto. Born outside Montreal, the legendary musician has played alongside many of the top jazz artists, including Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie, Peterson distinguished himself with his dazzling keyboard technique and speed. Fellow player Billy Taylor called Peterson one of the finest jazz pianists of his time.
Grammy-award winning jazz producer
Singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg died at his home in Maine on Sunday, three years after being diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. He was 56.
Ike Turner, the R&B musician and songwriter who was one of the primary forces in shaping the development of rock 'n' roll and soul music, and was most famously half of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame duo Ike & Tina Turner, 
Jeffrey Owen Jones, the man who has been commonly identified as the primary inspiration for the character of "Mr. Jones" in
In a voicemail message obtained exclusively by
Kevin DuBrow, the lead singer of neo-glam rockers
Country Music Hall of Famer Hank Thompson, who melded Western swing and honky-tonk music on such hits as 'A Six Pack to Go,' 'Humpty Dumpty Heart' and 'Wild Side of Life,' passed away Tuesday at the age of 82. In his 60-plus-year career, he had garnered 29 Top 10 country hits, and he and his band, the Brazos Valley Boys, had been voted the No. 1 country & western band for 14 years in a row by Billboard magazine.


